The amendment to the misuse of drug bill was officially signed into law.

The bill was introduced in parliament in August by the government of Belize and is to “decriminalize the possession of cannabis in amounts not exceeding ten grams, to provide for the imposition of monetary and non-recordable penalties for the possession of cannabis in such amounts occurring on school premises, in specified circumstances, to decriminalize the smoking of cannabis on private premises.”

On October 25, 2017 , at the Senate, senators debated the pros and cons of marijuana usage in Belize.

NGO Senator Osmany Salas referred to the fact that countries decriminalized marijuana but provided counselors for their youths in cases of drug abuse. Salas elaborated that Belize does not have adequate rehab facilities to deal with the issues that decriminalization may have in our society.

Government Senator, Aldo Salazar supported the bill by explaining that the negative effects of marijuana stems from habitual abuse.

The bill was signed into law by the Governor General.

Source: BreakingBelizeNews.com

A new species of tree has been documented in the forests of Southern Belize.

Parasenegalia lundellii (family: Fabaceae) was discovered by plant ecologist Steven Brewer in the pristine Bladen Nature Reserve, which is co-managed by Ya’axché Conservation Trust.

The new species is found in semi-evergreen tropical forests and is restricted to rugged limestone ridges and slopes such as those of the Maya Mountains.

lundellii was first collected by Dr. Brewer in 2002. Recent taxonomic revisions have confirmed that the tree is indeed a species new to science.

Fewer than 10 other individuals of the species have been documented in Belize and Guatemala, implying that the species could be threatened due to its rareness.

In Belize, P. lundellii has been found in the Bladen Nature Reserve, Columbia River Forest Reserve, and Golden Stream Corridor Preserve. This nitrogen-fixing tree is in the same family as rosewood and bri-bri.

Representatives of the species are up to 12 meters tall, with shallowly ridged brown bark. It can be identified from a similar tree known locally as palli by its wide fruit pods and small leaflets that lack stipules.

The species is named in honor of botanist Cyrus Lundell, who first studied chicle in Belize in the 1920’s.

Ya’axché Conservation Trust has been empowering communities and conserving wildlife in southern Belize since 1998. Much of the organization’s effort has focused on researching and protecting tropical broadleaf forests in Toledo. lundellii is the third new tree species to be confirmed in Ya’axché’s reserves in the last year, which is a reflection of the high plant diversity of Toledo forests and indicates the importance of continued research and conservation of these unique ecosystems.

Source: BelizeHub

Images Courtesy: Steven Brewer

International Archeology Day is celebrated on October 21st – that is this Saturday but the Institute of Archeology is commemorating this day with a week of activities. The overall purpose is to recognize the important role archeology plays in our history. Dr. Allan Moore told us more about this observance.

Dr. Allan Moore, Associate Director, Institute of Archeology, NICH
“We decided hey! Why not put it into an archeological week and extend it. Unfortunately not everyone could be involved in this week and for it to be meaningful and kinda get something out of it we decided to take two, three venues, we tried Dangriga but we have postponed that until after so tomorrow we start at Banquitas.”

“Banquitas is in Orange Walk right so they are highlighting a number of what is happening in Orange walk in terms of the history, the culture etc. etc. so we will kinda of support that and augment that with some of the local archeology you know the Quello, the Noh Nul and the Cacabish and the what have you and to show them and highlight what they have in their district. We will have a series of lectures and some exhibits and stuff like that, tomorrow in Banquitas and on Wednesday. On Wednesday evening we pack up and we go to the cayes, we normally don’t go to the cayes but we have to realize and we have to make these guys realize that it is not only the Marco Gonzalez site that they have, they have quite a number of sites out there that they should be aware of that is contributing to their history, their pre-history.”

“It is all about letting us know what we have and let us learn to appreciate it to help us preserve it so that you and I may die but that may continue to going on for your children.”

A series of lectures will also be held on San Pedro.

Source: Channel 7

*Press Release*

After 5 years of scientific research, Keisha Melodi McSweeney has achieved the highest academic degree, a Doctorate of Philosophy in Genetics and Genomics. On Monday, August 21, Dr. McSweeney successfully defended her dissertation entitled “Microelectrode array modeling of genetic neurological disorders in the era of next generation sequencing” to a panel of six accomplished and celebrated scientists at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. McSweeney completed her thesis research in the lab of pioneering human geneticist, Dr. David Goldstein. In his introduction of Dr. McSweeney’s dissertation, Dr. Goldstein remarked that her courage to undertake functional biology in neuroscience, in a genetics lab, shifted the direction of the research in the group from finding mutations that cause diseases, to working out how those mutations cause disease.

Dr. McSweeney’s research now provides a framework for the evaluation of genetic variations that cause neurological disorders and has revealed new insights into the role of neuronal excitability in the development of epilepsy. Keisha McSweeney and her twin sister, Krystal McSweeney-Rosalez, M.S.W., graduated from Belize Elementary School, Saint Catherine Academy, and St. John’s College Junior College before migrating to the USA in 2008 where they completed their undergraduate degrees at Loyola University in Chicago.

As Krystal completed her Master’s degree in Social Work in 2011, Keisha Melodi began research in the Human Genetics department at the University of Michigan where she developed a deeper appreciation for the role of scientific research in combating debilitating human conditions. She later accepted an offer to pursue research and a Ph.D in genetics at Duke University in 2012.

Since then, her work has taken her to Japan, Scotland, England and various locations in the US where she has presented her findings to the scientific community and to families of individuals with debilitating diseases. In September of 2016 her paper, “Inhibition of microRNA 128 promotes excitability of cultural cortical neuronal networks” was published in the Genome Research (Vol 26, No 10) a leading scientific journal published in the USA. Dr. McSweeney is now pursuing postdoctoral research at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

*END*

Belize’s very own Verge of Umbra participated at Wacken 2017.

On Friday,  August 4, 2017, Metal Battle winners were chosen from among almost 30 nations who participated in the finale at Waken 2017.

From Germany to Iceland and from Argentina to the USA – 28 Bands from several countries arrived at Wacken to show the audience, as well as the judges, what they were made of and to get a spot on the winners podium. The finalistes were awarded with amazing money- and endorsement prizes.

Here are the winners:
1st Place – Jet Jaguar from Mexico
2nd Place E-An-Na from Romania
3rd Place – Infernum from the Netherlands
4th Place – Une Misere from Iceland
5th Place – Stengah from France
6th Place – Verge of Umbra from Belize

Congratulations Verge of Umbra, you’ve done us proud!

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