Diverse soil communities can help offset impacts of global warming

Small soil animals can limit the effects of climate change, a team of researchers has shown through a long-term study. In the same way that Yellowstone's wolves regulate plant diversity by controlling the number of grazing elk, the researchers found that insects, worms and other small creatures can play a similar regulatory role in soil ecosystems by feeding on the microbes that can trigger increased carbon emissions.

Resolving a lymphatic riddle: Researchers to grow, for the first time, lymphatic cells in the lab

For over one hundred years, scientists have debated the question of the origins of the lymphatic system -- a parallel system to the blood vessels that serves as a conduit for everything from immune cells to fat molecules to cancer cells. This debate is over, now that researchers have grown, for the first time, lymphatic cells in the lab.

CUSTOMER POSITION

    CUSTOMER POSITION

Marketing should begin and end with your customer, and the same could be said for developing your brand’s positioning statement. How you position your brand should begin and end with your customer.

That’s why the classic positioning statement we are de-constructing in this series of articles starts with a “To,” which is meant to describe your target customer, demographically.

Age, sex, geographic location, household income, and education, number of children  these are all examples of demographic features of your target customers. These are the facts that you could use to describe them.

……FAITH     GABRIELLA

KNOW YOUR DESTINATION

Determine your Destination!

One of the greatest causes for frustration when it comes to goals and their achievement is setting way too high goals. This happens when we fail to set what are known as SMART goals.

The acronym SMART stands for
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant
T = Tractable

Specific
He should decide how specific from a financial standpoint. Looking at his current status he should first determine what would be the ideal income. Then he needs to create an income that does not require him to work for it to keep coming.

Attainable

here we need to look at figures that can be reached looking at all resources available. Do not forget that this also takes into account resources like skills (existing and new ones), time, money, networks, people etc.
Bear in mind that your goal MUST be attainable in that you should not be setting wild goals that are beyond you in every way especially taking resources into consideration.

Relevant
is the goal relevant to John’s objectives and vision in life? In this case one would assume so because he is a family man in his middle ages and looking for a way out of the rat-race.
A goal that would be considered irrelevant to him would be for instance learning how to drive a truck or getting a degree in business.

Tractable
this has to be time bound. That means the goals must be locked to a specific time and with specific milestones or markers. So, this would mean that John would take his grand goal and then break it down into medium and short term goals.

...............MARIKI    HEAVENLIGHT

Burundi police crack down on fresh protests

By Taraba Baraka

Police in Burundi have beaten and tear-gassed protesters in the capital who were demanding President Pierre Nkurunziza reverse a decision to run for a third term in office, a Reuters has reported.

At least eight people were arrested as the police tried to disperse the demonstration in Bujumbura on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Some protesters responded by throwing rocks at police ranks.

Burundi protesters vow to stay on streets

The protests began earlier in the day with more than 100 protesters chanting slogans against the president in defiance of the government threats of a crackdown.

Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa reporting from Bujumbura said that the police were stopping journalists from filming the protests.

"People are on edge. They [protesters] seem to be planning something," Mutasa said.

"We will not stop until he gives up the third term," the protesters chanted in the flashpoint suburb of Nyakabiga.

"No to the coup, and no to the third term. We will continue until he says no to the third term," one of the demonstrators, who gave his name as Jean-Paul, told Reuters news agency. 

Meanwhile, South African President Jacob Zuma has said that presidential elections scheduled for next month should be postponed indefinitely until political stability returns to Burundi.

He was speaking at a summit in Angola that was convened after last week's failed coup attempt.

President Nkurunziza on Monday dismissed his defence and foreign ministers after last week's failed military coup, a presidential spokesperson said.

Emmanuel Ntahonvukiye, a civilian, has been named to replace Pontian Gaciyubwenge, the defence minister, while Alain Aime Nyamitwe was appointed foreign minister to succeed Laurent Kavakure, the spokesperson said.

Earlier on Monday, Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, told Nkurunziza that he should postpone a presidential election due next month after last week's failed military coup, Kenyatta's spokesperson said.

South Sudan: No children in army

Posted at 17:39

South Sudan's government has denied that its army has recruited children to fight against the rebels in a new offensive against rebel forces.
UN children's charity Unicef says that witnesses have told them that 15, 16 and 17-year-old soldiers are committing atrocities against civilians during the fighting in Unity state.
South Sudan's Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme that the government has "never" recruited child soldiers, and he questioned where the information came from.