Volvo's VNR electric semi is about more than just the truck
Duration: 02:31
4/7/2021
This electric Class-8 truck is part of an ambitious public-private partnership that wants to create an entire EV ecosystem.
Roadshow
Thursday, April 08, 2021
Your next superfood might come from a volcanic hot spring
Daniel Martins
WEATHER NETWORK
4/7/2021
They're not just pretty to look at - the stygian landscapes on the edge of volcanic springs may be the source of the next big superfood, if some scientists have anything to say about it.
They're not just pretty to look at - the stygian landscapes on the edge of volcanic springs may be the source of the next big superfood, if some scientists have anything to say about it.
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From volcanic springs to your plate, is this the next superfood?
New research at Wageningen University in the Netherlands has identified a kind of nutrient-packed algae that often makes its home around hot volcanic springs, known as Galdieria.
Though the mineral-rich waters near the centre of volcanic springs are boiling or near-boiling, areas nearer the edges of such pools are cool enough to support abundant algae – in fact, they're often the source of the vivid reds, yellows and greens that make many springs, like the Grand Prismatic Spring of Yellowstone National Park, so iconic.
© Provided by The Weather Network
Grand Prismatic Spring. Image credit: Jim Peaco/National Park Service.
Using particular kinds of bacteria to boost nutrient intakes isn't anything new: the researchers say a similar organism, Spirulina, has been a popular food supplement for decades. However, cultivating such algae while retaining their nutritional value can be costly and inefficient.
In the case of this new algae, lead researcher Fabian Abiusi says the trick is growing it in a special kind of apparatus known as mixotrophic photobioreactor, which provides the algae with light as well as an organic substrate, in this case.
"In a mixotrophic photobioreactor, you can couple the production of oxygen via photosynthesis to the consumption of oxygen in the cell’s metabolism," Abiusi said in a release from the university. "Similarly, almost all of the carbon dioxide produced by the microalgae is used again by the photosynthesis, making this process almost carbon neutral, and very efficient. You have double productivity, without the need for electric energy for aeration or carbon dioxide.”
As it happens, Galdieria is rich in amino acids, the building blocks of protein: Abiusi says amino acids make up two thirds of its dry weight, a higher portion than in meat, eggs and dairy products.
"These amino acids are limited in plants, which is one of the reasons that it is difficult for us to derive well-balanced nutrition from a plant-based diet," Abiusi says.
Beyond easing the transition to a plant-based diet, Abiusi says he's hopeful Galdieria can be used to improve general health and make better use of organic waste.
Using particular kinds of bacteria to boost nutrient intakes isn't anything new: the researchers say a similar organism, Spirulina, has been a popular food supplement for decades. However, cultivating such algae while retaining their nutritional value can be costly and inefficient.
In the case of this new algae, lead researcher Fabian Abiusi says the trick is growing it in a special kind of apparatus known as mixotrophic photobioreactor, which provides the algae with light as well as an organic substrate, in this case.
"In a mixotrophic photobioreactor, you can couple the production of oxygen via photosynthesis to the consumption of oxygen in the cell’s metabolism," Abiusi said in a release from the university. "Similarly, almost all of the carbon dioxide produced by the microalgae is used again by the photosynthesis, making this process almost carbon neutral, and very efficient. You have double productivity, without the need for electric energy for aeration or carbon dioxide.”
As it happens, Galdieria is rich in amino acids, the building blocks of protein: Abiusi says amino acids make up two thirds of its dry weight, a higher portion than in meat, eggs and dairy products.
"These amino acids are limited in plants, which is one of the reasons that it is difficult for us to derive well-balanced nutrition from a plant-based diet," Abiusi says.
Beyond easing the transition to a plant-based diet, Abiusi says he's hopeful Galdieria can be used to improve general health and make better use of organic waste.
Recycling is an outdated solution — it's time for a circular economy
DeLaine Mayer, opinion contributor
DeLaine Mayer, opinion contributor
THE HILL 4/7/2021
Plastic in America will continue invading our landfills, floating in our oceans, and contaminating our bodies as long as we are stuck in the 20th-century linear economic mindset of "take-make-waste." What the 21st-century needs is an intersectional approach to the plastics crisis. In March, the Break Free from Plastic Act of 2021 (BFFPA) was reintroduced to Congress, targeting the chemicals and plastics industries for their role in pollution and landfilling. The bill argues for increasing recycling rates, shifting financial responsibility for recycling and waste management systems to upstream producers, and bans an expanded list of petroleum-based, single-use plastic products. This is a good starting point, but these are linear solutions that still result in wasted resources and only incremental improvements to the economic models that are fueling the climate crisis. If we are to successfully address climate change, the BFFPA must push for circular economy principles that design out the concepts of waste and pollution entirely and advance regenerative natural systems instead.
An opportunity to build a circular economy exists within the BFFPA. In 2018, the U.S. generated 35.7 million tons of plastic, 12.2 percent of total municipal solid waste generation. That same year, 35.3 million tons of American food waste was landfilled, contributing to methane and carbon emissions. Technology exists that creates compostable biomaterials from food waste; we should be incentivizing these solutions to displace oil-based plastics in our supply chain and reduce organic waste landfilling. The BFFPA's proposed ban on certain single-use plastic (SUP) products would be better framed as enforcement that SUP products be made of certified degradable biomaterials. In this arena, Polyhydroxalkanoate (PHA), is emerging as both an upstream and downstream solution.
PHA is a compostable, non-toxic biomaterial with higher degradation rates than traditional bioplastics and has broad product development potential, making it a unique and valuable material in the global materials palette. The global PHA market size is estimated to nearly double from 2020 to 2025 to $98.5 million with a CAGR of 11.5 percent, as consumers and corporations demand sustainable plastic alternatives.
A number of emerging biomaterials companies are working towards this shared goal of displacing plastics and reducing pollution. Danimer Scientific, prior to investigation for possible securities laws violations as of March 25, seemed poised to lead the PHA market to commercial scale, noting their PHA was sold out through 2022 and expected to sell out again through 2024 once its greenfield facility was fully operational. Of the North American PHA producers though, only Full Cycle Bioplastics has a patented technology that produces PHA from existing organic waste streams, as compared to Danimer's canola- and soy-derived PHA, or NewLight Technologies' and Mango Materials' methane-derived PHA. By sourcing waste that would otherwise be landfilled, Full Cycle's waste-to-PHA reduces methane and carbon emissions via landfill avoidance on the front-end, and displaces oil-based plastics on the back-end.
The BFFPA is an opportunity to re-localize production and waste management, circularize the economy, and reimagine technological progress and economic solutions. As the BFFPA enters national debate, legislators and advocates should be clear to adjust definitions of "single use" to avoid bans on compostable or marine safe PHA-based materials while incentivizing the development of PHA production facilities. As the U.S. develops a green recovery plan, these nuances will be critical for the emerging domestic biomaterials industry. Companies in the PHA materials space are developing circular economies of scale that address landfilling, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions. By eradicating petroleum-based plastic from our supply chains, our communities, and the environment, the BFFPA can set the U.S. on the right path to a healthier, more sustainable economic recovery.
Delaine Mayer is a member of the New York University SPS Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab Advisory Board.
Plastic in America will continue invading our landfills, floating in our oceans, and contaminating our bodies as long as we are stuck in the 20th-century linear economic mindset of "take-make-waste." What the 21st-century needs is an intersectional approach to the plastics crisis. In March, the Break Free from Plastic Act of 2021 (BFFPA) was reintroduced to Congress, targeting the chemicals and plastics industries for their role in pollution and landfilling. The bill argues for increasing recycling rates, shifting financial responsibility for recycling and waste management systems to upstream producers, and bans an expanded list of petroleum-based, single-use plastic products. This is a good starting point, but these are linear solutions that still result in wasted resources and only incremental improvements to the economic models that are fueling the climate crisis. If we are to successfully address climate change, the BFFPA must push for circular economy principles that design out the concepts of waste and pollution entirely and advance regenerative natural systems instead.
© istock Recycling is an outdated solution — it's time for a circular economy
The BFFPA proposes to improve recycling rates and impose waste management fees to reduce plastic pollution. These solutions have a number of inherent issues. Currently, a mere 9 percent of plastics are recycled each year. Improving this rate, even doubling or tripling it, won't tackle an issue of the size we're facing: over 35 million tons of plastic are produced each year in the U.S., and over 31 million tons are landfilled. The bill also suggests we bolster American recycling by shifting the cost of recycling and downstream waste management programs from taxpayers to polluters via packaging fees. (The American Chemistry Council (ACC) suggested pooling private and taxpayer funding instead.) However, if 91 percent of plastics are landfilled, changing the funding stream isn't automatically going to ensure plastics actually end up in the recycling system.
Let's be clear: plastic is toxic, and the chemicals that are used to produce petroleum-based plastics are toxic, too. Plastics break down into microplastics; washing fabrics or products with plastic sheds these microplastics into our landfills and oceans -- we can't recapture that in recycling systems. Recycling means recirculating inherently toxic materials, giving them another chance to infect our food webs and bodies with potentially poisonous results. Just as critics question carbon sequestration technology as a solution for emissions - when what we need to do is stop emitters from emitting - we must question the chemicals and plastics industries' focus on recycling. Enforcing the belief that recycling is the only solution will drive plastics production and waste generation (thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions.) Plastic production from petroleum-based virgin resin production is a major contributor of C02, and improving downstream recycling doesn't clean up carbon-intense upstream production. In addition to upstream emissions, recycling ignores local air and water pollution, directly impacting low-income communities of color, in whose backyards these toxic industries exist.
The BFFPA needs to go beyond recycling and build the legislative framework for a true circular economy, enabling development of emerging waste-to-biomaterials technology to tackle the conjoined climate crises of plastic and food waste generation. Beyond a packaging fee, these industries need a real incentive to move away from carbon-intensive chemicals and packaging production to safe materials production. Subsidies for these industries need to be cut, taxes on emissions and local pollution instituted, and incentive programs passed to modern, clean industries instead.
The BFFPA proposes to improve recycling rates and impose waste management fees to reduce plastic pollution. These solutions have a number of inherent issues. Currently, a mere 9 percent of plastics are recycled each year. Improving this rate, even doubling or tripling it, won't tackle an issue of the size we're facing: over 35 million tons of plastic are produced each year in the U.S., and over 31 million tons are landfilled. The bill also suggests we bolster American recycling by shifting the cost of recycling and downstream waste management programs from taxpayers to polluters via packaging fees. (The American Chemistry Council (ACC) suggested pooling private and taxpayer funding instead.) However, if 91 percent of plastics are landfilled, changing the funding stream isn't automatically going to ensure plastics actually end up in the recycling system.
Let's be clear: plastic is toxic, and the chemicals that are used to produce petroleum-based plastics are toxic, too. Plastics break down into microplastics; washing fabrics or products with plastic sheds these microplastics into our landfills and oceans -- we can't recapture that in recycling systems. Recycling means recirculating inherently toxic materials, giving them another chance to infect our food webs and bodies with potentially poisonous results. Just as critics question carbon sequestration technology as a solution for emissions - when what we need to do is stop emitters from emitting - we must question the chemicals and plastics industries' focus on recycling. Enforcing the belief that recycling is the only solution will drive plastics production and waste generation (thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions.) Plastic production from petroleum-based virgin resin production is a major contributor of C02, and improving downstream recycling doesn't clean up carbon-intense upstream production. In addition to upstream emissions, recycling ignores local air and water pollution, directly impacting low-income communities of color, in whose backyards these toxic industries exist.
The BFFPA needs to go beyond recycling and build the legislative framework for a true circular economy, enabling development of emerging waste-to-biomaterials technology to tackle the conjoined climate crises of plastic and food waste generation. Beyond a packaging fee, these industries need a real incentive to move away from carbon-intensive chemicals and packaging production to safe materials production. Subsidies for these industries need to be cut, taxes on emissions and local pollution instituted, and incentive programs passed to modern, clean industries instead.
An opportunity to build a circular economy exists within the BFFPA. In 2018, the U.S. generated 35.7 million tons of plastic, 12.2 percent of total municipal solid waste generation. That same year, 35.3 million tons of American food waste was landfilled, contributing to methane and carbon emissions. Technology exists that creates compostable biomaterials from food waste; we should be incentivizing these solutions to displace oil-based plastics in our supply chain and reduce organic waste landfilling. The BFFPA's proposed ban on certain single-use plastic (SUP) products would be better framed as enforcement that SUP products be made of certified degradable biomaterials. In this arena, Polyhydroxalkanoate (PHA), is emerging as both an upstream and downstream solution.
PHA is a compostable, non-toxic biomaterial with higher degradation rates than traditional bioplastics and has broad product development potential, making it a unique and valuable material in the global materials palette. The global PHA market size is estimated to nearly double from 2020 to 2025 to $98.5 million with a CAGR of 11.5 percent, as consumers and corporations demand sustainable plastic alternatives.
A number of emerging biomaterials companies are working towards this shared goal of displacing plastics and reducing pollution. Danimer Scientific, prior to investigation for possible securities laws violations as of March 25, seemed poised to lead the PHA market to commercial scale, noting their PHA was sold out through 2022 and expected to sell out again through 2024 once its greenfield facility was fully operational. Of the North American PHA producers though, only Full Cycle Bioplastics has a patented technology that produces PHA from existing organic waste streams, as compared to Danimer's canola- and soy-derived PHA, or NewLight Technologies' and Mango Materials' methane-derived PHA. By sourcing waste that would otherwise be landfilled, Full Cycle's waste-to-PHA reduces methane and carbon emissions via landfill avoidance on the front-end, and displaces oil-based plastics on the back-end.
The BFFPA is an opportunity to re-localize production and waste management, circularize the economy, and reimagine technological progress and economic solutions. As the BFFPA enters national debate, legislators and advocates should be clear to adjust definitions of "single use" to avoid bans on compostable or marine safe PHA-based materials while incentivizing the development of PHA production facilities. As the U.S. develops a green recovery plan, these nuances will be critical for the emerging domestic biomaterials industry. Companies in the PHA materials space are developing circular economies of scale that address landfilling, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions. By eradicating petroleum-based plastic from our supply chains, our communities, and the environment, the BFFPA can set the U.S. on the right path to a healthier, more sustainable economic recovery.
Delaine Mayer is a member of the New York University SPS Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab Advisory Board.
#BREXIT
Northern Ireland riots: Bus torched in more Belfast violence as British and Irish leaders call for calm
By Emmet Lyons and Amy Cassidy, CNN
Northern Ireland riots: Bus torched in more Belfast violence as British and Irish leaders call for calm
By Emmet Lyons and Amy Cassidy, CNN
4/7/2021
Parts of Northern Ireland saw their sixth consecutive night of violence Wednesday as unionists and nationalists clashed with police and each other.
Parts of Northern Ireland saw their sixth consecutive night of violence Wednesday as unionists and nationalists clashed with police and each other.
© Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images Rioters clash at the Peace Gate at the Springfield Road/Lanark Way interface on April 7, 2021 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Unrest first broke out last week amid rising tensions relating to Brexit and unionist anger over a decision by police not to prosecute leaders of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein for allegedly breaking coronavirus restrictions during the funeral of a former leading IRA figure.
In west Belfast on Wednesday, rioters clashed along the so-called "peace line" dividing predominantly unionist and nationalist communities, with police struggling to close a gate designed to separate the areas.
A bus was set on fire on Lanark Way near the junction with Shankill Road, police said. Photos and video from the scene showed youths on both sides of the gate throwing projectiles across, including petrol bombs.
Unrest first broke out last week amid rising tensions relating to Brexit and unionist anger over a decision by police not to prosecute leaders of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein for allegedly breaking coronavirus restrictions during the funeral of a former leading IRA figure.
In west Belfast on Wednesday, rioters clashed along the so-called "peace line" dividing predominantly unionist and nationalist communities, with police struggling to close a gate designed to separate the areas.
A bus was set on fire on Lanark Way near the junction with Shankill Road, police said. Photos and video from the scene showed youths on both sides of the gate throwing projectiles across, including petrol bombs.
In a statement, Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin condemned the violence and "attacks on police," adding the "only way forward is to address issues of concern through peaceful and democratic means."
"Now is the time for the two Governments and leaders on all sides to work together to defuse tensions and restore calm," Martin said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply concerned by the scenes of violence" in Northern Ireland.
"The way to resolve differences is through dialogue, not violence or criminality," Johnson said on Twitter.
Tensions have been growing in Northern Ireland since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, creating the potential of a border between the British-ruled north and the Republican of Ireland in the south, which remains in the EU. The lack of a border had been seen as a key element of the post-1998 peace that followed three decades of sectarian violence.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, a de facto border was created in the Irish Sea, with goods entering Northern Ireland from mainland Britain subject to EU checks, a move which angered unionists, who have accused London of abandoning them.
Speaking to CNN, Democratic Unionist Party MP Sammy Wilson called for Johnson to "tear up the agreement which breaks up the United Kingdom, tear up the agreement which breaks up all the promises you made to the people of Northern Ireland."
Last month, the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), a grouping of unionist paramilitaries, said it was withdrawing its support for the Good Friday Agreement which ended the Troubles.
While the LCC said opposition would be peaceful, the letter said the groups would not rejoin "until our rights under the Agreement are restored and the (Brexit) protocol amended to ensure unfettered access for goods, services and citizens throughout the United Kingdom."
LCC chairman David Campbell recently said: "it's very easy for matters to spiral out of control, that's why it is essential for dialogue to take place."
Writing on Twitter late Wednesday, Mary Lou McDonald, an Irish lawmaker and leader of Sinn Fein, said: "a united voice for a halt to all violence and for the restoration of calm is the only acceptable stance from all political leaders. The attacks and intimidation must end."
"Now is the time for the two Governments and leaders on all sides to work together to defuse tensions and restore calm," Martin said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "deeply concerned by the scenes of violence" in Northern Ireland.
"The way to resolve differences is through dialogue, not violence or criminality," Johnson said on Twitter.
Tensions have been growing in Northern Ireland since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, creating the potential of a border between the British-ruled north and the Republican of Ireland in the south, which remains in the EU. The lack of a border had been seen as a key element of the post-1998 peace that followed three decades of sectarian violence.
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, a de facto border was created in the Irish Sea, with goods entering Northern Ireland from mainland Britain subject to EU checks, a move which angered unionists, who have accused London of abandoning them.
Speaking to CNN, Democratic Unionist Party MP Sammy Wilson called for Johnson to "tear up the agreement which breaks up the United Kingdom, tear up the agreement which breaks up all the promises you made to the people of Northern Ireland."
Last month, the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), a grouping of unionist paramilitaries, said it was withdrawing its support for the Good Friday Agreement which ended the Troubles.
While the LCC said opposition would be peaceful, the letter said the groups would not rejoin "until our rights under the Agreement are restored and the (Brexit) protocol amended to ensure unfettered access for goods, services and citizens throughout the United Kingdom."
LCC chairman David Campbell recently said: "it's very easy for matters to spiral out of control, that's why it is essential for dialogue to take place."
Writing on Twitter late Wednesday, Mary Lou McDonald, an Irish lawmaker and leader of Sinn Fein, said: "a united voice for a halt to all violence and for the restoration of calm is the only acceptable stance from all political leaders. The attacks and intimidation must end."
Genome analysis reveals unknown ancient human migration in Europe
AFP
Genetic sequencing of human remains dating back 45,000 years has revealed a previously unknown migration into Europe and showed intermixing with Neanderthals in that period was more common than previously thought.
© NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV
Remains found in the Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria date back 45,000 years in some cases
The research is based on the analysis of several ancient human remains -- including a whole tooth and bone fragments -- found in a cave in Bulgaria last year.
Genetic sequencing found the remains came from individuals who were more closely linked to present-day populations in East Asia and the Americas than populations in Europe.
"This indicates that they belonged to a modern human migration into Europe that was not previously known from the genetic record," the research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, said.
It also "provides evidence that there was at least some continuity between the earliest modern humans in Europe and later people in Eurasia", the study added.
The findings "shifted our previous understanding of early human migrations into Europe", said Mateja Hajdinjak, an associate researcher at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology who helped lead the research.
The research is based on the analysis of several ancient human remains -- including a whole tooth and bone fragments -- found in a cave in Bulgaria last year.
Genetic sequencing found the remains came from individuals who were more closely linked to present-day populations in East Asia and the Americas than populations in Europe.
"This indicates that they belonged to a modern human migration into Europe that was not previously known from the genetic record," the research, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, said.
It also "provides evidence that there was at least some continuity between the earliest modern humans in Europe and later people in Eurasia", the study added.
The findings "shifted our previous understanding of early human migrations into Europe", said Mateja Hajdinjak, an associate researcher at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology who helped lead the research.
© Martin FROUZ
Genetic analysis of a skull found in 1950 reveals it dates back at least 45,000 years
"It showed how even the earliest history of modern Europeans in Europe may have been tumultuous and involved population replacements," she told AFP.
One possibility raised by the findings is "a dispersal of human groups that then get replaced (by other groups) later on in West Eurasia, but continue living and contribute ancestry to the people in East Eurasia", she added.
The remains were discovered last year in the Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria and were hailed at the time as evidence that humans lived alongside Neanderthals in Europe significantly earlier than once thought.
"It showed how even the earliest history of modern Europeans in Europe may have been tumultuous and involved population replacements," she told AFP.
One possibility raised by the findings is "a dispersal of human groups that then get replaced (by other groups) later on in West Eurasia, but continue living and contribute ancestry to the people in East Eurasia", she added.
The remains were discovered last year in the Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria and were hailed at the time as evidence that humans lived alongside Neanderthals in Europe significantly earlier than once thought.
© John SAEKI Graphic on locations where ancient human DNA and artifacts have been found
Genetic analysis also revealed that modern humans in Europe at that time mixed more with Neanderthals than was previously assumed.
All the "Bacho Kiro cave individuals have Neanderthal ancestors five-seven generations before they lived, suggesting that the admixture (mixing) between these first humans in Europe and Neanderthals was common," said Hajdinjak.
Previous evidence for early human-Neanderthal mixing in Europe came from a single individual called the Oase 1, dating back 40,000 years and found in Romania.
"Until now, we could not exclude it being a chance find," Hajdinjak said.
"Our study suggests... (it) must have been common."
- Human history 'lost in time' -
The findings were accompanied by separate research published Wednesday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution involving genome sequencing of samples from a skull found in the Czech Republic.
The skull was found in the Zlaty kun area in 1950, but its age has been the subject of debate and contradictory findings in the decades since.
Initial analysis suggested it was older than 30,000 years old, but radiocarbon dating gave an age closer to 15,000 years.
Genetic analysis now appears to have resolved the matter, suggesting an age of at least 45,000 years old, said Kay Prufer of the Max Planck Institute's department of archaeogenetics, who led the research.
"We make use of the fact that everyone who traces their ancestry back to the individuals that left Africa more than 50,000 years ago carries a bit of Neanderthal ancestry in their genomes," he told AFP.
These Neanderthal traces appear in short blocks in modern human genomes, and increasingly longer ones further back in human history.
"In older individuals, such as the 45,000-year-old Ust'-Ishim man from Siberia, these blocks are much longer," Prufer said.
"We find that the genome of the Zlaty kun woman has even longer blocks than those of the Ust'-Ishim man. This makes us confident that she lived at the same time, or even earlier."
Despite dating from around the same period as the Bacho Kiro remains, the Zlaty kun skull does not share genetic links to either modern Asian or European populations.
Prufer now hopes to study how the populations that produced the two sets of remains were related.
"We do not know who the first Europeans were that ventured into an unknown land," he said.
"By analysing their genomes, we are figuring out a part of our own history that has been lost in time."
sah/kaf/qan
Genetic analysis also revealed that modern humans in Europe at that time mixed more with Neanderthals than was previously assumed.
All the "Bacho Kiro cave individuals have Neanderthal ancestors five-seven generations before they lived, suggesting that the admixture (mixing) between these first humans in Europe and Neanderthals was common," said Hajdinjak.
Previous evidence for early human-Neanderthal mixing in Europe came from a single individual called the Oase 1, dating back 40,000 years and found in Romania.
"Until now, we could not exclude it being a chance find," Hajdinjak said.
"Our study suggests... (it) must have been common."
- Human history 'lost in time' -
The findings were accompanied by separate research published Wednesday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution involving genome sequencing of samples from a skull found in the Czech Republic.
The skull was found in the Zlaty kun area in 1950, but its age has been the subject of debate and contradictory findings in the decades since.
Initial analysis suggested it was older than 30,000 years old, but radiocarbon dating gave an age closer to 15,000 years.
Genetic analysis now appears to have resolved the matter, suggesting an age of at least 45,000 years old, said Kay Prufer of the Max Planck Institute's department of archaeogenetics, who led the research.
"We make use of the fact that everyone who traces their ancestry back to the individuals that left Africa more than 50,000 years ago carries a bit of Neanderthal ancestry in their genomes," he told AFP.
These Neanderthal traces appear in short blocks in modern human genomes, and increasingly longer ones further back in human history.
"In older individuals, such as the 45,000-year-old Ust'-Ishim man from Siberia, these blocks are much longer," Prufer said.
"We find that the genome of the Zlaty kun woman has even longer blocks than those of the Ust'-Ishim man. This makes us confident that she lived at the same time, or even earlier."
Despite dating from around the same period as the Bacho Kiro remains, the Zlaty kun skull does not share genetic links to either modern Asian or European populations.
Prufer now hopes to study how the populations that produced the two sets of remains were related.
"We do not know who the first Europeans were that ventured into an unknown land," he said.
"By analysing their genomes, we are figuring out a part of our own history that has been lost in time."
sah/kaf/qan
Hundreds of dead dolphins and fish wash up on beaches in Ghana
Emmanuel Akinwotu West Africa correspondent
THE GUARDIAN
4/7/2021
Authorities in Ghana are investigating the deaths of hundreds of dolphins and fish that washed up on beaches in Ghana in recent days, as fears grow that contaminated fish have been sold to customers.
Authorities in Ghana are investigating the deaths of hundreds of dolphins and fish that washed up on beaches in Ghana in recent days, as fears grow that contaminated fish have been sold to customers.
© Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The coastline in Accra, Ghana’a capital. The fisheries commission said it had taken laboratory samples of the animals and waters.
Dead sea species have littered beaches in Accra and near the capital’s shoreline since Friday. Officials said close to 100 dead dolphins had washed up on Axim beach, while videos posted on social media showed scores of varying species including eels and several fish species.
Ghana’s fisheries commission said it had taken laboratory samples of the animals and waters in recent days while the cause remained unknown.
An official at the commission, Dr Peter Zedah, told local media on Wednesday that investigations were ongoing but initial findings showed “environment” and “stress factors” had caused the deaths. Some of the fish studied “looked good, so it gives you the impression that maybe some environmental factors may have caused their death”, he said.
Dead sea species have littered beaches in Accra and near the capital’s shoreline since Friday. Officials said close to 100 dead dolphins had washed up on Axim beach, while videos posted on social media showed scores of varying species including eels and several fish species.
Ghana’s fisheries commission said it had taken laboratory samples of the animals and waters in recent days while the cause remained unknown.
An official at the commission, Dr Peter Zedah, told local media on Wednesday that investigations were ongoing but initial findings showed “environment” and “stress factors” had caused the deaths. Some of the fish studied “looked good, so it gives you the impression that maybe some environmental factors may have caused their death”, he said.
Officials on Tuesday asked people who may have consumed the fish to come forward as part of their investigations, and Ghana’s minister of fisheries and aquaculture, Mavis Koomson, asked fishers in Accra “to cooperate with the Fisheries Commission and FDA as they investigate the incidents of dead fishes washing up on our shores”.
Fears have also emerged for the fate of some sea mammals, such as the Atlantic humpback dolphin, an endangered subspecies, along the coast of west Africa.
Workers from the OR Foundation, an NGO researching the impact of secondhand clothing waste on Ghana’s marine environment, had seen several fish on the beaches since Friday, with many still washing up dead on Tuesday evening.
“When we went yesterday there were still fish coming up on the shore,” said Liz Ricketts, the group’s co-founder. “Rays, lots of eels. In the morning we saw over 20 eels on one part of the beach. We walked the beach again in the evening and basically within a 100-metre spot, it was 82 fish and eels, mostly eel, and those were not there previously,” she said.
Poverty in fishing communities had led to many fishers making difficult decisions on whether to go out to sea in recent days, she said.
“These are artisanal fishing communities. They struggle again for many reasons, because of the [sea] waste and also because of the development happening in the area and how that impacts their livelihood,” Ricketts said. “And so you throw this on top of it and it’s not really an option for them not to go out at sea.
“We saw a couple of bags full of fish where people had clearly come to gather the fish and then changed their mind,” she added.
In the past year, similar mass dolphin deaths have occurred on other parts of Africa’s coastline.
In February, 111 dolphins were found dead in Mozambique, which officials said were probably killed by a low tide after a cyclone.
Last year, 52 dead dolphins were also found dead on the coast of Mauritius due to barotrauma, a condition caused by exposure to pressure changes resulting from sonar, explosions, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
B.C. premier asked to remove retired judge from Chinese-Canadian committee following Uyghur comments
CBC/Radio-Canada
IT'S A LIE THAT HE DOES NOT SPEAK FOR SOME IN THE CHINESE CANADIAN COMMUNITY THOSE WHOM SUPPORT CHINA AS 'PATRIOTS'. HIS ACCUSERS ARE ANTI COMMUNIST RIGHT WINGERS.
CBC/Radio-Canada
VANCOUVER 4/7/2021
'Lies'
"These talks about genocide are completely not factual," reads a translation of the interview. "They use these lies, and those politicians, what kind of legal [facts] can prove China has committed genocide, those actions, those policies? None. That doesn't make sense at all."
Yee was introduced before the interview as a member of B.C.'s Chinese-Canadian Community Advisory Committee.
The committee was formed in 2018 by Horgan to assist the province in strengthening social, economic and cultural ties among members of the Chinese diaspora in B.C. and around the globe.
Yee is also a retired provincial judge, lawyer, and former Vancouver city councillor. He sits on the board of directors for the Chinese Canadian Museum.
On the radio program he was asked about Canadian MPs passing a motion in February that says China's actions in its western Xinjiang region meet the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
In late March, Canada joined the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union in placing sanctions on Chinese officials suspected of involvement in a years-long campaign of persecution against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China's Xinjiang province.
The Chinese state is accused of arbitrarily imprisoning more than one million people on the basis of their religion and ethnicity, and for subjecting them to political re-education, forced labour, torture and forced sterilization.
China has denied all reports of human rights abuses in the region, claiming the camps are vocational training centres needed to fight extremism.
In response to Canadian actions on the Uyghur issue, Yee said in Cantonese during the radio interview that Canada's actions were not based on fact and that some Canadian politicians have an ulterior motive, such as trade with China, for the motion and the sanctions.
Yee also criticized Canadian politicians in the interview, saying Western politicians did not know where Xinjiang province was and had never been there.
He did express support for a United Nations delegation to travel to the region to study and observe the treatment of Uyghur people.
Ho said he and the other 12 signatories to the letter are outraged over Yee's comments, saying he is a "vital" public figure and his views don't represent the majority of Chinese-Canadians in B.C. and their views on human rights.
"We are urging the premier, just take out this guy from your advisory committee because that remark indicates he has no credibility … these remarks will make our Chinese community look very, very bad in Canada."
CBC News attempted to contact Yee through the Chinese Canadian Museum, but has yet to receive a response.
Comments 'concerning'
B.C.'s minister of state for trade, George Chow, responded to the letter by saying that Yee's comment are "concerning."
In a written statement he said the province supports Ottawa's position on the Uyghur issue and that Yee was expressing a personal opinion in the interview.
"We have asked Mr. Yee to clearly distinguish his personal opinions from that of the work of the Chinese Canadian Community Advisory Committee," said Chow's statement.
Appointments to the advisory committee are one year in length. Chow's statement did not say whether Yee would sit for a new term.
Chow said the province is reviewing what the committee will be working on for the year ahead, which includes canvassing outgoing members about their opinions.
© Suzanne Anton/Twitter Bill Yee, left, pictured in 2015 in Vancouver at a Chinatown Merchants Association dinner with Suzanne Anton, British Columbia's former attorney general and minister of justice.
A group of prominent Chinese-Canadians in B.C. are asking the premier to remove a retired judge and lawyer from a provincial advisory committee after he said in a radio interview that Canada's response to the treatment of ethnic Muslim minority Uyghurs in China is not based on fact.
"Our open letter expresses our great concern about Bill Yee's comments," said Victor Ho, a signatory to the letter sent to Premier John Horgan. Ho is the founder of a web-based company in Vancouver and the former editor in chief of the Sing Tao Daily newspaper in Vancouver.
Andrea Chun, a host with Toronto-based Chinese-language radio station A-1, confirmed that she interviewed Bill Yee on March 30 in Cantonese about Canada-China relations and Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
In the interview, Yee denied that genocide was being committed against Uyghurs by the Chinese government.
A group of prominent Chinese-Canadians in B.C. are asking the premier to remove a retired judge and lawyer from a provincial advisory committee after he said in a radio interview that Canada's response to the treatment of ethnic Muslim minority Uyghurs in China is not based on fact.
"Our open letter expresses our great concern about Bill Yee's comments," said Victor Ho, a signatory to the letter sent to Premier John Horgan. Ho is the founder of a web-based company in Vancouver and the former editor in chief of the Sing Tao Daily newspaper in Vancouver.
Andrea Chun, a host with Toronto-based Chinese-language radio station A-1, confirmed that she interviewed Bill Yee on March 30 in Cantonese about Canada-China relations and Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
In the interview, Yee denied that genocide was being committed against Uyghurs by the Chinese government.
'Lies'
"These talks about genocide are completely not factual," reads a translation of the interview. "They use these lies, and those politicians, what kind of legal [facts] can prove China has committed genocide, those actions, those policies? None. That doesn't make sense at all."
Yee was introduced before the interview as a member of B.C.'s Chinese-Canadian Community Advisory Committee.
The committee was formed in 2018 by Horgan to assist the province in strengthening social, economic and cultural ties among members of the Chinese diaspora in B.C. and around the globe.
Yee is also a retired provincial judge, lawyer, and former Vancouver city councillor. He sits on the board of directors for the Chinese Canadian Museum.
On the radio program he was asked about Canadian MPs passing a motion in February that says China's actions in its western Xinjiang region meet the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
In late March, Canada joined the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union in placing sanctions on Chinese officials suspected of involvement in a years-long campaign of persecution against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China's Xinjiang province.
The Chinese state is accused of arbitrarily imprisoning more than one million people on the basis of their religion and ethnicity, and for subjecting them to political re-education, forced labour, torture and forced sterilization.
China has denied all reports of human rights abuses in the region, claiming the camps are vocational training centres needed to fight extremism.
In response to Canadian actions on the Uyghur issue, Yee said in Cantonese during the radio interview that Canada's actions were not based on fact and that some Canadian politicians have an ulterior motive, such as trade with China, for the motion and the sanctions.
Yee also criticized Canadian politicians in the interview, saying Western politicians did not know where Xinjiang province was and had never been there.
He did express support for a United Nations delegation to travel to the region to study and observe the treatment of Uyghur people.
Ho said he and the other 12 signatories to the letter are outraged over Yee's comments, saying he is a "vital" public figure and his views don't represent the majority of Chinese-Canadians in B.C. and their views on human rights.
"We are urging the premier, just take out this guy from your advisory committee because that remark indicates he has no credibility … these remarks will make our Chinese community look very, very bad in Canada."
CBC News attempted to contact Yee through the Chinese Canadian Museum, but has yet to receive a response.
Comments 'concerning'
B.C.'s minister of state for trade, George Chow, responded to the letter by saying that Yee's comment are "concerning."
In a written statement he said the province supports Ottawa's position on the Uyghur issue and that Yee was expressing a personal opinion in the interview.
"We have asked Mr. Yee to clearly distinguish his personal opinions from that of the work of the Chinese Canadian Community Advisory Committee," said Chow's statement.
Appointments to the advisory committee are one year in length. Chow's statement did not say whether Yee would sit for a new term.
Chow said the province is reviewing what the committee will be working on for the year ahead, which includes canvassing outgoing members about their opinions.
CHINA OUTSOURCES TO BURMA
Myanmar crisis sounds death knell for garment industry, jobs and hope
By Chen Lin and John Geddie
Myanmar crisis sounds death knell for garment industry, jobs and hope
By Chen Lin and John Geddie
© Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun FILE PHOTO:
Workers iron and arrange clothing at a garment factory at Hlaing Tar Yar industry zone in Yangon
(Reuters) -Two years after opening his garment factory in Myanmar, Li Dongliang is on the verge of closing down and laying off his 800 remaining workers.
Business had been struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but after a Feb. 1 coup that sparked mass protests and a deadly crackdown, during which his factory was set alight amid a surge of anti-Chinese sentiment, orders stopped.
His story is emblematic of the perilous situation facing a sector critical to Myanmar's economy, which accounts for a third of its exports and employs 700,000 low-income workers, according to U.N. data.
"We would have no choice but to give up on Myanmar if there are no new orders in the next few months," said Li, adding he has been operating at about 20% capacity, surviving only on orders placed before the coup, and had already shed 400 staff.
Li said he and many of his peers were considering moving to other low-cost garment hubs like China, Cambodia or Vietnam, as big fashion brands like H&M and Primark have stopped trading with Myanmar due to the coup.
Chinese nationals like Li fund nearly a third of Myanmar's 600 garment factories, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, by far the largest investor group.
At least two other Chinese-funded garment factories in Myanmar, employing a combined 3,000 workers, had decided to close, said Khin May Htway, managing partner of MyanWei Consulting Group, which advises Chinese investors in Myanmar. She said the two firms were her clients but declined to identify them citing privacy.
Foreign investment in garments surged in Myanmar over the past decade as economic reforms, an end to Western sanctions and trade deals helped establish the sector as the greatest symbol of its nascent emergence as a manufacturing hub.
Myanmar garment shipments rose from less than $1 billion in 2011, about 10% of exports, to more than $6.5 billion in 2019, about 30% of exports, according to U.N. Comtrade data.
But the sector has been rocked by the pandemic which plunged the world into recession and choked consumer demand, resulting in tens of thousands of garment factory jobs lost in Myanmar and elsewhere in Asia.
Then the coup happened.
In the weeks that followed, many garment workers joined protests or couldn't get to work as streets became battlegrounds. The turmoil also jammed the banking system and made it difficult to get goods in and out of the country, factory owners said.
With international condemnation of the coup growing, European and U.S. fashion brands last month issued a statement through their associations saying they would protect jobs and honour commitments in Myanmar.
However, many have recently halted orders there including the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, Sweden's H&M, Britain's Next and Primark, and Italy's Benetton.
Next said it would split its orders previously going to Myanmar between Bangladesh, Cambodia and China, while Benetton said it would mainly move business to China. H&M and Primark have not commented on how they will redistribute orders.
ESCAPE FROM POVERTY
In Vietnam, garment factory owner Ravi Chunilal told Reuters he was starting to get more business from European buyers diverting from Myanmar.
"They don't want to abandon Myanmar ... but it's being forced upon them," said Peter McAllister of Ethical Trade Initiative, a labour rights organisation whose members include European high-street brands.
McAllister said that it would be very difficult for Myanmar's garment sector to recover if Chinese investors left.
Anti-China sentiment has risen since the coup, with opponents of the takeover noting Beijing's muted criticism compared with Western condemnation. It was against this backdrop that several Chinese-funded factories, including Li's, were torched by unidentified assailants during a protest last month.
Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about exploitation in Myanmar's garment sector, where mostly women workers earn as little as 4,800 kyat ($3.40) a day, the lowest rates in the region.
But it has provided an escape from poverty for many, as workers have migrated from rural areas to the factories, mainly around the commercial hub of Yangon, and sent money back to their families.
Khin Maung Aye, managing director of Lat War garments factory, which employs 3,500 people, says the sector faces collapse if the military does not restore a democratically elected government.
That would result in "terrible outcomes of poverty", he said, adding that he was also staying afloat on orders placed before the coup but feared orders for next season, normally due later this month, will dry up.
Thin Thin, a 21-year-old garment worker, said her family of five was surviving on a 8,600 kyat ($59) monthly retainer her factory had given her while it shut down because of the coup.
"I feel so stressed ... We have nothing left to pawn. We have to borrow from money lenders at 20% interest a month."
The United States, which has imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar's military, late last month suspended trade talks with it and said it was reviewing its eligibility for its Generalized System of Preferences scheme, which reduces tariffs and provides other trade benefits for developing countries.
That could "portend future disruption" for Myanmar's garments sector, said Steve Lamar, president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which represents more than 1,000 fashion brands.
But some unions representing garment workers have called for the international community to impose tougher sanctions to press the military, even though it may further damage their industry.
"I accept orders moving away," Myo Myo Aye, founder of the Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar, said through a translator. "Workers would face difficulties and hardship because there would be no jobs. On the other hand, we simply don't accept the military regime."
($1 = 1,400.0000 kyat)
(Reporting by Chen Lin and John Geddie; Additional reporting by James Pearson in Hanoi, Victoria Waldersee in Lisbon and Elisa Anzolin in Milan; Editing by Robert Birsel)
(Reuters) -Two years after opening his garment factory in Myanmar, Li Dongliang is on the verge of closing down and laying off his 800 remaining workers.
Business had been struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but after a Feb. 1 coup that sparked mass protests and a deadly crackdown, during which his factory was set alight amid a surge of anti-Chinese sentiment, orders stopped.
His story is emblematic of the perilous situation facing a sector critical to Myanmar's economy, which accounts for a third of its exports and employs 700,000 low-income workers, according to U.N. data.
"We would have no choice but to give up on Myanmar if there are no new orders in the next few months," said Li, adding he has been operating at about 20% capacity, surviving only on orders placed before the coup, and had already shed 400 staff.
Li said he and many of his peers were considering moving to other low-cost garment hubs like China, Cambodia or Vietnam, as big fashion brands like H&M and Primark have stopped trading with Myanmar due to the coup.
Chinese nationals like Li fund nearly a third of Myanmar's 600 garment factories, according to the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, by far the largest investor group.
At least two other Chinese-funded garment factories in Myanmar, employing a combined 3,000 workers, had decided to close, said Khin May Htway, managing partner of MyanWei Consulting Group, which advises Chinese investors in Myanmar. She said the two firms were her clients but declined to identify them citing privacy.
Foreign investment in garments surged in Myanmar over the past decade as economic reforms, an end to Western sanctions and trade deals helped establish the sector as the greatest symbol of its nascent emergence as a manufacturing hub.
Myanmar garment shipments rose from less than $1 billion in 2011, about 10% of exports, to more than $6.5 billion in 2019, about 30% of exports, according to U.N. Comtrade data.
But the sector has been rocked by the pandemic which plunged the world into recession and choked consumer demand, resulting in tens of thousands of garment factory jobs lost in Myanmar and elsewhere in Asia.
Then the coup happened.
In the weeks that followed, many garment workers joined protests or couldn't get to work as streets became battlegrounds. The turmoil also jammed the banking system and made it difficult to get goods in and out of the country, factory owners said.
With international condemnation of the coup growing, European and U.S. fashion brands last month issued a statement through their associations saying they would protect jobs and honour commitments in Myanmar.
However, many have recently halted orders there including the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, Sweden's H&M, Britain's Next and Primark, and Italy's Benetton.
Next said it would split its orders previously going to Myanmar between Bangladesh, Cambodia and China, while Benetton said it would mainly move business to China. H&M and Primark have not commented on how they will redistribute orders.
ESCAPE FROM POVERTY
In Vietnam, garment factory owner Ravi Chunilal told Reuters he was starting to get more business from European buyers diverting from Myanmar.
"They don't want to abandon Myanmar ... but it's being forced upon them," said Peter McAllister of Ethical Trade Initiative, a labour rights organisation whose members include European high-street brands.
McAllister said that it would be very difficult for Myanmar's garment sector to recover if Chinese investors left.
Anti-China sentiment has risen since the coup, with opponents of the takeover noting Beijing's muted criticism compared with Western condemnation. It was against this backdrop that several Chinese-funded factories, including Li's, were torched by unidentified assailants during a protest last month.
Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about exploitation in Myanmar's garment sector, where mostly women workers earn as little as 4,800 kyat ($3.40) a day, the lowest rates in the region.
But it has provided an escape from poverty for many, as workers have migrated from rural areas to the factories, mainly around the commercial hub of Yangon, and sent money back to their families.
Khin Maung Aye, managing director of Lat War garments factory, which employs 3,500 people, says the sector faces collapse if the military does not restore a democratically elected government.
That would result in "terrible outcomes of poverty", he said, adding that he was also staying afloat on orders placed before the coup but feared orders for next season, normally due later this month, will dry up.
Thin Thin, a 21-year-old garment worker, said her family of five was surviving on a 8,600 kyat ($59) monthly retainer her factory had given her while it shut down because of the coup.
"I feel so stressed ... We have nothing left to pawn. We have to borrow from money lenders at 20% interest a month."
The United States, which has imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar's military, late last month suspended trade talks with it and said it was reviewing its eligibility for its Generalized System of Preferences scheme, which reduces tariffs and provides other trade benefits for developing countries.
That could "portend future disruption" for Myanmar's garments sector, said Steve Lamar, president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which represents more than 1,000 fashion brands.
But some unions representing garment workers have called for the international community to impose tougher sanctions to press the military, even though it may further damage their industry.
"I accept orders moving away," Myo Myo Aye, founder of the Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar, said through a translator. "Workers would face difficulties and hardship because there would be no jobs. On the other hand, we simply don't accept the military regime."
($1 = 1,400.0000 kyat)
(Reporting by Chen Lin and John Geddie; Additional reporting by James Pearson in Hanoi, Victoria Waldersee in Lisbon and Elisa Anzolin in Milan; Editing by Robert Birsel)
PHOTO ESSAY
Indigenous softball team bats away Mexico machismo
THE LITTLE DEVILS OF HONDSONOT
AFP 2 hrs ago
Barefoot and resplendent in traditional embroidered garments, women from an indigenous Mayan community in rural Mexico are challenging gender stereotypes and the country's machismo culture on a dusty softball field.
AFP 2 hrs ago
Barefoot and resplendent in traditional embroidered garments, women from an indigenous Mayan community in rural Mexico are challenging gender stereotypes and the country's machismo culture on a dusty softball field.
© ELIZABETH RUIZ A player for the Little Devils of Hondzonot swings the bat during a softball game against the Piste Warriors in rural southeast Mexico
© ELIZABETH RUIZ The Little Devils' hallmarks are their bare feet while playing and huipil garments embroidered by hand using techniques passed down through the generations
There are no locker rooms or manicured lawns where the Little Devils of Hondzonot play visiting teams, in their village in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo.
There are no locker rooms or manicured lawns where the Little Devils of Hondzonot play visiting teams, in their village in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo.
© ELIZABETH RUIZ Mexico's machismo culture was one of the first barriers that the Little Devil's women's softball team says it encountered
Spectators, mostly men with a beer in their hand, sit on rocks in the shade of trees to protect against the harsh sun.
But the fans were not always there to cheer for the Little Devils.
One of the first barriers that the team encountered was sexism, said captain Fabiola May.
"They didn't think we could play as we're women, but we've shown them that we can do just as much as men and even more," the 29-year-old said proudly.
Spectators, mostly men with a beer in their hand, sit on rocks in the shade of trees to protect against the harsh sun.
But the fans were not always there to cheer for the Little Devils.
One of the first barriers that the team encountered was sexism, said captain Fabiola May.
"They didn't think we could play as we're women, but we've shown them that we can do just as much as men and even more," the 29-year-old said proudly.
© ELIZABETH RUIZ The Little Devils now have their own equipment thanks to a donation from their heroes, the Mexico City Red Devils baseball team
"Now our husbands support us a lot. There are still people who criticize us, but we don't care."
Most of the players are mothers and housewives.
Some make a living selling handicrafts -- a trade that like many has become much less lucrative during the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken a heavy toll on Mexico.
"Now our husbands support us a lot. There are still people who criticize us, but we don't care."
Most of the players are mothers and housewives.
Some make a living selling handicrafts -- a trade that like many has become much less lucrative during the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken a heavy toll on Mexico.
© ELIZABETH RUIZ The Little Devils say their experience as a team has given them inspiration for life off the field too
- 'Part of us' -
After more than an hour's delay, the visiting team finally took to the field.
May gave final instructions to her players in the Mayan language.
Their opponents on this occasion were the Piste Warriors from neighboring Yucatan state, also made up of Mayan women but competing in trousers, T-shirts and sneakers.
The 20 Little Devils of Hondzonot village choose to play barefoot because they find it more comfortable.
It is one of their hallmarks, along with their colorful huipil garments, embroidered by hand using techniques passed down through the generations.
"We decided to use our huipil as our uniform because it's a part of us, of our identity as Maya," said Juana Ay Ay, 37, wearing a huipil adorned with violet flowers.
The traditional garment, the fruit of several months' work, helps to make the high temperatures in Quintana Roo more bearable.
The Little Devils also wear earrings and makeup on the field to help mark each game as a celebration for them.
- 'I know we can' -
The amateur team was born three years ago when the local authorities offered to teach the women of Hondzonot a sport.
The official support faded away, but the players' love of the game lives on.
At first they used tennis balls and borrowed equipment, but today they have their own thanks to a donation from their heroes, the Mexico City Red Devils professional baseball team.
All of the Little Devils' games are friendlies.
Mexico has no professional women's softball league, although there is talk of creating one.
The country qualified for the first time for the softball event at the Tokyo Olympics with a team made up mostly of players of Mexican descent who were born and compete in the United States.
Mexico is number five in the women's ranking of the World Baseball Softball Confederation behind the United States, Japan, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The Little Devils hope to be a part of the future success of the sport, which has been present in Mexico for more than a century.
In addition to the long-standing challenges facing their community, the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed many jobs in the tourism and construction sectors.
Without money for gasoline, they can only play at home.
But their experience as a team has given them inspiration for life off the field too.
"Here, as you can see, there are a lot of needs and poverty," said May.
"When you want to, you can. At first I didn't believe that this would happen. I said that we couldn't, but now I know we can and we'll be able to do more as a team," she said.
str/axm/dr/caw
- 'Part of us' -
After more than an hour's delay, the visiting team finally took to the field.
May gave final instructions to her players in the Mayan language.
Their opponents on this occasion were the Piste Warriors from neighboring Yucatan state, also made up of Mayan women but competing in trousers, T-shirts and sneakers.
The 20 Little Devils of Hondzonot village choose to play barefoot because they find it more comfortable.
It is one of their hallmarks, along with their colorful huipil garments, embroidered by hand using techniques passed down through the generations.
"We decided to use our huipil as our uniform because it's a part of us, of our identity as Maya," said Juana Ay Ay, 37, wearing a huipil adorned with violet flowers.
The traditional garment, the fruit of several months' work, helps to make the high temperatures in Quintana Roo more bearable.
The Little Devils also wear earrings and makeup on the field to help mark each game as a celebration for them.
- 'I know we can' -
The amateur team was born three years ago when the local authorities offered to teach the women of Hondzonot a sport.
The official support faded away, but the players' love of the game lives on.
At first they used tennis balls and borrowed equipment, but today they have their own thanks to a donation from their heroes, the Mexico City Red Devils professional baseball team.
All of the Little Devils' games are friendlies.
Mexico has no professional women's softball league, although there is talk of creating one.
The country qualified for the first time for the softball event at the Tokyo Olympics with a team made up mostly of players of Mexican descent who were born and compete in the United States.
Mexico is number five in the women's ranking of the World Baseball Softball Confederation behind the United States, Japan, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The Little Devils hope to be a part of the future success of the sport, which has been present in Mexico for more than a century.
In addition to the long-standing challenges facing their community, the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed many jobs in the tourism and construction sectors.
Without money for gasoline, they can only play at home.
But their experience as a team has given them inspiration for life off the field too.
"Here, as you can see, there are a lot of needs and poverty," said May.
"When you want to, you can. At first I didn't believe that this would happen. I said that we couldn't, but now I know we can and we'll be able to do more as a team," she said.
str/axm/dr/caw
Edmonton startup aims to make lab-grown meat more affordable
Kashmala Fida
Kashmala Fida
CBC
4/7/2021
3
3
© David Parry/Pool/Reuters Dutch scientist Mark Post shows off the world's first lab-grown beef burger during a launch event in London in August 2013.
An Edmonton startup working on ways to make lab-grown meat cheaper to produce recently received $2.2 million in seed funding from U.S venture capital firms and investors.
Future Fields, founded by Matt and Jalene Anderson-Baron and Lejjy Gafour, has developed a much cheaper form of growth factor — media needed for cells to grow and multiply — for producing cultured meat.
"You can think of that very much like the feed for the cells, just like animals need feed to to grow, cells need to to grow and multiply and ultimately become these meat products," Matt Anderson-Baron told CBC's Edmonton AM.
"So we make that ingredient, which is traditionally very, very expensive and not very scalable."
Cultured meat, or meat grown in a lab using in vitro cell cultures, was first produced in 2012 by Dutch scientist Mark Post. That first patty, made public in 2013, cost $300,000 to produce.
Although costs for the growth media have come down considerably, they still run at least $500 per litre. Using their method, Anderson-Baron hopes to reduce the price to less than $1 per litre at full scale.
Around the world, 60 companies are working on lab-grown meat, although only one company — in Singapore — is successfully selling products commercially on a very small scale.
An Edmonton startup working on ways to make lab-grown meat cheaper to produce recently received $2.2 million in seed funding from U.S venture capital firms and investors.
Future Fields, founded by Matt and Jalene Anderson-Baron and Lejjy Gafour, has developed a much cheaper form of growth factor — media needed for cells to grow and multiply — for producing cultured meat.
"You can think of that very much like the feed for the cells, just like animals need feed to to grow, cells need to to grow and multiply and ultimately become these meat products," Matt Anderson-Baron told CBC's Edmonton AM.
"So we make that ingredient, which is traditionally very, very expensive and not very scalable."
Cultured meat, or meat grown in a lab using in vitro cell cultures, was first produced in 2012 by Dutch scientist Mark Post. That first patty, made public in 2013, cost $300,000 to produce.
Although costs for the growth media have come down considerably, they still run at least $500 per litre. Using their method, Anderson-Baron hopes to reduce the price to less than $1 per litre at full scale.
Around the world, 60 companies are working on lab-grown meat, although only one company — in Singapore — is successfully selling products commercially on a very small scale.
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