hans hedrich
SD

Marti, 9 septembrie, intre orele 9 – 11, Asociatia pentru Calitatea si Dezvoltarea Vietii si ziarul ring organizeaza in fata sediului Ministerului Mediului un miting de protest. Am avut pana acum zeci de cereri ramase fara raspuns, numeroase scrisori si petitii ignorate. Este momentul sa transmitem un semnal.

Data de 30 septembrie ar trebui sa fie ultima zi in care zeci de mii de bucuresteni, semnatatri ai petitiei anti –protan, sa mai aiba de-a face cu aceasta bomba ecologica. Tocmai pentru a da un semnal clar in ceea ce priveste hotarirea societatii civile de a nu mai tolera o noua musamalizare a acestei afacerii a mortii, care ascunde in spatele ei numeroase interese politice, este momentul sa fim uniti. Este vorba de sanatatea a zeci de mii de bucuresteni. Ajunge. Impreuna sintem mai puternici.
Trebuie sa aratam ca un mediu inconjurator sanatos si o companie responsabila social nu sunt elemente de lux, ci drepturile noastre ca cetateni.

Fiti alaturi de noi, marti, intre orele 9 -11 in fata sediului Ministerului Mediului.
Sintem foarte aproape de momentul in care numai impreuna putem inchide aceasta fabrica a mortii.
Renunta la doua ore din viata ta pentru… a cistiga o viata sanatoasa.

Entomologists jailed for
illegal specimen hunt

Indian scientists are being asked to
help facilitate the release of two Czech
entomologists who have been detained in an
Indian jail since 22 June.
Petr Švácha, of the Institute of
Entomology at the Biology Centre of the
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
in České Budějovice, and his colleague Emil
Kučera were arrested for collecting beetles
and butterflies without permission from a
national park in West Bengal, in violation
of the Indian Biodiversity Act. Arguments
are set to be heard on the case on 7 July in
Darjeeling.
Although the Indian media has accused
them of collecting insects for the Chinese
medicine market, the Czechs claim that they
were unaware that collecting insects was
illegal in India. “These people are sincere,
genuine entomologists, and the specimens
that they have collected are of no commercial
value,” says Max Barclay, a senior curator
at the Natural History Museum in London,
who is calling for their release.
Jan Sula, director of the Czech institute,
told Indian authorities that “we believe the
incident resulted from misunderstanding
as both men did not realize that they had
entered the national park”.
Leading invertebrate scientists in India
are planning to submit a joint petition to the
Indian prime minister and the chief minister
of West Bengal to free the researchers.

The genetics of anarchy
Genetics doi: 10.1534/genetics.108.087270 (2008)

A study of honeybee ‘anarchy’ has uncovered
several regions of the genome that influence
cheating behaviour.
Honeybee (Apis mellifera; pictured
right) queens emit a pheromone to ‘switch
off ’ the ovaries of female worker bees, but
some individuals are more sensitive to the
pheromone than others. Those who fail to
respond are branded anarchists because they
disrupt the social order of the hive.
Peter Oxley of the University of Sydney,

The Madagascan chameleon Furcifer labordi has an
annual life cycle, and spends most of its short life in
the egg.
Kristopher Karsten of Oklahoma State University
in Stillwater and his colleagues monitored
individuals from the time of hatching until death
during several cycles. They found that they hatch
in November; grow at astonishing rates; reach
maturity by January; battle fiercely over mates,
breed and lay their eggs by February; and then
promptly drop dead. For the next nine months, the
entire species is represented by eggs.
This is the shortest lifespan ever recorded for a
four-legged vertebrate animal