Lasers to track erosion

Scientists at the US National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory have developed a portable laser scanner than can accurately measure soil roughness, a key determinant of erosion. The laser scans the microscopic ridges in the soil and transmits the data to a computer that produces a microtopographic map of the area. Scientists can determine if erosion has taken place by analysing and comparing maps.

Monsoon drops in some areas, increases in others

THE AMOUNT of rain falling in various parts of India has changed over the years, decreasing in some places and increasing in others. K Rupa Kumar and his colleagues at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune report in a recent issue of the International Journal of Climatology that their analysis of data from 1871 to 1984 from 306 stations -- one from each of the districts in the plains -- points to a decrease in rainfall in 135 stations and an increase in 171 (see map). Thirteen of the decreasing trends and 18 of the increasing trends were deemed significant.

Water use is excessive in rice cultivation

RICE AS grown in India is a water-guzzler, because farmers use on an average 15,000 litres to produce one kg of paddy, though water technologists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi say no more than 600 litres is needed if proper water management techniques are followed. Given that 45 per cent of the country's total irrigation water is used solely for rice cultivation, the need to improve farming methods is imperative.

Genetic fingerprinting catches on

A CENTRE for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics has been mooted by scientists at the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to help forensic experts establish the identity of criminals beyond reasonable doubt. But the proposal is caught in a tangle between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the home ministry and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in Delhi.

Ask the villager before the researcher

FEW OF the Fulani pastoralists in Nigeria have been inside a school and fewer still can read, but they have a very rich knowledge of the value of plants, especially browsable plants which can provide cattle food during the dry season.

Using viruses for biological pest control

SCIENTISTS at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore have successfully used viruses to control pests. Mass production units are now being set up to meet the rapidly increasing demand for these viruses, says P C Sundara Babu, head of the entomology department at TNAU.

And now, "calculating" babies

AFTER discovering that babies are not as passive and helpless as they appear to be, adults are trying to figure out whether infants can do sums. In 20 years of research, it has become known that babies can differentiate and even tell if someone's lip movements match the speech they are hearing.

Study finds sperm count decreasing worldwide

A WORLDWIDE study of fertility research says men today have just about half the sperm count of men 50 years ago and there has also been an appreciable drop in the average volume of seminal fluid. These findings raise worries that male reproductive organs may be getting adversely affected by pollutants such as PCBs and DDT.

Eight hearts do the work of one

SCIENTISTS D S J Choy and P Altman working at the Investigative Cardiology Laboratory attached to the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, USA, have turned their attention to dinosaur hearts (The Lancet, volume 340, number 8818).

Keeping Mars clean

European Space Agency (ESA) officials are heaving a sigh of relief following a report from the US National Research Council that says probes landing on Mars need not be sterilised if they are not conducting extraterrestrial biological experiments (Nature, Vol 358 No 6389). ESA was worried that stringent planet protection standards would extend the budget for its Marsnet project that will study the planet's meteorology and seismic activity.