Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Following the conclusion of the un-sponsored talks on Afghanistan in Bonn, unep executive director Klaus Toepfer rightly said environmental issues should form part of the package being considered for the country's rehabilitation. Afghanistan today is at best a relic of years of war litters. The big challenge before the war-ravaged …
In the next 60 minutes, around 600 persons will add to the growing number of people infected by the deadly HIV virus. Worse, more than 60 children will die due to the infection. This has been stated by a World Health Organisation (WHO) report released recently. The report revealed that …
A semiconductor technology that could allow efficient, affordable production of electricity from a variety of energy sources without a turbine or similar generator has been invented. The invention is a result of hard work done by Peter L Hagelstein, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, usa , and …
it was an experiment waiting to happen ever since Dolly the sheep was born. Yet, when us-based biotechnology firm Advanced Cell Technology (act) cloned a human embryo, the breakthrough rekindled the debate on human cloning. This even as the objective of the test was not creating a human being, but …
Following two years of strong opposition from indigenous peoples' organisations in Chiapas, Mexico, the International Collaborative Biodiversity Group's icbg -Maya project, was cancelled in early November, according to the ngo
the brightening and dimming of the Sun may account for a 1,500-year cycle of cooling and warming on parts of the Earth, suggests a study. The study was done by researchers at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades, New York, usa. According to them, a very slight …
four chemicals that are thought to cause no damage to the ozone layer may be destroying the protective layer of the Earth, a new research suggests. The most harmful of the four is n-propyl bromide
close on the heels of the European Union's proposal to start greenhouse gas emissions trading in 2005, Chicago and Mexico city have decided to develop their own carbon emissions trading system soon. Authorities of both the cities, home to some 25 million inhabitants, recently declared that they are to join …
The prestigious Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Baltimore, US , has admitted that one of its researchers used patients at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Kerala as human guinea pigs to test experimental cancer drugs. The internal investigation conducted by the varsity has found that its faculty member carried …
An endocrine disrupter is a synthetic chemical which, when absorbed by the body, interferes with normal hormone function. This undermines intelligence, decreases resistance to disease and impairs reproduction. These chemicals include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, pesticides and phthalates which cause a range of problems
Atomic clocks can now run on mercury rather than caesium. S Diddams at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, usa , has developed an atomic clock that uses mercury atoms. The frequency of oscillations of mercury is much higher than caesium thereby providing for more accurate …
they might well be the modern-day buccaneers. To further their research, agricultural and pharmaceutical companies often tap local communities for traditional knowledge relating to the use of biological resour ces. The conglomerates lose no time in appropriating this painstakingly assimilated information. And make a fast buck by developing products based …
The US government agency has reported that toxic materials are continuing to be released from the smouldering wreckage of the World Trade Centre (WTC) Even after a month of the terrorist attack, carcinogenic benzene was found to be 58 times higher, at one site close to ground zero, than the …
the issue of access to drugs has shifted from anti aids drugs in Africa to anti anthrax drugs in the us. The us government is contemplating to override the patent on Ciprofloxacin, which is held by the German pharmaceutical company, Bayer and procure generic copies from other sources. This move …
according to a recent study by the us based non-governmental organisation Natural Resources Defense Council (nrdc), China has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 17 per cent in the four-year period from 1996 to 2000, even as its economy grew by 36 per cent. This reduction was the result of …
This appeal presents the latest of many legal battles stemming from perhaps history's worst industrial catastrophe: the 1984 toxic gas disaster at a chemical plant in Bhopal, India. Earlier actions included scores of individual and class-action complaints filed in federal courts throughout the United States and consolidated in the United …
in the past 21 years, parts of the Northern Hemisphere have become much greener than they used to be. But this may not be good news as the greenery is a result of warmer temperatures, warn researchers. After studying satellite data, researchers from Boston University, usa , and the National …
