Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Are missing palm trees causing more lighting deaths in Bihar appearing in ‘The Times of India’ dated 29.05.2025". The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Are missing palm trees causing …
AS THE 50th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) culminated in late October, the organization struggled to overcome its worst ever financial crisis. If the situation does not improve soon, the world body and its programmes can suffer serious setbacks, senior UN Officials warn. The VN has weathered financial difficulties …
REGULATIONS on marketing and labelling genetically engineered and other 'novel' foods have finally been agreed upon by European Union (EIJ) ministers. The legislation has now been passed over to the European Parliament and is expected to face tougher scrutiny from deputies zealous about biotechnology products. The major furcre between ru …
With anti nuclear sentiments riding High today, porticularly in developing Countries it is appropriate that the hd Peace Prize went to an active besnifter inespon campaigner - ob 1, 11 and his Pugwash Siftfillon. 'I really feel that it is Id tor dw scientific community," liftid" In response to the …
IT WAS the inexorable hand of climate that spurred human evolution. This is the latest finding of Peter researcher, working with the University of Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Observatory, us. No one knows for c tain what first forced huntoem remote ape-like ancestors to forsa the trees they called home, why so …
A RECENT study carried in the Journal of the us National Cancer Institute in Bethesda says that migrating to a country with a high breast cancer incidence may enhance the risk of dying from the killer disease for immigrant women from traditionally low-risk countries. Enrich V Yliewer of the Australian …
EVEN as the un celebrated September 16 as the International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer, a report published by the World Metereological Organisation (wmo), considerably dampened the spirits of "save ozone" campaigners revealing that the hole in the stratospheric ozone layer -- which protects the earth from harmful …
In a bid to conserve the endangered sea turtle population, a non-killing method of monitoring chemical pollutants in their tissues has been developed. Earlier, sea-turtles, including loggerhead and green sea turtles, were killed in laboratories to monitor the heavy metal concentrations. Unhatched eggs have has been found to he potentially …
AFTER it has been brewing for a while now, the Republican-dominated Congress in the us launched a determined drive to cut-back federal funding for civilian sciences since early this year. Some of their most radical moves have been a proposal to disband the Department of Energy (doe) altogether and to …
Engineers at the US,based National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a photovoltaic solar water heater that does away with the plumbing, replacing it with a wire that carries the electricity generated by the photovoltaic panels on the roof down to the hot water heater. Since solar thermal water …
ECONOMISTS who sparked off a furore by valuing the life of a citizen of a developing country at a 15th of an Euro-pean or a us citizen's, faced flak at a meeting in Geneva of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ipcc), held from July 24-28. The governments of India, …
ACKNOWLEDGED by farmers since time immemorial, the significance of spiders in pest management of crops is all the more being recognised now in view of the ill-effects of chemical pesticides. Following this trend, entomologists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines have recently recorded 7 species of …
The legend goes that drops of nectar being carried to heaven fell on earth and out grew garlic plants. Though the role of garlic in curing various human ailments has long been established, recently its spray has been found to ward off infestation of ergot-causing fungus Claviceps sorghi in cereal …
T MAY soon be possible to clean up oil spills that contaminate the soil in and around petrol pumps, thanks to the efforts of Dutch researchers. Koen Weytingh and his colleagues from the Technical University of Delft and De Ruiter Milieutechnologie in Halfweg, ,he Netherlands, have developed a technique that …
MICROCHIPS form the basis of several devices, such as Min (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners and pacemakers, which have revolutionised medical diagnosis and treatment. Now, microchips may also provide relief to many people suffering from blindness. Researchers working on the Project for a Retinal Implant, a joint effort of the Massachusetts …
From environment-friendly cars, researchers move on to an environment-friendly aircraft, which derives all its energy from sunlight. Developed by a team of scientists from AcroVironment, an engineering company based in Simi Valley, California, this new version of Pathfinder, a 18 1 -kg acroplane, is to begin test flights soon (Nature, …
THE 9 billion humans inhabiting the earth today originated about 270,000 years ago from a population of a few thousand in one region of the world and then dispersed, says a recent study. This challenges the origin of species hypothesis which says that modern humans began evolving about a million …
TWO groups of scientists have developed techniques to genetically alter banana (Musa species) cells to make the plant disease- resistant and introduce other improvements in it. This is significant when one considers that in some areas of the world up to half the banana yield is lost to fungal and …
TILL recently, weather watchers knew of only I weather-monster - the El Nino. The Child Christ is a demon that disrupts the Pacific ocean, triggering droughts and floods over large and farflung areas of the planet. But new clues reveal that El Nino is not alone. There are similar but …
A South African firm has come out with a rugged and affordable solar cooker that could improve the lot of women in underdeveloped areas and reduce deforestation and air pollution (Solar Today, Vol 9, No 1). The Sunstove, as it is called, costs US $25 apiece and can be used …
J. Craig Venter, till now just another scientist who once worked with Washington's National Institute of Health and whose only claim to fame, or rather notoriety was his much-publicised row with the Institute authorities which refused to grant funds for his project on human genome sciences, has finally hit the …
