Wiping out all of Africa’s elephants could accelerate Earth’s climate crisis by allowing 7% more damaging greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, scientists say. But conserving forest elephants may reverse the trend, providing a service worth $43billion in storing carbon, the academics found. The research, published in Nature Geoscience, shows that …
The mucky sediment below fish farms usually teems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The presence of such bacteria is a cause of increasing concern because resistance can limit the ability to fight diseases, but it is also not that surprising: pisciculturalists have a long history of dosing fish they are breeding and …
The bouts of rainfall that battered Houston, Mumbai and Calcutta last week, albeit in vastly different amounts, may earn tags of extreme rain events that weather scientists say are becoming more common under the influence of global warming. The tropical storm Harvey set a record for continental US with 132cm …
In the desert community of Sibi in southwest Balochistan province, where the mercury hit 52.4 degrees Celsius (126 Fahrenheit) this summer, people crowd into any available shade or mud-soaked stream to beat the midday temperatures After hours toiling at construction sites in 50 degree-plus heat, Lakhmir Brahmani finds little relief …
The single most important factor driving the installation of more solar panels worldwide is cost. As solar panels get cheaper, the decision to build solar power plants instead of conventional coal, natural gas, or nuclear power plants gets easier. Perovskites — a class of materials whose structure is similar to …
Between now and 2050 the planet’s population is expected to rise by a third, from 7.6bn to 9.8bn. Those extra mouths will need feeding, and not just with staples. As people grow richer, their demand for protein rises, particularly for meat and fish. Beef consumption in Asia, for example, is …
Every year thousands of fishermen in east Africa are killed in boating accidents due to intense night-time thunderstorms that whip up unexpectedly on Lake Victoria. Now a new satellite-based forecast system may help to provide early warnings of the storms. Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, is the perfect setting for …
Scientists have developed a hardy new hybrid rice that is rainfed, needs no irrigation, grows fast and does well in drier, maize-growing areas. Conventional rice requires irrigation and a lot of water. The new variety is also resistant to devastating rice blast disease. According to rice breeder John Kimani at …
Scientists have identified the first ever genetic markers associated with resistance to two deadly cassava viral diseases in Tanzania's grown varieties. The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in a statement availed to the 'Daily News' yesterday, identified the two varieties as Namikonga and Albert. Mostly grown by Tanzanian farmers, …
Scientists are deeply divided on whether snow leopards are still endangered species, a BBC investigation has found. Some big cat exerts say their population has stabilised and increased in a number of places. This, they claim, has slowed the overall rate of decline. Others argue that there has been no …
Researchers Chart Energy Road Map For 139 Countries More than 70% of the countries in the world -including India, the UK, US, China and other major economies -could run entirely on energy created by wind, water and solar by 2050, according to a road map developed by scientists. And the …
The Arctic is warming about twice as fast as other parts of the planet, and even here in sub-Arctic Alaska the rate of warming is high. Sea ice and wildlife habitat are disappearing; higher sea levels threaten coastal native villages. But to the scientists from Woods Hole Research Center who …
Scientists have developed a catalyst that can curb emissions of nitrogen oxides from diesel-powered vehicles, an advance that may help reduce air pollution and smog. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) is a priority air pollutant that is a key ingredient in smog. "Diesel engines power virtually all heavy-duty trucks, and NOx emissions …
This colourful video tracks the behaviour of the ozone layer over Antarctica across all of 2016. It shows clearly the annual “hole” that appears above the South Pole in the austral springtime, and which last year grew to about 23 million sq km (9 million sq miles) in extent. The …
A summer 'vortex' of cold air over the Karakoram, a large mountain range spanning the borders of India, Pakistan and China, is causing the glaciers in the region to grow in spite of global warming, scientists say. Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK have identified a large scale circulation …
Pollution from factories is pumping aerosols into the air. Hyderabad: Have the clouds been looking brighter than usual? No thanks to pollution. Scientists attribute this phenomena to the increasing amount of polluting particles in the air. For years, scientists have been observing changes in the clouds due to climate change …
Australia has a critical shortage of climate scientists, leaving it at serious risk of not delivering essential climate and weather services to groups like farmers, coastal communities and international organisations, a report has found. The report into the nation’s climate science capability by the Australian Academy of Science found the …
World temperatures are likely to rise by more than 2 degrees Celsius this century, surpassing a “tipping point” that a global climate deal aims to avert, scientists said on Monday. A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows a 90 per cent chance that temperatures will increase this …
There is a looming epidemic of Bacterial Black Spot disease in Ghana, according to leading scientists. Already the disease has been reported in Kintampo in the Brong Ahafo Region. Bacterial Black Spot disease, often referred to as BBS, attacks mango and other trees weakens their branches and causes cankers on …
A new study by two Zimbabwean climate science experts could make it possible to predict El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) ENSO several months before its occurrence. Climate experts say ENSO is one of the most important climate phenomena on earth due to its ability to change the global atmospheric circulation, …
A package of low-cost drugs designed to prevent deadly infections among people who are starting HIV treatment late could save 10,000 lives a year across sub-Saharan Africa, scientists believe. About one in five people who start HIV treatment in poorer countries are doing so later than advisable, which means they …
