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 …
Scientists have detected an overload of radioactive compounds in the flyash in villages surrounding the 1,260 megawatt Kolaghat Thermal Power Station in West Bengal's Midnapur district. In addition, the tube well water in these villages contain very high levels of toxic elements. While the flyash was found containing high levels …
scientists have detected arsenic-induced damage to a type of white blood cells among people from North 24-Parganas district in West Bengal. "Chromosomal aberrations (cas) like breaks, deletions and gaps in peripheral lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) have been found in people drinking water contaminated with arsenic,' says Ashok …
with Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, the treaty to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is back on track. But, what collective action can be expected in the future to combat climate change? At the Tenth Conference of Parties (cop-10) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (unfccc) …
using cotton gin residue: US researchers have found the waste generated when cotton is ginned (seeds separated from fibre) can yield valuable products. They have developed manufacturing processes to extract specific chemicals and make two products
scientists at the Institute of Genomics and Integrated Biology (igib) in Delhi have developed a device for instant monitoring of organic pollution in wastewater. The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (bod) biosensor can analyse a sample and generate the results in less than 10 minutes, and that too, at the site itself. …
The politics of climate change negotiations has yet again surfaced in the scientific domain. Just as the 10th conference of parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change begins in Argentina, December 6-17, 2004, us scientists have claimed that haze and dust from industrial activity blanket low-lying regions …
the Union government recently announced that Indian scientists had achieved "the first success in developing a new therapeutic molecule for tuberculosis (tb) treatment since the discovery of rifampicin in 1963'. While the discovery of the new chemical compound is a reality, Union Science and technology minister Kapil Sibal went overboard …
In the second week of August this year, when a severe pest attack ravaged the coconut crop in Neil islands in the South Andamans, the villagers turned to scientists from the Port-Blair-based Central Agricultural Research Institute (cari) for help. But shouldn't officers of the agriculture department of the Andaman and …
scientists in Brazil have decoded the complete genome of coffee, throwing open the possibilities to improve the quality and productivity of the popular tropical bean. Brazil accounts for one-third of the world's coffee production. The genome was sequenced during a two-year-long project jointly carried out by Brazil's agricultural research agency …
scientists at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (iisc) have found that a jet of gas can generate current if passed over materials like semiconductors. Physicists Ajay Sood and Shankar Ghosh made the discovery by using just a bottle of compressed gas and equipment made at very low cost. The …
bi-advantages: As per researchers from Canada's York University, bilingualism is useful not only because it makes it possible to talk to more number of people. They have found that bilinguals perform a variety of cognitive tasks better than people who speak only one language. Furthermore, the differences between the two …
Leonardo da Vinci was far more than a great artist. He is celebrated as the inventor of numerous mechanical devices like robots and alarm clocks. Recently, another chapter has been added to the saga of his accomplishments. Alessandro Vezzosi, an Italian academician, has found that the sorcerer was also the …
A us scientist, who triggered a bioterrorism scare by illegally shipping back bubonic plague samples he collected from Tanzania last year, has been sentenced to two years' imprisonment by a Texas court. The scientist, Thomas Butler, would also have to shell out us $50,000 in fine and restitution. Butler was …
function mars() { var popurl="html/20040131_mars.htm" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=550,height=500,scrollbars=yes") } The world's powers celebrated Christmas 2003 in style: they sent robotic geologists to the red planet Mars, Earth's uninviting and hostile neighbour. Two major space-faring powers, the European Union (eu) and the us, extended their race for space supremacy to Mars with their …
scientists at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science (iisc) have devised a new method to forecast the monsoon, that too eight months ahead of the rainfall season. The statistical method, developed by R N Iyengar and S T G Ravikanth, is much less complicated than the existing forecasting models, as …
It was launched in 1977, the year rock icon Elvis Presley died of a heart attack. Now, scientists are wondering if space probe Voyager 1 has broken the ultimate record of space endurance. They say the latest data from its enfeebled instruments suggests the probe has gone beyond the edge …
at a time when the uk Prime Minister (pm), Tony Blair, is facing considerable embarrassment with regard to the death of weapons expert David Kelly, the subsequent Hutton inquiry and the core issue of the country's involvement in Iraq, he can ill-afford to land himself in the soup over any …
Scientists have struggled for years to understand how the lowly silkworm spins the strongest natural fibre known to human beings. Now they have cracked the mystery. The secret is the animal's ability to carefully control the water content in its silk glands. Scientists have known for some time that silk's …
A group of scientists in Bangalore have a dream: to create a district-wise lead map of India, showing areas heavily contaminated with the toxic heavy metal. "The map will pinpoint lead alert zones in a city and inform people about the associated risks so that they can take precautionary measures. …
