The time has come for Sri Lanka to look beyond apparel exports

By Subhashini Abeysingha
 

Apparel is the feather in the cap of Sri Lanka’s export story. It is sadly the only success story of the country’s export oriented industrialisation policy adopted in 1977. Apparel accounts for nearly 70% industrial exports from Sri Lanka. In the last decade, the sector has received much applause forsuccessfully weathering competition from low cost developing country exporters and for transforming itself from a low value exporter to a high value exporter.
The analysis of the sector performance in the country and the world however shows that the time has come for Sri Lanka to look beyond apparel in order to revive its exports. The world market share of apparel and its share of Sri Lanka’s exports are on the decline. The sector is losing the comparative and competitive advantage it originally had in the 80s. The overall contribution to the economy and employment is declining as well.
Further, the experiences of East Asia indicate that apparel is the beginning of the industrial export story, not the end. The success of East Asia has been their ability to diversify away from labour intensive apparel into technology and skill intensive industrial and services exports.

The best performer in Sri Lanka but not the world

Apparel fares well in comparison to the rest of the export sectors in Sri Lanka. However, in the world market, the country is steadily losing its market share since 2000. During 2000-2012 when Sri Lanka has been losing its world market share, cost competitive developing countries have seen their share increase. For example, the apparel market share of Bangladesh in the world has increased from 2% to 5%, Vietnam from 1% to 3% and China from 18% to 38% during the same period.
 

Sri Lankan apparel was hurt by the MFA phase out
Contrary to the popular belief, the apparel sector in Sri Lanka has been hurt by the MFA phase out and is struggling to sustain itself (MFA or the Multi Fibre Agreement governed world trade in apparel from 1974 to 2004, imposing quotas on the quantity of apparel developing countries can export to developed countries like the USA). The U.S. import statistics show a sharp decline of apparel imported from Sri Lanka since 2005, in terms of value as well as market share.
Sri Lankan apparel has strived hard to sustain itself post MFA amidst the emerging competition from low cost destinations. The ability of the country to recover the value of exports to US to match the level it was in 2006 therefore is salutary. However, sustaining the growth momentum will be challenging.

 

 

For example, all countries experienced slowing down in the growth rates of imports into USA due to the slowdown of the US economy. However, statistics clearly show that the decline in Sri Lanka’s rate of growth was much more severe than the rest of Asia. During 2005-2011 period, apparel imports from China to USA grew by 17%, Vietnam by 14%, Bangladesh by 12% while imports from Sri Lanka declined by 3%.

Post-MFA low cost suppliers dominate the US market
During the MFA period, the buyers were restricted from sourcing all their requirements from low cost suppliers, because of the quota restrictions. As was expected post-MFA, the countries that were cost competitive emerged as the winners; China, Vietnam and Bangladesh are on the top of the list. China and Vietnam alone accounted for nearly 50% of the total imports into the United States in 2013.
This is a remarkable achievement, given that their share was a mere 20% in 2004. As a result, market concentration of countries in the import market for apparel in USA has increased over the last 10 years. At present 5 countries account for 64% of total apparel imports into USA. This development is hurting high cost exporting countries like Sri Lanka.

GSP+ to the rescue
The apparel sector had its share of luck working in its favour compared to other export sectors in the country. In the exact same year that the country completely lost its quota-guaranteed market access to the developed world, Sri Lanka received GSP plus access to the European Union (EU). The GSP plus or the Generalised System of Preferences scheme for good governance and sustainable development which came into effect in 2005 – granted duty free access to apparel exports from Sri Lanka to the EU.

 

 

For the apparel industry, the timing could not have been more perfect. Exhibit 3 clearly shows the impact of GSP plus on Sri Lankan apparel; USA was the leading export market for Sri Lankan apparel exports until 2005, thereafter the share of USA has steadily declined and the share of EU has steadily increased.
The GSP plus window closed down in 2010. Apparel from Sri Lanka no longer has preferential access to the two leading import markets for apparel in the world: USA and the EU; the two countries alone account for over 50% of total world apparel imports.

Declining contribution to exports, GDP and employment
With the growth of apparel slowing down, the contribution of apparel to exports of the country has declined from 48% to 38% and the value added apparel contribution to GDP has declined from 3.6% to 2.6% during 2002-2012.
The apparel sector continues to be a leading employment provider in the country. However, the number of people employed by the sector as well as the number of establishments records a significant decline over a short period. According to data available, between 2007 and 2010, the number of persons engaged in the sector dropped by 226,000.

Declining comparative and competitive advantage
The apparel sector came to be established in Sri Lanka in the 80s as a result of the quota guaranteed market access to the developed world and the comparative advantage the country had in terms of low skilled, low cost labour. With the end of the quota system Sri Lanka has to compete in the world market with other exporting countries on an equal platform. Labour, over the years, has become a scarce and a costly resource. Thus, the country has lost the initial cost and other advantages it had as an apparel exporter.
The industry strives hard to overcome the cost disadvantage by moving up the value chain. While such initiatives have undoubtedly helped the sector to stay afloat, it is losing its glamour as a leading exporter, employment provider and contributor to GDP growth.

 

Lessons from East Asia
Cross-country comparisons indicate that this is a natural evolution of the apparel industry when countries move up the income ladder. The experience of East Asia has been that export oriented industrialisation begins with labour intensive industries like apparel.
However, as countries moved up the income ladder, they diversified into other skill and technology intensive industrial exports. Shows this transformation clearly. All countries, even India and Vietnam, have seen a steep decline in their apparel export share in manufacturing compared to Sri Lanka, which continues to be heavily dependent on apparel.

The time has come to think beyond apparel
Sri Lanka is jealously guarding the only industrial export success story of the country – that is apparel. Yet, this attitude can have a negative impact on the attempt to revive the export sector of the country. Statistics strongly suggest that it is time the country starts thinking beyond apparel when talking of exports.
What is important to remember however is that decline in the share of apparel does not mean decline in value. Vietnam for example saw its share of apparel exports as a percentage of manufacturing decline from 33% to 21% from 2003 to 2012 but the value of apparel exports increased from US$ 35 billion to US$ 141 billion during the same period.
Thus, the value of apparel exports from Sri Lanka can and should continue to increase, but the country needs to take initiatives to diversify the export product basket beyond apparel in order to boost export earnings.

(The writer is a Senior Economic Analyst, Vérite Research.)
 

10 of the Biggest Lies in History

(10) The Trojan Horse

 

 

If all is fair in love and ­war, this might be the most forgivable of the big lies. When the Trojan Paris absconded with Helen, wife of the Spartan king, war exploded. It had been raging for 10 long years when the Trojans believed they had finally overcome the Greeks. Little did they know, the Greeks had another trick up their sleeves.

 

In a stroke of genius, the Greeks built an enormous wooden horse with a hollow belly in which men could hide. After the Greeks convinced their foes that this structure was a peace offering, the Trojans happily accepted it and brought the horse within their fortified city. That night, as the Trojans slept, Greeks hidden inside snuck out the trap door. Then, they proceeded to slaughter and decisively defeat the Trojans.

 

This was unquestionably one of the biggest and most successful tricks known to history -- that is, if it's true. Homer alludes to the occurrence in "The Iliad," and Virgil extrapolates the story in "The Aeneid." Evidence suggests that Troy itself existed, giving some validity to Homer's tales, and scholars have long been investigating how historically accurate these details are. One theory behind the Trojan horse comes from historian Michael Wood, who proposes that it was merely a battering ram in the shape of a horse that infiltrated the city.

 

In any case, the story has won a permanent place in the Western imagination as a warning to beware of enemies bearing gifts.

 

(09) Han van Meegeren's Vermeer Forgeries

 

 

This lie re­sulted from a classic case of wanting to please the critics. Han van Meegeren was an artist who felt underappreciated and thought he could trick art experts into admitting his genius.

 

In the early 20th century, scholars were squabbling about whether the great Vermeer had painted a series of works depicting biblical scenes. Van Meegeren pounced on this opportunity and set to work carefully forging one such disputed work, "The Disciples at Emmaus." With tireless attention to detail, he faked the cracks and aged hardness of a centuries-old painting. He intentionally played on the confirmation bias of critics who wanted to believe that Vermeer painted these scenes. It worked: Experts hailed the painting as authentic, and van Meegeren made out like a bandit producing and selling more fake Vermeers. Greed apparently overcame his desire for praise, as he decided not to out himself.

 

However, van Meegeren, who was working in the 1930s and '40s, made one major mistake. He sold a painting to a prominent member of the Nazi party in Germany. After the war, Allies considered him a conspirator for selling a "national treasure" to the enemy. In a curious change of events, van Meegeren had to paint for his freedom. In order to help prove that the painting was no national treasure, he forged another in the presence of authorities.

 

He escaped with a light sentence of one year in prison, but van Meegeren died of a heart attack two months after his trial.

 

(08) Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme

 

 

When Bernie Madoff admitted that his investment firm was "just one big lie," it was an understatement. In 2008, he confessed to having conned about $50 billion from investors who trusted him with their savings. Madoff used the f­ormula of a Ponzi scheme to keep up the fraud for more than a decade.

This classic lie is named after the notorious Charles Ponzi, who used the ploy in the early 20th century. It works like this: A schemer promises investors great returns, but instead of investing the money, he keeps some for himself and uses the funds from new investments to pay off earlier investors.

Madoff may not have invented this lie, but he took it to new lengths. For one, he made a record amount of money from the scheme. But he was also able to keep it going much longer than most Ponzi schemers. Usually, the scam falls apart quickly because it requires the schemer to constantly find more and more investors. It was also an especially shocking lie because Madoff, as a former chairman of NASDAQ, had been an accomplished and respected expert in the financial field. Compare this to Chares Ponzi, who was a petty ex-con by the time he launched his scheme.

 

(07)  Anna Anderson, Alias Anastasia

 

 

With the onslaught of the Russian Revolution, the existence of a royal family was intolerabl­e to the Bolsheviks. In 1918, they massacred the royal Romanov family -- Czar Nicholas II, his wife, son and four daughters - to ensure that no legitimate heir could later resurface and rally the public for support.

 

Soon, rumors floated around that certain members of the royal family had escaped and survived. As one might expect, claimants came out of the woodwork. "Anna Anderson" was the most famous. In 1920, Anderson was admitted to a hospital after attempting suicide and confessed that she was Princess Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the royal family. She stood out from other claimants because she held a certain resemblance to and surprising knowledge of the Russian family and life at court.

 

Although a few relatives and acquaintances who'd known Anastasia believed Anderson, most didn't. By 1927, an alleged former roommate of Anderson claimed that her name was Franziska Schanzkowska, not Anna and certainly not Anastasia. This didn't stop Anderson from indulging in celebrity and attempting to cash in on a royal inheritance. She ultimately lost her case in the legal proceedings that dragged on for decades, but she stuck to her story until her death in 1984. Years later, upon the discovery of what proved to be the remains of the royal family, DNA tests confirmed her to be a fake. In 2009, experts were able to finally confirm that all remains have been found and that no family member escaped execution in 1918.

 

(06) Titus Oates and the Plot to Kill Charles II

 

 

By the time he fabricated his notorious plot, Titus Oates already had a history of deception and ­general knavery. He'd been expelled from some of England's finest schools as well as the navy. Oates was even convicted of perjury and escaped imprisonment. But his biggest lie was still ahead of him.

Raised Protestant by an Anabaptist preacher, Oates entered Cambridge as a young man to study for Anglican orders. After misconduct got him dismissed from his Anglican post, he started associating with Catholic circles and feigned conversion. With the encouragement of fellow anti-Catholic Israel Tonge, Oates infiltrated enemy territory by entering a Catholic seminary. In fact, he entered two seminaries -- both of which expelled him. But it hardly mattered. By this time, he had gathered enough inside information and names to wreak enormous havoc.

 

In 1678, Oates concocted and pretended to uncover a plot in which the Jesuits were planning to murder King Charles II. The idea was that they wanted to replace Charles with his Catholic brother, James. What ensued was a three-year panic that fueled anti-Catholic sentiment and resulted in the executions of about 35 people.

 

After Charles died in 1685, James became king and had Oates tried for perjury. Oates was convicted, pilloried and imprisoned. He only spent a few years in jail, however, as the Glorious Revolution swept through England in 1688. Without James in power, Oates got off with a pardon and a pension.

 

(05) Piltdown Man

 

 

After ­Charles Darwin published his revolutionary "On the Origin of Species" in 1859, scientists scrambled to find fossil evidence of extinct human ancestors. They sought these so-called "missing links" to fill in the gaps on the timeline of human evolution. When archaeologist Charles Dawson unearthed what he thought was a missing link in 1910, what he really found was one of the biggest hoaxes in history.

 

The discovery was the Piltdown man, pieces of a skull and jaw with molars located in the Piltdown quarry in Sussex, England. Dawson brought his discovery to prominent paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward, who touted its authenticity to his dying day.

 

Although the discovery gained world renown, the lie behind Piltdown man slowly and steadily unraveled. In the ensuing decades, other major discoveries suggested Piltdown man didn't fit in the story of human evolution. By the 1950s, tests revealed that the skull was only 600 years old and the jaw came from an orangutan. Some knowledgeable person apparently manipulated these pieces, including filing down and staining the teeth.

 

The scientific world had been duped. So who was behind the fraud? Many suspects have surfaced, including Dawson himself. Today, most signs point to Martin A. C. Hinton, a museum volunteer at the time of the discovery. A trunk bearing his initials contained bones that were stained in exactly the same way the Piltdown fossils were. Perhaps he was out to embarrass his boss, Arthur Smith Woodward, who refused to give him a weekly salary.

 

(04) The Dreyfus Affair

 

 

Like t­he conspiracy invented by Titus Oates, this scandal was built on a lie that dramatically affected national politics and was perpetuated for years by hatred. Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish officer in the French Army in the late 19th century when he was accused of a treasonous crime: selling military secrets to Germany.

 

After his highly publicized trial, authorities sentenced him to life imprisonment on Devils Island, and anti-Semitic groups used him as an example of unpatriotic Jews. However, suspicions arose that the incriminating letters were in fact forged and that a Maj. Esterhazy was the real culprit. When French authorities suppressed these accusations, the novelist Emile Zola stepped up to accuse the army of a vast cover-up.

 

The scandal exploded into a fight between so-called Dreyfusards, who wanted to see the case reopened, and anti-Dreyfusards, who didn't. On both sides, the debate became less about Dreyfus' innocence and more about the principle. During the dramatic 12-year controversy, many violent anti-Semitic riots broke out and political allegiances shifted as Dreyfusards called for reform.

 

After Maj. Hubert Joseph Henry admitted to forging key documents and committed suicide, a newly elected Cabinet finally reopened the case. The court found Dreyfus guilty again; however, he soon received a pardon from the president. A few years later, a civilian court of appeals found Dreyfus innocent, and he went on to have a distinguished army career and fought with honor in World War I. Meanwhile, the scandal had changed the face of politics in France.

 

(03) Clinton/Lewinsky Affair

 

 

In January 1998, citizen journalist Matt Drudge reported a sensational story tha­t turned out to be true. The president of the United States, Bill Clinton, had an affair with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. As suspicions mounted, Clinton publicly denied the allegations. As if this lie weren't big enough, it turned out that Clinton had lied under oath about the affair as well -- which was perjury and grounds for impeachment.

 

Here's how the truth came out. Paula Jones was an Arkansas state employee when then-governor Clinton allegedly propositioned her. She later sued him for sexual harassment. In an effort to prove that Clinton had a pattern of such behavior, lawyers set out to expose his sexual affairs. They found Linda Tripp, a former White House secretary and confidant of Lewinsky. Tripp recorded telephone conversations in which Lewinsky talked of her affair with Clinton. Lawyers then probed Clinton with specific questions and cornered him into denying the affair under oath.

 

During the highly publicized scandal, prosecutor Kenneth Starr subpoenaed Clinton, who finally admitted to the relationship. Based on Starr's report, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton for not only perjury but obstruction of justice. Despite the scandal, Clinton maintained relatively high approval ratings from the American public, and the Senate acquitted him of the charges. However, in the eyes of many Americans, his legacy remained tarnished.

 

(02) Watergate

 

 

Two decades before the Clinton scandal, another U.S. president was caught in a web of lies, and the controversy had devastating effects on the country as a whole.

 

In the summer before President Richard Nixon's successful re-election to a second term, five men were caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters, housed in the Watergate Hotel. As details emerged over the next year, it became clear that officials close to Nixon gave the orders to the burglars, perhaps to plant wiretaps on the phones there. The question soon became about whether Nixon knew of, covered up or even ordered the break-in.

 

In response to mounting suspicions, Nixon denied allegations that he knew anything. In front of 400 Associated Press editors, famously proclaimed, "I am not a crook." He was talking about whether he had ever profited from public service, but that one quote came to represent his entire political career.

It was a lie that came back to haunt him. When it was revealed that private White House conversations about the matter were recorded, the investigative committee subpoenaed the tapes. Nixon's refusal on the basis of "executive privilege" brought the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that he had to relinquish the tapes.

 

The tapes were exactly the smoking gun needed to implicate Nixon in the cover-up of the scandal. They revealed that he obviously knew more about the matter than he claimed. Upon the initiation of impeachment proceedings, Nixon gave up and resigned from office. The scandal left a lasting scar on the American political scene and helped usher Washington outsider Jimmy Carter into the presidency a few years later.

 

(01) The Big Lie: Nazi Propaganda

 

 

By the time Nazism arose in Germany in the 1930s, anti-Semitism was nothing new -- not by a long shot. The J­ewish people had suffered a long history of prejudice and persecution. And although Nazis perpetuated centuries-old lies, this time those lies would have their most devastating effects. Like never before, anti-Semitism was manifested in a sweeping national policy known as "the Final Solution," which sought to eliminate Jews from the face of the Earth.

 

To accomplish this, Adolf Hitler and his minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, launched a massive campaign to convince the German people that the Jews were their enemies. Having taken over the press, they spread lies blaming Jews for all of Germany's problems, including the loss of World War I. One outrageous lie dating back to the Middle Ages claimed that Jews engaged in the ritual killings of Christian children and used their blood in the unleavened bread eaten at Passover.

 

Using Jews as the scapegoat, Hitler and his cronies orchestrated what they called "the big lie." This theory states that no matter how big the lie is (or more precisely, because it's so big), people will believe it if you repeat it enough. Everyone tells small lies, Hitler reasoned, but few have the guts to tell colossal lies. Because a big lie is so unlikely, people will come to accept it.

 

HowStuffWorks 

History of Israel

 

History of Israel: The Descendants of Abraham

The history of Israel commences with God's covenant with Abraham in approximately 2000 B.C., "I will make you into a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). The name "Israel" (meaning either "one who fights victoriously with God" or "a prevailing prince with God") comes from the new name God gave Abraham's grandson Jacob, after Jacob withstood a spiritual struggle at Jabbok (Genesis 32:28). It is at this point that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are often referred to as the "Children of Israel."

 

History of Israel: Its Selection as a Special Nation

The history of Israel goes back even further than 2000 BC. In fact, the selection of Israel as a special nation was part of God's plan from the beginning of time. God's choice of Israel as His "chosen people" did not lie in any special size, nature or attraction. Actually, the nation of Israel was the least in number among all the nations (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Rather, God chose these people because of His love for them and His unconditional covenant with Abraham. This doesn't mean that God loved Israel more than other people, it was just that He intended to use Israel as His means to love and bless everyone. It was God's plan from the beginning to bring forth the Messiah through Israel to act as the savior for the entire world.

 

History of Israel: The Biblical Record

The history of Israel as detailed in the Bible encompasses around 1800 years. It proclaims a dynamic account of God's miracles, judgments, promises, and blessings. Israel begins as a unilateral promise to one man, Abraham. For more than 400 years, Abraham and his descendants rely on that promise, even during a significant period of slavery in Egypt. Then, by means of an amazing series of miraculous events, God delivers the Israelites of out Egypt in the Exodus (Hebrew: "a going out"). The Exodus is the occasion that most Jews look to as the foundation of the nation of Israel. The Exodus is the act of deliverance which Israelites dwell on as the demonstration of God's love and protection of Israel. Once the Exodus was completed, God established a conditional covenant with the Israelites at the Mountain of Sinai. It is there that God proclaimed His Law (the Ten Commandments). It is there that God promises blessings for adherence to His Law and curses for noncompliance. The rest of Israel's history as recorded in the Bible is a continuing cycle of blessing and punishment for Israel's obedience and disobedience to God's Law. Throughout times of victory and defeat, king and judges, priests and prophets, restoration and exile - the Israelites are blessed when they obey God and disciplined when they do not. As a nation, Israel was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. At that time, the Jews scattered throughout the whole world, keeping the hope based on prophetic promises of an eventual regathering to the chosen land God gave to Israel. In 1948, after almost 1900 years had passed, Israel was again declared a sovereign nation and officially reestablished in the promised land. Through a series of miraculous events, including the Jews retaking of Jerusalem in 1967, this generation is witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy with respect to God's special nation.

 

History of Israel: God's Ultimate Purpose

Why is so much of the Bible focused on the history of Israel and the future of its people? Why was one nation called out as "God's chosen people"? These questions are answered when we examine God's ultimate purpose for Israel. When God made His unconditional promise to Abraham that He would make his descendants a great nation, God also promised to bless all people through that nation (Genesis 12:1-3). Therefore, Israel was never considered a sole recipient of God's blessings, but rather, a channel for God's blessings to all mankind. God's miracles for Israel, such as their dramatic deliverance from Egypt, were intended not only for the Israelites themselves, but as evidence of God's absolute power and uniqueness for a watching polytheistic world (Exodus 7:5; 14:18; Joshua 2:9-11). The Messiah that would come through the nation of Israel was always intended to be the Savior for all mankind (Isaiah 49:6). The Old Testament also contains many invitations to the entire world to come and worship the one living God in Israel (Psalm 2:10-12; 117:1).

 

Based on recent events in the Holy Land, it is clear that God's promise to Abraham is still being fulfilled. Accordingly, God's promise to bless all peoples through Israel is still absolutely apparent. The teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the growth and influence of His church, were made possible through God's choice of Israel as His people. All people who accept Jesus as their Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, receive the great blessings of God channeled through His chosen people, the nation of Israel.

See more at: http://www.allabouttruth.org/history-of-israel.htm#sthash.pJ3noRrR.dpuf
 

Chimpanzee language: Communication gestures translated

By Victoria Gill

Science reporter, BBC News

Dr Catherine Hobaiter from the University of St Andrews explains her findings and translates one of the chimps' gestures.

Researchers say they have translated the meaning of gestures that wild chimpanzees use to communicate.

They say wild chimps communicate 19 specific messages to one another with a "lexicon" of 66 gestures. The scientists discovered this by following and filming communities of chimps in Uganda, and examining more than 5,000 incidents of these meaningful exchanges.

The research is published in the journal Current Biology.

Dr Catherine Hobaiter, who led the research, said that this was the only form of intentional communication to be recorded in the animal kingdom. Only humans and chimps, she said, had a system of communication where they deliberately sent a message to another individual.

"That's what's so amazing about chimp gestures," she told BBC News.

"They're the only thing that looks like human language in that respect."

Shout or signal?

Although previous research has revealed that apes and monkeys can understand complex information from another animal's call, the animals do not appear to use their voices intentionally to communicate messages.

This was a crucial difference between calls and gestures, Dr Hobaiter said. "It's a bit like if you pick up a hot cup of coffee and you scream and blow on your fingers," she said. "I can understand from that that the coffee was hot, but you didn't necessarily intend to communicate that to me."

Subtle signals

Some of the chimps' gestures, the researchers say, are unambiguous - used consistently to convey one meaning.

Leaf clipping, for example, where a chimp very obviously takes small bites from leaves is used only to elicit sexual attention.

Many others, though, appear to be ambiguous. A grab, for example, is used for: "Stop that," "Climb on me," and "Move away." Although many are very subtle, some of the footage captured by the researchers shows very clearly what the chimps mean to convey.

Chimps will check to see if they have the attention of the animal with which they wish to communicate

In one clip, a mother presents her foot to her whimpering offspring, signalling: "Climb on me." The youngster immediately jumps on to its mother's back and they travel off together. "The big message [from this study] is that there is another species out there that is meaningful in its communication, so that's not unique to humans," said Dr Hobaiter.

"I don't think we're quite as set apart as we would perhaps like to think we are.

"But then chimps are more closely related to us than they are to the rest of the great apes, so it makes sense that we are incredibly similar to them in many ways."

Dr Susanne Shultz, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester, said the study was commendable in seeking to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the evolution of human language. But, she added, the results were "a little disappointing".

"The vagueness of the gesture meanings suggest either that the chimps have little to communicate, or we are still missing a lot of the information contained in their gestures and actions," she said. "Moreover, the meanings seem to not go beyond what other less sophisticated animals convey with non-verbal communication.

"So, it seems the gulf remains."

Scientists Take Step Toward Usable Fusion Energy

Feb. 12, 2014

Special to World Science 

Scientists have taken a key step toward using fusion, the process that powers the Sun, to produce energy, according to a report to appear Feb. 13 in the research journal Nature.

Fusion energy is envisioned as a way to produce virtually unlimited power to supply the Earth’s needs, but no one has succeeded in devising a fusion process that gives out more energy than it takes in.

Two atoms, deuterium and tritium, fuse together, forming a helium nucleus, a neutron and lots of energy. (Image courtesy F4E)

Physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California said they succeeded in at least releasing more energy through a fusion reaction than is absorbed by the fuel that triggers the reaction.

But that energy is still only about a hundredth of the total energy needed to set up the process in the first place, they said, most of which goes into compressing a fuel pellet where fusion takes place.

“The next necessary step would be to achieve a total gain, where energy entering the whole system is exceeded by the energy produced,” the researchers said in a statement. Nonetheless, “we are closer than anyone has ever gotten” to obtaining fusion as a viable energy source, said Omar Hurricane, a researcher at the laboratory and one of the authors of the report.

The whole process took place in a space less wide than a human hair and in only the tiniest fraction of second — 150 picoseconds, to be exact.

Their process used inertial confinement fusion, which initiates nuclear fusion reactions by heating fuel pellets until they implode, compressing the fuel. The fuel consists of deuterium and tritium isotopes, or variant forms, of hydrogen. When squeezed together, they merge creating a helium nucleus, and releasing energy along with a neutron, or subatomic particle.

The confinement squeezes the atoms of fuel “to get them running toward each other at high velocity, which overcomes their mutual electrical repulsion,” said Hurricane.

The scientists said they used 192 lasers to heat and compress a small pellet of fuel to the point where the fusion reactions take place.

What made the process successful was that the scientists managed to initiate a process called “bootstrapping,” a sort of vicious cycle, Hurricane said. In this, “the alpha particles [helium nuclei] that come out of that reaction start leaving energy behind and causing the temperature to go up” within the tiny chamber. “When the temperature goes up, the reaction rate goes up, and when the reaction rate goes up, you make more alpha particles.”

Measurements Show Jupiter’s “Red Spot” Shrinking Dramatically

May 16, 2014

Courtesy of NASA and World Science staff

Ju­pi­ter’s trade­mark Great Red Spot a swirling storm fea­ture larg­er than Earth has shrunk to its small­est size ev­er meas­ured, as­tro­no­mers re­port.

The rea­sons for the shrink­age is un­known, but it’s ac­cel­er­at­ing, as­tro­no­mers said. If it con­tin­ues at re­cently meas­ured rates, the fa­mous blotch will be gone by about 2030.

If Earth’s sur­face were spread out like an or­ange peel, about one and a half of those would fit with­in the Red Spot to­day. But in 1979, that num­ber was over three­ and back in Vic­to­ri­an days, it was es­ti­mat­ed around 10.

Re­cent NASA Hub­ble Space Tel­e­scope ob­serva­t­ions show the plan­et­ary pim­ple is about 10,250 miles (16,500 km) wide, said Amy Si­mon of NASA’s God­dard Space Flight Cen­ter in Green­belt, Md.

Ob­serva­t­ions as far back as the late 1800s gauged the Red Spot to be as big as 25,500 miles (41,000 km) on its long end. And NASA’s Voy­ag­er 1 and Voy­ag­er 2 fly­bys of Ju­pi­ter in 1979 meas­ured the storm as 14,500 miles (23,300 km) across.

Beginning in 2012, am­a­teur ob­serva­t­ions re­vealed a no­tice­a­ble ac­celera­t­ion in the shrink­age to 580 miles (930 km) per year chang­ing its shape from an oval to a cir­cle, as­tro­no­mers said.

“It is ap­par­ent that very small ed­dies are feed­ing in­to the stor­m” on the gas-gi­ant plan­et, said Si­mon. “These may be re­spon­si­ble for the ac­cel­er­ated change” by alter­ing the storm’s in­ter­nal dy­nam­ics and en­er­gy. Her team plans to study the ed­dies’ mo­tions and the in­ter­nal storm dy­nam­ics to de­ter­mine wheth­er the ed­dies can feed or sap mo­men­tum en­ter­ing the up­welling vor­tex, caus­ing the shrink­age.

Virgin Disruptors: Highlights