One shot fits all?

New flu vaccine protects against multiple strains including H1N1

University of Georgia

Researchers at the University of Georgia and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today the development of a vaccine that protects against multiple strains of both seasonal and pandemic H1N1 influenza in mouse models. They published their findings recently in the Journal of Virology.

"One of the problems with current influenza vaccines is that we have to make predictions about which virus strains will be most prevalent every year and build our vaccines around those predictions," said Ted Ross, director of UGA's Center for Vaccines and Immunology and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Infectious Diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine. 

Eating in the Dark

If food manufacturers think we'll stop eating foods that we know are genetically modified, maybe they shouldn't sell them.

By Jill Richardson

I’m sick of writing about labeling genetically engineered foods.

I’m sick of it because there’s really one thing to say, and I’ve said it before: Americans have a right to know how their food is produced. 

Period.

The fact is that most processed food in the supermarket is genetically engineered. 

That means it includes ingredients that have genes from other species inserted in their DNA. Nearly every single American has eaten genetically engineered foods, but many of us don’t know it.

Does it matter? That’s up to each individual.

Just like it’s up to you whether you care if your food is kosher, gluten-free, low-carb, or anything else. You can decide whether it’s worth it to you to buy cage-free eggs or not, because the eggs are labeled. That doesn’t take freedom away from someone else who wishes to make a different choice than you.

30th anniversary of URI’s Environmental Data Center proves ‘place matters’

R.I. Geographic Information System vital to government, industry, environment

Todd McLeish 

KINGSTON, R.I. –Do you need to know what’s adjacent to a particular Rhode Island property? Or the location of a wetland where a rare species lives? Or how to find a certain building, roadway, Superfund site or public drinking water well? Maybe you just want to know what your neighborhood looked like 50 or 75 years ago.

All of this information and much more can be found in the Rhode Island Geographic Information System, which is managed and maintained at the University of Rhode Island’s Environmental Data Center. And it is all available free online at www.edc.uri.edu/rigis with no restrictions on its use.

The Center, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, has proven again and again that geographic information – or what URI Professor Peter August calls “place-based data” – is vital to state and municipal government, environmental conservation, emergency management, business operations and the daily activities of just about everyone in the state.

South County Tourism kicked in money for “Cooler, warmer”

Regional tourism councils paid for ‘cooler, warmer’ campaign

By Bob Plain in Rhode Island’s Future

...And Dumber. What was wrong with "The Ocean State?"

No Rhode Islander has more reason to be outraged at the state’s “cooler, warmer” tourism campaign than Myrna George and Bob Billington. 

As the executive directors of the South County and Blackstone Valley tourism councils respectively, the now infamously-failed marketing campaign was effectively paid for out of their budgets.

For the South County Tourism Council’s $100,000 investment in the new statewide tourism marketing campaign, George said she didn’t see one scene of South County in the promotional video.

“Not that I could identify on my iPhone,” she said. “They took it down too quick!”

Animal cooperation

From Fake Science

Ted Nugent explains why guns are better than women

Curbing drug costs

Experts recommend policies to stem rising prescription drug costs

American College of Physicians

The American College of Physicians (ACP) calls for changes that could slow the rising cost of prescription drugs. The policy paper, Stemming the Escalating Cost of Prescription Drugs, is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

ACP president, Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, says that rising prescription drug costs can be detrimental to patients, causing them to forgo filling important prescriptions or not taking drugs on the schedule that they are prescribed. 

But addressing the issue is complex because the research, development, regulatory and payment systems for prescription medication are deeply intertwined. 

Improve Your Lawn - and Save Money

Many homeowners work hard to have a green, healthy lawn. Now you can learn how to get the best lawn while working less on it, saving money, and being kinder to the environment.

Attend this free workshop: Healthy, Sustainable Lawns for Everyone by Frank Crandall at the Cross Mills Public Library on Thursday, April 7, at 6 pm.

You know our drinking water comes from wells, in Charlestown. Think about how a portion of what you put on your lawn ends up in your drinking water!

In this workshop you will learn:

• How to install and maintain a healthy lawn with reduced amounts of fertilizer and nitrogen,
• Sound cultural methods and organic lawn care techniques,
• About useful ways to measure properties, follow label recommendations and calibrate your fertilizer spreader,
• How to recognize the difference between inorganic and organic fertilizers, what WIN and WSN forms of nitrogen are and why that is very important,

You will also see photos of traditional lawns as they transitioned to organically-maintained.

Come to this workshop to help your lawn, our water resources and your pocketbook.

Time for Rhode Island to make the move

Movin' on Up to $15!  

From Chris Owens, National Employment Law Project

California and New York made history this week, approving landmark plans to gradually raise their minimum wages to $15 an hour.

The details differ and the California increase is stronger than New York's. But these first-ever state $15 wage rates are a huge victory for workers and the Fight for $15 movement, and a major milestone on the road to reversing decades of wage inequality. 

And they cement $15 as the national benchmark for meaningful wage reform.

Trump Is Opening the Floodgates of Hate

The GOP frontrunner has turned white nationalists into political players.

By Peter Montgomery

The staying power of Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy has surprised and unsettled people across the political spectrum. Many voters who are angry about the loss of middle-class jobs and frustrated with our broken politics have rallied to Trump’s outsider campaign.

There’s a darker side to Trump’s campaign that should disturb anyone thinking about supporting him: It’s electrifying and energizing the white supremacist movement.

“You can’t help who admires you,” says Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “But when white supremacists start endorsing you for president, you ought to start asking why.”

Seen from afar

For more cartoons by Tom Tomorrow, CLICK HERE

Truth, by the numbers

Aquarium’s April calendar features Partnerships in Conservation

Spotlight on cooperative efforts

The polymathic Leonardo Da Vinci said “Water is the driver of Nature.” 

Today that quote is even more meaningful as individuals and institutions band together to promote the health of the many aquatic systems that support life as we know it on our planet.   


At the center of this movement regionally is Mystic Aquarium, who, through their collaborative, conservation-focused research and educational initiatives, is actively working to engage people in a better understanding and appreciation of aquatic animals and their habitats, and what we all can do to help conserve them for future generations.

“Tides are rising rapidly, as much as one foot over the next decade. This, combined with vastly changing weather patterns, means that there is an urgent need for action now.  Mystic Aquarium has been elevating our role in ocean conservation.  Collectively we need to establish practices and approaches for developing a more resilient coastline that balances human development with the needs of aquatic animals and their environments,” said Dr. Stephen M. Coan, President and CEO of Mystic Aquarium.

Throughout the month of April, Mystic Aquarium researchers and educators are working diligently with local, regional and national partners with initiatives to educate and engage community members in the areas of ocean conservation.

April Fools!

From Fake Science. What were you expecting?

Worm Ladies of Charlestown in the vanguard

R.I. Worm Farmers Look to Build Soil, Local Economy

By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff

Red Wigglers, a.k.a. "Rhody Worms" at the Worm Ladies of Charlestown
(photo by Will Collette)

Jim Porter has been addicted for three years. He blames a family member. He said he started using “to grow pumpkins for my grandson Jack.”

He’s since gone from raising worms in a plastic-bin setup dubbed the “Worm Factory 360” to building his own worm-growing contraptions in his basement. Porter and his wife, Madeleine, are among the members of a new vermiculture cooperative called the Rhode Island Worm Farmers Cooperative. Its members are passionate about worm farming and sustainability.

The couple presented at a workshop about the new cooperative during the recent Rhode Island Compost Conference & Trade Show, held at Rhode Island College. Cooperative members began meeting last fall, and now meet monthly. The cooperative officially became a registered nonprofit earlier this year.

The Rhode Island Worm Farmers Cooperative is operated by worm farmer members. The organization’s mission is to improve the local environment by using worms to compost organic matter that would otherwise end up buried in the landfill. Members say they are dedicated to creating healthy soil and economic opportunities.