Survival of the fittest: Predator wasps breed at the expense of spider juveniles

Feb. 4, 2013 ? Two wasp species, Calymmochilus dispar and Gelis apterus, have been recorded as parasitoids on ant-eating spiders in a study published in the open access journal ZooKeys. The host spider, Zodarion styliferum, belongs to the largest genus of predominantly ant-eating spiders. Their distribution area includes Europe, Asia and North Africa, significantly with at least 35 species reported for the Iberian Peninsula only, marking a record in numbers in Portugal, where this study was conducted.

Available data on the biology of the host spider shows that all species of the genus Zodarion are compulsory ant eaters. What is interesting is that these spiders perform aggressive mimicry, i.e. disguise as ants to help them in their hunt and to capture their prey. These crafty hunters are often nocturnal wanderers and mainly active in twilight.

During the day, these spiders remain hidden in carefully built igloo-shaped stone retreats that are attached to the underside of rocks or dead wood. The igloos provide protection against unfavourable environmental conditions and enemies such as ants.

Despite these evolutionary advancements in the fight for survival, however, the Z. styliferum spider turns out to be an easy victim for wasp species in their strive for reproduction.

The predatory wasp attacks during daylight when the spiders are inactive. The females of the parasitoid species attack the hosts in the shelter of their igloo, penetrating the walls with their long ovipositors. When collected for this study, the wasp larvae were attached to the abdomen of an immobilised spider juvenile, which they used as food for their own development.

Apart from feeding on the juveniles, the peculiar home of the ant-eating host provides another convenience for the parasites. The larva of G. apterus makes a cocoon inside the spider igloo before pupation. The other species (C. dispar), however, does not create a cocoon. Rather, it takes advantage of the already built spider igloo to help protect the bare larvae inside.

Such parasitoid behavior is common among wasp species. The author of the original research article, Dr. Korenko from the Department of Agroecology and Biometeorology of the Czech University of Life Sciences explains: "Several groups of Hymenoptera develop on spider hosts feeding on the flesh of the spider or on its eggs. The parasitoids attack a number of spiders ranging from ground dwelling and fast moving hunters like wolf spiders to web spiders such as orb-web weavers that stay on webs during most of their life."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Pensoft Publishers.

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Journal Reference:

1. Stanislav Korenko, Stefan Schmidt, Martin Schwarz, Gary Gibson, Stano Pekar. Hymenopteran parasitoids of the ant-eating spider Zodarion styliferum (Simon) (Araneae, Zodariidae). ZooKeys, 2013; 262 (0): 1 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.262.3857

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/mWFwIXxSmtM/130204102432.htm

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Financial Assistance Group / Debt Restructuring of America ...

Consumer Statement:

Debt restructuring of American promised to negotiate with our creditors and agree on a bottom line amount and saves us money, time and our credit. We had a signed contract, made a monthly payments as promised and they did NOTHING. When we asked to cancel the contract and for a refund they said ok, but guess what? NO REFUND! Now they refuse to accept our phones calls or mail.

Consumer Action Taken:

We have tried phone calls, leaving voice messages, never returned. All certified mail is return unclaimed. BBB could locate company.
HELP!!! We have lost over $15,000.00!!!!!

Date This Problem Happened: August 25, 2009

State You Live in: Texas

Race/Ethnicity: White

Age Range: 36-50

Total Amount of Fee Paid: $15,536

Company Name: Financial Assistance Group / Debt Restructuring of America

Company Address:

P O Box 11835
Louisville, Kentucky 40251

Company Telephone Number: 502-384-4301

Website of Company: yourdebtfree.net

---

If you feel you?ve been financially hurt by a debt relief company and deserve a refund, read these step-by-step instructions on how to proceed to attempt to get your money back.

If you do get your money back, come back and leave a comment about it. I?d love to praise companies that step-up and do the right thing for people.

Scam reports are submitted by consumers like you. If you would like to file a scam report, please click here.

If you are the company named in this report and you want to respond, please read How to Handle a Consumer Complaint Like a Pro And Come Out Smelling Like a Rose

Source: http://getoutofdebt.org/48817/financial-assistance-group-debt-restructuring-of-america-consumer-complaint

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Climate change impacts to US coasts threaten public health, safety and economy

Public release date: 4-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Louis Caferio
Louis.Caferio@noaa.gov
301-563-1141
NOAA Headquarters

NOAA, USGS report

According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities' social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.

The recently-released report examines and describes climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and human economies and communities, as well as the kinds of scientific data, planning tools and resources that coastal communities and resource managers need to help them adapt to these changes.

"Sandy showed us that coastal states and communities need effective strategies, tools and resources to conserve, protect, and restore coastal habitats and economies at risk from current environmental stresses and a changing climate," said Margaret A. Davidson of NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and co-lead author of the report. "Easing the existing pressures on coastal environments to improve their resiliency is an essential method of coping with the adverse effects of climate change."

A key finding in the report is that all U.S. coasts are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as sea-level rise, erosion, storms and flooding, especially in the more populated low-lying parts of the U.S. coast along the Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic, northern Alaska, Hawaii, and island territories. Another finding indicated the financial risks associated with both private and public hazard insurance are expected to increase dramatically.

"An increase in the intensity of extreme weather events such as storms like Sandy and Katrina, coupled with sea-level rise and the effects of increased human development along the coasts, could affect the sustainability of many existing coastal communities and natural resources," said Virginia Burkett of the U.S. Geological Survey and co-lead author of the report.

The authors also emphasized that storm surge flooding and sea-level rise pose significant threats to public and private infrastructure that provides energy, sewage treatment, clean water and transportation of people and goods. These factors increase threats to public health, safety, and employment in the coastal zone.

The report's authors noted that the population of the coastal watershed counties of the U.S. and territories, including the Great Lakes, make up more than 50 percent of the nation's population and contributed more than $8.3 trillion to the 2011 U.S. economy but depend on healthy coastal landforms, water resources, estuaries and other natural resources to sustain them. Climate changes, combined with human development activities, reduce the ability of coasts to provide numerous benefits, including food, clean water, jobs, recreation and protection of communities against storms.

Seventy-nine federal, academic and other scientists, including the lead authors from the NOAA and USGS, authored the report which is being used as a technical input to the third National Climate Assessment an interagency report produced for Congress once every four years to summarize the science and impacts of climate change on the United States.

Other key findings of the report include:

• Expected public health impacts include a decline in seafood quality, shifts in disease patterns and increases in rates of heat-related morbidity.
• Changes in the location and the time of year when storms form can lead to large changes in where storms land and the impacts of storms. Any sea-level rise is virtually certain to exacerbate storm-surge and flooding related hazards.
• Because of changes in the hydrological cycle due to warming, precipitation events (rain, snow) will likely be heavier. Combined with sea-level rise and storm surge, this will increase flooding severity in some coastal areas, particularly in the Northeast.
• Temperature is primarily driving environmental change in the Alaskan coastal zone. Sea ice and permafrost make northern regions particularly susceptible to temperature change. For example, an increase of two degrees Celsius during the summer could basically transform much of Alaska from frozen to unfrozen, with extensive implications.
• As the physical environment changes, the range of a particular ecosystem will expand, contract or migrate in response. The combined influence of many stresses can cause unexpected ecological changes if species populations or ecosystems are pushed beyond a tipping point.
• Although adaptation planning activities in the coastal zone are increasing, they generally occur in an ad-hoc manner and are slow to be implemented. Efficiency of adaptation can be improved through more accurate and timely scientific information, tools, and resources, and by integrating adaptation plans into overall land use planning as well as ocean and coastal management.
• An integrated scientific program will reduce uncertainty about the best ways coastal communities can to respond to sea-level rise and other kinds of coastal change. This, in turn, will allow communities to better assess their vulnerability and to identify and implement appropriate adaptation and preparedness options.

###

This report is available at: http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/nca-activities/695.

USGS provides science for a changing world. Visit USGS.gov, and follow us on Twitter @USGS and our other social media channels.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 4-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Louis Caferio
Louis.Caferio@noaa.gov
301-563-1141
NOAA Headquarters

NOAA, USGS report

According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities' social, economic and natural systems. The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.

The recently-released report examines and describes climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and human economies and communities, as well as the kinds of scientific data, planning tools and resources that coastal communities and resource managers need to help them adapt to these changes.

"Sandy showed us that coastal states and communities need effective strategies, tools and resources to conserve, protect, and restore coastal habitats and economies at risk from current environmental stresses and a changing climate," said Margaret A. Davidson of NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and co-lead author of the report. "Easing the existing pressures on coastal environments to improve their resiliency is an essential method of coping with the adverse effects of climate change."

A key finding in the report is that all U.S. coasts are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as sea-level rise, erosion, storms and flooding, especially in the more populated low-lying parts of the U.S. coast along the Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic, northern Alaska, Hawaii, and island territories. Another finding indicated the financial risks associated with both private and public hazard insurance are expected to increase dramatically.

"An increase in the intensity of extreme weather events such as storms like Sandy and Katrina, coupled with sea-level rise and the effects of increased human development along the coasts, could affect the sustainability of many existing coastal communities and natural resources," said Virginia Burkett of the U.S. Geological Survey and co-lead author of the report.

The authors also emphasized that storm surge flooding and sea-level rise pose significant threats to public and private infrastructure that provides energy, sewage treatment, clean water and transportation of people and goods. These factors increase threats to public health, safety, and employment in the coastal zone.

The report's authors noted that the population of the coastal watershed counties of the U.S. and territories, including the Great Lakes, make up more than 50 percent of the nation's population and contributed more than $8.3 trillion to the 2011 U.S. economy but depend on healthy coastal landforms, water resources, estuaries and other natural resources to sustain them. Climate changes, combined with human development activities, reduce the ability of coasts to provide numerous benefits, including food, clean water, jobs, recreation and protection of communities against storms.

Seventy-nine federal, academic and other scientists, including the lead authors from the NOAA and USGS, authored the report which is being used as a technical input to the third National Climate Assessment an interagency report produced for Congress once every four years to summarize the science and impacts of climate change on the United States.

Other key findings of the report include:

• Expected public health impacts include a decline in seafood quality, shifts in disease patterns and increases in rates of heat-related morbidity.
• Changes in the location and the time of year when storms form can lead to large changes in where storms land and the impacts of storms. Any sea-level rise is virtually certain to exacerbate storm-surge and flooding related hazards.
• Because of changes in the hydrological cycle due to warming, precipitation events (rain, snow) will likely be heavier. Combined with sea-level rise and storm surge, this will increase flooding severity in some coastal areas, particularly in the Northeast.
• Temperature is primarily driving environmental change in the Alaskan coastal zone. Sea ice and permafrost make northern regions particularly susceptible to temperature change. For example, an increase of two degrees Celsius during the summer could basically transform much of Alaska from frozen to unfrozen, with extensive implications.
• As the physical environment changes, the range of a particular ecosystem will expand, contract or migrate in response. The combined influence of many stresses can cause unexpected ecological changes if species populations or ecosystems are pushed beyond a tipping point.
• Although adaptation planning activities in the coastal zone are increasing, they generally occur in an ad-hoc manner and are slow to be implemented. Efficiency of adaptation can be improved through more accurate and timely scientific information, tools, and resources, and by integrating adaptation plans into overall land use planning as well as ocean and coastal management.
• An integrated scientific program will reduce uncertainty about the best ways coastal communities can to respond to sea-level rise and other kinds of coastal change. This, in turn, will allow communities to better assess their vulnerability and to identify and implement appropriate adaptation and preparedness options.

###

This report is available at: http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment/nca-activities/695.

USGS provides science for a changing world. Visit USGS.gov, and follow us on Twitter @USGS and our other social media channels.

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/nh-cci020413.php

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After Harvard visit, dozens injured in bus crash

In this photo released by the Boston Fire Department via Twitter, firemen work to remove injured passengers from a bus that hit an bridge as it traveled along Soldiers Field Road in the Allston neighborhood of Boston Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2013. Officials said the bus carryinyg 42 people was traveling from Harvard University home to Pennsylvania when it struck the overpass. (AP Photo/Boston Fire Department)

In this photo released by the Boston Fire Department via Twitter, firemen work to remove injured passengers from a bus that hit an bridge as it traveled along Soldiers Field Road in the Allston neighborhood of Boston Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2013. Officials said the bus carryinyg 42 people was traveling from Harvard University home to Pennsylvania when it struck the overpass. (AP Photo/Boston Fire Department)

In this photo released by the Boston Fire Department via Twitter, firemen work to remove injured passengers from a bus that hit an bridge as it traveled along Soldiers Field Road in the Allston neighborhood of Boston Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2013. Officials said the bus carryinyg 42 people was traveling from Harvard University home to Pennsylvania when it struck the overpass. (AP Photo/Boston Fire Department)

In this photo released by the Boston Fire Department via Twitter, firemen work to remove injured passengers from a bus that hit an bridge as it traveled along Soldiers Field Road in the Allston neighborhood of Boston Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2013. Officials said the bus carryinyg 42 people was traveling from Harvard University home to Pennsylvania when it struck the overpass. (AP Photo/Boston Fire Department)

In this photo released by the Boston Fire Department via Twitter, firemen work to remove injured passengers from a bus that hit an bridge as it traveled along Soldiers Field Road in the Allston neighborhood of Boston Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2013. Officials said the bus carryinyg 42 people was traveling from Harvard University home to Pennsylvania when it struck the overpass. (AP Photo/Boston Fire Department)

Emergency personnel remove passengers at the scene of a bus crash, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 in Boston. Authorities say a charter bus heading from Harvard University to Pennsylvania has struck a bridge in Boston, injuring 33 people. (AP Photo/The Boston Herald, Stuart Cahill) BOSTON GLOBE OUT; METRO BOSTON OUT; MAGS OUT; ONLINE OUT

BOSTON (AP) ? After a visit to Harvard University, dozens in a group of high school students and their adult chaperones were injured when their charter bus hit a bridge after police say the driver failed to heed low-clearance warning signs.

One person was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and three with serious injuries, the Boston Emergency Medical Services said. Thirty-four people were injured in all, EMS said.

The Calvary Coach bus was carrying 42 people and was heading back to the Philadelphia area when it struck an overpass on Soldier's Field Road in Boston, a major crosstown road, at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Massachusetts State Police said. Some passengers were trapped for more than an hour as rescue crews worked to free them.

Authorities said the bus did not belong on the road, where a 10-foot height limit is in place and oversized vehicles are not authorized. State police said the driver, whose name was not released, "failed to heed signs" warning of the height limit and will likely be cited for an over-height violation. The investigation will determine if he faces more serious charges, state police said. The driver was not injured.

The driver looked down at his GPS and saw the bridge when he looked up but it was too late to avoid hitting it, Ray Talmedge, owner of the Philadelphia-based Calvary Coach Bus company, told WCAU-TV.

Talmedge said Saturday night in an interview that his driver was being interviewed by police. Talmedge, who said he didn't know anything about the road restrictions, said the driver also drives a school bus.

The students were part of a Destined for a Dream Foundation group, Talmedge said. Officials with the Bristol, Pa.-based group, a nonprofit that helps underprivileged youth, refused to comment on the crash when reached by phone.

The group's Facebook page said the trip to Harvard was to "visit the campus, sit with the office of cultural advancement, followed by a tour of the campus ... followed by Harvard Square (shopping, eating, site seeing...etc...) This should be a fun time for all!"

None of those injured was identified, and state police said they did not know how many of the injured were adults and how many were juveniles.

The bus suffered significant damage in the crash. The front part of the roof was pushed in while the center section bowed downward. Photos posted on the Fire Department's website showed firefighters standing on the top of the bus using boards to extract people. The last victim was freed from the bus around 9 p.m., according to the department.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority sent buses to pick up other passengers and get them out of the frigid temperatures.

Soldiers Field Road curves along the Charles River and passes by Harvard and Boston University. It is a major roadway to the Massachusetts Turnpike. The road was reopened Sunday after crews removed the bus and repaired guardrails.

The circumstances of the crash recalled a similar accident in Syracuse, N.Y., in 2010. The driver of a double-decker Megabus missed his exit and was using a personal GPS to find the bus station. He passed 13 low-bridge warning signs, some with flashing yellow lights, before hitting an overpass. Four people were killed. The driver was acquitted of homicide charges.

In December, a driver who prosecutors said was nearly asleep at the wheel was acquitted of the most serious charges in a crash that killed 15 gamblers returning to New York City from a Connecticut casino in 2011.

Federal officials stepped up enforcement of bus safety regulations last year, closing more than two dozen operations that mostly ferry passengers in the busy East Coast transportation corridor. It was the largest single federal crackdown on the industry.

Buses carry more than 700 million passengers a year in the United States, according to the American Bus Association.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-03-Boston%20Bus%20Crash/id-27e72e4934ea459ca2d08ba5587d01f6

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Resident Evil: Lost Hope

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Resident Evil: Lost Hope?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

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Hi, could I make a DSO agent as well as a BSAA agent? They'll be sisters.

MoonlightWraith

Member for 0 years

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I really don't want people to have 2 same-sex characters, I like to keep it gender equal and right now I've got an even male:female ratio. But you're welcome to make a pair of siblings if you wish.

EDIT: Or wait till other players have submitted their characters before you go ahead and make another female.

Kaname_Takashi

Member for 4 years

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Seems lovely, especially for us who looooove the RE series.
A medic on the team, would that fit in ? I mean, of cause he would be able to fight, just not as well as the other fellas, but still I think you see where I am going. If not then I could always make another character xD

nltniko

Member for 2 years

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I'm sure for this particular mission the squad would need a Medic in the unit so go right ahead. :)

Kaname_Takashi

Member for 4 years

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I meant DSO would be the BSAA's sister whoops, it's a brother and sister, like chris and claire

MoonlightWraith

Member for 0 years

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Healthier schools: Goodbye candy and greasy snacks | The Salt ...

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2012 file photo, side salads, apple sauce and plums await the students of Eastside Elementary School in Clinton, Miss. The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make school snacks healthier, a move that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks and greasy foods on campus. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Washington ? Goodbye candy bars and sugary cookies. Hello baked chips and diet sodas.

The government for the first time is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful, a change that would ban the sale of almost all candy, high-calorie sports drinks and greasy foods on campus.

?

What foods are in, what foods are out

Some examples of what could be in and out under the proposed new rules, provided the items meet or don?t meet all of the requirements:

WHAT?S IN

Baked potato chips

Granola bars

Cereal bars

Trail mix

Dried fruits

Fruit cups

Yogurt

Whole grain-rich muffins

100 percent juice drinks

Diet soda (high schools)

Flavored water (high schools)

Lower-calorie sports drinks (high schools)

Unsweetened or diet iced teas (high schools)

100 percent juice popsicles

Baked lower-fat french fries

Healthier pizzas with whole grain crust

Lean hamburgers with whole wheat buns

WHAT?S OUT

Candy

Snack cakes

Most cookies

Pretzels

High-calorie sodas

Many high-calorie sports drinks

Juice drinks that are not 100 percent juice

Most ice cream and ice-cream treats

Greasy pizza and other fried, high-fat foods in the lunchroom

Under new rules the Department of Agriculture proposed Friday, school vending machines would start selling water, lower-calorie sports drinks, diet sodas and baked chips instead. Lunchrooms that now sell fatty "a la carte" items like mozzarella sticks and nachos would have to switch to healthier pizzas, low-fat hamburgers, fruit cups and yogurt.

The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government?s effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have made improvements in their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.

Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunch rooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. And food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has not been federally regulated.

"Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in middle schools, and 8-ounce portions in elementary schools.

The standards will cover vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.

The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.

Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat, has been working for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of unhealthful foods around campus a "loophole" that undermines the taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.

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"USDA?s proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as well," Harkin said.

Last year?s rules faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn?t be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers from federal regulation and proposed different options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a 12-ounce portion.

The department also has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren?t working.

Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to comment and suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school year.

Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says surveys done by her organization show that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.

"Parents aren?t going to have to worry that kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a healthy school lunch," she said.

The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have lobbied to keep them in vending machines.

A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the number of calories kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie sodas.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/55753802-68/schools-foods-drinks-calorie.html.csp

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In Standing Up for Big Ag, Are Universities Undercutting Their Own ...

In a case before the U.S. Supreme Court this month, advocates for academic researchers are urging the justices to reverse a patent-infringement decision that has given the Monsanto Company broad authority to restrict scientists? study of genetically modified seeds. The decision, the advocates say, not only hurts farmers and fuels higher food prices; it also contributes to ?the suffocation of independent scientific inquiry into transgenic crops.?

Not surprisingly, the case has also drawn the attention of higher education?s research establishment?but it?s pulling for the other side.

The friend-of-the-court brief that advocates for the academic scientists comes from two nonprofit organizations, the Center for Food Safety and Save Our Seeds. It describes professors at two universities who were forced to abandon their research on sugar beets grown from Monsanto?s patented Roundup Ready transgenic seeds, because the company insisted on the right to block publication of their findings.

The brief also recalls a 2009 statement by 26 prominent university scientists who protested to the Environmental Protection Agency that because of the restricted access allowed under patents like the one in the Monsanto case, ?no truly independent research can be legally conducted on many critical questions regarding the technology.?

Some two dozen research universities and higher-education organizations, including the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities, filed another friend-of-the-court brief that sides with? Monsanto. Many of them are active in the patenting and commercialization of research themselves, in some cases lucratively so. (One is North Dakota State University, whose researchers were thwarted in their sugar-beet research.)

In their brief, the universities and associations contend that if the Supreme Court reversed the decision in the case, known as Bowman v. Monsanto (No. 11-796), it would weaken patent rights for genetically modified seeds, as well as for other artificial, progenitive technologies such as stem cells, bacterial strains, and organic computers.

Without strong patents, they say, companies will have fewer incentives to license such inventions from universities and then invest? in developing them into marketable products. ?Private-sector entities will incur these costs only if they are properly incented to do so,? the universities? brief says. ?Patents, and the valuable exclusionary rights they confer, provide the necessary incentive.?

George A. Kimbrell, senior lawyer for the Center for Food Safety and Save Our Seeds, calls the universities? stance disappointing. ?It?s a very strange position for institutions that should be promoting the freedom of scientific inquiry,? he says. ?Unfortunately, they?ve become beholden to the money and put that before their basic mission.?

?We don?t see it that way,? counters R. Michael Tanner, chief academic officer and vice president at the land-grant universities? group. He says his association and the others filed the brief in support of a ?fundamental principle of patent law,? not the company. ?We did not weigh in on the side of Monsanto or its business practices,? says Mr. Tanner.

Mr. Kimbrell, however, says that for farmers and academics, ?it is the patent that is the problem.?

That may require some explanation.

Until 2001 most seed developers would obtain intellectual-property protection under the Plant Variety Protection Act, a federal law that included specific exemptions that allowed scientists to conduct research on the seeds and farmers to harvest seeds produced by the crops and use them in subsequent plantings. In 2001 the Supreme Court upheld the protection of modified seeds under patent law?an intellectual-property regime that provides no explicit exemptions.

Now, says Mr. Kimbrell, most companies pursue patent protection for their seeds. And according to the center?s brief,? the companies then aggressively seek to enforce the patents by investigating and suing farmers who save second-generation seeds or find the seeds growing on their land.

The Center for Food Safety and Save Our Seeds say Monsanto has filed at least 142 patent-infringement cases against farmers, including the one in the case before the court, which was filed against a septuagenarian? Indiana farmer named Vernon Hugh Bowman in 2007. A federal district court granted summary judgment in favor of Monsanto, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld that decision in September 2011.

Farmers who buy Monsanto Roundup Ready seeds, which are popular because they are designed with a gene that enables them to survive even when the fields in which they are planted are treated with Monsanto?s Roundup weedkiller, must agree the seeds are for one-time use. Mr. Bowman was a Monsanto customer but also acquired some second-generation Roundup Ready seeds from a local grain elevator and planted them?in effect, taking advantage of the seeds? gene traits without compensating the company.

Monsanto contends that such a use violates its patent. Mr. Bowman argues that, under a 150-year-old principle known as the ?exhaustion doctrine,??Monsanto had used up its patent rights once it sold the seeds.

Although a victory for Monsanto could put even more momentum behind the very system that Mr. Kimbrell says is inhibiting public-interest academic research,
Mr. Tanner says other issues of academic importance are also at stake in the case.

Given all the academic research now under way involving self-replicating cells and similar technologies, the universities worry about how the Supreme Court will treat that doctrine. Says Mr. Tanner, if a patent on those kinds of technologies? ?is going to have any meaning, you can?t allow the exhaustion [argument] to work.?

The case is scheduled for oral argument on February 19, and a decision is expected by July.

Source: http://chronicle.com/blogs/bottomline/in-standing-up-for-big-ag-are-universities-undercutting-their-own-researchers/

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