The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
antibiotics may get a fresh lease of life following the discovery of a potent compound by a team of scientists at Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey, in the us. Called platensimycin, the compound was isolated from a fungus-like bacterium found in a soil sample from South Africa. The …
strongest glue: A bacterium that inhabits rivers, streams and human aqueducts uses nature's strongest glue to stay in one place, according to a study by scientists from Indiana University Bloomington and Brown University, both in the US. The scientists found a force of about 1 micronewton had to be applied …
a team of scientists from West Bengal has found a microbe that could help treat fluoride-contaminated water, the chief cause for fluorosis. "After laboratory culture of three bacteria culled from fluoride-affected areas from Birbhum district of West Bengal, we have isolated a strain of Streptococcus species that could remove fluoride …
Using microbes in nano-electronics A virus that infects the cowpea plant has been found useful in making tiny electronic devices and biosensors. When ferrocene, an organo-metallic chemical, was deposited on the cowpea mosaic virus, it turned into a capacitor of nano-scale dimensions, according to researchers at the John Innes Centre …
iron supplements are routinely prescribed to people infected with hookworm, an intestinal parasite that causes anaemia and protein deficiency. But a new us study says this line of treatment is unlikely to help and suggests the need to review the guideline. Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine and University …
healthy milk: Consuming non-fat (skimmed) milk products can halve the risk of hypertension, claims a study by scientists at the University of Navarra, Spain, and Alvaro Alonso, a researcher in the School of Public Health at Harvard University in the US. The study evaluated the relationship between the consumption of …
an insight has been gained into what could be a reservoir for the Ebola virus, which causes a severe form of hemorrhagic fever. Researchers have identified three species of fruit bats as likely reservoirs for the virus, where it can exist asymptomatically. A study conducted by scientists from Gabon, South …
Gujarat state has the longest coastline and stands second in mangrove area coverage among all the states of the country. Moreover, recent incidents of tsunami has strengthened the importance of mangroves as a shelterbelt which reduce the impact. This publication provides the insight into the history of mangrove forests, their …
scientists have raised concern over India lacking a programme to regularly monitor harmful algal blooms (habs), which may lead to massive fish kills and even threaten public health. Though non-toxic blooms have been commonly reported from Indian waters, the cases of hab s have been on the rise since 1981. …
a mutated gene acquired from a harmless microbe can make a pathogenic bacterium drug resistant, claims a study at the Laboratory of Microbiology, Rockefeller University, New York. A team of scientists led by Alexander Tomasz, showed that bacteria fortify their cell walls using a protein produced by a gene called …
scientists in the us have designed a bioelectronic device exploiting a bacterium's ability to puff up and deflate in tandem with humidity in the air. University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientist Ravi Saraf and his doctoral student, Vikas Berry, created a silicon chip covered with several extremely fine gold electrodes to which …
The contribution of antibiotics in enhancing the quality of human life is well known. However, there is now growing evidence that these drugs cause substantial harm. Researchers in many parts of the world have found that a large amount of antibiotics, used by humans and administered to animals, is excreted …
The present work relates to isolation of promising Pseudomonas strain from the oil contaminated sites in service stations, Namakkal and then collecting a saline tolerant Pseudomonas strain from the coastal saline region of Rameswaram. These bacterial strains have been optimally characterized with regard to biodegradation of oil.
The biological agents viz. fungi and bacteria (Pseudomonas sp.) were tried to develop a suitable technology for purification of industrial effluent. Pure culture of Pseudomonas sp. and locally isolated fungi sp. from mix industrial effluents were utilized in the study. The laboratory study was carried out to know the tolerance …
scientists in Germany have isolated a strain of bacteria from a uranium waste pile, which can be used to clean up toxic dumps. Bacillus sphaericus jg -a12 survives in highly toxic environments by accumulating heavy metals such as uranium, cadmium and lead in its outermost layer, according to the group …
harmful growth of algae that affects the marine ecosystem especially fish, human health and tourism can be controlled using a safe biological weapon, claim researchers. The scientists from the Indian Statistical Institute and the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, both in Kolkata, and the Institute for Environmental Systems Research at …
sleepless babies: Newborn dolphins and killer whales don't sleep for a whole month after birth, says a study by a team led by Jerome Siegel of the University of California at Los Angeles, US. The mothers also stay awake over the period to keep a close eye on their offspring. …
us researchers have found how some microorganisms can clean groundwater and produce electricity from renewable resources. The ability owes to a highly electrically conductive, tiny structure called microbial nanowire that the scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst discovered in Geobacter. The nanowires are only 3-5 nanometres thick (20,000 times …
