Daily Archives: July 26, 2017

UNESCO-listed sights, mountains cloaked in rainforests, and streets lined with ramshackle rum bars holidays to the Caribbean give you a tropical getaway with a twist.

All you have to do is mention the Caribbean and youll be met with chatter about coconut trees, soft sands and cyan-blue waters. But, this cluster of islands is about more than just fly and flop holidays. Waterfalls, rainforests and lively towns it ticks all the adventure boxes. Not to mention the rum.

This tiny island has some big-name beaches. The most popular of which Palm and Eagle regularly top all sorts of worlds best lists. The west is buzzing with shops and clubs, but the east is almost crowd-free. Youll also get some Dutch vibes, especially in the sherbet-coloured capital, Oranjestad.

Barbados definitely has the X Factor. Celebrities like Simon Cowell flock here year-round. And, while its the most British of the islands, its not all afternoon tea and cricket. Its dotted with sugarcane fields, all-night clubs, roadside rum shops, and pearl-white beaches, so whatever youre looking for, its got it.

Dramatic scenery comes as standard in the Dominican Republic. If you can tear yourself away from the palm-fringed beaches, there are waterfalls to scale, waves to surf and humpback whales to spot. Come-dark, this islands got a buzzing edge with shops and bars blasting merengue music.

Jamaica has some serious musical roots. You can move to chilled-out reggae rhythms on the white sands of Seven-mile Beach, listen to the cascading sounds of Dunns River Falls, or rev it up on a Jeep safari through the mountains. And don't forget to sample that spicy jerk chicken and sweet rum.

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Caribbean Holidays 2017 / 2018 | First Choice

Caribbean Reef Life of The Bay Islands, Honduras; a new reef identification book and field guide for Caribbean diving enthusiasts, by photographer and author Mickey Charteris. This 350-page guide book showcases the amazing underwater diversity of The Bay Islands and the entire Western Caribbean, with over 1000 species in full color, and descriptions for each species. It is anessential companion on any diving trip to the Bay Islands or anywhere in the entire region. Caribbean Reef Life covers all aspects of a coral reef ecosystem, from Marine Plants, to the Sponges and Corals, Invertebrates, Reef Fishes, as well as the Marine Mammals and Turtles. Even the juvenile, male and female and colour varieties are shown and described. For each species group there are plenty of fun facts, identification tips and extra information for divers wanting to know more about Reef Life.

Caribbean Reef Life is constantly updating it's collection of species. Come back every month to see new albums of what thefantasticallydiverse coral reefs surrounding Roatan have to offer:

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Caribbean Reef Life - a field guide for Caribbean diving ...

Written by Studentdoc Editor

Usually less expensive. Many Caribbean Medical Schools are affordable compared to U.S. medical schools. However, make sure you include the costs of travel abroad, travel student health insurance, and other miscellaneous costs in calculating the cost of medical school abroad. Often the education is a bargain even when these extra costs are included.

To get an idea of how your application might fare at a U.S. medical school try the MCAT score comparison tool.

Usually easier to get into. The medical school requirements for GPA and MCAT scores are lower than most U.S. Medical schools. There are also 3 application periods in a year. Nonetheless, your medical school personal statement should be tailored to these schools.

Schools like Ross School of Medicine, Saba School of Medicine, and St. George University (SGU) have the best reputations among Caribbean schools.

To get information on Osteopathic Medical schools try our DO schools search tool and the discussion of the difference between DO and MD degrees.

Not all are accredited. This is very important. If you plan to go to a foreign medical school make sure your degree will be accepted in the U.S. or Canada (depending on where you want to practice). Not all schools are accredited - so you must be sure your MD will count. Four states (California, Florida, New Jersey, and New York), evaluate foreign medical schools individually - most Caribbean medical schools are not accredited in all four of these states.

You might need to know Spanish. Find out what language courses are taught in, and what language your patient interactions will be in. Many foreign medical schools are taught in the native language of the country. You might be at a disadvantage when competing for strong residencies. However, your USMLE scores are an important determinant of your residency match - strong USMLE scores make up for a lot and can be a great equalizer.

Limited clinical rotations. Often the clinical rotations are done in U.S. medical schools. Many Caribbean Medical Schools have arrangements with U.S. hospitals, but your options in rotations might be limited compared to the options available to a student in a U.S. medical school.

You'll have to take the CSA (Clinical Skills Assessment) in addition to the USMLE tests.

Be sure you are attending an accredited medical school in the Caribbean

Consider residency placement after Caribbean medical school

Hear from a former Caribbean medical school instructor

Learn more from websites of Caribbean medical schools

Things to consider when choosing a medical school in the Caribbean

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Caribbean Medical Schools - StudentDoc

Fresh from their summer tour, Dead & Company announces Playing in the Sand, a Caribbean concert vacation in partnership with CID Presents. The event, which takes place February 15-18, 2018, features three nights of Dead & Company playing on an intimate, white sandy beach in Mexico beside the Caribbean Sea.

The band features original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart alongside singer/guitarist John Mayer, Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge and Fare Thee Well and RatDog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti. A press release promises, without providing details: Continuing in the tradition of the Grateful Dead, the group is taking the iconic music catalogue to new heights.

In addition to the Dead & Companys three concerts, Playing in the Sand offers guests all-inclusive food and drink, premium hotel accommodations, shuttle service to and from Cancun International Airport, 24-hour concierge service and other assorted goodies. There will also be on-site activities such as yoga, tequila tasting, bowling and surfing, as well as off-site adventures.

Guests have a choice of five hand-picked tropical resorts including the host property, The Barcel Maya, as well as The Hard Rock Hotel, Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Dreams Tulum and Rosewood Mayakoba.

Dead & Company is inviting fans to sign up for presale access via a special link on the bands and individual band members email and social media channels. This presale will begin Tuesday, August 1 at 1pm E.T. All-inclusive packages will be available to the public on Thursday, August 3rd at 1PM E.T. For complete details visit http://www.playinginthesand.co/2018.

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Dead & Company Announce Caribbean Concert Vacation | Variety - Variety

July 25, 2017 Staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) are propagated within underwater coral nurseries to create a sustainable source of corals for use in coral restoration activities (inset). Outplanted corals have similar survival and productivity values as wild colonies, thereby indicating that coral gardening methodologies are successful in creating healthy corals for restoration. Credit: Stephanie Schopmeyer, UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science

A new study found that Caribbean staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) are benefiting from "coral gardening," the process of restoring coral populations by planting laboratory-raised coral fragments on reefs.

The research, led by scientists at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and partners, has important implications for the long-term survival of coral reefs worldwide, which have been in worldwide decline from multiple stressors such as climate change and ocean pollution.

"Our study showed that current restoration methods are very effective," said UM Rosenstiel school coral biologist Stephanie Schopmeyer, the lead author of the study. "Healthy coral reefs are essential to our everyday life and successful coral restoration has been proven as a recovery tool for lost coastal resources."

In the study, the researchers set out to document restoration success during their initial two years at several coral restoration sites in Florida and Puerto Rico. Their findings showed that current restoration methods are not causing excess damage to donor colonies as a result of removing coral tissue to propagate new coral in the lab, and that once outplanted, corals behave just as wild colonies do.

Staghorn coral populations have declined as much as 90% in the Caribbean since the 1980s. As a result, the species was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2006 to help protect and conserve these species that form the foundation of the biologically rich coral reef habitats.

The findings, published in the of the journal Coral Reefs, offers a guide for successful restoration and recovery efforts of the threatened species worldwide.

Thousands of corals are raised in laboratories and planted onto degraded reefs each year. This study is the first to collect baseline coral restoration survival and productivity data at regional scales including data from 1,000s of individual A. cervicornis colonies, more than 120 distinct genotypes within six geographical regions to develop benchmarks to fully assess the progress and impacts of the region's coral and reef restoration efforts.

Coral reefs provide many goods and services including fisheries habitat, food for humans and other ocean species, and protection against natural hazards such as hurricanes. As a result, coral restoration is viewed as an effective and cost-efficient strategy to buffer coastlines from the effects of storm surge and sea-level rise.

"Coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate and coral restoration programs are now considered an essential component to coral conservation and management plan," said Diego Lirman, UM Rosenstiel School professor of marine biology and ecology and a coauthor of the study. "Our findings provide the necessary scientific benchmarks to evaluate restoration progress moving forward."

The study was conducted in collaboration with U.S. Acropora Recovery Program partners: Nova Southeastern University, University of Miami, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Mote Marine Laboratory, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The public can get involved in restoration through theUM Rescue-a-Reefprogram, where citizen scientists help plant nursery-grown corals onto depleted reefs alongside scientists.

Explore further: Where can coral grow best? Scientist researching optimal habitats

More information: Stephanie A. Schopmeyer et al, Regional restoration benchmarks for Acropora cervicornis, Coral Reefs (2017). DOI: 10.1007/s00338-017-1596-3

Journal reference: Coral Reefs

Provided by: University of Miami

Coral populations in the Florida Reef Tract have declined in the last three decades due to extreme-temperature events and other stressors that cause bleaching and disease. Scientists are now working to save the reef by transplanting ...

For reefs facing huge challenges, more coral larvae doesn't necessarily translate to increased rates of coral recovery on degraded reefs, a new Queensland study has showed.

Nearly one year after prolonged high ocean temperatures caused devastating coral bleaching and loss in parts of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, NOAA scientists recently went back to check on their condition.

Dr Pim Bongaerts, a Research Fellow at The University of Queensland's Global Change Institute (GCI) and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and lead author of the study, said deep reefs share coral species with ...

Reef-building corals have a symbiotic relationship with Symbiodinium algae, and environmental stressors that cause algae to be expelled from reefs can give rise to the phenomenon known as coral bleaching.

More than 2,000 international reef scientists, policymakers and stakeholders are gathering in Hawaii this week to discuss what to do about the global decline of coral reefs. The International Coral Reef Symposium convened ...

The idea of geoengineering, also known as climate engineering, is very controversial. But as greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in our atmosphere, scientists are beginning to look at possible emergency measures.

A new study found that Caribbean staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) are benefiting from "coral gardening," the process of restoring coral populations by planting laboratory-raised coral fragments on reefs.

Humanity will have used up its allowance of planetary resources such as water, soil, and clean air for all of 2017 by next week, said a report Tuesday.

(Phys.org)A team of researchers from Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam has found real-world evidence of people refusing to leave their island homes even after an earthquake has caused severe flooding to occur every high ...

A gene controlling cell size has been identified in a microalgal group which underpins a fifth of the world's food chains.

A University of Alaska Fairbanks study looking at the physics of tidewater glaciers has yielded new insights into what drives their retreat-and-advance cycles and the role that climate plays in these cycles.

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Coral gardening is benefiting Caribbean reefs, study finds - Phys.Org

Miami Herald

Cutler Bay installs community message board on Caribbean Boulevard Miami Herald The town of Cutler Bay has installed an electronic community message board on Caribbean Boulevard and Southwest 107 Avenue. Cutler Bay's new message board will be updated regularly with notices of upcoming town meetings, special events, road ...

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Cutler Bay installs community message board on Caribbean Boulevard - Miami Herald