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 …
forces of friction are familiar to all of us. Walking, driving, the working of machines are some of the things that will not be possible without friction. On the other hand, friction is responsible for the wear and tear of moving parts, and needs to be minimised by use of …
Melting Himalayan glaciers are threatening to unleash a torrent of floods into mountain valleys, and ultimately dry up rivers across South Asia. A new study, due to be presented in July to the International Commission on Snow and Ice (ICSI), predicts that most of the glaciers in the region will …
Scientists have expressed concern over high concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) around thermal power plants in India and the danger they pose to agricultural crops in the vicinity. Says C K Varshney, professor, School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, "The present level of research indicates …
HYBRID VEHICLE: Nissan Motor Company Limited of Tokyo said that it aimed to start sales of gasoline-electric hybrid cars in Japan at the beginning of the year 2000. The company's first hybrid vehicle is based on its Tino wagon, which was introduced in the Japanese market December of 1998. It …
geoscientists and physicists in Assam have warned that the northeastern parts of India and western Burma are likely to be rocked by mega-earthquakes, measuring about eight on the Richter scale, any time during the next decade. The region is one of the six most earthquake-prone areas in the world with …
russian scientists' attempt to reflect the Sun's light towards dark areas of the Earth floundered when the giant mirror failed. Astronauts aboard the Russian space station Mir were to bounce sunlight off a 25-metre (82 feet) fabric mirror and direct the rays toward the ground, producing beams up to 10 …
in recent years, optical fibres have proved crucial for the information technology sector, as these fibres allow much better and quicker transfer of data. In the west, optical fibres have been used by the telecommunications industry instead of conventional wires with great success. Thanks to these, there has been tremendous …
the energy crisis that raised its fearsome head in the 1970s is not really over yet. Threatening to bring the industrial world to a grinding halt, it finds new guises to sustain itself. The two billion people across the globe for whom clean, safe and cheap fuel remains inaccessible can …
the last year witnessed a transatlantic controversy over the hazards of polyvinyl chloride ( pvc ). After a series of debates, both the European Union ( eu ) and us decided that pvc was not really as benign in its impacts as the industry representatives would have them believe. The …
scientists have used magnets for everything. Protecting buildings from collapsing during earthquakes, levitating high-speed futuristic trains and for numerous other applications. Now, they are trying to levitate microchips. Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( mit ), usa , believe that using magnets to suspend these chips will halve …
The us Army is about to embark on a landmark mission: to launch a missile fuelled not by the usual solid fuel, but by a toothpaste-like gel. The gel will help them control the missile better, will improve the missile's range and even allow it to attack more than one …
A group of scientists have reported the development of a reflecting surface that is highly reflective for a broad range of wavelengths and is also insensitive to the angle at which the light strikes it. The reflecting surface is made of a special material which allows it to have unusual …
THE Centre For Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad will adopt cloning techniques to preserve endangered species like lions and tigers. A centre comprising scientifically designed enclosures will house lions and tigers, to begin with. It will be set up near the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. The Andhra …
The theory that polar regions once experienced summers while the tropics froze under ice has recently been challenged by Darren Williams of Pennsylvania State University in usa. According to him, many organisms which survived this period would have died off if this had happened. Instead, Williams believes that the Earth's …
your telephone stops working, television conks out, bank account statement goes berserk and your computer? Well, it is dead. Welcome to the first day of the 21st century. The y2k syndrome has wrecked havoc on every computer and computer networks all across the planet. Can doomsday scenarios such as these …
THE debate on whether earthquakes can be predicted has been revived once again with a series of tremors within a radius of 15 km around Pandhana. A small Madhya Pradesh town with a population of 12,000, Pandhana has been identified as the epicentre of the incessant tremors. From September 11 …
* 1,153 tremors hit Khandwa between September 11 and November 27. * Mega earthquakes are predicted in Khandwa by 2003, and in the Northeast by 2010. * The entire population of Pandhana town and 23 surrounding villages have been insured. * Compensations have been fixed and medical facilities kept ready. …
US SCIENTISTS have used genetic engineering to change the function of a plant enzyme for the first time. The breakthrough paves the way for designer plants that can be used as a source of food, fuel and renewable raw materials. John Shanklin headed a team of biochemists from Brookhaven National …
The miracle-makers Scientists are only now finding out the Kanis' knowledge of herbal remedies.The most outstanding find so far is arogyapacha. SMELL of burning bamboo. The short and wiry figure of Ayyappan Kani. The elderly man is busy mixing herbs with a strange extraction from a piece of burnt bamboo. …
In 1995, the government's Integrated Tribal Development Project in Nedumangad initiated a scheme in collaboration with TBGRI to help the Kanis grow medicinal plants in their settlements. Under the project, 50 select families received Rs 1,000 each. Reportedly, 20.25 hectares were under cultivation. "Many people successfully cultivated arogyapacha" notes Rajasekharan. …
