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Por Asuka Koda, CNN

No muy lejos de los buques varados en el golfo Pérsico se encuentra una maravilla ecológica. El sumamente disputado estrecho de Ormuz alberga delfines y la población de corales más diversa de la región. Se trata de un mundo submarino que, según los científicos, podría verse amenazado por el conflicto a su alrededor.

Actualmente, cerca de 2.000 buques atrapados en el Golfo transportan alrededor de 21.000 millones de litros de petróleo. Desde que estalló la guerra, se han registrado al menos 16 ataques contra embarcaciones en el golfo Pérsico y en las proximidades del estrecho de Ormuz.

Nina Noelle, portavoz de Greenpeace —una red global independiente de campañas centrada en cuestiones medioambientales—, declaró a CNN que, gracias a un monitoreo continuo, los investigadores del grupo “detectan regularmente manchas de petróleo en la región”, incluida una vinculada al buque iraní “Shahid Bagheri”, que fue atacado por un avión de guerra estadounidense a principios de marzo.

Según la organización, el buque sigue vertiendo petróleo “cerca del estrecho de Khuran, lo que representa un riesgo potencial para los humedales protegidos de la zona”. El estrecho de Khuran es un pasaje más angosto situado al norte del estrecho de Ormuz.

La posición geográfica del estrecho de Ormuz lo convierte en un enclave crucial, no solo desde el punto de vista político, sino también ecológico: se sitúa en una zona de transición entre el profundo y frío golfo de Omán y el somero y cálido golfo Pérsico. Las corrientes que fluyen desde el golfo de Omán transportan nutrientes y larvas que propician la proliferación de plancton y el desarrollo de arrecifes de coral, mientras que las surgencias de aguas más profundas atraen a peces de arrecife y a los migratorios tiburones ballena que transitan por la zona estacionalmente.

En tiempos más pacíficos, el buceo y la observación de delfines en la gobernación de Musandam —una región de Omán que colinda con el estrecho— constituían un gran atractivo turístico. El estrecho ofrece zonas de anidación para las tortugas marinas, y las costas de Omán albergan a las ballenas jorobadas árabes —una población no migratoria en peligro crítico de extinción—, así como a dugongos y serpientes marinas en las aguas circundantes.

A medida que el conflicto se prolonga, los científicos manifiestan una creciente preocupación por el impacto que los derrames de petróleo podrían tener sobre la fauna de la región. “Muchos de los compuestos presentes en el petróleo crudo afectan la función cardíaca y la respiración”, afirmó Martin Grosell, profesor y director del Departamento de Biología Marina y Ecología de la Escuela Rosenstiel de Ciencias Marinas, Atmosféricas y Terrestres de la Universidad de Miami. “La exposición prolongada al petróleo provoca una sobreexigencia de la respuesta al estrés, lo cual suprime la función inmunológica y hace que los animales sean más susceptibles a infecciones y a otros tipos de agresiones ambientales”.

El petróleo crudo también altera el sistema nervioso de los animales —añadió Grosell—, afectando sus sentidos, su capacidad para orientarse, para procesar estímulos y para ubicarse adecuadamente en su entorno. Esto repercute en la forma en que reaccionan ante los depredadores y encuentran a sus presas; lo que significa que el daño sufrido por animales individuales puede desencadenar una cascada de efectos negativos en todo el ecosistema.

El estrecho de Ormuz —un angosto pasaje situado entre Irán, al norte, y Omán y Emiratos Árabes Unidos, al sur— se encuentra en la desembocadura del golfo Pérsico. Aaron Bartholomew, profesor de biología en la Universidad Americana de Sharjah (EAU) y quien ha realizado investigaciones de campo en toda la región, describe el estrecho como la “joya ecológica” del Golfo.

“El estrecho de Ormuz es reconocido por albergar la mayor diversidad y una de las coberturas coralinas

By Kara Alaimo, CNN

(CNN) — Ever wonder why your kid goes ballistic when you try to take their screen away? It’s mostly not their fault.

That outsize reaction occurs because devices are designed to make us all desire them so badly that we don’t log off, writes Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff in her new book, “Dopamine Kids: A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child’s Brain and Take Back Your Family in the Age of Screens and Ultraprocessed Foods.”

So many parents tell me it’s impossible to meaningfully limit their kids’ technology use, but despite tech’s addictive qualities, it turns out that’s just not true.

Doucleff, an Alpine, Texas-based science journalist, decided to eliminate a lot of technology from her family’s life. She can help you do it, too, and you’ll see how your whole family will be much happier if you do.

This conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

CNN: Many people think using social media releases dopamine, which brings us pleasure. You say that’s not true, and it leaves us feeling bad. How so?

Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff: That idea is based on science from the 1950s, which in the past 30 years has been completely overturned. Dopamine is not the pleasure molecule. It does not give us the feeling of happiness. Neuroscience tells us that it actually gives us the feeling of wanting, of desire. The dopamine system is there to make us go get what we need to survive, and not just do it once, but do it again. It’s the feeling of needing water on a hot, hot day after you’ve been running for 45 minutes. We’ll place high value on anything that releases dopamine in our motivation circuitry, and we’ll want to do it again.

Typically, as we evolved as humans, we wanted to keep doing the things that gave us pleasure. But in our modern world, we have activities that pull us to things and make us want things that can, over time, actually make us feel bad and hurt us. The data are very clear that that’s true of some ultraprocessed foods, video games and social media.

I am pulled to social media, even though in five minutes it makes me feel horrible, but I still want it. Teenagers tell researchers that, too. They want to get off it. They block their accounts, they delete their accounts, but they can’t stop. Those are signs of wanting something that no longer makes you feel good.

CNN: Why do our bodies react that way to social media?

Doucleff: The trick is that social media is making kids think it’s fulfilling their need for social support and belonging. This is a fundamental need of humans. We would die without it. Social media promises that, but it doesn’t actually fulfill the need. The data show that, over the long run, it can leave kids feeling lonelier. It actually takes away what kids are trying to find.

CNN: You say we should redirect our kids away from social media. How can we do that without big battles?

Doucleff: A lot of parenting advice is very behind. It’s based on psychology from 25, 30, even 40 years ago.

One of the ways it’s behind is on how you set limits with these products. Parenting advice tells us to take it away. That is never going to work. The kid is going to get mad; you’re going to have an argument; they’re going to crave screens more and eventually you cave.

Behavi

By Lianne Kolirin, CNN

(CNN) — A new search engine that allows users to search Nazi party records in order to find out whether their ancestors were card-carrying members has been accessed millions of times since it was launched earlier this month.

The huge database has been made available by the German newspaper Die Zeit in a bid to “end the silence born of misplaced shame,” according to an editorial from the publication. It is run in conjunction with archives in Germany and the United States.

Founded after World War I, Hitler’s party did not really gain in popularity until the economic collapse of the Great Depression. There was a sharp rise in support for it during the 1930 elections, and when Hitler was elected three years later he abolished all other parties, creating a mass movement that controlled all aspects of German life.

By the late 1930s, the “vast majority of Germans supported Hitler and the Nazi state,” according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

According to Die Zeit, 10.2 million Germans joined the party in the 20 years from 1925 and at its height at the end of World War II it had about 9 million members.

In the final days of the war, the Nazis sought to destroy the party’s vast collection of membership cards but they were saved at the last minute and later handed to the Americans. They were then stored in the Berlin Document Center but were later transferred to the German Federal Archives, with copies also at the US National Archives, the newspaper reported.

A spokeswoman for Die Zeit told CNN the new site had been accessed millions and shared thousands of times.

Christian Staas, head of Die Zeit’s history department, told CNN that there had been an overwhelming response to the search engine. He explained that an average of 75,000 people approach the German Federal Archives for this information each year, and when the US National Archives made the records available online, the demand was so heavy that the website went down temporarily.

Die Zeit gained access to those records and, with the help of AI, developed a “convenient search option,” said Staas. “This level of interest does seem relatively new, and I’m sure the fact that most former NSDAP (Nazi party) members, or people involved in Nazi crimes or war crimes, are no longer alive makes it easier for many people to ask questions about their own family history.”

“In opinion polls, only very few Germans say their ancestors supported the Nazi regime, and quite a lot believe their families opposed Hitler. That obviously can’t be true. Perhaps our search engine helps people arrive at a more realistic view of the past,” he added.

Some of those who searched the records shared their reactions with Die Zeit after finding out that their suspicions were confirmed.

“My feelings are all over the place right now,” wrote one, identified only as Katha1927, who had suspected both their grandfathers had joined the party. “I’m wondering which entry date I find worse: 1931 –- so early, already so convinced? Or 1941 –- even though they already knew so much?”

Another, listed as “dudettes,” said: “For over 40 years I wondered if my great-grandfather was a member. He was a railroad engineer during the Nazi era and always flew into a rage whenever the topic of the war came up. Question answered. Thank you, ZEIT. Even though it hurts terribly.”

One person identified as “Aunt Horst” said their family research ha

By Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN

(CNN) — The Justice Department has removed the career Miami federal prosecutor leading the investigation into John Brennan, after she resisted pressure to quickly bring charges against the former CIA director and prominent critic of President Donald Trump, according to people briefed on the matter.

Maria Medetis Long on Friday notified attorneys representing people involved in the case that she was no longer handling the investigation, the people familiar with the matter said. She has led the politically sensitive probe for months amid demands from Trump to prosecute Brennan and other critics.

The investigation into Brennan is focused on one of the president’s longest standing political grievances — the 2017 intelligence assessment that found ​Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to help him.

Trump’s demands have taken on more urgency for the Justice Department after Trump fired former Attorney General Pam Bondi, in part because of dissatisfaction at the slow pace of cases he wants brought. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has redoubled efforts to satisfy the president’s demands as he seeks to keep the job after Bondi’s ouster.

Miami US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones’ office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The change comes as investigators in recent weeks have conducted interviews with witnesses and issued a fresh round of subpoenas, the people briefed on the matter said, signaling a case that is moving ahead but not likely on the rapid timeline that top Justice Department officials have sought.

The career prosecutors and investigators handling the case have for months pushed back against demands to quickly bring charges against Brennan, CNN reported, and have signaled to Justice Department officials they don’t believe the case is a strong one. Still, they have continued to work toward possibly bringing it in federal court in Washington, DC.

Medetis Long’s team sent out several rounds of subpoenas, requests for documents from Congress, and is now seeking witness interviews as part of the probe, several sources say, and Brennan’s lawyers have been bracing for a possible indictment for months.

In recent weeks, DOJ officials met with Quiñones and others in his office to discuss the investigation’s progress, sources told CNN. Quiñones told the officials that charges could still be months away, sources say, which top Justice officials told him was not acceptable.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida, where Medetis Long is the National Security Section Chief, are focused on allegations that Brennan lied to Congress about at the years-ago intelligence assessment.

Brennan told House investigators in 2017 that Russia “brazenly interfered” in US elections, including actively contacting members of Trump’s campaign. However, he stopped shy of dubbing it “collusion.”

An investigation into Russian election interference ultimately did not find that Trump’s campaign or associates conspired with Russia or that Trump committed a crime, but did not exonerate the president on obstruction of justice.

The-CNN-Wire
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