Maggie, Hugs!!! Farmer-to-Farmer Extension: Lessons From the Field - Now available from World Neighbors! By Daniel Selener, Jacqueline Chenier, Raul Zelaya, et al. Published by IIRR, this book is the result of two workshops, one in Honduras and another in Ecuador, that were conducted to document and analyze the experiences of several rural development projects, using the "farmer-to-farmer" extension methodology. Most of the information contained in the book is from the farmer promoters' points of view, based on many years of their practical experience working in farmer-to-farmer programs. Price: $15; 150 pp, Language: E,S; 1997; Item No: 356 Reasons for Resiliency: Toward a Sustainable Recovery after Hurricane Mitch - NEW! This report presents the methods and findings of an action research effort which included 2000 farmers, promoters, and local organizations as full partners in the research process from beginning to end and was designed to stimulate reflection and action based upon the lessons learned. The report concludes that alternative farming methods staved off the worst of the damage caused by Hurricane Mitch on thousands of farms in Central America. This landmark study, conducted by World Neighbors with backing from the Ford, Rockefeller, Summit, and Inter-American foundations, indicates that land use patterns in Central America amplified the storm's damage-and that conservation measures could dramatically reduce damage from future disasters. Price: $5.00; 32 pp, Language: E,S; 2000; Item No: 355 Changing Course: Recovery & Research After Hurricane Mitch (video) - NEW! This 17-minute documentary video complements the Reasons for Resiliency report and shows how farmer researchers discovered that lands farmed using sustainable agricultural methods were less damaged than farms cultivated conventionally. Filmed and produced by Nicole Betancourt with Bray Poor and other associates of Nota Bene Productions. Price: $5.00 (VHS/NTSL format, Item No: 725); $10.00 (VHS/PAL format, Item No: 726); 17 minutes; Language: E,S; 1998. World Neighbors In Action: Learning to Confront Disasters Like Hurricane Mitch: A Research Methodology Guide (vol. 27-2) NEW! Participatory Action Research (PAR) methods were used to collect and analyze the impact of Hurricane Mitch on land cultivated using agro-ecological methods and those cultivated using conventional methods. Price: $2.00; 8 pages; Language: E, S, F; Item No. WNIA272; 2001 The Practical Guide to Dryland Farming series is a collaborative effort of World Neighbors, Studio Driya Media, and Yayasan Tananua in Indonesia, with additional input from several other grassroots organizations working throughout the region. The practices discussed are applicable to semi-arid conditions, such as those found in regions of southeastern Indonesia. Each booklet is beautifully illustrated with detailed line drawings and succinct accompanying text. There are two NEW titles in this series: Family Forests - NEW! This booklet provides sound reasons and methods for establishing a forest on portions of a family farm. It includes uses of the family forest and step by step instructions for developing a family forest. Price: $4.00; 43 pp; Language: E; Item No: 230 Farm Planning - NEW! Just published in English, this booklet describes a process of farm planning that begins with systematically analyzing a family's needs, expectations, and resources and helps the farmer plan an ideal farm that can meet these needs. Price: $4.00; 36 pp; Language: E; Item No: 231 Other titles include: Introduction to Soil and Water Conservation Practices This practical guide explains the basic principles of protecting soil from erosion, maintaining soil fertility and utilizing rainfall. Techniques described and illustrated include the construction of contour canals and drainage control ditches, and the introduction of plants to increase soil fertility and reduce erosion. Price: $4.00; 42 pp; Language: E; Item No: 221 Contour Farming with Living Barriers This booklet contains information about the importance of diversity in agroforestry. It presents erosion reducing techniques including planting methods, terrace maintenance, and different uses of live barriers. Price: $4.00; 38 pp; Language: E; Item No: 222 Integrated Farm Management This booklet addresses the importance of diversifying farm activities to increase productivity and reduce agricultural risk. It presents information on soil conservation and fertility, cropping patterns, livestock, growing tree crops, and using cover crops. Price: $4.00; 36 pp; Language: E; Item No: 223 Planting Tree Crops This booklet covers the basic steps of tree planting and care. Propagation methods such as air-layering and grafting are also described. Includes a worksheet for gathering information about trees in a community. Price: $4.00; 38 pp; Language: E; Item No: 227 Soil Fertility Management This booklet further explains the methods practiced by farmers in Nusa Tenggara to maintain or increase the productivity of their farms. It includes simple diagrams and explanations of techniques to control erosion, retain water, and increase soil fertility. Price: $4.00; 31pp; Language: E; Item No: 225 Two Ears of Corn: A Guide to People-Centered Agricultural Improvement by Roland Bunch Two Ears of Corn is an empowering, people-centered account about how communities can learn to improve their own agricultural production. Drawing upon experiences from World Neighbors programs in Central America, Roland Bunch presents effective techniques on how to plan, organize, and manage a strong agricultural program. He then tells how these methods proved themselves effective, resulting in two ears of corn where only one grew before. Price: $8.00; 251 pp; Language: E,F,S; 1982; fifth edition, 2000; Item No: 202 "Two Ears of Corn is without peer, by far the best material available for teaching the entry-level development worker." William Alexander, Department of Political Science, California Polytechnic State Farmer-Led Extension Concepts and Practices Published in 1997, this is one of the first books to focus on farmer-led extension, drawing on the experiences of over 70 farmers, community workers, NGO staff, researchers, and policy makers from throughout the world. All of the approaches presented in this book promote farmers and other rural people as the principal agents of change in their communities, not only in assessing services, but also in making many of the management decisions and conducting the extension work. Farmer-Led Extension was produced in partnership by IIRR, ODI, and World Neighbors, and was published by Intermediate Technology Publications (IT). Price: $20.00; 214 pp, Language: E; 1997; Item No: 301 Farmers' Research in Practice Lessons from the Field In many parts of the world, farmers are seeking ways to improve their farming systems and to adapt their practices to changing agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. This book examines farmers' innovations through 17 wide-ranging case studies from around the world. The book explores how farmers do research, ways to improve experimental design, and how to sustain the process. The editors then bring together the lessons learned, and present some future issues and challenges for governmental and non-governmental organizations. Farmers' Research in Practice was produced in partnership by ILEIA, IIED, and World Neighbors, and was published by Intermediate Technology Publications (IT).Price: $20.00; 285 pp, Language: E;1997; Item No: 300 To order any of these publications, or to request a complete catalog, write World Neighbors, 4127 NW 122, Oklahoma City, OK 73120 USA; call 800/242-6387 (within the USA) or 405/752-9700; e-mail order@wn.org; or access the on-line bookstore at http://www.wn.org (NOTE: publication prices do not include postage)

p Science and Health News Australia to End Commercial Coral Harvest on Reef CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia is to phase out commercial coral harvesting on the Great Barrier Reef in a bid to protect the world's largest living reef formation. While it is prohibited for tourists or private individuals to take coral from the reef, there are currently 36 operators with licenses to harvest 200 tons of coral a year from 50 authorized areas. Most of the harvested coral is used in private aquariums. But Environment Minister Robert Hill said he wanted to outlaw the practice which allows licensed scuba divers to chip coral away from the reef using hammers, chisels and metal bars. "The minister believes this commercial practice is not compatible with the conservation of the reef for which the Great Barrier Reef is listed under the World Heritage Convention," a spokeswoman for Hill told Reuters on Thursday. Hill said he would discuss a phase out plan with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to try to limit the economic impact on the current operators. No timetable has been set. His spokeswoman said last year licensed operators harvested 50 tons of coral from the reef of which 25 tons was live. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest living reef formation stretching 2,000 km (1,300 miles) north to south along Australia's northeast coast. Under current laws anyone caught taking coral from the reef faces a maximum fine of A$22,000 (US$11,000) and any corporation A$110,000. The producers of U.S. reality television show "Survivor" issued a public apology in April after two cast members took coral from the reef as souvenirs during filming.

so this topic is to discuss over-populization and loss of natural habitat?

it's mostly for the impact we are having on the earth whereas ecology is mor abstract and the product of our messing with things. It can overlap a lot but the comment was something I have seen before and did not know where to put it. Your choice!!!

ok! my two cents: each individual holds an opportunity to help out the ecology (or biome) of their local area. plant a garden and recycle! *giggle*

Yup!!! Do it!!! Compost too! Forget about burning leaves in the fall, mulch those suckers! Your plants will love you for it.

Go see my woodland walk,Wolf http://homepage.eircom.net/~bree/Woodlandsetc.html and have a look at the rest of the site(just leave off /Woolandsetc.html)There you will see what one pair of hands can do to to help.I will come back and do a post on recycling later( a waste of time and energy for the most part) Liam

oh liam, thanks for the walk through your grounds. i would love to have a bunch of land to go nuts with! at least i know that my little part of the world would be a refuge for various wildlife! i understand why people feel recycling is a waste of time. here, they've stopped taking glass and colored plastics. maybe it's a feel good type of chore. recycling is an expensive venture though. and in germany, recycling is mandatory!

My favorite is triple-packaging for one tiny object so we don't steal them. I refuse to buy anything so packaged. My huge tree and banana patch is as close to heaven as I can get on my square 1/3 acre lot in Paradise, but my plants are large and leafy sheltering skinks, anoles, gekkos, and providing nesting places for cardinals, white-eyes, Chinese thrushes (my first pair and how gloriously he sings each morning and evening.) Also have lace-enceked doves (large), barred doves (tiny), manikins and mynah birds. The latter are so stupid they nest in the lowest petiole of the coconut palm. It is usually old and about ready to fall when they start building, so it takes about three tries before they succees. meanwhile all rubbish they have collected for their nests I toss in the trash to keep it tidy. *sigh* I also, when my hair is longer, leave my brush gleanings out for them to use for nest fortifying. The birds really do use it and it is really nice to think of being part of the next generation of songbi ds. Liam, one day I shall see not only your dolmen but also inhabit your wondrous woods as a nymph. How very lovely it all is. Thanks you!

Perhaps I should have called this topic Man's Inhumanity to Man. The following is part of many articles on this subject which is being swept under capets world-wide. Thanks Liam.' Elderly care is sabotaged It's no wonder Beckett has nothing to say Is the EU pulling this worker's leg? Elderly care is sabotaged THIS week the staff and residents of an old people's home in Rugby, Warwickshire, supported by vocal relatives, will meet to launch a dramatic fight-back against one of the most astonishing scandals of modern government - the way in which, for eight years, local authority social services officials have successfully managed to defy central government policy and have brought Britain's independent care homes to the brink of destruction. Katie Wright, the manager of the Rugby Care Centre, one of 145 residential and nursing homes run by Ashbourne, Britain's second largest independent care group, plans to serve notice on Warwickshire county council that, unless her residents are given the modest increases in funding of around �30 a week that are needed to make the home viable, the group will cancel its council contract. The residents will stay on, and the home will then invoice social services for money to which it is legally advised that it is entitled. Similar desperate moves were being made last week by homes elsewhere in the country, from Coventry to Aberdeen. Apart from their vital service to the community, our 15,000 independent care homes, with 660,000 staff, are, after the health service, the country's largest employer. But by deliberately starving them of funding, while loading them with ever more costly regulatory burdens, the system run by social services has in the last three years alone been responsible for the closure of more than 2,000 homes, with the loss of nearly 40,000 beds. Even more scandalous is that social services have often engineered these closures to promote the much more expensive homes run, usually to a much lower standard, by social services themselves. more... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=004826292612046&rtmo=LS7Nlitd&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/6/17/nbul117.html#go1

Scientific Investigation in Northern Tibet Kicked off LHASA, Jun 26, 2001 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- A group of Chinese experts from the Han and Tibetan ethnic groups left Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Tuesday to kick off a large-scale scientific investigation in the northern part of the this southwest China region. Experts in the fields of geology and mining, archaeology, cultural relics, history, rock painting, art, medicine and animals and plants protection will conduct an across-the-board investigation in an area of 200,000 square kilometers, a place with an elevation of over 5,000 meters during the coming one month. Approved by the regional people's government, the current investigation, part of a four-year comprehensive scientific investigation, is aimed at revealing the mysteries in the "no man's land" in northern Tibet and collecting accurate and scientific materials for protecting this piece of land, not affected by human activities. The delegation will travel 10,000 kilometers and wind up their investigation at the Geladaindong Mountain, source of China's longest river, the Yangtze. Copyright 2001 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY thanks Liam...

NIGERIA: FRESH OIL SPILLAGE http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/wa/countrystories/nigeria/20010704a.phtml Oil giant Shell suffered another major spillage at the weekend in the eastern division of the Niger Delta, 'The Guardian' reported on Tuesday. The leak, at Ogbodu village in the Ikwerre Council area, spread through the Choba River to the Calabar Creek because of the fast flow of the river, the Lagos-based newspaper said. Dead fish could be seen floating on the surface of the water, it added.

Thanks, Maggie! I saw a program on the supertankers and how many break up in a year. It is astounding - we never seem to hear about them! Apparently they have gotten so huge that the great sea waves they encounter flexes them and the hatches which are most of the main deck give way. Hatch covers are built to much less rigorous standards yet are the most vulnerable part of the ship! It was estimated that 10 per year go down with their oily cargo!

Tankers dont have hatches never mind hatch covers.

Yes, you would know. You've been there and done that. The British Engineers went to great lengths to show us large elevated square hatches and the covers that opened in the middle. There were several - bunkers? along the deck from bow to stern. If they show it again I will make notes and report back. The tankers which haul both refined product and bunker crude to Hilo do not have hatches or covers, either. They do have a mass of piping of no small dimensions on deck, however, and large brilliantly-colored signs all over the place. I suspect you were not assigned duty aboard one of these if you were a smoker!

Oh the hurt and the accusations!! poor Horace will now go and sulk having been accused by the Wicked Wahine of deliberatly sinking Tankers to pollute the oceans.Accused of sailing in ships that would fall apart without notice or by-your-leave.Having blame heaped on these innocent shoulders for the rust-buckets that ply the oceans leaking oil like a vestal virgin sprinkling rose petals before the feet of the gods.When I get time I will refute these most outragous accusations,meantime its back to painting the house

The ships you saw were BULK Carriers Marcia,not tankers,sorry no more time to exp the PAINTING COMES FIRST

OK. I bow to your superior knowledge and wisdom. Tar and feather this humble miscreant and ride me out on a rail. I deserve no less. But, I did check with the house male on my memory of the subject. I was not in error. Rather the program was and you can lay it at the feet of ITN or BBC whichever sent us the program. Happy painting. Pink with Bull's blood, is it, or have you shed mine for disturbing your peace of mind? In any case I have never implied you were responsible for boat building nor for the contents therein. Nor their spillage. You have done more to save ancient varieties of flora and fauna than anyone I know! Please be gentle with me!

HA HA I did the hurt bit nicely,should have been an actor

You are Irish - Celtic. How much more do you need from the land of the Bards and William Butler Yeats?! I imagine you can sing, beautifully, als well. I am doomed! You were very convincing to this tender heart which never wishes to offend! I owe you one!

Wonder if Maggie knows what she is getting herself into going back the the Dark Continent. Thanks to Liam for this: MORE than 800 people have been killed in northeastern Congo on suspicion of practicing witchcraft. Ugandan army commander Maj Gen Odongo Jeje confirmed the killings but was not specific about the number of people killed in Congo's Ituri province, where the Ugandan army is in control. A state-run newspaper quoted the Ugandan military command in Aru, Lt Col Fenekasi Mugenyi, as saying 800 people had been killed by July 8. Maj. Gen. Jeje said Aru residents began killing people suspected of witchcraft in June, but were stopped by Ugandan forces. Reports from the densely forested area, where there are few roads, no regular telephones or electricity, are difficult to confirm. The area borders northwestern Uganda and southern Sudan and is home to 74,000 Sudanese refugees.

Huge Genetic Variation Found in Human Beings Reuters Jul 12 2001 5:56PM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The notion of a uniform genetic blueprint for human beings took a tumble on Thursday, as the most detailed examination yet of variations in the genetic makeup of people detected unexpectedly large individual differences. Researchers with Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Inc. of New Haven, Connecticut, found astonishing variance at the genetic level in 82 unrelated people primarily from four racial backgrounds -- white, black, Asian and Hispanic. In studying 313 genes -- out of the 30,000 identified by human genome scientists -- the Genaissance researchers found that for each gene, there actually are on average 14 versions that can be inherited by a given person from parents. more... http://my.aol.com/news/news_story.psp?type=1&cat=0200&id=0107121757370043

Good news for a change:(and yes .. I know full well what I'm going back to in Africa .. dark continent indeed ..that went out with the victorians!) NORTHERN CONGO RAINFOREST SPARED BY GERMAN LOGGERS http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2001/2001L-07-09-03.html One of the last pristine rainforests in Africa will not be logged by a German timber company. Known as the Goualogo Triangle, the 100 square mile forest in the Republic of Congo contains some of the highest densities of gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants in central Africa.

WORLD LAND DATABASE CHARTS COURSE OF HUMAN CONSUMPTION http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2001/2001L-07-11-06.html Over the past 300 years, humans have dramatically transformed the land surface of the Earth, changing vegetation, reshaping hills and valleys, and altering the course of rivers. In doing so, they have set in motion a scenario of global environmental change with impacts that promise to be at least as severe as global climate change, scientists reported today at a meeting in Amsterdam.

Only 300 years? If you go further into the study of our fragile Ecology you will find that man has interfered for far longer than that...............

Genes? said it before and will do agin'... if science has only mapped fully the genes and dna of a simple mustard how come we get all these wonderful revelations on the whole damned human sebang?why cant they wait 'till they KNOW the answers before they rush into print? Marcia will confirm my constant questioning of "hard facts" and the recent Carbon Dating fiasco bears out my cynicism.Read the latest post in the Prehistoric, seems Siog knew that all along carbon dating was wrong..strange when she and Dar were ganging up on me it was different

This might fall under the classification of Human impact on other humans. I suspect there is the equivalent of intellectual stimulation but not as primitive as pheramones. I wonder why that intellectual joining can work with some and not with others. The following from Liam... Both smells and pheromones may arouse instinctive behaviors July 16, 2001 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Ever notice how male dogs come from the other side of the neighborhood when a female dog is in heat? All it takes is a few molecules of a certain chemical to enable mammals to smell their own species up to a half-mile away, said Milos Novotny, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and director of the Institute for Pheromone Research at Indiana University. The chemicals, called pheromones, are detected by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) in the animal's nose. Unlike the part of the nose that detects ordinary smells, this super-sensitive organ is connected directly to the mid-brain. "This is the shortest organ-to-brain distance in mammalian biology," Novotny said. "A cascade of biochemical processes can be triggered quite selectively by specific olfactants such as pheromones at incredibly small quantities. Studies of mammalian pheromones can have a significant effect on pest control, promoting endangered species, and, perhaps above all, for understanding our own sense of smell and associated behaviors." Signals from a mammal's nose caused by normal smells called odorants go to various places in the cortex, in the upper part of the brain, which is why humans are conscious of smells. But pheromone signals go directly to the mid-brain, without being processed by the conscious brain. What happens after that is not completely clear, but there is a lot of evidence that the animal's behavior and hormonal levels are influenced. In a paper published July 12 in the journal Nature, Novotny and co-workers at Harvard Medical School in Boston headed by Linda Buck reported that the vomeronasal organ can actually detect both odorants and pheromones. The VNO detected odorants classified as animalic, camphoraceous, citrus, floral, fruity, green/minty, musky, sweet or woody. Like pheromones, these odorants were detected at extremely small concentrations. "This suggests that in mammals, as in insects, odorous compounds released from plants or other animal species may act as 'semiochemicals' -- signaling molecules that elicit behaviors that are advantageous to the sender or the receiver," Novotny said. "The house mouse provides a classic example of an elaborate pheromone communication system: to signal inter-male aggression and dominance, to show readiness for mating, to slow down or accelerate the onset of puberty as needed, or to signal stress to the other members of a colony," he said. "Other mammals, including possibly humans, use structurally diverse substances for pheromone signaling." The established view is that mammals detect odorants in the olfactory epithelium (OE) of the nose and detect pheromones in the vomeronasal organ. OE signals are relayed to various areas in the cortex of the brain, while VNO signals are targeted to areas of the mid-brain that control instinctive drives, neuroendocrine responses and innate behaviors. The findings by Novotny and his collaborators demonstrate that the VNO and OE do not, in fact, detect mutually exclusive sets of chemicals. Novotny's laboratory identified the first definitive mammalian pheromones in the house mouse in the late 1980s, including their chemical structure, synthesis and biological effects. Before then, the term "pheromones" was largely confined to the world of insects. Since then, he has identified pheromones in rats and hamsters as well. His current emphasis is on the neurochemistry of neurons in the VNO and OE. He is the leader of interdisciplinary studies that bridge the physical sciences, life sciences and social sciences, including chemistry, neurobiology, psychobiology, biochemistry, wildlife ecology, medical sciences, and animal physiology and behavior. The Institute for Pheromone Research at IU is a center of excellence in the rapidly developing areas of chemical communication (semiochemistry) and biochemical aspects of olfactory perception. It promotes interdisciplinary collaborations between IU scientists and a worldwide network of researchers in chemical communication. http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/ocm/releases/pheromones01.htm

Liam, you are beyond the Pale for some reason (and yes, I do know the origin of that term) as far as Dar and Siog are concerned. You are not sanctioned by some recognized academic body. Look back at the history of your and my passion for archaeology and the need for precision. The scientific method seems to take flight when either the press gets hold of the information or it is leaked to them for some reason not in the best interests of archaeological credulity. I think we need to get back to the lab and do some serious work to set some time benchmarks before we run out to grab more out of context and date them all wrong again. Being politically correct is not gonna do it, either. Kennewick man is NOT Native American as the modern usage of that term denotes. I want OUR ancestor examined for every detail possible to glean from him. *Putting away my soap box before I get truly irate.*

It seems at one time al of Britain and Ireland was covered by climax forest. Very few remnants exist in England. We have been changing the land since subsistance living changed to settled farming 10,000 years ago. Good point, Liam! As usual your understatements speak volumes.

What's climax forest??? We have ancient forests around where I live .. but don't know if that's what you mean.

CLIMAX FOREST -Plant community dominated by trees representing the culminating stage of natural succession for that specific locality and environment. http://forestry.about.com/library/glossary/blforglc.htm http://home.att.net/~gklund/pristine.html Climax Forest: 1.Climax: 3 : a relatively stable ecological stage or community especially of plants that is achieved through successful adjustment to an environment; especially : the final stage in ecological succession (http://www.m-w.com/dictionary) 2.A community that represents the culminating stage of a natural forest succession for its locality, i.e., its environment. (SAF 1977) and http://www.fw.vt.edu/zedaker/3364/ecolterms.html 3.A forest community that represents the final stage of natural forest succession for its environment. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/pab/publctns/GLOSSARY/C.htm 4.A forest that represents the final stage of natural forest succession for its locality, i.e. for its environment. Often identified as those forests that can reproduce indefinitely (i.e. in their own shade). http://www.pfpn.gc.ca/rep98/gloss_e.html and http://www.inac.gc.ca/building/forests/forest_j.html 5.A relatively stable forest community which is balanced within the existing environmental conditions. http://www.gn.apc.org/LivingEarth/RainforestDB/glossary.a-e.html#climax_forest 6.A secondary forest (cloud or rain), that is allowed to reclaim its flora and fauna mostly on its own, working with pollinators (wind, rain, birds, mammals, plants, etc. And after some 100 years becomes a climax forest, in reality it can not be called a primary forest again, since it has undergo changes in its habitat from the original status, new species are introduce(exotic) and old species prevail(endemic). http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/5974/ 7.Historic Climax Plant Community -- The plant community that was best adapted to the unique combination of factors associated with the ecological site. It was in a natural dynamic equilibrium with the historic biotic. abiotic, climatic factors on its ecological site in North America at the time of European immigration and settlement. http://nsscnt.nssc.nrcs.usda.gov/nfm/apxframe.htm 8.Plant community dominated by trees representing the culminating stage of natural succession for that specific locality and environment (17). http://rredc.nrel.gov/biomass/forest/tim_glossary/t_glossary.html#C 9.The final stage of plant succession in which species composition remains relatively stable. The climax forest for most of Mississippi would be the oak-hickory forest type. Pine is an intermediate species prior to the climax forest. http://ext.msstate.edu/pubs/pub1250.htm

Nice links,thank you Marcia

I thought you might make a comment on the climax forests outside Washington DC, but I guess they are now a freeway or cemeteries or both. Thanks for making me do my homework. This is where I also learn!

Ok .. so the ancient beech forests around high wycombe count?

This bit of amazement comes from Liam. I was kidding when I suggested it... Polynesian 'relative' lays claim to Kennewick Man This story was published 7/26/2001 By Mike Lee Herald staff writer Just when the 5-year-old Kennewick Man lawsuit seemed in danger of coming to a close, along comes Paramount Chieftain Faumuina, a k a Joseph Siofele. Siofele, 65, who claims to be a direct descendent of the first rulers of Polynesia, added another layer of complexity to the case late last week when he filed demands in U.S. District Court that the ancient Kennewick bones be turned over to him. While his request may well be rejected, it adds an intriguing twist to a lawsuit that has drawn international attention because of what the bones could say about the peopling of the Americas. So far, scientific theories have focused on where Kennewick Man's ancestors originated. Siofele takes another approach, claiming Samoa was peopled by Kennewick Man's descendants. Siofele's court document said he is "simply a relative who wants the best for his kinsman by returning his remains to where his family before and after him rest in peace in Manu'a awaiting in anticipation." more... http://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/2001/0726/story4.html

Yes, Maggie your forest is most likely climax in nature. I expect you have been satyr-hunting in your ancient beech woods?!

Liam posted this elsewhere. It angered me so intensely that I had to borrow it in hopes it would anger others. Who is running the world? The inmates have surely taken over the asylum. From The Telegraph: Oldham council bans speech by Holocaust man By Sean O'Neill (Filed: 26/07/2001) A 91-YEAR-OLD Holocaust survivor was banned from speaking in Oldham last night because of fears that his views would "prejudice public safety and order". Leon Greenman, whose wife and child perished in death camps after the family were deported from their home in Holland, was to have addressed a public meeting organised by the Anti-Nazi League. But Oldham Borough Council refused to accept the booking for the meeting, saying it would be "unwise" and "inappropriate" for the event to go ahead. The council was worried that the meeting could spark disorder in the wake of recent racial violence and the strong showing by the British National Party at the general election. Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, wore a gag during the declaration of the count when he won 16 per cent of the vote. Candidates were banned from making speeches. A council spokesman said publicity leaflets for the meeting had concentrated on the activities of the BNP in Oldham and not Mr Greenman's speech. "Oldham council opposes the BNP and all it stands for," said a spokesman for the Liberal Democrat-controlled council. "The council did not think that hosting a meeting of this nature at the present time would be helpful. It wants Oldham to remain calm and peaceful." Its decision was supported by the police and by David Arnold, president of the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester. Mr Arnold said it would be wrong to inflame the situation in Oldham when the town was "emerging from a period of wholly unjustified violence and unrest". He added: "I have no doubt that the league's motives are entirely laudable but I think they would be much better advised if they had first ascertained what help the people of Oldham felt they needed." A spokesman for the league said the ban was "an outrage". The group, of which Mr Greenman has been a member for 10 years, was trying to find an alternative venue. "We feel he has been gagged," said a spokesman. "The council should have listened to his experiences as a victim of racism." Mr Greenman, who was born in London's East End, was living in Holland when the Germans invaded in 1940. Between 1942 and 1945 he was held in Auschwitz, Birkenau, Monowitz and Buchenwald. His wife and son were gassed by the Nazis. An Englishman in Auschwitz, his account of his detention, is published this week.

From Liam who joins me in thinking they have all gone mad in the UK. Who is next? You??? Jewish professor 'forced to resign' By Nigel Bunyan (Filed: 31/07/2001) A JEWISH university professor was forced to resign after he was threatened with death and sent a live bullet and razor blades, a tribunal was told yesterday. Oliver Leaman, 50, said Army bomb disposal experts were summoned on several occasions to deal with suspect packages addressed to him at Liverpool John Moores University. One package containing a bullet and a threat against his life was posted to his home. Other offensive and anti-Semitic notes were written on university-headed paper. The professor of philosophy told the tribunal in Liverpool that after enduring four years of the campaign he left without telling his employers to start a new life in America. more... http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/07/31/nprof31.xml

The end of world population growth Probably the most pressing concern of the modern world � both environmentally and socially � is the burgeoning global population. The geometrical growth in numbers over the last century, when extrapolated, presents a foreboding picture of massive, unsustainable growth and accompanying famines and heath crises. Yet to simply follow the current trend is naive, and informed estimates of population trends are increasingly predicting a less disastrous future. more... http://www.nature.com/nature/fow/010802.html Thanks, Liam! *Hugs*

Without comment except in private, from Liam: America's founding fathers are Japanese By David Derbyshire THE Japanese discovered and colonised America thousands of years before the Vikings or Christopher Columbus, according to a new study. Scientists investigating how humans spread across the world have found evidence that Japan was the launch pad into the New World 15,000 years ago. more... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected?ac=005695042353513&rtmo=gGYGkk7u&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/8/2/ecnjap02.html

The Ainu and their predecessors, the Jomon, are the "founding fathers of America". There are very few pure-blooded Ainu left in Japan, perhaps fewer than 100.

Yup, there has been quite a discussion ongoing with Horrible Horace and others on http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/prehistoricarchaeology. The Ainu are owed reparations if anyone is - they were stuck off on the northern most inhabitable island and left to fend for themselves. Little wonder they grew so much hair!

Researchers have found evidence for near-Arctic habitation by humans at a much much earlier date than previously thought: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/06/science/social/06TUSK.html http://www.msnbc.com/news/624414.asp http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010905/wl/arctic_hunters_1.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,547297,00.html http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4251254,00.html http://www.sciam.com/news/090601/2.html

Toddler Found Safe in Bear's Den After 3 Days TEHRAN (Reuters) - A mother bear appears to have cared for a missing 16-month-old Iranian toddler who was found safe and sound three days later in the animal's den, the Kayhan newspaper said Tuesday. The child's parents, from a nomadic tribe in western Lorestan province, returned to their tent after working in the fields to find him missing, Kayhan said. Three days later, a search party found the baby, who they said had probably been breast fed by a mother bear, in a den some six miles away from the nomadic settlement. A medical examination showed the baby was in good health, the daily said.

It's good to hear that the baby is in good health. Hopefully the mother bear and her cubs weren't harmed and are also doing well. They think that the baby was probably breast fed by the bear. That is a bit interesting in a mythological context. Maybe Romulus and Remus were really suckled by a she-wolf.

And Kaspar Hauser, too....possibly. One has difficulty discerning which are apochryphal tales and which are remembered folklore, if there is a difference.

Crystals give clues to ancient cosmetics http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/2/17 An X-ray diffraction study of archaeological powders has shed light on the processes that ancient Egyptians used to make their characteristic black eye make-up. According to Tamas Unga'r of the University of Budapest in Hungary and co-workers, the crystal structure of preserved lead-based cosmetics shows that crushing, sieving and even annealing were used to produce make-up four thousand years ago (T Unga'r et al 2002 J. Appl. Phys. 91 2455).

I thought only the Romans poisoned themselves by using lead. Apparenly the Egyptians were also using it.

I believe that the ancient Greeks knew about lead poisoning and it's effects. They, however, weren't about to let the Romans in on that piece of information. That may be a factoid. One of those bits of historical information which gets dispersed and is not factual.

It works for me. I love it so I will also perpetuate the myth if it be so. I KNEW the Greeks were smarter than the Romans! *ducking hurled antiquities*

Cracked Skull Shows Neanderthal Rage, Mercy WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Neanderthal who lived and died with a hole in his skull provides the first scientific evidence that these early humans used tools to attack one another, researchers said on Monday. The remains add to other clues that Neanderthals, a dead-end species of pre-human who colonized Europe, nursed their sick and thus had strong social ties, the researchers say. The 36,000-year-old skeleton was found in southern France years ago, but a study using recent techniques such as CT scans show the skull was crushed but healed. "During computer-assisted reconstruction of the skull, we detected a healed fracture in the cranial vault," the researchers, led by Christopher Zollikofer of the University of Zurich, wrote in Tuesday's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This bony scar bears direct evidence for the impact of a sharp implement," they added. Erik Trinkaus, a Neanderthal expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said the findings did not surprise him, but added they provided important scientific support for theories about how Neanderthals behaved. "All social mammals squabble," Trinkaus, who edited the study, said in a telephone interview. "The one lesson that we have is that the stakes increase markedly when you have serious weaponry available." Neanderthals were once characterized as grunting, shuffling cave-dwellers, but in recent years a picture has emerged of a more complex being who was extremely successful, surviving the Ice Ages for millenniums before finally being out-competed by Cro-Magnons. EVIDENCE OF MERCY "It's another piece of evidence that in the light of serious injury or other serious kinds of problems, these people were taking care of each other," Trinkaus said. Zollikofer said the adult Neanderthal, probably a male, did not seem to have died of his wound. "Considering that bone healing is visible only two to three weeks after a traumatic event, it can be concluded that the individual survived the injury for at least some months," his team wrote. In 1982, Trinkaus reported on the skeleton of a Neanderthal in present-day Israel who seemed to have survived being stabbed in the ribs, and last year he reported on the jaw of a pre-human whose teeth were all rotted out. Surviving on a hunter-gatherer diet with rotted teeth would have been extremely difficult, unless there was help. "When we published that, a number of people said, 'Right on -- of course they were taking care of each other,"' Trinkaus said, but he added a few scientists questioned the evidence. Scientists have also recently found that Neanderthals and early modern humans, often called Cro-Magnons, must have lived side by side. The skeleton described in Monday's paper was found at St. Cesaire in France, a site noted for the discovery of stone tools that were made in a more modern style as opposed to the clumsier tools made by Neanderthals for most of their history. Scientists do not know if the Neanderthals evolved their tool-making abilities or perhaps learned from their modern neighbors. The tool that broke this particular Neanderthal's crown may have been more modern, Zollikofer's team said. It had a sharp edge, like an ax, and the angle of attack suggests it was hafted -- attached to a handle.

Prof. says there is an epidemic of virus which causes myocarditis Athens, 22/04/2002 (ANA) Professor of Epidemiology Dimitris Trihopoulos spoke for the first time on Sunday of an epidemic, referring to the virus, which causes myocarditis, from which four people have died these past few days. The professor said the number of cases allows one to speak of an epidemic, adding that the specific virus affects mostly men, youth and newborn, while it is manifested mainly with pain in the chest and the stomach. However, experts of the Center for the Control of Special Infections are awaiting samples of the virus, which have been sent for testing to four different laboratories so as to establish its identity. The country's health authorities are meanwhile on the alert.

wow, even the local L.A. news hasn't broadcasted that info (and they love to awfullize everything)!

*laugh* Yes they do love to revel in gore - the LA press, that is. They were busy with the train crash today in Placentia which had to involve StefanieB who wrote so beautifully in Fan Fiction and tolerated my presence in her life for months on end. I wish her well. I know her ER was full of battered and bruised people all day! *Hugs* Stef!

Expert plays down viral epidemic fears An infectious disease specialist from Athens yesterday played down the danger of a fatal viral epidemic following the recent deaths of three people from virus-triggered inflammatory diseases of the heart. On Saturday, epidemiologist Dimitrios Trichopoulos, a professor at Harvard University, spoke of an epidemic. But yesterday the head of the Center for the Control of Infectious Diseases, Theodoros Papadimitriou, told Kathimerini it was still impossible to say whether this was true, pending examinations of the viruses involved. Meanwhile, reports yesterday said four people are currently being treated in Athens for myocarditis or pericarditis that followed a viral infection which presented all the symptoms of influenza. Three of the patients are hospitalized in Aghia Olga hospital and one in Amalia Fleming hospital. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100016_23/04/2002_15721

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES AGAINST A RARE INFECTIOUS DISEASE Athens, 23 April 2002 (19:31 UTC+2) Universities, schools and nursery homes will be closed in Greece until April 26 within the framework of precautionary measures announced today by the government in order to deal with the increased number of virus-caused myocarditis cases. The adoption of the measures was suggested by the Center against Special Infections and it was adopted by the Ministry of Health as already there are 32 recorded cases across Greece, 13 of which were recorded in Athens today. The first cases were recorded in Crete on April 18. Three patients have died, 2 in the island of Crete in southern Greece and 1 in Ioannina, in the northwest part of the country. Minister of Health Alekos Papadopoulos explained that children are not threatened more by the virus and the decision to close the schools was made because the virus is released in the air through excrements and children usually do not observe the hygiene rules strictly. Also, the virus is likely to spread through handshake. The symptoms are acute chest-pain, high fever, fatigue and muscle pain. The responsible agencies warn that the hygiene rules must be observed strictly and crowded places must be avoided. http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=264895

that train crash has been on all day--i feel for those people. and i'm sorry for the two families who lost loved ones today. i always wondered how they kept trains from crashing when they used the same track. now i know how it's supposed to work.

this illness is isolated to greece?

Thus far only Greece has reported it that I know of, but then, I read the Greek newspapers each day. CNN has not mentioned it nor have other international news servers.

Greece gripped by mystery virus ATHENS, Greece --The government has shut all the country's schools in an attempt to stop the spread of a mysterious virus that is feared to have killed three people. Educational centres from kindergarten to universities will close their doors for three days from Wednesday as Greece's health ministry tries to get to grips with the flu-like virus. Two women are thought to have died on the island of Crete and another in the northern Greek town of Ioannina. A further 29 are believed to have contracted the virus which has the symptoms of high fever, muscle pain, headaches and fatigue and could affect the heart, Greece's Centre for Special Infectious Diseases said. The ministry issued a statement saying the action was a preventive measure. It added "Despite the fact that fewer children than adults have been affected by the virus ... the measure is being taken to restrict any possible spread." Hospitals around the country have been put on alert to deal with an expected increase in Greeks seeking medical assistance. Other measures have included warning people to avoid enclosed spaces. Athens municipality has shut its sports and youth centres, while the military was also put on alert to prevent an outbreak in its camps and bases. A spokeswoman for the Centre for Special Infectious Diseases said tests were still being conducted to determine the identity of the virus and the results were tentatively due on Wednesday. http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/04/24/greece.virus/index.html

Virus identity remains a mystery Number of new suspected heart inflammation cases drops, raising hopes as more schools close One day after ordering all schools, kindergartens, universities and technical colleges to close until the end of the week, the government yesterday added dance, music and drama schools and frontistiria (private coaching colleges) to the list of educational institutions to shut down. The measure, which the health minister described as an �extremely preventive measure� on Tuesday, is aimed at limiting the spread of a virus that is suspected of causing 39 cases of potentially fatal heart inflammations. Three people have died. Doctors have diferred over whether this is an epidemic. Seven new cases were reported yesterday, down from 13 on Tuesday, prompting officials to suggest that the problem was easing. Prof. Giorgos Saroglou, who heads the Special Infections Control Center (KEEL), said that if numbers remained at the same level in the following days this could be described as a decline. He said the identity of the virus was not yet clear. �A huge effort is being made by all the authorized laboratories and we hope that we will have results as soon as possible.� Four laboratories were working on identifying the virus, which reports have said might be coxsackie, a common virus that usually affects the intestine but can spread to other organs and whose symptoms are usually those of the common flu. In rare cases, it can cause inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis) and also its surrounding membranes (perimyocarditis). Pavlos Toutouzas, a professor of cardiology, told Kathimerini that major Athens hospitals had not noted a larger than usual number of myocarditis and perimyocarditis cases. He said there were 5-15 such cases each year. People have been warned that they should seek medical advice if a case of flu persists with high, persistent fever, a cough, diarrhea, intense muscle pain, pain in the stomach, chest pain and breathing problems. The Athens Municipality announced it had set up a help line (010.251.5510-1) to operate from 9.30 a. m. to 5.30 p. m. Cypriot authorities temporarily suspended school trips to Greece, following calls by worried parents and local politicians. About 600 Cypriot children were due to leave for Greece yesterday and today. Hundreds of people fearing that they might have the viral infection jammed outpatient clinics across the country yesterday. People were advised to exercise strict personal hygiene, such as washing their hands after using the toilet, and avoid crowded spaces. The Church reacted furiously to the suggestion that holy communion could be dangerous. �It should be considered blasphemous, at least, to consider it possible that epidemic ailments could be transferred through holy communion and endanger human life,� the Athens Archbishopric said. Top cardiologists met to discuss the situation and issued a call to the public not to worry. Of the new cases registered yesterday, three were in Attica, with one each in Thessaloniki, western-central Greece (Sterea) and the Peloponnese. The seventh patient had been treated in March and was back home. Among those still being treated before yesterday, 14 were improving and eight were in stable condition and remained under observation. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100002_25/04/2002_15815

I wish the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) would get into this problem. I cannot believe it is just Greece alone which is afflicted. World travel makes everwhere an equal opportunity victim.

VIRUS SHUTS DOWN ALL SCHOOLS All day-care centers, preschools, elementary schools, junior-highs and high-schools, universities and public vocational training institutions have been shut down until the end of the week by the Ministry of Health, after the increased number of viral myo carditis cases, which may constitute an epidemic. All military units have been put on alert after a decision of the Defense Ministry. Schools in Greece will reopen after Easter break and hospitals are ready to deal with any more cases that may arise. The virus has struck all over the country, with the exception of N. Greece, where there have been no cases reported. So far, 32 cases have been reported, 13 of which were made known in the same day. 13 cases have been recorded in Athens, 6 in Crete, 2 in Ipiros, 3 in the Ioanian islands and 5 in Aegean islands. Of the 32 individuals, 4 are children. Citizens have been called to remain calm and not to panic. They must also take thorough care of their personal hygiene, clean their lavatories well, increase their intake of fluids, improve their diets and rest during the day. Also, anyone with a tempera ture or with a feeling of fatigue should call or visit a doctor. A meeting has been in session all morning at the Control Center of Contagious Diseases in Athens, with the participation of cardiology professors. "The extreme measures announced by the Minister of Health Alekos Papadopoulos for the protection of public health are moves in the right direction", stated the Coordinator of New Democracy's ODE of Social Affairs, Nikitas Kaklamanis. "I hope that by tomorrow there will be a daily epidemic report from the Health Ministry, in order to inform citizens reliably and in time, something that has not happened so far. In addition I also recommend: As far as the Armed Forces are concerned, apart from the measures announced, it would be positive if only the necessary number of troops remained inside the camps. Since, as the Minister mentioned, there is an increased number of patients visiting hospitals, the number of staff members on call should also be increased, as well as the number of on call emergency hospitals", he stressed. "We all need to be vigilant - especially the State - but we must not panic", he ended. In an interview to "Flash" radio, Cardiology Professor came to the same conclusions, stressing that citizens should not panic. Mr. Kremasitnos drew attention to weak constitutions, stressing that there should be concern when there are cardiological symptoms at the same time with the flu. http://www.hri.org/news/greek/mpa/2002/02-04-24.mpa.html

New case of pericarditis on Crete Athens, 25/04/2002 (ANA) Yet another case of pericarditis was reported on the island of Crete on Wednesday, though doctors have not yet determined whether the woman admitted to the intensive care ward at Iraklion University Hospital has been infected by the lethal virus that affects the heart. In addition to the woman from Sitia, another man and a woman with symptoms of pericarditis are currently being treated in the hospital's cardiology clinic while tests are being carried out to determine whether the killer virus is to blame. Two of the three deaths definitely linked to the virus occurred on Crete. On Tuesday, the health ministry ordered that all schools and universities in the country should close for Easter from Wednesday, three days earlier than usual, in order to limit the spread of a potential epidemic of viral-linked pericarditis and myocarditis. The three-day closure will run into the 15-day Easter break that would have started on Monday. While making the announcement, Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos said the increasing number of cases of heart trouble following viral infections suggested the possible onset of an epidemic. Apart from the three deaths, two in Crete and one in northwestern Greece, another 32 non-fatal cases of myo- and pericarditis have been reported around the country since last week, 13 of them in Athens. Pericarditis affects the tissue surrounding the heart, while myocarditis affects the heart muscles themselves. The two conditions can cause a dangerous retention of fluids around the heart cavity that may prove lethal. The health ministry also advised the public to observe strict personal hygiene and take added precautions when preparing food, and to avoid crowded, enclosed spaces or physical contact such as kissing. The virus responsible for the three deaths has not yet been identified, but similar symptoms have been described for enteroviruses affecting the intestines, adenoviruses affecting the lymph glands and others. Government spokesman: Commenting on the government's sudden decision to close schools so soon after his own announcement on Tuesday that there was no cause for concern, government spokesman Christos Protopapas explained that the data released from hospitals was being constantly updated. The evidence did not point to an epidemic at the time his own announcement was made but this became evident immediately afterwards, he told reporters on Wednesday. He said the health ministry and the Center for the Control of Special Diseases were monitoring the situation constantly and described Tuesday's decision to close schools as absolutely justified. Panic a greater hazard than viruses, experts reassure the public: Panic is a greater hazard than the viruses that in rare cases caused heart complications, expert scientists reassured the public on Tuesday after a emergency conference to discuss an outbreak of pericarditis and myocarditis cases tentatively linked to viral infections. Greece's top cardiologists and epidemiologists at the Center attended the conference for the Control of Special Diseases. In statements afterwards, the scientists said that similar symptoms following virus infections had also occurred in the previous years and that there was no particular cause for concern. The Special Diseases Center, meanwhile, admitted that new reports of myocarditis and pericarditis cases had been coming in from around the country, though nothing had yet been officially announced regarding the outbreak of an epidemic. The specialists at the conference clarified, however, that the majority of such cases were eminently treatable if they were diagnosed and dealt with promptly. They advised people to seek medical care if the symptoms of a cold or flu persisted for more than three days, were accompanied by strong aches and pains in the muscles or high fever. Other possible signs of the potentially lethal virus were strong pains in the chest, a change in the rhythm of the heart and pain in the stomach or the back. On a more positive note, health ministry sources reported that more of the patients affected by the virus had quickly sought medical attention and receive prompt treatment, while the majority had already returned home. Specialists said this was particularly true of pericarditis, where the tissue surrounding the heart was affected, while cases of myocarditis that involved the heart tissue itself occasionally required that a patient be admitted to an intensive care ward. The virus or viruses responsible for the outbreak had not yet been found, they said, even though nearly every laboratory in the country was now carrying out tests to isolate it. Experts said the most likely causes were either the Coxsackie virus, enteroviruses affecting the intestines, adenoviruses affecting the lymph glands or the influenza B virus that was common on Crete. The co-existence of these viruses in the reported cases would most likely show that the epidemic was endogenous but the numbers would confirm this, they added. Regarding the case of a 30-year-old woman from Volos who died in an Athens hospital after coming down with the flu, doctors said her death was the result of septic shock affecting the lungs and not heart complications. A full range of tests was being carried out, they added, to see if this was the result of a viral or bacterial infection, with the second considered more likely. http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ana/2002/02-04-25.ana.html

Fatal Greek virus identified 12:35 26 April 02 Emma Young The virus that has infected 39 people, killing three, in Greece has been identified as a member of the human enterovirus family. Preliminary tests by Greece's Special Infections Control Centre suggest it could be Coxsackie B. Identifying the precise strain will not make treatment any easier. Doctors can only treat the symptoms of the infection rather than the virus itself, says a spokesperson for the World Health Organization's Communicable Disease and Surveillance Response centre. On Wednesday, the Greek government closed all schools and universities across the country, in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. Cases of infection had been reported in most regions of Greece, and had shown a sharp upturn on Tuesday, with 13 reported cases. But only seven new infections were reported on Thursday, suggesting the peak of the outbreak has passed. "They also set up a monitoring system to ensure that anybody that went to hospital with acute respiratory syndrome would be reported - and the number of cases has been going down rapidly," says the WHO spokesperson. In all cases, respiratory, influenza-like, symptoms appeared at first, followed by myocarditis - inflammation of heart muscle, which can cause serious tissue damage. A strain of the Coxsackie virus has been a prime suspect. In 1997, Coxsackie B caused myocarditis and killed 30 children in Malaysia over three months. Greece's educational institutions will remain closed after the weekend for two weeks, for the Orthodox Easter holidays. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992224

isn't coxsackie hoof-and-mouth?

Not hoof-and-mouth as in the cattle and other livestock of recent news. Hand, foot and mouth disease (coxsackie virus) � this is by far the most common cause of mouth sores. It usually affects children ages 6 months to 3 years. Symptoms include: High fever � often up to five days. Severe fussiness � this is often the worst part of the illness. Severe mouth pain or sore throat Copious drooling Refusal to eat or even drink Rash � small, red or white spots may, but not always, appear on the hands or feet (thus the name of the illness). A red, lacy rash can also appear anywhere on the body. http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T082600.asp

Coxsackie has also been implied in SIDS. In regard to the Coxsackie virus, it is one of a number of viruses that can cause respiratory or intestinal infections---"flu." There are seasonal peaks, but the virus is very common and transmitted from person to person just like a "cold" or any flu illness. Infections are sometimes not associated with any obvious symptoms, or the only symptom may be a fever. Heart and brain infections can occur, but very uncommonly. There is no specific way to avoid the virus different than "avoiding" the common cold---standard hand washing, etc. The most important point I can make now is that there is no way you could have avoided exposure to this virus since it is so common. http://sids-network.org/experts/coxsackie.htm

One of the best resources on the net that I have found for Coxsackie virus is http://www.health-nexus.com/coxsackie_virus.htm

a friend of mine's son had this virus and they think he contracted it from eating dirt in his back yard (used to be pasture land)

I guess it is far more widespread than I thought. And, it takes many forms when it infects you. No wonder there is confusion.

Extinct Tasmanian Tiger One Step Closer to Cloning Reuters May 28 2002 12:52AM SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists announced on Tuesday a breakthrough in efforts to clone the extinct Tasmanian Tiger, saying they had replicated some of the animal's genes using DNA extracted from preserved male and female pups. The scientists from the Australian Museum in Sydney said they hoped to clone a Tasmanian Tiger in 10 years if they were successful in constructing large quantities of all the genes of the Tasmanian Tiger and sequencing sections of the genome to create a genetic library of Tasmanian Tiger DNA. "We are now further ahead than any other project that has attempted anything remotely similar using extinct DNA," Mike Archer, director of the Australian Museum, told a news conference. "What was once nothing more than an impossible dream has just taken another giant step closer to becoming a biological reality," he said, adding that the ultimate aim was to clone a viable reproducing population of Tasmanian Tigers. The Tasmanian Tiger (thylacine) was a dog-like carnivorous marsupial with stripes on its back that lived on the southern Australian island state of Tasmania. The creature originally roamed Australia and Papua New Guinea, but sometime between 2,000 and 200 years ago disappeared from the Australian mainland, only to be found in Tasmania. It took man only some 70 years to make the Tasmanian Tiger extinct, as farmers in the 1800s began shooting, poisoning, gassing and trapping the animal, blaming it for attacking sheep. The last known Tasmanian Tiger died in 1936 and it was officially declared extinct in 1986. COMPLEX OF GUILT The project to bring the Tasmanian Tiger back from extinction began in 1999 when Australian Museum scientists extracted DNA from an ethanol-preserved female pup in its collection. In 2001, further DNA was extracted from two other preserved pups -- the tissue source for this DNA was bone, tooth, bone marrow and dried muscle. Archer said the alcohol-preserved female pup's DNA had given scientists the Tasmanian Tiger's X chromosome and the other samples the male Y chromosome. In May 2002 the museum's scientists, using the extracted DNA, replicated some of the Tasmanian Tiger's genes using a process called PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). "The supposedly dead DNA in fact reacts in the way live DNA does. Clearly the DNA we collected was not extinct -- it works," Archer said. "It makes molecule cloning possible." Archer said if the museum was successful it would seek to clone a viable population of Tasmanian Tigers, using the Tasmanian Devil, another carnivorous marsupial, as a host. "We want a viable population. We don't want a strange animal pacing back and forth in a laboratory. What we want to do is put that animal back in the wild and for that we need a viable, reproducing population," he said. But Archer said the technology for the final stage of cloning, putting the Tasmanian Tiger's genetic material into a Tasmanian Devil host cell which has been stripped of the devil's genetic material was still to be developed. "We don't know the length of this journey. Its up to the speed with which technology keeps pace with the vision. But I am optimistic," he said. "The Tasmanian Tiger is an iconic Australian animal, its woven in a complex web of guilt because Australians made it extinct. We need to lift this burden of guilt."

Archaeology: Cacao usage by the earliest Maya civilization W. JEFFREY HURST, STANLEY M. TARKA JR, TERRY G. POWIS, FRED VALDEZ JR & THOMAS R. HESTER http://www.nature.com/nlink/v418/n6895/abs/418289a.html

Human impact: how we trigger global warming, and what each individual can do about it By Suzanne Elston Global warming is arguably the biggest environmental problem that we face in the 21st century. The scientific consensus is that human activity is altering the planet's climate. Reports from the International Panel on Climate Change - the key scientific body organized by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organization - have made it clear that the warming atmosphere will cause dramatic changes that will affect every corner of the earth. More frequent and extreme weather events can be expected, including floods, heat waves, windstorms, droughts and disruption in water supplies. As a result, serious diseases like malaria and yellow fever will spread. Natural resource industries such as agriculture, fishing and forestry will be impacted. As polar ice caps melt and sea levels rise, entire island nations will disappear. Coastal flooding will leave hundreds of thousands homeless � mostly in poor, developing countries. Despite the urgent warnings of the scientific community, our political leaders have stalled in their attempts to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The Bush administration�s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol was both disappointing and predictable. For almost a decade, the leaders of the world have been unable to fulfill the promises that they made at the Earth Summit in 1992 to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of global warming. In 1997, world leaders met in Kyoto, Japan to review the goals they had set in Rio five years earlier. But rather than seeing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the net amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere had increased substantially. The National Energy Information Center reports that in the U.S. alone, CO2 emissions increased 10.7 percent from 1990 to 1997. In light of this, the Kyoto Protocol offered a watered down version of the Earth Summit�s goals in an attempt to reach an attainable reduction target. The U.S. is the largest single source of fossil fuel-related CO2 emissions. According to Online Trends, U.S. emissions reached an all-time high of 1447 million metric tons of carbon in 1996. As a result, without U.S. participation, critics say that the Kyoto Protocol is doomed to failure. But despite the U.S. withdrawal, the remaining Kyoto partners will meet again in Bonn, Germany, this summer in an attempt to breathe some life into the agreement. While governments attempt to make some progress toward mitigating the impacts of global warming, corporations are beginning to view climate change as a business opportunity. Increasing energy prices are forcing companies to look at ways to cut consumption and new energy technologies are promising to open up business markets for innovative companies. Car giants Toyota and Honda have invested heavily in producing hybrid cars that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and corporations like IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Polaroid have all committed to reducing their carbon dioxide emissions well below the Kyoto target. (To find out more see �Climate Savers�) Individually, we can also make a difference. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are the largest source of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. The average American is responsible for about 20 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, a far greater volume per capita than that of any other industrialized country. Switching to fuel-efficient vehicles, installing energy efficient lighting and purchasing newer, more efficient appliances are all ways that we cut carbon dioxide emissions and fuel the economy. Changing our every day habits can also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Slowing down when we drive, car pooling, cycling or taking public transit to work are all ways to reduce our consumption of fuel fuels. Recycling saves 70 to 90 percent of the energy and pollution � including CO2 - used to created virgin materials. Planting trees around your home can cut cooling costs by up to 40 percent, further reducing our energy needs. These are all small steps, but collectively they can have a significant impact. Our future depends on it. Source: Environmental News Network John

John, I really respect your opinions. I do wish I could plumb the depths of your mind in regards to what is practical and what really can be done about Global Warming. Is it merely cyclical or is it my personal use of air conditioning that is causing it? I live as thriftily and as ecologically as possible. What can one person do?

Cathodoluminescence of minerals Cathodoluminescence (CL) is generated when a beam of energetic electrons strikes the surfaces of many crystalline substances, causing photons of visible light to be emitted. It is a trait exhibited by many minerals, including very common ones like quartz. As part of a research team based at the University of Oregon, Goles has been involved in applications of CL to provenance studies, to investigations of palaeotectoctonics, palaeogeography, and basin analysis, and to searches for major impact events (CL of shocked quartz is highly distinctive) both at or near times of major extinctions and at times when extinctions, for one reason or another, were apparently not associated with extraterrestrial impacts. The U of O team (Seyedolali, Boggs, and Krinsley as well as Goles) makes use of the scanning electron microscope in the DoGS imaging laboratory, wihich is very well equipped for CL studies with a high-resolution CL detection system, R-G-B color recording capability, and a controlled-temperature stage. One of our more exciting recent findings via CL studies of clastic minerals is that almost all quartz grains in the Eocene Eugene and Fisher Formations of western Oregon were derived from metamorphic rocks, despite the voluminous activity of early Western Cascade volcanoes, contemporaneous with deposition of those sedimentary units, which must have produced substantial amounts of quartz with igneous CL traits. We are trying to devise and test working hypotheses to account for this seeming discrepancy. It may indicate that a widespread metamorphic terrane, like those in the Klamaths and the Blue Mtns., is now buried beneath the Cascades but during Eocene times was broadly exposed and undergoing erosion. more at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~dogsci/goles/rsch.html#human

Julie, wait till you read this above post about Cathodluminescence. Amazing!!!

Here's the techie explanation: Luminescence is the emission of light from a solid which is 'excited' by some form of energy. The term broadly includes the commonly-used categories of fluorescence and phosphorescence. Fluorescence is said to occur where emission ceased almost immediately after withdrawal of the exciting source and where there is no thermal cause, whereas in phosphorescence the emission decays for some time after removal of excitation. The distinction between these so-called types of luminescence is somewhat arbitrary and confusing; for example, many minerals have very long post-excitation decay times. Confusion is avoided by using the term luminescence, and specifying the activating energy as a descriptive prefix. Thus roentgenoluminescence is produced by X-rays, photoluminescence by light (e.g. ultra-violet) and cathodolminescence(CL) results from excitation by electrons. Thermoluminescence results from heating. Ultra-violet fluorescence microscopy is a well established technique for petrographic study of petroleum fluid inclusions and often used in examination of hydrocarbon residues in sediments. The interpretation of observed fluorescence intensities and colors is strongly influenced by the type of light source and filter combinations in the microscope. Polished thin section surfaces are required, and a special microscope with UV source and qaurtz lenses is needed, such as used for immunological work in many biological laboratories. Various wavelenths of UV can be selected by means of filters, and filters can be interposed when viewing the emission. Hydrocarbon inclusions show strong luminescence, the color varying with the gravity of the oil. Recrystallized organic-rich fossils, such as renalcid micro-organisms in the reefs, may show up very well under UV, whereas they may be invisible in transmitted light and CL. Davis & Yurewicz(1985) have shown that in some limestones, cement generations and fine crystal gro th zoning can be revealed by UV. Certainly UV microscopy is attractive because it does not require elaborate vacuum arrangements, but inorganic materials such as calcite often show only very weak UV luminescence, so UV microscopy is not a general substitute for CL work. Cathodoluminescence petrography is now a routine technique that can provide essential information on provenance, growth fabrics, diagenetic textures and mineral zonation, in addition to enabling more precise quantification of constituents and fabrics. Without the support of CL spectroscopy, however, CL petrography can only remain a fabric analysis technique. Although subtle variations in CL color recorded on film give important information, describing luminescence intensity and color from a photographic record is a dubious and subjective affair. The actual CL color is determined by the number and type of emission and quenching centers present. Superposition of several luminescence bands of different intensities can provide quantitative dasta on the wavelength and intensity of luminescence and the nature of the luminescing centers. CL spectroscopy should become a standard technique used by the luminescence petrographer becuase it is the only means of recording CL colors and emission intensity objectively and quantitatively, in addition to providing unique information on the nature of luminescence centers. Sorry for the long winded paragraphs!

There has been particle acellerator research on fossils of Neanderthal burials because they are too old for carbon 14 analysis. This promises to be very interesting - at least for me.

ok, so in layman's terms, this is what happens when you stick a rock under a black light?

The black light illuminates only the minerals which have elements in them whose isotopes get excited by the energy generated by that wavelength of light. This will get us into what we can actually see in "white" light of broad daylight, but fluorescing is different from what you can see with ordinary light. Many rocks do not respond to the wave length of black light and thus appear dark. I know you need a better explanation but I haven't one at hand right now. Stay tuned and I'll get one for you.

i understand flourescing but i guess not the method! thanks for helping folks like me to understand!

It is folks like you who ask the questions who make me think of how to explain it and understand it better myself. Until you can teach someone something, I think you really don't understand it very well. That is my acid test !

i know what you mean!!!

Did you ever answer my question about how you would display your rocks Marci? And will you have any black light displays?

You did! I found it later on in my session in another topic.

reduces human pollutant in automobile

Can you go in to that in more depth, Jonni? And welcome aboard planet geo.

Go Joani ! I am one of the freaks of nature who still does not drive. When I can shop once a month for food and necessities I feel much better than those who need to live half a state away from where they work. How about getting rid of disposible diapers and foam plates/cups/containers. Just look at any Hawaii shoreline to see what the lates offensive product is in the landfill.

Ten top worst jobs in science 10. Orangutan-Pee Collector Their work is noninvasive—for the apes, that is . . . "Have I been pissed on? Yes," says anthropologist Cheryl Knott of Harvard University. Knott is a pioneer of "noninvasive monitoring of steroids through urine sampling." Translation: Look out below! For the past 11 years, Knott and her colleagues have trekked into Gunung Palung National Park in Borneo, Indonesia, in search of the endangered primates. Once a subject is spotted, they deploy plastic sheets like a firemen's rescue trampoline and wait for the tree-swinging apes to go see a man about a mule. For more pee-catching precision, they attach bags to poles and follow beneath the animals. "It's kind of gross when you get hit, but this is the best way to figure out what's going on in their bodies," Knott says. more plus the other nine ...http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/806ffb24a5f27010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html