In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
Last November, a trader in Foshan, a small industrial town in Guangdong province in China, fell seriously ill with an incurable high fever and cough. He was suspected to be suffering from pneumonia, a non-infectious disease common in the area. But then four health workers who had been treating him …
Several strains of influenza or flu have been named after Guangdong province, where the first sars cases surfaced. This dubious distinction stems from the agricultural practices prevalent in the region. Rice fields support ducks and chickens, which feed on pig waste. The waste of one becomes the food of the …
Between March 25 and 27, 2003, two different groups of researchers in the cdc and Hong Kong University announced that a previously unrecognised coronavirus could have caused the sars epidemic. This family of viruses is the second leading cause of colds in children and premature infants but has never been …
sars is a stark reminder that there is no universal safeguard against infectious diseases. The syndrome has actually exposed the lack of preparedness with regard to infectious diseases
Singapore is in the grip of dengue fever yet again. Three persons have already died and 440 cases reported since June, compared to 318 during the same period last year. The blame of this rise is being put on alternate spells of hot weather and heavy downpours. "The current increase …
To protect the health of its citizens, Singapore may tighten its automobile emission standards to the Euro III level immediately. These tougher standards will help limit fine particulate matter. Though a steep registration fee helped restrict the number of automobiles and motorbikes in Singapore to 708,370 last year, land transportation …
A recent study by the London-based World Society for the Protection of Animals (wspa) and the Singapore-based Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (acres) have revealed that nearly 50 out of 68 Chinese medicine shops surveyed in Singapore sell banned products extracted from bears through a cruel practice. The study …
During the past years, there have been calls to move the tasks of sustainable development at the international level to a new independent body, often labelled a World Environment Organisation (weo) or International Environmental Organisation. Advocates of weo include academics and expert commissions as well as international civil servants, politicians, …
Why has a ban been imposed on shark hunting in particular? Sharks have a vital role in the marine ecosystem since they are the apex predator at the top of the marine food chain. But today they are almost extinct, being a major target of the fish hunters. Their slow …
a letter of intent has been signed between the British energy group British Petroleum (bp) and the Economic Development Board (edb) to build hydrogen refueling stations for future Singapore motorists driving hydrogen-powered vehicles. Earlier, the edb signed a similar letter of intent with Daimler Chrysler to develop hydrogen-power cars for …
Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed a genetically prepared vaccine against asthma. The vaccine has been prepared by introducing a gene from dust mites, a common cause for allergic asthma. The vaccine prevents children from developing asthma when exposed to allergens, as antibodies are already present in …
A sum of us $42,000 was raised in Singapore during an auction of 25,000 pieces of illegally imported snake skin. The skin pieces belong to the endangered banded rat snake. Custom officials found the skins, which were illegally imported, in a warehouse. The company that imported the skins was later …
China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are the most polluted countries in Asia, while Singapore, Malaysia and Japan are the cleanest, indicates a recent survey. The Hong-Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Limited (PERC) conducted the survey. In the survey, emigrants living in 12 Asian countries and territories rated …
singapore: The Singapore Zoological Gardens will use genetic material including sperm and tissue samples to clone animals. "Cloning would help prevent endangered species from becom-ing extinct,' said Bernard Harrison, chief executive of Wildlife Reserves Singapore ( wrs ), which manages the zoo. "Cloning has an important place in conservation,' claims …
Three out of four office buildings in Singapore are wasting energy because of inefficient air-conditioning systems, according to media reports. A Singapore building of 20,000 square metres spends us $41,250 each month on air-conditioning, when an energy-efficient building would require only us $12,650. "Most owners don't have a clue as …
Engineers in Singapore and China have developed audio beams that will help reduce noise pollution due to high decibel sound. The audio beam can focus a narrow beam of sound, just like a beam of light. Only the person within the beam area can hear the sound,' says Zhang Ming, …
The Japanese capital Tokyo receives 1,400 mm of rain in a year. But concrete prevents it from percolating into the ground. Urban flooding and acute water scarcity affected the people almost every second year. The solution to both problems lay in rainwater harvesting. Sumida City was the first ward of …
