[rael-science] First tests for stem cell therapy are near

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/29/AR2010082901854.html

First tests for stem cell therapy are near

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 29, 2010; 6:14 PM

Even as supporters of human embryonic stem cell research are reeling from last week's sudden cutoff of federal funding, another portentous landmark is quietly approaching: the world's first attempt to carefully test the cells in people.

Scientists are poised to inject cells created from embryonic stem cells into some patients with a progressive form of blindness and others with devastating spinal cord injuries. That's a welcome step for researchers eager to move from the laboratory to the clinic and for patients hoping for cures. But beyond being loathsome to those with moral objections to any research using cells from human embryos, the tests are worrying many proponents: Some argue that the experiments are premature, others question whether they are ethical, and many fear that the trials risk disaster for the field if anything goes awry.

"We desperately need to know how these cells are going to perform in the human setting," said John Gearhart, a stem cell pioneer at the University of Pennsylvania. "But are we transplanting cells that are going to cause tumors? Will they will stay where you put them and do what you want them to do?"

Supporters of these privately funded, government-sanctioned tests, including patients' advocates, bioethicists and officials at the companies sponsoring them, are confident that research has been exhaustively vetted. The Food and Drug Administration has demanded extensive experiments in the laboratory and on animals to provide evidence that the cells are safe enough to test in people and hold great promise.

"We're very optimistic," said Thomas B. Okarma, president and chief executive of Geron Corp. of Menlo Park, Calif., which after years of delay received a green light in July from the FDA to study patients partially paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. "If we're right, we'll revolutionize the treatment of many chronic diseases."

But some researchers fear that the stakes jumped even higher with the federal judge's decision blocking federal funding. If patients are hurt by the cells - or even if there's no hint the cells help - that could be a devastating blow just as scientists are scrambling for funding from private foundations and benefactors. They cite the case of Jesse Gelsinger, whose 1999 death from a gene therapy experiment set that once highly touted field back years.

"There's a lot of angst around these trials," said Evan Y. Snyder, director of the stem cell program at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in San Diego. "There's going to be this perception that if the cells do not perform well, the entire field will be illegitimate."

Most of the apprehension focuses on the Geron trial. Safety worries - most prominently fears that the cells could cause tumors - prompted the FDA to repeatedly demand additional data from Geron, including most recently assurance cysts that developed in mice injected with the cells posed no threat.

"We jumped through a lot of hoops to convince a lot of audiences," Okarma said. No one wants another Jesse Gelsinger."

While Geron eventually hopes to test the cells on many patients the first trial will involve 10 partially paralyzed by a spinal cord injury in the previous one to two weeks. Surgeons will inject the first patient with about 2 million "oligodendrocyte progenitor cells," created from embryonic stem cells, in the hopes the cells will form a restorative coating around the damaged spinal cord. In tests in hundreds of rats, partially paralyzed animals walked.

The trial is designed primarily to ensure the cells are safe. But researchers will look for signs that the therapy restores sensation or enables patients to regain movement.

"If we were able to do that, it would be a phenomenally positive result," Okarma said.

Spinal cord injuries, however, are highly unpredictable and in many ways mysterious. Patients can often improve on their own, for example, which will make it difficult to evaluate whether the cells had any effect. Some wonder whether trauma victims who have so recently suffered a life-altering injury will agree to the experiments out of desperation without fully grasping the risks.

"Think of it this way: You are a healthy young person, you have had a terrible accident, you wake up in the hospital and are told that you will never walk again, that you will paralyzed for the rest of your life," Stanford University bioethicist David Magnus wrote in an e-mail. "Then you are told that there is a Phase I stem cell clinical trial that you are eligible for, but a decision needs to be made quickly. It would be hard to imagine that would be the optimal scenario from the point of view of informed consent."

In the meantime, officials at Advanced Cell Technology of Menlo Park, Calif., are hoping for the FDA's go-ahead to start possibly even sooner injecting 50,000 to 200,000 cells into the eyes of 12 patients suffering from Stargardt's macular dystrophy. Retinal pigmented epithelial cells, also made from human embryonic stem cells, should replace those ravaged by the progressive loss of eyesight, usually beginning in childhood. Studies in rats found the cells helped prevent further vision loss and even restored some sight. The company hopes the approach will work for many conditions, including the leading cause of blindness among the elderly.

"These diseases are devastating," said Robert Lanza, Advanced Cell Technology's chief scientific officer. "If we could make difference, it would be profoundly important."

Christopher Goodrich, 55, of Portland, Ore., whose eyes started failing at age 7 and now sees the world as if looking through a dense fog, hopes he might be one of the first patients.

"The thought of being able to regain some of my vision - to be able to go back to work, to ride a bike, to even be able to see the moon - would just be so awesome," Goodrich said.

But safety worries linger for both studies. Patients risk making their conditions worse - perhaps becoming fully paralyzed or losing whatever vision they have left.

"It's one thing if you are doing a treatment for a disease where the patient is going to die without treatment," Magnus said. "It's another if they could have a relatively good functioning life."

Okarma and Lanza said they are confident the therapies are safe. Only patients 18 or older will be initially considered for the eye study, and the treatment will only be administered to one eye to ensure the patients retain at least some vision in a worst-case scenario, Lanza said. Even if there are problems with the spinal cord damage victims, Geron's research shows the cells do not leave the site of the injury, indicating patients would not suffer any ill effects, Okarma said. Extra precautions, including assigning each subject an independent advocate, will guarantee that volunteers fully understand their decisions, he said.

"If human embryonic stem cells are going to be useful in treating humans, someone has to be the first one to try it," said Hank Greely, a Stanford lawyer and bioethicist. "They need to have their fingers crossed and hold their lucky rabbit's foot and be really careful in their preparations, because before you try something in humans you never know what's going to happen."



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"Ethics"  is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.

There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.

On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.

                                    Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Climate Change Implicated in Decline of Horseshoe Crabs

 

Climate Change Implicated in Decline of Horseshoe Crabs

Decline may affect at-risk shorebirds
Released: 8/30/2010 11:24:03 AM

Contact Information:
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Office of Communication
119 National Center
Reston, VA 20192


LEETOWN, W. Va. — A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes.

The new research also indicates that horseshoe crabs numbers may continue to decline in the future because of predicted climate change, said Tim King, a scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a lead author on the new study published in Molecular Ecology.

While the current decline in horseshoe crabs is attributed in great part to overharvest for fishing bait and for the pharmaceutical industry, the new research indicates that climate change also appears to have historically played a role in altering the numbers of successfully reproducing horseshoe crabs. More importantly, said King, predicted future climate change, with its accompanying sea-level rise and water temperature fluctuations, may well limit horseshoe crab distribution and interbreeding, resulting in distributional changes and localized and regional population declines, such as happened after the last Ice Age.

"Using genetic variation, we determined the trends between past and present population sizes of horseshoe crabs and found that a clear decline in the number of horseshoe crabs has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age," said King.

The research substantiated recent significant declines in all areas where horseshoe crabs occur along the West Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with the possible exception of a distinct population along the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

These findings, combined with the results of a 2005 study by King and colleagues, have important implications for the welfare of wildlife that rely on nutrient-rich horseshoe crab eggs for food each spring.

For example, Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, which used to feed mainly on adult horseshoe crabs and blue crabs in Chesapeake Bay, already have been forced to find other less suitable sources of food, perhaps contributing to declines in Virginia's sea turtle abundance. Additionally, horseshoe crab eggs are an important source of food for millions of migrating shorebirds. This is particularly true for the red knot, an at-risk shorebird that uses horseshoe crab eggs at Delaware Bay to refuel during its marathon migration of some 10,000 miles. Since the late 1990s, both horseshoe crabs and red knot populations in the Delaware Bay area have declined, although census numbers for horseshoe crabs have increased incrementally recently.

"Population size decreases of these ancient mariners have implications beyond the obvious," King said. "Genetic diversity is the most fundamental level of biodiversity, providing the raw material for evolutionary processes to act upon and affording populations the opportunity to adapt to their surroundings. For this reason, the low effective population sizes indicated in the new study give one pause."

These studies should help conservation managers make better-informed decisions about protecting horseshoe crabs and other species with a similar evolutionary history. For example, the 2005 study indicated males moved between bays but females did not, suggesting management efforts may best be targeted at local populations instead of regional ones since an absence of enough females may result in local extinctions.

"Consequently, harvest limitations on females in populations with low numbers may be a useful management strategy, as well as relocating females from adjacent bays to help restore certain populations," King said. "Both studies highlight the importance of considering both climatic change and other human-caused factors such as overharvest in understanding the population dynamics of this and other species."

Background on Horseshoe Crabs

Horseshoe crabs are not crabs at all – in fact, they are more closely related to spiders, ticks and scorpions. While historically horseshoe crabs have been used in fertilizer, most horseshoe crab harvest today comes from the fishing industry, which uses the crab as bait, and the pharmaceutical industry, which collects their blood for its clotting properties. While the crabs are returned after their blood is taken, the estimated mortality rate for bled horseshoe crabs can be as high as 30 percent.

The research, Population dynamics of American horseshoe crabs—historic climatic events and recent anthropogenic pressures, was published in the June issue of Molecular Ecology and was authored by Søren Faurby (Aarhus University, Denmark), Tim King, Matthias Obst (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) and others.

The 2005 study, Regional differentiation and sex-biased dispersal among populations of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), was published in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society and authored by Tim King, Mike Eackles Adrian Spidle (USGS) and Jane Brockman (University of Florida).

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[rael-science] Smoking cannabis found to ease pain caused by damaged nerves

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1307349/Smoking-cannabis-ease-pain-caused-damaged-nerves.html

Smoking cannabis found to ease pain caused by damaged nerves

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:06 PM on 30th August 2010

Puffing cannabis from a pipe can significantly reduce chronic pain in patients with damaged nerves, a small study has shown.

Pill preparations of cannabis extract have previously been successful in treating certain types of pain. But researchers avoided studying the effects of smoking cannabis, as if taking the drug to get high.

A team of Canadian scientists conducted a trial to test inhaled cannabis in 21 patients with chronic neuropathic pain caused by traumatic injury or surgery. This condition effects around one to two per cent of the population.

The researchers used herbal cannabis, or "grass", at four potency levels.

Patients aged 25 to 77 were asked to smoke 25 milligrams of the drug from a pipe three times a day.

The highest-potency cannabis, containing 9.4 per cent of the active ingredient THC, reduced pain, decreased anxiety and depression, and aided sleep.

Lead researcher Dr Mark Ware of McGill University Health Centre, said: 'We found that 25mg herbal cannabis with 9.4 per cent THC, administered as a single smoked inhalation three times daily for five days, significantly reduces average pain intensity compared with a placebo in adult subjects with chronic post-traumatic/post-surgical neuropathic pain.'

No serious adverse effects occurred during the trial. All the patients taking active cannabis reported one occasion of feeling 'high' and euphoric, and some complained of headaches, dry eyes, a burning sensation, dizziness, numbness and coughs.

No significant changes in vital signs, heart rate or kidney function were recorded.
The findings, reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ, are believed to be the first from a clinical trial of smoked cannabis.

However, The Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned that the drug could trigger mental health problems among people with a family history of conditions such as depression of schizophrenia.

Cannabis can also make users feel paranoid or unmotivated.

Despite these risks, the authors of the latest research recommended more studies with higher potencies of THC, longer follow-up periods, and flexible dosing.

Long-term safety studies of smoked cannabis for medical purposes were also needed, said the researchers.

In an accompanying commentary, Professor Henry McQuay, a pain expert from Oxford University, said that getting the trial over regulatory hurdles 'must have been a major nightmare'.

He added: 'This trial adds to the trickle of evidence that cannabis may help some of the patients who are struggling at present.'

Cannabis is a Class B drug meaning it is illegal to have, give away or sell. Those charged with possession could be imprisoned for up to five years. Supplying has a sentence of up to 14 years and an unlimited fine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full
capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I
agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe
it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or
do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our
philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian
fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader
was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the
weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or
religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It
just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common
sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to
understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it
is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very
clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed
and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change
to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for
medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be
absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies
or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love
and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics"  is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.

There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.

On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.

                                    Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tell your friends who love scientific news that they can
subscribe to this list !!

They can do it by sending a blank email to:
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It's free !
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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                 rael-science-select-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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-----------------------------------------------------------------

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[rael-science] Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Raelian Movement
for those who are not afraid of the future : http://www.rael.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/7970619/Obama-could-kill-fossil-fuels-overnight-with-a-nuclear-dash-for-thorium.html

Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium
If Barack Obama were to marshal America's vast scientific and strategic resources behind a new Manhattan Project, he might reasonably hope to reinvent the global energy landscape and sketch an end to our dependence on fossil fuels within three to five years.


By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Published: 6:55PM BST 29 Aug 2010

We could then stop arguing about wind mills, deepwater drilling, IPCC hockey sticks, or strategic reliance on the Kremlin. History will move on fast.

Muddling on with the status quo is not a grown-up policy. The International Energy Agency says the world must invest $26 trillion (£16.7 trillion) over the next 20 years to avert an energy shock. The scramble for scarce fuel is already leading to friction between China, India, and the West.

There is no certain bet in nuclear physics but work by Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) on the use of thorium as a cheap, clean and safe alternative to uranium in reactors may be the magic bullet we have all been hoping for, though we have barely begun to crack the potential of solar power.

Dr Rubbia says a tonne of the silvery metal – named after the Norse god of thunder, who also gave us Thor's day or Thursday - produces as much energy as 200 tonnes of uranium, or 3,500,000 tonnes of coal. A mere fistful would light London for a week.

Thorium eats its own hazardous waste. It can even scavenge the plutonium left by uranium reactors, acting as an eco-cleaner. "It's the Big One," said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA rocket engineer and now chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering.

"Once you start looking more closely, it blows your mind away. You can run civilisation on thorium for hundreds of thousands of years, and it's essentially free. You don't have to deal with uranium cartels," he said.

Thorium is so common that miners treat it as a nuisance, a radioactive by-product if they try to dig up rare earth metals. The US and Australia are full of the stuff. So are the granite rocks of Cornwall. You do not need much: all is potentially usable as fuel, compared to just 0.7pc for uranium.

After the Manhattan Project, US physicists in the late 1940s were tempted by thorium for use in civil reactors. It has a higher neutron yield per neutron absorbed. It does not require isotope separation, a big cost saving. But by then America needed the plutonium residue from uranium to build bombs.

"They were really going after the weapons," said Professor Egil Lillestol, a world authority on the thorium fuel-cycle at CERN. "It is almost impossible make nuclear weapons out of thorium because it is too difficult to handle. It wouldn't be worth trying." It emits too many high gamma rays.

You might have thought that thorium reactors were the answer to every dream but when CERN went to the European Commission for development funds in 1999-2000, they were rebuffed.

Brussels turned to its technical experts, who happened to be French because the French dominate the EU's nuclear industry. "They didn't want competition because they had made a huge investment in the old technology," he said.

Another decade was lost. It was a sad triumph of vested interests over scientific progress. "We have very little time to waste because the world is running out of fossil fuels. Renewables can't replace them. Nuclear fusion is not going work for a century, if ever," he said.

The Norwegian group Aker Solutions has bought Dr Rubbia's patent for the thorium fuel-cycle, and is working on his design for a proton accelerator at its UK operation.

Victoria Ashley, the project manager, said it could lead to a network of pint-sized 600MW reactors that are lodged underground, can supply small grids, and do not require a safety citadel. It will take £2bn to build the first one, and Aker needs £100mn for the next test phase.

The UK has shown little appetite for what it regards as a "huge paradigm shift to a new technology". Too much work and sunk cost has already gone into the next generation of reactors, which have another 60 years of life.

So Aker is looking for tie-ups with the US, Russia, or China. The Indians have their own projects - none yet built - dating from days when they switched to thorium because their weapons programme prompted a uranium ban.

America should have fewer inhibitions than Europe in creating a leapfrog technology. The US allowed its nuclear industry to stagnate after Three Mile Island in 1979.

Anti-nuclear neorosis is at last ebbing. The White House has approved $8bn in loan guarantees for new reactors, yet America has been strangely passive. Where is the superb confidence that put a man on the moon?

A few US pioneers are exploring a truly radical shift to a liquid fuel based on molten-fluoride salts, an idea once pursued by US physicist Alvin Weinberg at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee in the 1960s. The original documents were retrieved by Mr Sorensen.

Moving away from solid fuel may overcome some of thorium's "idiosyncracies". "You have to use the right machine. You don't use diesel in a petrol car: you build a diesel engine," said Mr Sorensen.

Thorium-fluoride reactors can operate at atmospheric temperature. "The plants would be much smaller and less expensive. You wouldn't need those huge containment domes because there's no pressurized water in the reactor. It's close-fitting," he said.

Nuclear power could become routine and unthreatening. But first there is the barrier of establishment prejudice.

When Hungarian scientists led by Leo Szilard tried to alert Washington in late 1939 that the Nazis were working on an atomic bomb, they were brushed off with disbelief. Albert Einstein interceded through the Belgian queen mother, eventually getting a personal envoy into the Oval Office.

Roosevelt initially fobbed him off. He listened more closely at a second meeting over breakfast the next day, then made up his mind within minutes. "This needs action," he told his military aide. It was the birth of the Manhattan Project. As a result, the US had an atomic weapon early enough to deter Stalin from going too far in Europe.

The global energy crunch needs equal "action". If it works, Manhattan II could restore American optimism and strategic leadership at a stroke: if not, it is a boost for US science and surely a more fruitful way to pull the US out of perma-slump than scattershot stimulus.

Even better, team up with China and do it together, for all our sakes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WARNING FROM RAEL: For those who don't use their intelligence at its full
capacity, the label "selected by RAEL" on some articles does not mean that I
agree with their content or support it. "Selected by RAEL" means that I believe
it is important for the people of this planet to know about what people think or
do, even when what they think or do is completely stupid and against our
philosophy. When I selected articles in the past about stupid Christian
fundamentalists in America praying for rain, I am sure no Rael-Science reader
was stupid enough to believe that I was supporting praying to change the
weather. So, when I select articles which are in favor of drugs, anti-semitic,
anti-Jewish, racist, revisionist, or inciting hatred against any group or
religion, or any other stupid article, it does not mean that I support them. It
just means that it is important for all human beings to know about them. Common
sense, which is usually very good among our readers, is good enough to
understand that. When, like in the recent articles on drug decriminalization, it
is necessary to make it clearer, I add a comment, which in this case was very
clear: I support decriminalizing all drugs, as it is stupid to throw depressed
and sad people (as only depressed and sad people use drugs) in prison and ruin
their life with a criminal record. That does not mean that there is any change
to the Message which says clearly that we must not use any drug except for
medical purposes. The same applies to the freedom of expression which must be
absolute. That does not mean again of course that I agree with anti-Jews,
antisemites, racists of any kind or anti-Raelians. But by knowing your enemies
or the enemies of your values, you are better equipped to fight them. With love
and respect of course, and with the wonderful sentence of the French philosopher
Voltaire in mind: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ethics"  is simply a last-gasp attempt by deist conservatives and
orthodox dogmatics to keep humanity in ignorance and obscurantism,
through the well tried fermentation of fear, the fear of science and
new technologies.

There is nothing glorious about what our ancestors call history, 
it is simply a succession of mistakes, intolerances and violations.

On the contrary, let us embrace Science and the new technologies
unfettered, for it is these which will liberate mankind from the
myth of god, and free us from our age old fears, from disease,
death and the sweat of labour.

                                    Rael
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Tell your friends who love scientific news that they can
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They can do it by sending a blank email to:
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e-NASS CfA:Training in (Forced) Migration and Human Rights: Challenges and Approaches for European Citizenship Education

 

Theme: Training in (Forced) Migration and Human Rights: Challenges and
Approaches for European Citizenship Education
 
 
Would you like to spend five days in Berlin at the end of October?
 
Are you passionate about issues concerning Forced Migration and Human Rights?
 
Will you be happy to participate in a relevant Training Event organized by the
European Commission?
 
If yes, then you should attend the Advanced Training in (Forced) Migration and
Human Rights: Challenges and Approaches for European Citizenship Education
offered by the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" and by the
"Europe for Citizens Programme" of the European Commission.  The Seminar will
take place on 27-31 October in Berlin and is devoted to active learning and the
dialogue on (forced) migrations and human rights in Europe´s past and present.
For more information please see at the relevant attachment.  
 
Deadline for Application: 27 September 2010
 
 
Kind Regards,
Eleni Kanava
Junior Project Manager
EUROCLIO
European Association of History Educators
Laan van Meerdervoort 70
2517 AN The Hague
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 70 3817836
Fax: +31 70 3853669
Mobile: +31 626598235
E-Mail: eleni@euroclio.nl
Website: http://www.euroclio.eu
 

--
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Semih Aktekin
Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi,
Fatih Eğitim Fakültesi, D Blok
Akçaabat/ Trabzon
TURKEY

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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The e-NASS, outnumbering 5100 subscribers, aims to deepen interaction for further inter/intra/trans/multi-disciplinary communication within the academic community of scholars, professionals and students from all branches of social sciences. The language of communication at e-NASS is English; however, contributions in other languages are highly welcomed should they include an abstract in English. This e-network enthusiastically encourages its members to disseminate and share announcements of Call for Papers, Fellowships/Scholarships, Conferences, Graduate Programs, Websites, Publications, Summer Schools, Jobs, Internships and etc. If you have any scholarly announcement concerning social sciences, please do not hesitate to share it within this e-community. The e-NASS is essentially generalist to revive renaissance wo/men with global and historical perspectives covering from the mist-shrouded steppes of Asia to the sun-drenched African, American and European shores without neglecting the exotic Oceania. In order to protect its subscribers vis-�-vis the virus-spreading, hoax and spam e-mails, the e-NASS is strictly moderated while e-mails containing attachments are automatically removed. This e-network discourages commercial advertisements as well as it is essentially irrelevant to any form of activism or advocacy of any particular perspective. Thus, messages of discussions, demonstrations and calls to action are not permitted. When forwarding e-NASS announcements to your friends and other e-groups, signifying e-NASS as the source will be highly appreciated as extent of your courtesy.
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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Scientists Bring New Species of Turtle out of Its Shell

 

Pascagoula, MS — When scientists announce the discovery of a new animal species, we often imagine exotic, difficult to reach locations -- the untouched shore of a distant island, the forests of the rain-drenched Amazon or the darkest depths of the Arctic Ocean.

But the recent announcement of a new species of turtle in the southeastern United States proves that even in a country considered to be well-explored, perhaps more awaits discovery.

In June, Jeff Lovich, NAU adjunct faculty member in biology, and Josh Ennen, NAU affiliate, published the discovery of a new species of turtle in Chelonian Conservation and Biology International Journal of Turtle and Tortoise Research.

Found in the Pearl River, which flows through Mississippi and Louisiana before it meets the Gulf of Mexico, the newly named Pearl Map Turtle, or Graptemys pearlensis, had been mistaken for a turtle native to the neighboring Pascagoula River. Ennen found it odd that the Pascagoula Map Turtle was found in both rivers and wanted to further investigate.

Ennen was completing his dissertation at University of Southern Mississippi when he decided to take a closer look at the inhabitants of the two rivers. His research led him to Lovich, who had found, described and named the last turtle species in the same region in 1992.

"I was familiar with Jeff's work when questions started coming up," Ennen said. "Based on the genetics, morphology and geographic isolation, I was considering classifying the turtles as distinct population segments when I decided to contact Jeff."

Lovich, a research ecologist with U.S. Geological Survey's Colorado Plateau Station at NAU, shared his findings and insight as the scientists built their case for classification of the new turtle species. His access to geologic and geographic data with the USGS assisted in their developing theory that the turtles had evolved into separate species.

"You'd expect to see similar aquatic species in these rivers due to their proximity," Lovich said. "However, with sea level changes associated with glacial and interglacial periods in the past, animals in these rivers were periodically separated for tens of thousands to millions of years."

Ennen and Lovich observed pattern variations between turtles in two rivers, and examining their DNA verified that the turtle endemic to each river was a different species.

The announcement of the Pearl Map Turtle brings the number of native turtle species in the United States to 57, including six in Arizona, with approximately 320 species documented worldwide.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Hundreds of dolphins make themselves at home in waters of southwest B.C.

 

Hundreds of dolphins make themselves at home in waters of southwest B.C.


By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver
Sun August 30, 2010


Marine biologists are stumped as to why dolphins, which are typically found in offshore waters near the north and west side of Vancouver Island, are being seen more often in the inlets and closer to shore.

VANCOUVER - When the first white-sided dolphin showed up in Echo Bay in the Broughton Islands about 13 years ago, Billy Proctor had no idea what it was.

Proctor, who grew up in the Broughtons, near the north end of Vancouver Island, had never seen one of the mammals before. Now he sees hundreds of them daily hanging out close to shore.

"They just keep increasing," Proctor said in an interview on his satellite phone. "I guess their population is probably exploding because there's tons of babies everywhere. I don't think they're supposed to be here."

Marine biologists are also stumped as to why dolphins, which are typically found in offshore waters near the north and west side of Vancouver Island, are being seen more often in the inlets and closer to shore.

In May, nearly 200 Pacific white-sided dolphins were sighted around Howe Sound, a rare phenomenon.

Lance Barrett-Lennard, a zoologist with the Vancouver Aquarium, said the arrival of dolphins closer to shore is a treat for most people because few have seen them outside the aquarium.

On his recent travels up near Bella Bella, Barrett-Lennard said he saw few dolphins in offshore waters, while 15 years ago they were plentiful.

"I was a bit worried when I first went up where I usually see dolphins and there weren't any," he said. "For some reason they seem to be further inshore."

Dolphins started moving closer to land in the mid-1980s but the reason is still unknown. It could have been a result of a food shortage — it was before a moratorium was imposed on the drift-net squid fishery — or changing water temperatures.

Barrett-Lennard said a recent rash of attacks on dolphins by transient killer whales may have also been a factor. In Fitz Hugh Sound earlier this year, 20 dolphins were killed by killer whales, he said, while there have been sightings of killer whales closing in around schools of dolphins in other areas.

John Ford, of the federal department of fisheries and oceans, said dolphins often play with resident killer whales, but when they see a transient killer whale they'll go the other way.

Proctor said he was concerned when he saw a group of dolphins attacking a humpback whale recently.

"They were just leaping on his back. If I didn't scare them away they would have killed that humpback whale."

But Ford and Barrett-Lennard said while dolphins can be aggressive and frustrate humpbacks, they can't kill them.

Barrett-Lennard said the dolphins are likely stealing the whales' food by breaking up schools of fish. Humpback whales need tight schools of fish to feed on.

"Dolphins do harass humpbacks sometimes," he said, adding they will also nip at the whales' flukes.

But while there are more sightings of dolphins, marine biologists say there likely isn't a huge population growth as dolphins, which can live for 40 years, reproduce slowly.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Camera paints colorful orca portrait

 

Camera paints colorful orca portrait

GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News

SEATTLE - When researchers at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Lab first released infrared footage they captured of Southern Resident Orcas in the San Juan Islands, it took off like wildfire on the web.

Now we're learning more about why they set up a camera at San Juan Island's Lime Kiln Park to get those images.

Jim Thomson of the lab told us they were testing ways of detecting orcas at night at the request of the Snohomish PUD, which is considering a tidal energy project in Puget Sound.

Masters student Joe Graber, who coordinated the research, said it was an amazing success. The colorful images clearly show the outline of the orcas in the pitch darkness of an early morning and he said he can use it to detect orcas from a great distance.

Operators of a possible tidal energy project could use that information to shut down the turbines of the plant long before orcas passed through the area.

Just as important is the underwater sound emitted by the orcas. Scott Veirs of Beam Reach, a marine science school, said when the images are blended with the orca sounds received by an expanding network of hydrophones, they can not only detect the orcas way in advance, they can identify the individual pods by the customary squeaks, clicks and whistles.

This information would be required for a tidal energy project or any other in-water project that could affect orcas or other sea life.

You can tap into the hydrophone network for sounds of the orcas by logging on the following website: http://orcasound.net.

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