It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Scientists unlock secrets behind flowering of the king of fruits
Dry spell of around fifteen days triggers flowering of durian
Tokyo Metropolitan University
image:
Durian plants were found to flower following a 15-day dry spell, approximately 50 days from the end of the drought.
Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered that around 15 days of dry weather can trigger the flowering of durian. Observations of 110 durian plants revealed that flowering occurred around 50 days after an approximately 15-day dry spell, independent of whether the plant was grafted or grown from a seed. The team’s work might not only impact the production of a valuable agricultural asset but deepen our understanding of tropical ecosystems.
Known in many countries as the “king of fruits,” the durian is known for its distinctive strong odor, large size, and thorny rind. Though its odor splits opinions, its widespread culinary use in Asia makes it an exceptionally valuable crop, accounting for the largest share of fruit in Malaysia by production, area planted, and quantity produced. Yet, there is much that is unknown about its cultivation, including how its flowering is triggered.
To uncover the secrets of durian flowering, a team of researchers led by Professor Shinya Numata and Aoi Eguchi from Tokyo Metropolitan University undertook an extensive survey of durian, observing 110 plants in the orchard of the University Technology Malaysia with local collaborators. Their study covered both seed-grown and grafted plants, focusing on the timing at which individual plants flowered, measured against an extensive survey of weather conditions.
The team found that durian plants flowered approximately 50 days after a prolonged period of dry weather. These dry spells needed to be long enough to show up in moving average traces, specifically periods where rainfall averaged over 15-day windows was less than 1 millimeter. Previous work had hinted at some correlation between either dryness or low temperature. This is the first time that the exact conditions had been pinned down with such accuracy, though they found no correlation with maximum or minimum temperature. Their work was found to apply to durian plants irrespective of their varieties, as flowering seemed to occur at the same time for both. The same was also found for both seed-grown and grafted plant types.
The team had proposed that there was some relationship between the flowering of durian and the more general burst of flowering seen in the tropics following long dry spells. However, such general flowering events require a longer dry spell of around 30 days to occur. This explains why durian tend to flower multiple times a year, while synchronized flowering across species occurs once every few years.
Given its commercial value, insights like these will inform effective agricultural practices to predict flowering and manage harvests. The team hope that their findings will also deepen our understanding of the southeast Asian tropical ecosystem.
This work was supported by a JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 22J21299.
This graphic offers a glimpse of the history of the Universe, as we currently understand it. The cosmos began expanding with the Big Bang but then around 10 billion years later it strangely began to accelerate thanks to a theoretical phenomenon termed dark energy.
One of the biggest mysteries in science – dark energy – doesn't actually exist, according to researchers looking to solve the riddle of how the Universe is expanding.
For the past 100 years, physicists have generally assumed that the cosmos is growing equally in all directions. They employed the concept of dark energy as a placeholder to explain unknown physics they couldn't understand, but the contentious theory has always had its problems.
Now a team of physicists and astronomers at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand are challenging the status quo, using improved analysis of supernovae light curves to show that the Universe is expanding in a more varied, "lumpier" way.
The new evidence supports the "timescape" model of cosmic expansion, which doesn't have a need for dark energy because the differences in stretching light aren't the result of an accelerating Universe but instead a consequence of how we calibrate time and distance.
It takes into account that gravity slows time, so an ideal clock in empty space ticks faster than inside a galaxy.
The model suggests that a clock in the Milky Way would be about 35 per cent slower than the same one at an average position in large cosmic voids, meaning billions more years would have passed in voids. This would in turn allow more expansion of space, making it seem like the expansion is getting faster when such vast empty voids grow to dominate the Universe.
Professor David Wiltshire, who led the study, said: "Our findings show that we do not need dark energy to explain why the Universe appears to expand at an accelerating rate.
"Dark energy is a misidentification of variations in the kinetic energy of expansion, which is not uniform in a Universe as lumpy as the one we actually live in."
He added: "The research provides compelling evidence that may resolve some of the key questions around the quirks of our expanding cosmos.
"With new data, the Universe's biggest mystery could be settled by the end of the decade."
Dark energy is commonly thought to be a weak anti-gravity force which acts independently of matter and makes up around two thirds of the mass-energy density of the Universe.
The standard Lambda Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) model of the Universe requires dark energy to explain the observed acceleration in the rate at which the cosmos is expanding.
Scientists base this conclusion on measurements of the distances to supernova explosions in distant galaxies, which appear to be farther away than they should be if the Universe's expansion were not accelerating.
However, the present expansion rate of the Universe is increasingly being challenged by new observations.
Firstly, evidence from the afterglow of the Big Bang – known as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) – shows the expansion of the early Universe is at odds with current expansion, an anomaly known as the "Hubble tension".
In addition, recent analysis of new high precision data by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has found that the ΛCDM model does not fit as well as models in which dark energy is "evolving" over time, rather than remaining constant.
Both the Hubble tension and the surprises revealed by DESI are difficult to resolve in models which use a simplified 100-year-old cosmic expansion law – Friedmann's equation.
This assumes that, on average, the Universe expands uniformly – as if all cosmic structures could be put through a blender to make a featureless soup, with no complicating structure. However, the present Universe actually contains a complex cosmic web of galaxy clusters in sheets and filaments that surround and thread vast empty voids.
Professor Wiltshire added: "We now have so much data that in the 21st century we can finally answer the question – how and why does a simple average expansion law emerge from complexity?
"A simple expansion law consistent with Einstein's general relativity does not have to obey Friedmann's equation."
The researchers say that the European Space Agency's Euclid satellite, which was launched in July 2023, has the power to test and distinguish the Friedmann equation from the timescape alternative. However, this will require at least 1,000 independent high quality supernovae observations.
When the proposed timescape model was last tested in 2017 the analysis suggested it was only a slightly better fit than the ΛCDM as an explanation for cosmic expansion, so the Christchurch team worked closely with the Pantheon+ collaboration team who had painstakingly produced a catalogue of 1,535 distinct supernovae.
They say the new data now provides "very strong evidence" for timescape. It may also point to a compelling resolution of the Hubble tension and other anomalies related to the expansion of the Universe.
Further observations from Euclid and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope are needed to bolster support for the timescape model, the researchers say, with the race now on to use this wealth of new data to reveal the true nature of cosmic expansion and dark energy.
Caption: This graphic offers a glimpse of the history of the Universe, as we currently understand it. The cosmos began expanding with the Big Bang but then around 10 billion years later it strangely began to accelerate thanks to a theoretical phenomenon termed dark energy.
Caption: This graphic shows the emergence of a cosmic web in a cosmological simulation using general relativity. From left, 300,000 years after the Big Bang to right, a Universe similar to ours today. The dark regions are void of matter, where an ideal clock would run faster and allow more time for the expansion of space. The lighter purple regions are denser so clocks would run slower, meaning under the "timescape" model of cosmology that acceleration of the Universe's expansion is not uniform.
Credit: Hayley Macpherson, Daniel Price, Paul Lasky / Physical Review D 99 (2019) 063522
Further information
The paper 'Supernovae evidence for foundational change to cosmological models' by Antonia Seifert, Zachary Lane, Marco Galoppo, Ryan Ridden-Harper and David L Wiltshire, has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters. DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slae112. The paper 'Cosmological foundations revisited with Pantheon+' by Antonia Seifert, Zachary Lane, Ryan Ridden-Harper and David L Wiltshire, has been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae2437.
The timescape cosmology was proposed by David Wiltshire in 2007, using the mathematical formalism of Thomas Buchert in general relativity, as a viable alternative to dark energy. In the intervening 17 years, the timescape model has been further developed and tested against a variety of cosmological data by David Wiltshire and his students. Zachary Lane and Antonia Seifert jointly developed the codes used in the new analysis.
Notes for editors
About the Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), founded in 1820, encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science.
The RAS organises scientific meetings, publishes international research and review journals, recognises outstanding achievements by the award of medals and prizes, maintains an extensive library, supports education through grants and outreach activities and represents UK astronomy nationally and internationally. Its more than 4,000 members (Fellows), a third based overseas, include scientific researchers in universities, observatories and laboratories as well as historians of astronomy and others.
The RAS accepts papers for its journals based on the principle of peer review, in which fellow experts on the editorial boards accept the paper as worth considering. The Society issues press releases based on a similar principle, but the organisations and scientists concerned have overall responsibility for their content.
Dark energy 'doesn’t exist' so can't be pushing 'lumpy' Universe apart – study
Article Publication Date
19-Dec-2024
Texas A&M researchers illuminate the mysteries of icy ocean worlds
New research advances understanding of the habitability of icy moons
Texas A&M University
As NASA’s Europa Clipper embarks on its historic journey to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, Dr. Matt Powell-Palm, a faculty member at Texas A&M University’s J. Mike Walker ‘66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, has unveiled groundbreaking research that could transform our understanding of icy ocean worlds across the solar system. The study published in Nature Communications, co-authored with planetary scientist Dr. Baptiste Journaux of the University of Washington, introduces a novel thermodynamic concept called the “centotectic” and investigates the stability of liquids in extreme conditions - critical information for determining the habitability of icy moons like Europa.
Revolutionizing the Search for Habitability
The exploration of icy ocean worlds represents a new frontier in planetary science, focusing on understanding the potential for these environments to support life. Powell-Palm’s research addresses a fundamental question in this field: under what conditions can liquid water remain stable on these distant, frozen bodies? By defining and measuring the cenotectic, the absolute lowest temperature at which a liquid remains stable under varying pressures and concentrations, the team provides a critical framework for interpreting data from planetary exploration efforts.
This study combines Powell-Palm’s expertise in cryobiology - specifically the low-temperature thermodynamics of water - initially focused on medical applications like organ preservation for transplantation, with Journaux’s expertise in planetary science and high-pressure water-ice systems. Together, they developed a framework that bridges disciplines to tackle one of the most fascinating challenges in planetary science.
“With the launch of NASA Europa Clipper, the largest planetary exploration mission ever launched, we are entering a multi-decade era of exploration of cold and icy ocean worlds. Measurements from this and other missions will tell us how deep the ocean is and its composition,” said Journaux. “Laboratory measurements of liquid stability, and notably the lowest temperature possible (the newly-defined cenotectic), combined with mission results, will allow us to fully constrain how habitable the cold and deep oceans of our solar system are, and also what their final fate will be when the moons or planets have cooled down entirely.”
A Texas A&M Legacy of Innovation in Space Research
The research was conducted at Texas A&M and led by mechanical engineering graduate student Arian Zarriz. The work reflects Texas A&M’s deep expertise in water-ice systems and tradition of excellence in space research, which spans multiple disciplines. With the recent groundbreaking of the Texas A&M Space Institute, the university is poised to play an even larger role in space exploration, providing intellectual leadership for missions pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.
“The study of icy worlds is a particular priority for both NASA and the European Space Agency, as evidenced by the flurry of recent and upcoming spacecraft launches,” said Powell-Palm. “We hope that Texas A&M will help to provide intellectual leadership in this space.”
Looking Ahead
As planetary exploration missions, such as those targeting icy moons, continue to expand our understanding of the solar system, researchers at Texas A&M and beyond prepare to analyze the wealth of data they will provide. By combining experimental studies like those conducted by Powell-Palm and Journaux with the findings from these missions, scientists aim to unlock the secrets of cold, ocean-bearing worlds and evaluate their potential to harbor life.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven is the first transgender person to compete at the World Darts Championship. This has seen van Leuven become the subject of social-media abuse, but the Dutch native is not without supporters.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven is the first transgender darts player to compete at the World Championship
Image: Godfrey Pitt/Action Plus/picture allianc
Which sporting competitions transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in has long been the subject of debate. What conditions are fair, and where should a line be drawn?
Such questions were hotly debated in the run-up to the World Darts Championship, where Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven became the first transgender player to take to the world's biggest darts stage — at Alexandra Palace in North London, the legendary Ally Pally.
Transition completed in 2022
On the way to the world's most prestigious darts tournament, the 28-year-old faced many hurdles and sometimes massive resistance — in addition to a lot of support and enthusiasm.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven's transition was completed in 2022
Image: Vincent de Vries/PRO SHOTS/picture alliance
Van Leuven was born a man. She first described herself as transgender at the age of 16 and began her transition from male to female, which she completed in 2022. Van Leuven has been competing in international darts tournaments since 2021.
Van Leuven qualified for the World Championship due to strong performances in the Women's Series and it is precisely this that is now sparking criticism, some of which has taken the form of abuse on social media. There have even been death threats.
'Is somebody watching me?'
"Someone wrote to me: If you follow my girl into the ladies' room, I will kill you," van Leuven told the Sport1 podcast "Checkout."
"Messages like that made me ask myself at the airport the other day: Okay, is someone maybe watching me? Could this person be somewhere nearby? That's terrible."
Players have to contend with a heated atmosphere at Alexandra Palace
Zac Goodwin/PA Wire/picture alliance
It hasn't stopped van Leuven, but it is troubling.
"I've had panic attacks, and my depression has worsened — all because of social media, and that's so wrong," the player told Focus.de.
"Of course, sometimes I think: Okay, is it all worth it? Especially after my teammates withdrew from the Dutch team, I received so many hate messages on social media."
Criticism and boycotts from competitors
In fact, two teammates, Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf, resigned from the Dutch national team in protest.
"I respect their stance of not wanting to play in a team with a trans woman," van Leuven said. "But the issue became so huge, the media made it even bigger."
Other competitors also felt that van Leuven's participation robbed them of their chance to take part in the World Championship.
Deta Hedman, who has competed at the World Championship in the past, declined to face van Leuven in a match.
"People can be whoever they want in life, but I don't think biologically born men should compete in women's sport," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Deta Hedman believes that van Leuven has an unfair advantage when competing against women
Image: Steven Paston/PA Wire/picture alliance
Biological arguments
The Englishwoman explained her boycott in more detail to DW.
"Absolutely no issues with Noa playing at Ally Pally, Noa was brilliant in winning a Challenge Tour earlier in the season and is an awesome player," she said.
"My only problem is Noa qualified through the Ladies Series, and it's my belief that transitioned players should not be allowed in the women's section of our sport."
Hedman justifies her stance with biological arguments.
"There (have) been studies on skeletal differences that point to advantages for male born players," she said.
"Also, men have bigger heart and lungs, this helps in reoxygenating blood cells which helps recover quicker than women from fatigue!"
Endurance plays an important role in major tournaments, as players sometimes spend as many as 10 hours at the venue.
According to Hedman, however, the most serious complaints are those that only people born as biological females suffer from.
"Now imagine being on your menstrual cycle or suffering from women's only symptoms of peri menopause, menopause, fibroids, endometriosis etc. with the accompanying symptoms that include headaches, brainfog, irritability, stomach cramps, extreme sweats etc," she said.
"That affects your standard in a precision sport and a transgender will never suffer from any of these."
PDC, world champion back van Leuwen's participation
Professional Darts Confederation ( PDC), organizers of the World Championship, do not take such considerations into account. According to PDC guidelines, van Leuven's participation was fine, as her transition was completed in 2022.
Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen have expressed support for van Leuwen's participation
Image: Thomas Schröer/Geisler-Fotopress/picture alliance
"The scum that has been hurledat Noa-Lynn is completely unacceptable," said Matt Porter, CEO of the PDC, as van Leuven was increasingly being subjected to public hatred. He added that the PDC had a duty to ensure "that she is mentally well."
Many male colleagues have also expressed support for van Leuven.
"She can play damn good darts. Let her!" said Dutch former world champion Michael van Gerwen.
"She is in the competition. She has not broken any rules. She is doing what she is allowed to do," defending World champion Luke Humphries told the English daily "The Independent."
"It would be nice if people let her get on with it and play. But yeah, I wish her all the best. Hopefully she gets a win and it's good for her."
For all the abuse directed at van Leuven, her participation amounted to a windfall for the World Darts Championship. Her becoming the first trans woman at Ally Pally brought a wealth of added attention to an event that is already booming. Just like the debut of the then-16-year-old teenager Luke Littler last year or Fallon Sherrock's first win by a woman in 2019. This article was originally published in German.
New US law ends decades long Havana Club trademark battle
Andreas Knobloch
December 19, 2024
DW
Cuba's struggling economy faces another blow. A new law passed by the US Congress in December could result in the loss of trademark rights held by the Cuban government to the Havana Club rum brand in the US.
The Havana Club trademark has been at the center of a decades long legal dispute between Cuba and the Bacardi company
Image: SOPA Images/picture alliance
New legislation, signed into law by the outgoing US President Joe Biden in early December, prohibits US courts from recognizing trademarks that were "illegally confiscated" by the Cuban government since 1959 without the original owners' consent.
In 1959, Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista and established a socialist state. During the revolution, US companies and citizens were expropriated, prompting the United States to respond with a lasting embargo against Cuba.
Now, the No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act of 2023 introduces a new twist to the long-standing legal battle between spirits manufacturer Bacardi and the Cuban government over the Havana Club trademark.
Previously, US courts had upheld Cuban ownership of the Havana Club brand. However, under the new legislation, Cuba's state-owned enterprise Cubaexport and its French partner, beverage giant Pernod Ricard, would no longer be permitted to assert trademark rights to Havana Club in the US.
Cuban trademarks and international law
Havana Club, the leading Cuban exporter of alcoholic beverages, generates millions of dollars annually for the island. The law's signing is a significant blow to Cuba's rum industry, and reactions from Havana were swift and pointed.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla called the legislation "an aggressive measure against Cuba" in a post on X (formerly Twitter), accusing it of "opening the door to the theft of Cuban trademarks legally registered in the country, in violation of international law."
Johana Tablada de la Torre, deputy director for US affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted in her own X post that nearly 6,500 US trademarks are registered in Cuba, with over 1,000 more in the application process.
She emphasized that all these US trademarks are "protected by Cuba's Industrial Property Office," contrasting this with the US government's stance under the No Stolen Trademarks Act, which she said could just as well be called the "Bacardi Act." The 'Bacardi Act'
The bill, introduced in Congress in March 2023 by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, aims to resolve the Havana Club controversy and "prevent anyone from using US authorities to profit from intellectual property stolen from rightful owners," according to a report by the House Committee on the Judiciary. It explicitly supports Bacardi's claims.
Bacardi, founded in Cuba in 1862 and now based in Bermuda, asserts it acquired the Havana Club trademark and recipe from the descendants of the original founders. The company argues that Cubaexport and Pernod Ricard have no legitimate claim to the brand.
After President Biden signed the law, Bacardi expressed satisfaction in an emailed statement to DW, saying it was "pleased" about the legislation as it would "prevent the Cuban government or third parties from profiting in the United States from trademarks linked to assets confiscated by the Cuban government."
Bacardi has been forced to sell its Havana Club brand as rum made in Puerto Rico for years
Image: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
California Congressman Darrell Issa, a Republican who co-authored the bill, said in a press release that the law addresses a "historic injustice" and declared that "the bond between the American people and their intellectual property is sacred."
In contrast, Pernod Ricard voiced disappointment in comments to the European beverage industry magazine, The Drinks Business. The company said the law undermines its "longstanding rights to the Havana Club brand in the United States — a trademark that Pernod Ricard and its joint venture partner Cubaexport have legitimately owned since 1976."
A long legal battle over a name
The battle over Havana Club between Bacardi and Cubaexport has spanned three decades. In the 1950s, Havana Club was Cuba's second-largest rum brand after Bacardi.
Following the 1959 revolution, Cuba nationalized rum distilleries, and the Havana Club brand owners, the Arechabala family, fled to Spain. The Bacardi family also left the island but continued producing rum at facilities in Puerto Rico and Mexico.
In 1973, the Arechabala family failed to renew the US trademark for Havana Club, allowing the Cuban government to register the brand in 1976. In 1993, Cubaexport partnered with Pernod Ricard to market Havana Club internationally — except in the US, where an embargo prohibited sales.
Don Jose Arechabala who was born in 1878, created his now famous Havana Club rum in 1934
Image: Alan Diaz/AP/picture alliance
One year later, the Arechabala family sold the Havana Club trademark and recipe to Bacardi, which began producing its own version in Puerto Rico. Bacardi argues that the Arechabala family had never relinquished their rights, making the sale legitimate. Expired licensing rights and Puerto Rico
In 1999, significant lobbying efforts by Bacardi secured the passage of a US law dubbed the "Bacardi Bill" that made it illegal for Cuban-linked companies to renew expired US trademarks or register trademarks confiscated by the Cuban government without compensation.
Pernod Ricard and Cubaexport held US rights to the Havana Club trademark until 2006 when these rights expired. The Bacardi Bill prevented renewal, prompting Pernod Ricard to sue Bacardi, claiming that selling rum under the Havana Club name in the US was misleading.
A Philadelphia court eventually ruled in favor of Bacardi, allowing the company to market Puerto Rican rum under the Havana Club name. When the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2012, the long-running dispute appeared resolved in Bacardi's favor. A short-lived thaw in US-Cuba relations
However, in January 2016, during President Barack Obama's thaw in US-Cuba relations, the US Patent and Trademark Office unexpectedly restored Havana Club's US trademark to the Cuban government.
Trademark rights are granted for 10-year periods. With the next renewal due in 2026, Johana Tablada de la Torre suspects the new US law "aims to block Cubaexport's renewal efforts and strip it of its rights."
Since the law prevents Cubaexport's renewal, Bacardi may seek to register the Havana Club trademark in the US. Currently, Bacardi sells its rum in the US under the label "The Real Havana Club," marketed as Puerto Rican rum.
This article was originally written in German.
Boycott Bacardi
Bacardi is the world’s largest rum company and one of the biggest producers of spirits in the world, with sales valued at over $5 billion per year. But is its popularity deserved?
Bacardi regularly markets itself as an authentic Cuban rum, emphasising the fact that it was established in Cuba in 1862. However, Bacardi is neither produced nor consumed in Cuba and since the revolution in 1959, the Bacardi company has consistently acted to reinforce the United States’ blockade of Cuba.
In his exposé of the company’s campaign against the revolution, the Colombian journalist, Hernando Calvo Ospina, showed how Bacardi has devoted millions of dollars of its profits over the years to the destabilisation of the country, including critical support for the Helms-Burton Act of 1996.
So, if you want to drink an authentic rum from Cuba, order a Cuban brand such as Havana Club. Not only does it taste better, you’ll also be demonstrating your solidarity with Cuba.
Did you know?
The Bacardi company is worth over $3 billion but not a penny of its sales goes to the Cuban economy. The rum they sell is made elsewhere and their HQ is in Bermuda, not in Cuba
In 1994, Bacardi wrote to all foreign drinks firms, including British brewers, warning them not to invest in their former companies in Cuba
In 1996, senior Bacardi officials were instrumental in support for the Helms Burton Act. This law made it an offence for foreign firms to invest in properties nationalised by the revolutionary government, including Bacardi’s former properties. In US congressional circles the legislation was referred to as the ‘Bacardi bill’.
In 1998, Bacardi lobbied for another law, known as Section 211, which has had the effect of derecognising Cuba’s nationalisation of the trademark ‘Havana Club’. Bacardi has marketed a rum called ‘Havana Club’ in the USA, however it is made in Puerto Rico, not Cuba.
Bacardi used Section 211 to try and force EU countries to recognise that it is the owner of the ‘Havana Club’ brand name. This has been denounced as piracy by the Cuban government.
In 2016, following the thaw in Cuba-US relations during the Obama administration, the US government awarded a trademark for ‘Havana Club’ to the Cuban state-owned ‘Cubaexport’ and Pernod Ricard, their international distribution partner
Bacardi are currently engaged in attempts to challenge the trademark, however a lawsuit brought against the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) was defeated in a US federal court in April 2022.
For over fifty years, Bacardi has devoted millions of dollars of its profits towards destabilising the sovereign Cuban government. This has included funding assassination attempts and terrorist attacks. See Bacardi – The Hidden War for more information.
What can you do?
Boycott Bacardi and buy authentic Cuban rum such as Havana Club
Order copies of the Boycott Bacardi leaflet to distribute outside bars, clubs and venues that have a Cuban theme but stock Bacardi instead of authentic Cuban rum. Email campaigns@cuba-solidarity.org.uk for more information
Ask your local supermarket, off-licences, pubs and clubs to stock authentic rum from Cuba
Raise this issue with your friends, college or university bar and ask them to drink or stock authentic Cuban rum. In the past, Warwick University, SOAS and Sheffield University have all passed motions in favour of banning Bacardi on campus. If you’d like to do the same, you can download a model motion below.
Colombian journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina's exposé of the anti-Cuba activities of the Bacardi company is full of revelations, including how Bacardi's boss once plotted to assassinate Fidel Castro, the company's role in promoting laws that strengthened the US blockade and how Bacardi men were at the heart of the Bush administration
The sexually transmitted disease originated in the Americas 8,000 years ago. But there's evidence that 15th-century colonialists spread Syphilis worldwide.
Syphilis infections could severely disfigure people before the invention of antibiotic treatments in 1943
Image: Gemini Collection/IMAGO
Syphilis and Christopher Columbus have more in common than you might think. Both touched down on new continents and colonized local inhabitants at the end of the 15th century: Columbus the indigenous Americans, syphilis the Europeans. Both also sought a route to Asia.
Syphilis first erupted in Europe in 1494 in a French army camp, a year after Columbus returned from a voyage to America . The disfiguring disease spread between soldiers and their sexual partners, causing sores on their genitals, rectums or mouths.
Within just five years, syphilis had spread through all of Europe. Soon after, it spread to India, China, and Japan. Sex, although not the only route of transmission, is an effective disease spreader.
This so-called "Columbian hypothesis" argues that syphilis was brought over to Europe by sailors returning from their colonization of indigenous Americans. The idea is that new diseases were exchanged between Europeans and Americans as new goods were: Gunpowder for tomatoes; smallpox for syphilis.
A new study published December 18, 2024, in the journal Nature gives credence to this hypothesis.
Kirsten Bos, an anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, ran a genetic analysis of five skeletons found in South America. The analyses led Bos and her colleagues to believe a precursor to syphilis-causing bacteria had circulated in the Americas 8,000 years ago.
"Four of the five skeletons [we analyzed] are dated before 1492, meaning that this pathogen diversity was already present in the Americas at the time of [Chrisopher] Columbian contact," said study author Bos.
Syphilis originated in America 8,000 years ago
To test the Columbian hypothesis, Bos and her colleagues performed a genetic analysis on bacteria in bone lesions in the five skeletons, which came from Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico.
Their bacterial samples included three subspecies of the treponemal bacterial family, which are responsible for different treponemal diseases. One subspecies, T. pallidum, causes modern syphilis.
Bos compared the genetic differences of older treponemal subspecies with modern syphilis samples. That data allowed the team to extrapolate the time it took for the bacteria to evolve, and estimate when the pathogen emerged.
Their analysis seemed to confirm that the syphilis-causing bacteria T. pallidum emerged from the 8,000-year-old precursor around the time of Columbus.
"Our model suggests syphilis first appeared on the scene around 500 or 600 years ago, either in the Americas, or in Europe (or elsewhere) from a [bacterial] strain introduced from the Americas," said Bos.
How did syphilis spread around the world?
The study provides compelling evidence that T. pallidum was widely circulating in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus from Renaissance Europe. Yet, it doesn't conclusively prove that syphilis was brought to Europe from the Americas.
"[It shows that] that the Americas acted as a reservoir where [syphilis-causing bacteria] were widely circulating. It could still have come to Europe from elsewhere or have already been there," said Mathew Beale, a genomics expert at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. Beale was not involved in the study.
Studies show that treponemal diseases may have been endemic in Northern Europe around the same time as Columbus's voyages or possibly even earlier.
The exact origins of syphilis are difficult to trace, said Kerttu Majander, an archeogeneticist at the University of Basel in Switzerland.
"Another theory is that they're zoonotic, meaning [precursors of syphilis] jumped from animals to humans in America. But we haven't found evidence of animals with treponemal diseases yet," said Majander.
It's also unclear what caused modern syphilis to emerge as a highly transmissible sexually transmitted infection 500-600 years ago.
"It could be that something caused treponemal bacterial species to recombine and cause more aggressive forms of syphilis, but we don't know," said Majander.
What makes it even more complicated is that syphilis and gonorrhea were often confused in historical records, and only formally recognized as separate diseases around 200 years ago.
"There is still historical debate about whether the ‘syphilis' outbreak described in the 15th Century was really caused by T. pallidum," Beale said.
Crew on Chritopher Columbus' ships may have been responsible for spreading syphilis from America to the rest of the world, starting in 1493Image: CPA Media/AGB Photo/IMAGO Antibiotic-resistant strains of syphilis are a problem today
Untreated, syphilis once disfigured people's bodies and caused paralysis, blindness, attacks of pain and even death.
The development of the antibiotic penicillin in 1943 eradicated the dangerous symptoms of syphilis, if not the disease itself.
But syphilis lives on. Sexual transmission causes over 8 million new cases each year, while congenital syphilis causes around 200,000 stillbirths. Cases are rising in young adults, too, and research suggests this could be linked to a rise in unprotected sex.
That's why studies like this are relevant, said Majander, especially if we want to eradicate syphilis: "[The study shows] that syphilis has the capability of adapting to any environment. It raises the question whether other treponemal diseases existed before, and whether new, more aggressive diseases could emerge in the future."
Majander, K., et al. Redefining the treponemal history through pre-Columbian genomes from Brazil. Nature 627, 182–188 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06965-x
Fred Schwaller Science writer fascinated by the brain and the mind, and how science influences society@schwallerfred
Imprisoned Intelligence: Thomas M. Disch’s Camp Concentration
Thomas M. Disch was an absolutely brilliant writer who wrote incredibly depressing but brilliant books. Camp Concentration (1968) is original, compelling, funny, and about as grim as possible. It is my favourite of his books, and certainly the one I read most frequently. Disch was one of the New Wave writers of the sixties and seventies, along with Delany, Le Guin and Zelazny and his prose has the same kind of sparkle, his ideas have the same kind of freshness, as if they’re new ideas nobody has ever thought before. In Disch’s case, it’s as if his stories are etched in a newly developed acid.
Camp Concentration is a satire about intelligence amplification and the ethics of experimenting on willing or unwilling human subjects. It’s written in first person journal form, set in the near-future US. Louis Sacchetti is a rather unlikeable Catholic poet and conscientious objector against a Vietnam-style war with a draft. He finds himself imprisoned in an unusual facility where he is expected to report on an intelligence amplification experiment in progress.
Writing about very smart people is always challenging, because it requires the author to be just as intelligent. Writing about people becoming more intelligent is even harder. Disch was very intelligent himself, and smart enough to know that intelligence doesn’t necessarily make you popular or happy. Unlike Flowers for Algernon where Charly starts off very dumb and goes on up through normal, Disch started with people of normal intelligence and shoots them off into the stratosphere—but like Flowers for Algernon it can’t last. The amplification kills the subjects in about nine months.
This is one of those dystopian books about how awful people can be, but it transcends that. I like it. I like it as a take on Faust. I like Sacchetti, not so much an unreliable narrator as one the reader can always see through—his vanity, his greed, his obliviousness. I like Mordecai Washington, the presiding genius and deus ex machina, the black guy from an army prison who claims he can turn lead to gold but whose actual achievement is much cooler. (And good for Disch having a wholly admirable major black character in 1968. There are gay characters too.) I like the hints of what’s going on in the wider world outside the prison, where President Robert Macnamara is using tactical nukes but people are still publishing poetry reviews. I love Disch’s audacity in having Sacchetti write a verse play called Auschwitz: A Comedy. The prose (and occasional poetry) all through is wonderful, spare, sparkling, evocative. It has totally chilling moments and impressive reversals, which I’m trying hard not to spoil.
Camp Concentration is very short, 158 pages in my edition, but it’s one of those books with far more heft than its wordcount. The characters and situations come back to you, the satire keeps on biting. The experience of reading it might be like an icy shower, but it’s certainly memorable. Disch was a major writer and this is one of his best books.
Jo Walton is a science fiction and fantasy writer. She’s published eight novels, most recently Half a Crown and Lifelode, and two poetry collections. She reads a lot, and blogs about it here regularly. She comes from Wales but lives in Montreal where the food and books are more varied.
THE NOVEL IS BASED ON HOW SYPHILIS INCREASES YOUR INTELLIGENCE BEFORE YOU DIE OF MADNESS LIKE NIETZCHE
German arms exports have risen sharply, including to the Middle East. Both major churches are calling for stricter licensing rules.
German-made weapons, such as Iris-T anti-aircraft missiles manufactured by Diehl Defense, are much sought after around the world
Image: Christoph Schmidt/dpa/picture alliance
At more than €12 billion ($12.6 billion), licenses for German arms exports reached a new high in 2023. This was mainly due to arms exports to NATO and EU partners, as well as Ukraine. Not only that, arms were also exported to countries that had not been supplied in the past. Both major churches have, therefore, criticized Germany's policy on arms exports.
The German government has "moved away from its declared goal of a strict policy on arms exports," explained Max Mutschler from the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) in Berlin this week. Together with representatives of the Protestant and Catholic Churches, Mutschler presented the latest arms export report of the Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE).
The arms export policy of the now collapsed center-left coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Greens, and the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) did not score well with the GKKE. The main reason for this is the group of states that received arms.
If a German arms company wants to sell weapons abroad, it must obtain approval from the German government. According to arms expert Mutschler, the government approved exports to "highly problematic countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar" in the first nine months of 2024. He said that these exports need to stop.
"Arms exports to these dictatorships contribute to the internal repression of the populations of these countries and fuel the arms race in the entire region — with negative consequences for Israel's security," the report said.
The committee also took a close look at German arms exports to Israel, noting "ambivalence in its own position." In 2023, arms deliveries to Israel had risen sharply to €326.5 million. This was around 10 times more than in 2022 and included 3,000 handheld anti-tank weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for small arms. Many of the licenses were granted after the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
"Germany is an important arms partner for Israel, especially for ships and submarines that strengthen Israel's defense capabilities," explained Prelate Karl Jüsten, the Catholic chairman of the GKKE. The committee emphasized "Germany's special responsibility for Israel's security and its right to self-defense."
But Israel must also comply with international humanitarian law. It stipulates that civilian targets may not be attacked. Jüsten warned that the German government must not approve arms exports to Israel if there is any suspicion that German weapons will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.
"Arms such as tank ammunition must not be exported to Israel if the Israeli government does not give a significantly higher priority to the safety of the civilian population in Gaza."
German arms deliveries to Israel have been the subject of several national and international court cases. Nicaragua accused Germany of aiding and abetting genocide in Gaza through its arms deliveries to Israel and filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. At the end of April, the judges rejected the urgent request for an immediate halt to German arms exports to Israel.
Several requests before German courts to stop the approval of German arms exports to Israel have also failed. On December 16, 2024, the Administrative Court in Frankfurt rejected the expedited request of a Palestinian from Gaza.
According to the court, German foreign trade law — the legal basis for export licenses — offers "no protection for foreigners abroad." The plaintiff, therefore, had no standing to challenge the arms exports.
The court also argued that it was not apparent that the German government had "carelessly and arbitrarily" approved the export. On the contrary, it had obtained assurances from Israel that "the delivered armaments would be used in accordance with international law."
The GKKE is also critical of the increase in arms deliveries to Turkey. This year, the German government has approved more than €230 million worth of arms exports to Turkey, more than at any time since 2006.
Since Turkish troops entered Syria in 2016, the German government has largely taken a cautious approach to orders from Turkey. The government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz has deviated from this course, as evidenced by the export of German-made torpedoes and missiles, among other things. During his visit to Istanbul in October, Scholz said it was "self-evident" that the NATO partner Turkey would receive German weapons.
Mutschler argued that weapons should not be supplied to NATO partners if they are used for acts of war or the violation of human rights. Turkey's operations on the border with Syria and northern Iraq are "attacks that violate international law, especially in the Kurdish regions," including against civilian targets. "This is why we are also very critical of these arms exports," he said.
There are two further points on which the GKKE bases its negative assessment of Germany's record on arms exports: the government has neither passed the arms export control law it promised nor made any effort to ensure transparent and timely reporting on the exports approved. In this respect, it even scored lower than the previous government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. In fact, the cabinet only approved the report on arms exports for 2023 on Wednesday — much too late, in the churches' view. This article was originally written in German.
Bacardi: The Hidden War
