The Venus Transit, the Mayan Calendar and Astronomy Education in Guanajuato, Mexico

No Abstract

Desulfobotulus mexicanus sp. nov., a novel sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from the sediment of an alkaline crater lake in Mexico

A novel Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, vibrio-shaped, anaerobic, alkaliphilic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated strain PAR22NT, was isolated from sediment samples collected at an alkaline crater lake in Guanajuato (Mexico). Strain PAR22NT grew at temperatures between 15 and 37 °C (optimum, 32 °C), at pH between pH 8.3 and 10.1 (optimum, pH 9.0–9.6), and in the presence of NaCl up to 10 %. Pyruvate, 2-methylbutyrate and fatty acids (4–18 carbon atoms) were used as electron donors in the presence of sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor and were incompletely oxidized to acetate and CO2. Besides sulfate, both sulfite and elemental sulfur were also used as terminal electron acceptors and were reduced to sulfide. The predominant fatty acids were summed feature 10 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω9t and/or C18 : 1 ω12t), C18 : 1 ω9c and C16 : 0. The genome size of strain PAR22NT was 3.8 Mb including 3391 predicted genes. The genomic DNA G+C content was 49.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that it belongs to the genus Desulfobotulus within the class Deltaproteobacteria. Its closest phylogenetic relatives are Desulfobotulus alkaliphilus (98.4 % similarity) and Desulfobotulus sapovorans (97.9 % similarity). Based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, we propose that the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Desulfobotulus with the name Desulfobotulus mexicanus sp. nov. The type strain is PAR22NT (=DSM 105758T=JCM 32146T)

Eight years after IYA2009: a successful project of Outreach and Astronomy Education on selected countryside towns in Mexico

We present the main results of a multidisciplinary project on education and outreach in Guanajuato (Mexico). This collaboration was initiated in the International Year of Astronomy (IYA09, IAU-UNESCO, 2009) and is led by a team including astronomers, sociologists and environment biologists. The Astronomy activities had their origin at the Public Observatory of Universidad de Guanajuato, where an outreach program was dedicated to young students, teachers and the general public. Thanks to the many activities linked to IYA09, the astronomers joined with a group of sociologists working on the development of rural zones of the Mexican State of Guanajuato. This region undergoes a high rate of migration towards the USA. Working together, our goals were enlarged, having important results on different aspects like social development, environment recovering and education. Astronomy plays a central role within this project, mainly through activities like stargazing, science games for young public, Astronomy courses for teachers, and talks for a wide audience

Eight years after IYA2009: a successful project of Outreach and Astronomy Education on selected countryside towns in Mexico

We present the main results of a multidisciplinary project on education and outreach in Guanajuato (Mexico). This collaboration was initiated in the International Year of Astronomy (IYA09, IAU-UNESCO, 2009) and is led by a team including astronomers, sociologists and environment biologists. The Astronomy activities had their origin at the Public Observatory of Universidad de Guanajuato, where an outreach program was dedicated to young students, teachers and the general public. Thanks to the many activities linked to IYA09, the astronomers joined with a group of sociologists working on the development of rural zones of the Mexican State of Guanajuato. This region undergoes a high rate of migration towards the USA. Working together, our goals were enlarged, having important results on different aspects like social development, environment recovering and education. Astronomy plays a central role within this project, mainly through activities like stargazing, science games for young public, Astronomy courses for teachers, and talks for a wide audience

Eight years after IYA2009: a successful project of Outreach and Astronomy Education on selected countryside towns in Mexico

We present the main results of a multidisciplinary project on education and outreach in Guanajuato (Mexico). This collaboration was initiated in the International Year of Astronomy (IYA09, IAU-UNESCO, 2009) and is led by a team including astronomers, sociologists and environment biologists. The Astronomy activities had their origin at the Public Observatory of Universidad de Guanajuato, where an outreach program was dedicated to young students, teachers and the general public. Thanks to the many activities linked to IYA09, the astronomers joined with a group of sociologists working on the development of rural zones of the Mexican State of Guanajuato. This region undergoes a high rate of migration towards the USA. Working together, our goals were enlarged, having important results on different aspects like social development, environment recovering and education. Astronomy plays a central role within this project, mainly through activities like stargazing, science games for young public, Astronomy courses for teachers, and talks for a wide audience