Wikimedia Commons By Marc Arcas   Washington, Apr 11 (EFE).- NASA scientists are now convinced that extraterrestrial life is a fact, not a mere possibility, and says man will find conclusive signs of life far from Earth by the year 2045.   For scientists, the big question about alien life is no longer if it will be found but when.   "I think we're going to have...

A baby volcanic rock in Costa Rica from the Turrialba volcano. Source: RSN Earth scientists at the National Seismology Network (Spanish initials: RSN) of the University of Costa Rica issued a statement yesterday that underscores the need for emergency planning and disaster preparedness in the communities near the Turrialba volcano, in the province of Cartago. Magmatic levels at this active col...

Mouthless crab, a resident of the mangrove in Costa Rica The Pacific and Caribbean shorelines of Costa Rica are home to various mangrove forests that are extremely important for marine and coastal ecosystems. These forests feature unique vegetation that thrives on brackish water, and which provides a fertile habitat for many wildlife species such as tropical fish, crabs, caimans, monkeys, bats...

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ:SBUX) today announced critical advancements in research and transparency benefiting the entire specialty coffee industry as part of the evolution of its comprehensive ethical sourcing program and support of the sustainability of the specialty coffee industry. The company will make a decade of agronomy research available for commercializati...

Artist rendition of a protoplanetary system. Wikimedia Commons Berlin, Apr 9 (EFE).- A team of scientists has found, for the first time, complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star, reinforcing the theory of life beyond the Solar System. In an article published Thursday in the journal Nature, the team said it detected "large amou...

Night vision photograph of the Turrialba eruption. Source: OVSICORI Do you love the smell of sulfur in the morning? It smells like... geology. This morning, residents and tourists in various neighborhoods of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM) in Costa Rica awoke to an acrid and pungent aroma, which is a common occurrence for the farming communities that lie on the s...

Source: RSN (UCR) Following two eruptions that expelled ash columns on Easter Sunday, officers from Fuerza Publica (the national police force of Costa Rica) were deployed to various sectors of the Turrialba Volcano National Park for the purpose of evacuating the area. According to a news report filed by Lady Rojas of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, Fuerza Publica Commissar Juan Jose Andra...

Source: Vestas Vestas, a leading Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines, recently signed a firm and unconditional order with Fila de Mogote, a subsidiary of US-based Hunt Energy Horizons (Hunt Oil), for the 21 MW Mogote wind power plant in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. According to a press release by Vestas, the company will supply and install seven ...

Source: OVSICORI Various seismic events in Costa Rica scared churchgoers and tourists across the country, who were either preparing for the solemn Good Friday ceremonies or enjoying time off at crowded vacation spots. The first earthquake took place at 12:32, in the midst of lunchtime; it was recorded with a magnitude of 4.7 on the moment magnitude scale (MMS), and its epicenter was located...

The Arenal volcano in 2006. Wikimedia Commons (EUREKALERT) An international research team, led by a Virginia Tech geoscientist, has revealed information about how continents were generated on Earth more than 2.5 billion years ago -- and how those processes have continued within the last 70 million years to profoundly affect the planet's life and climate. Published online today in Nature Geo...

Intensity map by RSN (UCR) UPDATE: The 11:05 earthquake, magnitude 4.2 with an epicenter north of San Ramon in the province of Alajuela, is not part of the Cinchona cluster. It is important to keep in mind that Costa Rica is a seismic country. Three strong earthquakes followed by more than 70 aftershocks rudely awakened residents of a seismic region of Costa Rica on the final day of March. ...

The magnificent Turrialba in April 2012. Source: RSN A nighttime period of gaseous exhalation followed two minor ash eruptions from the Turrialba volcano, which is currently the most active colossus of Costa Rica. The first of the two eruptions, which took place over the weekend, was registered at 2:45 pm on a Saturday afternoon. That volcanic event mostly consisted of fine ash being expelled,...

Wall surrounding a temple in the magnificent Tihuanaco, Bolivia. Wikimidia Commons La Paz, Mar 27 (EFE).- The government of Bolivia announced it will start exploratory excavations this year at the ancient fortress of Tiahuanaco after a buried pyramid was detected. Ludwing Cayo, director of the Tiahuanaco Archeological Research Center, told Efe that the formation is located in the area of Ka...

ISS. Source: Wikimedia Commons Washington, Mar 28 (EFE).- The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft arrived successfully at the International Space Station, or ISS, with three astronauts aboard, two Russians and an American, on a mission that makes history because two of its crew will join the very few who have stayed the longest time in space. The spacecraft blasted off at 1942 GMT from the cosmodrome ...

Van Gogh - Starry Night. Google Cultural Institute By Carolina Ruiz Vega Have you noticed how, when looking at the night sky, it is difficult to spot the stars when you're in town? The phenomenon is due to what is known as light pollution, which is caused by excess artificial lights pointing in unnecessary directions for carrying out the activities planned for the area in which they are insta...

Source: Facebook Adrian Grenier, the star of the hit series Entourage, which is soon to be released as a feature film, arrived in Costa Rica this past Sunday for the purposes of swimming with sharks. That much can be gleaned through a series of social media updates posted by the famous actor, producer and musician on his Facebook and Instagram accounts. The famous actor is diving off Isla d...

Roxy M Jones - Pixabay Commons ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (25 MARCH 2015) EUREKALERT--Amidst fears that global warming could zap a vital source of protein that has sustained humans for centuries, bean breeders with the CGIAR global agriculture research partnership announced today the discovery of 30 new types, or lines as plant breeders refer to them, of "heat-beater" beans that could keep producti...

One of Ishiguro's robots. Source: Wikimedia Commons Managua, Mar 21 (EFE).- Japanese scientist Hiroshi Ishiguro presented in Nicaragua two robots he calls "humanoids," which he developed with systems of cognitive intelligence, and which are capable of walking, talking and interacting with people. Ishiguro is director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory of the Upper School of Engineering ...

File photo San Francisco, Mar 19 (EFE).- People in emerging and developing countries believe that the Internet has a positive effect on education, personal relations and the economy, but they feel that its impact on morals is mainly negative, according to a study published Thursday. The study prepared by the Pew Research Center is based on 36,619 interviews conducted in 32 emerging and deve...

Source: OVSICORI A new eruption of the Turrialba volcano on Wednesday afternoon did not stop officials from the Ministry of Education from resuming classes at 16 schools that were affected by volcanic activity last week. The most recent eruption occurred just after 1:30 pm on a sunny afternoon in Costa Rica; the volcanic matter expelled this time was mostly gases and steam. Personnel from the O...

Source: RSN A reasonable level of surface seismicity detected in the vicinity of the active Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica suggests that future eruptions could take place. Earth scientists from the National Seismology Network of the University of Costa Rica (Spanish initials: RSN), along with colleagues from the Observatory on Seismology and Volcanology of the National University (Spanish acr...

The LHC - Source: Flickr Commons Geneva, Mar 14 (EFE).- An understanding of dark matter and its composition and the recreation of conditions billionths of a second after the big bang are two of the objectives that physicians at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as the CERN, are aiming to achieve now that the world's largest and most powerful particle collider is up and runn...

Source: OVSICORI Seismologist Javier Pacheco and Geologist Jorge Brenes of the Observatory of Volcanology and Seismology of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) climbed to the top of the Turrialba volcano yesterday and brought back video of crater. It is important to keep in mind that this very active colossus has been producing eruptions since last week; for this reason, airports and school...

Source: RSN Following five months of relative calm, the Turrialba volcano has awakened with an intensity that has not been recorded in more than a century. It all started on Sunday, March 8th with a phreatic (ground water) eruption that would later include exhalations of gas and ash. Two late-night eruptions on Wednesday resulted in moderate ash columns, but the most spectacular events took pl...

Source: UK Trade & Investment Two major projects from the Ad Astra Rocket Company, the celebrated aerospace firm from Costa Rica that founded by NASA Hall of Fame Astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz, have recently run into roadblocks. First of, there's the breakup between Ad Astra and RECOPE, Costa Rica's state-owned fuel refinery monopoly, over future development of hydrogen production in our c...

Lydia. Source: OCEARCH Twitter San Juan, Mar 6 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- A great white shark weighing 908 kilos (2,000 pounds) returned Friday to the waters of the northern Bahamas, where a GPS device on the marine predator confirmed it had wandered earlier, the non-profit OCEARCH organization said.   OCEARCH confirmed via a Twitter post that the 4.4-meter (...

Source: TEAM Network FALLS CHURCH, Va., March 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In their continuing effort to help teachers develop the next generation of scientists, Northrop Grumman Foundation and Conservation International (CI) announced that applications for the 2015 ECO Classroom experience are now being accepted through March 31. Four teams of four teachers will be selected for an all-expenses-pai...

Source: YourMathGuru.com Miami, Florida (PRWEB) March 03, 2015 - The math quizzing site known as YourMathGuru.com has recently announced its top 13 winners of all time. The establishment of the site dates back to 2012 and, along with Spanish-language sister site TuGuruDeMate.com, YourMathGuru.com has been awarding weekly prizes to winners of their various math contests ever since. The top 13 w...

View of the vulcano Villarrica erupting on 03 March 2015 at Villarrica, 750km south Santiago de Chile in Chile. Over 4,000 people have been evacuated due to the risk of floods as snow melts due to the volcano's eruption. EFE/Ariel Marinkovic Santiago, Mar 3 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- The Villarrica volcano in southern Chile erupted early Tuesday, sending plumes of smoke...

Public domain photo By Elvira Palomo. Washington, Feb 24 (EFE).- Genetically modified apples that do not brown will be available in U.S. grocery stores by 2015 with the expectation that waste will be curtailed and sales will expand, despite criticism of altered foods by some groups. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that, after rigorous scientific reviews, it determined that the va...

Hummingbird Educational and scientific tourism are becoming very important  in the lucrative travel and hospitality sector in Costa Rica. To this end, it is not surprising to learn that a good number of university students from the United States make Costa Rica their first choice for study-abroad programs within the scientific curriculum. A good example of the type of educational and scient...

It has become almost fashionable to cite phenomena such as loss of habitat and climate change as the major causal agents for the extinction of certain wildlife species in Costa Rica. Such is the case of the golden toad as well as the harlequin frog and the hawksbill sea turtle (it is important to note, however, that biologists have recently observed a return of the latter two "Lazarus species" in ...

Every year, lonely hearts around the world dread the prospect of spending Valentine's Day without a special someone to spend it with. Such is the case in Costa Rica and any other country where Valentine's Day is observed as a holiday that celebrates romantic love. This being the 21st century and an exciting period within the Information Age, lonely hearts in Costa Rica who are in a hurry to find a...

Source: Flickr Commons Some of the prettiest tourist attractions in Costa Rica are located along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Cartographers have mapped out and designated more than 100 beaches in Costa Rica, and some of them are so secluded that they do not appear in commercially available maps. Depending on personal preference, some beaches may appear to be prettier than others, and this...

Wikimedia Commons Of all the venomous snakes in Costa Rica, the fearsome gargantilla (Micrurus mipartitus) is often regarded as one of the deadliest. The powerful venom of these snakes can not only cause instant tissue necrosis but also excruciating pain, epilepsy, shock, and death. What is it that makes this reptilian venom so potent? According to a recent study in Proceedings of the Natio...

Wikimedia Commons One of the most lucrative crops in Costa Rica has come under heavy criticism from environmental activists and farmers who are concerned about the sustainability of their soil and ecosystems. Pineapples are one of the most enticing cash crops in Costa Rica thanks to heavy demand from developed markets such as Europe. Unfortunately, the mass and indiscriminate farming of pineap...

Twin ultrasound. Source: Wikimedia Commons Earlier this year, a couple from Tabarcia, a semi-rural and suburban community in the province of San Jose, arrived in the San Juan de Dios Metropolitan Hospital with high hopes of experiencing the delivery of twin baby girls. This expectation was based on five ultrasound imaging procedures, which showed Ms. Leidy Ureña was pregnant with two girls. Ms...

Students at Bethel Campus Over the last two decades, the Costa Rica Board of Tourism (Spanish initials: ICT) has been focusing on marketing our country as a premier destination for all types of visitors. Although Costa Rica has traditionally been considered a major destination for ecotourists and adventure travelers, ICT has been successful in attracting visitors who may visit our country for ...

Source; Central College News Following a class trip to Costa Rica in 2014, two university students from the United States returned to their campus in the midwestern state of Iowa and sought to complete an environmental science project inspired by their accommodations in our country. While in Costa Rica, Amy Andrews and Ethan Van Koote stayed in little shacks powered by solar panels; in essence...

Partial Endocrine System February 02, 2015 12:21 PM - JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) will convene the first-ever, Pan-American Scientific Symposium: Clinical Endocrinology in Latin America on February 26-28 in San Jose, Costa Rica. “It’s a transcultural opportunity for us to share and adapt our AACE guidelines and educationa...