New virus effort here
is more sophisticated now


Spammers and those who seek to spread computer viruses are getting much more sophisticated.

Recent efforts invite recipients to click on an attachment that appears to be a Web page. In some cases the attachment is a .pdf file.

In either case computer experts said that the Web site will install an unwanted computer worm that will spread through future e-mail contacts.

The e-mails have the subject lines "just for you," "resume" and "here you have." The messages seem legitimate and talk of attached financial statements or similar. Unlike prior efforts, these e-mails seem to change the subject line and the sender name, so they cannot be removed in bulk.

Some tell the recipient that they must have Java installed to read the Web page.

La Carpio is target
of police mobilization


When police go to La Carpio, the low-income area in La Uruca, they usually go in force.  That was the case Sunday afternoon when the Fuerza Pública tactical squads entered the area.

This is one of the sections of the city where police usually do not go. Hence the residents have minimal law enforcement protection and the area is overrun by gangs.

Police said that Sunday they not only went into the main area but also the sections that are identified with youth gangs. These include La Cuerva del Sapo and Las Gradas. The operation is part of a larger police effort to increase their presence in four main areas of San José.

Gang members and others have been known to object to police presence. There have been running battles in the past where bullets were fired, rocks were thrown, patrol cars were destroyed and police used tear gas. None of that happened Sunday, and police checked the identities of persons they encountered. That resulted in five arrests, mostly on robbery warrants.

Fish with super growth genes
nearing the dinner table


A genetically modified variety of salmon may soon become the first bio-engineered animal to reach dinner tables.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week is considering whether to approve the new product. The company that developed the salmon says it will mean more of this healthy fish on the market. But opponents say it has not been studied enough for its health and environmental safety.

Low in bad fat and high in healthy oils, salmon is the third most-popular seafood in the United States. The United States imported a billion dollars' worth of the orange-fleshed fish last year. And that demand is expected to grow worldwide.

"We expect as the world population increases, the requirement for high quality protein sources will increase," says Ronald Stotish, president of AquaBounty Technologies. "Fish are among the most efficient converters of feed to edible protein." 

AquaBounty added growth genes from two other fish to the Atlantic salmon. The modified fish reaches full size in half the time of its unmodified cousin. That's a big advantage for fish growers. And company tests show the fish is as safe to eat as regular salmon.

Scientific advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have raised no objections. But about 50 protesters did recently in Washington — in front of the White House. Wenonah Hauter of the advocacy group Food and Water Watch says the FDA hasn't studied the fish closely enough.

"Why are they using three studies with very small samples that the data is not available to the public, and one of the studies is 19 years old? There hasn't been a real process to look at what the food safety implications . . . "

In addition to food safety questions, Hauter says the modified salmon could escape from fish farms and wipe out native fish.

FDA officials are meeting this month to consider whether to let AquaBounty's fish on the market.

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