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Study Says Pest-Resistant Cotton May Help Other Crops

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:57:39 +0100

Bollworms are a traditional threat to cotton crops. Young ones feed on the boll, the part of the cotton plant that contains the seeds.

A bacterium known as Bt is able to kill bollworms and some other pests. Bt is short for Bacillus thuringiensis. It was discovered in the early twentieth century. Farmers began using Bt as a natural pesticide.

Then, in the nineteen nineties, researchers found a way to grow cotton plants that contain a Bt gene. The genetically modified cotton plant produces toxins that kill bollworms. Farmers around the world are now growing an estimated fourteen million hectares of Bt cotton.

Cotton bollworms also attack other crops. But scientists in China recently reported that Bt cotton may help suppress bollworm in other crops growing nearby.

The study involved crops grown in six provinces of northern China between nineteen ninety-two and two thousand seven. The study area contained three million hectares of cotton and twenty-two million hectares of corn, peanuts, soybeans and vegetables.

The researchers say the study suggested that Bt cotton not only controls bollworm on the transgenic cotton, but also may reduce its presence on other crops. And that reduction, they say, may decrease the need for insecticide sprays in general.

But the researchers also pointed out concerns. They say bollworms could develop resistance to the cotton plants designed to resist them. And they noted that insects called mirids have become "key pests" of cotton in China. They said this is because of a decrease in pesticide use made possible by Bt cotton.

The researchers say they do not believe that Bt cotton alone can solve all insect problems. Instead, they say farmers in China should consider it just one part of pest management systems.

Kong-Ming Wu of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing led the study. The findings appeared in Science magazine.

A British group, the Institute of Science in Society, said the findings were presented in a way that could mislead readers. The group noted that the only part of the study available online at no cost, a short abstract, said nothing about the concerns.

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Medical Terms: A Clean Bill of Health From the Doctor

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:01:19 +0200

Many professions have their own words and expressions. This is true for the medical profession. Doctors use many technical terms that most people do not understand. But there are also expressions we use every day to tell about a person’s health. Let me explain.

Last month, I was not feeling well. I was under the weather. I thought I had caught a cold. I had a runny nose, itchy eyes, a sore throat and a cough. I felt tired and run down. I was in poor condition because I had not been getting enough rest.

My body hurt all over. I also had severe head pains -- a real splitting headache. And I was running a fever. My body temperature was higher than normal.

At one point, I blacked out. That’s right, I was out cold. I lost consciousness and my friend had to bring me around. He used cold water on my face to restore my consciousness.

I grew concerned that I might take a turn for the worse. I did not want to become sicker because then surely I would be at death’s door.

My friend took me to the doctor. I told the doctor I thought I had come down with a cold. When the doctor saw me, she immediately wanted to run some tests. She said that medical tests would help her discover why I was sick. The doctor also asked when I had my last physical. I do not get yearly check-ups. But I probably should get a medical exam by a doctor every year.

Then the nurse drew my blood. She used a needle to take a small amount of blood from my arm. She sent it to a laboratory for tests. The nurse also took my temperature. She used a thermometer to measure my body temperature.

The doctor told me I had influenza, or the flu. But she told me I would recover soon. She said I was over the worst of the disease. She told me to rest at home and to stay away from other people because the flu can spread. It is contagious.

Thankfully, I did not have to go under the knife. I did not need an operation. Instead, I did just what the doctor ordered. I went home and did exactly what was needed to become healthy again. Soon, I was on the mend. I was pulling through and recovering from my sickness.

Now, I am back on my feet. I am physically healthy again. Even better, the doctor has given me a clean bill of health. She says that I am one-hundred percent cured. I am back to normal and I feel great. In fact, I feel on top of the world. My friends say I now look like the picture of health.

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US History: Adams Avoids War With France, Signs Alien and Sedition Acts

Thu, 15 May 2008 14:34:58 +0200

John Adams took office in seventeen ninety-seven. He had served eight years as vice president under President George Washington. Now, state electors had chosen him to govern the new nation.

Adams was an intelligent man. He was a true patriot and an able diplomat. But he did not like party politics. This weakness caused trouble during his presidency. For, during the late seventeen hundreds, two political parties struggled for power. He was caught in the middle.

Adams was a member of the Federalist Party. As president, he should have been party leader. But this position belonged to a man who really knew how to get and use political power, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton served as treasury secretary under President Washington. Now, he was a private citizen, a lawyer in New York City.

Through the Federalist Party, Hamilton continued to have great influence over the national government. Federalists loyal to Hamilton controlled the Congress. Even President Adams' three cabinet ministers were loyal to Hamilton. In fact, they worked together against the new president.

This political situation made Adams' term in office very difficult. Yet strangely, it also led to the end of Federalist Party power.

Two major issues marked Adams' presidency. One concerned foreign policy. The other concerned the rights of citizens.

The first involved America's relations with France.

Federalists, in general, were men of wealth and position. They did not believe in democracy, rule by the people. For this reason, they strongly opposed the revolution in France. They were horrified by the execution of the French king and queen. Federalists wanted an alliance with Britain. Over time, they demanded war with France.

American support for France came from the opposition party, the Republicans. The leader of that party was the country's vice president, Thomas Jefferson.

France helped America win its war for independence from Britain. The friendship formed during the war continued afterward when Thomas Jefferson served as Minister to Paris. Relations began to turn bad as soon as he returned home.

The man who replaced him openly supported the French monarchy -- the losing side in the revolution. After the revolution succeeded, the new French government demanded that he leave.

Most Federalists did not want good relations with France. They used their power to prevent the government from sending a pro-French representative to Paris. They also searched for any signs of insult, any excuse to declare war.

President Adams did not agree with the majority of Federalists. He wanted to improve relations with France through negotiations. Yet he said the United States would strengthen its defenses. We will be ready, he said, if war comes.

One incident, especially, brought the two nations close to war. It is known in American history books as the "X, Y and Z Affair."

President Adams had appointed a committee of three ministers to negotiate with the French government. French officials kept these three men waiting for several weeks. While they waited, they had a visit from three Frenchmen -- later called X, Y and Z.

X, Y and Z told the Americans that France would sign an agreement if the United States did three things.

It had to lend the French government twelve million dollars. It had to apologize for anti-French statements in a recent message from President Adams to the American Congress. And it had to pay the French foreign minister two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

The American ministers were willing to pay. But they wanted to sign the agreement first. The French foreign minister refused. First the money, then the agreement.

The Federalists finally had the excuse they were looking for. France had insulted the United States. We must answer the insult. The only answer was war. Federalist newspapers added fuel to the fire by publishing anti-French propaganda. In a few places, pro-war groups became violent.

The Republican Party could do little. Even Thomas Jefferson was helpless. He remained in Philadelphia, the capital of the United States at that time. But he had few friends there anymore.

Congress quickly passed laws to create a permanent army and navy. It also approved new taxes to pay for them.

Two new laws passed by a small vote. But they greatly increased the powers of the national government. The laws were known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. Federalists said they were necessary to protect national security. But, in effect, the Federalists used them to weaken the power of the Republican Party.

Under the Alien Act, the president could accuse any foreigner living in the United States of being a threat to national security. He could order that person out of the country.

The act also increased the time a foreigner had to wait to become a citizen, from five years to fourteen years.

Republicans were furious. Most foreigners, when they became naturalized citizens, joined the Republican Party.

Republicans argued that the Alien Act violated the Constitution. They said it gave the government more powers than were stated in the Constitution. Federalists said the act was Constitutional. They said the Constitution gave the government the right to defend the country against foreign aggression.

The other law, the Sedition Act, barred the publication of anything that might incite public hostility against the government.

Republicans argued that this act violated Americans' Constitutional rights of free speech and a free press. Federalists, once again, defended it as necessary for national security.

The Federalists tried to use the Sedition Act to quiet Republican critics of President Adams' administration. About twenty-five persons were charged under the Sedition act. These included several leading Republican newspapermen and a Republican member of Congress.

Some of the men were tried and found guilty and sent to prison. But other Republicans took their places in the fight against the act. The Federalist plan to stop criticism did not succeed.

President Adams had signed the Alien and Sedition Acts into law. He believed they were necessary to protect the United States at a time when war with France was still possible.

Then, in early seventeen ninety-nine, Adams received several reports that France was ready to reopen negotiations on improving relations. He immediately nominated a new minister to France. Federalist senators threatened to reject the nomination. In the end, Adams agreed to nominate a committee of three ministers. The Senate approved them.

It was many months before the three men went to France to negotiate the agreement. And it was many more months before they completed their work. But they did so on September thirtieth, eighteen hundred.

After several years of bitter political struggle at home, President Adams finally prevented war with France. Later he wrote: "There is one thing I would like to be remembered for more than anything else. I gave myself the task of making peace with France. And I succeeded."

The year eighteen hundred was another presidential election year in the United States. The Federalist Party appeared to be dying. It failed in its effort to force the nation into war with France. And it failed to silence its critics through the Alien and Sedition Acts. Party leaders knew the election would be their last chance to keep political power.

The Republican Party had more popular support. It also had gained an increasing number of seats in state legislatures and the national Congress. Party leader Thomas Jefferson was sure to be elected president -- unless the Federalists could find a way to change the electoral process.

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Shark Diving and Feeding Raises Concerns, for Sharks and Divers

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:48:33 +0200

An Austrian man was diving in the Bahamas Islands two months ago when he was bitten by a shark. Markus Groh was taking part in a sport known as shark diving. He died in a hospital a day after the attack.

Many people fear sharks. But others put on underwater diving equipment and swim in search of the big fish. They want to observe the shark in its own environment.

You may have seen shark diving on television. If so, you know that some divers observe the animals from the safety of a steel cage or container. Or they wear special equipment made of metal.

But some divers have no extra protection when they watch sharks. A few swim in waters containing food. People drop it in the water to bring fish close to them.

Reports say Markus Groh was in the water with food when he was bitten. His death is the first deadly attack during shark feeding recorded by the International Shark Attack File. But the group has reported many injuries in the sport.

Many shark divers say it is exciting to swim near the animals. They are likely to dismiss any danger. Those who like shark diving say it increases people’s interest in sharks.

Such persons say it helps the public understand how important the animals are to the environment. They say it makes people want to protect sharks at a time when some kinds of shark are dying out.

Some ocean experts criticize shark diving that involves feeding the animals. They say the fish can become aggressive after having contact with the people feeding them. They say feeding sharks is bad for both animals and human beings. The American state of Florida seemingly agrees. Florida banned the feeding of all sea life, including sharks, in two thousand one.

Several companies offer diving trips near the Bahamas Islands. That is where Markus Groh died. Jim Abernethy’s Scuba Adventures organized the diving trip taken by the Austrian man. The company has provided passenger boat trips for divers in the Bahamas for several years.

Last year, the Bahamas Diving Association criticized such trips. The group wrote to Mister Abernethy’s company and others like it. The Association asked that they stop taking people to shark dives without protective cages. It also proposed an end to cageless dives in open waters with possibly dangerous sharks.

Markus Groh’s death brought criticism of this kind of shark diving. But a group called Shark Savers has praised Jim Abernethy and his company.

The group says Mister Abernethy is an ambassador of protection of sharks in the Bahamas. Shark Savers says he brings public attention to sharks’ importance in the environment. It says Mister Abernethy’s work helps warn people of the danger that some sharks could disappear from Earth.

Shark Savers operates a Web site called Sharksavers.org. It has asked people to add their names in support of cageless shark diving in the Bahamas. The Web site also contains a list of supporters of shark diving in general.

But an activist organization opposes the feeding of sharks. The Marine Safety Group led the movement for the Florida ban on feeding sharks and other water creatures.

The head of the group, Bob Dimond, says sharks normally do not want to be with people. But their excellent sense of smell leads them to food. The smell also causes more sharks than normal to enter the same waters. Mister Dimond says the presence of many sharks increases risk to humans.

He adds that shark feeders do not face the most danger from the animals. Instead, people who come near a shark later face the greater threat. By then, he says the fish has linked people with food.

George Burgess heads the International Shark Attack File and the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. He also opposes the feeding of sharks. He supports watching them doing normal activities in their natural surroundings.

Professor Burgess notes that hundreds of millions of people use the world’s oceans. He says this has caused shark attacks to increase during the past century. Still, the Shark Attack File reported only one deadly shark attack last year. The victim was skin-diving off Tonga.

Professor Burgess says the total number of shark attack deaths through two thousand seven was the lowest in twenty years. He says people have more to fear from some snakes, insects and lightning than from sharks. Taken together, shark attacks are far from the most dangerous threats to humans.

The International Shark Attack File describes shark attacks as either provoked or unprovoked. An unprovoked attack means the person is alive when bitten. The person is in the shark's environment. Also, the person must not have interfered with the shark. Professor Burgess says the death of Markus Groh will surely be recorded as provoked.

Surprisingly, the International Shark Attack File has records of attacks back to the sixteenth century. How does the group know about attacks hundreds of years ago? With some difficulty, says the professor. His volunteer team of researchers investigates reports. They study old newspapers, books and historic documents. He also says the media provide stories about shark bites. And people who have observed attacks communicate with his team.

Many people think of sharks as a deadly enemy. But these fish help the environment. They perform activities that help people. They eat injured and diseased fish. Their hunting means that the many other fish in ocean waters do not become too great. This protects other creatures and plants in the oceans. Sharks also may someday be valuable for treatment of human diseases.

During a recent year, business and sport fishing killed an estimated one million or more sharks. Most sharks reproduce only every two years and give birth to fewer than ten young. For this reason, over-fishing of sharks is a danger to the future of the animal.

Julia Baum of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography worries that some sharks may disappear from Earth. She has noted major decreases in sharks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

Miz Baum and scientist Ransom Meyers carried out studies for Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. Their work showed special danger to large coastal sharks. Populations of tiger, scalloped hammerhead, bull and dusky sharks all had dropped by ninety five percent over five years. The two researchers placed most blame on intensive fishing. This overfishing includes catching shark by mistakes.

Some scientists say about half of the thousands of sharks caught each year were not the target of the fishing. But no one really knows whether these sharks would survive if they returned to the water.

People hunt sharks for sport, food, medicine and shark skin. Collectors pay thousands of dollars for the jawbones of a shark. Shark liver oil is a popular source of Vitamin A. Sharkskin can be used like the skin of other animals.

Some people enjoy a soup made from shark meat. The popularity of the soup has grown greatly over the years. Today, fishing companies can earn a lot of money for even one kilogram of shark fins. Some restaurants serve shark fin soup for one hundred dollars a bowl.

Finning, as it is called, means cutting the fins off a live shark. Some areas ban finning. But illegal shark-fishing is big business.

Fishermen often cut off the shark’s fins and throw the animal back into the water. The shark is left to bleed to death to save space on the boat.

In two thousand four, sixty-three nations approved laws to protect sharks. Some rules are effective near land. But, as George Burgess notes, laws are difficult to enforce on the international waters of the high seas.

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When Tuberculosis Hits Animals

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:44:44 +0200

Bovine tuberculosis is a progressive wasting disease. It affects mainly cattle but also sheep, goats, pigs and other animals. People who get bovine TB have to take strong antibiotics for up to nine months to cure them.

Humans can get sick from infected cows by drinking milk that has not been heated to kill germs. Another risk is eating meat that has not been cooked to seventy-four degrees Celsius.

If an infected animal is processed, cutting through lung or lymph tissue can spread the M. bovis bacteria to other parts of the meat.

Bovine TB is a major problem in parts of Africa. Farmers in Canada and Britain have also lost many cattle in recent years. In Britain, debate continues about whether badgers pass TB to other animals.

Infected cows might lose weight and develop a cough, which spreads the bacteria through the air. Or they can appear healthy. Then, when they give birth, their calves can get infected by drinking their milk.

In the early twentieth century, bovine TB probably killed more animals in the United States than all other diseases combined. To control it, the government launched a highly successful testing program. Historians say animal doctors ordered the destruction of about four million cattle between nineteen seventeen and nineteen forty.

But currently, the state of Michigan in the Midwest is fighting an outbreak of tuberculosis in cattle. Experts identified wild deer as the source of infection. More recently the neighboring state of Minnesota has also had to deal with TB in cattle and deer.

Cows and wild deer can infect each other -- for example, if they share cattle feed left in fields during winter. Possible solutions might include building fences or leaving smaller amounts of hay.

Michigan's agriculture director announced this month that the state will receive more than three million dollars in emergency federal aid. Michigan will use the money to increase prevention and testing activities, and to pay farmers who have to destroy infected cattle.

Since nineteen ninety-four, the state has spent close to one hundred million dollars on control efforts. Michigan officials say no TB has been found in cattle outside the containment area.

Experts say the most effective form of control is to destroy cattle herds that have been exposed to bovine tuberculosis. This prevents any chance that infected cows might be moved to another farm.

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Seven Win Goldman Environmental Prize

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:43:40 +0200

This Tuesday is Earth Day. On April twenty-second, nineteen seventy, millions of Americans took part in activities to bring attention to the environment. Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin had called for a huge protest against pollution and other threats.

An environmental movement was born, and Earth Day is now observed around the world.

Last week, the seven winners of this year's Goldman Environmental Prize were announced in San Francisco, California. Winners are chosen from each part of the world.

The winners of the Goldman Prize for South and Central America are Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza in Ecuador. The two men are leading a major legal case against the Chevron oil company. It involves petroleum pollution in the Ecuadorian Amazon between nineteen sixty-four and nineteen ninety.

The case was brought against Texaco; Chevron bought that company in two thousand one.

The winner of this year's Goldman Prize for Africa is Feliciano dos Santos in Mozambique. He and his band, Massukos, use traditional music to educate villagers about the importance of clean water. He also works to bring better sanitation to poor villages.

The prize winner for islands and island nations is Rosa Hilda Ramos of Puerto Rico. She is leading a movement to protect the Las Cucharillas Marsh from factory pollution. The wetland area is one of the last open spaces near San Juan’s community of Catano.

The Goldman prize winner for North America is Jesus Leon Santos. He is leading a land renewal and economic development program in Oaxaca, Mexico. He has worked with local farmers to dig waterways and plant about one million trees. Poor land-use methods have done much damage to the soil.

The prize winner from Asia is Marina Rikhvanova. She is working to protect Lake Baikal in Siberia from damage by Russia's growing oil and nuclear industries.

And the winner from Europe is Ignace Schops. He helped raise ninety million dollars to establish the first and only national park in Belgium.

The Goldman Prize is the world's largest prize for environmental activism. The winners each receive one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Rhonda and Richard Goldman established the award. The prize has gone to one hundred twenty-six people over the past eighteen years.

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Chinese Say Son With Bird Flu Likely Infected Father

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:42:25 +0200

Researchers in China have reported on a rare human-to-human case of bird flu. They say it is likely that a twenty-four year old man in the eastern province of Jiangsu infected his father last December.

They believe it happened while the father cared for the son in a hospital. The son died. The father lived.

Government researchers say genetic tests showed almost identical forms of the H5N1 virus in the two men. Ninety-one other people came in close contact with them but did not get infected.

The report appeared last week in the Lancet medical journal.

On April third, the World Health Organization said a family in Pakistan showed a high probability of human-to-human infection in a case last year. In that case, an animal doctor was infected with the avian flu virus when he helped destroy diseased birds in Peshawar. His three brothers became infected later although they had no contact with diseased birds.

Gregory Hartl is a project leader in the W.H.O.’s Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response office in Geneva. He says experts can never confirm one hundred percent that human-to-human infection with the virus has taken place. But he says there seems to have been at least six cases, including the ones in Pakistan and China in two thousand seven.

Scientists worry that the virus might change over time into a form that passes easily among humans.

In other developments, Egypt reported its third death from H5N1 in the last two weeks. Health officials said a thirty year old woman got sick on April second. She was taken to a hospital seven days later. She was the twenty-second person to die from the virus in Egypt.

South Korea this month reported new outbreaks in birds.

And the United States health secretary urged Indonesia to cooperate more with the World Health Organization to share virus samples. Mike Leavitt spoke Monday in Jakarta. He noted that many life-saving vaccines have resulted from international cooperation.

Indonesia has had the most deaths of any country from H5N1, more than one hundred people. But it wants the right to approve any drug company's use of virus samples from Indonesia. Indonesia also wants guarantees that poor countries would be able to get low-cost vaccines developed from their samples.

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Five Building Designers Who Are Redefining Modern Architecture

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:41:02 +0200

The writings and buildings of American architect Robert Venturi have helped redefine the path of modern architecture since the nineteen sixties. The Vanna Venturi house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was one of his first important projects. Venturi designed the house for his mother in nineteen sixty-two. He has said that the house is complex and full of contradictions. For example, the house is small, but it has large details that make it seem big. And, the house is modern while also containing details from traditional architecture.

In his buildings and writings, Robert Venturi calls for a kind of modern architecture that shows the influences of history while also including popular culture. He rejected the kind of modern design that was pure and simple in favor of a modern look that was a mixture of styles and influences. His writings helped begin what is often called the post-modern movement.

Examples of his buildings include the addition to the National Gallery in London, England. Venturi designed this large building on Trafalgar Square as a more modern version of the museum’s nineteenth century main building. His other museum projects include the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, California and the Seattle Museum of Art in Washington. Venturi also designed buildings at many American colleges, including Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Frank Gehry grew up in Canada. In his free time as a child, he would make small versions of buildings out of pieces of wood. In nineteen forty-seven, his family moved to the United States, where Gehry began his university studies in architecture.

Frank Gehry believes that architecture is art. He has said that in some ways he has been more influenced by artists and sculptors than by architects. This may be why his buildings often look like energetic sculptures made from bold geometric forms.

Famous examples of his designs include the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, finished in nineteen-eighty nine. His “Dancing House” is in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. This playful building, finished in nineteen ninety-six, looks like two dancers.

Gehry’s most famous building is the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao in Spain which was completed in nineteen ninety-seven. Most of the curving building is covered in titanium. It looks like a dancing metal wave sitting on the edge of a river. The curved surfaces of this building and others by Gehry are so complex to build that they require computer programs.

More recently, Frank Gehry designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California. This huge metal covered building was designed to look like the sails of a boat. Frank Gehry’s buildings are so popular that some people say they create a “Gehry effect.” This term is used for a building that attracts visitors because of the famous architect who designed it.

We have described some famous buildings around the world that are architectural wonders. You might not think that a parking area near a tram station would be a project of one of the most famous names in modern architecture. But the car park and terminus in Strasbourg, France are a good example of the skill and creativity of Zaha Hadid. This parking area for seven hundred cars is a play of energetic lines. Nearby, the futuristic tram station is made up of sharp angles and geometric shapes.

Zaha Hadid has designed other striking buildings such as the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio. For this boldly boxy design, she created an entry walkway area that slowly curves and becomes a wall inside the building. Hadid is known for designing and completing structures that seem almost impossible on paper. She says that architecture is clearly about shelter, but it must also bring pleasure.

Born in Iraq, Zaha Hadid completed her architectural studies in Britain, where she now lives. In two thousand four, Hadid became the first woman to win the important Pritzker Prize for architecture. Thomas Pritzker presented the award. He said that her work organizes land, space, structure, and person so that each is inseparable from the other, and each calls to the other.

Current projects of Hadid and her architects include the Glasgow Transport Museum in Scotland and the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.

Tadao Ando is a Japanese architect who has mainly worked in and around his city of Osaka. Ando never studied for a degree in architecture. Instead, he taught himself about modern architecture by visiting buildings and reading books.

Tadao Ando’s first projects were houses. In nineteen ninety-three he won Japan’s Culture Design Prize for the Rokko housing project. These simple but striking concrete houses are built along the side of a hill overlooking Osaka Bay.

Ando is known for using unfinished reinforced concrete as a building material. And he is known for making buildings with simple designs that are closely connected to the natural environment.

Tadao Ando says that when you create a building, you cannot simply put something new in a place. He says you have to understand what you see around you, what is on the land. He says you must use that knowledge along with modern thinking to plan a building design.

Ando also built the Church of Light. This religious building in Osaka is very simple in its design, but very beautiful. The main room is made of concrete. There is nothing on the walls except an opening in the concrete. The opening creates two bars of light in the form of a cross.

In two thousand two, his Modern Art Museum opened in Fort Worth, Texas. The building is so striking that you have to remind yourself to also look at the art. The concrete and glass museum is built next to a body of water, so it almost seems to float. The glass walls let natural light into the space while also allowing visitors to look out across the water to see the city.

Daniel Libeskind was born in Poland, but grew up in the United States. He began his career as a teacher of building design. Libeskind’s first project was the new building of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany, which opened to the public in two thousand one. It is a zinc-covered building made up of bold bending lines and sharp angles. Many areas of the building were designed to represent different parts of Jewish history and culture. Libeskind has said that architecture is about communicating. He says that he built this museum to tell a complex story in many different ways.

His extension to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada opened in June of last year. The sharp angles of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal building make it look like a large glass and aluminum gem. The five interlocking spaces of this building required very complex engineering skills to create.

Daniel Libeskind also has many projects in the United States. The tall extensions of the Denver Art Museum in Colorado are covered in silver-colored titanium metal. Libeskind says the building was influenced by the light and environment of the nearby Rocky Mountains.

Libeskind and his team of architects are currently working on an apartment building in Covington, Kentucky and a shopping center in Las Vegas, Nevada. His Creative Media Centre at the City University of Hong Kong in China is expected to be finished in two thousand ten.

We did not have time to talk about all the other imaginative architects at work. But the designs of Robert Venturi, Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, and Daniel Libeskind are a good start for learning about the exciting world of modern building design.

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Five Women Honored in Washington for Global Leadership

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:34:42 +0200

Five women were honored last week in Washington for their efforts to increase the economic and political progress of women. Vital Voices, an international nonprofit organization, presented its Global Leadership Awards to the winners from Argentina, Burma, France, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates.

Laura Alonso heads a group in Argentina called Poder Ciudadano, or Citizen Power. Its members work to make the government more open. They investigate corruption, observe elections and watch for government influence over the media. They also educate citizens about their rights.

Burmese activist Charm Tong received Vital Voices' human rights award, presented by first lady Laura Bush. Charm Tong co-founded the Shan Women’s Action Network. In a report six years ago, the group detailed how the Burmese military uses rape as a weapon against women and girls. Charm Tong also helped establish a school for ethnic Shan young people whose families live in exile in Thailand.

Author and journalist Mariane Pearl of France was recognized for writing about women who work for change in their countries. She also wrote a book about the death of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. He was kidnapped and killed in Pakistan in two thousand two. Actress and activist Angelina Jolie presented the award; she played Mariane Pearl in the film version of the book.

Another winner, Kakenya Ntaiya of Kenya, travels widely as the first youth adviser to the United Nations Population Fund. She speaks about girls' education as a way to end child marriage and the painful custom in some cultures of cutting the sex organs of girls.

She agreed to follow this tradition if her father would let her finish high school instead of getting married. Then she persuaded leaders in her rural village to help send her to college in the United States. Kakenya Ntaiya expects to receive a doctorate in education next year. She plans to return to Kenya to establish a school for girls.

The final winner was Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi in the United Arab Emirates. In two thousand four she became the first woman appointed as a finance minister in the Middle East. Now she heads a newly formed ministry of foreign trade. She is also a businesswoman and works with information technology.

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Study Links Midlife Belly Fat to Higher Risk of Dementia

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:33:22 +0200

Being overweight can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attacks. But now there may be another reason to lose the fat, especially around the middle of the body.

A recent study suggested that people in their forties with belly fat have an increased risk of dementia later in life.

Dementia is the name for a group of brain disorders that affect memory, behavior, learning and language. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause. Dementia rarely appears before the age of sixty.

The new study added to growing evidence that people with large stomachs can face greater health risks than others who are overweight.

The study involved more than six thousand northern California members of Kaiser Permanente, a health care organization. Researchers looked at the patients' medical records from between nineteen sixty-four and nineteen seventy-three.

The people were in their early to mid-forties at the time. They were all part of a long-term health study that included measurements of belly fat.

The researchers compared the records with those from when the patients were in their seventies. By that time, almost one out of six of them had dementia. The researchers found that dementia was more common in those with wider bellies.

Those with the highest belly measurements had almost three times the risk of dementia compared to those with the lowest.

Belly size appeared to make a difference even in patients with normal body weight.

Belly size is linked to a kind of fat that grows around organs and produces harmful substances. Experts believe that belly fat is more dangerous than other kinds of fat cells that grow just under the skin.

The researchers say this is the first study to demonstrate a link between midlife belly fat and the risk of dementia. Still, it is possible that this apparent connection could be the result of a complex set of health-related behaviors.

The findings appeared in the journal Neurology. Rachel Whitmer from the Kaiser Permanente research division led the study. She says the findings do not explain why belly fat may be linked to dementia. But she says the study should send a warning.

Other research has shown that brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease might begin as early as young adulthood. And another study showed that belly fat in old people was tied to increased loss of brain cells.

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From Forester to National Teacher of the Year

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:32:16 +0200

Michael Geisen, a middle-school science teacher in Oregon, will spend a year as an international spokesman for education.

A science teacher from Prineville, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, is the new National Teacher of the Year.

Michael Geisen is thirty-five years old. He was a forester. But he decided he would rather work with growing minds than with growing trees. Seven years ago, he got a master's degree in teaching and a job at Crook County Middle School. Crook County has high rates of poverty.

He brought new energy to the science department. He also created school projects to get parents involved in their children's work.

One girl who was recently in his class said he could probably make it interesting to watch grass grow.

During lunch, his students come to his room to talk, get help, visit his turtle and sometimes join him in playing guitar. He writes songs and develops games about science. He says one of his goals as a teacher is to create people who will continue to learn throughout their lives.

Michael Geisen studied forest resource management and graduated with high honors from the University of Washington.

He says he tries to be creative with each activity. He does not like to use textbooks much. When students know that the work is local and useful to their lives, he says, they start to get interested.

On June first Michael Geisen will begin a year as a spokesman for education. The father of two young children will travel the country and the world.

The National Teacher of the Year program, a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers, began in nineteen fifty-two. The winner is chosen from among state teachers of the year.

President George Bush honored this year's top teachers at the White House last week. He noted that in Michael Geisen's first two years as head of the science department, scores on a state science test rose sharply at his school. And they are still rising. The president's education reform law, the No Child Left Behind Act, expanded testing as a way to measure results.

But speaking at the White House, the new National Teacher of the Year said children are "not just numbers to be measured."

MICHAEL GEISEN: "Students need to know that we value more than just being right all the time. We need to really honor their creativity. We need to honor their desire to learn useful skills that are going to be relevant to the twenty-first century world.

"These are skills such as innovation and creativity, people-skills like compassion and collaboration and the ability not to just know the details but to really see how it fits into the big picture. This is our real challenge, is to educate the entire child."

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The World of Cars Is Changing Fast

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:30:16 +0200

Americans, possibly more than any other people, love their cars. Ownership of cars is a sign of middle class wealth. A car has long been part of the American dream. For many people, nothing provides a feeling of freedom like driving in a powerful car on the open road. But high fuel prices and changes in technology are causing people to change the way they look at the car.

The car industry is changing more quickly than almost any other industry. Just ask General Motors. This year the American company celebrates one hundred years of being in business. GM remains the biggest car company in the world for now. But Toyota of Japan is positioning itself to become the world leader very soon. General Motors has been losing market share to foreign carmakers at home for years. For two thousand seven, General Motors lost almost thirty-nine billion dollars. That is believed to be the largest one-year loss in the history of the auto industry.

General Motors finds itself in a changing marketplace. During the nineteen nineties, much of GM's profits came from the sale of large sports utility vehicles, or SUVs. However, rising gas prices have made these big, fuel-hungry vehicles unpopular. And GM has struggled to offer new vehicles that use less fuel.

However, GM has made its own changes. In January, Mark LaNeve, GM's North American vice president of sales and marketing, spoke at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show. He discussed ways that GM was changing itself into a car company for the twenty-first century. He said that GM is looking forward to competing in the next one hundred years. Mister LaNeve noted that not only was it important for GM to compete in the United States but also around the world.

The fastest growth markets are not in industrial nations any longer but in the developing world. And in these areas, GM is doing increasingly well. Mister LaNeve said that GM had increased sales in three of four areas around the world. The North American market was the only one in which sales did not grow.

The market for cars around the world is changing in ways that are more complex than simply the size or style of cars. One of the most interesting new developments comes from India's biggest company, the Tata Group, which owns Tata Motors. Tata Motors recently bought the high-cost car models Jaguar and Land Rover from American carmaker Ford in a deal worth two-point-three billion dollars.

But in January, Tata Motors made big news by announcing that it would start selling a very small car that costs only two thousand five hundred dollars.

The car, called the Nano, is designed mainly for India's home market, but its price has caught the attention of the world. The Nano is the result of a different kind of engineering. Instead of designing things to add to the vehicle, engineers thought of ways to remove things. For example, the car has very little storage space. Parts like the steering column, which helps the car to turn, are made of less costly, lighter materials. As with any lightweight car, safety is a major issue. The car could be very dangerous if it is in an accident. But the Nano does have four doors and five seats. And its price puts it within the reach of millions of people in India.

Tata Motors' Nano is mainly meant for the Indian market. But the German company Daimler makes a very small car meant for markets in industrial countries. It is called the Smart Fortwo. Almost eight hundred thousand of an early version of the car have been sold in thirty-six countries. Now Daimler will try to sell the Smart Fortwo in the American car market.

The car is less than three meters long and less than two meters wide. Still it has many of the things that people in industrial countries expect from a car. For example, the car can have a radio, air-cooling and many other details. However, its cost is not as low as you might think. The least costly version of the Smart Fortwo is over eleven thousand dollars.

Smaller cars are just one direction that the car industry is taking. The industry is also producing cars that limit pollution and have a less harmful effect on the environment. Many experimental versions of cars are being made using new technologies. These include cars that run on fuels like ethanol, hybrid cars that use both fuel and electric power and fully electric cars. Added to these are fuel cell vehicles.

At the Washington Auto show, a GM product called the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell won top honors as an environmentally friendly vehicle. This fuel cell car won the Green Car Journal's Green Car vision award. The Equinox Fuel Cell is powered by an engine that uses hydrogen to produce electricity.

But recently, both GM and Toyota have questioned whether fuel cell cars can be offered at a price most people can afford. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz spoke at the auto show in Geneva, Switzerland last month. He said there has been recent progress in power-storing lithium-ion batteries. He said future electric cars may be able to travel nearly five hundred kilometers before the batteries need to be recharged.

Toyota is working on fuel cell cars too. However, the company's president, Katsuaki Watanabe, confirmed that fuel cells are just too costly to be available in the next ten years. Toyota is the leading maker of hybrid vehicles. These run on both electrical power and gas.

The automobile industry is changing in ways that would seem surprising to people only a few years ago. Toyota, for example, is expected to become the largest car company in the world very soon. But while Toyota has gained market share in North America and other Asian countries, the company is facing falling sales at home.

In Japan, new car sales fell to a thirty-five year low in two thousand seven. Sales for new cars, trucks and buses fell over seven percent. High fuel costs and good public transportation are two reasons driving has become less popular in Japan.

An opinion study by a Japanese newspaper found that only twenty-five percent of Japanese men in their twenties wanted a car at all. That was down from forty-eight percent in two thousand. The study was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Another trend involves not owning but sharing a car. Zipcar is a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the world's largest car-sharing business. Members pay each time they use a Zipcar. The car is left in a place were it is available to other members.

The company is growing quickly. Zipcar recently joined with a similar company, Flexcar. The merger is expected to be complete soon. The combined company will have one hundred eighty thousand members and five thousand vehicles. Zipcar does business in the United States, Canada and Britain.

And Zipcar is not the only company interested in car- sharing. Reports say vehicle rental businesses are interested in competing with Zipcar. In early February, Enterprise Rent-A-Car entered the car-sharing business in Saint Louis, Missouri. Its program is called WeCar. Other companies such as U-Haul International have similar car-sharing businesses and the car rental company Hertz is considering one.

Enterprise, which is the biggest car rental company by sales, says it is seeking a different business model from Zipcar. It wants to provide shared cars to businesses.

Shared cars are seen as an environmentally friendly way to use cars without owning one. Car- sharing reduces the number of cars on the road. Many of the cars are models that burn less fuel and produce less pollution. For example, Enterprise provides the Toyota Prius hybrid car for its members.

Car-sharing could be one way that people use cars in the future. Smaller cars and electric models are also a growing part of the future of cars. But as tens of millions of new cars are sold each year, one thing is clear: cars are still as popular as ever.

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Need Your Appendix Out? Let Me Reach Down Your Throat

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:23:44 +0200

Medical researchers keep looking for less invasive

ways to perform operations. The aim is to cut less and to reduce pain and recovery time. Some researchers see a future in NOTES. NOTES is short for Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery.

In simple terms, what this means is the removal of diseased organs through the body's natural openings. For example, a man in California recently had his appendix removed through his mouth.

Twenty-five years ago, having your appendix removed meant staying in the hospital for as long as a week. Patients returned home with an ugly and permanent scar on their abdomen.

But since the late nineteen eighties, laparoscopic surgery has gained popularity. It leaves only small marks where holes were made in the skin. The doctor works with a system called a laparoscope, usually connected to a video camera. Laparoscopic surgery rarely requires a hospital stay.

With the newest kind of surgery, doctors make a small cut in the patient's belly button. A camera is placed through the hole to help guide the surgical instrument.

The operation at the University of California San Diego Medical Center in March lasted three hours. It was done as part of a study to test new methods of minimally invasive surgery. Santiago Horgan, director of UC San Diego's Center for the Future of Surgery, led the medical team.

Doctors used a long robotic tube to pass the instrument down the patient's throat. Then they made a cut in the wall of the stomach. The cut was made to pass the instrument through to the appendix for removal.

The researchers said they believed it was the country's first removal of a diseased appendix through the mouth. They said India was the only other country to report such an operation.

The patient in California, named Jeff Scholz, said he recovered quickly and with little pain.

But some doctors say they are not sure this kind of surgery is worth the possible risks. They say stomach fluids could leak if the hole in the stomach wall is not closed completely. A mistake, they say, could be life-threatening.

The surgical method is still being studied to see if it is better than traditional surgeries.

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American History Series: John Adams Is Elected Nation's Second President

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:18:00 +0200

The year seventeen ninety-six saw a change in American politics. That year, the new nation held its third presidential election. And for the first time, there was more than one candidate.

George Washington won the first two elections without opposition.

But now there were two political parties. The Federalists were led by former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The Republicans were led by former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.

Most people expected John Adams to win. He was well known throughout the country. He had campaigned for American independence from British rule. He had served as a diplomat in Europe and as the first American minister to Britain. He was Washington's choice for vice president and had served in that position for two terms.

Adams was a Federalist. But he was not -- like other Federalists -- loyal to Alexander Hamilton. So Hamilton worked against Adams. He tried to win electoral support for his own candidate for president, Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina.

At last, the day arrived for counting the votes. The Federalists were shocked by the results. Seventy-one electors voted for John Adams. Sixty-eight voted for Republican Thomas Jefferson. Only sixty voted for Hamilton's choice, Thomas Pinckney.

Under the electoral system used at that time, the candidate with the most votes became president. The candidate with the next largest number of votes became vice president. So America's second president would be John Adams. Its second vice president would be Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson had resigned from public service a few years earlier. But he decided to accept his election as vice president. He wrote to his friend James Madison: "I am willing to serve under President Adams. I believe Adams is the only man who can stop Alexander Hamilton from becoming president in eighteen hundred."

To Adams himself, Jefferson wrote that he valued their long friendship and hoped it would continue. Republican newspapers carried articles that were friendly to Federalist John Adams -- the first time they had done so.

When Adams and Jefferson took office in March, seventeen ninety-seven, some Federalists believed their political power had come to an end. But Alexander Hamilton, sitting in his law office in New York City, did not lose hope. He knew he still controlled the top Federalist leaders in Congress.

More than that, he believed he knew how to control John Adams.

The new president made Hamilton's job easy. Adams kept President Washington's cabinet. The three men who were Washington's chief government officials would now advise President Adams. Washington had appointed them at Hamilton's request. And they always did what Hamilton told them to do.

Historians still cannot explain why John Adams -- a man who did not like or trust Alexander Hamilton -- kept the three cabinet secretaries. If the secretaries had been men of great ability, then that might be an explanation. But they were not.

One was a secretary of state who knew very little about foreign relations. The second was a secretary of the treasury who knew less about finance. The third was a secretary of war who knew nothing about military matters and defense.

Adams may have kept these men as an act of party unity. Or he may have kept them because he could not get anyone else.

Whatever his reason, the decision was politically costly, for the three men worked together against him. President Adams told his cabinet secretaries what he wanted. Then they went to Alexander Hamilton for orders.

In the end, these secret activities helped destroy the Federalist Party. And so, they made the administration of John Adams one of the most exciting and important periods in the political history of the United States.

As we said earlier, John Adams was a great man and a true patriot. He was born in the village of Braintree, Massachusetts, in seventeen thirty-five. He wanted to be a farmer. But he was sent to Harvard College to study to be a clergyman. He had no interest in this life and became a lawyer, instead.

In the years before the American Revolution, John Adams wrote articles about the injustice of British rule. He also became a delegate to the First Continental Congress. He urged the Congress to appoint George Washington as commander-in-chief of American forces. He argued for the creation of an American Navy. And he helped develop the resolutions declaring American independence.

Adams spent most of the war years in Europe. He helped win Dutch recognition of the new American nation. He also negotiated a loan from the Dutch government, as well as a treaty of friendship and commerce. After American forces defeated British forces, he helped negotiate the peace treaty between the two countries. Then he served as the first American minister to Britain.

Adams, like other Federalists, believed that men of money and position should govern America. He did not trust the common people. He did not support democracy. He once wrote: "In the city of Boston, there are four noble families. They are just as much a noble class as the nobility of Britain or Spain. And it is good that this aristocracy exists."

Yet John Adams had a deep love for his country. He would do whatever was necessary to keep it free.

Adams was extremely intelligent and was a thoughtful, lively writer. However, he often acted very coldly and said little. Or he became angry easily. His best friend probably was his wife, Abigail. He had few other friends.

Adams' personal weaknesses caused trouble during his presidency. He belonged to the Federalist Party. But he did not want to become involved in party arguments. And he did not want to make all the compromises necessary in the world of politics. So, other Federalists often worked against him.

Not many people really liked this difficult, aristocratic man. Strangely enough, one of the few who did was Thomas Jefferson. This was strange, because Jefferson's political philosophy was opposed to everything Adams represented.

Perhaps Jefferson liked Adams because he respected him for his intelligence. Perhaps he never forgot that Adams had fought hard for American independence. Or perhaps he understood that, under Adams' selfishness and weaknesses, there was an honest man who would do anything for his country.

However, there were not many like Jefferson. Most men in politics just did not like Adams. They used this fact as a weapon. It was such a strong weapon that it made people forget what Jefferson remembered. John Adams had a good mind and loved the United States. He had given many years of his life to the young nation and should be honored for it.

Federalist leaders, especially, appealed to Adams' weaknesses when they wanted his support.

For example, they knew Adams was jealous of President Washington. Adams felt Washington received too much honor, while he received not enough. Sometimes, if Adams knew the president's opinion on a question, he would develop a different opinion. Yet Washington -- like Jefferson -- respected Adams. He felt the new nation needed Adams' skills.

Adams won the presidency in seventeen ninety-six. But his term would be difficult. His own party, the Federalists, did not trust him. And he did not have the support of the general public. The people knew he did not like them.

Adams did not expect the job to be easy. He once wrote: "In politics, a man must always walk on broken glass and red-hot iron. It is not easy to do this when you are not wearing shoes. But some men must do it. There are many dangerous things that have to be done for our country in these dangerous times. If nobody else will do them, I will."

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Insect Expressions: I Don't Mean to Bug You

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:13:09 +0200

There are many American expressions about insects -- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They always appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives. So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house. In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn.

Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the nineteen twenties. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee's knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. If fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet. If someone asks you a personal question, you might say "that is none of your beeswax." This means none of your business.

Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression people sometimes use when their children ask, "where do babies come from?" Parents who discuss sex and reproduction say this is talking about the birds and the bees.

Hornets are bee-like insects that sometimes attack people. It you are really angry, you might say you are mad as a hornet. And if you stir up a hornet's nest, you create trouble or problems.

Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your pants. That is, to be restless and unable to sit still.

Here are some expressions about plain old bugs, another word for insects. If a friend keeps asking you to do something you do not want to do, you might ask him to leave you alone or "stop bugging me." A friend also might tell you again and again to do something. If so, you might say he put a bug in your ear.

If you were reading a book in your warm bed on a cold winter's day, you might say you were snug as a bug in a rug. And, if you wish someone good night, you might say, "sleep tight -- don't let the bed bugs bite."

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American History Series: How a Dispute Helped Lead to Party System

Fri, 02 May 2008 14:56:00 +0200

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had opposing ideas about how the new nation should be governed. Their dispute helped create the system of political parties in the United States.

The Federalist Party, led by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong national government with a powerful president and courts. Federalists thought men of money and position should rule the country. And they did in the early seventeen nineties.

Federalists controlled the Congress. They also had great influence over the nation's first president, George Washington. The Republicans, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, did not want a strong national government with unlimited powers. And they believed political power should be spread throughout the population.

The two sides carried on a war of words in their party newspapers. Historians believe Hamilton himself wrote much of what appeared in the Federalist paper. Jefferson, they believe, acted mostly as an adviser to the Republican paper.

Both papers carried unsigned articles attacking the opposition. Both printed stories that were false. At times, the attacks were personal. Many people felt two cabinet secretaries should be above that kind of public fighting.

Toward the end of president Washington's first administration, he received a letter from Jefferson. The Secretary of State said he planned to resign. He said he disagreed with most of the administration's national and foreign policies. He did not name Hamilton. It was not necessary. Washington knew what he meant. For Hamilton was the chief planner of those policies.

The president tried to make peace between the two men. He liked them and respected them. He believed the new nation needed the skills of both men. However, the dispute had gone too far. It was now more than just a question of two strong men who could not agree. It was a battle of two completely different philosophies of government.

Washington did not succeed in making peace between Jefferson and Hamilton. But Jefferson decided not to resign. In a letter to his daughter, Jefferson said: "the attacks on me have changed a decision which I did not think could possibly be changed. I must remain and fight."

The idea of organized political parties was new in the United States. There were no laws saying what they could or could not do. There were no restrictions on the political activities of government officials. So, while continuing to serve as Secretary of State, Jefferson began working to get his supporters elected to Congress. He believed that was the only way to fight Hamilton. National elections were set for seventeen ninety-two.

There was no dispute about the highest office. In seventeen ninety-two, everyone wanted George Washington to be elected president again. However, many Republicans saw no reason to re-elect John Adams as vice president. Adams was a patriot and had served his country well. But he was not democratic. He made no secret of his opinion that men born to the upper class should rule.

Republicans had another reason to campaign against the Federalists. Hamilton's financial policies made it possible for bankers and other money lenders to invest in all kinds of deals. One man did this with information he got as a high-level Treasury Department official. His investments turned bad and his business failed. This caused other businesses to fail. There was a financial crash in New York City, the center of business in the United States.

The Federalists were strong in the northeast. But the Republicans were gaining strength everywhere else. The election of Republican representatives to Congress in seventeen ninety-two would make them an important force in the House of Representatives.

The Republicans did not, however, win the vice presidency. That office went once again to Federalist John Adams. Perhaps the one thing that saved Adams was the belief of many Americans that President Washington wanted him again as vice president. Yet Adams did not win a clear victory. The electors from four states voted for Republican George Clinton of New York. One state voted for Jefferson, though he was not a candidate.

The year seventeen ninety-three saw a change in Alexander Hamilton's political powers. The Republicans in the House of Representatives demanded answers to questions about his financial programs. Why did the Treasury Secretary refuse to give Congress all the facts about government plans to borrow, to lend, and to tax?

For four years, the House had passed all the laws Hamilton asked for without being told why the laws were needed. In his opinion, that was the only way to govern. Now, the House wanted to know more.

Hamilton considered the request an insult. Yet he answered it. He produced four reports about Treasury Department activities. Republicans searched the reports for proof that Hamilton and his Federalist friends had been dishonest. They found no such proof. And they did not accuse him of taking money for himself. But they attacked him on several other issues.

For example, they said Hamilton had not followed President Washington's instructions for dealing with the nation's foreign loans.

They said he paid too much interest to the National Bank of the United States. And, they said he did not carefully obey laws passed by Congress concerning the use of government money.

Federalist members of Congress answered the accusations. They declared again and again that the Republicans had not been able to prove even one criminal act by the Treasury Secretary.

The attempt to force Hamilton out of office failed. But Hamilton himself was ready to leave. He was satisfied with the work he had done. More than any other man, he had shaped the policies of the United States for the first five years of its existence. He was sure the young nation would continue to be governed by the political ideas he supported. Hamilton went to New York City to work as a lawyer and spend more time with his family.

Most Americans were not excited by the debate between Federalists and Republicans on such issues as the Bank of the United States. Farmers and laborers did not understand economics. But the French Revolution was something else.

Federalists opposed the French Revolution. They denounced the violence and the murder of the king and queen. They also wanted closer economic and political ties with Britain. Republicans welcomed the revolution. They saw it as a fight for liberty and democracy -- the same ideas they fought for against Britain. Besides, they said, Britain was no friend of America.

Britain still held land in the western United States in violation of the peace treaty between the two countries. Britain still paid Native American Indians to kill White settlers in frontier areas. And Britain still took sailors off American ships and forced them to serve in its Navy.

The revolution in France put the United States in a difficult situation. The situation became worse when the kings of Europe sent their armies against the new French republic. The United States had a treaty with France. It had agreed to aid France if France were attacked. But President Washington firmly believed the United States should not become involved in the politics of Europe. So he declared the United States would remain neutral.

The declaration was a victory for the Federalists. They still had a great deal of influence over President Washington. But what would they do after seventeen ninety-six? Washington's second term would come to an end that year. And he had announced he would not run again.

At that time, the Constitution did not limit the number of presidential terms. Yet, George Washington felt two was enough. Who was the most likely candidate to succeed him?

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American History Series: Two-Party Political System Takes Hold in US

Fri, 02 May 2008 14:51:23 +0200

George Washington became America's first president in seventeen eighty-nine. He had commanded the forces of the American colonies in their successful rebellion against Britain. Washington was elected without opposition. But American politics were about to change.

George Washington did not belong to a political party. There were no political parties in America at that time. This does not mean all Americans held the same political beliefs. They did not. But there were no established organizations that offered candidates for elections.

Two such organizations began to take shape during President Washington's first administration. One was called the Federalists. Its leader was Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The other was called the Republicans. Its leader was Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Each group represented the political beliefs of its leader.

Hamilton and the Federalists wanted a strong national government with a powerful president and courts. They supported policies that helped bankers and wealthy businessmen. They urged close economic and diplomatic ties with Britain. They did not like democracy, which they described as mob rule.

The Federalist Party led by Alexander Hamilton was not the same as an earlier group also called Federalists.

The word was used to describe those who supported the new American Constitution. Those who opposed the Constitution were known as anti-Federalists.

Some early Federalists, like Hamilton, later became members of the Federalist Party. They were extremely powerful. They controlled the Congress during the presidency of George Washington. And they almost controlled Washington himself, through his dependence on Alexander Hamilton.

Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans supported the Constitution as a plan of government. But they did not think the Constitution gave the national government unlimited powers.

They supported policies that helped the nation's farmers and small businessmen. They urged closer ties with the French people, who were rebelling against their king. And they demanded more rights, more democracy, for the people of the United States.

The men who led these two groups were very different.

Alexander Hamilton of the aristocratic Federalists was not born to an established, upper-class American family. He was born in the West Indies to a man and woman who were not married. However, Hamilton was educated in America. And he gained a place in society by marrying the daughter of a wealthy landowner in New York state.

Money and position were important to Hamilton. He believed men of money and position should govern the nation.

Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic Republicans could have been what Alexander Hamilton wanted to be. Through his mother, he was distantly related to British noblemen. And he liked fine food, wine, books, and music.

But Jefferson had great respect for simple farmers and for the men who opened America's western lands to settlement. He believed they, too, had a right to govern the nation.

Both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were loyal Americans. Yet they held completely opposing opinions on how America's government should operate.

Their personal disagreements turned into a public dispute when they served in President Washington's cabinet. The two men did not argue directly in public, however. They fought their war of words in two newspapers.

Both knew the power of the press. Jefferson, especially, felt the need for newspapers in a democracy. He believed they provided the only way for a large population to know the truth. He once said: "If I had to choose between a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I would choose newspapers without a government."

Hamilton already had experience in using newspapers for political purposes.

During the American Revolutionary War, Hamilton served as an assistant to George Washington, the commander-in-chief. One of his jobs was to get money and supplies for the army.

Hamilton asked the thirteen state governments. He also asked the Congress, which had little political power at that time. He got almost no help from either.

Hamilton felt the new system of government under the Articles of Confederation was weak and disorganized. He did not think the states should have so much power. What America needed, he said, was a strong central government. Without it, the Confederation would break apart.

Hamilton expressed his opinions in several newspaper articles. He did not put his own name on the articles. He signed them "The Continentalist."

He soon became one of the strongest voices calling for a convention to amend the Articles of Confederation. This was the convention that finally met in Philadelphia in seventeen eighty-seven and wrote the American Constitution.

Hamilton was one of the delegates. Afterwards, he helped write a series of newspaper articles to win support for the Constitution. These were the Federalist Papers, written together with James Madison and John Jay.

When Hamilton became treasury secretary under President Washington, he continued to use the press. Only now, he was trying to win support for his own policies.

Hamilton spoke through a newspaper called the Gazette of the United States. Its editor was John Fenno.

Jefferson won the support of several newspapers. But these were not part of his political movement. It was important, he felt, to have one newspaper speak for him. James Madison found it for him. It would be edited by Madison's old friend Philip Freneau. It would be called the National Gazette.

Most of the people who supported Hamilton lived in the cities of the northeast. They were the nation's bankers and big businessmen. They were lawyers, doctors, and clergymen.

Jefferson respected Hamilton's political power. But he saw that Hamilton did not have a national organization of common people.

In the seventeen nineties, ninety percent of Americans were farmers, laborers, and small businessmen. They were bitter over government policies that always seemed to help bankers, big landowners, and wealthy businessmen. They had no political party to speak for them. These were the people Thomas Jefferson wanted to reach.

Jefferson's task was big. Many of these Americans knew little of what was happening outside their local area. Many were not permitted to vote, because they did not own property.

Jefferson looked at the situation in each state. Almost everywhere he found local political groups fighting against state laws that helped the rich. Here was what Jefferson needed. If these local groups could be brought together into a national party, the Federalists would finally have some organized opposition.

Jefferson's party included rich men and poor men. They joined together to fight what they saw as a misuse of power by Federalists in the national government.

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American History Series: For a New Nation, Hamilton Seeks a Bank

Fri, 02 May 2008 14:42:11 +0200

He was the top planner and policy maker under President George Washington. He was also the nation’s first secretary of the Treasury.

Alexander Hamilton wanted to be a military commander. He hoped to demonstrate his bravery by fighting in a war. So, when the thirteen American colonies rebelled against Britain in the seventeen seventies, he joined a militia in New York state.

It was not long before Hamilton met the commander-in-chief of American forces, George Washington. General Washington invited Hamilton to become one of his assistants.

One of Hamilton's jobs was to get money and supplies for the army. He asked the thirteen state governments. He also asked the Congress, which had little political power at that time. He got almost no help from either.

Hamilton felt the American system of government was too weak and disorganized. He did not like democracy, rule by the people. Instead, he liked aristocracy, ruled by a rich upper class.

Alexander Hamilton was a proud man. He was quick to criticize others. He even criticized George Washington. Once, during the war, he was late to a meeting with the general. Washington protested. Hamilton resigned.

Washington was sorry. He had a high opinion of Hamilton's abilities. That is why he was willing to forget the incident and appoint Hamilton to the new Treasury Department.

The job would be difficult. The new nation had to find ways to bring in money and pay what it owed. The new Constitution said the national government was responsible for re-paying the states' wartime loans.

One way to get money was to borrow it. But no one wanted to lend money to the United States unless they were sure they would get it back. So, the Congress asked Treasury Secretary Hamilton to write a report about how to build up the government's credit.

VOICE TWO:

Hamilton's report said the government must pay back the full amount of all its debts. This caused a dispute.

Many of the debts were in the form of government notes. The notes promised to pay someone for supplying food, clothing, and weapons to the rebel army. Some promised to pay soldiers for joining the army.

The notes really were worth nothing, however. The wartime Congress had no money. People who got them lost hope of ever getting re-paid. So they sold them to anyone willing to pay even part of the value.

Hamilton's plan would repay the full value of the notes to those who owned them last. This meant the people who first got the notes from the government would receive nothing. And the people who bought them at low cost would receive much more than they paid.

Congressman James Madison of Virginia protested. He said the people who bought the notes at low cost should be paid, but not in full. Some of the money, he said, should go to those who got the notes in exchange for supplies or services.

Madison made an emotional speech in Congress. He described the situation of former soldiers forced by hunger to sell their government notes for almost nothing. He noted that the Union was established to protect the people against such injustice.

Hamilton said the purpose of his plan was greater than simply paying debts. He said it was a way to build up the nation's credit so it could borrow money more easily in the future.

Hamilton believed that those who bought the notes had a right to earn money from them. These men took a chance that the worthless notes would be worth something, someday. The government could not deny them their profits.

Many members of Congress felt sorry for the poor soldiers and their families. Yet they voted against Madison's proposal and supported Hamilton's plan.

Hamilton's plan raised old fears. The agricultural south was sure he was trying to make the industrial north more powerful. Hamilton did not deny this. His purpose was to strengthen the nation. He believed all areas would be helped if industry and commerce were stronger.

Still, to win support for his plan, Hamilton had to make a political deal with several Congressmen. They would support his financial plan. But he had to use his influence to get the capital of the United States moved.

At that time, the capital was in the north, in New York City. Two Congressmen from Virginia wanted it in the south near their homes along the Potomac River. Several Congressmen from Pennsylvania agreed. But they said the capital first must be moved to Philadelphia, the biggest city in their state. And it must remain there ten years.

Congress accepted this plan by a close vote. President Washington signed it.

It was well known that George Washington wanted the capital closer to his Virginia farm, Mount Vernon. Yet, there is no evidence that he ever asked any member of Congress -- or anyone else -- to help get it moved there.

Alexander Hamilton's plan to re-pay the nation's debts caused much protest. However, another one of his financial plans caused even more. It was his plan to create a national bank.

Hamilton argued that there were central banks in Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. He said the banks greatly helped those countries' commerce, industry and agriculture.

Hamilton said a central bank in the United States would increase the flow of money throughout the country. It would help the national government negotiate loans and collect taxes.

Critics argued that a national bank would give too much power to a few rich men in the north. It would take control of state banks, on which southern farmers and small businessmen depended. It would increase the use of paper money, instead of gold and silver.

James Madison led the opposition against Hamilton's plan in Congress.

Madison believed the United States should not put all its wealth in one place. So, he proposed a system of many smaller banks in different parts of the country. He also argued that the idea of a central bank was unconstitutional.

No one knew more about the American Constitution than James Madison. He was given credit for most of the ideas in it. Everyone respected his explanation of its wording.

Madison noted that the Constitution gives Congress a number of powers, which are stated. Congress has no powers beyond this. For example, he said, Congress has the power to borrow money. But it is permitted to borrow money only to re-pay debts, to defend the country, and to provide for the general good of the people.

Madison rejected the idea that the right to create a central bank came from the power to provide for the general good of the people. He said such an idea twisted the meaning and purpose of the Constitution. That, he said, was most dangerous.

Madison's argument was powerful. Yet, once again, Hamilton won more Congressional support. He got enough votes to approve his proposal to establish a national bank. Still, President Washington had to sign the bill into law. He worried about the possibility that the bill was not constitutional.

So he asked three men for advice: Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. And Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.

Randolph had no firm answer. Jefferson agreed with Madison. Creating a national bank violated the Constitution.

Hamilton, of course, disagreed. He said the Constitution gave the government certain powers, and named them. But it included others, without naming them. It did this so the government could put its powers to work and act like a government. Such was the purpose of the Constitution, Hamilton said.

These arguments did not completely answer all of President Washington's questions. But he went ahead and signed the bill to establish a national bank in America.

Hamilton and Jefferson came to disagree on most issues. Their struggle for power in the new government led to the creation of America's political party system.

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New York Yankees Leaving Famed Ballpark, but Won't Be Moving Far

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:14:49 +0200

The House That Ruth Built is the popular name for Yankee Stadium, the home of the New York Yankees. Ruth was Babe Ruth. His playing made the Yankees so popular, they built the stadium.

Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx area of New York City. Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the stadium on the day it opened: April eighteenth, nineteen twenty-three. That day, the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox, four to one.

Babe Ruth had played for Boston. But the Red Sox traded him to the Yankees after the nineteen nineteen season. It was a decision the Red Sox would soon regret. In nineteen twenty Babe Ruth hit more than fifty home runs.

Over the years, the Babe set many baseball records. Tradition says he also changed history for the Yankees and the Red Sox.

The Yankees had not played in a World Series until he joined the team. Since then, they have won a record twenty-six championships.

The Red Sox had been one of the most successful teams in baseball before Babe Ruth left. After that, Boston played in four World Series and lost them all.

Fans in Boston and New York called it "The Curse of the Bambino." Bambino is Italian for baby. It was also another nickname for Babe Ruth, who was born George Herman Ruth.

Finally, in two thousand four, the supposed curse ended after more than eighty years.

The Red Sox defeated the Yankees for the American League championship. Then Boston won the World Series that year against the Saint Louis Cardinals. And the Red Sox are currently the defending major league champions. They defeated the Colorado Rockies four games to none in last year's World Series.

This is the eighty-sixth season the Yankees have played in Yankee Stadium. It was standing-room only as more than fifty-five thousand people watched them defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in the season opener on April first. The game was supposed to be played the day before, but got rained out.

Former Yankee hitter Reggie Jackson threw out the first pitch. He was known as "Mister October" because that was when he played his best, during championship seasons. Reggie Jackson was a Yankee hero in the nineteen seventy-seven World Series. He hit three home runs in Yankee Stadium during the sixth game of that series.

Eighty-two year old Yogi Berra was also at Yankee Stadium for opening day. He was the Yankees' catcher from nineteen forty-six to nineteen sixty-three. He played in fourteen World Series. He later became a manager and coach for several teams and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Today many people know him for his "Yogi-isms" -- statements like "It ain't over till it's over" and "You can observe a lot by watching." But as a player he may be remembered best for catching a perfect game in Yankee Stadium during the nineteen fifty-six World Series. He jumped into the arms of pitcher Don Larsen to celebrate the no-hitter.

An area of the outfield at Yankee Stadium is known as Monument Park. There are stone monuments and plaques honoring players and team officials.

The players include Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. They also include Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson and Roger Maris. He hit sixty-one home runs in nineteen sixty-one. That broke Babe Ruth's record of sixty home runs in one season.

The first monument in Monument Park dates from nineteen thirty-two. It honors Miller Huggins, manager of the team for eleven seasons. His Yankees won three World Series.

Another manager honored in Monument Park is Casey Stengel. He led the Yankees to seven championships.

A special monument honors the New Yorkers killed in the terrorist attacks on their city on September eleventh, two thousand one.

Yankees radio announcer Mel Allen is also honored in Monument Park. He was the voice of the Yankees for twenty-five years. He was known for his way of calling a home run:

MEL ALLEN: "Swung on and hit, that ball is going, going, gone!"

Baseball's All-Star Game will take place this year at Yankee Stadium in July. Over the years, the ballpark has also been used for other sports as well as religious and political gatherings, concerts and more.

This coming Sunday, Pope Benedict will become the third leader of the world's Roman Catholics to celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium. The others were Pope John Paul the Second in nineteen seventy-nine and Pope Paul the Sixth in nineteen sixty-five.

In nineteen thirty-eight, one of the most famous boxing matches of all time was held at Yankee Stadium. Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round to win the world heavyweight championship.

The New York Giants of the National Football League played at Yankee Stadium from nineteen fifty-six to nineteen seventy-three. They settled into their own stadium in nineteen seventy-six. They are still called the New York Giants even though they play in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

In nineteen forty-six, lights were added to Yankee Stadium so games could be played at night. In nineteen seventy-three, after its fiftieth anniversary, the stadium was rebuilt. The project took two years. During that time the Yankees played at Shea Stadium, the home of the Mets, New York's other Major League Baseball team.

Some fans liked the nineteen twenty-three Yankee Stadium better. But the rebuilt ballpark was designed to give fans a better view of the field.

The changes reduced the number of seats. The original stadium had sixty-five thousand wooden seats. It was rebuilt with fifty-four thousand wider seats made of plastic.

The new Yankee Stadium is going up across the street from the existing one. It will be almost two-thirds larger, with more space for food, stores, even an art gallery. Yet it will hold fewer people. The new Yankee Stadium will seat about fifty-three thousand people.

Fans are being promised improved sight lines for watching games. The big video screen will be six times larger, and the sound system will also be improved.

The billion-dollar ballpark is to open next year at this time. Yankee officials say it will continue to honor team history but will provide what they call a modern fan experience.

The New York Yankees play in the American League; the New York Mets play in the National League. From time to time they play each other. The cross-town rivals met in the World Series in two thousand. The Yankees won the major league championship.

That was the last time the Yankees have won a World Series. They returned to the series twice more, but lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Florida Marlins.

This year, the Yankees have a new manager, Joe Girardi, a former Yankee player. And they are getting ready to say goodbye to the House That Ruth Built. But the Yankees are not the only players in New York who will be moving.

The Mets will also play on a new field next year. This is their final season in Shea Stadium which will also be torn down. It was built in the nineteen sixties and was designed for baseball and football.

The new home of the Yankees will still be called Yankee Stadium. But the new home of the Mets will be called Citi Field. Citibank will pay twenty million dollars a year for naming rights. The new ballpark is being built next to the existing one in the Queens part of the city.

New stadiums these days offer expanded services for people with more money to spend. This will be true for the new ballparks in New York. But the teams say games will not be priced out of reach of average fans.

When the Yankees lose a game, they play the version of the song "New York, New York" sung by Liza Minnelli over the loudspeakers. And when they win? They play the version sung by Frank Sinatra.

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Five Women Honored in Washington for Global Leadership

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:10:05 +0200

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Searching for Better Ways to Teach Math in US

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:52:36 +0200

A committee has released its final report on ways to improve math education for American students. President Bush created the National Mathematics Advisory Panel two years ago.

The panel examined thousands of reports, along with survey results from more than seven hundred algebra teachers. Yet the report, released last month, is short on detailed advice. It says existing research does not show just what knowledge or skills are needed for effective math teaching. The solution? More research.

The report does say basic math skills must be taught completely in the early years of school. Children should be able to add and subtract in the third grade. By the end of fifth grade, they should be able to multiply and divide.

Teachers should avoid revisiting skills year after year. And, the experts say, it is wrong to think children are "too young" or "not ready" to learn certain content at certain ages.

The report says a major goal for kindergarten through eighth grade should be understanding fractions. These skills are needed for algebra. Yet, the report says, at the present time they seem to be severely underdeveloped in American students.

Schools are urged to prepare more students to take algebra by the eighth grade.

Many people think math success depends largely on natural talent or ability; the experts say it depends on effort. Studies have shown that children improve in math when they believe that their efforts to learn make them "smarter."

The report also calls for strengthening the math preparation of elementary and middle school teachers. And it urges publishers to shorten math textbooks, which are often up to a thousand pages long. The panel said math books are much smaller in many nations where students do better in math than American children.

Publishers say American textbooks have to meet the goals of different states for what should be taught in each grade.

The report also calls for more research on the effects of using calculators. Many algebra teachers expressed concern about their use in the lower grades.

And the report says gifted students who can move through the material much faster than others should be permitted to do so.

The math panel says the educational system needs major changes. If not, it warns that the United States will lose the mathematical leadership it possessed during most of the twentieth century.

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Study Links Midlife Belly Fat to Higher Risk of Dementia

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:50:04 +0200

Being overweight can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart attacks. But now there may be another reason to lose the fat, especially around the middle of the body.

A recent study suggested that people in their forties with belly fat have an increased risk of dementia later in life.

Dementia is the name for a group of brain disorders that affect memory, behavior, learning and language. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause. Dementia rarely appears before the age of sixty.

The new study added to growing evidence that people with large stomachs can face greater health risks than others who are overweight.

The people were in their early to mid-forties at the time. They were all part of a long-term health study that included measurements of belly fat.

Those with the highest belly measurements had almost three times the risk of dementia compared to those with the lowest.

Belly size appeared to make a difference even in patients with normal body weight.

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The World of Cars Is Changing Fast

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:46:19 +0200

But in January, Tata Motors made big news by announcing that it would start selling a very small car that costs only two thousand five hundred dollars.

Enterprise, which is the biggest car rental company by sales, says it is seeking a different business model from Zipcar. It wants to provide shared cars to businesses.

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Grand Canyon

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:41:17 +0200

Scientists in the United States say the Grand Canyon is nearly three times as old as earlier estimates. They say they found evidence that the Grand Canyon began forming seventeen million years ago. That is eleven million years earlier than other studies have shown.

Geologists at the University of New Mexico carried out the new study. Their findings were published last month in Science magazine.

Other scientists say the findings fit with earlier theories about how the Grand Canyon may have been formed. But some experts on Earth's development disagree. They say the study fails to support earlier findings.

The Grand Canyon is a popular stop for visitors to the southwestern United States. It stretches up to twenty-nine kilometers wide and nearly two kilometers deep. Yet its age has long been an issue of scientific debate.

Scientists have often used geologic events to describe the history of the Grand Canyon. Such events have included rock flows and sedimentary rock, or rock formed from other rocks. Generally, this method is only able to confirm ages of rock formations up to one million years ago.

Instead, the American geologists used a uranium-lead dating method that finds ages of minerals back tens to hundreds of millions of years. They dated minerals from caves at different depths of the canyon’s walls. Minerals from openings on hillsides are less likely to suffer damage from water or other causes of erosion.

The uranium-lead dating system helped the geologists estimate water levels over time as river water cut through the rock to form the Grand Canyon. Their findings suggest that the rate of erosion was much slower in the western canyon than in the eastern part.

Today the Colorado River runs along the four hundred forty-six kilometer long canyon. Based on their findings, the geologists believe a separate river began the formation of the Grand Canyon. They say the canyon started instead from the west by a river about seventeen million years ago. Another river began forming a canyon from the east. Over time, the rivers connected to each other. The geologists estimate the two canyons joined together about six million years ago.

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Schistosomiasis

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:39:40 +0200

Scientists think they are a step closer to a new drug to treat schistosomiasis. More than two hundred million people suffer from this parasitic worm disease. Most live in developing nations. About ten percent of victims become seriously disabled from internal bleeding, iron loss, organ damage or other effects.

A team in the United States found that chemical compounds known as oxadiazoles can attack an enzyme needed for the survival of Schistosoma. This is the group of flatworms that cause schistosomiasis.

The scientists tested oxadiazoles on laboratory mice. They found that one compound killed the parasite at every level of development. The study also showed that the compound was active against all three major kinds of Schistosoma worms that infect human beings.

America's National Institutes of Health supported the research. Nature Medicine magazine reported on the study by scientists from Illinois State University and the Chemical Genomics Center at N.I.H.

David Williams led the research. He says the Schistosoma parasite needs oxygen to survive. Oxygen use produces oxygen-free radicals that can destroy an organism. The worm has a protective enzyme. But Professor Williams says the experimental drug disables this enzyme, causing the worm to self-destruct.
Each year, two hundred eighty thousand people die of schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia or snail fever. The microscopic worms infect snails, which produce infected eggs. People become infected when they enter fresh water where the snails live.

The worms dig through skin to enter the body. They move into blood passages that supply the intestinal and urinary systems. Then, if worm eggs in human waste enter fresh water, more snails and people become infected.

Since the nineteen eighties, doctors have used one main drug to treat schistosomiasis. Public health experts worry that the worms will become resistant to this drug, praziquantel.

More studies are needed on the experimental drug. The scientists say the results in mice were better than all the targets set by the World Health Organization for new schistosomiasis compounds. They hope the drug will be ready for testing in humans in four to five years.

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Cassini Studies Mysterious Geysers on a Saturn Moon

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:36:28 +0200

Saturn is best known for the rings of icy material that surround the planet. But Saturn's moons interest scientists because some may hold liquid water and other materials necessary for life.

Recently, the American space agency NASA ordered the Cassini spacecraft to visit one of Saturn's most interesting moons. NASA jointly operates Cassini with the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

The moon is Enceladus. It is not Saturn's largest moon. It is only five hundred kilometers across. But the forces that affect the surface of Enceladus are very active.

Periodically, huge amounts of material shoot up from the surface. NASA officials have called these events geysers, like the hot water that is forced out from under the ground on Earth. Cassini first captured pictures of such an event three years ago. The pictures have proved so scientifically important that NASA made changes to its plans for Cassini just to study the geysers.

On March twelfth, the space agency directed Cassini to pass only about fifty kilometers from the surface of Enceladus. Cassini got so close that it passed through material shooting out of the moon. The spacecraft was traveling at a speed of fifteen kilometers a second.

What Cassini found has only increased scientists' interest in the moon. New maps of temperatures on Enceladus show that an area on the southern part of the moon is ninety-three degrees below zero Celsius. Temperatures on Enceladus are normally about one hundred thirty degrees below zero.

John Spencer is a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He says the new temperature information makes it more likely that there is liquid water not far below the surface.

Liquid water is believed to be one of the things needed for life. Organic material is another. Cassini also found that the geysers are releasing organic material.

Hunter Waite is an investigator for the Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. The spectrometer is a device that helps identify the chemistry of substances.

Mister Waite says the chemicals gathered from the geysers of Enceladus are much like those found on comets in our solar system. Cassini found water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and also organic material shooting from the geyser.

It is not known what causes the geysers on Enceladus. Cassini's deputy project scientist, Linda Spilker, says scientists know that heat causes the geysers to shoot from the surface of Enceladus. But, she says, it is not known what causes the heat.

Gravity from Saturn and the moon Dione are known to affect Enceladus. But it is not clear if this gravitational force is enough to cause the moon's energetic geysers.

The geysers are powerful. The material is leaving the surface at four hundred meters a second. And there is a link between the geysers and the objects for which Saturn is most famous. Material from Enceladus helps form the E-ring, the most distant of Saturn's many beautiful rings.

The most recent visit is only the beginning of close study of Enceladus. Scientists will have another chance to observe Enceladus when Cassini passes very near the moon again in August.

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The Danger of Desertification

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:33:19 +0200

Desertification is a process. It changes productive land into useless land. One example of desertification is when a desert spreads into nearby cropland. In time, the cropland becomes an extension of the desert.

But that is not the only way farmers lose fertile soil.

Long dry periods, warmer temperatures and the removal of trees can all lead to the loss of good cropland. Floods can remove fertile topsoil and begin a process resulting in the loss of planting areas.

Another danger to good land is poor farming methods. Farmers should avoid continually planting crops in the same places, or letting animals feed year after year on the same lands.

Countries from Guatemala to Greece to Vietnam are working against the loss of cropland. Africa especially faces the risk of desertification.

Nigeria, for example, says it loses three hundred fifty thousand hectares of usable land each year. Hills of sand now cover places where people once lived.

When cropland turns to desert, people move to other places for better land and better jobs. This migration can cause political and social tensions.

A nonprofit organization in Nigeria is working to bring public attention to the problem. The group is called Fighting Against Desert Encroachment, or FADE.

Newton Jibunoh is a retired soil engineer who started this group in the year two thousand. He says desert encroachment could cause widespread hunger.

Newton Jibunoh is currently leading a delegation to thirteen African countries to discuss the dangers of losing farmlands. In northern Nigeria, the group organized a competition between schools in seven areas. The goal was to see who could plant the most trees.

Trees are often cut down for fuel wood. But lines of trees around cropland can catch blowing sand. In addition, tree roots can hold soil in place. Even within a desert, trees can be planted as borders around grassy areas.

For many years, China has been building a wall of trees in the northern part of the country. The goal is to stop the Gobi Desert from extending toward Beijing. The Great Green Wall will extend about five thousand kilometers. Completion is expected in two thousand fifty.

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Philadelphia: A City at the Heart of American History

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:32:34 +0200

Philadelphia is a big city on the Delaware River in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania. It has about a million and a half people and is often called Philly.

The city was designed by William Penn. The Englishman and Quaker founded Pennsylvania in the sixteen eighties. He chose the name Philadelphia which he interpreted to mean "city of brotherly love" in Greek.

Philadelphia holds an important place in American history. It served as the nation's capital from seventeen eighty-five to seventeen ninety. And earlier, it was the capital of the American colonies during most of the Revolutionary War against Britain.

Philadelphia became the central meeting place for the "Founding Fathers" who created the United States government. The buildings where they worked can be seen today in an area called the Old City, or Independence National Historical Park.

The main building is Independence Hall. That was where colonial leaders declared independence and later debated the creation of a government.

A guide takes us into the room in Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The signing took place on July fourth, seventeen seventy-six.

During the summer of seventeen eighty-seven, the room had another important use. Delegates held a federal convention there and wrote the Constitution.

In the seventeen hundreds, Independence Hall was the Pennsylvania statehouse. Philadelphia was the capital of Pennsylvania at the time; today the capital is Harrisburg.

A bell was ordered for the building. But the bell cracked soon after it arrived from England. So in seventeen fifty-three, the bell was melted down for its metal and a new bell was made.

The new bell was rung many times for public announcements, including the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

In the eighteen thirties, a group that was trying to ban slavery in the United States began calling it the Liberty Bell. On it are these words taken from the Bible: "Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."

But in eighteen forty-six a crack appeared in the replacement bell. No one knows why it cracked. The Liberty Bell has not been rung since, but it remains an important national symbol.

The National Park Service says more than two million people visited Independence National Historical Park last year.

Across the street from the park is the National Liberty Museum. This museum has a collection of more than ninety paintings and sculptures. They represent the idea that liberty is a freedom that is easily violated.

The museum also celebrates more than three hundred fifty world heroes. One example is Jonas Salk, the American doctor who developed a polio vaccine. Another is Mother Theresa of Calcutta, who helped the poor and sick.

Time for a meal. A few blocks from the Liberty Bell is the City Tavern. The restaurant serves food based on recipes as old as the nation itself. For example, there is beer brewed from a recipe developed by Thomas Jefferson, the third president, and his sweet potato biscuits.

In fact, the City Tavern is three years older than the United States. It was completed in seventeen seventy-three. Historians say it was considered the best restaurant in British North America.

When the nation was a year old, the first Independence Day celebration was held there on July fourth, seventeen seventy-seven.

And ten years later, after approving the Constitution, what did the delegates do? Tavern records show they went to the City Tavern for a meal.

Speaking of food, another good place to eat in Philadelphia is the Reading Terminal Market. It opened in eighteen ninety-two with spaces for almost eight hundred sellers. Today, the huge building is filled with stores selling local farm products as well as seafood, clothing, jewelry and crafts from many countries.

One hundred thousand people a week visit the Reading Terminal Market.

Visitors can find all kinds of foods -- including, of course, Philly cheesesteak. The city is known for these sandwiches made of thinly sliced meat covered with cheese. A cheesesteak is offered with onions and other toppings and served on a long roll.

Now it is time to get back to the Visitor Center at Independence Park for a tour of Philadelphia on a Duck. This is a kind of vehicle that can drive on land or ride on water. Other cities also have these kinds of tours.

The seventy-minute ride includes about twenty minutes on the Delaware River, which separates Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

As we travel through Philadelphia, the riders blow on duck noisemakers, like this.

As we pass through Independence Park, our driver points out Carpenters’ Hall. That was where colonial delegates first gathered in seventeen seventy-four to discuss their problems with British rule.

We also pass by the houses of important people during colonial times. One of these buildings was where Betsy Ross lived when tradition tells us she sewed the first United States flag.

Outside the historical area, the Duck passes by Elfreth's Alley. This is one of the oldest streets in Philadelphia. It dates back to the beginning of the seventeen hundreds.

We also drive down South Street, a well-known area of shops and restaurants. The Orlons, a group from Philadelphia, had a hit in nineteen sixty-three with a song called "South Street."

As we pass through Independence Park, our driver points out Carpenters’ Hall. That was where colonial delegates first gathered in seventeen seventy-four to discuss their problems with British rule.

We also pass by the houses of important people during colonial times. One of these buildings was where Betsy Ross lived when tradition tells us she sewed the first United States flag.

Outside the historical area, the Duck passes by Elfreth's Alley. This is one of the oldest streets in Philadelphia. It dates back to the beginning of the seventeen hundreds.

We also drive down South Street, a well-known area of shops and restaurants. The Orlons, a group from Philadelphia, had a hit in nineteen sixty-three with a song called "South Street."

The National Constitution Center also has a big room called Signers' Hall. It looks like the room at Independence Hall where thirty-nine delegates signed the Constitution on September seventeenth, seventeen eighty-seven. Included among the delegates were George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.

There are life-size statues of forty-two delegates -- the ones who signed the Constitution and three others who did not. American visitors have fun finding the delegates from their home states and having their pictures taken with them.

Nearby is a rare first public printing of the Constitution. The Pennsylvania Packet Constitution was published in a newspaper two days after the Constitution was signed in Independence Hall. A copy of the Constitution itself is on display at the National Archives in Washington.

The National Constitution Center is not just about political events in the past. On April sixteenth, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton plan to be there for a debate. Six days later is the Pennsylvania primary election.

The city of Philadelphia has much to see, both historic and modern, but that's all we have time for today. For anyone planning a visit, one place to get information on the Internet is gophila.com, spelled g-o-p-h-i-l-a, the official visitor site for Greater Philadelphia.

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Goldman Sachs Invests in Women Through Education

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:29:15 +0200

Goldman Sachs Group, the international investment banking company, has launched a new program to provide ten thousand poor women with business education. The program, called 10,000 Women, will support partnerships between American and European universities and business schools in mostly developing countries. Partners will work together to establish or expand education programs lasting from five weeks to six months. Several partnerships may also offer full college degrees in business.

The 10,000 Women program hopes to expand into the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and throughout Africa. Sixteen schools have agreed to take part in the program so far. They include Columbia, Harvard and Stanford Universities in the United States. Other schools are in India, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania.

The Pan-African University in Lagos, Nigeria is also a partner. Peter Bamkoleh heads that university's Enterprise Development Services. He says about fifty women will receive training at the school every year. The women will take classes several times a week, then use what they have learned.

Dina Powell is the managing director of Goldman Sachs. She says that 10,000 Women is not a “one size fits all” program. Each university decides what to teach to fulfill local needs. At the American University of Afghanistan, for example, women will study the general ideas of business management. But at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, the partner school will offer beginning and higher-level business classes to the first five hundred women. Such classes may include financial record-keeping, market research and advertising. Women also could learn how to write a business plan, do business over the Internet or gain investors.

Goldman Sachs plans to give one hundred million dollars to the 10,000 Women program over the next five years. It will also urge its employees to donate their time and knowledge in the classroom.

The program is based on a Goldman Sachs research report called "Women Hold Up Half the Sky." The research shows the powerful effects that working women have on their nations' economies and societies.

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40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s Death

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:42:59 +0200

Forty years ago, African-American civil rights leader, the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior, was shot and killed. He died on April fourth, nineteen sixty-eight, in Memphis, Tennessee.

On Friday, in that city, presidential candidates, civil rights leaders, labor activists and thousands of citizens came together. They honored Doctor King for leading the struggle for racial equality and economic justice.

During the nineteen fifties and sixties, Doctor King had led a campaign of nonviolent protests. His work was aimed at ending racial separation and discrimination against African-Americans.

His efforts led to passage of the Civil Rights Act of nineteen sixty-four. That year, he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Forty years ago, Doctor King was in Memphis to organize a strike for workers' rights. The sanitation workers in the city were protesting their low wages and poor working conditions. Doctor King was thirty-nine years old at the time, and had become the nation’s chief civil rights leader.

His murder incited riots in more than one hundred American cities. The race riots lasted for days. Many African-American neighborhoods burned. The government ordered about fifty thousand soldiers to help control the violence. An estimated twenty-one thousand people were arrested. Almost fifty people were killed. And millions of dollars in property was damaged or destroyed.

His murder also brought about a divisive and difficult period for race relations in the United States.

In the years since his death, Doctor King has often been called one of the most honored Americans in history. But for many, his work for racial equality remains unfinished.

In the past forty years, African-Americans have become successful in education, business, entertainment and politics. The rise of Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama is a powerful sign of racial progress. If elected in November, Mister Obama would become America’s first black president.

Yet experts say the black population as a whole has not reached equality with white people socially and economically. Black Americans experience greater rates of poverty and crime than whites.

Civil rights leaders say that forty years after his death, many African-Americans still seek Doctor King’s dream of equality and opportunity.

Martin Luther King Junior is best remembered for his nineteen sixty-three “I Have a Dream” speech. It brought together millions of people in the United States and around the world to work for racial justice.

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