Thai coup dims allure of 'Land of Smiles'
Bangkok (AFP) June 07, 2014 -
Thailand's once-booming tourism industry is scrambling to arrest a slump in foreign visitor numbers after a military coup and a night-time curfew tarnished its reputation as the "Land of Smiles".
While most tourists in the Southeast Asian nation barely noticed when the generals suddenly seized power on May 22 in a bloodless coup, the impact is starting to be felt with many hotel rooms in the ...
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Ugandan HIV bill 'nonsensical', says health body
Kampala (AFP) June 06, 2014 -
Uganda's AIDS commission on Friday called an HIV bill passed by parliament "nonsensical", and urged the country's president not to sign it into law.
"My advice to the president is not to sign the bill," Vinand Nantulya, who chairs the Uganda AIDS Commission - a government-run body, told reporters.
Uganda's parliament passed new legislation criminalising the deliberate transmission of HI ...
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New Ichthyosaur Graveyard Found
Boulder CO (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
In a new study published in the Geological Society of America Bulletin, geoscientists Wolfgang Stinnesbeck of the University of Heidelberg and colleagues document the discovery of forty-six ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs (marine reptiles).
These specimens were discovered in the vicinity of the Tyndall Glacier in the Torres del Paine National Park of southern Chile. Among them are numerous ar ...
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Conserving migratory ungulates in Mongolia's grasslands
Vienna, Austria (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
Mongolian and international conservationists, including researchers from the Vetmeduni Vienna, have joined forces to raise awareness of the global importance of Mongolia's steppes. The Gobi-Steppe Ecosystem is home to a unique diversity of animal and plant species, among them several large migratory mammals.
The scientists recommend reconciling the rapid infrastructure development that is ...
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How Do Phytoplankton Survive a Scarcity of a Critical Nutrient?
Cape Cod MA (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
Phytoplankton-tiny, photosynthetic organisms-are essential to life on Earth, supplying us with roughly half the oxygen we breathe. Like all other life forms, phytoplankton require the element phosphorus to carry out critical cellular activity, but in some parts of the world's ocean, P is in limited supply. How do phytoplankton survive when phosphorus is difficult to find?
Phytoplankton can ...
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Making artificial vision look more natural
Bethesda MD (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
In laboratory tests, researchers have used electrical stimulation of retinal cells to produce the same patterns of activity that occur when the retina sees a moving object. Although more work remains, this is a step toward restoring natural, high-fidelity vision to blind people, the researchers say. The work was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
Just 20 years ago, bionic ...
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Brazil leads the world in reducing carbon emissions
San Francisco CA (SPX) Jun 09, 2014 -
As the world turns its attention to Brazil with the opening of the World Cup this month, many people around the globe know the country's soccer fame, but few realize that it is the world's leader in reducing carbon emissions. A new study published in Science magazine provides the first in-depth analysis of how Brazil reached this global-leader status and managed to increase its agriculture produ ...
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