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This week Starbucks announced it would enhance its ethical sourcing program with the investment in a new farming and research center in Costa Rica. The 240 hectare farm on Poas Volcano will become the coffee giant’s global agronomy center and is part of Starbucks’ promised commitment to source all its coffee ethically by 2015. The new Costa Rica farm is a boost for Conservation International (C...
A new initiative launched at the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (...
On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2013 UN Women will launch "One Woman: A song for UN Women", a musical celebration of women worldwide, featuring more than 20 artists from across the globe. As of today, behind-the-scenes videos chronicling the song’s year-long production will be available at http://song.unwomen.org to count down toward the launch. On March 8, the site will feature the full so...
4th Annual Medical Travel Business Summit April 24-26 2013 in Costa Rica
United States healthcare related entities including insurance companies, self-insured employers, third party administrators, hospitals, physician practices, managed care organizations and many others are all packing their shorts, flip flops and sunscreen and heading south to this year’s 4th Annual Medical Travel Business Summit being held in Costa Rica, April 24th-26th. With the recent passing of ...
Morgan is a smaller black and white male dog; he stands apart because of his three legs. Panicked and dodging cars in the middle of a busy intersection in Escazú, a Good Samaritan managed to pluck him from the traffic and brought him to the Refugio. We are looking for a monthly Sponsorship for Morgan not because of his 3 legs but because he is incontinent. Our guess is that Morgan was a casualt...
Culture is what remains when one has forgotten everything. If in Costa Rica we can speak of an ancestral culture, it is undoubtedly that of corn. Although we have already forgotten many of our best traditions, we must remember and conserve something proper and essential: we are children of the corn. For this reason, and the same as we did earlier with the cart, the oxherd or with calypso music,...
Meet the motivated, energetic women who have been providing scholarships, creating public school libraries and supplying textbooks to Costa Rican students for dozens of years. Two diverse opportunities to engage with them while enjoying one of our annual neighborhood gatherings! February 11 for a morning of physical and mental stretching with an active demonstration of Tai Chi, followed by...
Costa Rican researchers are pioneering 'aquatic agriculture' — the method of growing crops on freshwater lakes and reservoirs — to boost food security in the developing world. The technique involves creating floating rafts on which vegetables, grains and flowers can be grown. Terrestrial crops such as grains and vegetables have their roots directly in the water or can be potted, with water bein...
We walk from the train station toward a Guatemalan restaurant where we decide to have breakfast. It’s 11 a.m. on a summer day in August, a little late to be eating the first meal of the day, but Sandra, Miguel and Robert requested the day off of work to be with us, and they decided that before opening the doors to their private life, we should get to know each other briefly. The restaurant is c...
Both Costa Rica and Chile suffer from high rates of deforestation, which means both can earn carbon credits by saving their rainforest and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). For that to happen in a way that is recognized under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), however, the countries must first develop national accounting procedure...
Aloe Vera is one of the most useful and easy to grow plants. It has been called “a physician in a pot” since it can be used to treat a very broad range of illnesses. The gelatin inside the leaf can be used to treat most skin problems: burns, sunburn, insect bites, cuts, bruises, sprains, eczema, psoriasis, fungal infections and acne. In addition, it is a terrific hair conditioner. But aloe is...
When the Terraba tribe in Costa Rica rallied to oppose a hydroelectric dam they feared would destroy their land and their centuries-old culture, the indigenous community took a modern approach. They linked up with journalism students at Elon University in North Carolina, who built a website describing the tribe's way of life, including how it makes use of medicinal plants. To help the Terrab...
This morning we are getting reports of a woman who was attacked in Jaco Beach yesterday, while swimming offshore. A French couple heard her screaming by a surf lesson tent, they came to her rescue and brought her out of the water onto the beach. There was a huge gaping hole in her thigh, which revealed her bone and was bleeding heavily. At this point the emails we are receiving about the ...
Washington, D.C., 17 January 2013 (PAHO/WHO) — A new report published by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries studied, between 17% and 53% of women interviewed reported having suffered physical or sexual violence by an intimate...
Children living near traditional plantations in Costa Rica are exposed to twice as much of the insecticide chlorpyrifos compared to children living near organic plantations, a study reports. More than half of the 140 studied children -- mostly indigenous Ngäbe and Bribri -- had higher daily exposures than what is considered safe by U.S. standards. Residential use of the pesticide, which has been l...
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has overturned a prohibition on IVF in Costa Rica saying that it infringed provisions under the American Convention on Human Rights. The ban was originally implemented by the Costa Rican Government in an effort to protect human life. Costa Rica's Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the practice of discarding 'spare' embryos in IVF was unconstitution...
It's 9 am in San Jose, Costa Rica, a cold day and not many cars mark the end of a battle for survival, where only the lucky ones, the strongest and the brave ones wake up to another day on the streets of the "Suiza Centroamericana". Costa Rica is a country where tourism promoted by our natural beauty is the standard to an unprecedented paradise. However, we suffer many illnesses as all ci...
MOSCOW | Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:43am EST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state technology firm Rusnano, alongside a group of investors, is investing $93 million in three U.S.-based pharmaceutical firms to develop drugs to treat illnesses such as epilepsy, the investors said on Wednesday. Rusnano is making the investment with U.S. venture capital fund Domain Assoc...
By David French DUBAI | Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:40am EST DUBAI (Reuters) - The private equity consortium which owns half of Abu Dhabi healthcare provider Al Noor Medical is reviving plans to sell its stake through a stock market listing in 2013, four sources aware of the matter said. The group, including Dubai-based Ithmar Capital and Qatar First Inve...
By Mette Fraende COPENHAGEN | Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:39am EST COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Shares in Danish drugs firm Lundbeck fell to their lowest level in over 12 years on Wednesday after it cut its profits forecast for the next two years as European sales slow and spending on new products rise to combat generic competition. The company has already warn...
By Charlie Dunmore BRUSSELS | Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:14am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union proposed drastic restrictions on tobacco branding on Wednesday, saying cigarette packs should reflect the deadly threat posed by smoking. If approved by EU member states and the European Parliament, the law will mean graphic visual and written warnin...
By Maria Sheahan and Ben Hirschler FRANKFURT | Wed Dec 19, 2012 7:36am EST FRANKFURT (Reuters) - An experimental lung cancer vaccine from Germany's Merck KGaA failed to improve survival in a pivotal study, dealing a blow to the company and the high-risk field of using vaccines to fight tumors. Stimuvax, which Merck licensed from U.S. biotech firm...
Wed Dec 19, 2012 7:09am EST (Reuters) - Biopharmaceutical company Oncothyreon Inc said a late-stage trial of its experimental lung cancer drug did not meet the main study goal of improving overall survival. The drug, codenamed L-BLP25, is being tested in patients with unresectable, locally advanced stage IIIA or stage IIIB, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).The ...
Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:38pm EST (Reuters) - U.S. cigarette makers including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co said on Tuesday they reached a settlement with 17 states in a long-running dispute over the amount of payments they are required to make under the 1998 landmark anti-smoking agreement. Under the settlement, the states will receive their share of ...
Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:51pm EST (Reuters) - U.S. cigarette makers including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co on Tuesday said they reached a settlement with 17 states to resolve a long-running dispute over the amount of payments they are required to make under the 1998 landmark anti-smoking agreement. Under the agreement, the states will receive their po...
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK | Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:45pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One in nine people with diabetes saw their blood sugar levels dip back to a normal or "pre-diabetes" level after a year on an intensive diet and exercise program, in a new study. Complete remission of type 2 diabetes is still very rare, researchers said. But the...
By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK | Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:44pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Rescue and recovery workers who provided aid after the World Trade Center attacks may have an increased risk of certain types of cancer, including prostate and thyroid cancers, a new study suggests. However, that finding was based on a relatively small number of...
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:41pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. Veterans Affairs hospitals were able to reduce their patients' length of stay without increasing the number of people who needed to be readmitted later on, according to a new study. "As hospitals became more efficient there was this growing concern that we...
MARSEILLES, France | Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:34pm EST MARSEILLES, France (Reuters) - A French psychiatrist whose patient hacked an elderly man to death was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday in a groundbreaking case that could affect the way patients are treated. A court in Marseilles said Daniele Canarelli, 58, had committed a "grave error" by failing t...
Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:21pm EST (Reuters) - Rising healthcare costs are pushing up the amounts states must spend on the Medicaid insurance program for the poor, sending some scrambling to find funds, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The report found that spending on Medicaid and other public healthcare progra...
By Hilary Russ NEW YORK | Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:52pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Costs for Medicaid, education and employee retirement benefits are threatening to overwhelm state and local government budgets in New York, a report by a national task force issued on Tuesday found. "Healthcare costs and retirement costs are rising a lot faster than revenu...
By Jessica Dye NEW YORK | Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:25pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amgen Inc pleaded guilty in a New York federal court on Tuesday for improper marketing practices involving its once top-selling Aranesp anemia drug, and prosecutors said the company has agreed to pay $762 million in a civil settlement and criminal fines. The world's larges...
By Ben Hirschler LONDON | Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:41pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - The number of new medicines approved or pending approval is on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic, painting an encouraging picture for the global drugs industry as it emerges from a wave of patent expiries. European regulators said on Tuesday that they expect an increas...
By Paul Sandle LONDON | Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:03pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Shire's hyperactivity treatment Vyvanse will be available in Europe within months after Britain's drugs regulator backed the amphetamine-based stimulant used to treat millions of U.S. students. The drug, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, has a slow-release action that activates th...
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:38pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A number of obstacles may stand between a person and exercise, and hairstyles may be one of them for African-American women, according to a new study. Researchers found about two of every five African-American women said they avoid exercise because of concerns ...
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:36pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many women who test negative for gene mutations that heighten the risk of ovarian cancer still get their ovaries removed despite a lack of evidence that it reduces the risk of dying, says a new study. "A higher number than expected went through with the surgery...
NEW YORK | Mon Dec 17, 2012 4:01pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mortimer Zuckerman, the chairman and chief executive of office owner Boston Properties Inc, has pledged $200 million to endow a Mind Brain Behavior Institute at Columbia University. "At its root, this is an investment in accomplished scholars whose collective mission is both greater understandin...
By Kate Kelland LONDON | Mon Dec 17, 2012 2:52pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Global funding for the fight against malaria has stalled in the past two years, threatening to reverse what the World Health Organisation (WHO) says are "remarkable recent gains" in the battle to control one of the world's leading infectious killers. After rapid expansion bet...
By Kerry Grens NEW YORK | Mon Dec 17, 2012 2:16pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among people who have a genetic susceptibility to colon cancer, those whose diets are heavy in junk food have an even higher risk, according to a new study. "These patients have this very high risk because of this (genetic) mutation they have, but it might be that t...
Mon Dec 17, 2012 1:03pm EST (Reuters) - A total of 18 U.S. states are planning to start their own health insurance marketplaces, which will be available to consumers and businesses in 2014, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a blog posting on Monday. The deadline for states to inform the federal government if they would operate hea...
