Health Care, Economy Rival Iraq as US Election Issues

By Jim Malone Washington 18 September 2007

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The war in Iraq figures to be a major issue in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. But, as VOA national correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington, health care and economic issues are also high on the list of voter priorities.

For months now, public opinion polls have indicated that concerns about health care and the economy rank right behind the war in Iraq.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaks at the Service Employees International Union Political Action Conference in Washington, 17 Sept 2007

Democratic presidential contender and senator, Hillary Clinton, is the latest to offer a comprehensive health care reform plan.

"We can talk all we want about freedom and opportunity, about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," she said. "But what does all that mean to a mother or father who cannot take a sick child to the doctor, or someone who cannot take the job of his dreams because it does not offer health care."

Other Democratic contenders, including Senator Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards, have already presented their health care proposals.

The Republican presidential candidates are generally critical of what they see as too much government involvement in the health care plans proposed by Democrats.

But Republican presidential contender and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee acknowledges that concerns about the cost and quality of health care will be a major campaign issue in 2008.

"We really have an incredible problem because our system is upside down. It focuses on [medical] intervention at the catastrophic level of disease rather than really focusing on prevention [of illness]," Huckabee said.

Sarah Dutton conducts public surveys for CBS News. She says presidential candidates from both parties understand the public's worries about health care in the 2008 campaign.

"Sixty-six percent say they are very or somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of health care available here, and 81 percent are very or somewhat dissatisfied with the cost of health care," she said.

Presidential elections are often determined by the state of the U.S. economy, and 2008 is shaping up as no different. Two key components of that debate involve jobs and taxes.

Sen. Barack Obama, delivers a policy speech on Iraq in Clinton, Iowa, 12 Sept 2007

As part of his economic plan, Democratic Senator and presidential contender Barack Obama is promising to cut taxes for middle class Americans if he is elected next year.

"Under my plan, 150 million Americans and their families will get a tax cut," he said. "And because this credit would be greater than their income tax bill, my proposal would effectively eliminate all income taxes for 10 million working Americans."

Concern about high taxes is an issue that usually helps Republican candidates.

Rudy Giuliani (file photo)

In the Republican candidates' debates, presidential contender Rudy Giuliani often cites his record of cutting taxes when he was mayor of New York City.

"But the knee-jerk, liberal, Democratic reaction to raise taxes to get money very often is a very big mistake," Giuliani said.

Beyond concerns about Iraq and the economy, social issues could also play a key role in next year's election.

"The liberals are going to work hard for the Democrats, and the conservatives are going to work hard for the Republicans because they agree with their positions on abortion, gay rights, the death penalty, immigration and gun control, the things that drive emotions in American politics today," said Larry Sabato, who directs the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

In addition to those issues, concerns about terrorism and national security also remain high on the list of voter priorities going into the 2008 campaign.

Suspect in British Murder Case Runs for Russian Parliament

By Peter Fedynsky Moscow 18 September 2007

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Russia's ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party has confirmed Andrei Lugovoi, a man wanted for murder in Britain, to be one its candidates for upcoming elections to the Russian Parliament. Lugovoi is a prime suspect in last year's London murder of former KGB officer and Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko. VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports from Moscow.

Andrei Lugovoi was chosen Monday at a Liberal Democratic Party congress to be second on the organization's list of candidates in upcoming elections to the State Duma, or lower house of Parliament. The vote was 148 in his favor, and only two against. To become a lawmaker, Lugovoi's party would need to gain at least seven percent of the vote on Election Day, December 2.

Andrei Lugovoi, 18 Sept. 2007

At a Moscow news conference, the candidate said he is not concerned about the British demand for his extradition as prime suspect in the poison death of former KGB officer and Kremlin critic, Alexander Litvinenko.

"There are no criminal charges against me in Russia," says Lugovoi. "On the contrary, he adds, the Russian Federal Security Service in June opened a very active investigation into subversive British intelligence activities against governments worldwide."

Appearing with Lugovoi at the news conference was party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who launched into a lengthy anti-British tirade when he was asked a question by VOA.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 18 Sept. 2007

"Get out of here," shouted Zhirinovsky. "You Brits are spilling blood the world over! The whole world will hate you! Your country creates more provocations than any other. Terror? You create terror!"

Zhirinovsky, among other things, also accused Britain of such offenses as not honoring his diplomatic passport, of murdering Litvinenko, harboring criminals, provoking the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the Chechen War, and intentionally dragging out World War II in order to allow the Nazis to kill millions of Soviet soldiers.

Zhirinovsky finished after nearly five minutes by accusing the entire British government and the Queen of England of criminality and threatening to throw this reporter out of Moscow.

Ties between Britain and Russia have deteriorated over London's insistence that Lugovoi be extradited to stand trial for murder. He is suspected of using radioactive polonium to poison Alexander Litvinenko in London last December. Russia says its constitution prohibits extradition of Russian citizens.

Andrei Lugovoi says that constitutional guarantee is sufficient and that he is not seeking office to get parliamentary immunity from extradition to Britain. But Zhirinovsky said lawmakers are not immune from justice, given proper legal procedures.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, right, party leader and Andrei Logovoi, left, attend a news conference in Moscow, 18 Sept. 2007

Zhirinovsky says if criminal elements run for office to gain parliamentary immunity, then the first presentation of charges by any prosecutor will result in an immediate vote to send those elements to court. He says no parliamentary mandate will save criminals.

Andrei Lugovoi said remarks on Monday regarding his interest in the Russian presidency were misinterpreted. He explained that any Russian citizen would like to be president, including himself, but that does not mean he has the qualifications for such high office. But Lugovoi said that Liberal Democratic Party leader Zhirinovsky is qualified.

Hundreds of Buddhist Monks Protest Burmese Military

By Luis Ramirez Bangkok 18 September 2007

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A group of about 1000 monks march against the Burmese military government in Rangoon, Burma, 18 Sep 2007

Hundreds of Buddhist monks have taken to the streets of Burma's main city, Rangoon - the latest in a wave of demonstrations against the military government during the past month. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from our Southeast Asia bureau in Bangkok.

The monks defied orders by Burma's military rulers to refrain from demonstrating. Witnesses say hundreds of them, cloaked in cinnamon-colored robes, marched quietly through the streets of Rangoon as security forces - including plainclothes police - looked on.

Analysts say the monks' defiance of the authorities is a dangerous sign for the ruling generals in a devoutly Buddhist country where monks are society's most respected figures. Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political analyst exiled in Thailand says the monks are perhaps the biggest political challenge facing the junta.

"The military should be really, really worried because something like this can trigger wider political protest," he said.

Burmese Buddhist monks protest against the military government in Rangoon, Burma, 18 Sep 2007

Demonstrations have been going on since last month when the government imposed steep hikes in the cost of fuel. The hikes triggered anger among the poor in a country where the per-capita income is less than $200 a year.

Activists say the monks are demanding an apology from the government after members of security forces and their supporters beat demonstrators - who included several monks - at a protest over the price increases in the central Burmese town of Pakokku two weeks ago.

Reports from Burma say the monks have threatened to cut off contact with members of the military junta and refuse to receive alms from them. Aung Naing Oo says such gestures from the country's religious leaders would be deeply embarrassing and possibly destabilizing for the military.

"If the monks stop administering religious rites to the military and the military's families, there will be tremendous effects," he said. "The wives will complain, the ordinary soldiers will complain, so the military has to pay really close attention to what the monks are doing right now."

Observers say Burma's military rulers will have to weigh carefully whether to use force to stop the monks from demonstrating, a decision that could backfire and trigger even more protests.

In the past, monks have had key roles in opposition efforts. In 1988, they helped rally support for pro-democracy demonstrations that swept the country. Those protests ended with a government crackdown that killed about 3,000 people.

French Statement on Possible Iran War Raises Diplomatic Concern

By Peter Fedynsky Moscow 18 September 2007

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A statement by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner about the possible use of force against Iran has raised concern in Russia and China. During a meeting Tuesday with his Russian counterpart in Moscow, Kouchner clarified his controversial remark. VOA correspondent Peter Fedynsky reports from the Russian capital.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (r) welcomes his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner prior to their talks in Moscow, 18 Sep 2007

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner's statement on Sunday about possible war with Iran was the focus of attention during his visit to Moscow Tuesday. Speaking after meeting with Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he is worried by reports of serious consideration being given to military action against Iran.

Lavrov says that Russia is convinced that no modern problem has a military solution, and that applies to the Iranian nuclear program as well.

News reports initially quoted Kouchner as saying the world should prepare for the possibility of war against Iran, if negotiations fail. The top French diplomat said in Moscow on Tuesday that he was misquoted in response to a reporter's question about what would be the worst outcome with Iran.

Kouchner says he shares the belief that everything must be done to avoid war. He says the second sentence of his response on Sunday, which media may not have quoted, was that we have to, in his words, "negotiate, negotiate, and negotiate, without let-up."

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the U.S. administration believes there is a diplomatic solution to the Iran problem. Perino said the United States is working with the French and the European Union to pressure Iran to comply with its obligations under U.N. Security Council resolutions.

China, a permanent member of the Security Council, has expressed opposition to what that country's foreign ministry called "the unbridled threat of using force in international affairs."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday dismissed the French statement, saying it was a comment for the media that should not be taken seriously.

The United States and other western countries say Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program disguised as a civilian energy project. Tehran's refusal to stop uranium enrichment has prompted Washington and its allies to seek Security Council approval for a third set of sanctions against Iran. Highly enriched uranium can be used to build an atomic bomb.

US Secretary of State Heads to Middle East

By Robert Berger Jerusalem 18 September 2007

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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (file photo)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is embarking Tuesday on a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, she will try to narrow differences on the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Secretary Rice will hold separate talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. They are working on a document on Palestinian statehood that is to be presented at an international peace conference in the United States this fall, probably in November.

Israeli spokesman Mark Regev says the goal is the creation of a Palestinian state.

"And we want to engage with this Palestinian government, and the idea is that we all understand where the peace process is going because we all can see the light at the end of the tunnel," Regev said.

But the gaps remain wide. Israel wants a vague declaration of principles, while President Abbas wants to tackle the core issues of the conflict-including Jerusalem, refugees, and final borders.

"I hope that we can conclude something, to conclude [a] framework for the final status issues," Mr. Abbas said.

Israel believes it is premature to close a deal on those issues, just three months after the Islamic militant group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas routed the forces of the rival Fatah faction, headed by Mr. Abbas, leaving him as the head of a weakened Palestinian government in the West Bank.

Therefore, Israel fears that Mr. Abbas cannot deliver on a final peace agreement. The Palestinians say if the document does not go beyond vague declarations, the international peace conference will be a failure.

Maoists Quit Nepal's Interim Government

By Steve Herman New Delhi 18 September 2007

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Nepal's Maoists have made good on their threat to quit the interim government. VOA's Steve Herman reports from our South Asia bureau in New Delhi that the move is likely to cause political chaos and jeopardize elections planned this year.

Nepal's Maoists have walked out of the coalition government and vowed to resume street protests to demand the monarchy be abolished and the country declared a republic.

The Maoists fought a decade-long civil war against the monarchy before making peace, entering the government this year, and agreeing to elections to decide the fate of the unpopular king, Gyanendra.

While the former rebels say they will not return to the jungle and wage war, others in Nepal are concerned their campaign against the monarchy will not be peaceful.

Human-rights activist Satya Narayan Shah is among those worried about a return to violence.

"I think the Maoists, after pulling out from the government, will create some disturbances," said Shah. "There may be some sort of violence, because their workers believe in martial power."

Shah says the Maoists should keep their word to let a constituent assembly decide the fate of the King, who has already been stripped of most of his power and royal assets.

Nationwide elections are scheduled for November 22 to select that assembly. Nepal is currently governed by an eight-party, interim coalition, which had included the Maoists.

Nepal's Communist party Maoist supporters rally through the streets in Katmandu, 18 Sep 2007

Maoist supporters streamed into central Kathmandu chanting anti-monarchy slogans, bringing large parts of the Nepalese capital to a standstill.

Before pulling out of the government, Maoist leader Prachanda met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and the heads of the other parties in the coalition government. Officials say the talks were unable to reach a compromise.

The Maoists waged a 10-year rebellion beginning in 1996. The conflict killed an estimated 13,000 people and crippled the economy of Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world.

Musharraf to Step Down as Military Leader After Election

By Daniel Schearf Islamabad 18 September 2007

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A lawyer for Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has said Mr. Musharraf plans to give up his post as chief of the military if he wins forthcoming presidential elections. The statement was made to Pakistan's Supreme Court as it was holding hearings on petitions challenging the right of Mr. Musharraf to run for president. Daniel Schearf reports from Islamabad.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf (file photo)

Government attorney Sharifuddin Pirzada told Pakistan's Supreme Court Tuesday that, "If elected for a second term as president, General Pervez Musharraf shall relinquish charge of the office of chief of army staff soon after elections and before taking the oath of president for the second term."

The lawyer, a close aide to Mr. Musharraf, spoke as opposition party petitions are being heard in the Supreme Court calling for Mr. Musharraf to be disqualified as a candidate in the next presidential election.

Ahsan Iqbal is spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, an opposition political party. He says Mr. Musharraf has placed himself above the rule of law and should not be allowed to run for president.

"Pakistan is at a very defining moment," Iqbal noted. "Pakistan and people of Pakistan feel that this hybrid of dictatorship and democracy has hurt Pakistan enough and now it is time for Pakistan to move forward with pure and undiluted democracy, rule of law and supremacy of constitution."

Mr. Musharraf, who took over Pakistan in a 1999 military coup, is under pressure to return Pakistan to democratic rule. His current term as president ends on November 15.

Some opposition party members are threatening to resign from their positions in the parliament if he is allowed to run for president.

Mr. Musharraf appears to be trying to allay concerns that he could stay as both chief of the army and president of the country. However, this weekend he approved a change in election rules that would allow him to retain both positions, placing doubts on his intentions.

Mr. Musharraf attempted to remove the chief justice earlier this year but was forced to back down after massive street protests.

Nawaz Sharif arrives in Pakistan, 10 Sep 2007

Last week he removed a political competitor by deporting former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, leader of opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in violation of a Supreme Court ruling.

If Mr. Musharraf gives up his military post it could pave the way for a power-sharing arrangement with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Musharraf have been trying to broker a deal for months that would eliminate long-standing corruption charges against her and allow her to run for a third term as prime minister in return for her supporting his continuing as president. One of her key demands was that Mr. Musharraf must step down as Army leader.

VOASE0917_Agriculture Report

17 September 2007

Study Links Virus to Bee Disorder in US, but Questions Remain
Scientists find evidence of Israeli acute paralysis virus in damaged colonies, but say it may not be the only cause of losses.

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This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

American beekeeping operations have been hit hard by what scientists call colony collapse disorder. Almost half of their worker bees have disappeared during the past season. C.C.D. has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America. Bees fly away from the hive and never return. Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found. Many crops and trees depend on pollination by bees to help them grow.

A new report says a virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States. This virus is called Israeli acute paralysis virus. It was first identified in Israel in two thousand four.

Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science magazine. Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause. He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder.

The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year. They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder. They found evidence of the virus in twenty-five of them, and in one healthy colony. The next step is further testing of healthy hives.

The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia. They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected.

The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite. This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive. Australian bee producers reject these suspicions.

And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather. Honey bees gather nectar from flowers and trees. The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey.

But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers. Many bees may have starved. Dry conditions in areas of the country could also be playing a part.

Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time. He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in nineteen seventy. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

VOASE0917_Science In the News

17 September 2007

Eye on Ocean Storms: How They Form, Get Names and May React to Climate Change
The science of hurricanes, also known as typhoons or cyclones, dependending on where they happen.

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VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

A NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Katrina, taken on August 29, 2005

And I’m Steve Ember. Powerful storms are called hurricanes when they form over the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific. They are called typhoons in the northwestern Pacific, and cyclones when they develop over the Indian Ocean. These storms are the subject of our program this week.

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VOICE ONE:

Severe ocean storms in the northern half of the world generally develop in late summer or early autumn near the equator. Storms can result when the air temperature in one area is different from that of another. Warmer air rises and cooler air falls. These movements create a difference in the pressure of the atmosphere. If the pressure changes over a large area, winds start to blow in a huge circle. High-pressure air is pulled into a low-pressure center.

Severe ocean storms happen less often in the southern hemisphere. There, the season of greatest activity is between December and March. South of the equator, the winds flow in the same direction as the hands on a clock. North of the equator, they flow in the opposite direction.

VOICE TWO:

Storms can get stronger and stronger as they move over warm ocean waters. The strongest, fastest winds of a hurricane are found in the eyewall. This is the area that surrounds the center, or eye, of the storm. The eye itself is calm by comparison, with light winds and clear skies.

Wind speeds in severe ocean storms can reach more than two hundred fifty kilometers an hour. Up to fifty centimeters of rain can fall. Some storms have produced more than one hundred fifty centimeters of rain.

These storms also cause high waves and ocean surges. A surge is a continuous movement of water that may reach six meters or more. The water strikes low coastal areas. Surges are commonly responsible for about ninety percent of all deaths from ocean storms.

VOICE ONE:

Scientists use computer programs to show where a storm might go. The programs combine information such as temperatures, wind speed, atmospheric pressure and the amount of water in the atmosphere.

Scientists collect the information with satellites, weather balloons and devices floating in the world's oceans. They also collect information from ships and passenger flights and from planes that fly into and around storms. The crews drop instruments on parachutes to record temperature, pressure, wind speed and other conditions.

VOICE TWO:

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a way to rate storms based on wind speed. It provides an idea of the amount of coastal flooding and property damage that might be expected. The scale is divided into five groups. A Category One storm has winds of about one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty kilometers an hour. It can damage trees and lightweight structures. It can also cause flooding.

Wind speeds in a Category Two hurricane can reach close to one hundred eighty kilometers an hour. These storms are often powerful enough to break windows or blow a protective covering off a house.

Winds between about one hundred eighty and two hundred fifty kilometers an hour represent categories three and four. Anything even more powerful is a Category Five hurricane.

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VOICE ONE:

A Special English listener in Nigeria, Amadi Gabriel, wants to know how hurricanes are named. An Australian scientist began to call storms by women's names before the end of the nineteenth century.

During World War Two, scientists called storms by the names of their wives or girlfriends. The weather service in the United States started to use women’s names for storms in nineteen fifty-three. In nineteen seventy-nine, it began to use men’s names, too.

Scientists decide on lists of names years in advance. They agree on them at meetings of the World Meteorological Organization.

VOICE TWO:

Naming storms is part of the job of the National Hurricane Center near Miami, Florida. Storms get a name when they reach a wind speed of sixty-two kilometers an hour, even if they never develop into hurricanes.

The first name used in a storm season begins with the letter A, the second with B and so on. The same list of names is not used again for at least six years. And different lists are used for different parts of the world.

VOICE ONE:

In two thousand five, Greek letters had to be used for the first time to name storms in the Atlantic. That was the plan -- to call storms Alpha, Beta and so on -- if there were ever more than twenty-one named storms in a season. In fact, there were twenty-eight.

The two thousand five Atlantic hurricane season was the first on record with fifteen hurricanes. Four reached Category Five strength, also a first. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it was the first season with four major hurricanes to hit the United States.

A photo taken in Long Beach, Mississippi, on August 31, 2005, after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast

The most destructive was Katrina. More than one thousand eight hundred people were killed along the Gulf of Mexico coast.

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VOICE TWO:

There is debate about the effect of rising temperatures in Earth's atmosphere on hurricanes. A new report says the number of Atlantic hurricanes has increased one hundred percent over the past century. The report blames much of the increase on higher ocean temperatures and changing wind directions linked to climate change.

Two Americans, Greg Holland and Peter Webster, studied records of major storms in the north Atlantic Ocean. Mister Holland works for the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He says the study provides strong evidence that climate change is a major influence on the increasing number of Atlantic Ocean hurricanes.

VOICE ONE:

The scientists identified three periods since nineteen hundred during which the average number of major storms increased sharply. After the increase, the number of storms remained greater than the earlier average.

A yearly average of six major Atlantic Ocean storms was reported between nineteen hundred and nineteen thirty. From nineteen thirty to nineteen forty, the number increased to ten. The number rose to fifteen in the most recent period, from nineteen ninety-five to two thousand five.

VOICE TWO:

The scientists say the effects of the most recent storm activity have yet to be established. They say this means the average hurricane season might be more active in the future. They also say it is not yet possible to estimate the number of future storms or their intensity.

The study showed that the increased number of storms is closely linked with ocean water temperatures. Sea surface temperatures have risen by about seven-tenths of a degree Celsius in the past century. The scientists say the changes in ocean temperatures took place before the number of storms increased.

VOICE ONE:

But other scientists found different results when they looked at different periods. One of them was Patrick Michaels of the University of Virginia and the Cato Institute. Professor Michaels is currently a visiting scientist with the Marshall Institute in Washington, D.C. He says the rate of category four and five hurricanes in the Atlantic is the same now as it was in the nineteen forties and fifties. He says this shows that natural forces are at work, not climate change caused by human activity.

VOICE TWO:

Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its estimate of storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean. Its scientists are calling for an eighty-five percent chance of an above-normal hurricane season. They predict only a ten percent chance of a near-normal season, and a five percent chance of a below-normal season.

The scientists say their prediction for an above-normal hurricane season mainly resulted from two influences. The first is the continuation of conditions that have supported above-normal hurricane seasons since nineteen ninety-five. The second is the weather event known as La Nina. La Nina develops when winds near the western coast of South America strengthen. This causes cold air to form near the coast.

The scientists also say water temperatures remain above average in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The combination of conditions is known to produce high levels of hurricane activity.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Nancy Steinbach and George Grow. Our producer was Brianna Blake. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. You can find transcripts and audio files of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Listen again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.