Steady demand balanced by consistent supply Global tilapia production is expected to almost double from 4.3 million tonnes per year in 2010 to 7.3 million tonnes a year in 2030 tilapia will likely be one of the main contributors to the fastest growth in global aquaculture aside from carp and catfish Asia remains the main driver of tilapia production with China in the lead Supplies from Latin America are also expected to increase though a drought in the Santa Fe do Sul region in Brazil has resulted in a 30% drop in tilapia production The region is one of the largest producers of tilapia with an annual production of about 22 000 tonnes annually global exports of tilapia during the first half of 2014 reached approximately 200 000 tonnes Supplies were primarily from China in the frozen form with the largest market being the USA imports increased to other markets as well as to new markets total Chinese exports of frozen tilapia increased marginally (+1.3%) compared with the same period in 2013 Although frozen fillets account for the largest share exports of this category declined by about 1% exports of whole frozen and breaded tilapia showed growth of 2.8% and 3.9% respectively A significant share of the whole frozen category continue to be directed to African markets which are paying better prices due to growing demand Substantial exports are also taking place to Iran and other Middle Eastern countries Exports also increased to Latin American countries namely Costa Rica Tilapia continues to be one of the most popular seafood items in the USA which was confirmed by the steady growth in imports (+5%) during the first half of 2014 compared with the same period last year.  Fresh tilapia imports into the USA during the first half of the year slipped down 4.3% from the same period last year while the import value strengthened marginally (0.4%) the main supplier of fresh tilapia to the USA increased its exports significantly by 39% taking advantage of lower supplies from producers who moved from farming tilapia to shrimp imports of frozen tilapia (whole and fillet) during the first half of 2014 were up 6.6% compared with the same time period a year ago Whole frozen tilapia imports declined by 10% from China as it diverted more exports to the African markets Seattle US-based Tai Foong USA is the first company in the USA to source and sell ASC certified tilapia under its “Northern Chef” brand The products have been on sale since mid-May this year across the country in Sprouts Farmers Market and Ingles Markets The company reports that the ASC certified tilapia has become the number one seller in their “Northern Chef” finfish line of products due its high quality clean taste and responsibly farmed attributes.  increased by 13.3% with China maintaining its position as the lead supplier imports are also increasingly coming from other sources.  Continuing the growth from the first quarter of 2014 frozen tilapia fillet imports into the EU-28 demonstrated a 6.7% increase from the same period in 2013 imports from this source dropped by 16.2% from a year ago Taiwan Province of China and Costa Rica took advantage of China’s drop and established a stronger presence in the market place during the first half of the year Viet Nam and Indonesia took an 18% and 14% share of the market compared with 4.4% and 11% during the same period last year The growth in demand has been attributed to the availability of ASC certified products in the market the tilapia industry started the year strongly compensating for the international drop in prices with Honduras and Costa Rica as main suppliers of fresh tilapia fillets to the USA supplying approximately 5 300 tonnes and 2 900 tonnes respectively during the first half of 2014 Exports from Ecuador declined by 56% compared with the same period in 2013 as many farmers moved from farming tilapia to shrimp Further development in value added products is expected opening a wider range of options for the final consumer much of the tilapia consumption in the region has opened opportunities for markets other than for export Incentives to develop small and medium scale production projects aim to meet the demand of the domestic market and substitute or complement other species traditionally consumed  consumers in Latin America continue focusing more on price than on quality small and medium scale producers have not established measures that would guarantee product quality for the export market which is currently dominated by large producers in Honduras wholesale prices vary between USD 1.43 and USD 2.00 and in Guatemala between USD 1.15 and USD 1.41 for whole tilapia the second largest exporter of frozen tilapia fillets behind China supplied 22% more tilapia to the international market in the first half of 2014 compared with the same time period in 2013 Taiwan PC exported 11 391 tonnes of whole frozen tilapia during the first half of 2014 Taiwan PC supplied close to 53% of frozen tilapia (mostly whole products) to the USA The Middle East is also an important market for Taiwanese tilapia.  Tilapia imports into Asian countries are rather small as most of the local production enters the domestic markets Republic of Korea and Japan totaled approximately 2 000 tonnes according to national statistics Imports into Japan mainly constituted of izumidai quality (sashimi) tilapia Japan also has imports from the Philippines which is mostly directed to the Filipino community in Japan.  Recently frozen tilapia imports are also being shipped into new markets namely Iran Ghana’s ban on imports of tilapia aims to build a stronger domestic production sector as the move is thought to spur growth in local aquaculture The issues Ghana is currently facing can partially attributed to its high reliance on imported products According to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture the ban would create about 50 000 jobs in the aquaculture sector of the economy which is aiming to provide livelihood opportunities to young unemployed persons Whether the import ban will result in a viable domestic sector able to offer products competitive with other sources of protein remains to be seen The tilapia market will remain firm with steady demand leading to stronger prices in producing countries’ domestic markets As long as tilapia prices stay competitive new markets will possibly strengthen and develop further MethodologyContact usSupportLogin Chinese exports of long steel and steel billet increased sharply in the first quarter of 2025 preventing their prices from dropping more deeply amid a slow demand recovery in the domestic market chair and chief executive officer of General Motors (GM) told shareholders in a letter on Thursday May 1 the automaker has lowered earnings guidance for the year to offset its exposure to $4-5 billion in auto tariffs in order to retain current suggested retail pricing for its vehicles The global metallurgical coke market is undergoing a dramatic 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It wasn’t all that long ago that Maria Lepore Araujo thought she would be content to stick close to home a small city of a little more that 32,000 residents — and a popular tourist destination — located about 650 kilometres from Sao Paulo in Sao Paolo State She joined her local Rotary’s Interact Club at the high school she was attending and later found out about the student exchange program Rotary Interact Clubs — there is one in Pelham at E.L Crossley Secondary School — help youth ages 13 to 18 develop leadership skills through service to the community The Rotary Youth Exchange is an international exchange program open to youth from 15 to 18 years old who wish to spend up to a year living with host families abroad and attending school in a different country I didn't think about it,” Lepore Araujo I’ll go live in my city and just that but now I want to know about other countries.” “I think maybe the snow,” she said She got her first taste of the white stuff on a trip to Michigan last weekend the “magic” might be wearing off Lepore Araujo’s words trailed off as she began to laugh It has been an adjustment for Lepore Araujo She had to brush up on her English quickly before starting Grade 11 at Crossley there was also the matter of just when she would attend school Her classes also started – and finished – earlier and we [go home] at 12:30,” she said there are plenty of challenges beyond simply being away from home It can be physically and emotionally taxing the youth exchange officer for the Rotary Club of Fonthill “It would be not just a matter of school,” he said The process for kids coming in on exchange is they are trying to translate all day long But her stay in hasn’t been all about school and work for Lepore Araujo There has been some time for play as her host family have been showing her around Niagara and beyond “They always are trying to do something with me,” she said I went to St Catharines first to see a hockey game Seeing the Niagara IceDogs in action was the first time she had seen a hockey game and she enjoyed the experience “[My host family] explained it a little bit but for me said exchange students from various clubs in District 7090 which takes in southern Ontario and Western New York State “All the exchange kids in our district somewhat routinely get together for weekend events sponsored by the district,” Taylor said “They have a weekend in Buffalo coming up and on Saturday all of them are going to get to go to the Buffalo Sabers game.” He added that Maria has seen an interesting twist in her Rotary journey “She had been so involved and engaged in Interact and the activities that they’ve done that she actually inspired her mother to become a member of Rotary,” Taylor said it’s the Rotary member who gets someone involved in the youth exchange but this time it's the youth exchange student who kicked her mom into gear to go to the club itself.” Now she and her mom have something they can share and like having ideas and she really liked to help Lepore Araujo will be in Pelham until the end of the school year next June More information about the Rotary Club of Fonthill can be found at rotarycluboffonthill.ca while information on the student exchange program can be found at rye7090.org This story was made possible by our Community Leaders Program partner Thank you to Debbie Pine Royal LePage NRC Realty for helping to expand local news coverage in Pelham. Learn more Agricultural reporter based in Porto Alegre Is the base-engine Santa Fe better than its competition Zach GaleWriterAug 09 It feels like we blinked and the sub-$35,000 slice of the midsize SUV class shrunk; the Ford Edge and Honda Passport now start just under $40,000 the Hyundai starts around $30,000 before accounting for any potential dealer markups We recently spent time with a 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL 2.5 to see just how well the turbo-less SUV performs against affordable competition like the Subaru Outback does the midsize Santa Fe feel like a penalty box and the 2022 Santa Fe's idle has just a touch of vibration and harshness but it's acceptable—and the hushed Santa Fe Hybrid isn't for everyone Driven in its natural habitat—on suburban roads and on the highway—and the Santa Fe 2.5 is surprisingly responsive the transmission makes the most of the engine's limited power so that with a little planning ahead but it's a small price to pay for this decent compromise of features-per-dollar value That's especially true considering how unrefined we've found the Santa Fe with its turbocharged 2.5-liter engine and eight-speed dual-clutch automatic Where that Subaru falls far short against the Hyundai is in perceived (and actual) interior space This is where the Hyundai's shortcomings such as the busy front design and only so-so fuel economy There's tons of front and rear legroom and rear passengers should appreciate the mostly flat floor the Santa Fe's 36.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats is outdone by the smaller Tucson's 38.7 cubic feet Both Hyundais outdo the Subaru's 32.6 cubic feet but all these figures are good; it's certainly better than the otherwise appealing Toyota Venza whose cargo floor is a bit high and can only hold 28.8 cubic feet of stuff The 2022 and 2023 Santa Fe also have extra storage compartments you may not notice on a test drive but should become useful in everyday life The first is hidden under the center stack of controls and made possible by the push-button PRND controls The second is a small Toyota Highlander-like nook in front of the front passenger One of the most significant changes from the 2022 to 2023 Santa Fe at the SEL trim might be the addition of acoustically laminated front side glass the feature won't make the mixed interior quality any better but it will make it a slightly quieter place to spend time Also new for the 2023 Santa Fe SEL versus our 2022 test SUV is a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a larger 10.3-inch unit (replacing an 8.0-inch unit) We had no issues with the smaller 8.0-inch setup which never felt like a punishment for lower trims thanks to its already decent size and positioning at the top of the dash for optimal visibility All of this extra standard content at the SEL trim level will come at a price but the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe will undoubtedly be priced competitively with the value-priced Subaru Outback and other midsize SUVs The 2022 and 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe remain good though not great options in the midsize SUV segment Our biggest disappointment with the base-engine model we drive isn't its satisfactory performance but its fuel economy which is barely better than the more powerful turbo (22-25/25-28 mpg city/highway for the 2.5 versus 21-22/28 on the 2.5 turbo) 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL 2.5 Specifications Subscribe to our newsletters to get the latest in car news and have editor curated stories sent directly to your inbox Metrics details The COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by novel viral variants is implicated in SARS-CoV-2's ongoing evolution known for evading antibody-mediated immunity exhibits higher transmissibility without increased disease severity We investigated the prevalence and genomic features of XBB in SARS-CoV-2-positive cases in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) We sequenced 357 samples from epidemiological weeks (EW) 47/2022 to 17/2023 and included 389 publicly available sequences Clinical and epidemiological data were obtained from DATASUS and SIVEP GRIPE (data recording systems of the Brazilian Ministry of Health) 143 were classified as XBB and 586 were other Omicron lineages 97.7% of XBB-infected patients successfully recovered from the infection Even after receiving three vaccine doses and having been previously infected 59.5% of the patients experienced reinfection with XBB the interval between their XBB infection and the last vaccine dose exceeded one year potentially leading to a decline in antibody levels we identified 90 mutations in RS circulating XBB notably in the Spike protein region associated with immune resistance This study provides insights into the dynamics and impact of a recombinant variant becoming predominant for the first time in the state Continued surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 genomic evolution is crucial for effective public health management continuous surveillance and monitoring are essential we investigate the prevalence and genomic characteristics of the first recombinant variant that predominated in SARS-CoV-2-positive cases in the RS state We compiled 357 samples positive for SARS-CoV-2 that were sequenced as well as 389 publicly available sequences collected from November 20 Our study sheds light on the dynamics and potential impact of recombinant variants on the COVID-19 and highlights the urgent need for continued monitoring SARS-CoV-2 genomic evolution This is a cross-sectional study conducted with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (CAAE: 51019821.0.0000.5346) ensuring compliance with ethical guidelines the amount of sequenced samples that can be used in genomic surveillance is decreasing We also conducted a search for SARS-CoV-2 sequences from RS state deposited in GISAID focusing on samples collected during the investigation period we selected sequences with complete genomes and excluded those with low coverage The download of sequences was performed on May 19 Epidemiological and clinical data on the XBB-infected patients were obtained from DATASUS and SIVEP GRIPE (data recording systems of the Brazilian Ministry of Health) in accordance with patient data protection laws Our evaluation included data on age; sex; date of the SARS-CoV-2 positive test through RT-qPCR; first infection reinfection or if there was no information in the databases; patient required hospitalization in the ward or ICU; patient's clinical outcome recovered or died; death related to COVID-19 complications or other causes we collected information on vaccination status including vaccination strategy and schedule SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were collected in RS state and sent to Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Bioinformática Aplicada à Microbiologia Clínica (LABIOMIC) The app DRAGEN COVID Lineage was used to obtain the consensus genome sequence from Illumina data we excluded sequences that exhibited less than 75% genome coverage breadth and contained more than 3000 N (undetermined nucleotides) consensus sequences were imported and aligned to the SARS-CoV-2 reference genome (NC_045512.2) The "Find Variations/SNPs" tool was configured to identify variants with a minimum frequency of 0.25 Data derived from the interval between last vaccine dose and SARS-CoV-2 infection was analyzed by One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc test The results were considered significant when p ≤ 0.05 This study was performed in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki Approval was granted by the Institutional Ethical Review Board of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (approval number: 51019821.0.0000.5346) The requirement for participants' consent was waived by the Institutional Ethical Review Board of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (approval number: 51019821.0.0000.5346) Comprehensive overview of the COVID-19 situation in the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, during epidemiological weeks 40/2022 to 17/2023, as indicated by the number of SARS-CoV-2-positive cases and deaths. The data were obtained from the official website of the Rio Grande do Sul state government, available at https://ti.saude.rs.gov.br/covid19/ SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance in the Rio Grande do Sul state (A) Predominance of the XBB over other non-recombinant Omicron lineages based on the sequenced samples analyzed in this study Absolute (B) and relative (C) numbers of non- and XBB lineages identified in the samples Clinical outcome and vaccination information for XBB-infected patients (A) Clinical outcome associated with age and the number of doses and boosters of the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 (B) Number of infections associated with age and interval between last vaccine and XBB infection According to the health data repositories of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, 59.5% of the individuals (50 individuals) were reinfected with the XBB lineage (Fig. 3B) A total of 28.6% (24 individuals) experienced their first SARS-CoV-2 infection with this lineage there is an absence of recorded data on both previous infections and the XBB infection itself suggesting a potential failure in the reporting system 43.1% of the reinfected individuals were over 60 years of age followed by those in the 40–59 age group (41.2%) 50% of those experiencing their first infection were aged between 40 and 59 years There was considerable variability in the interval between infection and the administration of the last vaccine dose it is noteworthy that 58.3% of the infected individuals had received their last dose or booster more than a year prior all had previously received at least one vaccine dose indicating the presence of hybrid immunity against the virus We analyzed the interval between the occurrence of XBB infection and the administration of the last vaccine dose (Fig. 4). The results revealed that among individuals aged 12–39, 40–60, and > 60 years, the median intervals were 403, 442, and 351 days, respectively. The three infected individuals in the 0–11 age group had not received any vaccine doses. Clinical outcome and vaccination information for XBB-infected patients according to age Data were expressed as median ± interquartile interval (n = 17–37) and analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post-hoc test There were no statistical differences (p > 0.05) Mutational profile and variant frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 recombinant variant XBB in the genome coding region (A) The Receptor-Binding Domain (RBD) of the S gene The frequency of each mutation is represented by the height of the corresponding bar The spread of XBB* lineages in the Southern region of Brazil followed a similar temporal pattern to the national trend but exhibited variations in the prevalence of specific XBB* groups the dominance of the XBB* + F486P + F456L + L455F group in the Southern region emerged later than in other Brazilian regions the majority of individuals who experienced reinfection with the new recombinant variant had previously been vaccinated thus possessing hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 but an extended period had elapsed since vaccination or prior infection it is not possible to determine the exact cause of reinfection events reinfections may result from a complex interaction between immunity This high reinfection rate highlights the need for continued monitoring of variant-specific immune evasion and the effectiveness of existing vaccines they suggest that future vaccination strategies should consider the development of vaccines targeting specific variants and potentially enhancing booster schemes to maintain robust immunity Understanding the underlying mechanisms of reinfection can inform public health policies and guide the design of more effective vaccination programs we did not have access to the patients' clinical data to perform this assessment it is imperative to prioritize genomic surveillance as a cornerstone of pandemic preparedness the present study is subject to limitations Due to the lack of coordinated and standardized sampling criteria from the health system and government The sequenced samples were those that tested positive by RT-qPCR and were subsequently sent to our laboratory for sequencing the Brazilian Ministry of Health issued a Guideline Note recommending rapid antigen tests for suspected SARS-CoV-2 cases This change led to a substantial decrease in the number of samples available for genomic sequencing our study is geographically limited to evaluating the state of RS we believe our findings contribute to understanding the pandemic's trajectory in Brazil and offer valuable insights for genomic surveillance public health strategies must encourage booster doses and prioritize these for high-risk groups such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions Improving the reporting system for accurate and timely recording of cases and reinfections is crucial for better public health responses Increasing funding for genomic surveillance will ensure continuous monitoring of variants Establishing a centralized genomic surveillance system and integrating different data systems (e.g. SIVEP GRIPE) will streamline data collection and facilitate real-time access to epidemiological and clinical data The findings of our study provide insights into the first time that a recombinant lineage predominated in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases in the RS state Introduction of the XBB lineage coincided with an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases implying a potential association between the new lineage and increased transmissibility Clinical outcomes among XBB-infected patients further emphasized the importance of vaccination While the vast majority of XBB-infected patients recovered most of these patients had received their last vaccine dose or booster more than a year prior suggesting a possible waning of vaccine-induced immunity over time Mutation profile of the XBB lineage needs monitoring given its potential to influence viral transmission may impact the effectiveness of current therapeutic interventions and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 The detection and characterization of the XBB lineage highlight the necessity for rigorous Maintaining an updated vaccination schedule and utilizing genomic surveillance are instrumental in controlling the spread and impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants Epidemiological and clinical data were obtained from DATASUS in accordance with patient data protection laws Scarpa, F. et al. 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SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance in Brazil: A systematic review with scientometric analysis. Viruses 14(12), 2715. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14122715 (2022) Download references The authors would like to thank all the participants in this study the Secretaria de Município da Saúde de Santa Maria and the financial support of the Brazilians' development agencies This work was supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES); Ministério da Ciência Tecnologia e Inovações (MCTI); and Bill e Melinda Gates Foundation Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Bioinformática Aplicadas a Microbiologia Clínica (LABIOMIC) Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas Vitor Teles Santos & Priscila Arruda Trindade Vigilância em SaúdeSecretaria Municipal da Saúde de Santa Maria A.A.V.; Writing—original draft preparation: B.C.P. and T.R.yC.; Writing—review and editing: A.V.S and L.F.T.; Supervision: P.A.T.; Project administration: A.V.S All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67828-7 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research A delegation from the government of Uganda recently visited some of Brazil’s top tilapia farmers as they seek to grow their own aquaculture sector One of the key focal points was the potential economic and environmental impacts of Brazil’s increasingly industrial-scale aquaculture sector This was done by showcasing the scale of feed manufacturing required to support a large industry with a particular focus on ingredient supply chains and a demonstration of how environmental risk and impact are effectively managed by industry and regulators Biosecurity, as well as fish health and welfare were also discussed and the visit explored the prerequisites for growing the industry: including the need for knowledge and skills development and a demonstration of the technology and innovation that could be applicable to Uganda’s aquaculture development plans The itinerary including a visit to Raguife which is the largest independent aquafeed producer in Brazil who showed the full operation of the factory and discussed the ingredient supply chains required to produce 100,000 tonnes of feed per year The group also farm and market tilapia through the brand Brazilian Fish The delegation visited one of their farms as well The delegation then visited Global Peixe – a major tilapia hatchery/nursery run by Emerson Esteves, a recognised pioneer in the industry. Global Peixe produce 100 million fingerlings per year and 40 million vaccinated juveniles. They have recently constructed a series of ponds and a new automated vaccination station to give them greater control to do this on land Next up was Grupo BTJ – an increasingly important player in the industry with farming and processing facilities We were welcomed by brothers Henrique Junqueira (farming) and Felipe Junqueira (processing) BTJ slaughter their own fish from their three production sites but also buy from other farms when required to meet customer demand The delegation was met by a number of key players from Brazil’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture fish health and welfare are part of the aquaculture development programme being implemented by the ministry The Ugandans departed with a number of important lessons from Brazil Among other things they saw how the development of the commercial tilapia sector has been led by companies typically with existing experience in commercial agriculture and livestock production and site identification carried out by the government (state and federal level) has provided a clear framework to give investors confidence to grow a commercial aquaculture sector the following are essential: a consistent supply of quality feed and fish that can cope with the environment and express their natural behaviour the sector and its service industries employ 3.5 million people Commercial tilapia aquaculture is helping drive economic development and provides high-quality low-carbon food through maximising the use of circular economy practices There are expectations that the visit will open opportunities for joint development initiatives Murilo Quintiliano graduated in Animal Sciences at UNESP - Jaboticabal - Brazil in 2005 and since then has been working alongside universities research centres and private companies to facilitate a better farming environment In 2008 he joined FAI to help address the challenges in Brazilian food production and implement changes Quintiliano was worked to improve conditions for Brazil's terrestrial livestock as well as tilapia He is passionate about animal welfare and the benefits it brings to the economics environment and ethics of livestock production Record highs delay start of classes in Rio Grande do Sul where floods linked to climate crisis left 180 dead last May During historic floods last May that left more than 180 dead in Brazil’s southernmost state the water rose to the ceiling of the Olindo Flores school in the city of São Leopoldo When classes resumed more than a month later its 500 students had to be relocated to another school for months they were due to start the new school year but could not do so – this time because of an intense heatwave affecting the state The start of the school year was pushed back after a court ruling on behalf of a teachers’ union which had argued that classrooms lacked adequate ventilation and water supplies for students the highest temperatures recorded in Brazilian cities have all been in Rio Grande do Sul a state which is normally milder than other Brazilian regions closer to the equator Marina Hirota, a scientist and professor of meteorology at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, said that while it was still too early for in-depth analyses of the current heatwave, both it and last year’s floods are “potentially linked to the climate crisis”. Read more“These extreme events – heatwaves, cold spells and intense flooding like what happened in Rio Grande do Sul in 2024 followed now by an extreme drought – are becoming more frequent and more intense … and this frequency and intensity are the result of the climate crisis,” she said Olindo Flores school in São Leopoldo was one of the few that had air conditioning but the equipment was lost in last year’s floods and has not yet been replaced during reconstruction and there were some hot days – but nothing like this – and it was already difficult for teachers and students,” said Luiz Henrique Becker On Sunday, after the union’s request, a judge suspended the start of classes for at least a week. The government appealed, and yesterday, an appellate judge ruled that classes could resume on Thursday “We will keep fighting for the government to install air conditioning in all schools because new heatwaves will happen,” said Rosane Zan who is also a researcher with a tropical ecology group at the Serrapilheira Institute we get this extreme heat immediately after … We’re becoming less and less able to predict these events because they never used to happen this way … For the living beings in these places – whether humans animals or plants – it’s also becoming ever more difficult to adapt to such abrupt changes.” which account for more than half of the world’s soybean supply are expecting smaller harvests this crop season Major agricultural agencies and consultancies have already slashed their forecasts for the soybean output in 2021-22 as a result of severe drought since November Department of Agriculture has also reduced its estimate of global soybean production And soybean futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have reached a nine-year highs levels in February on concerns about the more unfavorable crop weather in South America and the recent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine This article focuses on the countries for which production declines have been confirmed by state statistical agencies so far the National Supply Company (Conab) pegged Brazil’s soybean crop at 4,610 million bushels down from the January projection of 5,162 million bushels Compared with the last harvest (5,076 million bushels) the current projection would be a reduction of 9.2% the crop still would be the second largest in history the world’s largest producer and exporter are concentrated mainly in the southern states Paraná (PR) and Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) – where the La Nina phenomenon caused drought during the summer the world’s top soybean oil and meal exporter with almost the entire country suffering from a drought since November indicates that Argentina will harvest 1,470 million bushels this season That represents a 7.2% reduction from last year’s crop According to Rosario grains exchange (BCR) with soil conditions ranging from scarcity to drought in the provinces of Santa Fe the world’s fourth-largest soybean exporter Paraguay’s soybean harvest could fall by as much as 50% to some 165 million bushels in what would be the lowest level in the last decade the nation produced 378 million bushels of soybeans The last time Paraguay produced less than 160 million bushels of soybeans was in the 2011-12 cycle Paraguay exports over half of the soybeans it produces and its economy depends heavily on shipments abroad of raw materials according to data from the Paraguayan Chamber of Soybean Exporters Frustration and records within BrazilLa Nina events favor increased rain across northern Brazil and decreased rain in southern Brazil Such has been the case this year as southern Brazil has gone deep into drought In the southern states of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) precipitation has been very scarce since November 2021 the soybean yields for these three states are projected to be 35% lower than last season with almost 30% of the area harvested by the third week of February production is expected to reach only 479 million bushels a decrease of 34.4% in comparison to last year production is predicted to be 505 million bushels Drought severely affected Rio Grande do Sul High temperatures and drought could result in an incomplete planting season If the troublesome weather brought about by the La Niña phenomenon continues to worsen in February it is possible that there could be more damage to crops and soybean production could be lower than the current projection Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul are historically the second and third largest soybean producers in Brazil The soybean crop in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) is expected to be 20% smaller than last season is expected to have a record-breaking 2021-22 harvest The most recent forecast from Conab projects farmers will produce 1,432 million bushels an increase of 6.7% in relation to last year Mato Grosso had harvested 70% of the area planted also is expected to have a record soybean harvest The production this season is projected to reach a record of 552 million bushels an area in the Brazilian North and Northeast formed by the states of the Maranhão (MA) is also projected to reach historical production levels this season The higher production levels are attributed to favorable weather as well as an increase in the planted area and the use of technologies such as seeds adapted specifically for this region Considered one of the main agricultural frontiers in Brazil the region has numerous favorable qualities for modern agriculture With all indications pointing toward a tightening of global supply in the first half of 2022 in addition to the impacts from the Russian military attack on Ukraine soybeans futures traded in Chicago in February have been the most expensive since 2012 soybean prices continue to hit new records in the Brazilian market Prices in the port of Paranaguá (PR) closed on February 24 at BRL 201,35 ($39.35) per 2.2 bushels according to data from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics of Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo (Cepea/Esalq/USP) This is the highest value in Cepea’s history The average monthly cash price in the port of Paranaguá for soybeans increased 17,3% from November 2021 to February 2022 Depending on the weather and international market soybean prices in Brazil could continue to rise The changing soybean market dynamics in South America may have bullish implications on exports of the upcoming U.S soybean crop and may lead to higher US soybean production in 2022 In response to climbing soybean prices in South America soybean export prices are up 25 percent since December (USDA The Miami Science Fiction Film Festival was held January 18-19    Mike Cassutt and I were there…  we had a series of meetings that week and we’d enetered MARY-MARGARET ROAD-GRADER in the festival as I reported downstream in my post about the festival   Steven Paul Judd took two of them; he took Best Director and also won the prestigious Russell Bates Award   MARY-MARGARET also won honors for its costuming and wardrobe… and Miami was kind enough to present me with a lifetime achievement award We were not able to attend the awards presentation at the festival and I believe there were some delays with the trophies and the rockets arrived here in Santa Fe a couple of day ago The Bates Award was shipped directly to Steven Paul Judd; the other three turned up here   (Steven’s when he returns to Santa Fe in a few weeks to direct his next episode of DARK WINDS   He has been doing an amazing job for us since he joined the show And DARK WINDS itself has been kicking ass and taking names you don’t know what you are missing) And speaking of film festivals… if any of you are in Texas this weekend do check out the schedule for the Dallas International Film Festival I am told it’s scheduled for Sunday   Sid Khalsa will be on hand to help present it TUC was adapted by Michael Cassutt from Howard’s Nebula-winning short story in a poem called “The Law of the Jungle.” Ned Stark echoed those words in A GAME OF THRONES “When the snows fall and the white winds blow their prey included the megafauna of the period: giant ground sloths a lone wolf would have had a helluva time bringing down any of these by itself   There is evidence that direwolf packs were much much larger than those of their modern descendants Colossal Biosciences has given us a pack too I don’t believe that Khaleesi is howling yet   When I visited Colossal back in February I had the honor of meetings Romulus and Remus and holding them in my arms though I hope to make her acquaintance later Colossal announced the return of the direwolves last week Since then the story has spread all over the world   Millions of people seem to be as thrilled by the news as I am the debates are raging all over the internet I will let the scientists argue the genetics   The things that trouble me more are the people saying those arguing that god made the direwolf extinct and man has no right to undo what he has done the movie buffs who think we’re now blundering into Jurassic Park (fine book we are not going to have packs of direwolves chasing children through Central Park)… but most of all I am horrified by those now saying that now that we have mastered de-extinction we don’t need the Endangered Species Act so let’s gut that for the benefit of the oil and gas industry (Trump and his MAGies have been trying to do this for years) we have people saying we should not be bring back extinct animals that we should be spending our money defending living animals whose numbers are dwindling as their habitats vanish   Colossal is not trying to bring back extinct animals in lieu of defending endangered ones Romulus and Remus and their sister are not the only miracles Ben Lamm Beth Shapiro and their incredible team have wrought; they have also been cloning red wolves the most severely threatened of today’s wolves   It is a matter of learning; the techniques that Colossal is pioneering will benefit both and a hundred other animals may follow… in time… maybe ten years Any of them who make it back will make the world a better place   But we need to protect the animals we have now too   The woolly mammoth should not replace the elephant; Earth is big enough for  both yes… but we deserve dodos and moas and smilodons as well there are no stronger supporters of the Endangered Species Act than Ben Lamm and the good folk at Colossal the film adaptation of my short story by the same name had its premiere at my Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe on February 8 The story was one of my earliest fantasies originally published in 1972 in an anthology called AMAZONS II   There was a time when I hoped to make Gray Alys a series character but… alas… I never got around to writing that all important second story We’ve been making steady progress with the series of short films that I’ve been producing the last couple of years most of them based on classic short stories by Howard Waldrop   MARY-MARGARET ROAD GRADER and THE UGLY CHICKENS are both out of the festival circuit you can catch THE UGLY CHICKENS at the Dallas International Film Festival and should be ready for the festival circuit in another month or two we have just wrapped our first Non Waldrop short   We are just about to start submitting it to film fests around the country and the world; will be sure to let you know when and where it gets accepted I promised an exciting announcement in that last blog post of mine the one I wrote last night that went up this morning on my Not A Blog it was not going to be the delivery of THE WINDS OF WINTER But it was going to be something very cool had it all lined up so the story would break on April 8 in dozens of different magazines and magazines all around the world   Only it turned out that one of the news outlets jumped the gun and broke the story this morning while everyone else was sleeping so the rest of the world  had no choice but to scramble along afterwards I’ve been holding my tongue for months now sworn to silence yet dying to tell the world and the rest of their team of mad scientists at Colossal the world leader in the science of “de-extinction.” I do not have the expertise to tell you how they done it who understand the details way better than a fantasist like me Landmark achievement is a scientific breakthrough for global conservation efforts and also allowed for the successful birth of four critically endangered red wolves through novel non-invasive cloning technology Picture of Colossal’s Dire Wolves; Romulus and Remus at age three months DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Colossal Biosciences today announces the rebirth of the once extinct dire wolf the world’s first successfully de-extincted animal largely assumed to be a legendary creature made famous from the HBO hit series Game of Thrones was an American canid that had previously been extinct for over 12,500 years The successful birth of three dire wolves is a revolutionary milestone of scientific progress that illustrates another leap forward in Colossal’s de-extinction technologies and is a critical step on the pathway to the de-extinction of other target species which previously held the record for unique germline edits in an animal with 8 precision edits Colossal has made 20 unique precision germline edits including 15 edits from the ancient gene variants that have not existed in over 12,000 years setting a new bar for precision germline editing in any animal This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works,” said CEO of Colossal Ben Lamm “Our team took DNA from a 13,000 year old tooth and a 72,000 year old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Today our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation.” The three litters of Colossal’s dire wolves include two adolescent males (Romulus and Remus) and one female puppy (Khaleesi) Colossal also birthed two litters of red wolves from three different genetic founder lines These litters include one adolescent female red wolf (Hope) and three male red wolf puppies (Blaze and testing genetic diversity should be done well before important endangered animal species like the red wolf are lost Another source of ecosystem variety stems from our new technologies to de-extinct lost genes including the largest number of precise genomic edits in a healthy vertebrate so far A capability that is growing exponentially,” said Harvard geneticist and co-founder of Colossal The wolves are thriving on a 2,000+ acre secure expansive ecological preserve that is certified by the American Humane Society and registered with USDA Colossal employs ten full time animal care staff to support the wolves’ physical and mental well-being which includes specialized engagement zones and habit types zoo-grade fencing with redundant perimeter security the wolves are continuously monitored through on-site live cameras and drone tracking to ensure their safety and welfare six acre secure site where the dire wolves can be further tended to and studied This smaller area also supports an on-site veterinary clinic “Colossal has achieved American Humane Society Certification the prestigious designation ensuring excellence in animal welfare and care Optimal welfare is evidenced by spacious habitats with ample space and opportunity for animals to socialize highly engaged and devoted to the animals in their care We congratulate Colossal as a shining example of excellence in humane care and welfare The technology they are pursuing may be the key to reversing the sixth mass extinction and making extinction events a thing of the past.” – Robin Ganzert The conservation property will provide lifetime care The wolves will be monitored and observed to assess their readiness to move into larger protected and managed care facilities Colossal plans to restore the species in secure and expansive ecological preserves potentially on indigenous land “The de-extinction of the dire wolf is more than a biological revival Its birth symbolizes a reawakening – a return of an ancient spirit to the world The dire wolf carries the echoes of our ancestors and their connection to the wild,” shared MHA Nation Tribal Chairman Mark Fox “Its presence would remind us of our responsibility as stewards of the Earth – to protect not just the wolf The work of the team at Colossal Biosciences is not only significant to our lands and people but for conservation efforts across the globe The ability for technological innovation to bring forth something so culturally and spiritually significant to indigenous people is paralleled by the far reaching impacts that this technology provides for the future of stewardship on our planet in species diversity and conservation.” Dire wolves (Aenocyon dirus) were distributed across the American midcontinent during the Pleistocene ice ages that the lineage first appeared during the Late Pliocene as a consequence of admixture between two more ancient (and now extinct) canid lineages Dire wolves were as much as 25% larger than gray wolves and had a slightly wider head their diet comprised at least 70% meat from mostly horses and bison Dire wolves went extinct at the end of the most recent ice age “I have spent nearly 10,000 days in the field studying the behavior of the wolves in Yellowstone National Park I worked in Denali National Park in Alaska where I studied wildlife species that live on the tundra: wolves I spent some time on the northern and western coasts of Alaska I was born far too late to see now extinct Ice Age species such as dire wolves and mammoths my Celtic ancestors probably lived among those animals in northern Europe and may have had some role in contributing to their extinction I never thought I might live in a time when we have the science to bring back those species and restore them to selected sections of their former homeland I have a dream that some time in the near future I can go back to Alaska or a similar place in Northern Europe or Asia and see those extinct species that have been brought back thanks to science I will begin to study the behavior of dire wolves.” – Rick Mcintyre author and internationally recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on wild wolf behavior and Colossal Conservation Advisory Board Member introduction to the dire wolf occurred through the lens of entertainment Mentions of this legendary prehistoric canid in role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons; video games like World of Warcraft; music like the Grateful Dead’s aptly-named song Martin’s best-selling fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV adaptation “Many people view dire wolves as mythical creatures that only exist in a fantasy world they have a rich history of contributing to the American ecosystem,” said Game of Thrones creator and Colossal Investor and Cultural Advisor George R.R but Ben and Colossal have created magic by bringing these majestic beasts back to our world.” The Science Behind the Return of the Dire Wolf The birth of dire wolf pups proves the efficacy of Colossal’s de-extinction protocols and the feasibility of creating a standardized toolkit for de-extinction The dire wolf pups set the record for number of precise genetic edits in any living species The company performed a record 20 precise edits to the genome all modifications derived from analysis of the dire wolf genome with 15 of those edits being the exact extinct variants Together these edits contribute to a larger Colossal extracted ancient DNA from two dire wolf fossils: a tooth from Sheridan Pit The team deeply sequenced the extracted DNA and used Colossal’s novel approach to iteratively assemble high quality ancient genomes resulting in a 3.4-fold coverage genome from the tooth and 12.8-fold coverage genome from the inner ear bone this data provided more than 500x more coverage of the dire wolf genome than was available previously Colossal’s computational analysis of the reconstructed dire wolf genome revealed several unknowns of dire wolf evolution Previous work could not resolve the origin of dire wolves leading to speculation that jackals may be their closest living relative Analyses of the high quality dire wolf genome revealed that the gray wolf is the closest living relative of dire wolves – with dire wolves and gray wolves sharing 99.5% of their DNA code the analysis also revealed that dire wolves have a hybrid ancestry which helps to explain the previous uncertainty Colossal’s analyses indicated that the dire wolf lineage emerged between 3.5 and 2.5 million years ago as a consequence of hybridization between two ancient canid lineages: an ancient and early member of the tribe Canini which may be represented in the fossil record as Eucyon or Xenocyon and a lineage that was part of the early diversification of wolf-like lineages including wolves “Our novel approach to iteratively improve our ancient genome in the absence of a perfect reference sets a new standard for paleogenome reconstruction,” said Dr Colossal’s Chief Science Officer and a leading expert in the field of ancient DNA ”Together with improved approaches to recover ancient DNA these computational advances allowed us to resolve the evolutionary history of dire wolves and establish the genomic foundation for de-extinction – specifically for selecting with confidence dire wolf specific genetic variants that establish our targets for gene editing.” Analyses of the dire wolf genome allowed Colossal to identify the key variants in dire wolves that are not found in other canids that tell the story of dire wolf evolution Colossal identified multiple genes undergoing positive selection that are linked to dire wolf skeletal The team discovered dire wolf specific variants in essential pigmentation genes revealing that dire wolves had a white coat color – a fact that is impossible to glean from fossil remains alone The team also identified dire wolf specific variants in regulatory regions that alter the expression of genes Colossal used its proprietary computational pipeline and software to select 20 gene edits across 14 distinct loci as targets for dire wolf de-extinction focusing on the core traits that made dire wolves unique including size the team used gray wolves – the closest living relative of dire wolves – as the donor species for establishing cell lines Using Colossal’s novel approach to establish cell lines from a standard blood draw the team collected blood during a normal veterinary procedure and established cell lines from blood epithelial progenitor cells (EPCs) The team then performed multiplex genome editing of these cells followed by whole genome sequencing to confirm editing efficiency and identify any alterations to the genome arising during extended cell culture The Colossal dire wolf team selected high quality cells with normal karyotypes for cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer into donor oocytes followed by short-term culture to confirm cleavage Healthy developing embryos were then transferred into surrogates for interspecies gestation Three pregnancies led to births of the first de-extinct species “The de-extinction of the dire wolf and an end-to-end system for de-extinction is transformative and heralds an entirely new era of human stewardship of life,” said Dr a scientific advisor and member of the board of observers for Colossal “The same technologies that created the dire wolf can directly help save a variety of other endangered animals as well This is an extraordinary technological leap in genetic engineering efforts for both science and for conservation as well as preservation of life and a wonderful example of the power of biotechnology to protect species Colossal edited 15 extinct dire wolf variants into the donor gray wolf genome creating dire wolves that express genes that have not been expressed for more than 10,000 years These target genes were selected because each is linked to one or more key traits that made dire wolves unique among canids a serine protease that is expressed in hair follicles and suppresses the agouti pathway The dire wolf CORIN variants impact pigmentation in a way that leads to a light coat color Colossal also edited dire wolf specific variants in a multi-gene regulatory module that has been linked to variation in body size as well as ear The region encodes eight genes that establish species-specific constraints in skeletal size and structure and has been linked to features including differences in human height and the diverse beak shapes among finch species One gene encoded by this module – HMGA2 – is directly associated with body size in dogs and wolves Another gene in this module – MSRB3 – has been linked to variation in ear and skull shape among canines and other mammals Given the role of these genes in establishing species-specific size and morphology the dire wolf team edited dire wolf-specific variants into gene enhancers (DNA sequences make it more likely that the gene will be transcribed into RNA) in this genomic region For each high impact variant identified as linked to a target phenotype Colossal’s dire wolf team created a detailed profile of all potential impacts on a donor gray wolf genome the team discarded variants that would incur some risk outside of the predicted phenotype or prioritized variants already evolved in gray wolves with the predicted phenotype Colossal edited the protein coding region of LCORL a transcription factor that regulates gene expression by influencing whether a gene is transcribed Variations in LCORL have been linked to variation in body size in many species The dire wolf has three changes to the LCORL protein sequence that are predicted via 3D modeling to alter the way the protein folds precisely at the location where LCORL should bind to a major gene silencing complex known as the PRC2 domain large dog breeds (which are domesticated gray wolves) have a variant of LCORL that is missing the PRC2 domain entirely As the dire wolf version is predicted to have a similar phenotypic impact as the variant found in larger dog breeds and because of the potential for LCORL to interact with other genes in the gray wolf genetic background that are not edited Colossal’s dire wolves express the protein that is found in the largest grey wolves This choice allows for the predicted phenotypic impact and without any additional risk “Functional de-extinction uses the safest and most effective approach to bring back the lost phenotypes that make an extinct species unique,” said Shapiro “We turn to ancient DNA to learn as much as we can about each species and to link specific extinct DNA sequence variants to each key trait we learn that variants already present in the surrogate species can be used to engineer that key trait engineering existing variants into the donor genome is an optimal path as that path provides strong confidence in the outcome with minimal risk to the animal.” The dire wolf genome has protein-coding substitutions in three essential pigmentation genes: OCA2 which directly impact the function and development of melanocytes While these variants would have led to a light coat in dire wolves variation in these genes in gray wolves can lead to deafness and blindness The team therefore engineered a light colored coat in Colossal’s dire wolves via a path known to be safe in gray wolves: by inducing loss-of-function to MC1R and MFSD12 These genes influence expression of pigments eumelanin (black) and pheomelanin (red) in melanocytes that deposit to the coat achieving the lighter pigmented coat color phenotype suggested by the dire wolf genome but without any potential health impacts “When I learned of Colossal’s approach to engineering the light coat color into their dire wolves I was simultaneously impressed and relieved,” said Elinor Karlsson Associate Professor in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology at the UMass Chan Medical School and Director of Vertebrate Genomics at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard “By choosing to engineer in variants that have already passed evolution’s clinical trial Colossal is demonstrating their dedication to an ethical approach to de-extinction.” The path to the dire wolf and the red wolf also led to innovations reaching beyond de-extinction including advances in ancient DNA genome reconstruction and genotype-to-phenotype prediction as well as optimized tools for multiplex gene editing Another important contribution from the project are Colossal protocols to establish cell lines directly from blood that can be used for somatic cell nuclear transfer The collection of whole blood is a rapid and noninvasive procedure that is routinely carried out on sedated wolves for veterinary monitoring purposes These field collections provide a valuable opportunity to isolate expandable endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) which are cells that are involved in vascular repair and neovascularization and differentiate into the cells that line blood vessels Isolated EPC cell lines can be frozen for later genomic analyses and can be used to successfully clone wild canids Biobanking and cloning EPCs from threatened or endangered populations of wild wolves provides a safety net to preserve the genomic diversity present today from further loss and extinction “Whether due to natural or human-induced changes in climate the extinction of an untold number of species is a loss to our planet’s history and biodiversity Modern genetics lets us peer into the past and modern genetic engineering lets us recover what was lost and might yet thrive it invents the tools that let us protect what is still here As humans we have a unique capacity and moral obligation to steward the earth for the benefit of ourselves and all living things for now and for the future.” – Alta Charo Professor of Law and Bioethics and Colossal Bioethics Lead The technology developed within the Colossal de-extinction pipeline has immediate applications for conservation efforts globally The research undertaken to birth the dire wolf has been successfully paralleled to the birth of two litters of the red wolf Colossal’s two litters of red wolves include one female and three males from a total of three different cell lines collected from the southwest Louisiana population using its novel method of insolating EPCs following a standard blood draw The pups were born after somatic cell nuclear transfer into a donor oocyte followed by embryogenesis and embryo transfer into a surrogate mother Both embryo transfers resulted in the birth of healthy red wolf pups “In a world where humans are rapidly eroding the environment One of the most impactful ways to be an ally is to use science to help discover and preserve lost genes We now have the technology that can edit DNA to increase resilience in species that are facing extinction or to revive extinct genetic diversity and species We get to witness the de-extinction of the dire wolf and just the start of numerous species we can bring back to create a better I am beyond thrilled that such technologies are also being leveraged to support programs of preventing extinction in endangered species like the red wolf.” – Bridgett vonHoldt Princeton Associate Professor of Evolutionary Genomics and Epigenetics fewer than 20 red wolves remain in North America which makes them the most endangered wolves on the planet Thousands of red wolves once roamed across most of eastern North America The Endangered Species Act and a captive breeding program have been critical to securing the reintroduction of red wolves back into the wild in eastern North Carolina The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program successfully grew the wild population to more than 120 wolves the population crashed to as few as seven wolves but red wolves have struggled to regain their numbers One challenge has been to maintain genetic diversity among the captive and re-wilded population of red wolves all of which descend from only 12 founder individuals Adding Colossal’s red wolves to the captive breeding population would increase the number of founding lineages by 25% “The dire wolf project is surreal and unreal at the same time It’s recreating reality that stemmed from reality To think that in this day dire wolves aren’t just mythical illusions and tales told in movies that we believe may have had origins in reality…Now we have the science and ingenuity to bring life back to once existing reality Colossal is drastically changing the prognosis for countless endangered species around the world,” said Aurelia Skipwith former Director of the US Fish and Wildlife “The company’s work to combat extinction of the red wolf creates hope for so many other critically endangered species fighting for survival.” The research program for the dire wolf has also helped efforts to develop technologies for the red ‘ghost’ wolf found only on the gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana who carry lost DNA and biodiversity of the red wolf Bridgett vonHoldt of Princeton University and Dr Kristin Brzesk of Michigan Technological University lead the Gulf Coast Canine Project which aims to understand the genetic ancestry of the wild canines persisting along the Gulf Coast of the United States They study how red wolf ancestry shapes morphology and behavior and the support of Colossal has helped them accelerate their research through the inclusion of data from the red wolf genome the assembly of a reference genome for the recovery population’s red wolves and finally the creation of a pangenome for US native canids The hope is that this work can set precedent for other species with a complicated genetic history while also improving the capacity of conservation efforts for the red wolf In addition to the challenges of reintroduction the red wolf’s biggest threat of extinction comes from limited genetic diversity that resulted from the population’s bottleneck that occurred during its rapid decline The technology and understanding developed through Colossal’s red ‘ghost’ wolf project has now unlocked additional genetic diversity and red wolf ancestry that can be a resource to create a genetic rescue program for the red wolf population I applaud Colossal for taking bold and innovative steps to arrest and reverse the crisis by developing cutting edge genetic techniques to undergird reintroduction efforts of imperiled species Colossal creates potential to increase the genetic diversity of this species which exists only because of a captive population founded by a paltry 14 individuals Perfecting genomic tools to integrate ‘ghost alleles’ from Gulf Coast canids would increase red wolf genetic diversity and generate knowledge for recovering other imperiled species that are compromised by restricted ranges and reduced genetic diversity.”- Mike Phillips Director of the Turner Endangered Species Fund and project lead for rewilding gray wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Colossal’s long term goal is for their red wolves to be re-wilded through current US conservation efforts in collaboration with the US government “Colossal’s successful de-extinction of the dire wolf represents a massive coup for conservation,” said Matt James Colossal’s Chief Animal Officer and Colossal Foundation Executive Director “The technologies developed on the path to the dire wolf are already opening up new opportunities to rescue critically endangered canids The creation of less-invasive sampling tools such as our EPC blood cloning platform allows for the conservation community to ramp up biobanking efforts of those species on the brink.” Colossal’s de-extinction mission always includes plans to rewild associated species in alignment with global conservation efforts Research suggests that rewilding wolves can have massive impacts on factors that drive climate change and support biodiversity Inspired by the US Fish and Wildlife’s bold efforts to rescue the red wolf from the brink of extinction Colossal has created technological platforms to offer key tools to those in the fight to save the world’s most endangered wolf “Today’s dire wolf announcement represents an exciting scientific step and demonstrates the power and possibilities of genetic technologies,” said Barney Long Senior Director of Conservation Strategy for Re:Wild “These technologies will likely transform the conservation of critically endangered species that still exist and we are excited to apply them to prevent extinctions inbred populations to inserting disease resistance into imperiled species the genetic technologies being developed by Colossal have immense potential to greatly speed up the recovery of species on the brink of extinction.” Colossal will provide more information about the rescue of the red wolf and restoration of the dire wolf in the coming months following extensive feasibility studies and tracking of the health and well-being of the new species “As someone who’s fascinated with canids—I’ve written about coyotes and wolves—the idea of being able to have dire wolves again is tremendously and I think it’s going to be exciting to a lot of people I would say that we’re very likely to have animals once again that we thought were always gone—just as I once thought I was never going to get to hear a wolf howl… That was something I really never thought I’d have a chance to experience we’re going to get to experience what Henry David Thoreau lamented back in the 1850s—that he wasn’t getting to experience an entire heaven and an entire Earth And I think that’s something to look forward to.” – Dan Flores Hammond Professor Emeritus of the History of the American West at the University of Montana-Missoula and innovative gray wolf conservation programs are all made possible through Colossal’s collaborative work with a broad spectrum of Indigenous communities We extend our deepest gratitude to the MHA Nation and the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative whose ancestral knowledge and insights have guided our efforts Colossal Biosciences and the Colossal Foundation also thank the many conservation organizations whose expertise and passion fuel these initiatives Grizzly Systems and the Yellowstone Wolf Project There’s so much more to say… and a lot of stories out there are saying it who phoned me up from New Zealand with a mysterious suggestion that I phone this guy named Ben Lamm who had something huge he wanted to share with me but I could hear the excitement in his voice   But I visited the La Brea Tar Pits in LA a few decades back   Most of my readers will have heard the story of how I writing a science fiction novel in the summer of 1991 when a scene came to me the first chapter of GAME OF THRONES where they find the direwolf pups in the summer snows   But it grabbed hold of me so hard that I put the other novel aside and began to write A SONG OF ICE & FIRE I have to say the rebirth of the direwolf has stirred me as no scientific news has since Neil Armstrong waled on the moon I’m glad that I was finally able to blog about worldcon and the Alfies   We got back from Europe in the middle of August and it was my original hope to have that one up by the end of the month   We had a full house at the Jean Cocteau for the premiere   I’ve heard that it will hit streaming on April 8 but I don’t know if that date is locked in yet Something else is going to be happening on April 8 as well I am not announcing the completion of THE WINDS OF WINTER the sixth volume of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE Please don’t start any rumors to that effect   I am so tired of having to issue denials every time some offhand comment of mine somehow convinces half the internet that the book is imminent (Maybe I need to stop making offhand comments) based on Tony Hillerman’s classic tales of Navajo detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee to strong ratings and even stronger reviews   One critic said its past time to give Zahn McClarnon an Emmy   DW has eight episode this season (up from six for seasons 1 and 2)   We’ll have eight episodes in season four as well… and filming has already started filming New Mexico’s amazing landscapes… lots of reasons to watch this one   As for those two guys playing chess in the jail cell in episode one… yes but t’other hombre… some guy from the Twilight Zone DARK WINDS is shooting just north of Santa Fe season three of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON has also started filming   You’ll be getting eight episodes of that one too A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS will come first the HBO adaptation of the first Dunk & Egg novella “The Hedge Knight.”   I just watched it again last week Ira Parker and his team are huddled together beating out “The Sworn Sword,” the second Dunk and Egg adventure   It is such a joy to see the characters come alive   Watching them makes me want to start writing the next novella tomorrow… but of course I caught up on that when I was in London last month or a date… but they are making progress   I am hoping we’ll know a lot more by year’s end I also visited the Dickens house when I was in London so I bought four more of them when I was there And before I forget: the Milk of the Poppy is now open just behind Beastly Books and around the corner from the Jean Cocteau Cinema https://www.milkofthepoppybar.com/ https://sfreporter.com/food/the-fork/new-stuff-we-learned-about-george-rr-martin%E2%80%99s-new-bar-milk-o/ https://www.abqjournal.com/lifestyle/article_33310b62-eceb-11ef-9b69-8326c024bbf7.html you won’t find me tending bar in Milk of the Poppy but you may catch me having a drink from time to time We spent a month across the pond last summer where A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS was being filmed and then London to call on Jane Johnson and the good folks at Voyager The Oxford Writers House had invited me to deliver a talk on fantasy with Philip Pullman Unfortunately Pullman was ill and had to bow out so the event turned into a booksigning and Q&A I really must get back there one of these days   Perhaps by then the Eagle and Child will have opened again The last scheduled stop on our European travels was Glasgow I was not on any programming… but in the end I hardly missed it I attended my first worldcon in 1971 (that was Boston) and sat on my first panel in 1976 (Big Mac in Kansas City) — those were the days of single track programming and you had to pay your dues before they let you onto the podium with the big boys and girls I have lost track of how many panels I’ve done since and sometimes they were tedious; I suppose they were good promotion for my books   I spent most of the con in the hotel bar drinking and talking with fellow writers and fans and raising a pint to all those we have lost Phyllis Eisenstein and Gene Wolfe and Charlie Brown Jay Haldeman and Greg Bear and Poul Anderson and so many more   We wandered the art show and the huckster’s room and enjoyed some great meals in Glasgow’s restaurants… the most memorable being our visit to Mr Singh’s with the Brotherhood Without Banners but it’s so much better in England and Scotland than over here in the US… and nowhere is better than at Mr   (I have eaten there every time I’ve been to Glasgow and it just keeps getting better and better and better) Regular readers of this blog will know that for the past couple of years I have been producing a series of short films based on the works of Howard Waldrop and one of the greatest (and most original) short story writers in the history of the field   We had five films in various stages of production (and a sixth and were able to wrap  three of them before worldcon: NIGHT OF THE COOTERS (d Mark Raso.)   We’ve had them out on the festival circuit   That’s more complicated than it sounds and I was never able to get anyone to return my phone calls to see what could be worked out the hotel where we were staying had a small screening room in the basement so at least I was able to invite a couple dozen friends over for a semi-private show I am pleased to say the shorts seemed to be well received   We got a very nice review from the website WINTER IF COMING for those of you who would like to know more about them: https://winteriscoming.net/posts/i-saw-george-r-r-martin-s-howard-waldrop-short-films-and-they-re-delightful-exclusive-01j5xkrv0fx3   We were able to screen the final cut of MARY MARGARET for him just six days before he died in January 2014    THE UGLY CHICKENS and MARY MARGARET ROAD-GRADER are still out playing festivals   The Chickens won the award for Best Short last week in San Jose at Cinequest and will be showing again this weekend in Cleveland   Catch it if you can; it is one of Howard’s classics The other highlight of my worldcon was the Alfie Awards banquet we held at our hotel The Alfies are named in honor of Alfred Bester “Fondly Fahrenheit,” THE STARS MY DESTINATION Bester was the winner of the first Hugo Award for Best Novel (for THE DEMOLISHED MAN   He turned up at the very first Hugo Losers Party as well and insisted he still counted as a loser since that first Hugo trophy was a made from an Oldsmobile hood ornament and had rusted and corroded over the years when a number of writers and fans who would surely have been nominated for a Hugo Award were squeezed out when the Puppies (Sad and Rabid) stuffed the ballot with their own favorites   There was no way to rectify that (though various people tried with everything from wooden asterisks to rules reform to voting No Award)   My own approach was the Alfies;  trophies made of old hood ornaments given to writers and fans who missed out on nominations they likely would have gotten in a normal year I’ve lost a fair number of them myself) You can learn way more than you ever wanted to know about the Hugo brouhaha of 2015 in from the myriad accounts on the web so I tweaked the Alfies as well… but the winners still seemed to appreciate them (And that’s what awards are all about the need for the Alfies seemed to have passed We threw a great Hugo Losers Party that year to John Picacio for his Mexicanx Initiative a commendable effort to put more world in worldcon Alfies were presented there to two titans of British publishing Malcolm Edwards of Gollancx and Jane Johnson of Voyager two of the leading editors in the history of our genre neither of whom had gotten so much as a Hugo nomination in years past There were no Alfies given at the worldcons in 2020 and I was not able to attend the 2021 con in Washington China… and that’s where the problems came in   The Chinese fans designed a handsome Hugo trophy for certain… but when the nomination totals were finally revealed it became clear that the vote counting had gone seriously awry and four possible contenders (a television show and a major novel) were unaccountably missing from the final ballot despite having received more than enough nominations They had been disqualified and removed from the ballot I won’t attempt to describe what followed I still had a garage full of old hood ornaments And our hotel had a room that was just the right size for a small-ish celebration to honor those who were wrongfully denied their chance to contend for a Hugo rocket The Chengdu Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation was won by EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE   Short Form went to “Babylon’s Ashes” SANDMAN received 139 nominations in Short Form for “The Sound of Her Wings,” almost a hundred more than the EXPANSE episode but was removed from the ballot for reasons never satisfactorily explained the first season of SANDMAN got 50 nominations which would not have been enough to make the ballot… but the series was removed from that category as well (just to be sure?) He had received 90 votes during the nomination round only one more than another perennial contender and more than enough to make the final ballot It was said that he was disqualified for the crime of visiting Tibet at one point Whoever removed him did not seem to know the difference between Tibet and Nepal but the concom had him working during our banquet and in 1973 I was a finalist for a brand new award for Best New Writer it is awarded to the best new writer to break in during the previous two years XIRAN JAY ZHAO was a finalist for the Astounding Award in 2022 and I certainly felt that way in ’73    Jay got enough votes to make the ballot again in 2023 their second year of eligibility… 178   But their name did not appear on the final ballot since BABEL would have had an excellent chance of coming out on top if the book had been nominated The novel had already won the Nebula Award and the Locus Award among other honors; a Hugo would have given it a rare sweep of SF’s most prestigious awards And Rebecca herself was there to collect it Will there be more Alfies in the years to come Lord Jago Branok is having a party at Loveday House his lordship’s rambling mysterious (some say haunted) manse perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea on Keun Island Three miles of mudflats and an ancient stone causeway connect the rocky island to the Cornish mainland during low tide but when the tide comes roaring in… fast as a galloping horse as the locals say… the road  is submerged and Keun becomes a true island   Archeologists have found Stone Age cairns there and the jagged remnants of standing stones larger than any of those at Stonehedge   A ringfort stood atop the island’s sheer black cliffs during the Dark Ages; later a crude castle of rough-hewn stone went up in its place   For hundreds of years Keun was the stronghold of a clan of reavers and pirates known as the Hounds of the Sea who raided and plundered up and down the Cornish coasts and into Wales and England It was from them the island got its name; keun being Cornish for ‘hound.’   They were finally extinguished in 1308 by Piers Gaveston who put to death every member of the clan and razed their castle Legends claim that the last surviving hound pronounced a curse on Gaveston as he died Thereafter the island remained uninhabited for several centuries save for seabirds and an occasional fisherman The fisher folk did not like to stay overnight however; it was said the island was haunted   There were also tales of merfolk in the waters surrounding Keun Island; some stories spoke of beautiful mermaids who lured sailors to their doom    Humanity returned to the island in the 1500s A new castle arose atop the cliffs on the seaward side of the island and a fishing village on the landward side    Over the years half a dozen noble families came and went The last and greatest of the lordly manors on Keun was called Loveday Castle the widowed Lady Morwen (known as Mad Morwen) died during the Great Storm of 1703 as the castle collapsed about her the ruins of Loveday were  left to decay… until 1857 when a  wealthy merchant styling himself Marcus St pulled down the overgrown ruins of the old castle a process that continued until the Great Depression but found no buyers; the mansion had become a white elephant Loveday was abandoned once more and left to rot   And so it did… until a new owner turned up and set about restoring  the old house to its former splendor The “new lord”  is a mysterious figure who goes about in a hooded cloak   A dozen mutually contradictory tales are told  of him in the village but on one point the villagers agree: Jago Branok is a wild card of some sort And the quests who visit Loveday each month are just as queer They come to Keun from all over the world   Most of them leave after the party winds down Stories told by the likes of Stephen Leigh accompanied by their characters old and new the latest volume in our long-running WILD CARDS series of mosaic novels    Volume thirty-four in the ongoing series (which launched way back in 1987)… and no you don’t need to read the preceding thirty-three to enjoy this one…  HOUSE RULES was released by HarperCollins Voyager in the UK in December I am a few months late in getting out the word For those of you who like autographed editions Beastly Books in Santa Fe has signed copies of both editions in stock (And they have many of the older volumes as well) Whether you’ve been a Wild Cards fan from the very beginning or are a newcomer curious to visit our world Jago Branok’s parties are not to be forgotten… and who knows This is not your occasional message from George or the minions of Fevre River but a new addition to the team – I’m Michael Cassutt  Since October I’ve been working with George as his “creative director,” helping to shape and advance non-HBO TV film and game projects and even some publishing I’m not “helping” George with his writing.) Last spring and early summer I directed a short film titled THE SUMMER MACHINE based on a lost TWILIGHT ZONE TV concept by George We shot for eight days in Alamagordo and Las Cruces This is the fifth film that George has produced following four adaptations of stories by his great friend Howard Waldrop: NIGHT OF THE COOTERS MARY MARGARET ROAD-GRADER and THE UGLY CHICKENS but difficult for even feature-length projects these days Not only does this expose your work to an audience but it opens the door to the holy grail of indie filmmaking Our team started with NIGHT OF THE COOTERS which had its premiere showing at the LA Shorts film festival in North Hollywood in August 2022 directed by and starring Vincent D’Onofrio earned additional honors at Midwest Weird (Eau Claire Since then we’ve released MARY MARGARET and THE UGLY CHICKENS and both of them have picked up awards and made themselves known: has been recognized by the deadCenter Film Fest and the Mojave Wasteland Film Fest Steven was judged co-winner of the Russell Bates award honoring the first Native writer of SF for television written by me and starring the talented Felicia Day— Felicia was chosen as best actress at the Yellowstone (India) Film Festival last fall at the Pittsburgh Film Festival in December This week is the Pendance Film Festival in Toronto and UGLY CHICKENS has already won the Best Canadian Short Film Cinequest in San Jose (March 22-24) and producer Elias Gallegos will be representing us at the Cleveland International Film Festival (late March-early April) UGLY CHICKENS has been accepted at the Certain.e.s laiment court (CLAC) And we’re nowhere near done with MARY MARGARET which has been submitted to half a dozen upcoming festivals (Typically we find out about acceptances three weeks ahead of time.) My SUMMER MACHINE will be submitted for the first time this spring I mentioning these events now because George and I and the team that made these films would like you to see them too – and dozens of other great shorts and features at these festivals We have a cover for the illustrated edition of the fourth book in my A Song of Ice and Fire series! This gorgeous, illustrated edition of A Feast for Crows will be arriving on shelves November 4 The special edition of A Feast for Crows features 24 original color illustrations from artist Jeffrey R. McDonald and a special foreword by Joe Abercrombie the seven powers dividing the land have beaten one another into an uneasy truce and carrion eaters of the Seven Kingdoms gather many are the guests—but only a few are the survivors We’ll be sharing a couple of the interior illustrations later this spring so you can see what Jeffrey R. McDonald has in store for A Feast for Crows. In the meantime, you can visit Jeffrey’s website to see examples of his previous work Preorders are available now THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MINIONS OF FEVRE RIVER The Saturn Awards were created in 1973 by  the Academy of Science Fiction to honor the year’s best work in genre television   They have been given annually ever since This year’s  year’s awards ceremony was held in the Hilton Universal City in Los Angeles HOUSE OF THE DRAGON had three finalists in the television division EMMA D’ARCY was nominated as Best Actress in a Televsion Series The show itself was  up against AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER and PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS for BEST FANTASY SERIES Our congratulations go out to Emma and Matt   It is an honor just to be nominated (as I’ve been told more times than I can count) but they did outstanding work bringing Rhaenyra and Daemon to vivid life I am pleased to say that HOUSE OF THE DRAGON itself did take home the prize and claimed the Saturn for BEST FANTASY SERIES Here’s the full list of finalists and winners for the year for those of you who like to keep track of these things https://www.saturnawards.org/ I was not able to attend the awards ceremony especially if you grew up during Mercury and Apollo I’ve managed to attend the Saturn Awards only once where I went to one of their awards luncheons to represent BEAUTY AND THE BEAST   The big winner was Arnold Schwarzenegger whose acceptance speech was short and very very funny Looking back over the history of the Saturns between then and now I was surprised to learn that GAME OF THRONES won six of them over its run That’s six Saturns for GAME OF THRONES and one for HOUSE OF THE DRAGON this was the first I’ve heard of any of these The Saturns were broadcast this year (on Roko) but that hasn’t been true for most of their run… but you’d think someone would have told us   Maybe all the trophies are lined up on a shelf at HBO somewhere surrounded by all the other awards HBO has won over the decades belated congratulations to Maisie and Peter and Emilia to David Nutter and Alan Taylor and Miguel Sapochnik and all the other writers and directors who helped make GOT what it was… and to the cast and crew who worked beside them in 2015 and 2019 This blog is the only place for official communication from George R.R. Martin. For press inquiries, please contact David Moench Volume 6 - 2012 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00207 This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the biological pathways for Brain resilienceView all 9 articles patients generally have photophobia and phonophobia and seek for environments with less sensorial stimulation Present work aimed to quantify cortical partial directed coherence (PDC) of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from migraine patients and controls in occipital and frontal areas with or without photic stimulation Our hypothesis is that migraine patients with visual aura might have neuronal networks with higher coherence than controls even in interictal periods due to a predisposition in sensory cortical processing Methods: Eleven adult women with migraine with visual aura (at least 48 h without previous attacks) and seven healthy adult woman were submitted to EEG recording in basal state and during photic stimulation Results: When compared to healthy volunteers migraine patients show different coherence profiles Migraine patients had greater coherence than controls during the basal period (without photic stimulation) showing predisposition for sensory processing in many frequency ranges patients showed a decrease in cortical coherence while controls had an increase Conclusions: When compared to healty subjects migraineurs show increased cortical coherence before photic stimulation This may be the expression of a resilience mechanism that allows migraineurs the interictal period The PDC analysis permits to address a patient coherence profile or “coherence map,” that can be utilized for management of the headache disorder or following up treatments The aim of this study was to quantify the PDC between EEG recordings of occipital and frontal cortical areas of migraineurs and health volunteers after photic stimulation aiming differential connectivity among neuronal networks migraineurs might show a stronger functional connectivity between occipital and adjacent regions due to predisposition and genetic background All patients were clinically diagnosed with migraine according to the International Headache Society Classification and were having an average of three attacks weekly Patients were free of attacks in the 48 h that preceded the recording day (interictal phase) The experiment was authorized by the Ethical Committee of Medicine School of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP process 140/2008) and by the Ethical Comitee from the Center of Health Sciences of Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE and subjects gave their written permission for the use of their data for scientific and teaching purposes 3 s during 9 Hz stimulation and 4 s after light is off it was analyzed only epochs within the 9 Hz_4 period 10 s of EEG recording were taken in the basal period (before any stimulation) Subjects remained with eyes closed during the whole experiment (that took approximately 11 min) Ten seconds epochs were taken before any stimulation occurs (basal period) Gray and black arrows indicate moments in which stimulation was turned on and off Four trains of 9 Hz stimulation (3 s duration) were applied 10 s epochs including the basal and fourth stimulation period (9 Hz_4) All neuronal networks were analyzed in diads and coherence values of basal and stimulation period were compared within the same hemisphere and the level of confidence was considered p < 0.05 the evolution of coherence in time was averaged among controls and patients in the 9 Hz_4 epochs To test the influence of spurious and uncontrolled electric artifacts two sets of patients were recorded in different places: five patients in a neurologic clinic near Santa Fé do Sul Brazil and six patients in the Clinical Hospital of the Federal University of Pernambuco (HC-UFPE) in Recife all results were compared only in subjects recorded in the same place In the basal period, that is before any photic stimulation occurs, it was clearly seen that migraine patients have increased coherence in many neuronal networks when compared to the control group, especially in parietal to frontal and frontal to occipital networks (Figure 2) Partial directed coherence of controls and migrainous patients in basal condition (no stimulation) Patients had a general higher number of statistical significant coherence events when compared to controls especially in parietal to frontal and frontal to occipital networks Arrows indicate the direction of the network All events were considered different if p < 0.05 When photic stimulation starts, controls present an increase in coherence, as it could be expected since light is activating brain perceptual and sensory networks, especially those involving the occipital areas. But patients showed a decrease in coherence, especially right frontal to parietal (F-P) and parietal to frontal (P-F) in both hemispheres (Figure 3) Comparison between coherence values in healthy volunteers (diamonds interrupted lines) and migraine patients (squares solid lines) in EEG recordings from basal and photic stimulation epochs It is shown data from frontal and parietal networks Controls generally present an increase of coherence after photic stimulation have greater coherence values in basal period but with a strong tendency of decreasing with photic stimulation (A,B *p < 0.05 between patients and controls; †p < 0.05 between basal and stimulation in controls; #p < 0.05 between basal and stimulation in patients; Mann–Whitney test was used for each comparison Standard variations were suppressed for clarity This decrease of coherence in the 9 Hz_4 epoch compared to basal period was also seen in a supplementary group of six patients recorded in another equipment and different hospital (HC-UFPE This decrease was seen in the networks P3-O1 (gamma range) where neuronal network properties in female predispose this gender to migraine attacks To check if our results could be simply mathematical or EEGraphic artifacts Results show that the specific neuronal network in which this decrease in coherence after photic stimulation occurs may vary from patient to patient but the phenomenon is robust and was clearly seen in our data In a study with quantitative EEG analysis (QEEG), it was described a general increase in theta power in all cortical regions of migraineurs compared to non-migraine controls in a time free from pre-ictal symptoms (Bjørk et al., 2009) we could identify an increase of coherence too in theta frequency range of migraineurs compared to controls It is possible that the increase in theta power described in that study could reflect a greater connectivity in this frequency range but this can only be detected by PDC analysis A future approach of our work is to repeat the experiment identifying what are the most responsive neuronal networks in each patient and following the evolution in coherence during a treatment to compare if clinical signals can be correlated to a change in brain coherence we imagine that this EEG analysis could be automated and be another tool for the clinician to readily categorize migraine patients within “EEG coherence maps” or profiles establish the best approach and monitor treatment evolution It is well-known that even those patients with similar clinical signals do not respond equally to treatments so tools capable of identifying and categorizing patients (in this case The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest Baccala (USP) for the availability of PDC algorithms We are grateful to all researchers who undertook PDC analysis as Igor Tchaikovsky Mello de Oliveira Financial support: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Brazil (CNPq Grant #); Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE scholarships: # BIC-0586-2.07/11 for Ubirakitan M Isaac and for BTT-0010-2.07/11 for Giselly Andrade Alencar) Pró-reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (PROPESQ Authors also wish to thank constant collaborators: Prof Transient restricted diffusion in the splenium of the corpus callosum in migraine with aura Partial directed coherence: a new concept in neural structure determination Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Über das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen Migraine in the triptan era: lessons from epidemiology Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Conclusions from four longitudinal studies of quantitative EEG and steady-state visual-evoked potentials in migraineurs Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Interictal quantitative EEG in migraine: a blinded controlled study Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Electroenceph-alographic abnormalities in patients with vascular headache of the migraine type Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Migraine with visual aura and photosensitive epileptic seizures Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Photic driving response in primary headache: diagnostic value tested by discriminant analysis and artificial neural network classifiers Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Recent advances in understanding migraine mechanisms Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Adolescent onset of idiopathic photosensitive occipital epilepsy after remission of benign rolandic epilepsy Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Occipital nerve stimulation in primary headache syndromes Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Gender-related differences in the dysfunctional resting networks of migraine suffers Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Photoreactivity of the occipital cortex measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging-blood oxygenation level dependent in migraine patients and healthy volunteers: pathophysiological implications Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Subcortical loops through the basal ganglia Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Prevention of intractable partial seizures by intermittent vagal stimulation in humans: preliminary results Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Cerebellar and cerebral autoregulation in migraine Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Common pathophysiologic mechanisms in migraine and epilepsy Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Using partial directed coherence to describe neuronal ensemble interactions Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text EEG in migraine: a review of the literature Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Cumulative lifetime migraine incidence in women and men Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Effects of levetiracetam vs topiramate and placebo on visually evoked phase synchronization changes of alpha rhythm in migraine Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text Synchrony in normal and focal epileptic brain: the seizure onset zone is functionally disconnected Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Peripheral neurostimulation for control of intractable occipital neuralgia Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Bilateral spreading cerebral hypoperfusion during spontaneous migraine headache Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Costa BLSA and Rodrigues MCA (2012) Resilience in migraine brains: decrease of coherence after photic stimulation Copyright © 2012 Mendonça-de-Souza, Monteiro, Bezerra, Silva-de-Oliveira, Ventura-da-Silva, Barbosa, de Souza, Criado, Ferrarezi, Alencar, Lins, Coriolano, Costa and Rodrigues. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License distribution and reproduction in other forums provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc *Correspondence: Marcelo C. A. Rodrigues, Diretor do Grupo de Neurodinâmica, Departamento de. Fisiologia e Farmacologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego 1235, Cidade Universitária, Recife, Pernambuco, CEP 50670-901, Brazil. e-mail:bWFyY2Vsby5jYXJvZHJpZ3Vlc0B1ZnBlLmJy Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Get our news on your inbox! Suscribe x MercoPress, en Español Montevideo, May 5th 2025 - 12:11 UTC Dry weather across some of the major producing regions in South America is putting upward pressure on corn and soybean prices at the start the new year Dryness is expected to continue through the short term across southern Brazil and especially in the main-producing states in Argentina ”We may see some recovery in rainfall in Brazil as we head into late January and February this would be ill-timed moisture as harvest activities begin and the second corn crop (Safrinha) planting gets underway” precipitation is forecast to continue to run at a deficit in southern Brazil and growing regions of Argentina Weathertrends360 anticipated this will be the fourth driest first full week of January in 30 years for Rio Grande do Sul and the third driest in 30 years for Santa Fe The eastern region of Brazil will fare better with wetter-than-normal conditions expected As we head into late January and February 2021 Weatrhertrebds360 expects that wetter weather will return to portions of southern Brazil timing will be an issue as early harvest activities begin and planting begins for the Safrinha crop Drier weather is more likely to continue in eastern Argentina Commenting for this story is now closed.If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page! Studies on Brazil’s most abundant fish have resulted in a new variety, a vaccine and probiotics, in addition to genetic selection Eduardo Cesar Specimens of Saint Peter, tilapia’s generic name, at the Fisheries Institute in São PauloEduardo Cesar Eduardo Cesar Young tilapia of the Fisheries Institute…Eduardo Cesar Eduardo Cesar …and of adults in breeding tanks of Barragem de Ponte Nova in Salesópolis (São Paulo State)Eduardo Cesar Eduardo Cesar SNPChip: will be used to identify genetic markers in tilapia matricesEduardo Cesar Alexandre Hilsdorf Royal Fish Tilapia, a result of cross breeding Red Stirling, red tilapia, and Chitralada black tilapiaAlexandre Hilsdorf Eduardo Cesar Breeding tanks in Salesópolis where UMC performs cross-breeding experiments for genetic improvementEduardo Cesar Fillets and cubes The pattern of fish consumption is also the subject of research The most recent PIPE project coordinated by Hilsdorf was aimed at getting to know the consumer market for red tilapia and developing processed fish products UMC and the Food Technology Institute (ITAL) was started in 2011 and also received funding from the Brazilian Innovation Agency (FINEP) produced fillets cooked in the form of cubes and fresh fillets with sauces similar to products found abroad in the form of bags similar to those used in sauces and pastas They can be eaten at meals or in the form of snacks “We made cooked tilapia fillets cut into pieces with brine the product is finished and ready to use,” says José Ricardo Gonçalves There have also been several tasting sessions to assess consumer reaction The cubed and cooked fillet had an acceptance rating of 70% and a rejection rate of 20% Royal Fish will analyze which products are suitable for the market Intense growth Rising production shows the importance of tilapia in Brazilian aquaculture Tilapia is the most cultivated fish in Brazil 219,000 metric tons were caught (slaughtered and sold) according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) This number increased by 9.7% compared to 2014 and almost 10 times since 1998 The largest producing regions are in Ceará mainly in the municipality of Jaguaribara; São Paulo in the cities of Santa Fé do Sul and Rifaina; in addition to Toledo last year production amounted to R$1.177 billion Chitralada tilapia is one of the most readily available varieties in Brazil; it has been in the country since 1996 and is a descendant of tilapia from Egypt that was imported to Japan and later improved in Thailand which stands for genetically improved farmed tilapia the result of a 10-year project (1988-1997) to produce a genetically superior variety of tilapia at the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) GIFT was introduced in Brazil in 2005 through a partnership between the State University of Maringá (UEM) in Paraná and the WorldFish Center with the collaboration of the former Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Companhia de Desenvolvimento Agropecuário do Paraná (Codapar) The Informativo Mercado da Tilápia [Tilapia Market Report] indicates that Brazil exported 171 metric tons of fresh tilapia fillets to the United States in 2015 97% of Brazil’s total foreign tilapia trade exports had already surpassed the 2015 figure © Revista Pesquisa FAPESP - All rights reserved. Photo: AuroraThe Brazilian cooperative Aurora will build a large high-tech feed factory for poultry and pigs in Erechim That was recently announced by the company’s livestock director Marcos Antônio Zordan The unit will be placed at highway ERS-331 Rio Grande do Sul state is Brazil’s southernmost state – and together with Paraná and Santa Catarina and is estimated to be completed by mid-2022 The new plant is planned to have capacity to produce 60 tonnes of feed per hour or 35,000 tonnes per month for both poultry and pigs It means a 20% increase of their current feed producing capacity The cooperative also plans the construction of 4 steel silos for grain storage in that complex with a static capacity of 10,000 tonnes each The total storage capacity of 40,000 tonnes would equal 660,000 sacks Brazil: Records reached for chicken in 2021 Chicken production in Brazil in 2021 is forecast to increase by 4% The unit will employ completely automated procedures using modern national and imported equipment including software robotics and remote controls in order to produce the pellets Still it is expected that the unit could create 80 direct and 240 indirect jobs initially and that might go up to 400 eventually The plant will supply Aurora Cooperative’s integrated farmers in Rio Grande do Sul that serve 3 slaughter and processing plants in Erechim (poultry and pigs) and Sarandi (pigs) Those plants in Rio Grande do Sul finish about 1 million pigs and 26 million birds per year The cooperative currently maintains 6 poultry and pig feed plants with a capacity of 175,000 tonnes per month Aurora Alimentos has 7 pig plants processing 5.2 million head per year and 8 poultry slaughter plants which slaughter 242.6 million head per year These plants are located in Santa Catarina Parece que a página que você está procurando não está disponível The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n \n \n \n '.concat(e,' Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response