Controlling land they call their own: access and women's empowerment in Northern Tanzania

Formal rights to land are often promoted as an essential part of empowering women, particularly in the Global South. We look at two grassroots non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on land rights and empowerment with Maasai communities in Northern Tanzania. Women involved with both NGOS attest to the power of land ownership for personal empowerment and transformations in gender relations. Yet very few have obtained land ownership titles. Drawing from Ribot and Peluso’s theory of access, we argue that more than ownership rights to land, access–to land, knowledge, social relations and political processes–is leading to empowerment for these women, as well as helping to keep land within communities. We illustrate how the following are key to both empowerment processes and protecting community and women’s land: (1) access to knowledge about legal rights, such as the right to own land; (2) access to customary forms of authority; and (3) access to a joint social identity–as women, as indigenous people, and as Maasai. Through this shared identity and access to knowledge and authority, women are strengthening their access to social relations (amongst themselves, with powerful political players and NGOs), and gaining strength through collective action to protect land rights

A Novel System of Cytoskeletal Elements in the Human Pathogen Helicobacter pylori

Pathogenicity of the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori relies upon its capacity to adapt to a hostile environment and to escape from the host response. Therefore, cell shape, motility, and pH homeostasis of these bacteria are specifically adapted to the gastric mucus. We have found that the helical shape of H. pylori depends on coiled coil rich proteins (Ccrp), which form extended filamentous structures in vitro and in vivo, and are differentially required for the maintenance of cell morphology. We have developed an in vivo localization system for this pathogen. Consistent with a cytoskeleton-like structure, Ccrp proteins localized in a regular punctuate and static pattern within H. pylori cells. Ccrp genes show a high degree of sequence variation, which could be the reason for the morphological diversity between H. pylori strains. In contrast to other bacteria, the actin-like MreB protein is dispensable for viability in H. pylori, and does not affect cell shape, but cell length and chromosome segregation. In addition, mreB mutant cells displayed significantly reduced urease activity, and thus compromise a major pathogenicity factor of H. pylori. Our findings reveal that Ccrp proteins, but not MreB, affect cell morphology, while both cytoskeletal components affect the development of pathogenicity factors and/or cell cycle progression

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Empowering or alienating communities: conservation in Maasailand, East Africa

Presented at the Fall 2011 Center for Collaborative Conservation (https://collaborativeconservation.org/) Seminar and Discussion Series, "Collaborative Conservation in Practice: Indigenous Peoples and Conservation", September 20, 2011, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. This series focused on Indigenous Peoples and Conservation.Mara J. Goldman is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and a research associate in the environment and society program at the Institute for Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Mara's research has focused on the interface of human-environment relations and critical geographies of conservation and development, with a regional focus in East Africa. She works primarily in Tanzania, and to some extent in Kenya, with members of the Maasai ethnic group. Her work addresses the politics of knowledge and participation as related to wildlife conservation interventions and rangeland management, changing pastoral livelihood and communication practices, and empowerment and governance issues within Maasai communities. She is co-editor (with Matthew Turner and Paul Nadasdy), of Knowing Nature: Conversations at the Intersection of Political Ecology and Science Studies (2010: University of Chicago Press).Includes recorded speech and PowerPoint presentation.Rangelands used by Maasai pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in northern Tanzania and southern Kenya also provide essential wet season forage for various wildlife species. In an effort to assure the continued availability of such pastures for wildlife, various forms of community-based conservation have been implemented throughout Maasai village lands. Costs, benefits, and community participation processes vary with the model used and the communities involved. I compare and contrast the different approaches to highlight how conservation interventions can be either empowering or alienating to the communities at hand. I suggest that participation based on respect for local knowledge and skills is key to empowering communities through conservation. I also argue that participation as well as the degree to which a project is succeeding at benefiting pastoralists is related to whether or not it is succeeding at protecting wildlife

Beyond payments for ecosystem services: considerations of trust, livelihoods and tenure security in community-based conservation projects

In the search for successful community-based conservation models there has been a substantial focus on payment for ecosystem services. Such payments are measurable inputs that are often associated with conservation success. A closer look suggests a more complex, historically and culturally contingent picture. We argue that a focus on payment for ecosystem services as a defining factor for success in community conservation risks overlooking other, more significant processes. In particular, we argue for the importance of (1) tenure and livelihood security and (2) relations of trust, communication and respect. We draw on case studies from East Africa, but the findings are relevant for global community-based conservation endeavours