At the behest of the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority SFT), a 20-year long study of ecotoxins in seabird eggs has been carried out by the Norwegian Polar Institute in collaboration with Tromsø Museum (of the University of Tromsø), the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science and the National Veterinary Institute of Norway.
Eggs from herring gulls (Larus argentatus), glaucus gulls (L. hyperboreus), black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) and puffins (Fratercula arctica), collected fr
In a guest editorial published in the March-April issue of the international journal Ground Water, hydrologists in Louisiana suggest adoption of evolving management plans that recognize engineering, economic and hydrologic realities is key to sustainable development of the Louisiana coastline.
Authors Richard F. Keim and William J. Blanford state that historical hydrological management of the Mississippi River and its delta is partially responsible for the increased vulnerabilit
Cotton is one of the main cogs in the machinery of the African economy: it accounts for 60% of agricultural export revenue and 5 to 10% of GDP in producing countries, and supports 10 million people, including 3.3 million in Mali. Moreover, excluding subsidies, the cotton sector is competitive and exports more than 90% of what it produces. However, over the past ten years or so, the huge subsidies granted to producers in the United States (US$ 2.3 billion in 2001/2002), China ($ 1.2 billion in 2001/20
Oil palm is the most widely produced and consumed vegetable oil in developing countries. With around 3.3 tonnes per hectare per year, it is 7 or 8 times more productive than soybean oil. Palm and soybean are the most widely consumed oils worldwide. Indonesia and Malaysia are the world’s leading palm oil producers, with 12 and 14 million tonnes of oil per year respectively. However, a soil fungus, Ganoderma boninense, which causes basal stem rot in oil palms, devastates thousands of hectares
The end of the post-colonial conflicts in Africa and the rebuilding of both States and societies have considerably improved the lives of both individuals and communities. However, in many cases, the state of peace achieved is very fragile, and conflicts often recur. One common denominator of the situation in these countries is the failure of post-conflict reconstruction to address the issue of land. Land is a primary, fundamental resource that is also highly symbolic for most Africans, and plays
Natural rubber is currently technically unavoidable for some purposes, despite the competition from synthetic rubber. Most notably, it accounts for 75% of the rubber used in the tyre industry. However, although Hevea brasiliensis originated in the Amazon Basin, rubber growing has only really developed in Asia and Africa. In Latin America, “South American leaf disease”, caused by the fungus Microcyclus ulei, has until now totally prevented the development of rubber growing, or at least almost tota
Between January and March 2006, researchers from the CIRAD Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine Department (CIRAD-EMVT) are having a blitz on bird flu in North, East and West Africa, the Middle East, and eastern Europe and the Caucasus, the zones covered by the five FAO-TCPs.
As Emmanuel Camus, Director of CIRAD-EMVT, points out: “the primary aim is to work with our partners in the field to see whether migrating birds introduced the virus at their overwintering sites thi
Electronics and computing engineers from the University of Ulster have teamed up with neuroscientists, physicists and biologists from across Europe to investigate the incorporation of the senses we humans take for granted into intelligent computer systems of the future.
The multi-disciplinary team concentrated on attempting to replicate in silicon the biological brain’s ability to capture data from the senses of touch and sight. In biological life forms, the brain can combine inf
Scientists researching ways to detect landmines have discovered a radical new way to screen for breast cancer using microwave radar technology that could save thousands of lives.
Bristol-based Micrima Ltd, a spin-out from Bristol University, has received a £150,000 investment from NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) to help the company develop this innovative technology. This is part of a funding round worth £475,000 with co-investment from priv
A study of the UK’s pathologists, carried out by a scientist at the University of Liverpool on behalf of the Department of Health and the Royal College of Pathologists, has sparked concern over the numbers leaving the profession – particularly in academia.
Pathologists are skilled scientists whose role is to identify the nature, origin and process of a disease. Professor Christopher Foster from the University’s School of Cancer Studies carried out the audit of academic pathologi
University of Nottingham researchers are targeting Europe’s biggest killer diseases — by focusing on the diet of unborn babies.
Poor nutrition in the womb and in the first months of infancy can condemn an individual to a life of poor health including higher risks of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Scientists believe a baby is ‘programmed’ for a lifetime of good or poor health in its first few months by the type and amount of nutrition they receive.
New research by the University of Warwick’s Warwick Medical School shows that the biggest health threat to fat and obese people isn’t the fat itself but the fact that the fat fuels a killer inflammation response in people.
The research published in the International Journal of Obesity on Tuesday 7th March shows that inflammation is a crucial and dangerous step in the development of obesity.
Warwick Medical School researchers Professor F P Cappuccio and Dr M A Miller hav
Two new studies in the March Cell Metabolism reveal a survival mechanism by which cells adapt to oxygen starvation by ratcheting down their demand. The mechanism serves to protect against the potentially fatal production of free radicals when oxygen is scarce, one group reported. The findings may also have important implications for understanding the physiology of cancerous tumors, the researchers said, suggesting new combination treatment strategies for fighting the disease.
When the sup
Questions around the movement and population size changes of Kiwis, Tuatara and other New Zealand wildlife over the past hundred years have been continually studied by conservationists and scientists. It now seems the answers might all be found in the viruses that infect them.
Dr Alexei Drummond, from The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Science, has been part of a global research team analysing the genetic sequences of viruses in animals.
This pioneering tech
An innovative strategy of mixing lipids and nanoparticles to produce new drug and agricultural materials and delivery vehicles has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“This is a new way to make nano-size capsules of a biologically friendly material,” said Steve Granick, a professor of materials science and engineering, chemistry and physics. “The hollow, deformable and biofunctional capsules could be used in drug delivery, colloidal-based b
Chemists at UCLA and the University of Michigan report an advance toward the goal of cars that run on hydrogen rather than gasoline. While the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that practical hydrogen fuel will require concentrations of at least 6.5 percent, the chemists have achieved concentrations of 7.5 percent — nearly three times as much as has been reported previously — but at a very low temperature (77 degrees Kelvin).
The research, scheduled to be published in late March in t
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