The Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment). It is the longest-standing index tracking the progress of numerous countries’ efforts towards closing these gaps over time since …
So you always wanted to talk to your pet dog, but did not know how. Cheer up for now there is a way. Experts say some animals prick up their ears to get messages across. Taking a cue from them, Karala Baumann of Dussledorf, Germany, thinks that humans could communicate …
A PHYSICIST from USA and an astronomer from Germany argue that cosmic rays of exceptional power have reached earth from outermost edges of the Universe. They made this observation after studying five most energetic cosmic rays that came from five extremely distant quasars, objects at the very edge of the …
WITH some 10.7 million hectares of woodlands and forests, which is almost one-third of its total area, Germany has one of the biggest forest cover in Europe. From three per cent of land under timber in one district to 61 per cent in another, there are wide variations in the …
German automobile giant Daimler-Benz has developed a new method of casting aluminium engine blocks that cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 36 per cent. Traditionally, the block is cast in a sand mould, cooled so that the sand can be removed from the cylinders, and reheated to 530oC to harden the …
In the black depths of the night, a seal's extremely sensitive whiskers allow it to catch fish it cannot even see. Seals and sea lions do not use sonar like the bats. Instead, Guido Dehnardt and his colleagues from the University of Bonn in Germany suspected that their whiskers, which …
German biologists have extracted and sequenced deoxyribose nucleic ! acid {DNA) from 20,000-year-old dung found in a cave near Las Vegas, USA. Biochemist Hendrik Poinar and his colleagues at the University of Munich, Germany, used the DNA sequences to identify the source of the dung. They claim it is the …
THE use of heavy tractors can damage the soil and thereby reduce crop yield by 80 per cent, say German scientists. The findings show that ploughing can also damage the soil. Rainer Horn and his colleagues of Kiel University, Germany, have calculated that the average weight of tractors and other …
IN OCTOBER 1995, a study about the future of the industrialised world created a great deal of interest as well as controversy. The publishers of the book were the church-based relief association, Misereor, and the environment protection group, Bund. These organisations do not normally issue public statements. However, making a …
The federal crime office of Germany is going to introduce a central DNA database for sex offenders, convicted murderers and others who commit serious offences. A plan to this effect was approved by Manfred Kanther, minister of interior. DNA databases have become invaluable to forensic scientists following advances in DNAanalysis. …
the Bonn government has banned transport of radioactive waste within and outside Germany from its nuclear power stations. The decision has been taken following the discovery of radiation on the outer surface of a "castor' container for used fuel elements. French researchers had recently found a German container with gamma …
Scientists at Fraunhofer Safety and Energy Technology, Germany, have devised a method to convert unwanted fuel into gas. The gas can be used to generate electricity and heat. The process uses "fluidised bed gasification' to convert the wood into gas that is cooled and used as engine fuel. Its overall …
Botulinum toxin, a poison used in many chemical weapons, might prove to be a boon for people who perspire excessively. Scientists claim that the chemical can cure excessive perspiration. A disorder called hyperhidrosis makes people sweat excessively. Recently, a team from Julius Maximilian University in Wurzburg, Germany, injected small doses …
A single molecule helps mice recall terrifying experiences, say European scientists. Mice that lack this protein quickly forget frightening events that normal mice can remember for days. Ricardo Brambilla and Rudiger Klein of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, bred mice with a specific memory problem by disrupting …
The time taken by the Earth to rotate fluctuates by milliseconds every day. Experts say that it might be due to atmospheric changes, high and low tides, and likely movements in the Earth's core that are constantly shifting the planet's mass. To keep track of the Earth's vagaries, scientists at …
A REPORT written by leading pharmacologists claims that about 20 per cent of the drugs prescribed in Germany offer no real clinical benefits. The report says that distinguishing between effec-tive medicines and worthless treatment is particularly difficult in Germany. Of the 50,000 prescription drugs currently in the market, nearly 33,000 …
Researchers are developing smart shock absorbers that would smooth out bumps experienced by moving vehicles. Bayer, a chemicals company in Leverkusen, Germany, has developed an electro-rheological fluid for the shock absorbers. The fluid allows shocks to adjust when a car passes over bumps. The product developed by Schenck, a Darmstadt …
researchers in Germany have discovered a group of hitherto unknown nitrogen-fixing bacteria deep inside the roots of Kallar grass, Leptochloa fusca in Pakistan. This grass grows wild in salty soil and can be grown without fertiliser. Thomas Hurek and Reinhard Hurek of the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in …
there is no trace of Neanderthals lurking anywhere in our family tree, says a group of German and us scientists from the Zoological Institute University of Munich and Pennsylvania State University. The scientists, led by Svante Paabo of the University of Munich in Germany, made a groundbreaking claim in the …
German researchers are creating plants that can withstand climate changes. Usually plants use 'heat-shock factors' to make denatured proteins resume their shape. By modifying these heat-shock factors (HSF-1), researchers have created a heat tolerant form of thale cress - Arabidopsis thatiana. When A thatiana gets too hot, HSF-I enters the …
