Why high-tech anti-poaching methods don’t always live up to the hype

says. That’s not to say drones don’t have their promise. On the positive side, they could help deter poachers simply by being visible flying around. But they otherwise come with a lot of restrictions. Small, less powerful drones are most affordable for conservation groups, but they often can only fly a few miles at a time and aren’t practical for larger game reserves, which can cover hundreds of miles. And, Emslie adds, there are often “tradeoffs with drones in terms of the quality and resolution of the camera feed and the weight of the plane,” meaning drones with heavier, more sophisticated camera equipment will probably not be able to travel as far as lighter, but less sensitive, aircraft. There’s also the simple fact that drones require on-the-ground teams of people to monitor footage in real time — and extra staff members are expensive to employ. Even more creative anti-poaching methods have been tested in the past, such as poisoning rhino horns — while they’re still attached to the rhinos — and marking them with a special dye to ward off poachers, a technique that du Toit and Emslie both oppose. The idea is to inject rhinos’ horns with a poison that would sicken anyone who later ingested it (injecting this poison into just the horn is safe for the animals, proponents maintain). Afterwards, marking the horn with a bright stripe would warn poachers that the horn was tainted, deterring them from killing the rhino. Putting aside all ethical concerns about poisoning horns that could later be consumed by humans, Emslie points out a number of logistical flaws with this idea. First, some research has indicated that the poison doesn’t really do a good job of diffusing throughout the horn, so it’s actually not very effective. And furthermore, poachers may simply not care if the horn is poisoned, as long as they aren’t the ones eating it, and it’s only too easy to cut out the dyed parts of a horn and sell the rest. Nonetheless, the tactic is still employed in some places, in particular by an organization called the Rhino Rescue Project, which maintains that the method has had some success at curbing poaching. Other controversial anti-poaching efforts have included dehorning rhinos to make them less desirable and manufacturing synthetic rhino horn to sell on the market in an effort to reduce demand for the real thing. Selling synthetic


Bees naturally vaccinate their babies, scientists find

the queen's "fat body," an organ similar to a liver, where they are packaged onto a protein called vitellogenin and delivered to eggs through the queen's blood stream. The result: newly hatched bee larvae that are already immune to the nasty germs that could have plagued the colony. A young bee works its way out of the waxy cell in which it developed. (Photo courtesy of Christofer Bang) Scientists have yet to discover any bees that are opposed to this form of mandatory vaccination, but they do note that this process certainly does not protect bees against all diseases. There are a handful of afflictions devastating bee colonies, such as American Foul Brood, the deformed wing virus and the nosema fungi. They also face invading beetles and a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder, in which worker bees mysteriously disappear and leave the queen to fend for herself. [Norway is creating a ‘bee highway’ to protect pollinators] Dwindling bee numbers have worried scientists and economists alike, who say a reduction in the world's bee populations could severely hurt ecosystems and agricultural businesses in need of pollinators. Over the past half century, managed honey bee colonies have plummeted from 6 million in 1947 to 2.5 million today, although CDC data have recently shown a slight bump up in the numbers. Now that scientists understand this mechanism for natural bee immunity, researchers say there's hope to come up with edible vaccines to help the insect out. Authors of the study already have a patent in the works on the concept. "Because this vaccination process is naturally occurring, this process would be cheap and ultimately simple to implement," said Gro Amdam, an author of the study and a professor at Arizona State University, in a statement. "It has the potential to both improve and secure food production for humans." They also suggest that the discovery could extend to other species throughout the animal kingdom. All egg-laying animals have the vitellogenin protein in their bodies, including fish, poultry, reptiles, amphibians and other insects. Read more: Truck carrying millions of bees tips over on highway New studies find that bees actually want to eat the pesticides that hurt them Here’s how to talk people into eating more bugs This freaky ancient worm shows what spider and insect ancestors might have looked like This plant can feel bugs eating it alive. Can scientists improve its self defense?


This Special Olympics sprinter put her cancer treatment on hold to compete. Then she won gold.

Quigley competes in the 100 meters at the World Games. (Photo by Aaron Mills/Special OlympicsUSA) A few months ago, in February, Olivia Quigley was diagnosed with breast cancer. The 24-year-old Quigley, a sprinter, talked with her doctors, ESPN and USA Today reported. She told them that even with the Stage 4 diagnosis, she was going to L.A. this summer, and that was basically that. “The doctors wanted to do my chemotherapy and surgery in July,” Quigley told USA Today. “I said, no I’m not doing it. Because I’m gonna go to the World Games with cancer or not. Nothing is stopping me from going.” Quigley, who was diagnosed with autism as a young child, wanted to compete at the Special Olympics World Games. On Saturday, she took part in the opening ceremony Los Angeles. And on Thursday, she won a gold medal. The best story in sports? My girl Olivia Quigley, autistic sprinter from Wisc who is battling Stage 4 breast cancer, just won the 100M GOLD Unofficial results...OLIVIA TAKES GOLD!! #cheer4usa "I have to win gold for all the women in the world with breast cancer to show them they can do anything." #ReachUpLA http://t.co/jJNEV85nLw “Life throws you all sorts of curves,” her mother, Judy Quigley, told USA Today. “It’s what you choose to do with those curves, how you’re able to survive it. Olivia gets that.” The newspaper reported Before Thursday’s 100-meter run, Olivia had been clocking 18-second times — a much slower pace than her personal bests of 14 seconds before chemotherapy took over her life. Once the gun went off, Olivia left the fatigue from her cancer in the starting blocks. She finished with a time of 16.76 seconds, easily winning gold. Once she crossed the finish line, the feeling was utter bliss. According to ESPN, Quigley had been going through chemotherapy before the event, and will undergo an MRI in early August. She was given a six-month chemotherapy treatment plan, ESPN reported, and USA Today noted that she had made it through “nearly six months of chemo,” in case you were wondering how far she was into all this when the games occurred. According to ESPN, she’ll eventually undergo surgery (if the tumors are small enough), and later receive radiation treatment. “It is amazing what she has overcome,” Judy Quigley told ESPN. “Her life will always be full of challenges, but how she manages those


My township calls my lawn ‘a nuisance.’ But I still refuse to mow it.

them. In our case, the trustees decided that our lawn was too tall and thick and would attract nuisance animals such as snakes and rodents. If we didn’t cut it, they would hire someone to do so and bring law enforcement with them. But the main point of growing a natural yard is to attract wildlife and build a self-regulating environment. The un-mowed plants in our yard attract plant-eating bugs and rodents, which in turn attract birds, bats, toads and garter snakes that eat them. Then hawks fly in to eat the snakes. Seeing all this life emerge in just one growing season made me realize just how much nature manicured lawns displace and disrupt. There are 40.5 million acres of lawn in the United States, more than double the size of the country’s largest national forest. We disconnect ourselves from wildlife habitat loss by viewing it as a problem caused by industry and agriculture. But habitat loss isn’t a problem happening out there somewhere; it’s happening in our own back yards. This has serious consequences. About 95 percent of the natural landscape in the lower 48 states has been developed into cities, suburbs and farmland. Meanwhile, the global population of vertebrate animals, from birds to fish, has been cut in half during the past four decades. Honey bees, on which we depend to pollinate our fruits and other crops, have been dying off at an unsustainable rate. Because one in three bites of food you take requires a pollinating insect to produce it, their rapid decline is a threat to humanity. Monarch butterflies have been even more affected, with their numbers dropping 90 percent since the 1990s. Butterflies are an important part of the food chain, so ecologists have long used them to measure the health of ecosystems. Nature preserves and parks are not enough to fix the problem; much of wildlife is migratory and needs continuous habitat to thrive. Natural yards can act as bridges between the larger natural spaces. [Having kids is terrible for the environment, so I’m not having any] Habitat loss isn’t the only consequence; maintaining a mowed and fertilized lawn also pollutes the air, water and soil. The emissions from lawnmowers and other garden equipment are responsible for more than 5 percent of urban air pollution. An hour of gas-powered lawn mowing produces as much pollution as four hours of driving a car. Americans


Sharpton: Let’s make sure black people have a chance at homeownership, too

Fannie Mae headquarters in Washington. (AP/J. David Ake) Homeownership has long been seen as the path to lasting financial stability, particularly for low and middle-income families. We’ve seen time and again that it leads to stronger communities and schools, and greater long-term stability and wealth for families. The nation had a major setback in 2007 and homeowners of all stripes felt the impact. While we’ve seen significant recovery overall since 2008, white families have bounced back at a more rapid rate while many black and Latino homeowners have barely recovered and still live in fear of foreclosure. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, median white household wealth stopped falling in 2009 while the typical black household lost an additional 13 percent of its wealth between 2009 and 2011. Why? Because people of color who lost the most during the housing bust continue to be targets of questionable lending practices, are denied the relief they need from lenders and now suffer greater scrutiny when applying for home loans. The gap in homeownership rates between households of color and whites has widened, 46 percent compared to 72 percent, respectively. Every wealth expert agrees that homeownership is fundamental to building wealth for middle and working class families. But how are people of color supposed to build wealth when they’re still reeling from the recession that has wiped out wealth for generations to come? And why are policymakers turning a blind eye to black and brown families being preyed upon once again by unscrupulous lenders? Housing-related legislation proposed so far, this Congress, has focused on denying the necessary financial education to families. These barriers have included everything from the “Pay Back the Taxpayers Act of 2015,” aimed at blocking contributions from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to the Housing Trust Fund, to recent attempts of using the funds as a pay-for for the highway bill. Yet Congress refuses to prioritize actually protecting homeownership or expanding access to credit for low-income and moderate-income families seeking the American dream. Contrary to the pronouncements that “America is thriving” again and “the U.S. economy is doing better than expected,” communities of color know better. Large majorities of Latinos and African Americans believe they’re being left out of the recovery. If Washington is serious about income inequality, access to affordable housing should be a serious part of the solution. Let’s remember: During the economic crisis, Democrats and Republicans


Legionnaires’ disease, once ‘the greatest epidemiological puzzle of the century,’ kills seven in N.Y.

deadly except in those with underlying health problems. All of those killed in the Bronx outbreak had pre-existing medical conditions, officials said. But Legionnaires’ has a fearsome reputation that lingers from the strange circumstances of its first documented diagnosis 39 years ago, in a case that scientists called “the greatest epidemiological puzzle of the century.” Nothing seemed amiss when hundreds of members of the American Legion gathered at the swanky Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia during the muggy days of late July 1976. They met, paraded and hobnobbed at cocktail parties, and then they went home, apparently without incident. What happened next came all too fast. Dozens of convention-goes were abruptly felled by intense, flu-like symptoms: wracking coughs, painful chills and fevers as high as 107 degrees. In the worst cases, victims’ lungs were flooded with a frothy, bloody fluid that filled the spaces between air sacs and prevented oxygen from getting into their bloodstream. The victims with this raging form of pneumonia almost always died. Early Washington Post coverage of the mysterious outbreak at the American Legion convention in 1976. Early news reports called the outbreak “explosive.” “The disease struck with unusual suddenness and killed so swiftly that a number of persons had died before the state health department even knew it had an outbreak on its hands,” read a front page article in The Washington Post from Aug. 3, 1976, less than two weeks after the convention. By that point, 20 people had been killed and 115 other hospitalized by the mysterious disease. Pennsylvania health officials had only been informed of the outbreak the previous day, when state Legion officers called them up to report the alarming number of members who had fallen ill. By the time the disease had run its course, 221 people would be infected and 34 dead — all of the victims somehow connected with the gathering at the Bellevue-Stratford. At the time, health officials didn’t know that the disease would be contained to convention-goers. They didn’t know that the outbreak had a course to run. Many feared that the illness was viral and could spread to hundreds, even thousands of others. The Centers for Disease Control dispatched a squad of 20 epidemiologists — the largest in the agency’s history, according to the New York Times — to Pennsylvania to investigate the cause of the deadly illness. But they were utterly mystified by what they


How America fell in love with crazy amounts of air conditioning

became common in the home, family life in the summer moved back inside, and increasingly centered on a new consumer technology called the television. Amusement parks and playgrounds emptied out, and people retreated from their stoops and the streets to their living rooms. Even attendance at baseball games dropped in the 1960s. Air conditioning also made possible a huge movement of people to places like Arizona and Florida. Congressional scholar Nelson Polsby has argued that air conditioning remade America's political landscape, by enabling Republican pensioners to move to the previously Democratic South. As air conditioning became widespread, we seemed to forget some simpler techniques for battling the heat. In particular, our houses are no longer often designed with thought to coolness and ventilation — without the high ceilings, porches, balconies, shade trees and cross-ventilation that were once seen as necessary. People don't carry fans anymore, and adults don't often go swimming. And our style of dress has changed, with most men forgoing seersucker suits and summer linens and just wearing the same thing all year round. Cool outfits But this isn't the case everywhere. Some places around the world have attempted to change these norms. In particular, Japan has tried to encourage its men to shed their suits in the summer, so businesses can dial up their thermostats. Under the decade-old program, government offices and other businesses have set their thermostats to 28 degrees Celsius, about 82.4 Fahrenheit – substantially warmer than the average U.S. office. Government officials were told to leave their jackets and ties at home, and the prime minister appeared in front of parliament in an open-necked white shirt. One clothing company developed a light-weight business suit that weighed only a pound. One former prime minister, Tsutomu Hata, even tried to popularize a short-sleeve summer suit. The trend never quite caught on. Former Japanese Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata smiles as he folds his arms during an interview with Reuters at his office in Tokyo July 27. (RTXFDGP) Over the next few decades, the adoption of smart energy meters and energy saving building designs could help a lot with America’s tendency to over-cool our buildings. But it's hard to image that making much of a difference. “We’re cooling these buildings because men will not stop wearing business suits. It really comes down to social norming,” Stommen says. “We are spending a lot of energy keeping men both thermally


Boston Symphony Orchestra extends contract for music director Andris Nelsons

Andris Nelsons 2014<br />Photo: Marco Borggreve Earlier this year, the chatter in the classical music world was whether Andris Nelsons, the young Latvian conductor who had re-invigorated the Boston Symphony Orchestra, would be selected to lead the Berlin Philharmonic. A fake Tweet even announced he got the job. He didn’t. And today, the BSO announced that Nelsons, who is 36, has extended his original, five-year deal through 2022. In a release, the BSO also notes that the contract includes an “evergreen clause,” which states that the orchestra and Nelsons hope to extend their relationship well beyond the eight years of the new contract. Nelsons took over as the orchestra’s music director last fall, becoming the youngest in that post in more than a century. His energy and mere presence were important, with the BSO having struggled with the declining health and frequent cancellations of his predecessor, James Levine. Just this year alone, the BSO has released a pair of new CDs with Nelsons, three digital downloads and been featured in a PBS broadcast of “Great Performances.” “The performances we have shared have been electrifying and inspired, and the respect he so clearly feels for the players at every rehearsal, performance and social interaction, has proved to be a revitalizing force to our orchestra,” said James Sommerville, the principal horn of the BSO in a statement. [Chasing a leader: The great music director search] Nelsons is part of a wave of young conductors – Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Yannick Nezet-Seguin at the Philadelphia Orchestra – brought in to revitalize orchestras in recent years. His extension comes six months after both the National Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic announced they would be looking for new leaders. The NSO’s Christoph Eschenbach and NY Phil’s Alan Gilbert will step down in 2017.


A splendid ‘blue’ moon rises over Washington, D.C. (Photos)

(Kevin Wolf via Flickr) Skies were clear on Friday evening for a spectacular “blue” moonrise in Washington, D.C. — the second full moon in the calendar month. Our lunar satellite rose above the horizon at 8:23 p.m., glowing big and orange. Last week, our resident astronomer Blaine Friedlander explained the curious and tangled reasons why we call this moon blue. “Based on layers of rules – such as farmer maxims, seasonal interpretations, Ecclesiastical calendar dictates and media misinformation passed down through generations – we are left with a veritable vegetable soup of explanations,” said Blaine. “Conversant astronomers and editors held a virtual dialogue [in Sky & Telescope] for years discussing almanac interpretations. All of that printed chatter morphed into the idea of a second full moon in a calendar month getting the nickname ‘blue.'” [The heavens unveil a blue moon to say goodbye to July] This is all to say that a blue moon is a pretty rare thing — the next blue moon won’t happen until January 2018. Once in a blue moon, as they say! Thanks to everyone who shared their blue moon with us on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter! Friday’s blue moon reflects in the Tidal Basin. (Kevin Ambrose) (Jeff Reardon via Flickr) The blue moon at sunrise on Saturday. (Clif Burns via Flickr) (John Sonderman via Flickr) (Jim Havard via Flickr) (Tyler Reber via Flickr) (Jim Knapp via Flickr) (Joe Seamone via Facebook) (Leona F Trugillo Rodriguez via Facebook) Having a blast photographing the #bluemoon tonight in #WashingtonDC @PoPville @capitalweather http://t.co/FM3sUqV3dz Blue moon rises over SE DC last night @capitalweather @weatherchannel @JimCantore @Anaridis @StephanieAbrams @AMHQ http://t.co/vCl6cJP62D Blood on the moon (cc: @lizziellen) RT @CTDPIX: The #BlueMoon emerges on the #NationalMall @capitalweather @spann http://t.co/7gz2hURDry Tonight's Blue Moon @spann @MarkJWeather @JimCantore @AccuRayno @weatherchannel @capitalweather @JennHarcher @wxbrad http://t.co/sS3Shqajyc


A disturbing look at personnel issues inside federal agencies

evidence-based approaches to improving the way the workforce as a whole is managed, the study authors posited, we would need better insight into federal leaders' personnel challenges. The study, conducted by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University in cooperation with Princeton University and the Volcker Alliance, surveyed 3,551 federal executives about the barriers they face to doing their jobs well and their longer-term career plans. Perhaps the most startling finding was that 70 percent of respondents felt that underperforming non-managers were rarely or never dismissed or reassigned. And 64 percent felt action was rarely or never taken for underperforming managers, either. [The huge gap between how federal workers and federal leaders see the workplace] In addition, 42 percent of respondents said they were unable to recruit the best talent to jobs in the federal government (39 percent said they disagreed). "That was a surprise," Lewis said. "You expect some to have troubles, but [42 percent] was a high number." The survey revealed several of the big obstacles managers see as being in their way. More than half of the respondents said a lack of resources, inadequate career growth opportunities, rigid civil service rules and the inability to compete on salaries have contributed to their agency's struggles with maintaining a skilled workforce. Also troubling was that only about a third of respondents said promotions were based solely on performance and ability. The results, however, varied widely by workplace—in one unnamed agency, as few as 8 percent of respondents said that was the chief factor. In another, a much higher 56 percent said promotions were based only on performance. It wasn't all bad news. Far more federal executives said their agency's skills have improved during their careers there than those who said it had worsened. And despite some of the unsettling figures, 83 percent of respondents who are political appointees and 72 percent who are career executives agreed they would recommend a career in public service today. Lewis says he hopes the survey will prompt a more holistic approach to fixing personnel issues within the federal government. Simply responding to one-off scandals or complaints about individual problem areas, like fixing the dismissal hurdles at Veterans Affairs, can sometimes result in other problems, such as worsening recruiting and retention. "What’s revealed in the results is a system with a wide enough set of problems that small solutions in


Understanding President Obama’s new climate rules, in 4 graphs

President Obama has placed an increasing focus on tackling climate change in the last 12 months, with a clear eye on his political legacy. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency released the Clean Power Plan, a framework under which the United States -- as in, each of the 50 states -- would cumulatively cut carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent by the year 2030. It's certain that the proposal -- almost without question the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction plan the country has ever seen -- will result in harsh political backlash, particularly as the Republican presidential fight continues to roil. At a retreat sponsored by the oil-producing Koch brothers over the weekend, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz went on the offensive against the proposal. That's likely the tip of the iceberg. That said, there are some important things to keep in mind about Obama's new proposal. 1. Coal was already in decline. Our Steven Mufson has a good overview of coal's recent struggles and the role the new proposal will have in exacerbating them. It's important to remember, though, that coal's sharp decline is already several years old. The graph below uses data on electricity generation by source from the Energy Information Administration. Notice that coal's drop doesn't correlate to growth in wind power or solar. It's natural gas that's eating into coal's market, a function of improvements in hydraulic fracturing (better known as "fracking"). Only a few weeks ago, natural gas passed coal as a source of electricity. When burned, coal produces far, far more carbon dioxide than natural gas. But natural gas itself, which is mostly methane, often leaks from drilling sites -- and methane is a far more effective heat-trapping gas than carbon dioxide, meaning that it's worse for global warming on a ton-per-ton basis. 2. The carbon dioxide reduction goal is set against a recent high, not current emissions. The drop in coal use shown above also means that there's been a drop in America's carbon dioxide emissions. Part of that is a function of the increased use of natural gas, but part of it was the economic collapse that led to the recession. A slower economy uses less electricity. The new proposal sets a benchmark of 32 percent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants versus 2005 levels. Data from the EPA shows that emissions were already down steeply in 2013 versus 2005 (though


There’s a surprisingly simple way to convince vaccine skeptics to reconsider

research about the absence of a link between autism and vaccines changed their attitudes about vaccines about as much as the group that just got some random, unrelated reading material. But those who reviewed the family stories, photos, and a public health warning felt more positive toward vaccines. Those changes were biggest in people that were skeptical of vaccines at the start. That's a hopeful result, because a depressing study published in the journal Pediatrics last year found that none of these individual pieces of information alone worked against closely held beliefs. Giving parents correct information about vaccine risk, showing photos of children sick with preventable diseases, or providing information about what the diseases individually did not work — and even backfired. Those people who were most concerned about the safety of vaccines were less likely to vaccinate their children when given a dose of correct information. Brendan Nyhan, an assistant professor of government at Dartmouth College, who did the Pediatrics study, said in an e-mail that the new work was encouraging, but that future research should focus on what the differences were between the two studies that led to such different results. Understanding the conflicting findings might help shape an even more effective education campaign for parents making health care decisions for their children. This study alone isn't enough to change policy, but it does suggest that perhaps public health officials may not have been thinking enough about how to present information about disease risks and vaccine risks. Horne said that he began doing Google searches for the images he used in the study to see how easily accessible the information was on the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was surprisingly hard to track down, he said, requiring multiple clicks — whereas lists of reasons to refuse vaccines popped up right away. "I think there are immediate steps we could take; we could make it more easy to access this information and put it on a single page that would hopefully become a top hit when you're Googling," Horne said. "The thing with these parents is they are ultimately interested in the health of their child. They just have incorrect beliefs of where the risks are, and their bet is on the wrong horse." Making disease risk information more prominent and accessible might be one way to make the correct information more persuasive.


Yes, Kim Jong Un is receiving an international peace prize

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il are standing during the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Korean War in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on July 27. (KCNA via Reuters) Kim Jong Un is hardly a man short on accolades – the problem is, most are given out by the North Korean state. Later this year, however, the North Korean leader will finally gain some international recognition, joining the likes of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and India’s Mahatma Gandhi in receiving a statesmanship award from an Indonesian-based organization. The accolade, given out by the Bali-based Sukarno Education Foundation, honors Kim for his "peace, justice and humanity," Agence France Presse reports. The North Korean leader is due to receive the award in September. If you don't equate Kim with "peace, justice and humility," that's understandable. North Korea is nicknamed the "hermit kingdom" for its isolation, and after three generations and almost 70 years of the Kim family dynasty, much of the world knows the country better for its violence, repression and cruelty. Last year, a United Nations investigation accused the country of human rights abuses “without any parallel in the contemporary world," pointing towards Nazi Germany to find a suitable comparison. However the award shouldn't come as too much of a surprise: According to the Jakarta Globe, the Sukarno Education Foundation had previously given the award to Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, posthumously in 2001. North Korea and Indonesia have enjoyed bilateral relations since the 1960s, established during the era of Kim Il Sung and Indonesian President Sukarno, for whom the Bali-based foundation is named. Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, head of the foundation and the daughter of Sukarno, the founding leader of Indonesia, is quick to dismiss international criticism of North Korea. "The allegations about human rights abuses are untrue," she explained to AFP, dismissing the reports of atrocities as "Western propaganda." Sukarnoputri also draws parallels with her own father, who led Indonesia's independence movement before spending almost 22 years as the country's leader. Remembered as a charismatic if autocratic leader, Sukarno's anti-colonial outlook was also criticized by the West, Sukarnoputri notes. “It’s common [to be branded a dictator]. To stand on one’s principles in reaching a goal, many consider this the


The Hotlist: What to see, eat, drink and do in August 2015

8: Erykah Badu headlines Summer Spirit Festival 2015 The Summer Spirit Festival brings out some of the most lauded acts in hip-hop and R&B, and this year marks its 10th anniversary. Erykah Badu will be joined by soulful R&B singer Anthony Hamilton, British singer-songwriter Estelle and a host of other acts and special guests, including the reunion of English R&B duo Floetry, who split in 2006. 3 p.m. Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. 410-715-5550. www.merriweathermusic.com. $48-$125. -- Macy Freeman Aug. 9-16: DC Beer Week The annual celebration of Washington's beer scene contains dozens of events, from tap takeovers and beer dinners to crab feasts and interactive bar crawls. DC Beer Week kicks off with Brewers on the Block outside Union Market, where around 20 breweries and cideries from Washington, Maryland and Virginia will pour their beers while DJs spin. (At $35 for unlimited beers, it represents the best value of Beer Week.) Other must-do events for your calendar include DC Brau's annual crab feast at the Quarterdeck on Aug. 10; ChurchKey putting D.C. beers on all 55 of its taps on Aug. 13; and a scavenger hunt through seven Dupont-area beer bars on Aug. 16. A full list of events and locations is available on www.dcbeerweek.net. -- Fritz Hahn Aug. 17-23: Restaurant Week Casa Luca is among the more than 200 restaurants participating in Restaurant Week. (Amanda Voisard for The Washington Post) More than 200 restaurants throughout Washington, Maryland and Virginia will be taking part in the annual dining promotion, with participating restaurants offering a three-course lunch for $22 and a three-course dinner for $35. Use this opportunity to check out someplace new or return to an old favorite. See www.ramw.org/restaurantweek for a list of participants. -- Becky Krystal End of August: The Source reopens The Source, seen here in 2008 about six months after opening, is undergoing a major renovation. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) After closing for a few weeks to undergo a major renovation, Wolfgang Puck's modern Asian restaurant will be back with a spiffy new look. Among the changes: The first floor will feature a wok station, and the upstairs is getting a hot-pot table that will let diners cook their own food. Chef Scott Drewno's accompanying new menus will be rolled out at the end of this month and into early September. The Source, 575 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-637-6100. www.wolfgangpuck.com. -- Becky Krystal


Should schools that arrange field trips to foreign countries have duty to warn about / protect against rare tick-borne encephalitis?

not point to an obvious answer in this case as both parties present colorable arguments on either side. First, the expectations of the parties depend on the level of generality applied to describe the events that occurred in this case. Parents and children participating in a school‐sponsored international trip might expect a school to warn about or protect against some of the risks of the trip, including potentially the dangers of serious insect‐borne diseases. However, as Hotchkiss and several amici point out, it is unreasonable to expect a trip organizer to warn students about or protect them against every danger. Field trips are intended to expose children to situations outside of their comfort zones and of the organizers’ control. Such trips thus naturally entail a certain level of risk. Here, the risk of contracting tick‐borne encephalitis was undeniably remote. No American had ever before contracted TBE in China. Thus, although travelers may generally expect a school to warn about or protect against dangers, including serious insect‐borne diseases, no one could have expected that Munn would contract TBE. Second, international trips and outdoor activities, while sometimes posing substantial health and safety risks, offer important benefits to their participants. The public benefits of international education and student exchanges are written into Connecticut statutory law. Connecticut General Statute Section 10‐27(a) states: It shall be the policy of the state to encourage its students, teachers, administrators and educational policy makers to participate in international studies, international exchange programs and other activities that advance cultural awareness and promote mutual understanding and respect for the citizens of other countries. At the same time, the safety of minors, who in varying degrees are under the care and protection of schools on these trips, is an important concern. Minors on such trips are in the custody of the organizations leading them, and the health and safety of the children must have a bearing on how these trips are conducted. [Footnote: Notably, while encouraging international exchange programs, the Connecticut legislature has not, as at least one other state has, enacted a statutory immunity for school trips. See Cal. Educ. Code § 35330(d).] Third, this case is likely to have repercussions on litigation in the area of child safety, especially in light of the substantial damages awarded to these plaintiffs. If the award stands, it would set an important precedent for negligence cases arising from educational trips. In fact, the


D.C. area forecast: Showers or storms possible, especially southeast of city

Two hour radar loop of rain and storm movement through the area. Refresh page to update. TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 5/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: FORECAST IN DETAIL The weather is likely to be tranquil here today, but a band of thunderstorms in the Midwest will come sweeping into the region with the potential to trigger rain southeast of the city in the late afternoon. In any event, keep a wary eye out since some of those storms could produce strong winds especially if you are on the Delmarva. Reagan National could see two more 90-degree before finally giving in to cooler highs. Most interesting to us gardeners is the possible big rain event later this week. Today (Tuesday): Tonight: For related traffic news, check out Dr. Gridlock. Keep reading for the forecast through the weekend… Tomorrow (Wednesday): Tomorrow night: Sunset over the Shenandoah Valley. (Joseph Gruber via Flickr) A LOOK AHEAD Thursday Friday Saturday and Sunday


Scientists have been talking about greenhouse gases for almost two centuries

The silhouettes of emissions are seen rising from stacks of the Duke Energy Corp. Gibson Station power plant at dusk in Owensville, Ind., on July 23. Since the 19th century scientists have known that greenhouse gases like those released from burning fossil fuels affect the global climate. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg) In the biggest change in how we deal with greenhouse gases since we figured out what they were, the Obama administration’s newly unveiled Clean Power Plan is set to enforce unprecedented cuts to emissions of the problematic pollutants. The new plan is also big news for people who don’t think that greenhouse gas emissions should be restricted. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), for example, said Sunday that climate change is an invention of scientists. [White House set to adopt sweeping curbs on carbon pollution] “They’re cooking the books. They’re actually adjusting the numbers,” Cruz said at a speech in California, according to Time. Later, he added that the idea of global warming is being used for political purposes to control the economy and the energy industry. “To any power-greedy politician, this is the perfect theory. It can never, ever, ever be disproven,” Cruz said. [Foes of clean-air rule plan multiple-front battle] If climate change really were a conspiracy, it would be a very old, very big one. The idea predates the airplane, the affordable automobile and every climate change researcher alive today. Scientists have been talking about the effects of burning fossil fuel on the global climate for more than a century, and they have known that greenhouse gases help warm the Earth for nearly two. [What you need to know about Obama’s biggest global warming move yet — the Clean Power Plan] It started with the French physicist Joseph Fourier, who in 1824 asked a deceptively simple question: If the Earth is constantly being bombarded by the Sun’s rays, why hasn’t it been getting hotter and hotter over the course of its history? New developments in physics helped him answer it — scientists knew that heated surfaces emit radiation, so the Earth must be sending most of the solar energy absorbed during the day back into space every night. But that left Fourier with the opposite problem. If the Earth didn’t retain the heat from the Sun, what was keeping it warm? The answer lay between the Earth’s surface and the Sun, in its atmosphere. Fourier reasoned that the atmosphere must


Outrage and an officer: The anatomy of a Navy controversy after the Chattanooga attack

As the Chattanooga community searches for answers after the shooting, a memorial grows outside the Armed Forces Recruiting Center. In the days after the attack on military facilities in Chattanooga, Tenn., last month, a complicated picture of what occurred began to emerge. Among the details: At least one service member, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Timothy White, opened fire on the shooter using a personally owned firearm before the shooter was killed by police. The attack on the Naval Reserve support center in Chattanooga killed four Marines and a Navy sailor, and spawned a national debate about whether the U.S. military should arm more service members who work out of small, unguarded facilities like recruiting stations and reserve centers. But it also spawned questions about whether White could face discipline for carrying and discharging a privately owned handgun on federal property, where it was not allowed. [Why Purple Hearts are seriously in question following the Chattanooga attack] On Saturday, conservative columnist Allen B. West took the issue on, saying that he could “confirm that the United States Navy is bringing charges against Lt. Cmdr Timothy White for illegally discharging a firearm on federal property.” He did not identify his source, but followed by ripping Pentagon leaders, the Navy and President Obama. “Can you imagine the message this sends to ISIS and all the enemies of America?” West wrote, using an acronym for the Islamic State militant group. “We are going to end his career and court-martial a man who drew his sidearm to protect his command, and the assigned Sailors and Marines. ” Presidential candidate Jim Webb (D-Va.), a Marine war hero and former Navy secretary, also raised concerns Saturday night on Twitter: Navy charging LCDR Tim White w/ a crime for trying to defend our sailors & Marines in #Chattanooga? He deserves a medal, not an indictment. Perhaps aware of the questions his tweet raised, Webb followed up with more context Sunday: Before tweeting last night, we confirmed with a defense official that the Navy was seriously considering charging LCDR Timothy White. The charge being considered is illegally discharging a firearm on federal property. No on the record comment was offered. The Navy responded to questions about the case Sunday on its Facebook page, saying that “stories of Navy personnel being charged with an offense are not true. “There is still a long way to go in reviewing the facts of


One of Republicans’ top ideas could actually do the opposite of what they want

and President Nixon's immigration commissioner, called it "a growing, silent invasion of illegal aliens" in 1976. He was among the first to argue for stricter security at the border. Many of these immigrants came to settle, but many others only stayed a few months before returning, according to Douglas Massey, a sociologist at Princeton University. He and his colleagues began conducting surveys of Mexican families on both sides of the border in 1982. They've collected detailed information about who is crossing the border over the decades, asking Mexicans questions about their families, their jobs, their financial circumstances, whether they crossed legally or illegally, when and where they crossed, and whether and how much they paid a guide, one of the smugglers known at the border as coyotes. The researchers found that in 1986, about three in five of those who crossed the border had returned to Mexico within 12 months, as shown in this chart. That same year, Congress passed the first major law increasing security at the border with Mexico. Since then, the United States has dedicated vast resources -- drones, cameras, manpower and hundreds of miles of fencing -- to securing the border. All of that has cost tens of billions of dollars. Yet these additional security measures haven't prevented many immigrants from entering the country across the Southern border, research suggests. To be sure, making the crossing has become riskier. Just about everyone who crosses illegally now hires a coyote. And the coyotes are charging more than ever, at more than $2,700. Coyotes can charge high fees, because they almost always find ways around, under or through whatever is in their way. For decades, an immigrant who tried to enter the country illegally was almost guaranteed to find a way, even if he or she was detained by the Border Patrol on the first crossing. Between 1970 and 1988, the vast majority of undocumented immigrants crossed either at San Diego or at El Paso. When federal agents cracked down -- in El Paso in 1993 and in San Diego the following year -- immigrants simply began hiking through Arizona's Sonoran Desert, Massey's survey data show. "This was a Bill Clinton project," recalls Cornelius, who has separately been conducting his own surveys of migrants since 1975. His data show the same trends that Massey and his colleagues have identified. Cornelius says that in recent years, to get around


Main Street Morning: A Colorado Pot Bank is suing the Fed

Marijuana plants grow at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle. Welcome to Main Street Morning, The Washington Post’s daily collection of news affecting entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses with a special focus on policy and government. Here’s what’s affecting my small business, my clients and other entrepreneurs today. Washington - Amy Schumer and her cousin (Senator Chuck Schumer) propose a gun control bill. - President Obama unveils the most ambitious climate change plan ever by a U.S. president. - Colorado’s pot bank sues the Fed. - American voters oppose the Iran deal 2-1, according to a new poll. 00- - Federal officials want would-be veteran entrepreneurs to start their business planning even earlier in their military careers, instead of waiting until their waning days of enlistment. The Economy - U.S. car sales were up in July. - Here’s where a $15 minimum wage would buy the most stuff. - Construction spending weakened, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. - Oil sinks to a six-month low. - U.S. manufacturing growth slowed in July. - Real personal spending growth is the weakest since February. The Elections - Trump takes the lead in a national poll. - Hillary Clinton is set to launch a $2 million ad campaign. - Chris Christie says to the teachers union: you deserve a punch in the face. - Why a Joe Biden presidential run is actually the best thing Hillary Clinton could hope for. - Candidates for the GOP debate are announced. People - If you want your employees to work harder then just eliminate your offices. - Stanford University introduces online graduate programs in electrical engineering. - Employees who feel younger are more productive, according to a report. Management - The tricky ethics of the lucrative disaster recovery business. - The top 25 largest family-owned companies in the world. - How to ensure your business survives the next generation. - Jessica Alba’s company catches heat for its sunscreen from sunburned customers. - UPS is already getting ready for the holidays. Sales Marketing - These are five fantastic email marketing services for small businesses. - Here’s what to do when customers won’t pay their bills. - E-mail spam has fallen to a 10-year low. Entrepreneurs - Why student debt may be the reason millennials aren’t starting companies. - How this retired super bowl linebacker has transformed from gridiron competitor to entrepreneur at the


forefront of science and technology. - Growing wealth inequality could slow the promising growth of older entrepreneurship. - This is the mastermind who designs private jet vacations for the ultra-wealthy. Retail - A store employee berates a mom for breastfeeding in the checkout aisle. - Macy’s expands same day delivery to 17 cities as it challenges Amazon. - Why 86 percent of Etsy sellers are women. Restaurants - A pub’s “uncomfortable brunch” allows its patrons to enjoy a meal and a macabre foreign art film at the same time. Finance - College textbooks are 1,041 percent more expensive now than they were in 1977. - A shopping platform accelerates its growth after raising $11.5 million. Start-ups - These are six start-up strategies that turn off most investors. - Since December 2013, 25,000 people have used this start-up’s service to pay for everything from bachelor parties and bridal showers to fantasy sports and trips. Technology - How apps are transforming U.S. trucking. - Apple might do away with traditional voicemail forever. Online - Why 15 percent of Americans don’t use the Internet. - Why Apple could be your next wireless company. Social Media - Twitter crashes from its post-earnings exuberance. Opportunities - The old way of doing things for the corporate fleet manager are changing entirely, one industry insider says, and it’s creating an opportunity for a new pool of applicants not traditionally associated with the job. Ideas - Soylent 2.0 now comes bottled and ready to drink. - Scientists find an ingenious way to cut down on a hidden source of one of the most harmful air pollutants. Around the Country - A Darien, Connecticut business is helping crafters display their wares. - A Pennsylvania congressman is sponsoring a small business workshop for Wednesday. - Here’s what a coal company’s bankruptcy means in dollars and cents to Pittsburgh firms. - An Indiana town is using banners and social media to combat a loss of construction business. Around the World - Puerto Rico Defaults. - China’s manufacturing showed zero growth in July. - A Welsh town appointed its first jester in 700 years. - World Breastfeeding Week is giving a chance for employers to reflect. Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd PA consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. Follow Gene Marks and On Small Business on Twitter. News we should know about? Email us here.


Seven dead, 86 infected as New York officials identify and disinfect cooling towers filled with Legionnaires bacteria

been flooding doctors offices and hospitals with symptoms of fever, cough, chills, muscle aches and other signs of the disease. A type of severe pneumonia, Legionnaires' disease -- which was named after an outbreak during a 1976 meeting of the American Legion in Philadelphia -- is not spread from person to person but by breathing in mist with the organisms. Outbreaks usually occur in the summer. In New York this year, 86 people have been confirmed to have been infected with the disease as of Tuesday. The cluster is large enough to worry public health officials but it's not quite a crisis. An estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized each year in the country due to Legionnaires' disease. [Legionnaires’ disease, once ‘the greatest epidemiological puzzle of the century,’ kills seven in N.Y.] Officials said they didn't how how the water in the towers became infected in the first place but scrubbed them by hand with bleach and other chemicals. Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control, told NBC News that authorities hoped the disinfection of the contaminated cooling towers would be enough to stop the outbreak. "We hope that there are no more cases, and certainly hope no more deaths, but do expect additional cases simply because there could be people who may have been infected before the cooling towers were cleaned," Varma said. [CDC: We could cut future superbug infections in half] New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday called for a more "systemic solution" to stop the cycle of outbreaks and said new legislation would be announced next week to fight the disease. He said the solution will include inspections, new recommended actions in case of positive tests, and sanctions for those who do not comply with new standards. "Legionnaires’ Disease outbreaks have become far too common over the past ten years," de Blasio said in a statement released by his office, "and the City will respond not by only addressing an outbreak as it occurs, but with a new plan to help prevent these outbreaks from happening in the first place.” Read more: Jessica Alba speaks out after Honest brand sunscreen complaints go viral Why your 50-year-old, 154-pound male co-worker is the only one happy with the office air conditioning Yesterday’s coffee science: It’s good for the brain. Today: Not so fast…* How you talk to your baby now can impact social skills later


Watch museum bees get a shampoo and blowout before their debut

its fragile bee specimens go through before their close-ups. [Bees naturally vaccinate their babies, scientists find] You might know AMNH as the best place in New York to meet some dinosaurs, but it's an active research facility, too. Behind the scenes, researchers are doing important scientific research on the museum's extensive collection of fossils, artifacts, and preserved animals. The specimens on display are just a tiny part of the museum's offerings. Among those treasure troves of research specimens are nearly 500,000 bees -- including 7,100 distinct species. (Eddie Izzard via YouTube) Most of those bees arrived at the museum floating in alcohol, and that's no way to examine a bee that could very well be a new species. Researchers need to see the bees as close as they were to life as possible -- not soaked and floating in a vial of preservative. Just another day at the bee salon for Melody Doering. (AMNH) That's where Curatorial Assistant Melody Doering comes in: She's a bee beautician. First, Doering draws a bee bath and gives them a nice shampoo. There's no scalp massage for the tiny insects -- just a quick shake in a vial filled with water and a smidgen of soap. (AMNH) Then it's time for the blow dry that comes courtesy of an air compressor like the one with which you would fill an air mattress. Easy breezy beautiful. (AMNH) But you can't let those bees go to the researchers with a frizzy 'do. Doering uses tiny brushes to put the tiny hairs back in their proper places. Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Melody. (AMNH) Then the bees are finally ready for researchers to gawk at them for years to come. Just think -- this is the amount of work that goes into preserving a single bee. And one that will probably never be seen by most museum goers, at that! To find out more about the hidden treasures being cared for at AMNH, check out the museum's Web series Shelf Life. Read More: Museum staff thought this fossil was a plaster model, but it turned out to be a new species Say hello to the dementor wasp. It turns cockroaches into zombies. Norway is creating a ‘bee highway’ to protect pollinators Forgotten for a century on a museum shelf, a ‘new’ cricket is discovered Museum fossil find pushes snake origins back by 65 million years


How Greece’s crash left its famed marathon running on empty

Statue of the ancient messenger Pheidippides along the Athens marathon route. (AP) The route of Greece’s famous marathon cuts through a panorama of the country’s economic disintegration: Past fields left fallow by tapped-out farmers, by roadside tavernas shuttered after customers stayed home, through boulevards dotted with empty storefronts. And now Greece’s shrinking fortunes also will be reflected by the November run from ancient Marathon to central Athens. Organizers said Tuesday that they will not host elite runners – nor pay the prize money that lures them – in this year’s edition because of the fiscal crisis. The absence of professional world-class runners will hardly stir much angst in a country more concerned about whether pension checks will bounce. Instead, the Hellenic Athletics Federation will try to turn the Nov. 8 marathon into a kind of a 26.2-mile morale booster. The federation statement said it invites “runners from around the world to run the Athens Marathon in solidarity with the Greek people at this testing time.” [Greece's meltdown captured in spray paint] There’s also a bit of an odds-beating aura from history that certainly won't be ignored. The modern marathon route is believed to trace – more or less – the path taken by the messenger Pheidippides in 490 BC to announce the Greek’s unexpected victory over the invading Persians. The marathon's caretakers also are optimistic about the all-amateur draw. It predicts that a record 16,000 runners will tackle the hilly course that finishes in the marble stadium used for the first modern Olympiad in 1896. Last month, the old track and infield was the venue for a rally by Greeks appealing to stay in the euro common currency group no matter what new austerity measures are forced upon them. Dropping the purse in Athens on Nov. 8 may have more to do with political symbolism than the actual costs. The prize list is modest compared with other races. Last year, the winner of the men’s division, Raymond Kimutai Bett of Kenya, took 7,000 euros ($7,668), and the women’s winner, fellow Kenyan Consalater Chemtai Yadaa, received 5,000 euros ($5,477). Boston, the oldest continually run modern marathon, paid $150,000 each to the first over the line in both divisions in April. Dubai’s marathon, run in January, was a $200,000 payday for the men’s and women’s winners.


D.C.’s Thip Khao is a nominee for Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants list

Best restaurant lists. We love 'em, we hate 'em, we can't help but feel a little hometown pride when one of our own makes the cut. Earlier today, the editors of Bon Appetit announced the 50 nominees for the food magazine's annual list of the best new restaurants in America. We have one: Thip Khao. Chef Seng Luangrath's Thip Khao is in the running for Bon Appetit's best new restaurants of 2015. (Dixie D. Vereen for The Washington Post) In describing the Laotian restaurant in Columbia Heights owned by chef Seng Luangrath, Andrew Knowlton and Julia Kramer said, "The menu is a riot of meaty, salty, funky, and sour flavors, from the must-order naem khao (crispy rice and cured pork lettuce wraps) to the aromatic herbal curry with kabocha squash and dill." [Thip Khao review: It’s fiery, it’s Laotian, and it’s welcome] Bon Appetit showed the love for Washington in a major way last year, when Aaron Silverman's Rose's Luxury clinched the top spot in the best new restaurants list. Derek Brown's Eat the Rich, Mockingbird Hill and Southern Efficiency also received a nomination in 2014. [Bon Appetit names Rose’s Luxury best new restaurant in America] Our neighbors to the south have something to brag about too: Richmond's Southbound made it into the 2015 nominee pool. Bon Appetit has spent months traveling the country looking for noteworthy restaurants. Other notable nominees: Dove's Luncheonette and Parachute in Chicago; Leon's Oyster Shop and Artisan Meat Share in Charleston; and Lazy Bear, Liholiho Yacht Club and the Progress in San Francisco. (If those sound familiar, it's possible you read about them in Post food critic Tom Sietsema's search for America's best food cities.) [America's best food cities: Charleston | San Francisco | Chicago | Portland | Philadelphia] The Hot 10 winners will be announced Aug. 18. See the complete list of nominees below. Aatxe: Al’s Place: Alimento: Arcade Bakery: Artisan Meat Share: Biscuit Love: Cosme: Dai Due: Damn the Weather: The Dining Room at the White Hart Inn: Dizengoff: Dove’s Luncheonette: East Ender: Gardner: Gjusta: The Grey: Heyday: Hola Arepa: Jon Vinny's: Kachka: Kindred: Krog Street Market: Lazy Bear: Leon's Oyster Shop is known for its spicy fried chicken in Charleston. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Leon’s Oyster Shop: Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Liholiho Yacht Club: Loyal Nine: Luscher’s Red Hots: Manolin: Milk Glass Mrkt: Milktooth: Mission Chinese


Strawberries are in big trouble. Scientists race to find solution.

$2.4 billion industry in the United States at risk. In 2012, the United States produced more than 36 billion pounds of the berry — mostly from California — according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. [Will there ever be an organics label for worker rights?] Some scientists at the University of California-Davis are working on a genetic solution, by researching resistance to soil-borne diseases. Their greenhouse has more than 1,600 varieties of the fruit, and the hope is that they can sift through and find a gene that could make them stronger. That strategy could take a few years to accomplish, though. "As more and more land enters organic production and chemical control options disappear, breeding and clever and more sustainable production practices will be critical to the survival of the industry," said Steven Knapp, director of the UC-Davis Strawberry Breeding Program, in an e-mail. "Both are significant challenges." Other researchers are looking into a younger concept called anaerobic soil disinfestation, or ASD. In this method, farmers create an environment that is toxic for plant pathogens. They set up a layer in the soil of water and carbon for anaerobic bacteria to form that will kill pests like fungi. It's a promising candidate, but it's not a one-shot solution for all pathogens like fumigants. [I had a big pain in the neck. Then I ate a bunch of tart cherries.] Organic methods of protecting the fruit have been of interest to large commercial growers as well. Small strawberry farmers have put more of an emphasis building up the soil — as opposed to sterilizing it — by introducing cover crops, such as mustard plants. Pests like mice can also be killed with blasts of steam. These methods are becoming increasingly important as demand for organic produce continues to rise. Still, those methods aren't surefire tactics, and growers working with large fields say steam is a useful tool, but hard to scale up economically. "People talk about a silver bullet to replace it, and that’s a mistake," Fennimore said. "We want to put a lot of treatments together and make it all work." Read more: Five organic fruits and vegetables that are worth the higher cost New EPA rule on greenhouse gases the latest blow to King Coal Supreme Court: EPA erred in rule on toxic emissions from power plants How to make fruits and veggies last The rise of the


Celebrate D.C. Beer Week with crab feasts, tap takeovers and a scavenger hunt

DC Brau's annual all-you-can-eat crab feast at the Quarterdeck is one of the most popular events of DC Beer Week. (D.C. Beer Week) DC Beer Week runs Aug. 9-16, and every night is packed with events: beer dinners, happy hours, crab feasts, and even a scavenger hunt through Dupont Circle. A longer list of events can be found on the official DC Beer Week Calendar. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 7-8 Sunday, Aug. 9 Get to know 11 new local breweries at the Black Squirrel's New Kids on the Block tasting. Hellbender (D.C.) and Adroit Theory (Purcellville, Va.) are regularly seen at D.C. beer bars; Caboose (Vienna), Ornery (Woodbridge) and Mispillion River (Milford, Del.) are less common, while this is the D.C. debut of Jailbreak (Laurel) and an early chance to try a beer from Metropole (Arlington), which isn't even open yet. 4 p.m. to midnight. The Black Squirrel, 2427 18th St. NW. www.blacksquirreldc.com. Free admission. Monday, Aug. 10 Tuesday, Aug. 11 If you enjoy a rich, strong barrel-aged beer, make your way to Boundary Stone for the second annual Battle of the Barrel-Aged Brews, where DC Brau is defending its title against competition from 3 Stars, Atlas, Hellbender and Port City. Small pours of each beer are included in the $20 ticket, along with an all-important ballot that lets you vote for the winner. Buying a ticket in advance helps avoid a sellout crowd. 5 to 8 p.m. Boundary Stone, 116 Rhode Island Ave. NW. www.boundarystonedc.com. $20. Wednesday, Aug. 12 The DC Brewery Q&A at City Tap House, which features owners and brewers from 3 Stars, Atlas Brew Works, Bluejacket, DC Brau and Hellbender, promises to answer your questions about the local beer scene. RSVP to info@citytaphousedc.com. After the panel ends, the Coast to Coast Tap Takeover at nearby RFD includes 45 beers from all over the country for $5 each until 11 p.m. DC Brewery Q&A: 6 to 8 p.m. at City Tap House, 901 I St. NW. www.citytaphousedc.com. Free admission. Coast to Coast Tap Takeover: Starts at 4 p.m. at RFD, 810 Seventh St. NW. www.lovethebeer.com. $5 cover charge to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Center. Thursday, Aug. 13 If you have a craving for crustaceans and local brews, Smoke and Barrel is hosting an all-you-can-eat crab feast with two Eastern Shore breweries: RAR of Cambridge and Evolution of Salisbury. Each ticket includes crabs, corn on the cob, hush puppies,


a ticket in advance helps avoid a sellout crowd. 5 to 8 p.m. Boundary Stone, 116 Rhode Island Ave. NW. www.boundarystonedc.com. $20. Wednesday, Aug. 12 The DC Brewery Q&A at City Tap House, which features owners and brewers from 3 Stars, Atlas Brew Works, Bluejacket, DC Brau and Hellbender, promises to answer your questions about the local beer scene. RSVP to info@citytaphousedc.com. After the panel ends, the Coast to Coast Tap Takeover at nearby RFD includes 45 beers from all over the country for $5 each until 11 p.m. DC Brewery Q&A: 6 to 8 p.m. at City Tap House, 901 I St. NW. www.citytaphousedc.com. Free admission. Coast to Coast Tap Takeover: Starts at 4 p.m. at RFD, 810 Seventh St. NW. www.lovethebeer.com. $5 cover charge to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Center. Thursday, Aug. 13 If you have a craving for crustaceans and local brews, Smoke and Barrel is hosting an all-you-can-eat crab feast with two Eastern Shore breweries: RAR of Cambridge and Evolution of Salisbury. Each ticket includes crabs, corn on the cob, hush puppies, and unlimited pours of seven beers from each of the breweries from 6 to 8 p.m. Smoke and Barrel, 2471 18th St. NW. www.smokeandbarreldc.com. $65. Ciders and meads Friday, Aug. 14 Many of the events during DC Beer Week celebrate local beers, but part of the strength of the local beer scene is the ability to enjoy brews from around the country, if not the world. San Diego's Ballast Point has become a fixture on local taps this summer – its Grapefruit Sculpin IPA is the perfect marriage of a hoppy West Coast IPA and a quenching German radler – and ChurchKey is putting two dozen Ballast Point beers on tap and another four on draft for one night only. 4 p.m. to close. ChurchKey, 1337 14th St. NW. www.churchkeydc.com. Free admission. Saturday, Aug. 15 The Old Ebbitt BrewHaHa pairs nine breweries, including Hardywood, Flying Dog and DC Brau, with one of nine chefs – maybe Michael Friedman of the Red Hen or Nathan Anda of Partisan and Red Apron Butchery. Each brewery picks two beers to serve, and the chef creates small bites to pair with them. The event runs from 8 to 11 p.m. and all food and drinks are included in the ticket price. 8 to 11 p.m. Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th St. NW. www.brewhaha2015.eventfarm.com. $65. Sunday, Aug. 16


Climate change could give San Francisco the climate of San Diego, scientists say

heating days and gain cooling days. To be clear, Caldeira says, the study should not be taken as a prediction of events that are definitely going to occur, but rather a projection of events that could happen under a specific scenario. Carbon emissions reduction plans are in place in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world, and while they’re unlikely to halt climate change altogether, they make a business-as-usual trajectory much less likely. That means that the climatic changes that take place in the U.S. will hopefully be less dramatic than those described in the paper. And it’s also worth pointing out that Caldeira and Petri’s study is by no means a perfect indicator of the “best” climate. Temperature is just one aspect of climate, Caldeira says, and future related studies might take other factors into account, such as cloud cover or precipitation. Still, Caldeira adds, the projections are a “useful, concrete way of understanding the magnitude of climate change.” And they could even help inform the real estate industry by indicating which locations have the potential for the most change. “Hopefully, [the results] will help people decide where it will be convenient to live in the future based on temperature comfort,” Petri says. It’s a thought-provoking first publication for Petri, who has been an intern in the lab for a little more than a year and will start school at University of California, Berkeley this fall. While closely supervised, Caldeira says Petri handled much of the data herself, and adds, “I think she was as smart and hard-working and as thoughtful as many of my postdocs.” As far as the Redwood City claim is concerned, it looks like San Diego is calling its bluff — if we’re going just by temperature, that is. On the other hand, Redwood City is in the Bay Area, not far from San Francisco. So if our climate mitigation efforts were to fail and the study’s projections became reality, Redwood City’s moment could still be coming — nearly a hundred years down the road. Also in Energy Environment: Scientists have discovered that living near trees is good for your health Meet the “clean cow” technology that could help fight climate change What you need to know about Obama’s biggest climate move yet — the Clean Power Plan For more, you can sign up for our weekly newsletter here, and follow us on Twitter here.


The horrible letdown beneath that amazing Lexus hoverboard

(Jalopnik / YouTube) The whole Internet is freaking out right now about Lexus' famous hoverboard project, which the company wants you to know totally works and is the coolest thing since Marty McFly rode one. Jalopnik managed to take a spin on the Lexus board in Barcelona, and it certainly looks amazing. But there's one enormous, gigantic catch that gets completely buried in all the hype: You can't actually ride it everywhere. Not unless you want to spend years digging up the world's streets and sidewalks installing the equipment it has to run on. That's because the Lexus board relies on a magnetic rail buried underground to do the levitation. Start watching at 1 minute in: The Lexus Hoverboard Is Real And We Rode It While it's obviously awesome that Lexus has made a working prototype, this technology has actually been around for years. It's what powers maglev trains. Lexus just shrunk it down to the size of a skateboard and buried the rail. To mix cultural metaphors, this is like pulling back the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. It's a little disappointing given all the gee-whiz claims about hovering. Let's hope some other genius floats a better idea. RELATED: Yes, there's a hoverboard in a new Lexus ad. No, you can't have it.


This beautiful cosmic bubble is actually a dying star

familiar astronomical object: a planetary nebula, the remnants of a dying star. This is the best view of the little-known object ESO 378-1 yet obtained and was captured by ESO’s Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. (ESO) It's hard to believe the above photo is even real. It looks like a soap bubble blown by some giant cosmic being, somehow floating through the vacuum of space. But it is real, and this colorful cosmic bubble is none other than the shell of a dying star. [Gaze upon the Medusa (Nebula) in unprecedented detail] Planetary nebulae -- so named for their round shape, and not for any relation to planets -- have a reputation for being kind of gorgeous. This one is called the Southern Owl Nebula, and it sits in the constellation Hydra. The nebula is at least four light years across. It was captured by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in northern Chile, and released as part of their ESO Cosmic Gems initiative to use stunning space images to encourage public interest. As beautiful as they are, these nebulae are but a blink of an eye in a star's life story. Nebulae form at the tail end of a star's life. After billions of years on the scene, their time as nebulae will only last a few tens of thousands of years. [Stunning new picture of the Pillars of Creation] Planetary nebulae [Here’s what our galaxy looks like from the outside] Once the gasses fueling this brilliant color show have been fully expelled into interstellar space, the white dwarf inside will burn for another billion years or so, then cool off for another few billion once it has run out of fuel. But although they're brief, nebulae have a huge role to play in the evolution of the universe. A nebula helps to send the materials formed by its star -- the heavy elements created by billions of years of fusion -- out into space, where they're recycled by newly formed stars. This helps seed the universe with the heavy, relatively new elements -- like hydrogen and carbon -- that helped form life as we know it. Read More: This dying star looks like a beautiful cosmic butterfly Stunning timelapse shows the Aurora Borealis from space Breathtaking image shows Pluto with an atmospheric halo For the first time ever, scientists spot an aurora outside our solar system


Are monarch butterflies really being massacred? A new study says it’s a lot more complicated than it seems

butterfly is a keystone species — one that has a disproportionate effect on its ecological community relative to its population size — and its migration across North America is considered one of the continent’s greatest natural treasures. Monarchs are the only butterfly known to make an annual two-way migration as birds do. The 3,000-mile journey takes several months and multiple generations of the butterfly. It starts each year in the mountains of southern Mexico, where the monarchs that flew down the previous fall have roosted all winter. As springtime approaches, the butterflies begin to move north, stopping at some point to mate and lay eggs on milkweed plants. Those offspring pick up where their parents left off, flying for several weeks before mating and laying the next generation of travelers. It can take three to four generations for the species to make it to their summer breeding grounds in the northern U.S. and Canada. Unlike the meandering springtime journey, the reverse trip is made in one shot by a single “migratory generation.” Though summer monarchs live and die in a matter of weeks, the south-bound butterflies must last up nine months, long enough to endure the return trip south and the several-month stay in Mexico. Until now, the vast majority of research on the monarch population has relied on counts of their winter numbers. Each year conservationists follow the butterflies to their sanctuaries in Mexico to conduct an annual census. It is by far the easiest and most efficient way to determine their population size — in Mexico, the monarchs roost by the millions in a relatively contained area, rather than fluttering about across a vast and chaotic continent. In recent years, the results of the winter count have been alarming. In 2014, researchers announced their lowest census yet: only 34 million, a decline of more than 90 percent since the survey began in 1993. This year’s count showed a modest improvement to 56.5 million. The numbers have gotten so bad that this winter the Fish and Wildlife Service took the first steps toward considering whether the monarch should be labeled an endangered species. [The White House plan to save the monarch butterfly: Build a butterfly highway] But the new study, which is part of a collection of seven papers that look specifically at non-winter numbers, suggests that the Mexico census may not show the whole picture. Though the number


New study finds surprising news about teens, marijuana, and health issues

Marijuana plants grow at a Minnesota Medical Solutions greenhouse in Otsego, Minn. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP) With the widespread availability of marijuana in recent years thanks to its legalization in a growing number of states, there has been increasing concern about the long-term health consequences on teens who might be able to get easier access to it illegally. A study published by the American Psychological Association in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors this week should alleviate some of the worst fears. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Rutgers University studied 408 males from adolescence to their mid-30s. The participants fell into four groups: those with no use or low use of marijuana, early chronic users, those who only smoked during their teens and those who began using it later and continued using the drug. The early chronic users smoked a great deal -- a peak of more than 200 days per year on average when they were 22 years old. The researchers found no links to physical or mental health issues -- including depression, psychotic symptoms or asthma -- in any group, even those with very high use. They controlled for cigarette smoking, other drug use, access to health insurance and other factors. "What we found was a little surprising," lead author Jordan Bechtold, a research fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said in a statement. Based on other studies in the past that seemed to allude to marijuana use and later development of psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations, the researchers had thought they might find some associations to disease or other health conditions. But there were none. They also found no link to a wide range of other health issues: cancer, asthma, respiratory problems, depression, anxiety, allergies, headaches or high blood pressure. Bechtold said the researchers wanted to "help inform the debate about legalization of marijuana" but that this is a very complicated issue and one, study, including his own, should not be taken in isolation and should be viewed in context of other studies on teenagers' marijuana use. One major limitation of the study is that it ends when the men are in their 30s "which may be too early for decrements in health to emerge," the authors acknowledge. "Therefore, continued data collection and longer follow-ups are needed." Update: The study's findings generated significant controversy along with requests for


Good news about teens and marijuana: No links to depression, other health issues, new study says

With the widespread availability of marijuana in recent years thanks to its legalization in a growing number of states, there has been increasing concern about the long-term health consequences on teens who might be able to get easier access to it illegally. A study published by the American Psychological Association in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors this week should alleviate some of the worst fears. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Rutgers University studied 408 males from adolescence to their mid-30s. The participants fell into four groups: those with no use or low use of marijuana, early chronic users, those who only smoked during their teens and those who began using it later and continued using the drug. The early chronic users smoked a great deal -- a peak of more than 200 days per year on average when they were 22 years old. Marijuana plants grow at a Minnesota Medical Solutions greenhouse in Otsego, Minn. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP) The researchers found no links to physical or mental health issues -- including depression, psychotic symptoms or asthma -- in any group, even those with very high use. They controlled for cigarette smoking, other drug use, access to health insurance and other factors. "What we found was a little surprising," lead author Jordan Bechtold, a research fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said in a statement. Based on other studies in the past that seemed to allude to marijuana use and later development of psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations, the researchers had thought they might find some associations to disease or other health conditions. But there were none. They also found no link to a wide range of other health issues: cancer, asthma, respiratory problems, depression, anxiety, allergies, headaches or high blood pressure. Bechtold said he wanted to "help inform the debate about legalization of marijuana" but that this is a very complicated issue and one, study, including his own, should not be taken in isolation and should be viewed in context of other studies on teenagers' marijuana use. One major limitation of the study is that it ends when the men are in their 30s "which may be too early for decrements in health to emerge," the authors acknowledge. "Therefore, continued data collection and longer follow-ups are needed."


Stunning GIF shows moon crossing Earth from new satellite 1 million miles away

New images released from NOAA’s satellite DSCOVR shows the moon crossing in front of Earth. (NASA) NASA just released While DSCOVR’s main objective is to provide solar wind data for NOAA’s space weather forecasts, it has a remarkable telescope and high-resolution camera that is trained toward Earth. DSCOVR arrived at its final orbiting place just a few weeks ago, after it was launched into space in February. But as the satellite has been getting comfortable in its new orbit, DSCOVR has been wowing us with full-disk images of our home planet. We never get to see the far side of the moon because although our lunar satellite is orbiting Earth, its position is “tidally locked.” Unlike Earth’s rotation around the sun, the moon is in synchronous orbit which means we always see the same moon night in and night out. [New satellite transmits first full image of Earth since 1972] “It is surprising how much brighter Earth is than the moon,” said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist at NASA. “Our planet is a truly brilliant object in dark space compared to the lunar surface.” Even from such a distance, DSCOVR is seeing Earth’s weather patterns in incredible resolution. As the Earth rotates and the moon passes in front, you’ll see a very powerful hurricane off the west coast of Mexico. That’s Hurricane Dolores, which peaked as a category 4 with winds of 130 mph on July 13. (NASA, modified by CWG) You’ll notice some red and green artifacts in the images, NASA says, but this is normal and the frames are unaltered. The natural color image product is actually the combination of three monochrome channels — red, green and blue. [Satellite DSCOVR to monitor potentially damaging solar winds] “Combining three images taken about 30 seconds apart as the moon moves produces a slight but noticeable camera artifact on the right side of the moon,” NASA writes. “Because the moon has moved in relation to the Earth between the time the first (red) and last (green) exposures were made, a thin green offset appears on the right side of the moon when the three exposures are combined. This natural lunar movement also produces a slight red and blue offset on the left side of the moon in these unaltered images.” A previous version of the image caption above said that DSCOVR was a NASA satellite. It is actually a NOAA satellite


Critters, climate and two plague deaths in Colorado

spreads beyond the population where it’s endemic (in this case, rodents), it’s called an epizootic. And Colorado is starting to see more of them. Last year, a pit bull was found to be the root cause of a minor plague outbreak that infected four people. All the victims survived, though the the dog did not. Officials are blaming the weather. For the past two years, some parts of the state (the ones that aren’t parched with drought) have seen a wetter spring than usual. That leads to particularly lush vegetation, which in turn promotes larger rodent populations. The consequence? Colorado had eight cases of plague in 2014 and four this summer, including the two deaths. “We’ve had a very wet winter, very wet spring and it’s really a cool summer for Pueblo and we are exploding with rodents and rabbits,” Vicky Carlton told KKTV-11, a Colorado City new station. Carlton is a program manager for the health department in Pueblo County, where the second victim fell ill. “In the area where I live, I see rodents everywhere,” she continued. “And that just means we have twice as many fleas, as well. So, the risk is there for pets and people. This is an unusual summer for us.” [A Colorado pit bull infected humans with the plague] Colorado isn’t the only state to see this trend. A 2012 report from the U.S. Geological Survey found that, between 1969 and 2000, 75 percent of plague epizootics (cases where the disease spread beyond the animals where it is endemic and into other species) happened during an El Niño year, when the winters were warm and wet. That could change with global warming, the report said — as the Southwest gets hotter and drier, the rodents and their fleas might flee, spreading the disease north to Wyoming and Idaho. Or they might not. As science writer Elizabeth Kolbert pointed out in the New Yorker, the PNAS gerbil study shows how complex the relationship between climate and public health can be. “If the new PNAS study is correct, then millions in Europe died because the climate conditions were sometimes favorable for these rodents a quarter of the way around the world,” she wrote. “The indirect nature of the connection makes it hard to foresee what warming will mean for human health, which — in case you needed it — is another thing to worry about.”


8 dead, nearly 100 sick in New York Legionnaires’ outbreak: What you need to know

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a press conference to address the Legionnaire's disease outbreak in the city at Lincoln Hospital on Tuesday. Mary Bassett, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, stands at left. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) More than half of those who had been hospitalized have been treated and released, but many city residents remain on high alert about the outbreak. The death toll from the Legionnaires' outbreak in New York City has climbed to eight, officials reported Wednesday, and an additional 97 people have fallen ill from the disease. Here is a summary of the outbreak so far: What's Legionnaires' disease, and how do you get it? A kind of severe pneumonia, the disease is caused by a bacteria known as legionella, named after an outbreak of respiratory disease among delegates of the American Legion attending a gathering in Philadelphia in 1976. It's not transmitted from person-to-person but by inhaling mist contaminated with the bacteria. There are a number of outbreaks each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 8,000 to 18,000 people in the United States are hospitalized each year from the disease. Precise numbers are difficult because the symptoms of the disease look very similar to other types of pneumonia and can include fever, chills, muscle aches and cough. Plus, there's no way of knowing what the cause is unless a culture is sent to a lab for analysis, and that isn't always done. What is Legionnaires' disease and how do you get it? Here's what you need to know about the illness. Most people infected with Legionnaires' disease recover after being treated with antibiotics. Some individuals -- such as those who are over 50 years old, have chronic lung disease or weakened immune systems -- are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill when infected. The situation in New York sounds scary. How is it different from other outbreaks? The cluster of people who have gotten the disease is very large -- the largest in New York City's history -- and a higher proportion of them have died than is typical. Since July 10, health officials have confirmed at least 100 cases, and at least eight people have died. Health officials have been so concerned that they have urged New Yorkers with the symptoms to "seek medical attention right away." Who


Better late than never: The DEA admits that marijuana is safer than heroin

The DEA has finally admitted that this is safer than heroin. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP) It's official: the U.S. government's top drug cop has acknowledged that marijuana is less dangerous than heroin. At a meeting with reporters yesterday at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration, acting chief Chuck Rosenberg said that "heroin is clearly more dangerous than marijuana," Matt Ferner of the Huffington Post reports. This clarifies a statement he made last week, when he told reporters that marijuana was "probably not" as dangerous as heroin, adding "I'm not an expert." This shouldn't be news. Researchers have known for decades that marijuana is a much safer substance than heroin -- and nearly all other psychoactive drugs, for that matter. Heroin overdoses kill thousands of people each year, while marijuana has no known toxic dose. It's considerably less habit-forming than heroin, alcohol, nicotine and other drugs. And medical marijuana treatments hold a lot of potential -- particularly as an alternative to dangerous prescription painkillers. As far back as 1972, a federal report commissioned by President Richard Nixon recommended that marijuana use and possession be decriminalized, arguing that "neither the marihuana [sic] user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety." But Nixon ignored the report's findings. Marijuana was left on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive category, reserved for drugs that "have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse." Other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin and LSD. In recent years as public opinion on marijuana has shifted and the science on the drug becomes more settled and accepted, the DEA has stuck with its anti-marijuana stance. Former DEA administrator Michelle Leonhart, who resigned under a cloud of scandal and managerial lapses earlier this year, famously refused to say whether marijuana was less dangerous than crack or heroin in a 2014 congressional hearing. The exchange drew widespread ridicule. Polis Questions DEA on Marijuana Policy Under Leonhart, the DEA also repeatedly challenged the White House on marijuana reform measures, aggressively pursued medical marijuana raids in defiance of congressional mandates, and was ridiculed by congressmen for its opposition to industrial hemp. And in that context, Rosenberg's cautious acknowledgement on the relative safety of marijuana is indeed news. It's a small sign that under its


The alluring idea that we can cure cancer has become a trap

curing it once it's developed. "It’s continually evolving and adapting to the treatments we give," said Ernest Hawk, vice president of cancer prevention at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "There's a large effort around targeted therapies, but they tend to prolong life and improve symptoms of life for cancer patients. Rarely does it really ablate the disease and remove the risk. It's the biology of the disease that’s telling us there’s the greatest opportunity in prevention and early detection than in treatment." [Study: Even short term use of birth control pills can lower uterine cancer risk decades later] No one is suggesting we should stop developing treatments for advanced cancers, but most think prevention is sorely underfunded. Of the $5 billion spent by the National Cancer Institute last year, just under seven percent of the budget is specifically set aside for cancer prevention and control. Within the research budget, $438 million is devoted to detection and diagnosis. In private industry, the vast majority of funds are spent on developing treatments, not prevention. (Source: NIH) That is despite the fact that anywhere from a third to half of all cancers in developed countries are preventable by interventions we already know about, whether by avoiding sun exposure or getting pap smears. Researchers have argued that if prevention became "plan A" and treatment became "plan B," with even a fraction of the energy and resources currently devoted to cures being applied to coming prevention, it could slash the deaths by cancer even more dramatically. Let's look to the history of medical revolutions for guidance. Take polio, smallpox and deaths from a massive heart attack -- diseases that have declined, although we still lack cures for them. It wasn't the treatments, such as the iron lung or the artificial heart, that made the difference. It was vaccines, lifestyle changes, statins. "It’s no easier now to cure a patient who has a massive heart attack than it was 60 to 70 years ago," said Bert Vogelstein, a cancer genome specialist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "The difference is that ... deaths from heart attacks and strokes decreased by 75 percent over the time period. And that’s virtually without any curing of advanced cardiovascular disease. It’s all through prevention. Curing cancer for the longest time was always the goal. But I think we could learn a lot as cancer researchers from


Nazca Mochica is set to join Washington’s growing Peruvian dining scene

Peruvian cuisine is having a moment in Washington: In the past year-plus, we've seen the opening of Carlos Delgado's Ocopa on H Street NE and José Andrés's China Chilcano in Chinatown, joining mainstays El Chalan and Las Canteras. Now there's Nazca Mochica, from Houston chef Roberto Castre. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the restaurant at 1633 P St. NW near Dupont Circle could open by October. [China Chilcano review: Strap in for a fun, but bumpy, ride from José Andrés] Houston chef Roberto Castre is bringing a Peruvian restaurant to Dupont Circle. (Courtesy of Renato Rimach) Co-owners Robert Preston and Walter Lopez became fans of Castre's Latin Bites restaurant during a two-year stint in Houston. The Georgetown grads were looking to return to Washington with the idea of opening a restaurant. At the same time, Castre had been thinking about expanding. When Preston and Peru native Lopez, whose family is also in the restaurant business, asked Castre if he'd be interested in a project with them, the chef jumped at the opportunity. "I came to Washington, and as soon as I got here, I fell in love with the city," Castre said; Dupont reminds him of the Miraflores neighborhood in his home town of Lima, he added. Named for a pair of ancient Peruvian civilizations, Nazca Mochica will be spread across two floors in the space formerly occupied by Heritage India. The first floor will feature a pisco bar with tapas and seviche. The main dining room will be upstairs. Each floor will hold about 30 to 40 diners. Peru has become recognized as a gastronomic destination: Lima claimed three of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2015, including No. 4, Central Restaurante. The goal with Nazca Mochica is to start with traditional Peruvian fare but give it a modern, local update, Castre said. [It’s a whole New World in Peruvian cuisine] Roberto Castre's anticuchos, with veal heart, roasted potatoes and roasted choclo Peruvian corn. (Courtesy of Rita Castre) "We want to try to take the Peruvian food to another level," the chef said. "We want to create our own dishes using Peruvian ingredients." Castre intends to feature some dishes from his Latin Bites menu, including causitas, mashed potatoes seasoned with lime and peppers served with chicken and crab salads. He's also partial to his seviche mercado, which features whitefish, octopus and crispy calamari. The chef has already made


What was the gunfire-like noise reported near Mississippi’s Camp Shelby this week?

Bomb squad members gather at Alfred Baria’s truck on Highway 29 in Perry County, on Wednesday. (Tim Isbell/Sun Herald, via AP) Soldiers training near a National Guard training center in Mississippi reported hearing gunshots for two consecutive days earlier this week, prompting a heightened state of alert at the installation, according to military officials. Taken into custody after the incidents near Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center was Alfred Baria Sr., a 61-year-old man who was stopped in a pickup truck on Wednesday, the Clarion-Ledger reported. It was not immediately clear, however, if any shots were actually fired. Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith told the Associated Press that Baria alleged the noise was simply his truck backfiring. That account was supported by Baria’s son, who told the AP it was a common occurrence. The wire service reported Baria’s son said he understood concerns about military safety, but said he felt officials were overreacting following repeated public statements about gunfire and a large police search. “I feel like they were just embarrassed,” Alfred Baria Jr. told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday evening at the home he shares with his father in remote southern Perry County. The sheriff’s office did not immediately return a telephone message left Thursday. No soldiers were injured in either situation, Lt. Col. Christian Patterson, spokesman for the Mississippi Military Department, said Wednesday. On Wednesday morning, as authorities were still searching for the person they believe fired shots near soldiers a day earlier, soldiers again reported hearing gunshots in a wooded area of Perry County, Miss. The report came less than three weeks after a man opened fire at a Naval Reserve center and a recruiting station in Chattanooga, Tenn., killing four Marines and a Navy petty officer. That shooting sparked concerns over how military service members could be targeted for attacks and prompted an outcry over restrictions on how they can arm themselves at military facilities. Last week, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said he would allow more troops to be armed while stateside, and he called for other improvements in security at places like recruiting stations. Regardless of what authorities determine, Baria is still facing charges, including counts of disturbing the peace, jail records show. Additionally, he was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. (The AP reports that guns were located at his home.) About 4,600 soldiers are currently