Clos insta a un turismo «con personalidad»

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– Clos insta a un turismo «con personalidad»

El ministro de Industria, Turismo y Comercio, Joan Clos, apostó ayer por un turismo de calidad «con espíritu y con mensaje», frente a la existencia de una competencia mundial en productos convencionales caracterizados por el sol y la playa. Clos, que visitó el Parque Tecnológico de Ciencias de la Salud y el conjunto monumental de la Alhambra, apostó por un nuevo turismo «con personalidad», en el que precisamente destacó la pujanza de Granada. El ministro, que votó a favor de la candidatura del recinto nazarí como una de las Siete Nuevas Maravillas del Mundo, destacó que el monumento granadino es una «fuente de conocimiento, de historia y de turismo. Es una de las piezas monumentales más importantes en todo el mundo».
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A researcher is studying the parasites responsible for Chagas and Leishmaniasis epidemics

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Parasites must be correctly identified before the correct treatment is introduced. To do so, we need a fast and cheap technique that enables us to obtain the necessary results in our studies, especially in under developed countries where there are no proper infrastructures.

The Department of Parasitology of University of Granada (Universidad de Granada, and the researcher Isabel Rodríguez González have submitted a thesis that analyses for the first time new isolated parasites: Leishmania and Trypanosoma in Peru, Mexico and Spain. These parasites are responsible for diseases such as Chagas – which affects at least 18 million people in South America – and Leishmaniasis – which affects around 12 million people throughout the world. The World Health Organization has recognised these diseases as a public health problem.

This study has compared these parasites with reference strains, by using biochemical and molecular techniques. Thanks to these techniques, the researcher was able to identify which groups these isolated parasites belong to.

No medical treatment

The researcher pointed out: “There is no specific treatment yet. Medicines that are used may have serious consequences. Their efficiency varies, because they are long and expensive treatments often associated with toxic effects.” Some species of these parasites need no treatment, others do.

“If we want to find a specific treatment, the first step we have to take is to correctly identify these species.” This is also of epidemiological value to understand parasite distribution, and is aimed at discovering specific control measures.

Another important feature of the study is the usefulness of one of the techniques used: PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). It is a relatively simple technique, cheap in comparison with others. PCR makes it possible to identify the isolated parasites in field studies.

The results of the study have already been published in some of the most important scientific journals in the field of Parasitology, such as Parasitology Research, Experimental Parasitology or FEMS Microbiology Letters.

Reference: Isabel Rodríguez González.
Department of Parasitology of the University of Granada
Mobile phone number: +34 627 436 179
Email address: isabelrg@fundacionhvn.org

New computer technique helps to automate forensic identification processes

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A study conducted in the Department of Computer Languages and Systems at the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) , in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Laboratory of Anthropological Physics of the same university, achieved significant progress in the field of forensic medicine — to apply digital record imaging (RI) methods to automate forensic identification processes, which are currently done by hand.

A doctoral thesis directed by professors Óscar Cordón García and Sergio Damas Arroyo, and carried out by José Santamaría López, professor at the University of Cádiz (Spain), shows that the evolutionary algorithm (a technique used to solve problems inspired by human evolution) called “Scatter Search” is an ideal mechanism to design new RI methods which are more accurate, efficient and reliable than methods currently used in forensic identification.

Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine chose the medical image processing systems as one of the eleven most important innovations of the past thousand years in the field of Medicine, which reflects the importance of certain research lines such as the one opened by the study conducted at the University of Granada.

New RI methods
Digital RI is usually used in the fields of Computer Graphics and Vision, and focuses on matching or superimposing two similar images within the same coordinate system. Thanks to highly complex computer systems and the wide spectrum of application fields in which RI is currently used (Medicine, Entertainment Industry, etc.), and due to ongoing research in the past decades, there are many RI methods nowadays. However, although these methods provide good results, they can only be used in certain conditions.

In order to confirm and evaluate the performance of the RI methods proposed by this doctoral thesis, a wide variety of 3D medical images of human brains obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used. These images included scenarios with and without noise and situations with and without damage, particularly multiple sclerosis. The results were compared to those of the different current RI methods, the Scatter Search technique achieving the best performance.

Santamaría López explains that the next step in his study was to apply the RI methods proposed for the automation of certain tasks of vital importance to forensic experts in identification processes, such as the comparison and the obtaining of 3D models from forensic objects. “In order to carry out the first phase of this study, the Brown Medical School Hospital (Rhode Island, US) provided us with a variety of 3D images of human wrists obtained from computed tomography,” says Dr. Santamaría López.

An automated methodology
The next step was to obtain 3D models. In order to do so, the Laboratory of Anthropological Physics of the University of Granada, in collaboration with researchers Miguel Botella and Inmaculada Alemán, provided human support, technical means (a 3D image range scanner) and mortuary material (forensic objects).

Thanks to the progress achieved by this doctoral thesis, the group Soft Computing and Intelligent Information Systems and the Laboratory of Anthropological Physics, both from the University of Granada, have started new research on the development of an automated methodology for forensic identification by using evolutionary algorithms, diffuse logic and record imaging. This new study, directed by researcher Óscar Cordón García, will be carried out over the following three years within the I+D+I National Plan of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.

The results of this study were published in prestigious international journals such as Soft Computing, INFORMS Journal on Computing and Pattern Recognition Letters.

Reference: Prof. José Santamaría López. Department of Computer Languages and Systems of the University of Cádiz (Spain). Telephone: (+34) 956 015 287. E-mail: jose.santamarialopez@uca.es

Un proyecto de innovación docente de la UGR promueve una nueva concepción de la educación especial

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Con una parte teórica y otra práctica, el programa se atiene al sistema de créditos ECTS y se centra en una metodología didáctica que favorece el trabajo autónomo del alumno y se focaliza en el proceso de aprendizaje del mismo. Se trata de un proyecto de innovación docente que lleva por título “Creación de un seminario de profesores/as para la generación de conocimientos sobre la nueva concepción de la educación especial, acorde con una formación del profesorado generalista y especial que promueve una escuela para todos” y que coordina la profesora María José León Febrero, del departamento de Didáctica y Organización Escolar.

El grupo de trabajo, del que forman parte los también profesores Rosario Arroyo González, Jesús Domingo Segovia, José Luis Gallego Ortega, Antonio Garcia Guzmán, María Gervilla Zapata, Antonio Rodríguez Fuentes, Francisco Salvador Mata, Asunción Romero López, y Maria Jesús Rodríguez Entrena, diseñó un programa para la asignatura de Bases Psicopedagógicas de la Educación Especial totalmente nuevo y acorde, según los responsables del proyecto, “con el gran cambio conceptual que la educación especial está sufriendo en los últimos años y que debía traducirse en la modificación de los conocimientos a enseñar a lo/as futuro/ass maestros/as para abordar con eficacia los nuevos retos que en el campo de la educación especial plantea a una escuela abierta, comprensiva y que asume la diversidad de todos sus alumnos como un valor”.

Así, “el programa, desde el punto de vista estructural –prosiguen los responsables– asumía el crédito europeo (ECTS), como unidad de valoración académica en el que quedaban recogidas las enseñanzas teóricas y prácticas, y proponía un gran numero de actividades académicas que el estudiante realizará para cumplir los objetivos educativos propuestos en cada uno de los temas del mismos. No obstante, la aplicabilidad de dicho programa pasaba por la generación de conocimientos coherentes con la nueva concepción de educación especial, ya que en el mercado no existía ningún manual que diera respuesta a dichos planteamientos”.

El reto del grupo de trabajo, pues, se ha centrado en la creación de un manual cuyo contenido permite a los futuros maestros, en cuanto que responsables de la formación, estar capacitados para detectar las necesidades educativas de todos los alumnos y disponer de recursos para atenderlos adecuadamente. Esto no excluye –siempre según los autores del proyecto– la necesidad de contar con especialistas, tanto en el Centro Educativo como fuera de él, para apoyar la acción educativa de los profesores o, en su caso, para atender directamente a los alumnos que lo necesiten.

Asimismo –añaden los responsables– “La necesidad de esta acción innovadora nos viene determinada por la ausencia de manuales cuyo contenido se ciña a la nueva concepción de la educación especial y que sean de utilidad para formar a los maestros/as para afrontar los retos de una escuela inclusiva”.

Referencia:
Profesora María José León Guerrero. Departamento de Didáctica y Organización escolar. Universidad de Granada. Tfns: 958 244 183 y 958 244 185 Correo electrónico: mleon@ugr.es

Climate change was the cause of Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula

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– Climate change was the cause of Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula

By Universidad de Granada
This release is also available in Spanish.

Climate – and not modern humans – was the cause of the Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula. Such is the conclusion of the University of Granada research group RNM 179 – Mineralogy and Geochemistry of sedimentary and metamorphic environments, headed by professor Miguel Ortega Huertas and whose members Francisco José Jiménez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres work jointly at the department of Mineralogy and Petrology of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada [http://www.ugr.es]) and the Andalusian Regional Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR).

Together with other scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center (JAMSTEC), the Spanish scientists published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews an innovative work representing a considerable step forward in the knowledge of human ancestral history. The results of this multidisciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonisation of the European continent by Homo Sapiens.

During the last Ice Age, the Iberian Peninsula was a refuge for Neanderthals, who had survived in local pockets during previous Ice Ages, bouncing back to Europe when weather conditions improved.

Climate reconstructions

The study is based upon climate reconstructions elaborated from marine records and using the experience of Spanish and international research groups on Western Mediterranean paleoceanography. The conclusions point out that Neanderthal populations did suffer fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo Sapiens arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. Cold, arid and highly variable climate was the least favourable weather for Neanderthals and 24,000 years ago they had to face the worst weather conditions in the last 250,000 years.

The most important about these data is that they differ from the current scientific paradigm which makes Homo Sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction. This work is a contribution to a new scientific current – leaded by Dr. Clive Finlayson, from the Gibraltar Museum – according to which Neanderthal isolation and, possibly, extinction were due to environmental factors.

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These studies on climate variability are part of the work of the group RNM 179, funded by the excellence project RNM 0432 of the Andalusian Regional Government’s Department for Innovation, Science and Business and by the MARCAL project of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, both linked to the Andalusian Environment Centre (CEAMA – Centro Andaluz de Medio Ambiente).

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Climate change was the cause of Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula

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– Climate change was the cause of Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula.
Results show that the Neanderthal extinction could have been greatly determined by environmental and climate changes and not by competitiveness with modern humans.

Climate – and not modern humans – was the cause of the Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula. Such is the conclusion of the University of Granada research group RNM 179 – Mineralogy and Geochemistry of sedimentary and metamorphic environments, headed by professor Miguel Ortega Huertas and whose members Francisco Jose Jimenez Espejo, Francisca Martinez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres work jointly at the department of Mineralogy and Petrology of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) and the Andalusian Regional Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR).

Together with other scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center (JAMSTEC), the Spanish scientists published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews an innovative work representing a considerable step forward in the knowledge of human ancestral history.

The results of this multidisciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonisation of the European continent by Homo Sapiens.

During the last Ice Age, the Iberian Peninsula was a refuge for Neanderthals, who had survived in local pockets during previous Ice Ages, bouncing back to Europe when weather conditions improved.

Climate reconstructions

The study is based upon climate reconstructions elaborated from marine records and using the experience of Spanish and international research groups on Western Mediterranean paleoceanography. The conclusions point out that Neanderthal populations did suffer fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo Sapiens arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. Cold, arid and highly variable climate was the least favourable weather for Neanderthals and 24,000 years ago they had to face the worst weather conditions in the last 250,000 years.

The most important about these data is that they differ from the current scientific paradigm which makes Homo Sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction. This work is a contribution to a new scientific current – leaded by Dr. Clive Finlayson, from the Gibraltar Museum – according to which Neanderthal isolation and, possibly, extinction were due to environmental factors.

These studies on climate variability are part of the work of the group RNM 179, funded by the excellence project RNM 0432 of the Andalusian Regional Governments Department for Innovation, Science and Business and by the MARCAL project of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, both linked to the Andalusian Environment Centre (CEAMA – Centro Andaluz de Medio Ambiente).

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Climate Changes Caused Neanderthal Extinction

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– Climate Changes Caused Neanderthal Extinction

Climate – and not modern humans – was the cause of the Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula. Such is the conclusion of the University of Granada research group RNM 179 – Mineralogy and Geochemistry of sedimentary and metamorphic environments, headed by professor Miguel Ortega Huertas and whose members Francisco José Jiménez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres work jointly at the department of Mineralogy and Petrology of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) and the Andalusian Regional Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR).

Together with other scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center (JAMSTEC), the Spanish scientists published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews an innovative work representing a considerable step forward in the knowledge of human ancestral history.
The results of this multidisciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonisation of the European continent by Homo Sapiens.
During the last Ice Age, the Iberian Peninsula was a refuge for Neanderthals, who had survived in local pockets during previous Ice Ages, bouncing back to Europe when weather conditions improved.

Climate reconstructions

The study is based upon climate reconstructions elaborated from marine records and using the experience of Spanish and international research groups on Western Mediterranean paleoceanography. The conclusions point out that Neanderthal populations did suffer fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo Sapiens arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. Cold, arid and highly variable climate was the least favourable weather for Neanderthals and 24,000 years ago they had to face the worst weather conditions in the last 250,000 years.
The most important about these data is that they differ from the current scientific paradigm which makes Homo Sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction. This work is a contribution to a new scientific current – leaded by Dr. Clive Finlayson, from the Gibraltar Museum – according to which Neanderthal isolation and, possibly, extinction were due to environmental factors.

These studies on climate variability are part of the work of the group RNM 179, funded by the excellence project RNM 0432 of the Andalusian Regional Government’s Department for Innovation, Science and Business and by the MARCAL project of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, both linked to the Andalusian Environment Centre (CEAMA – Centro Andaluz de Medio Ambiente).

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Climate changes as cause of Neanderthal extinction in Iberian Peninsula

Escrito por

– Climate changes as cause of Neanderthal extinction in Iberian Peninsula

Climate – and not modern humans – was the cause of the Neanderthal extinction in the Iberian Peninsula.

Such is the conclusion of the University of Granada research group RNM 179 – Mineralogy and Geochemistry of sedimentary and metamorphic environments, headed by professor Miguel Ortega Huertas and whose members Francisco José Jiménez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres work jointly at the department of Mineralogy and Petrology of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) and the Andalusian Regional Institute of Earth Sciences (CSIC-UGR).

Together with other scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center (JAMSTEC), the Spanish scientists published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews an innovative work representing a considerable step forward in the knowledge of human ancestral history.

The results of this multidisciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonisation of the European continent by Homo Sapiens.

During the last Ice Age, the Iberian Peninsula was a refuge for Neanderthals, who had survived in local pockets during previous Ice Ages, bouncing back to Europe when weather conditions improved.

Climate reconstructions

The study is based upon climate reconstructions elaborated from marine records and using the experience of Spanish and international research groups on Western Mediterranean paleoceanography. The conclusions point out that Neanderthal populations did suffer fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo Sapiens arrived in the Iberian Peninsula. Cold, arid and highly variable climate was the least favourable weather for Neanderthals and 24,000 years ago they had to face the worst weather conditions in the last 250,000 years.

The most important about these data is that they differ from the current scientific paradigm which makes Homo Sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction. This work is a contribution to a new scientific current – leaded by Dr. Clive Finlayson, from the Gibraltar Museum – according to which Neanderthal isolation and, possibly, extinction were due to environmental factors.

These studies on climate variability are part of the work of the group RNM 179, funded by the excellence project RNM 0432 of the Andalusian Regional Government’s Department for Innovation, Science and Business and by the MARCAL project of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, both linked to the Andalusian Environment Centre (CEAMA – Centro Andaluz de Medio Ambiente).-Universidad de Granada

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Neanderthal Extinction Hypothesis Offered.

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– Neanderthal Extinction Hypothesis Offered.
A Spanish study suggests climate changes might have caused the extinction of the Neanderthals on the Iberian Peninsula.

The University of Granada study of Gorhams cave on Gibraltar shows the Neanderthal extinction could have been determined by environmental and climate changes, and not by competitiveness with modern humans.

Professor Miguel Ortega Huertas, who led the research, said the findings of the multi-disciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonization of the European continent by Homo sapiens.

The study — based on climate reconstructions — suggests Neanderthal populations suffered fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo sapiens arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. The study found Neanderthals, 24,000 years ago, had to face the worst weather conditions of the last 250,000 years.

Huertas said the most important finding is that the data differ from the current scientific paradigm that makes Homo sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction.

The research that included Francisco Jose Jimenez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres, along with scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center, recently appeared in the Quaternary Science Reviews journal.

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Neanderthal extinction hypothesis offered

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– Neanderthal Extinction Hypothesis Offered.
A Spanish study suggests climate changes might have caused the extinction of the Neanderthals on the Iberian Peninsula.

The University of Granada study of Gorhams cave on Gibraltar shows the Neanderthal extinction could have been determined by environmental and climate changes, and not by competitiveness with modern humans.

Professor Miguel Ortega Huertas, who led the research, said the findings of the multi-disciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonization of the European continent by Homo sapiens.

The study — based on climate reconstructions — suggests Neanderthal populations suffered fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo sapiens arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. The study found Neanderthals, 24,000 years ago, had to face the worst weather conditions of the last 250,000 years.

Huertas said the most important finding is that the data differ from the current scientific paradigm that makes Homo sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction.

The research that included Francisco Jose Jimenez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres, along with scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center, recently appeared in the Quaternary Science Reviews journal.

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Neanderthal extinction hypothesis offered

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– Neanderthal Extinction Hypothesis Offered.
A Spanish study suggests climate changes might have caused the extinction of the Neanderthals on the Iberian Peninsula.

The University of Granada study of Gorhams cave on Gibraltar shows the Neanderthal extinction could have been determined by environmental and climate changes, and not by competitiveness with modern humans.

Professor Miguel Ortega Huertas, who led the research, said the findings of the multi-disciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonization of the European continent by Homo sapiens.

The study — based on climate reconstructions — suggests Neanderthal populations suffered fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo sapiens arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. The study found Neanderthals, 24,000 years ago, had to face the worst weather conditions of the last 250,000 years.

Huertas said the most important finding is that the data differ from the current scientific paradigm that makes Homo sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction.

The research that included Francisco Jose Jimenez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres, along with scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center, recently appeared in the Quaternary Science Reviews journal.

Descargar

Neanderthal extinction hypothesis offered

Escrito por

– Neanderthal Extinction Hypothesis Offered.
A Spanish study suggests climate changes might have caused the extinction of the Neanderthals on the Iberian Peninsula.

The University of Granada study of Gorhams cave on Gibraltar shows the Neanderthal extinction could have been determined by environmental and climate changes, and not by competitiveness with modern humans.

Professor Miguel Ortega Huertas, who led the research, said the findings of the multi-disciplinary research are an important contribution to the understanding of the Neanderthal extinction and the colonization of the European continent by Homo sapiens.

The study — based on climate reconstructions — suggests Neanderthal populations suffered fluctuations related to climate changes before the first Homo sapiens arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. The study found Neanderthals, 24,000 years ago, had to face the worst weather conditions of the last 250,000 years.

Huertas said the most important finding is that the data differ from the current scientific paradigm that makes Homo sapiens responsible for the Neanderthal extinction.

The research that included Francisco Jose Jimenez Espejo, Francisca Martínez Ruiz and David Gallego Torres, along with scientists from the Gibraltar Museum, Stanford University and the Japan Marine Science & Technology Center, recently appeared in the Quaternary Science Reviews journal.

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