<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--Xholon Workbook http://www.primordion.com/Xholon/wb/ (C) Ken Webb Wed Mar 28 2012 21:11:25 GMT-0400 (EDT)-->
<XholonWorkbook>
<Notes><![CDATA[
Xholon
------
Title: Are Canada's federal scientists being 'muzzled'?
Description:
Url: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/03/23/f-federal-scientists.html
InternalName:
YoutubeId:
Keywords:
My Notes
--------
CBC writer Janet Davison looks at the question of whether scientists working for the Canadian government are muzzled. One example is biologist Kristi Miller who researches Pacific salmon. Her team published a paper in the prestigious Science magazine a year ago, but journalists have been unable to get permission from the government to interview her. Organizations that represent science writers and journalists in Canada have sent an open letter calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to let scientists speak::
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/02/16/prime-minister-please-stop-muzzling-scientists-and-researchers-open-letter/
The CBC has published other stories about the Kristi Miller research, including::
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/01/13/sockeye-salmon-deaths-virus.html
So. What's so sensitive about her published work that the government wants to keep it from the Canadian public?
The research, according to the CBC, suggests, but does not yet confirm, that "a virus may infect the fish while they are at sea, before they enter the river, and persists as they migrate to their spawning areas".
The 14 January 2011 article in Science is called::
Genomic Signatures Predict Migration and Spawning Failure in Wild Canadian Salmon
and can be accessed at::
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6014/214.abstract?sid=e4cd1107-aa20-443c-96e8-a96ad391c417
Because this research paper is now over a year old, Science provides free access if you register. For newer articles, they only provide access to the abstract of the paper.
I've downloaded the Science paper and associated support material. I did a quick read. I can't tell on what grounds officials in the Privy Council Office in Ottawa might have decided that the lead author of the paper should be denied access from the media. Much of the paper is about statisical analysis of the data they collected in functional genomic studies. Maybe the government doesn't like the mention of elevated temperatures in the Fraser River?
]]></Notes>
<script implName="lang:python:inline:"><![CDATA[
#print "height = 12.34 m"
]]></script>
<script implName="lang:javascript:inline:"><![CDATA[
//print("height = 56.78 meters\n");
]]></script>
<_-.XholonClass>
<!-- domain objects -->
<PhysicalSystem/>
<SockeyeSalmon/>
<Virus/>
<FishHabitat>
<PacificOcean/>
<FraserRiver/>
<MouthOfRiver/>
<SpawningGrounds/>
</FishHabitat>
</_-.XholonClass>
<xholonClassDetails>
</xholonClassDetails>
<PhysicalSystem>
<!-- In this scenario, the salmon migrate from the ocean to their spwaning grounds, possibly bringing a virus with them -->
<Earth>
<BritishColumbia>
<FraserRiver>
<SpawningGrounds>
<!-- this is where the salmon are migrating to -->
</SpawningGrounds>
<MouthOfRiver/>
</FraserRiver>
</BritishColumbia>
<PacificOcean>
<Virus/>
<SockeyeSalmon/>
</PacificOcean>
</Earth>
</PhysicalSystem>
<Blockbehavior implName="lang:python:inline:"><![CDATA[
# This works if pasted in as a last child of Block.
#height.incVal(0.02)
#print("Python wants something to do. Height:" + str(height))
]]></Blockbehavior>
<Blockbehavior implName="lang:javascript:inline:"><![CDATA[
// This works if pasted in as a last child of Block.
//height.incVal(0.02);
//print("JavaScript wants something to do. Height:" + height + "\n");
]]></Blockbehavior>
<SockeyeSalmonbehavior implName="lang:webEditionjs:inline:"><![CDATA[
var salmon = this.parent();
var oldHabitat = salmon.parent();
var newHabitat = oldHabitat;
if (oldHabitat.hasClass('PacificOcean')) {
newHabitat = oldHabitat.parent().children('.BritishColumbia').children('.FraserRiver').children('.MouthOfRiver');
newHabitat.append(salmon);
}
else if (oldHabitat.hasClass('MouthOfRiver')) {
newHabitat = oldHabitat.siblings('.SpawningGrounds');
newHabitat.append(salmon);
}
print("\nThe salmon is moving from " + oldHabitat.attr('class').split(' ',1)[0]
+ " to " + newHabitat.attr('class').split(' ',1)[0]);
]]></SockeyeSalmonbehavior>
<Virusbehavior implName="lang:webEditionjs:inline:"><![CDATA[
var virus = this.parent();
var salmon = virus.siblings('.SockeyeSalmon');
if (salmon.length > 0) {
// the salmon gets the virus while they are co-located in the ocean
salmon.append(virus);
print("\nThe salmon gets a virus.");
}
]]></Virusbehavior>
<Blockbehavior implName="lang:bsh:inline:"><![CDATA[
// This works if pasted in as a last child of Block.
//height.incVal(0.02);
//System.out.print("Java/Beanshell wants something to do. Height:" + height + "\n");
]]></Blockbehavior>
<Blockbehavior implName="lang:jruby:inline:"><![CDATA[
#require 'java'
# This works if pasted in as a last child of Block.
#$height.incVal(0.02)
#puts "Ruby wants something to do. Height: #{$height}"
]]></Blockbehavior>
<Blockbehavior implName="lang:groovy:inline:"><![CDATA[
// This works if pasted in as a last child of Block.
//height.incVal(0.02);
//System.out.print("Groovy wants something to do. Height:" + height + "\n");
]]></Blockbehavior>
<SvgClient><Attribute_String roleName="svgUri"><![CDATA[data:image/svg+xml,
<svg width="125" height="50" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<g>
<title>SockeyeSalmon</title>
<rect id="SockeyeSalmon" fill="Salmon" height="50" width="100" x="25" y="0" rx="20" ry="20"/>
</g>
</svg>
]]></Attribute_String><Attribute_String roleName="setup">${MODELNAME_DEFAULT},${SVGURI_DEFAULT}</Attribute_String></SvgClient>
</XholonWorkbook>