|
Afghanistan: Almost Never-Seen Bird Resurfaces A bird species with just a handful of documented human sightings in its past has
resurfaced in remote Afghanistan, its apparent breeding site. The large-billed
reed warbler, or Acrocephalus orinus, was discovered in 1867 but has turned up
rarely since then. During the summer of 2008, U.S. ornithologist Robert J.
Timmins was commissioned by the American aid group USAID to catalogue bird
species in the Badakshan province in north-eastern Afghanistan. He recorded a
mysterious birdcall and the recording found its way to Swedish ornithologist
Lars Svensson who began to suspect the variety of bird. Svensson and Urban
Olsson at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden had found in a previous study
that about a dozen stuffed birds in museums around the world had been wrongly
classified. They were not of the common species of reed warbler the curators had
assumed, but rather the far rarer large-billed reed warbler seen on just three
documented occasions since 1867. Olsson and colleagues had pinpointed the
north-eastern Afghanistan as an area where the Large-billed Reed Warbler
probably bred in the 1930s. In June 2009, the Afghan ornithologists Naqeebullah
Mostafawi, Ali Madad Rajabi and Hafizullah Noori from the Wildlife Conservation
Society Afghanistan managed to travel to the Badakshan region, despite the war
and ongoing clan conflicts. They used nets to capture 15 individuals of the
mysterious bird and sent photographs and feather samples to Svensson and Olsson,
who used DNA to confirm that after 142 years, the breeding site of perhaps the
world's least known bird had been found. News of the find was published in the
journal Birding Asia and has aroused huge interest in ornithological circles. Source: World science, 25th January 2010 [Top] |
|
Benin: Solar-Powered Irrigation Across the sub-Saharan Africa's region, the populations are predominantly rural and frequently survive on less than $1 per person per day. Whereas most are engaged in agricultural production as their main livelihood, they still spend 50 to 80 percent of their income on food. Only 4 percent of cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated and most rural, food-insecure communities in the region rely on rain-fed agriculture, which in places like Benin is limited to a 3-6 month rainy season. On top of potential annual caloric shortages, households face two seasonal challenges, that are to stretch their stores of staples to the next harvest (or purchase additional food, often at higher prices) and access micronutrients via home production or purchase diminishes or disappears during the dry season. The solar-powered pumps installed in remote villages in the West African nation of Benin were a cost-effective way of delivering much-needed irrigation water, particularly during the long dry season. Three 0.5-hectare (1.24-acre) solar-powered drip irrigation systems were installed in the Kalalé district of northern Benin. The systems, which used photovoltaic pumps to deliver groundwater, were financed and installed by the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a nongovernmental organization. These systems supplied on average 1.9 metric tons of produce per month, including tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplants, carrots and other greens. Woman who used solar-powered irrigation became strong net producers in vegetables with extra income earned from sales, significantly increasing their purchases of staples and protein during the dry season and oil during the rainy season. These systems significantly enhanced household incomes and nutritional intake of villagers in arid sub-Saharan Africa and provided environmental benefits. During the rainy season the vegetable intake in villages with solar systems increased by 500-750 grams per person per day - equivalent to 3-5 servings of vegetables, and people in control villages ate 150 grams more, suggesting that extra vegetables grown in the two villages were being sold in local markets. Solar-powered pumping systems in an easily maintained, battery-free configuration have long lifetimes and in the medium-term, cost less than the irrigation systems that run on liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel or kerosene and also have an advantage of providing emissions-free pumping power. Source: ScienceDaily, 5th January 2010 [Top] |
|
Brazil: Giant Amazon Observatory to Study Climate Change
Brazil is set to build a 320-meter tower deep in the Amazon rainforest that will operate as an atmospheric observatory to study climate change in this region and its relation to global warming. With the atmospheric observatory, scientists' forecasts will be made at 270 meters above the treetops, 203 meters higher than with the current towers. Another four towers 80 meters high will be built around the main tower without cutting down existing trees. It will provide more trustworthy estimates on the greenhouse effect based on climate in the tropical jungle over the next 30 years. The observatory will be located on the Uatuma sustainable-development reserve in the Presidente Figueiredo municipality at 133 kilometres from Manaus and has the support of the local community. Max Planck Institute for Chemistry of Germany and the Brazilian National Amazon Research Institute, or INPA, and the State University of the Amazon are the participants of the project, which has the cooperation of the German government. The tower with an investment of ~$12.9 million is scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2011. Source: Herald Tribune, 18th February 2010 [Top] |
|
Chile: Earthquake moves Entire Cities A massive earthquake on 27th February 2010 that struck near Maule in Chile, moved the entire city of Concepcion at least 10 feet (~3 meters) to the west. The destructive event measuring a magnitude of 8.8 also shifted other parts of South America as far apart as the Falkland Islands and Fortaleza, Brazil. Scientists measured the impact of the earthquake by comparing precise GPS locations from before the event to those 10 days later. These revealed Chile's capital, Santiago, moved about 11 inches to the southwest. Even Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, which is 800 miles from the epicentre, moved an inch. It knocked Earth a little off its axis, about which Earth's mass is balanced, by about three inches, and even shortened the length of the day by about one-millionth of a second. The earthquake is believed to be the fifth most powerful since seismic measurements began. The quake's epicentre was in a region of South America that is part of the so-called 'Ring of Fire', an area of major seismic stresses encircling the Pacific Ocean. All along this line the tectonic plates on which the continents move press against each other at fault zones. The area is of particular interest because it is an active subduction zone where the Nazca oceanic plate is colliding with the South American continental plate and is being squeezed into the Earth's molten mantle below. The Chilean quake was caused by the build up of geologic pressures. The US Geological Survey reported that there have been dozens of aftershocks, many exceeding a magnitude 6.0 or greater, since the initial event on 27th February. Source: Dailymail, 11th March 2010
|
|
China: First GM Cow Carrying Human Defensin
The world's first GM cow carrying human defensin was C-birthed on 25th
November 2009 at the Yangling Keyuan Cow Farm in Shaan'xi by the researchers of
the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University. They obtained highly
expressed carriers of human defensin by combining human defensin genes with cow
β-casein; injected the carriers into high yield cows' skin fiber forming cells;
and got the GM cow through somatic cell cloning. Having a birth weight of 40.1
kg, the GM cow is healthy with shiny fur. In 2009, researchers have conceived
200 cows, with 42 becoming pregnant, for a 20% success rate. 18 more GM cows
carrying human defensin will be born at the end of the year. Source: China science and Technology Newsletter, 30th November 2009
|
|
India: Crop Germplasm Bank in Frozen Himalayas In February 2010 India commissioned its own 'doomsday vault' for long-term storage of crops germplasm at a permanently frozen mountain in western Himalayas. It is the second such seed bank in the world after the one at Norwegian Arctic island of Svalbard that opened February 2008. The gene bank has been created at Chang-La at a height of 5360 metres above sea level at a distance of 75 km from Leh, the capital of Ladakh district in the state of Jammu & Kashmir as insurance against future food security in an era of global warming and climate change. The vault's location, where temperatures range from at 4° to 40°C with humidity below 20%, is the perfect natural setting for keeping seeds safe. The bank currently holds 5,000 seeds of vegetables and crops developed and grown by the defence scientists themselves but its total capacity is much more, and it is expected that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and other agencies and institutions will soon start making use of this national facility for storing duplicates of their seed collections. To begin with, the gene bank has been created in a floor space of 850 square feet but it will expand as people start using it. First Indian seed will be stocked and once the national needs are met, it will be thrown open to the entire world. Besides low humidity that is crucial for seed viability, the gene bank at Chang-La has advantage over the Svalbard vault in Norway, which is very remote and going to the Arctic is not easy. In contrast, Leh is an hour's flight from New Delhi and from there Chang-La is a two-hour scenic drive. The only other facility in India for long term storage of seeds is maintained in New Delhi by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) but that runs a huge electricity bill for refrigeration. Source: Nature India, 10th March 2010 [Top] |
|
India: Capsicum Powder in Green Colour
India is the largest and biggest exporter of chillies (capsicum) in the world with a production of more than 800,000 tonne of dry chilli from an area of over 900,000 hectare. Punjab has area of around 9000 thousand hectares under chilli and produces more than 14 thousand tonnes of chilli every year. Green chilli is a seasonal crop and sometimes farmers get very less profit due to glut. The major hurdle in production of green chilli powder/puree is the standardisation of blenching process for green chillies, which has been overcome by the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) in Ludhiana. CIPHET has come up with a technology to produce the powder of chillies in green colour like of red chillies, which would also provide better aesthetic look to various products and would improve presentation of these products. The benefits are immense to consumers as well as to the farming community. Maturation stage of chilli into green colour is one month less as compare to chilli turning into red colour. Thus farmers would not require keeping their fields occupied one month more in wait of chillies turning into red. Similarly, green chillies powder/puree would provide more fresh and natural taste than red chillies. The process for production of these products includes stages of destalking of chilli, washing, blanching, wet chilli crushing, pulp extracting and finally pasteurization for killing pathogens. The production cost of one kg of chilli is pegged at around US$3 and a small production unit is likely to cost around US$14000. Source: The Times of India, Ludhiana, 18th December 2009 [Top] |
|
Kenya: First E-Learning Curriculum for Schools
|
|
Malaysia: Polystyrene `White Coffin' Campaign Polystyrene is well-known for its many uses such as food containers and also for its insulation properties in electrical and electronic equipment. However, its adverse impact on the environment is equally well known. Polystyrene containers are simply thrown away and ultimately they affect the quality of the environment. Polystyrene needs more than 100 years to degrade into the ground. In the USA, the huge amount of polystyrene is compacted to prevent pollution and to ensure that they are not disposed of haphazardly. In Japan, on the other hand, efforts are being taken to produce polystyrene that is easily degradable. In Malaysia, however, through the 'White Coffin' Campaign efforts are being made in the direction of making polystyrene beneficial to society and also finding new uses for polystyrene. The researchers in the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have succeeded by adding a solvent and a chemical to turn polystyrene into glue. Although polystyrene appears soft, it becomes very strong when combined with 'coumarone-indene' as a tackfier and 'toluene' as a solvent. When the composition of the polystyrene is increased, it further increases the strength of the glue. The strength of the glue has been proven through relevant tests. In this way a new material is produced, one with a specific composition and proven to be strong enough to be used on wood or plastic. This material can then be used together with the empty oil palm fruit bunches to produce fibres and composite for the furniture industry. The innovation won the Gold medal in the Malaysian Technology Expo held in Kuala Lumpur in the second week of February 2010. Source: ResearchSEA - News update, 22nd February 2010 [Top] |
|
Pakistan: National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS) Youth is the most dynamic, energetic and future deciding part of a nation. A National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), a non-government organisation of motivated young scientists of all science disciplines (Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Computational and Engineering Sciences) has been started in Pakistan for promoting science by motivating young researchers and improving coordination among them; better utilisation of available resources; developing a link between academia and industry; solving problems of young researchers; sharing knowledge, research experience and opportunities of higher education and research; and create awareness among common public. It will also launch a Newsletter with latest news in science and technology. The Academy will make efforts to get funding from national and international agencies to promote research work in Pakistan by establishing coordination among academia and industry. Source: www.nays.com.pk, January 2010 [Top] |
|
Saudi Arabia: Higher Education Observatory During an international exhibition on higher education in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has launched an 'Observatory on Higher Education', a national body for higher education that includes student experiences, courses, planning, assessment and evaluation. The Observatory will review the current higher educational sector, collect, manage, analyse and publish information on the sector, as well as connect institutions with a national network for decision-making. Saudi Arabia has designated more than a quarter of its 2009 budget for education and training to emphasise the significance of investing in human resource development as the core of sustainable knowledge-based development and is beginning to take its place in the world science at both regional and international levels through its rapid and substantial growth in the higher education sector. Based on many factors, including government spending, the Economist in 2008 placed Saudi Arabia in seventh place ahead of France, Russia, Italy, Spain, Malaysia and many other countries in the field of higher education. Saudi government has also started instituting a series of initiatives for enhancing access to higher education for women. Currently, more than 300 higher education institutes exist for women in Saudi Arabia alongside universities under the patronage of the Ministry of Education. Women represent more than 56% of Saudi university students and more than 20% of those benefiting from overseas scholarship programmes. Source: IDB E-Monthly Bulletin, 21st February 2010 [Top] |
|
Tunisia: Nanotech Project for Monitoring and Purification of River Water
Tunisia is exposed to water crises due to climate change and has launched the
first project applying nanotechnology in the Arab Maghreb region of north
western Africa for monitoring and purifying the waters of the Medjerda River,
the longest river in Tunisia. Three mobile laboratories will monitor river
water, after which data will be analysed at a new research centre. The
laboratories will then be mobilised to expand the project to other areas of the
country. The project, partially funded and supported by Belgium, is the first
project of the Tunisian Association for Environmental Nanotechnology. The
Tunisian government has set an initial budget of around US$580,000 for the
project. Source: Science Development Network, 11th January 2010 [Top] |