1. SOUTH AMERICA ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND HEALTH NEWSLETTER
212 t h issue, December 13, 2012
PERU: Google Street View Vehicles To Start Filming in Peru*
In this issue: Last week, Google vehicles started to collect images
from different districts and regions of Peru, to
 Peru: Google Street View implement a Street View function into its popular
Vehicles To Start Filming maps, which allows to view images from a walker’s
in Peru
level.
 Science: The Connection
Between Species
Extinction, Organized The Street View Function allows to perform virtual
Crime, and the Spread of walks and verify a restaurant address, visit
Disease. neighborhoods or plan a trip by exploring a place
 Health: An Experimental before visiting it.
Treatment for Leukemia
Using HIV Cells. Elcomercio.pe was there when Google vehicles
 Antarctica: Ice is Melting started this trip on the streets of San Isidro. It is a
Faster Than Expected.
van mounted with sophisticated equipment and
 IIP Digital Links:
Innovative Cities. cameras, which capture 360° images.
 Health: Unexpected
Toughness May Mark Out “Now, people will start seeing these vehicles in
Cancer Cells in the many places of Peru, taking pictures”, pointed out
Blood. Susana Pabóm, Google communication manager for
 Peru: 2012 Birdwatching Colombia and Peru. “Later, images will be digitalized
Contest. for Street View,” she added. “We will provide the
 Science: Birds Use world with a window to see Lima, Arequipa, Machu
Cigarette Butts to Build
Picchu and other places in Peru”, said Pabóm to
Their Nests.
highlight that this function will allow tourists to Photo by Paul Lowry (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License .
obtain information about the most representative
Next events: cities of the country.”
 February 1, 2013 Countries in Latin America, including Brazil, Chile and Mexico, already count on Street View. In
REO S&T School Contest Colombia, the picture collection process started in June. Peru is the fifth country joining this project
Launching in South America.
 February 4, 2013
World Cancer Day PRIVACY. Regarding privacy, Google explained that through Street View, they will only show the
 March 22, 2013 same roads visible when you walk or drive.” Faces and plates of vehicles will be blurred to avoid to
World Water Day be seen without consent.
 April17-19, 2013
IFT Energy
“Once images are available to public access, we will provide the tools to allow, upon user’s request,
Santiago, Chile
 July 10-12, 2013
the elimination of images showing inappropriate content“ Google precised through its official blog.
Eolica
Buenos Aires, Argentina Read more at: http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/1505676/noticia-video-inicio-recorrido-vehiculos-street-view-peru
The information contained herein was gathered from news sources from across the region, and the views expressed below do not
necessarily reflect those of the Regional Environmental HUB Office or of our constituent posts.
Addressees interested in sharing any ESTH-related events of USG interest are welcome to do so.
For questions or comments, please contact us at quevedoa@state.gov.
* Free translation prepared by REO staff.

2. SCIENCE: The Connection Between Species Extinction, Organized Crime, and the Spread of
Disease By Cristian Samper
The below statement was issued in observance of Wildlife Conservation Day. To learn about the Wildlife Conserva-
tion Society, visit www.wcs.org.
Illegal wildlife trafficking may prove to be the demise of many of our Earth's species. Further, this activity -- which
is snuffing out the last populations of elephants, tigers and other animals -- finances organized crime and aug-
ments the spread of zoonotic diseases. There is no lack of reasons to join efforts to stop wildlife trafficking. To-
gether, we need to protect the source, break the chain and stop demand.
At a recent event in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated words spoken by the State
Photo by T. Doksone (flickr user).
Department's Bob Hormats, saying: "...wildlife trafficking has become more organized, more lucrative, more wide- Under Creative Commons License.
spread, and more dangerous than ever before."
The State Department also stated, "Wildlife trafficking threatens security and the rule of law, undermines conservation efforts, robs local
communities of their economic base, and contributes to the emergence and spread of disease."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-cristian-samper/the-connection-between-sp_b_2220725.html
HEALTH: Experimental Treatment for Leukemia Using HIV Cells By Denise Grady
Last spring, 6-year-old Emma Whitehead was near death from leukemia. She had relapsed twice after
chemotherapy, and doctors had run out of options.
Desperate to save her, her parents sought an experimental treatment at the Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia, one that had never before been tried in a child, or in anyone with the type of leukemia
Emma had. The experiment, in April, used a disabled form of the virus that causes AIDS to reprogram
Emma’s immune system genetically to kill cancer cells.
The treatment very nearly killed her. But she emerged from it cancer-free, and about seven months
later is still in complete remission. She is the first child and one of the first humans ever in whom new
techniques have achieved a long-sought goal — giving a patient’s own immune system the lasting
ability to fight cancer.
Photo by Bob Harwig (flickr user). Under
Nine of the twelve people subject to this treatment reacted favorably.
Read more at: http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/1508432/noticia-eeuu-medicos-curaron-nina-leucemia-usando-virus-sida
ANTARCTICA: Ice is Melting Faster Than Expected
New observations published by oceanographers from the University of Gothen-
burg and the U.S. may improve our ability to predict future changes in ice sheet
mass. The study was recently published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
A reduction of the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland will affect the water levels
of the world's oceans. It is therefore problematic that we currently have insufficient
knowledge about the ocean circulation near large glaciers in West Antarctica. This
means that researchers cannot predict how water levels will change in the future
with any large degree of certainty.
Photo by John Lester (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.
"There is a clear reduction in the ice mass in West Antarctica, especially around the
glaciers leading into the Amundsen Sea," says researcher Lars Arneborg from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of
Gothenburg. One reason why West Antarctica is particularly sensitive is that the majority of the ice rests on areas that are below
sea level. Warm sea water penetrates beneath the ice, causing increased melting from underneath.
Read full article at: http://phys.org/news/2012-12-sea-antarctic-glaciers.html

3. IIP Digital Links: Innovative Cities
CLIMATE CHANGE: World Bank Unveils 10-Year Environmental Strategy By Lisa Friedman
The video team has two new videos, also available in youtube:
Innovative Cities: Rock Port, Missouri is 100% powered by wind energy.
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/video/2012/11/20121128139177.html
http://youtu.be/mnifNSrZRUQ
Innovative Cities: Eugene, Oregon is building a bike path infrastructure for greener living.
Photo by William Ward (flickr user). Under
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/video/2012/11/20121128139175.html Creative Commons License.
http://youtu.be/_4ZbziJKk_I
HEALTH: Unexpected Toughness May Mark Out Cancer Cells in the Blood By Jennifer Brown
A surprising discovery about the physical properties of cancer cells could help improve a new diagnostic approach—a liquid bi-
opsy—that detects, measures, and evaluates cancer cells in blood. Cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream can form metasta-
ses—new tumors. Detecting these rare circulating cancer cells in a blood sample is much less invasive than a standard tumor bi-
opsy, and could prove useful for monitoring cancer progression and detecting recurrence.
While studying what happens to cancer cells when they are subjected to powerful fluid forces, like
those encountered in the bloodstream, researchers at the University of Iowa unexpectedly discov-
ered that cancer cells are actually more likely to survive this turbulent fluid environment than nor-
mal epithelial cells. The researchers suggest this surprising "hardiness" could be a potential bio-
marker for detecting and studying cancer cells in the blood. The findings were published Dec. 3 in
the journal PLOS ONE.
"For many years, it's been assumed that these circulating cancer cells are quite fragile, and they es-
sentially get ‘blended’ by the fluid forces in the blood," says Michael Henry, associate professor of
molecular physiology and biophysics at the UI Carver College of Medicine and lead study author.
"But there was no real direct evidence for how fluid forces in the blood affect cancer cells. "What we
found was that normal cells were, as expected, quite sensitive to the fluid forces and most did not
survive. But, surprisingly, the cancer cells seemed to be remarkably resistant."
Invadopodium extension by a cancer cell
A cancer cell (red) extends along
invadopodium through a matrigel Henry suggests that resistance to fluid shear stress might be a way to distinguish benign from malig-
ba s e me nt me mb ra ne ( g re e n) . nant cells in circulating tumor cell samples. "By adding this really simple physical test to the isolation
Schoumacher et al. reveal how the actin,
microtubule, and vimentin cytoskeletons of circulating tumor cells, this technique might let us sort out malignant cells from benign cells. Being
cooperate to drive this initial step of able to quantify the numbers of ‘dangerous’ cells might be a more accurate prognostic marker for
tumor metastasis.
Read the full article at: the patient than simply counting the total number of circulating tumor cells," says Henry, who also is
jcb.rupress.org/content/189/3/541.full deputy director for research with Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UI.
Photo by The Journal of Cell Biology
(flickr user). Under Creative Commons
License. A simple system. Using a simple syringe and precise mathematical calculations of fluid dynamics,
the UI team created an experimental system to mimic the short bursts of turbulent flow that a can-
cer cell might experience in the blood. Passing a suspension of cells through the syringe needle allowed the researchers to study
the effect of a series of millisecond pulses of high fluid shear stress on a variety of different cancer cell types (prostate, breast, and
melanoma) as well as normal epithelial cells from breast and prostate tissue.
After 10 passages though the syringe needle at high flow rate, around half of the cancer cells were still alive. In contrast, very few
normal epithelial cells survived the process.
Closer examination of the cell survival data revealed an additional twist. The rate at which the cancer cells are destroyed by pas-
sage through the syringe is not constant over all 10 passages. Instead, exposure to fluid shear stress during the earlier passages
seems to trigger adaptive responses in cancer cells that actually increase the cells' resistance to fluid shear stress.
The UI team went on to show that this "toughening up" process appears to involve expression of common cancer-causing genes.
They also showed that blocking the signaling pathway controlled by one of these oncogenes reduced the cancer cells' resistance to
fluid shear stress.
Reat more about this topic at: http://now.uiowa.edu/2012/12/unexpected-toughness-may-mark-out-cancer-cells-blood

4. P E R U : 2 01 2 B i r d w a t c h i n g C o n t e s t *
The swift (apodidae), a migratory bird originally from North America, was found in Peru during the
Birding Rally Challenge, a birdwatching contest held in Peru, whose final destination was Machu Pic-
chu. Also, the presence of the Peruvian wigeon (Anas sibilatrix) was confirmed. This species has not
been seen since 1850. These findings were announced by Dennis Osorio, coordinator of this contest
that gathered some of the world’s most recognized ornithologists, who were part of a total of six
teams from five countries: United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Spain, and Brazil.
In six days, participants had to identify the largest number of birds, in a trip that started at the Ama- The swift was seen in Tambopata by
zon Tambopata Natural Reserve, and ended at the Machu Picchu rainforest. The winner team was the British team. This northern
migratory bird travels South when the
LSU-Tigrosomas from the United States, who observed 493 birds. winter starts, but nobody knew until
Forest Falcons from the United Kingdom won the second place with now that it reached the Peruvian
territory.
490 species.
Photo by genuinno (flickr user). Under
Creative Commons License.
Dennis Osorio commented that this is the first time in South America
that a competition like this has taken place over several days, as
these contests last usually 24 hours.
Following Colombia, Peru is the second country in the world in diversity of birds, counting on more
than 1800 species in its different ecosystems.
Read more at: http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/1505547/noticia-ave-inedita-peru-fue-descubierta-concurso-avistamientos
https://www.facebook.com/notes/promper%C3%BA-oficial/birding-rally-challenge-arroj%C3%B3-resultados-muy-positivos
-para-el-per%C3%BA/470419249670370
2 0 1 3 B i r d wa t c h i n g C o n t e s t *
Participants could also observe one of the
most representative birds of Peru, the cock “Peru will organize a new birdwatching contest
of the rock (Rupicola peruviana), many
species of hummingbirds (Trochilinae), and during the first semester of 2013, which will cover
the A nde a n mo t mo t ( M o m o t u s the North coast and the jungle, including San Mar-
ecuatorialis), known for moving its tail as a
pendulum. Birds hard to find were the tin, Amazonas and Lambayeque,” announced
Masked Fruiteater (Pipreola pulchra) and Claudia Cornejo, Vice Minister of Tourism.
the Black-Faced cotinga (Conioptilon
mcilhennyi)
The new edition of this contest looks for a 17%
Photo by Ricardo Sanchez (flickr user). Under
Creative Commons License. increase in birdwatching tourism. In September,
Jose Luis Silva explained that Peru expects ap-
proximately 20,000 birdwatchers to arrive in their country next year, which will
generate an income of more than 50 million dollars.
HOATZIN. Weird bird observed in San Martin region, Peru. Photo by Carine06
(flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.
According to PromPeru, the profile of birdwatchers ranges between 35-75 years
old, have an annual income higher than US$60,000, stay 11-15 days and are very concerned about environmental conservation.
Read more at: http://elcomercio.pe/turismo/1506145/noticia-peru-volvera-organizar-rally-avistamiento-aves-2013
SCIENCE: Sparrows use Cigarette Butts to Build Their Nests*
Birds living in urban areas had to adapt themselves to their environment and start using a wide variety of materials to build their
nests. In North America, for example, sparrows even use the cellulose from the cigarette butts. However, it was unknown until
now, why these birds used them. Recently, scientists discovered that, in addition to be useful as thermal isolators, cigarette butts
prevented the nests of being invaded by parasites and other anthropods, thanks to the smell of nicotine they retain.
Read more at: http://elcomercio.pe/actualidad/1506226/noticia-aves-usan-colillas-cigarros-alejar-parasitos-nidos