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Sci-Tech

5G Technology And Induction Of Coronavirus Into Skin Cells

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NOTE- the journal paper was retracted by the author a few days after receiving publication. We do not hold that the paper is factual or not, only that the content is interesting and deserves speculative consideration.

In this research, we show that 5G millimeter waves could be absorbed by dermatologic cells acting like antennas, transferred to other cells and play the main role in producing Coronaviruses in biological cells. DNA is built from charged electrons and atoms and has an inductor-like structure. This structure could be divided into linear, toroid and round inductors. Inductors interact with external electromagnetic waves, move and produce some extra waves within the cells. The shapes of these waves are similar to
shapes of hexagonal and pentagonal bases of their DNA source. These waves produce some holes in liquids within the nucleus. To fill these holes, some extra hexagonal and pentagonal bases are produced.

These bases could join to each other and form virus-like structures such as Coronavirus. To produce these viruses within a cell, it is necessary that the wavelength of external waves be shorter than the size of the cell. Thus 5G millimeter waves could be good candidates for applying in constructing virus-like structures such as Coronaviruses (COVID-19) within cells.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the main problem this year involving the entire world (1- see full PDF below).

This is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. This virus is a member of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that can be mild, such as some cases of the common cold (among other possible causes, predominantly rhinoviruses), and others that can be lethal, such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

Among them, COVID-19 is an enveloped virus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 27 to 34 kilobases, the largest among known RNA viruses (2, 3 see full PDF below). To date, many scientists have tried to find a method to cure this disease (4, 5 see full PDF below); however, without success.

COVID-19 may have effects on different types of cells. For example, it has been argued that this virus may have some effects on dermatologic cells (6 see full PDF below). On the other hand, it has been known that some waves in 5G technology have direct effects on the skin cells (7 see full PDF below).

Thus, there are some similarities between effects of COVID-19 and waves in 5G technology.

A new question arises regarding a relationship between 5G technology and COVID-19. The 5G technology is the fifth-generation mobile technology in which its frequency spectrum could be divided into millimeter waves, mid-band, and low-band. To find out how this may cause the creation of COVID-19 in human cells continue here to read the full PDF.

Silo article via – Biolife 0393-974X (2020)
Copyright © by BIOLIFE, s.a.s.
This publication and/or article is for individual use only and may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder.
Unauthorized reproduction may result in financial and other penalties
DISCLOSURE: ALL AUTHORS REPORT NO CONFLICTS OF
INTEREST RELEVANT TO THIS ARTICLE. 3
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL REGULATORS & HOMEOSTATIC AGENTS Vol. 34, no. 4, xx-xx (2020)

Dr Massimo Fioranelli,
Department of Nuclear,
Sub-nuclear and Radiation Physics,
Guglielmo Marconi University,
Via Plinio 44-00193, Rome, Italy
e-mail: m.fioranelli73@gmail.com
5G Technology and induction of coronavirus in skin cells
M. Fioranelli1, A. Sepehri1, M.G. Roccia1, M. Jafferany2, O. Yu. Olisova3,
K.M. Lomonosov3 and T. Lotti1,3
1Department of Nuclear, Sub-nuclear and Radiation Physics, G. Marconi University, Rome, Italy;
2Central Michigan Saginaw, Michigan , USA; 3Department of Dermatology and Venereology, I.M.
Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia

Sci-Tech

Unusual Features Of SARS Covid Genome Suggest Laboratory Creation Not Nature

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to over 910,000 deaths worldwide and unprecedented decimation of the global economy. Despite its tremendous impact, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has remained mysterious and controversial. The natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support.

Censorship Of Alternative Theory

A recent Reddit page

The alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is, however, strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Nonetheless, SARS-CoV-2 shows biological characteristics that are inconsistent with a naturally occurring, zoonotic virus.

Dr. Li-Meng Yan, one of the key authors of the report has been labeled as a whistle blower by Western media.

In this report, the authors describe the genomic, structural, medical, and literature evidence, which, when considered together, strongly contradicts the natural origin theory. The evidence shows that SARS-CoV2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, we further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the laboratory-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months.

Our work emphasizes the need for an independent investigation into the relevant research laboratories. It also argues for a critical look into certain recently published data, which, albeit problematic, was used to support and claim a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2.

From a public health perspective, these actions are necessary as knowledge of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and of how the virus entered the human population are of pivotal importance in the fundamental control of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as in preventing similar, future pandemics.

Introduction

COVID-19 has caused a world-wide pandemic, the scale and severity of which are unprecedented. Despite the tremendous efforts taken by the global community, management and control of this pandemic remains difficult and challenging. As a coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 differs significantly from other respiratory and/or zoonotic viruses: it attacks multiple organs; it is capable of undergoing a long period of asymptomatic infection; it is highly transmissible and significantly lethal in high-risk populations; it is well-adapted to humans since the very start of its emergence ; it is highly efficient in binding the human ACE2 receptor (hACE2), the affinity of which is greater than that associated with the ACE2 of any other potential host.

The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still the subject of much debate.

A widely cited Nature Medicine publication has claimed that SARS-CoV-2 most likely came from nature. However, the article and its central conclusion are now being challenged by scientists from all over the world.

Continuing Reading The Full Paper

Click here to continuing reading and for citation listings. Li-Meng Yan (MD, PhD) , Shu Kang (PhD) , Jie Guan (PhD) , Shanchang Hu (PhD) & Rule of Law Society & Rule of Law Foundation, New York, NY, USA.

Culture

Wildlife Supply Chains for Human Consumption High In Coronaviruses

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HA NOI (June, 2020) – A new study found that animals sampled in the wildlife-trade supply chain bound for human consumption had high proportions of coronaviruses, and that the proportion of positives significantly increases as animals travel from traders, to large markets, to restaurants.

The study, which appears in the pre-print journal bioRxiv, is by a team of scientists from WCS, the Department of Animal Health of the Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam National University of Agriculture, EcoHealth Alliance, and One Health Institute of the University of California, Davis.

Wildlife in the trade supply chain are often under stress and confined at high densities with other animals from multiple sources which likely results in increased shedding of coronaviruses. The authors forewarn of the potential risk of viral spillover into people through the wildlife trade.

The authors indicate that stress and poor nutrition likely contribute to decreasing animal immune functions resulting in increased shedding and amplification of coronaviruses along the supply chain. The findings in rodents illuminate the potential for coronavirus shedding in other wildlife supply chains (e.g. civets, pangolins) where similarly large numbers of animals are collected, transported, and confined.

The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of coronavirus presence and diversity in wildlife at three wildlife-human interfaces including live wildlife trade chains, wildlife farming, and bat-human interfaces. This work represents an important demonstration of capacity and a significant contribution from Viet Nam to the field, laboratory, and scientific approaches critical to understanding and addressing zoonotic disease threats. The consensus PCR approach for viral detection is a cost-effective tool for detecting both known and novel viruses and co-infections in a variety of taxa, sample types, and interfaces.

Researchers collected samples at 70 sites in Viet Nam, and detected six distinct taxonomic units of known coronaviruses. There is no current evidence to suggest these particular viruses were a human-health threat, but the laboratory techniques used in the study can be utilized to detect important emerging or unknown viruses in humans, wildlife, and livestock in the future.

The team found high proportions of positive samples among field rats destined for human consumption. The proportion of positives significantly increased along the supply chain from traders (21 percent), to large markets (32 percent) to restaurants (56 percent). Coronaviruses were detected on two-thirds of the surveyed wildlife farms, and six percent of rodents raised on the farms were positive. A bat and a bird coronavirus were found in rodent fecal samples collected from wildlife farms suggesting either environmental mixing or viral sharing among species. Coronavirus detection rates in rodent populations sampled in their ‘natural’ habitat are closer to 0-2 percent.

Said Amanda Fine, WCS Health Program Associate Director, Asia, and a co-author of the study: “Wildlife supply chains, and the conditions the animals experience while in the supply chain, appear to greatly amplify the prevalence of coronaviruses. In addition, we documented exposure of rodents on wildlife farms to both bat and bird coronaviruses. These high prevalence rates and diversity of coronaviruses, added to the species mixing we see in the wildlife trade, creates more opportunities for coronavirus recombination events as well as spillover.”

The authors warn that the trade in wildlife facilitates close contact between people and multiple species of wildlife taxa shedding coronaviruses. This provides opportunities for intra- and inter-species transmission and potential recombination of coronaviruses.

The wildlife supply chain from the field to the restaurant provides multiple opportunities for such spillover events to occur. To minimize the public health risks of viral disease emergence from wildlife and to safeguard livestock-based production systems, the authors recommend precautionary measures that restrict the killing, commercial breeding, transport, buying, selling, storage, processing, and consuming of wild animals.

The emergence of SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and now SARS-CoV-2 highlight the importance of the coronavirus viral family to affect global public health. The world must increase vigilance through building and improving detection capacity; actively conducting surveillance to detect and characterize coronaviruses in humans, wildlife, and livestock; and to inform human behaviors in order to reduce zoonotic viral transmission to humans. 


Hoang Bich Thuy, WCS Viet Nam Country Program Director and co-author explains: “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Government of Viet Nam has been taking strong actions to enforce wildlife trade laws and is considering the prohibition of wildlife trade and consumption as directed by the Prime Minister in his Official Letter No. 1744/VPCP-KGVX dated 6 March 2020 of the Government Office. This research provides important baseline information and suggests areas for targeted studies to provide more evidence for the development of new policies and/or revision of the legal framework in Viet Nam to prevent future pandemics by mitigating risks of transmitting pathogens from animals to humans at key nodes along the wildlife supply chain. Successful interventions will be those that support a significant reduction in the volume and diversity of species traded, and the number of people involved in the trade of wildlife.”

This study was made possible USAID’s Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project with cooperation from the government of Viet Nam.

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. For the Silo, Stephen Sautner, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx Zoo, New York.

Featured image- Civet in a farm in Dong Thap, Viet Nam.  CREDIT: ©WCS Vietnam

Culture

Anti Glycation Is Next Level In Battle Against Aging

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What does a sugar molecule and US special op forces in Afghanistan have to do with this post? Read on.....
What does a sugar molecule and US special op forces in Afghanistan have to do with this post? Read on…..

Most people today know antioxidants to be an effective method of fighting age, but few are aware of the biological process underlying for most skin damage – and what directly addresses the problem, says skin-care expert Ron Cummings.

“The word that has been on the minds of dermatologists and other skin-care researchers for many years is glycation, which is what happens on the cellular level to age our skin,” says Cummings, founder and CEO of AminoGenesis Skin Care, (www.aminogenesis.com .

Glycation – damage to proteins caused by sugar molecules – has long been a focus of study in people with diabetes, because it results in severe complications, such as blindness and nerve damage. People with uncontrolled diabetes have excess blood sugar, so they experience a higher rate of systemic glycation, he says. “Antioxidants fight inflammation caused by free radicals, which are largely created from external, environmental factors such as excessive sunlight or cigarette smoke. Glycation, though, damages from the inside out.”

Using antioxidants and topical moisturizers are a good start to keeping the effects of aging at bay, but they only go so far, Cummings says. Even more important is reversing the damage to skin caused by glycation, which became possible only recently.

Cummings shares three points anyone interested in skin care should know about glycation:

• Glycation is the skin’s No.1 aging factor. Sugar molecules in our body bombard our cells like a ferocious hail storm, bonding with fats and proteins. The proteins then become misshapen and excrete exotoxins that disrupt cellular metabolism. Collagen, which makes skin look smooth and plump, is a protein that’s particularly vulnerable to glycation. The damage manifests as wrinkles, lines, discoloration and edema. Rather than attacking a cell from the outside, like a free radical, glycation occurs from within.

• Anti-glycation topical solutions have been clinically shown to be effective. Old lotions, from your favorite moisturizer to Grandma’s secret facial solution to the new DIY recipe you found online act as a barrier to moisture evaporation. But their effect is temporary, and they don’t prevent or reverse damage. New anti-glycation formulas, however, directly address aging by releasing the sugar molecule’s bond with protein, allowing the cell to return to its natural shape and state.

“Just as antioxidants have revolutionized anti-aging efforts around the world, anti-glycation will be understood to be exponentially more effective,” Cummings says. For the Silo, Ginny Grimsley. 

About Ron Cummings

Ron Cummings is the founder and CEO of AminoGenesis Skin Care, which utilizes amino acids as the key ingredients to its age- and damage-reversing products. The formula for the solution features 17 plant-purified amino acids, which are necessary for healthy and radiant skin. The company’s formulas include anti-glycation properties, which are very rare in today’s skin-care products. Cummings donated one of his products, a protective agent, to support military forces in Afghanistan and received a hearty letter of gratitude from the Marines of Special Operations Company Bravo, which described the product’s excellent performance, as well as a flag that was flown “in the face of the enemy, over Forward Operating Base Robinson in Sangin, Afghanistan.”

Earth

Sugar Battery Set To Power Phones, Tablets And Other Devices

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Catalyzing Commercialization Sugar could some day be used to power smartphones, tablets, and other electronic devices thanks to a recent breakthrough by Blacksburg, VA-based Cell-Free BioInnovations, Inc. It might seem strange to use an ingredient found in cupcakes and cookies as an energy source, but it’s not, as most living cells break down sugar to produce energy. And, interestingly, the energy density of sugar is significantly higher than that of current lithium-ion batteries.

Working under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation, a research team led by Y-H Percival Zhang, Chief Science Officer of Cell- Free BioInnovations and an associate professor of biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech, has successfully demonstrated the concept of a sugar biobattery that can completely convert the chemical energy in sugar substrates into electricity.

As reported in the January 2014 issue of Nature Communications, this breakthrough in sugar-powered biobattery can achieve an energy-storage density of about 596 A-h/kg — an order of magnitude higher than the 42 A-h/kg energy density of a typical lithium-ion battery.

A sugar biobattery with such a high energy density could last at least ten times longer than existing lithium-ion batteries of the same weight, drastically reducing how often users need to recharge their electronic devices. This nature-inspired biobattery is a type of enzymatic fuel cell (EFC)— an electrobiochemical device that converts chemical energy from fuels such as starch and glycogen into electricity.

While EFCs operate under the same general principles as traditional fuel cells, they use enzymes instead of noble metal catalysts to oxidize the fuel. Enzymes allow for the use of more-complex fuels (e.g. glucose), and these more-complex fuels are what give EFCs their superior energy density. For example, the complex sugar hexose can release 24 electrons per glucose molecule during oxidation, whereas hydrogen (a fuel used in traditional fuel cells) releases only two electrons. Until now, however, EFCs have been limited by incomplete oxidation, releasing just two to four electrons per glucose molecule.

“We are not the first who proposed using sugar as the fuel in the biobattery,” says Zhiguang Zhu, a senior scientist at Cell-Free BioInnovations. “However, we are the first to demonstrate the complete oxidation of the sugar in the biobattery, enabling our technology to have a near-theoretical energy conversion yield that no one has ever reported.”

Zhang and his team constructed a synthetic catabolic pathway (a series of metabolic reactions that break down complex organic molecules) containing 13 enzymes to completely oxidize the glucose units of maltodextrin, yielding nearly 24 electrons per glucose molecule.

We put specific thermostable enzymes into one vessel to constitute a synthetic enzymatic pathway that can perform a cascade of biological reactions the sugar, converting it into carbon dioxide, Zhang says. Unlike natural catabolic pathways for the oxidation of glucose in cells, the designed synthetic pathway does not require costly and unstable cofactors, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), coenzyme A, or a labile cellular membrane. The researchers used two redox enzymes that generate reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) from sugar metabolites. NADH, a reducing agent involved in redox reactions, is a natural electron mediator that carries electrons from one molecule to another. They also used ten other enzymes responsible for sustaining metabolic cycles and an additional enzyme that transfers electrons from NADH to the electrode.

This new synthetic pathway enables the biobattery to extract the theoretical number of electrons per glucose unit and thereby use all the chemical energy in the sugar. This, the team reports, represents a significant breakthrough.

In addition to its superior energy density, the sugar biobattery is also less costly than the Li-ion battery, refillable, environmentally friendly, and nonflammable. While researchers  continue to work on extending the lifetime, increasing the power density, and reducing the cost of electrode materials for such a battery, they hope that the rapidly growing appetite for powering portable electronic devices could well be met with this energy dense sugar biobattery in the future. For the Silo, Zhiguang Zhu, chief scientist at”The Sweet Battery Project”.

This technology was funded through the America’s NSF Small Business Innovation Research Program.

Sci-Tech

Watch Live Stream Attempt Here By ESA Exo/Mars To Land On Red Planet This Wednesday

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At about 17:30 CEST on 16 October, the data link with the ExoMars/TGO orbiter had still not been fully re-established following separation. Subsequently, at around 18:40 CEST, ESA (the European Space Agency) re-established a full data link with the spacecraft, and the mission control team could confirm that separation had taken place as planned, at 16:42 CEST. Both the Schiaparelli module and the TGO orbiter are in good shape and en route – separately – to arrive at the Red Planet on 19 October. We will be hosting the live video feed from ESA and wish them all the best of success in landing on Mars.

Schiaparelli Mars Rover

An orbiter carried on the ExoMars 2016 mission will hunt for methane in the atmosphere and show if it’s likely to have been generated by geology or biological processes. In other words- suggestive evidence of life/past life on Mars.

Share your smart device/phone/tablet/laptop/webcam video with us- or upload a Mars or space related file by clicking here: [vidrack align=”left”]

Earth

35 Years Of Marine Protection With Jimmy Buffett Save the Manatee Club

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Jimmy BuffettIt’s been 35 years since Save the Manatee Club was created by Jimmy Buffett, the renowned singer/songwriter, and former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator, Bob Graham, to raise public awareness about the threats to manatees and their aquatic habitat.  With support from you, we can continue to make a big difference.

Even Florida Congressman Buchanan has been working hard to ensure that Manatees remain on the endangered species list-

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Buchanan Files Formal Protest to Manatee “Survival” Plan

Save The Manatee Club Ribbon

WASHINGTON – In a formal objection letter sent today to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-FL, urged the agency to withdraw its plan to strip the manatee of the highest protection afforded under the Endangered Species Act.

The public comment period on the agency’s proposal opened Jan. 7 and closes this Thursday.

Buchanan’s letter is a formal challenge to the proposed downgrading of the manatee from “endangered” to “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Adopt A Manatee Club May2016The manatee has been listed as an endangered species since 1966.

Buchanan expressed his strong opposition, noting that the agency’s analysis is based on outdated information. Buchanan pointed to the FWS’s failure to take into account manatee deaths since 2012, as well as the unpredictable nature of threats facing these creatures. He noted that 16% of the Florida manatee population died in 2013 as a result of a massive bloom of red tide algae as well as a mysterious ailment that killed a number of manatees along the state’s east coast.

“I’m concerned that weakening protections will lead to a decline in the manatee population,” Buchanan said. “Manatees are iconic residents of Florida. We should be doing all we can to ensure the survival of these gentle giants.”

Help Protect Manatee Be A Diver Dot ComBuchanan has previously written to the Fish and Wildlife Service to emphasize that any push to weaken protections for the manatee would be “misguided and premature.” In 2014, following a three-year period in which 1,600 manatees died of cold weather or red tide, Buchanan called on FWS to maintain federal protections for manatees.

Manatees face a variety of threats to their existence, including watercraft collisions, habitat loss and red tide. Additionally, the warm water springs manatees depend on during the winter months for survival are disappearing.

Buchanan also noted that the FWS underestimates the negative consequences that a downlisting will have on importantprotections that have helped limit manatee deaths. Despite the agency’s assertion that a downlisting would not affect federal protections for the manatee, Buchanan noted the plan is “already exposing dangers” and that a move from endangered to threatened could cause a broader reassessment of state and local protections for the animals.
Just days after the proposed rule was announced, the Brevard County commissioners approved a resolution requesting that the Florida Legislature review slow-speed zones currently in place for boats and called for a reconsideration of the state’s Manatee Sanctuary Act, which established protections for manatees and their habitats in several counties, including Sarasota and Manatee.

“The manatee population has started to rebound because of the protections put in place by the Endangered Species Act,” Buchanan said. “But based on the data provided, it’s clear that we can’t assume that manatees are safe – so I’m urging caution.”

Full text of Buchanan’s letter below:

April 4, 2016

The Hon. Daniel Ashe
Director
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of Interior
1849 C St. NW, Room 3359
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Director Ashe:

I write in strong opposition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (the Service) proposal to downlist the West Indian manatee under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from endangered to threatened status. This decision is based on outdated information and underestimates the effect that a downlisting will have on protections that have helped limit manatee deaths. As a result, I urge you to withdraw this proposed rule.

Manatees are special for many Floridians. In addition to being the state’s official marine mammal an entire county – which I represent – is named after these gentle giants.

Just 25 years ago, there were barely over 1,000 manatees in the state of Florida. That number is now estimated to be around 6,000. The Service points to this as good news and rightfully credits the species’ listing as endangered under the ESA for this increase. The ESA has worked to help manatees overcome multiple threats to their existence. These challenges are not static, nor are they predictable. The Service should be taking a precautionary approach when it comes to the recovery of the manatee, and in light of the following concerns, the Service should withdraw its downlisting proposal and retain the manatees’ endangered status.

The basis for the Service’s proposal to reduce the status of manatees is said to be an analysis of the population’s viability. It is cited in the proposal as “Runge, 2015.” However, the Service’s proposal acknowledges that this analysis contains outdated data and information. For example, adult survival rates are based on data only through the winter of 2008-2009 and, elsewhere, the most recent information cited in the report is from 2011-2012.

Since the years used in the analysis, manatees have suffered a catastrophic die-off in the Indian River Lagoon that the U.S. Geological Service Representatives have stated cost the lives of five percent of the manatees on the U.S. east coast. During that same time, toxic algae (red tide) killed a record number of manatees on the state’s west coast. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, the statewide death toll of manatees was 803 as of 2013; or around 16 percent of the state’s entire population. Yet none of this information was considered in the Service’s outdated analysis.

In addition, in its analysis, the Service assumes that the current level of mortality in each category (e.g., watercraft collisions, cold stress, red tide, etc.) will stay approximately the same indefinitely. However, this is unlikely. The likelihood of deaths from both red tide events and from unknown pathogens has not been adequately analyzed when projecting the future for manatees. Additionally, as noted by the Service itself, there will be a continued loss of artificial sources of warm water in the winter and, as a result, manatees in the Southwest and Northeast regions of the state will show “long-term decline” as a result of the loss of these warm water winter refuges.

In its January 6, 2016 press release, the Service stated that “[t]he proposal to downlist the manatee to threatened will not affect federal protections currently afforded by the ESA.” If all protections will remain the same, it is not apparent that a change in the listing status is necessary. In fact, downlisting the manatee may open the door to future erosions of protections for these unique animals.

The Service cites the existence of federal and state laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act as sufficient in providing the animals with the protections they need. Yet there is no guarantee that such other laws will remain in place to protect the species even if manatees are downlisted under the ESA.

Approximately fifty manatee protection areas are set up by federal, local, and industry leaders and many of these areas or their protective restrictions can be altered or removed if a downlisting goes forward. For example, despite the Service stating in its proposal that on the east coast of Florida “watercraft-related mortality is the major threat to this population,” five days after the proposed reduction in protections, the Brevard County commissioners approved a resolution requesting that the Florida Legislature review slow-speed zones for boats to determine whether they are effective or still necessary. The resolution also called for reconsidering the need for the Manatee Sanctuary Act, stating that it has “become a hindrance to effective manatee management.”

Manatees are iconic residents of Florida. Their presence drives a robust tourist industry.

Their unhurried progress in my state’s waters is a reminder to us all to slow down and appreciate the world around us. Manatees deserve better than a premature determination that they have recovered when so many threats still face them and cloud our understanding of their future. I urge continued endangered status for manatees under the ESA, and ask you to immediately withdraw the Service’s proposal to downlist manatees to threatened status.

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Save the Manatee Club is an international nonprofit organization.  Funds from our adoption program go toward emergency rescue response for sick and injured manatees, and for waterway signage, public awareness and education, research and more.  Read about our manatee conservation efforts at: savethemanatee.org/smcinfo.

Thank you!

For the Silo and the  manatees, Janice Nearing

Adopt-A-Manatee!  Go to www.savethemanatee.org/adoptpag.htm