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Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for more details |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 23, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 101
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Atlantic
hurricanes expected
to be normal or below normal By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts a near normal or below normal season. The outlook shows general trends over the next six months for the North Atlantic, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, says NOAA Administrator Katherine Sullivan. "NOAA predicts the Atlantic hurricane season in 2014 will have a range of eight to 13 tropical storms, three to six of which will become hurricanes; and one to two of those may grow in strength to become category 3 or higher major storms," said Ms. Sullivan. Ms. Sullivan says the main driver of this year’s forecast is the anticipated development of El Niño, a weather pattern over the tropical Pacific which reduces the intensity of tropical storms in the Atlantic. “El Ninos also increase the trade winds and the atmospheric stability across the Atlantic basins and those factors also make it even harder for hurricanes to develop," she said. In 2013, NOAA forecast an extremely active hurricane season, however the storms fell short. This year, the agency has improved its weather and forecasting models, which are being used by a number of Western Pacific and Indian Ocean rim nations. NOAA officials have also rolled out an Internet program that allows the public to see the storm surge threat to their community on an on-line map. Administrator Sullivan emphasized that although NOAA expects fewer hurricanes than normal, the public needs to pay attention to warnings and be prepared. “No percentage number, no probability number, high or low, erases the fact that the real message is that we’re starting into hurricane season, any section of our coastline can be hit by a severe tropical storm and one storm, whatever the probabilities are, one storm can wreak tremendous havoc," said Ms. Sullivan. NOAA will issue an updated outlook in early August, just prior to the historical peak of the season. Band concert this Sunday to honor European Union By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Banda de Conciertos de San José will honor the European Union Sunday at the Museo Nacional with a concert featuring works from Euroepan countries. The free concert begins at 11 a.m. In addition to the museum and the band, a sponsor is the Embassy of the European Union. The band will be accompanied by soprano María Marta López, tenor Ernesto Rodríguez and baritone William Hernández. They will interpret the works of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini. Among the works that have been planned for the band are: The "Overture 2000," completed in 1990 by Dutch composer Henk van Lijnschooten; the 1982 piece "Alternances" by André Waignein of Belgium; "Mask" by British composer Kenneth Hesketh, "The Ride of the Valkyries," written by the German Richard Wagner; "The Impossible Dream" from "The Man of La Mancha," honoring Spain; the "Toreador Song" from the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet and honoring France, and excerpts from "Les Misérables" by Claude-Michel Schönberg and based on the novel by French author Victor Hugo. Seven held after raids directed at drug smuggling By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial investigators detained seven persons, including four Costa Ricans, Thursday. The actions were the culmination of a year-long investigation involving police agencies in Germany and Austria, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. Agents conducted nine raids and ended up confiscating cash, homes in Ciudad Colón, Guápiles and San Carlos, as well as vehicles and firearms. The agency outlined a system in which relatively small amounts of cocaine were moved around the country. A van that has a double floor could carry 100 kilos at one time, agents said. The cocaine was shipped to Europe hidden among flowers and fruit, agents said. The judicial organization said that a kilo of cocaine here costs about $8,000, but it can bring $35,000 in Europe. The arrests Thursday were linked to the discovery in 2013 of a vehicle in San Pablo de Heredia that contained 22 kilos of cocaine. Police in Europe had confiscated that same quantity at the beginning of the investigation. The chief suspect was identified as a Romanian. There also is a Mexican and a Colombian involved, said agents. The cocaine appears to have been smuggled into the country through the southern zone, agents added. U.S. soccer coach cuts top scorer Landon Donovan By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The United States has announced its 23-man squad for the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil, but in a surprise move the team's all-time leading scorer was left off the roster. Landon Donovan was looking to play in his fourth World Cup, but U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann decided to cut the 32-year old attacker along with six other players. Klinsmann called it one of the toughest decisions of his coaching career. He said he felt some other players were slightly ahead of Donovan. Considered the most recognizable figure in U.S. soccer during the past 10 years, Donovan has 57 goals in 156 international appearances. He has provided some of the greatest moments in American soccer history, including his performance during the U.S. team's quarterfinal run at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea. In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Donovan expressed disappointment at being left off this year's World Cup squad but stressed that he remains committed to helping grow soccer in the U.S. in the years to come. Despite his past success on the national team, Donovan had not been considered a lock to make this year's roster. He took a nearly four month sabbatical after the 2012 season and Klinsmann had said that Donovan would have to earn his spot back. The U.S. team takes on Ghana June 16 in its World Cup opener.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by A.M. Costa Rica.com Ltda. 2014 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 23, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 101 | |
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| Lawmakers agree on revised text that will protect coastal
dwellers |
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By
Michael Krumholtz
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Costa Rica's legislature unanimously advanced a proposal intended to protect coastal communities in Costa Rica. The action Thursday night was to approve a committee draft of a substitute text designs to avoid technical constitutional pitfalls. Lawmakers will resume next week with an initial debate and vote on the proposal, No. 18.148, titled Ley de Territorios Costeros Comunitarios, meaning "law of community coastal territories." In creating specially regulated areas on certain parts of Costa Rica’s coast, the law aims to help protect the rights of the poorer populations who have lived there for years. The proposal commonly referred to as Tecocos from its title in Spanish suggests that coastal citizens are being marginalized and evicted from their homes because of geographic conflicts with the country's maritime zone law passed in 1977. The proposal says that those most positively affected will be small-scale farmers, fishermen and those in local tourism or other small businesses. It should also create wider access to public services, education, and housing credits. Partido de Acción Ciudadana and Frente Amplio legislators met in the Asamblea Legislativa Thursday afternoon before the proposed draft was put up for vote to discuss its importance. Laura Garro Sánchez of Acción Ciudadana called the current situation an assault on human rights that affects thousands of families in coastal areas. She said supporters have long tried to rally representatives from outside parties to increase support and vote totals. “We have made every effort so that representatives from Liberación Nacional, Unidad Social Cristiana, and Movimiento Libertario understand the urgency and need to pass this initiative,” Ms. Garro said |
.Last year
Liberación Nacional representatives rejected Tecocos, claiming a
portion of it as unconstitutional because it violated the maritime zone
law. The old version also said it would benefit the environment without
presenting any substantial data or goals. Ronal Vargas Araya from Frente Amplio said he received a call on Thursday morning from a Liberación Nacional legislator wanting more information on the proposal. Before they went in to vote, Vargas was optimistic that Tecocos would pass and said he knew of a few Liberación Nacional representatives who had promised him they would vote in favor of the law. Another longtime supporter of the proposal is Carlos Hernández Álvarez, who is a Puntarenas representative for Frente Amplio. The legislator was adamant that fellow lawmakers jump aboard in support of a bill that he said could help these marginalized people. “There is no more time,” Hernández said. “We need to pass this today.” Hernández said the law includes 65 communities throughout the country that are directly affected. Some notable areas include Tárcoles, Montezuma, Dominical, Tortuguero, and Playa Matapalo. The proposal states that these communities will be given cultural recognition and special protection. It also promises to ensure the legal security of the populations contained within these territories, protecting them from evictions due to the maritime zone law. Ms. Garro said that this issue that has raged for nearly six years needs to be resolved in favor of these residents of poor communities being driven from their homes. "There are no excuses to not pass this initiative," she said. "The constitutional defects have been corrected. Today we must give a clear message to the communities that are exposed to eviction, the loss of their homes and the negation of their right to develop." |
| Call from a citizen helps remove snapping turtles from the
menu |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Officers prevented the slaughter of 18 turtles in Limón Thursday morning and arrested the two men transporting them from Cariari to Guápiles. Superintendent Adrián Salazar said police received a call from a citizen who said he saw a pickup truck drive by with live turtles in the back. Police found the two men, one Chinese citizen and one Costa Rican who acted as the driver, carrying a sack full of turtles When police questioned them, the driver said he was under the impression that there were only crabs aboard and that his companion never told him anything about taking turtles. Newly established patrols were responsible for the pair’s arrests, according to a Fuerza Pública statement. Police said the turtles were taken from a nearby river and some were identified as the Chelydra serpentina species, known as the common snapping turtle. Police gave the turtles to workers at the the Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía for temporary safekeeping before their return to their habitat. Monday the Fuerza Pública released a statement saying they have salvaged more than 2,000 leatherback turtle eggs from being stolen and sold in the past two months. Authorities have ramped up efforts near well-known mating sites to prevent nest looting and turtle killings with increased nocturnal patrolling. |
 Ministerio
de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública photo
Police
officer moves one of the turtles saved from the soup pot.
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 23, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 101 | |||||
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 Lancaster University /Luke Parry
The sound of the chainsaw mixes
with bird songs in the Amazon. |
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| Human impact on Amazon reported to be grossly underestimated |
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By
the Lancaster University news staff
The human impact on the Amazon rainforest has been grossly underestimated. according to an international team of researchers led by Lancaster University. They found that selective logging and surface wildfires can result in an annual loss of 54 billion tons of carbon from the Brazilian Amazon, increasing greenhouse gas emissions. This is equivalent to 40 percent of the yearly carbon loss from deforestation when entire forests are chopped down. This is the largest ever study estimating above and below ground carbon loss from selective logging and ground level forest fires in the tropics, based on data from 70,000 sampled trees and thousands of soil, litter and dead wood samples from 225 sites in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. The forest degradation often starts with logging of prized trees such as mahogany and ipe. The felling and removal of these large trees often damages dozens of neighboring trees. Once the forest has been logged, the many gaps in the canopy means it becomes much drier due to exposure to the wind and sun, increasing the risk of wildfires spreading inside the forest. |
The combination of
selective logging and wildfires damages turns
primary forests into a thick scrub full of smaller trees and vines,
which stores 40 percent less carbon than undisturbed forests. So far, climate change policies on the tropics have effectively been focusing on reducing carbon emissions from deforestation only, not accounting for emissions coming from forest degradation. Lead researcher Erika Berenguer from Lancaster University said: “The impacts of fire and logging in tropical forests have always been largely overlooked by both the scientific community and policy makers who are primarily concerned with deforestation. Yet our results show how these disturbances can severely degrade the forest, with huge amounts of carbon being transferred from plant matter straight into the atmosphere.” The research in Global Change Biology was carried out by 10 researchers from 11 universities and research institutions in Brazil and the UK. The second author, Dr Joice Ferreira from Embrapa in Brazil, said: “Our findings also draw attention to the necessity for Brazil to implement more effective policies for reducing the use of fire in agriculture, as fires can both devastate private property, and escape into surrounding forests causing widespread degradation. Bringing fire and illegal logging under control is key to reaching our national commitment to reducing carbon emissions.” |
Here's reasonable medical care
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 23, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 101 | |||||||
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| U.S. House passes bill to put curbs on NSA data By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to curb the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records. Supporters say the USA Freedom Act strikes a balance between protecting privacy and safeguarding national security. Critics say the legislation’s reforms have been watered down. Thursday's House vote passing the USA Freedom Act was 303-121, and did not play out along the usual Republican versus Democratic Party lines. It is the first legislative response to the revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, which triggered international outrage at the scope of U.S. surveillance. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers has often condemned Snowden, and the Michigan Republican took aim at him again on the House floor, while praising the bill. “Our obligation to protection in this country should not be held hostage by the actions of a traitor or traitors who leak classified information that puts our troops in the field at risk or those who fear monger and spread mistruth and misinformation to further their own misguided agenda," said Rogers. Rogers and a coalition of some Democratic and some Republican lawmakers said the reform act preserves U.S. intelligence capabilities while maintaining personal liberties. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat, agreed: “Today I want to announce that megadata collection as we know it has ended. That is a major tribute to the American people," said Jackson Lee. But a number of lawmakers from both parties, including one of the co-sponsors of the original bill, said that too many important provisions were lost as the bill made its way through congressional committees to the House floor. Rep. Mike Honda of California: “I am disappointed that this popular, bipartisan bill has been so drastically weakened, and I can no longer support it," said Honda. The bill instructs phone companies to hold on to Americans’ phone records for 18 months and lets the NSA search them during terrorism investigations in response to a court order. President Obama supports the bill, but civil rights advocates and technology companies withdrew their support. They say the original bill has been gutted to win support from Rogers and others. The measure now heads to the Senate and is likely again to be the focus of heated debate.  University
of Bristol/Stephan Lautenschlager
Digital reconstructions
of the skull of the dinosaur Erlikosaurus made from a CT scan X-rays
of fossils speed
evaluations by scientists By the University of Bristol news service
New techniques for visualizing fossils are transforming the understanding of evolutionary history, according to a paper published by leading palaeontologists at the University of Bristol. Palaeontology has traditionally proceeded slowly, with individual scientists laboring for years or even decades over the interpretation of single fossils which they have gradually recovered from entombing rock, sand grain by sand grain, using all manner of dental drills and needles. The introduction of X-ray tomography has revolutionized the way that fossils are studied, allowing them to be virtually extracted from the rock in a fraction of the time necessary to prepare specimens by hand and without the risk of damaging the fossil. The resulting fossil files not only reveal internal and external anatomical features in unprecedented and previously unrealized detail, but can also be studied in parallel by collaborating or competing teams of scientists, speeding up the pace at which evolutionary history is revealed. These techniques have enabled palaeontologists to move beyond just so stories, explanations for why sauropod dinosaurs had such long necks, for example, by subjecting digital models of the fossils to biomechanical analysis, including using the same computer techniques that engineers use to design test bridges and aircraft. However, the scientists from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences highlight that the potential benefits of fossil graphics are not being realized. Lead author John Cunningham said: "At a practical level, we simply don’t have the infrastructure for storing and sharing the vast data sets that describe fossils, and the policies of world-leading museums which protect the copyright of fossils are preventing data sharing at a legal level." Co-author Stephan Lautenschlager added: "The increasing availability of fossil avatars will allow us to bring long-extinct animals back to life, virtually, by using computer models to work out how they moved and fed. However, in many cases we are hampered by our limited understanding of the biology of the modern species to which we would ideally like to compare the fossils." Imran Rahman, also an author of the agenda-setting study, said: "Palaeontologists are making their fossil avatars freely available as files for 3-D printing and so, soon, anyone who wants one, can have a scientifically accurate model of their favorite fossil, for research, teaching, or just for fun!" Lengthy IQ study shows no link with fluoridation By the University of Otago news staff
New research does not support claims that fluoridating water adversely affects children’s mental development and adult IQ. The researchers were testing the contentious claim that exposure to levels of fluoride used in community water fluoridation is toxic to the developing brain and can cause IQ deficits. Their findings are newly published in the highly respected American Journal of Public Health. Researchers used the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Study that has followed nearly all aspects of the health and development of around 1,000 people born in the community of Dunedin in 1972 and 1973 up to age 38. Lead author Jonathan Broadbent of New Zealand's University of Otago says the new research focused on study members’ fluoride exposure during the first five years of their lives, as this is a critical period in brain development, after which IQ is known to be relatively stable. Broadbent and colleagues compared IQs of study members who grew up in Dunedin suburbs with and without fluoridated water. Use of fluoride toothpaste and tablets was also taken into account. They examined average IQ scores between the ages of 7-13 years and at age 38, as well as subtest scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. Data on IQ were available for 992 and 942 study members in childhood and adulthood, respectively. Broadbent says the team controlled for childhood factors associated with IQ variation, such as socio-economic status of parents, birth weight and breast feeding, and secondary and tertiary educational achievement, which is associated with adult IQ. “Our analysis showed no significant differences in IQ by fluoride exposure, even before controlling for the other factors that might influence scores. In line with other studies, we found breast feeding was associated with higher child IQ, and this was regardless of whether children grew up in fluoridated or non-fluoridated areas.” Broadbent says that studies that fluoridation opponents say show that fluoride in water can cause IQ deficits, and which they heavily relied on in city council submissions and hearings, have been reviewed and found to have used poor research methodology and have a high risk of bias. “In comparison, the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Study is world-renowned for the quality of its data and rigor of its analysis,” he says. “Our findings will hopefully help to put another nail in the coffin of the complete canard that fluoridating water is somehow harmful to children’s development. In reality, the total opposite is true, as it helps reduce the tooth decay blighting the childhood of far too many New Zealanders.” Tiny insect from Costa Rica among featured 10 in 2014 By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
What do a 12 -meter-tall tree hiding in plain sight, a clean-room microbe that could pose a hazard during space travel and a sea anemone that lives under an Antarctic glacier have in common? They are all on the 2014 Top 10 New Species list, compiled by the International Institute for Species Exploration. The institute hopes to raise public awareness of the rich, diverse planet. One of the featured discoveries is from Costa Rica. Quentin Wheeler wants to draw attention to the diversity of life on Earth. “I think most people would be surprised to learn that, on average, we describe about 17,000 and 18,000 new species each year," said Wheeler. Here is the list: • Tinkerbella nana, named for Peter Pan's fairy sidekick, measures just 250 micrometers and is among the smallest insects. It was collected by sweeping vegetation in secondary growth forest at LaSelva Biological Station in Costa Rica. Like other fairy flies, it presumably has a life span of not more than a few days and attacks the eggs of other insects. • Living in complete darkness some 900-plus meters below the surface in the Lukina Jama-Trojama caves of western Croatia, the domed land snail lacks eyes, and has no shell pigmentation, giving it a ghost-like appearance. Even by snail standards, it moves slowly, creeping only a few millimeters or centimeters a week. • Found in rooms where spacecraft are assembled, this microbial species could potentially contaminate other planets that the spacecraft visits. It can tolerate extreme dryness; wide ranges of pH, temperature and salt concentration; and exposure to UV light or hydrogen peroxide. It was independently collected from so-called clean rooms in Florida and 4,000 kilometers away, in French Guiana. • This 4-5- centimeter single-celled amoeba from the Mediterranean Sea gathers pieces of silica spicules, which are actually sponge fragments, from its surroundings and uses them like so many Lego blocks to construct a shell. It ends up looking much like a carnivorous sponge as well as feeding like one. • With longer limbs, a more slender body and larger eyes than others of its species, the leaf-tailed gecko has a mottled coloration along with its extremely wide tail that allows it to blend in with its surroundings. Native to rain forests and rocky habitats in Australia, this gecko waits for prey on the vertical surfaces of rocks and trees. • Distinguished by the bright orange color it displays when produced in colonies, this fungus – described in a Dutch journal - was named as a tribute to the Dutch royal family, specifically His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange. The newcomer was isolated from soil in Tunisia. • The skeleton shrimp, the smallest in the genus, was identified from among specimens originally collected from a cave on an island off the coast of Southern California. The new species has an eerie, translucent appearance that makes it resemble a bony structure. • It is not clear how the ANDRILL sea anemone withstands the harsh conditions under a glacier on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The 2.5-centimeter creatures were discovered when the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program sent a remotely operated submersible vehicle into holes that had been drilled into the ice. • Beautiful, soft, sword-shaped leaves with white edges and cream-colored flowers with bright orange filaments are the hallmarks of the dragon tree, which can grow to 12 meters in height. It is found in the limestone mountains of Thailand and may also be found in nearby Burma. • The olinguito resembles a cross between a slinky cat and a wide-eyed teddy bear, and lives in the cloud forests of the Andes mountains in Colombia and Ecuador. It is the first new carnivorous mammal described in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. Wheeler is director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, which publishes the annual survey. “In the 250 years that modern taxonomy has been practiced, we have named fewer than two million of an estimated 10-12 million kinds of plants and animals," he said. He notes that species are going extinct at least as fast as they are being discovered, which adds urgency to the task of naming.  Voice
of America photo
Heather Willauer works in
her lab.Fuel
from sea water still
experimental but promising By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
For centuries, alchemists have tried to turn lead into gold. That transmutation has long been proven impossible, but another similar dream, turning water into fuel, seems to be achievable. Scientists at a U.S. naval laboratory proved it by flying a model airplane burning re-engineered seawater. Natural gas and liquid fuels, burned in all kinds of internal combustion engines, are chemical compounds of hydrogen and carbon, coming mostly from underground reserves. Oceans also are huge reservoirs of hydrogen, though, and, increasingly, carbon dioxide, or CO2. Dissolved in seawater from the air, it makes the water more acidic. Extracting those chemicals from the ocean and converting them into a form of liquid fuel was made possible by some recent technological advances, according to U.S. Navy researcher Heather Willauer. “We've been actually able to show that we can recombine CO2 and hydrogen in the laboratory on a lab-scale, laboratory scale, into a liquid-type fuel,” she said. The process requires a lot of electrical energy, which - to be economical - has to come from a cheap source, such as a nuclear power plant. Obviously, the most efficient place to do it would be aboard a nuclear powered aircraft carrier. Ms. Willauer said these ships may someday manufacture their own jet fuel. “Well, it is a game-changer potentially for the Navy or commercial entities because you can make fuel potentially where and when you need it,” she said. The new fuel was tested successfully on a model airplane with a two-stroke engine. For now, making it requires twice as much power as the fuel can produce, but researchers hope to lower that ratio. Ms. Willauer said the new process will not increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. “Once we've pulled it out of seawater, the ocean is ready to pull it back in from the atmosphere, 'cause it's in constant equilibrium. So what we hope is it's a carbon-neutral footprint,” she said. Scientists hope a small scale industrial plant may start converting seawater into fuel within the next 15 years.  Center
of Archaeological Research of the University
1,500 year-old coprolite
discovered in Vieques, Puerto Rico.of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Pre-Columbian migrations tracked with DNA techniques By American Society for Microbiology news
service
By evaluating the bacteria and fungi found in fossilized feces, microbiologists are providing evidence to help support archaeologists’ hypotheses regarding cultures living in the Caribbean over 1,500 years ago. They reported their findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. “Although fossilized feces have frequently been studied, they had never been used as tools to determine ethnicity and distinguish between two extinct cultures. By examining the DNA preserved in coprolites from two ancient indigenous cultures, our group was able to determine the bacterial and fungal populations present in each culture as well as their possible diets,” says Jessica Rivera-Perez of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, who presented the study. Various cultures inhabited the Greater Antilles thousands of years ago. The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have thousands of pre-Columbian settlements belonging to extinct cultures that migrated to the Caribbean at some point in history. Archaeological excavations in Vieques, Puerto Rico, unearthed hand-made tools and crafts as well as fossilized feces, called coprolite by scientists, dating from 200 to 400 A.D. The presence of two distinct styles of craftsmanship, as well as other clues obtained from the dig sites, suggested these artifacts belonged to two distinct cultures. “One culture excelled in the art of pottery. In fact, their signature use of red and white paint helped identify them as descendants from the Saladoids, originating in Saladero, Venezuela. In contrast, the second culture had exquisite art for crafting semiprecious stones into ornaments, some of which represented the Andean condor. This helped archaeologists identify the Bolivian Andes as possible origins of this Huecoid culture,” says Ms. Rivera-Perez. To help confirm these archeological hypotheses, Ms. Rivera-Perez and her colleagues examined the DNA preserved in coprolites from both Saladoid and Huecoid settlements and compared the bacterial and fungal populations found in each. Major differences were detected between the fecal communities of these cultures, providing additional support that they may have had different origins. Additionally, they found fungal and corn DNA in the Huecoid coprolite that suggests the consumption of an Andean fermented corn beverage, further confirming the theory that the Huecoids originated in the Bolivian Andes. “The study of the paleomicrobiome of coprolites supports the hypothesis of multiple ancestries and can provide important evidence regarding migration by ancestral cultures and populations of the Caribbean,” said Ms. Rivera-Perez. This study was conducted by collaborators from the University of Puerto Rico and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Vaccine against malaria shown to reduce severity By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Scientists are developing a vaccine against malaria that is designed to limit the illness in children who have been bitten by mosquitoes carrying the disease-causing organism. They have discovered a protein that is essential for malaria parasites to cause severe illness. With the protein, called SEA, the parasite is able to burst through infected red blood cells, ramping up disease symptoms. But malaria parasites deprived of SEA are trapped inside the cells where they wither away and are eventually eliminated from the body by the spleen. Researchers at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts discovered the protein. Jonathan Kurtis is director of the Center for International Health Research at Rhode Island Hospital and lead author of the study which appears in the journal Science. Kurtis says an experimental vaccine containing antibodies against the parasitic protein was developed and tested in mice. Rodents that received the vaccine were only mildly sick and had fewer parasites in their bodies than untreated mice. Next, Kurtis says investigators measured levels of antibodies to the SEA protein in a group of 785 Tanzanian children. “And children with antibodies to our protein never got severe malaria. There were zero cases as compared to children who did not have antibodies to our protein,” Kurtis said. Researchers then analyzed blood samples collected in 1997 from 140 children in Kenya. Investigators found there were 50 percent fewer parasites in the serum of youngsters that produced antibodies to SEA during a high transmission season. As with the Tanzanian children, there were also no severe cases of the disease in children with antibodies against the protein, according to Kurtis. “And so the thought is by immunizing people with the SEA proteins, so that they make their own antibodies, they’ll be protected,” he added. The next step, Kurtis says, is to test a laboratory-made SEA vaccine to see whether it works in primates. Kurtis says he’s excited that researchers may be on the verge of an effective drug that lessens the severity of a malaria infection, but he’s also humbled. If the vaccine proves to be safe and effective in monkeys within the next year, researchers expect they’ll move quickly to human vaccine trials. Kurtis says the goal eventually is to immunize youngsters in malaria-endemic regions at the same time they are vaccinated against other childhood illnesses. Dead zone in gulf blamed on faraway farmers in north By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Every spring a so-called dead zone develops in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Spreading up to 13,600 square kilometers and extending all the way to the eastern Texas shoreline, the zone results from nitrogen-heavy river water pouring into the gulf, where it promotes the growth of algae. As the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom where it decomposes and depletes oxygen from the water, a condition called hypoxia that is deadly to fish and shrimp. While scientists know what causes a hypoxic zone, a recently published study by two Austin-based hydrogeologists shows the solution may prove a hard sell for those landlocked to the north. According to Bayani Cardenas, associate professor at the University of Texas's Jackson School of Geosciences, river bank sediments naturally filter water-borne contaminants, typically removing nitrates that otherwise create dead zones downstream. "You can think of it as a spiraling flow back around the bank of the river," said Cardenas, the study's lead author. "A water molecule goes into the bank and then comes back out into the river at some downstream point, and it does that repeatedly as it travels downstream." And yet nitrate-heavy waters of the Mississippi River have been pouring into the gulf each spring. Determined to find out why, Cardenas, his recent study shows, found that although more than 99 percent of the river’s water does pass through sediment on its way south, the system is overwhelmed by the sheer amount of nitrogen it carries. The Mississippi river system carries water to the gulf from 33 states and two Canadian provinces where chemicals like nitrogen are used extensively in agriculture. Farmers say the use of such chemicals is essential to produce food for a growing world population. But Cardenas says his research shows that something needs to be done. “If you want to curtail this process it has to be at the source, just less inputs from the start," he said, explaining that the majority of contaminants wreaking havoc on Louisiana's gulf fishermen are introduced to the water system in states farther to the north. Aaron Packman, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, agrees. He says farmers may be able to better control the amount of nitrate fertilizer they put on fields. “How much fertilizer do you need to give you good yields and then how much is maybe a marginal gain from adding lots more fertilizer?" he said. "There is really a question here: can you maybe . . . get close to the same level of yield without having such a negative impact?” Packman also says solutions need to be implemented upstream from Louisiana, which has a relatively small section of the river. “The Mississippi river system is 40 percent of the surface area of the continental United States," he said. "I think it takes some further work in the distributive areas upstream that are the source of a lot of the nutrient.” Filtration by the river system has been weakened by human-made “improvements” such as levees and canals that aid transportation and help control floods. But Cardenas says filtration works better when the river meanders through twists and turns, forcing the water to spend more time in the sediment that cleans it. “A straight channel won’t offer this buffering," he said. "A very sinuous channel provides a lot of the contact of the river water with the sediment.” While Louisiana has embarked on a project to divert more river water through wetlands to filter it and increase coastal silt deposits, this will have only a limited effect if states farther upstream do not take action as well. In coming months, storms will stir the gulf waters and diminish the oxygen-depleted zone, but it will return next year and grow larger in years ahead if something isn’t done to reduce the flow of nitrogen in the Mississippi. Cardenas's study appears in a recent issue of Nature Geosciences. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Friday, May 23, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 101 | |||||||||
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 Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud photo
This sphere has been excavated
to the original ground level on which it was placed.Culture ministry
expects
U.N. action on spheres By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Staffers at the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud are hoping that the pre-Columbian stone spheres in southwest Costa Rica will be added to the heritage of mankind list in mid-June when the U.N. World Heritage Committee meets in Qatar. Elizabeth Fonseca, the new minister, is visiting key archaeological sites today and tomorrow to learn more about the subject. Today the minister is expected to be at Finca 6 in Osa where the new museum dedicated to the stone balls is located. Saturday she will be visiting the Batambal, Grijalba and El Silencio sites. The balls were made between 300 and 1500 A.D., although no one really knows why. They were made locally because the stone material has been traced to the upper reaches of the Río Térraba, which flows nearby. Francisco Corrales has said he thinks the balls were status devices placed outside the homes of important persons. He is an archaeologist deeply involved in the work of the Museo Nacional in Osa and also the director of the committee that submitted the spheres for recognition by the U.N. heritage committee Guanacaste charity race raises $26,000 for sponsors By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Alliance for Progress of Education in Guanacaste said that a May 3 foot race that attracted more than 300 participants raised $25,000. The alliance is a nonprofit partnership of Abriendo Mentes, Amigos de la Educación, Culture, Education and Psychology for Infants and Adolescents and the La Paz Community School. The alliance members share the proceeds. Thanks to race organizers Global Sportx Group and more than 70 community volunteers, race day went off without a hitch, and the runners enjoyed a beautiful early morning run through Flamingo and Potrero, said an announcement. There were distances of five and 10 kilometers. |
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| From Page 7; Monsanto protest planned for Saturday By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Preserve Planet, the local environmental organization, will be demonstrating against the Monsanto Corp. Saturday at the Plaza de la Cultura. The 2 p.m. protest will be part of a worldwide movement against the U.S. agrochemical giant. Luis Diego Marín Schumacher, the organization's coordinator, said the worldwide protest is expected to involve 3.5 million. Among other products Monsanto created genetically modified crops that withstand the firm's herbicides. That way farmers do not have to cultivate their crops so often. But the coordinator notes that this has led to legal action as Monsanto tried to prevent unauthorized use of its genetic material. The company blames farmers if the wind brings modified pollen to their fields to create seeds, he said. Marín Schumacher also said that he expected the new administration to respect those cantons that have declared themselves free of genetically modified agriculture and also to require labeling of packages containing such products. He said that he expects a national moratorium on genetically modified organisms to be approved, It is in the legislature as No. 18.941. He also said he expected a decree to reform the Comisión Técnica de Bioseguridad that has approved the use of genetically modified seeds. He said that the biodiversity panel should be independent of the technical-scientific culture and include participation for the public. |
