Poor farmers in developing countries could soon be using a range of ’biofumigant’ plants to help increase tropical vegetable yields.

CSIRO is part of a research team from Australia and the Philippines which has found that brassica species such as radish, mustard or broccoli can be used to help reduce yield losses from Bacterial Wilt – the major pathogen of vegetables in tropical farming.

“Brassicas contain compounds that suppress pests and pathogens, principally isothiocyanates (ITC

An analysis of pesticides that accumulate in Arctic waterways is giving scientists insight into the fate of such pollutants once they settle in polar regions.

The Arctic holds a telltale record of how humans have used chemicals globally during the past several decades. These cold corners of the earth act as a sink of sorts – chemicals used in industry and agriculture worldwide slowly migrate to and settle there – in sizeable quantities – in water, snow, ice, soil and vegetation.

It was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, was said to keep vampires at bay, and is good for keeping you healthy.

Scientists from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne have now found the pungent herb garlic could win the costly worldwide war against slugs and snails as an environmentally friendly pesticide.

The findings are published in the current edition of the academic journal, Crop Protection*. Lead researcher Dr Gordon Port will speak about the effective alternatives

In the VIIth International Conference on Agri-Food Antibodies that is going to be held in September in Uppsala (Sweden), AZTI is going to present immnunosensors to detect pesticides.

AZTI has a great deal of experience in this area, since it has worked several years in projects related to research and development of biosensors adapted to the needs of the food industry. Biosensors or rapid monitoring tools are great potentials for the food industry, because in contrast to conventional analyti

Modern radiometric dating of the Siloam Tunnel in Jerusalem shows that it was excavated about 700 years before the Common Era, and can thus be safely attributed to the Judean King Hezekiah. This is the first time that a structure mentioned in the Bible (Kings II 20:20; Chronicles II 32:3, 4) has been radiometrically dated.

A report on the study of the Siloam Tunnel will be published on Sept. 11 in the scientific journal Nature. The research was conducted by Dr. Amos Frumkin of the Geograp

The Atlantic Ocean becomes a meteorological mixing bowl from June 1 to November 30, replete with all needed ingredients for a hurricane recipe. NASA turns to its cadre of satellites to serve up a feast of information to the forecasters who seek to monitor and understand these awesome storms.

Typically, during the peak of hurricane season, from late August to mid-September, tropical cyclones of interest to U.S. coastal regions form around the Cape Verde Islands off Africa. NASA satellites ar

New evidence supports volcanic eruption theory

The extinction of the dinosaurs – thought to be caused by an asteroid impact some 65 million years ago – was more likely to have been caused by a ’mantle plume’ – a huge volcanic eruption from deep within the earth’s mantle, the region between the crust and the core of the earth.

This theory, already supported by a significant body of geologists and palaeontologists, is strengthened by new evidence to be presented

Analysis of 11,000 mammal, amphibian and bird species shows major gaps in global coverage

At least 223 bird, 140 mammal and 346 amphibian species threatened with extinction currently have no protection whatsoever over any part of their ranges, according to the most comprehensive analysis of its kind of the world’s protected area system.

In addition, many existing protected areas are so small in size as to be virtually ineffective in conserving species, placing another 9

Can genetically engineered cottonwood trees clean up a site contaminated with toxic mercury? A team of researchers from the University of Georgia – in the first such field test ever done with trees – is about to find out.

The results could make clearer the future of phytoremediation – a technique of using trees, grasses and other plants to remove hazardous materials from the soil. UGA scientists and city officials in Danbury, Conn., planted on July 16 some 60 cottonwoods with a special gene

Potent, environmentally friendly catalysts called Fe-TAML® activators, developed by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, can destroy colored pollutants and toxic compounds resulting from paper and wood pulp processing.

The results of extensive field trials conducted by Carnegie Mellon University, Forest Research of New Zealand and the University of Auckland are being presented by Dr. L. James Wright of the University of Auckland on Wed., Sept. 10, in New York City at the 226th annual m

Potato blight causes worldwide losses of £3 billion every year, but scientists are only just discovering how it infects potato plants, according to research due to be presented tomorrow, Thursday 11 September 2003, at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting at UMIST in Manchester.
“In the past potato blight, Phytophthora infestans, was always thought to be a member of the fungal family, but now we know that it is more closely related to golden brown algae, which are commonly known as kelp

Thousands of breathless trekkers each year gratefully stop to admire the stunning high altitude scenery as they pass through the village of Landruk on their way to Nepal’s famous Annapurna mountain range.

As their gaze shifts from the famous ‘Fish Tail’ mountain to the brilliant green sloping terraced foot hills 6,000 ft up the Himalayas they could be forgiven for thinking it was all mother nature’s work.

It isn’t. In fact it’s all down to novel relationships being forged between l

On the slopes of Mt. Kenya and the terraced hills of Nepal local farmers are using their cattle in much the same way as scientists use test tubes.

They may be illiterate and continents apart. And there isn’t a laboratory for hundreds of miles. But when it comes to animal nutrition they can teach western scientists a thing or two about the feeding value of the diverse range of tree species found in the hills around them.

While western laboratories break down and then analyse the sep

Scientists looking for ways to clean up a common, persistent type of organic pollutant have developed an approach that not only restores the power of a naturally occurring pollution buster but also boosts it to levels of effectiveness that they can’t currently explain.

“It’s safe to say that we don’t fully understand why this approach works so well, but we’ll take it and develop it and figure out the details as we go,” Gerald Meyer, professor of chemistry in the Krieger

Goal is to create better filters

Virginia Tech researchers are using a modified form of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to observe at subatomic levels the efficiency of the attachment of bacteria to silica surfaces.

The geological scientists are simulating environments similar to ground water in sandy soils. Sticking efficiency of bacteria has not been previously measured experimentally using the AFM.

Graduate student Tracy Cail will report the research results at th

Tiny organisms living in the oceans could be playing a significant role in human health, an audience at this year’s BA Festival of Science will hear today (8 September).

Professor Peter Liss of the University of East Anglia (UEA) School of Environmental Sciences will talk about how microscopic marine organisms called plankton produces gases that can travel in the atmosphere until they ultimately get deposited on land. Here they can become important in supplying micronutrients to human diets,