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lunes, 30 de diciembre de 2013

SAVING JAKARTA’S DANCING MONKEYS


Source: avaxnews.net.






LONG TAILED MACAQUE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION PROJECT

Saving Jakarta’s Dancing Monkeys – Project Summary

The goal of the project is to ensure the implementation of enhanced welfare standards for Indonesian primates, with an initial focus on ending the exploitation of long tailed macaques (macaca fascicularis) in the Jakarta region.

The project has an initial focus on the “Topeng Monyet”, or Dancing Monkeys. This is a particularly cruel practice where juvenile macaques are forced to perform (dance, ride bikes) in the crowded and busy streets of Jakarta. An illegal trade in wild macaques has built up around the phenomena known as “Topeng Monyet”.

JAAN observed a worrying increase in the use of these monkeys on Jakarta streets since 2009 and has started to campaign against this abuse ever since.

Project Background and Problem Definition

Each year, thousands of long tailed macaques are bred and captured from the wild for sale in Jakarta where they face a life of exploitation and cruelty. There are three main fates awaiting macaques: the pet market (including “Topeng Money”), research (export) and food (Indonesian based Chinese restaurants).
Over recent years JAAN has actively campaigned and lobbied to end the exploitation of macaques in Indonesia, in particular those macaques used for the cruel “Topeng Monyet” trade. 

Young macaques are caught from the forests by poachers and sold (the price straight from the trapper is Rp 25.000 or US$2). In Jakarta, for Rp. 70,000 (US$7) a young macaque can be purchased. Macaques are sold in pet shops, bird markets and in front of shopping malls by street vendors. The baby macaques attract people because they look cute and are cheap to purchase. 

The macaques can be seen kept on short chains, on the street and often in front of the owner’s house. While growing up to adulthood, the chain often grows into the skin, leading to horrific infections and tetanus. Macaques are highly social creatures and in need of social contact. Macaques also form potential health hazards in urban areas due to the likeliness of disease transfer.

As a species listed under CITES appendix 2, macaques should be traded with permits only. Even local traders should obtain a permit from the forestry department. In Indonesia, Macaques are trapped, sold and kept without any permits. In Jakarta alone, we encounter many cases yearly where macaques have escaped from their chains and our team is called to capture and relocate the primate. 

Therefore JAAN campaigns ongoing for a total ban to keeping primates as pets in public area. The new regulation formed by governor Jokowi which will prohibit to keep primates in public areas is a very big step towards primate protection and general animal welfare in Indonesia and will end the cruelty now inflicted on thousands of monkeys captured from the wild to be exploited on Jakarta’s busy streets.

JAAN recognizes the need to work in partnership with the people of Jakarta and relevant authorities to ensure long-term sustainable outcomes. 

What have we accomplished so far? 

JAAN took the following steps:

1. Investigation in the industry called ‘Topeng Monyet’ in DKI Jakarta (2009)
2. Meetings with local government (2009, 2010, 2011)
3. Campaign (demonstrations) 2010, 2011)
4. Confiscations of Dancing Monkeys (2011, 2012)
5. Construct facilities and a caretaking team for confiscated monkeys (2011)
6. Organize a workshop for police officials and local government officials, leaded by Indonesia’s veterinary association and JAAN to explain the existing laws we can use to tackle Topeng Monyet (2011)
7. Trainings for government officials in the handling of primates (2012)
8. Coordinate with local Government under the management of Governor Jokowi (2012, 2013); provide a draft for a local regulation to prohibit dancing monkeys
9. Obtain approval for a law to prohibit Topeng Monyet and any placement of primates in public by private owners which will come to force in 2014. 

How did we take these steps?

In 2009, JAAN investigated the Topeng Monyet ‘industry’; Where were they captured originally, where were they kept in Jakarta, who owned the monkeys, who trained the monkeys. It turned out that the increase of the use of dancing monkeys in Jakarta’ streets could be blamed to three big ‘monkey bosses’ who rent out the monkeys to street children. The children have to pay per day an amount to the boss (30,000 until 50,000 Rupiah) and any money they make above this amount is for them. The children develop a debt with the bosses and therefore after a short while are forced to ‘work for free’. This encouraged our team even more to take action as not only the monkeys are being exploited, the children involved clearly are, too.

Secondly another disturbing fact we found was that the monkeys are kept under extreme cruel conditions, chained in small, dark cages and the training of the monkeys, which we witnessed and documented as well, is based on pain and hunger. The video can be found on the JAAN website or rtsp://v8.cache7.c.youtube.com/CjYLENy73wIaLQn3wCwgMANJzBMYESARFEIJbXYtZ29vZ2xlSARSBXdhdGNoYN635qmVmr-zUQw=/0/0/0/video.3gp for those who wish to learn more about this training process and can stand watching this footage. Here you see training methods such as the monkeys’ feet and hands are tied together to ‘teach’ the monkey to stand up straight. A small stone is placed under the feet of the monkey and the monkey steps from the stone the chain around its neck will choke her/him.

The monkeys’ canine teeth are pulled out with pliers, leaving the monkeys not only in severe pain but also infections. 

When JAAN concluded all the evidence needed about the ‘Topeng Monyet industry’ in Jakarta, JAAN held meetings with the local government Pemda DKI, attended by all parties that should be involved, including the Forestry Department and officials from Jakarta’s health department. This, because there is a big public health risk too, by allowing the monkeys interact with people on Jakarta’s streets. Primates carry diseases that can be transferred to humans and vice-versa, therefore primates bring a risk to public health when openly exposed to humans in public areas. 

Since macaques are still not protected in Indonesia, the forestry department was un-cooperative and uninterested to follow up on our requests to ban Topeng Monyet. The process of catching the baby monkeys from the wild is in fact illegal but legal action has never been undertaken by the forestry department against the capture of long-tailed macaques from Javanese and Sumatran forests. The local government and agriculture department were more interested in the ban and JAAN continued to have meetings with them throughout 2010, while striving to get to Governor Fauji Bowo, as a ban to Topeng Monyet in Jakarta would be the most realistic goal of our efforts. After many un-replied letters, JAAN finally was able to obtain a statement in public by DKI Jakarta’s Fauji Bowo in 2011 that Topeng Monyet should be banned in Jakarta and JAAN could count on help from the local government to confiscate monkeys from Jakarta’s streets. 

Then JAAN organized a workshop for local police and government officials about the existing animal welfare law and other laws that can be used to tackle the Topeng Monyet industry. This workshop proved very succesfull as after this workshop , throughout 2011 and 2012 JAAN confiscated 40 Dancing Monkeys in the area of South Jakarta with the assistance and cooperation of local government officials and police.

The monkey owners were given a warning only and set free; the monkeys and all attributes were seized.
The confiscated monkeys go through quarantine after which they are socialized in specially build socialization cages. The socialization of the monkeys is a hard and long process, especially because we deal with very badly traumatized animals. The team working with the rescued macaques therefore are people experienced with the handling and the behavior of macaques. 

20 percent of all the monkeys we confiscated and cared for proved to be positive to Tuberculosis and even Hepatitis and Leptospirosis was found in two individuals. This high rate of monkeys carrying dangerous diseases shows the dangerous ‘side effect’ of “Topeng Monyet’; spreading diseases. Probably the monkeys obtain the diseases from the people first after which they spread it to the public. So any child coming nearby the dancing monkeys, looking at it because its supposed to be ‘fun’ to watch, is not only exposed to a very bad form of education (that its ok to inflict pain on other beings) but also to various very dangerous and even deadly diseases.
Screen shot 2013-08-27 at 10.06.17 AM
Now, JAAN is striving to obtain a safe release site for the rescued monkeys under our care; we are in need of an island, just as our formed rescued monkeys have been released to; this to enable our team to continuously monitor their condition and health and also to avoid people from re-capturing them. All primates will be sterilized prior release, this to avoid over-population on the island. We wish to provide the rescued monkeys a happy life of freedom in natural surroundings, that’s all. We need to create a new, safe release site to enable us to care for the monkeys that will be handed over to us when the confiscations restart early next year. Only by obtaining a perfect island for the monkeys we create a real solution and we can fully state that the program has succeeded. JAAN therefore seeks sponsorship to obtain the island we wish to use for this purpose. A suitable island, sized 20 hectares covered with primary and secondary forest has already been found. Yet sponsorship is what we seek!

After Jakarta obtained a new governor, Mr Jokowi, the confiscations ended and JAAN had to start meeting again with the local government to discuss the ‘Topeng Monyet’ in Jakarta. Now, JAAN was able to show more data and proof about the health risks the monkeys bring and Governor Jokowi showed committed to put an end to Topeng Monyet in Jakarta, forever. But he demanded that our veterinary team together with the veterinary team from the agriculture department would visit all locations where the monkeys are kept to explain about the new upcoming law and give all the people involved with Topeng Monyet a chance to find an alternative.

The teams will also offer free medical check ups for the people involved with Topeng Monyet as the risk of these people carrying diseases is very high.

By the time the tour has finished, the new law should be undersigned by Governor Jokowi and we should see a total end to the use of Topeng Monyet by the year 2014.

You can help by:

1. Sending us information when you see a Topeng Monyet on Jakarta’s streets (location, date, time and if possible also a picture of the monkey and handler would be very helpful)
2. Help distribute the newly printed leaflets to the monkey handlers; this leaflet in the form of a cartoon explains that a new law will be enacted in 2014 and who the monkey handlers can contact for more information
3. Support JAAN financially
4. If you live outside Jakarta and see ‘Topeng Monyet’ please also report this to us. For now, we can focuss on DKI Jakarta only. We are a small team with limited resources. But its important we have this data.
5. If you live outside Jakarta and want to stop Topeng Monyet in your area, then use our work as an example; follow the same steps and use the newly formed regulation in Jakarta to convince your local government why Topeng Monyet should be banned. Let the success in Jakarta serve as an example, other cities should follow. We know that Bogor and Banding now also deal with a ‘Topeng Monyet Industry’. Organizations or individuals working in those areas could certainly try to do the same and don’t hesitate to contact us, we will support as much as we can!

Alongside JAAN’s network of volunteers, JAAN works in partnership with:

1. Indonesian Agriculture Department;
2. Indonesian Central Forestry Department;
3. Indonesian Veterinary Association
4. Cikananga wildlife center
5. Stichting AAP

The rescue of the monkeys would not have been able without the help and support of the parties named above. JAAN also wishes to thank all the people and organization that sent letters of support and the many online petitions all demanding to ‘halt Topeng Monyet’.

Also big thank you to all the JAAN members as your support makes our work to help animals possible. Very big thanks to Patrick Rouxel whose detailed film named; ‘The Topeng Monyet’ has been extremely helpful in explaining the issue to the public and has over 60,000 hits so far!

Media exposure about the program has been also been ongoing both in national and international newspapers, magazines and even international television like the NOS (dutch headline news), dutch national radio e.o.

And last but not least, thank you JAAN team for the hardwork and dedication! 


Help Jaan Buy Monkey Island !!


Please help JAAN (Jakarta Animal Aid Network) via PayPal: Click HERE.

domingo, 29 de diciembre de 2013

JAPAN´S RACEHORSES: RETIREMENT IN HELL

Source: Dragons Den Stables.


By Gundhramns Hammer
December 29, 2013

It does not matter where it is living or nonliving. Use it and throw it away. This is the "philosophy" of millions of people around the world nowadays. The present day economy thrives on this.

The sad thing is that people are so used to seeing violent scenes in the media or real life, in some cases, they have become immune to someone else´s suffering.

It also depends on what kind of parent´s programming people received when they were children. 

Nasty things may be occurring around you, in your own backyard or neighbourhood and you will not react or pay attention to them. 

And if you do by any chance, you will not care unless something you do not like comes knocking at your front door, is thrown straight at you or touches someone you care about.

Most people function as programmed biological robots, without ever questioning anything in their lives. 

And there a lot of things we humans do which need to be questioned. Here is an example:


jueves, 19 de diciembre de 2013

MONSANTO AMENAZA MALVINAS ARGENTINAS: SEMILLAS ENVENENADAS Y PÉRDIDA DE SOBERANÍA ALIMENTARIA

Por
Prof. Dr. Raúl A. Montenegro, Biólogo
Profesor Titular de Biología Evolutiva en la Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Presidente de FUNAM y Premio Nóbel Alternativo 2004 (RLA-Estocolmo, Suecia)

Email: biologomontenegro@gmail.com
Teléfono celular: 0351-155 125 637
Teléfono fijo: 03543-422236
Skype: raulmontenegro.ar

En 1956 la empresa estadounidense Monsanto ingresó a la Argentina como productora de plásticos y en 1978 empezó sus actividades de acondicionamiento de semillas híbridas de maíz en Pergamino, provincia de Buenos Aires. Actualmente posee en nuestro país 5 plantas: dos procesadoras de semillas (Planta María Eugenia en Rojas, Planta Pergamino); una productora de herbicidas (Planta Zárate) y dos estaciones experimentales (Camet, Fontezuela) [1]. Ahora pretende instalar una tercera fábrica en la provincia de Córdoba y dos nuevas estaciones experimentales [2][3].

La sede central de Monsanto está en el barrio de Creve Coeur en Saint Louis, en el estado de Missouri (Estados Unidos). Fundada por John Francis Queen en 1901 su primer actividad de envergadura fue la venta del edulcorante artificial sacarina a la empresa Coca Cola. Desde entonces ha generado y comercializado centenares de sustancias químicas, entre ellas plaguicidas como el DDT y el Agente Naranja (un herbicida y desfoliante con partes iguales de 2,4 D y 2,4,5 T usado en Viet Nam), agregados para transformadores como los PCBs y edulcorantes como NutraSweet. Contribuyó al desarrollo de las primeras bombas atómicas a través del Proyecto Dayton y de Mound Laboratories y al desarrollo de plásticos y electrónica óptica. Ingresó al campo de la producción de semillas y fue pionera en el desarrollo de organismos genéticamente modificados, OGMs (1982). Los OGMs tienen incorporados genes que los tornan resistentes a la aplicación de plaguicidas e incluso a la menor disponibilidad de lluvias.

Lamentablemente sus conductas irresponsables han sido casi tan numerosas como sus productos. Innumerables tribunales de distintos países han condenado a Monsanto por adulteración de datos y otras malas prácticas [1] [4]. Recientemente el Tribunal de Gran Instancia de Lyon, en Francia, condenó a Monsanto porque su plaguicida Lasso dañó la salud de un productor. Lasso tiene alacloro como principio activo y cantidades significativas del solvente monoclorobenceno. Precisamente, las muestras biológicas tomadas al afectado confirmaron la presencia de monoclorobenceno (2012).

Sería ingenuo considerar a Monsanto como la única amenaza corporativa. Aunque maneja el 80% del mercado de las plantas transgénicas, es seguida por Aventis con el 7%, Syngenta (antes Novartis) con el 5%, Basf con el 5% y DuPont con el 3%. Estas empresas también producen el 60% de los plaguicidas vendidos en el mundo [5].

Monsanto ingresó a la Argentina como industria plástica primero, y como productora de semillas no transgénicas después [1]. Sin embargo, sus actividades productivas y comerciales crecieron explosivamente a partir de la decisión que tomaron varios funcionarios públicos de Argentina en una oscura reunión de la CONABIA, el organismo de la Secretaría de Agricultura de la Nación, el 21 de septiembre de 1995 [6] [26]. Ese organismo consideró que en lo referente a bioseguridad agropecuaria no había inconvenientes para que se comercializara la soja RR (Round-up Ready). Las cartas habían sido echadas sin previo debate público ni consulta. Argentina ingresó de la mano de Felipe Solá y un grupo de ignotos funcionarios a la experimentación abierta de organismos genéticamente modificados. Todos ellos aprobaron al enigmático vegetal de pequeña estatura el 25 de marzo de 1996 [6]. La piratería de Monsanto, que se había apoderado de los genes naturales de la soja con solo agregarle un gene clonado procedente de la bacteria Agrobacterium CP4 (el gen CP4 EPSP), ingresaba legalmente al país. En cuanto al glifosato ya había sido aprobado en 1977 por el SENASA, que lo revalidó en 1999 [27].

Hacia fines de la década de 1990 Argentina empezaba a pagar el precio de tener instituciones públicas y funcionarios poco serios, más preocupados por complacer a las corporaciones internacionales que en proteger la salud de los ciudadanos. En base al criterio de dosis letal 50 -absolutamente inapropiado para clasificar plaguicidas- el glifosato ya estaba incluido internacionalmente en la Clase Toxicológica IV: "productos que normalmente no ofrecen peligro". Esto parecía ahuyentar cualquier riesgo. No se consideraron entonces las consecuencias negativas de sus bajas dosis, pese a que ya existía suficiente bibliografía y sólidas alertas. Servilismo e ignorancia se combinaron para que durante los siguientes 15 años personas y ecosistemas formaran parte de un experimento abierto que las afectaría en forma silenciosa. Cientos de miles de bebés, niños, adolescentes y adultos fueron transformados en cobayos involuntarios y sin derecho a protesta. Pero no recibirían solamente glifosato y su derivado AMPA [28], sino también una larga lista de otros plaguicidas, entre ellos los insecticidas endosulfán y clorpirifós y el herbicida 2,4 D.


LEER EL ARTICULO ENTERO: PINCHAR AQUI.

miércoles, 4 de diciembre de 2013

BASSARICYON NEBLINA: A NEW SPECIES OF CARNIVORE FROM SOUTH AMERICA

Bassaricyon neblina sp. nov.  (Photo by Mark Gurney/Reuters/Smithsonian Institution, via AH News)


Taxonomic revision of the olingos (Bassaricyon), with description of a new species, the Olinguito

Kristofer M. Helgen1,†, C. Miguel Pinto2,3,4,5,‡, Roland Kays6,7,8,§,
Lauren E. Helgen1,|, Mirian T. N. Tsuchiya1,9,10,¶, Aleta Quinn1,11,#,
Don E. Wilson1,††, Jesús E. Maldonado1,10,‡‡

Abstract

We present the first comprehensive taxonomic revision and review the biology of the olingos, the endemic Neotropical procyonid genus Bassaricyon, based on most specimens available in museums, and with data derived from anatomy, morphometrics, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, field observations, and geographic range modeling. Species of Bassaricyon are primarily forest-living, arboreal, nocturnal, frugivorous, and solitary, and have one young at a time. We demonstrate that four olingo species can be recognized, including a Central American species (B. gabbii), lowland species with eastern, cis-Andean (B. alleni) and western, trans- Andean (B. medius) distributions, and a species endemic to cloud forests in the Andes. The oldest evolutionary divergence in the genus is between this last species, endemic to the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador, and all other species, which occur in lower elevation habitats. Surprisingly, this Andean endemic species, which we call the Olinguito, has never been previously described; it represents a new species in the order Carnivora and is the smallest living member of the family Procyonidae. We report on the biology of this new species based on information from museum specimens, niche modeling, and fieldwork in western Ecuador, and describe four Olinguito subspecies based on morphological distinctions across different regions of the Northern Andes.

Read the full article: Click HERE.

domingo, 17 de noviembre de 2013

EL PLANETA AZUL: SIN ELLOS NO HAY NOSOTROS

Fuente: planeta azul.


Por Gundhramns Hammer
17 de noviembre de 2013
Select, paste & translate



"Hubo en un tiempo 300,000 ballenas azules en nuestros mares, ahora tan sólo quedan 3,000 ejemplares de estos gloriosos animales y a pesar de ello seguimos saqueando el planeta Azul."
Deep Blue, BBC 

 

El planeta Azul es profundo en toda su dimensión: su morfología, sus colores, su biodiversidad, sus bosques, sus lagos, ríos y océanos... desde cualquier ángulo que lo apreciemos es abrumadoramente bello.

LEER MAS...

jueves, 14 de noviembre de 2013

SEARCHING YOUR CONNECTION AT THE TABLE: MASSIVE DISCONNECTION FOR MORE DISCONNECTION


Source: Global Gallery.


November 14, 2013

Disconnecting the connected is simple, anybody can do it. But reconnecting what or who he has just disconnected to connect it back with the Grand Connection that connects everything upon Earth is beyond man´s power. Man taketh life away but he canst not giveth.

Man is nothing but a piece of the Grand Connection. He has strayed from the Mother of all connections. He thinks of himself disconnected from the connected. He has become haughty and goes around kicking and destroying anything connected.

He acts disconnected when he should act connected and acts connected when he should act disconnected, even though there is no connection disconnected. To connect or not connect when he should connect or disconnect is his dilema. 

From his reconnection with the Grand Connection depends whether he will continue connected to the Connected or be disconnected out of the Connected in the future.

To find his reconnection, he must go back at the beginning, a place where there a piece of his own beginning with the connection of all connections. 

If he can find the right one and reconnect it with the Grand Connection he might see where he is connected or disconnected and chose between the two: To connect the disconnected and disconnect anything that puts him outside the connected. Only then he will be able to distinguish when he should go and when he should stop. 

And his search for the Grand Connection should start at the table (Video 1), for he is the only beast upon this planet that thrives disconnecting the Connected on a gigantic scale, living off a massive disconnection to become even more disconnected, a sickened creature crawling aimlessly upon the Earth:


                                       Video 1. Massive disconnection for more disconnection.


No creature can ever survive disconnecting without connecting. Here is where we all humans have failed. 

Finding our reconnection with the Grand Connection must be our goal.

martes, 12 de noviembre de 2013

OVERFISHING: "GLOBALIZATION, ROVING BANDITS, AND MARINE RESOURCES"

Source: Mongabay.com



 


Globalization, Roving Bandits,and Marine Resources



F. Berkes(1*), T. P. Hughes(2), R. S. Steneck (3), J. A. Wilson (4), D. R. Bellwood (2), B. Crona (5,6), C. Folke (5,6), L. H. Gunderson (7), H. M. Leslie (8),  J. Norberg (6), M. Nyström (5,6), P. Olsson (5), H. Österblom (6), M. Scheffer (9), B. Word (10)


Summary

Marine resource exploitation can deplete stocks faster than regulatory agencies can respond. Institutions with broad authority and a global perspective are needed to create a system with incentives for conservation. 


Read the full article: Click HERE.

lunes, 11 de noviembre de 2013

MARE NOSTRUM AT NIGHT

Source: El Blog de Fran.


Aunque conocemos lo básico de las más de 15.000 especies animales que habitan en el Mar Mediterráneo, ignoramos el comportamiento natural incluso de las más comunes, dado que muchas comienzan su actividad al caer el sol.

En el mediterráneo las diferentes fases lunares no afectan seriamente a las mareas, pero si lo hacen al comportamiento de muchos animales: Amparados por el oscuro manto de la noche, infinidad de especies se activan para relacionarse o buscar alimento sin ser devoradas.

Muchas han desarrollado habilidades y órganos sensoriales extraordinarios para sobrevivir al próximo amanecer. Otras utilizan la furtividad de la noche para reproducirse en las templadas aguas del Mare Nostrum.
[YouYube, subido por New Atlantis]

                                                                          ESPAÑOL



Though we know the basic of more than the 15.000 animal species that live in the Mediterranean Sea, we ignore the natural behaviour of the most common ones, because many of them begin its activity after dark.

In the Mediterranean Sea the different lunar phases do not affect seriously to tides, but they seriously do to the behaviour of many animals.

Protected by the dark mantle of the night, infinite number of species activate at night in search of food, without being devoured.

Many have developed skills and extraordinary sensory organs to survive the next dawn. Others, covered by the night, find mate to reproduce in the template waters of the Mare Nostrum.
[YouTube, uploaded by New Atlantis]

ENGLISH
Warch documentary: Click HERE.

EUROPE´S RADIOACTIVE TRAP: NUCLEAR WASTE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

November 11, 2013

The message (Video 1) is quite clear. We humans are children playing with fire. Radioactive fire in this case.



                                                Video 1. Radioactive waste dumped into oceans.




Like flies, we are all trapped in a grid of power. We are trapped playing in a system that is making us all sick. 

Power is the name of the game. But one by one the players of this game are calling sick. 

Now is the time to question the state of things for the benefit of all earthlings and move into action. 

Where does all of the energy from the power grid go?

Is the grand total of nuclear generated electricity around the globe not use for mental masturbation at home or for pointless jacking around?

How much is need and how much is greed?

Can you tell the difference between these two?

If you can, where do you go from here? Upwards or downwards?

Upwards or downwards? We must redesign our way of thinking, so in many respects what is up should go down and what is down should go up.

For one thing, Nature´s health must be up. On this ground, we all have failed. 

Life´s wheel keeps moving. Whether we will be part of it in the future remains to be seen.                           

sábado, 9 de noviembre de 2013

EVIDENCE FOR SUGAR ADDICTION

Source: The Gypsy Dietitian.



Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake

Nicole M. Avena, Pedro Rada, and Bartley G. Hoebel
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540 USA

Abstract

The experimental question is whether or not sugar can be a substance of abuse and lead to a natural form of addiction. “Food addiction” seems plausible because brain pathways that evolved to respond to natural rewards are also activated by addictive drugs. Sugar is noteworthy as a substance that releases opioids and dopamine and thus might be expected to have addictive potential. This review summarizes evidence of sugar dependence in an animal model. Four components of addiction are analyzed. “Bingeing”, “withdrawal”, “craving” and cross-sensitization are each given operational definitions and demonstrated behaviorally with sugar bingeing as the reinforcer. These behaviors are then related to neurochemical changes in the brain that also occur with addictive drugs. Neural adaptations include changes in dopamine and opioid receptor binding, enkephalin mRNA expression and dopamine and acetylcholine release in the nucleus accumbens. The evidence supports the hypothesis that under certain circumstances rats can become sugar dependent. This may translate to some human conditions as suggested by the literature on eating disorders and obesity.

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008 ; 32(1): 20–39.

Read the article: Click HERE.

LEARN MORE...

martes, 5 de noviembre de 2013

BIRD WATCHING: TWITCHERS, A VERY BRITISH OBSESSION

Source: BBC via AvaxHome.




Source: AvaxHome
View original


Every year, a secret tribe take to the roads of Britain. In the space of a few months they will drive thousands of miles and spend thousands of pounds in pursuit of their prey. Their aim is to see as many birds as possible, wherever that bird may be. Welcome to the very competitive world of the twitcher - obsessives who'll stop at nothing to get their bird.

Download documentary (links from AvaxHome): 




http://rapidgator.net/file/6753b73f8ffdaa1f59b78a1e4005c0a2/BBC.Twitchers.A.Very.British.Obsession.part3.rar.html

AUTUMN, BIRD COLLISIONS, MEAT AND MONOCULTURES: BUILDINGS WITH BIRD-FRIENDLY GLASS

Source: Maps.com


By Gundhramns Hammer
November 5, 2013


It is estimated that between 300 million and one billion birds die each year from collisions with glass (Fig. 1) in the United States, says Dr. Christine Sheppard, Birds Collisions Campaign Manager for American Bird Conservancy (ABC). Considering that many bird populations are declining, this is a tremendous loss which sooner or later will eventually lead put more pressure upon the survival of migratory species.


Figure 1. Bird collision. Source: Philadelphia Zoo.


Autumn is the most critical and dangerous season for migratory birds heading south. This situation is aggravated by the artificial lighting from cities at nighttime (Video 1), causing disorientation and an attractive trap for migrating birds.


                              Video 1. U.S. seen at night from the International Space Station. 

If this were not enough, birds are also facing with the destruction of the habitats (Fig. 2) in their own wintering grounds in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Antilles. 

 
Figure 2. Habitat loss.


Since birds are exhausted upon arrival, they must immediately find something to eat otherwise they will find only death by starvation at the end of their trip. This is sad, indeed.

So that after a long trip of hundreds and hundreds of kilometres, North American birds north of Mexico may find that the woody spot where they wintered the previous year is no longer available. 

They only find an empty lot full of grass with hundreds of heads of cattle grazing on it or rows upon rows of monocultures of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) or Eucalyptus trees.

Cattle whose meat (Fig. 3) will become hamburger and will find its way to the United States´ market. The palm oil (Fig. 4) will also end on the shelves at the stores as cosmetics or food items in the U.S. And the Eucalyptus trees will become paper cups, tourism pamphlets, cardboard, amongst other things.


Figure 3. Cattle ranching in the Neotropical Region. Source: Climate Connections.



Figure 4. Palm oil and fruits (Elaeis guineensis). Source: Inhabitat.



So the more consumers eat beef and use palm oil in foods, cosmetics or as fuel to squander it cruising around, the more they put the migratory birds´ future in danger, besides affecting the environment in other ways.

And we all earthlings cannot afford to lose any spoke of the Wheel of Biodiversity. Each one has an important role to play in the drama of life. Each one counts.
 

Bird-friendly glass

Many efforts are being made and implanted to reduce the number of bird collisions. To begin with, architects, designers and developers are joining efforts to create a bird-friendly glass.
 

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miércoles, 23 de octubre de 2013

TAKE BACK YOUR POWER

Siurce: AvaxHome.

Documentary: 

TAKE BACK YOUR POWER (2013)

Source: AvaxHome

Utility companies are racing to replace electricity, gas and water meters worldwide with new generation "smart" meters at an unprecedented rate. With compelling insight from insiders, researchers, government representatives, lawyers, doctors and environmentalists, Take Back Your Power investigates claimed benefits and apparent risks of this ubiquitous "smart" grid program. Transparency advocate Josh del Sol takes us on a journey of revelation and discovery, as we question corporate practices of surveillance, extortion and causing harm in the name of "green". What you discover will surprise you, unsettle you, and inspire you to challenge the status quo.

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ALIENBOUND: SMART METERS TO SPEED UP MAN´S SHAPESHIFTING PROCESS



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