In The News

The Guardian: Earth's Sixth Mass Extinction Event Underway, Scientists Warn

Damian Carrington July 13, 2017
The world’s loss of biodiversity is not proceeding at a gradual pace. Instead, a “biological annihilation” of wildlife signals that a sixth mass extinction is more severe than previously assumed, explains Damian Carrington for the Guardian. The study led by Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,...

Science: Cocaine Trafficking Is Destroying Central America’s Forests

Emiliano Rodríguez Mega July 12, 2017
Researchers at US universities are positing that that cocaine trafficking accounted for more than 900,000 acres of deforestation in Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua from 2001 to 2013. The drug trade directs 90 percent of cocaine in the United States through Central America, and “traffickers in the region had to figure out a way to funnel their money into the legal economy,” notes Emiliano...

Forbes: Without "Neutral" Internet, US Workers Could Lose

Janet Burns July 12, 2017
If the US Federal Communications Commission drops protections on net neutrality, the country's innovation and global competitiveness will decline. Companies and internet users are speaking out to block a proposal by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to roll back the protections: “these so-called "net neutrality rules" establish that internet service providers (ISPs) must comply with Title II...

Caixin: Hunger for Homegrown Content Helps Chinese TV Shows Edge Past Foreign Rivals

Cai Tongxu July 11, 2017
The Chinese are eager for television shows about China, and development of new content – reality shows, game shows, gossip shows and more – attracts millions of yuan in investments. “After years of being accused of ripping off foreign television hits, Chinese variety show producers have started scripting their own templates to feed the hunger for homegrown content,” reports Cai Tongxu for Caixin...

The Hollywood Reporter: How the Globalization of the Academy Shakes Up the Race

Scott Feinberg July 11, 2017
In June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its annual list of filmmakers invited to join its ranks. Both this year and last year, the Academy selected invitees from more than one quarter of the world’s nations to help select award-winners. The organization’s increasingly international composition is “the biggest game changer represented by the new members,” asserts Scott...

Newsweek: Half of World’s Olive Oil Threatened by Deadly Bacteria in Spain

Jessica Wapner July 10, 2017
Spain has more than 340 million olive trees, and the world’s largest olive oil producer is especially vulnerable to the deadly plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. The first case on mainland Spain was confirmed earlier this month. X. fastidiosa is native to the Americas, and its first reported sighting in Europe was in Italy four years ago, killing approximately 1 million olive trees there. Many...

Reuters: Security Firms Warn of New Cyber Threat to Electric Grid

Jim Finkle July 10, 2017
Cybersecurity experts have identified a new form of malicious software that could disrupt large power systems. The malware was used to cut power in Ukraine in December 2016. Dragos has sent an alert to governments and utilities with recommendations on avoiding the malware, reports Jim Finkle for Reuters, adding “Crash Override can be detected if a utility specifically monitors its network for...