Himalayan glaciers are thinning

SEVENTY-five per cent of the Himalayan glaciers are thinning, states a recent analysis of satellite pictures taken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But before the alarm button is pressed, more detailed studies must be conducted, say scientists.

Sceptics or deniers?

SCIENTIFIC scepticism is healthy. Scientists should always challenge themselves to expand their knowledge.

Science and Technology - Briefs

ARCHAEOLOGY Dinosaurs’ blood suckers

Climate notes

THE Himalayas are warming at a rate higher than the global average. A recent study documents how this has affected cropping patterns and vegetation in the past 10 years.

Science And Technology - Briefs

ASTROPHYSICS Clue to cosmic rays’ origin

Science and Technology - Briefs

EVOLUTION When morels bloomed

Megadrought demystified

A MEGADROUGHT in parts of Africa and Asia about 17,000 years ago led to mass migration of humans and animals. It is regarded as the most severe in the last 50,000 years. Rainfall in this drought-hit region is caused when winds from the northern and southern hemispheres converge ne-ar the equator. This area is called the In-tertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Till now it was believed the mega-drought was caused because the zone shifted southwards. But researchers at Paul Smith’s College, New York, reckon that many other forces were at play.

Science and Technology - Briefs

TECHNOLOGY Dogs sniff cancer

Warming behind floods

TWO recent studies have clinched enough empirical data to repudiate any climate change sceptic. For the first time, the studies have pinned down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for frequent extreme weather events like rainfall and floods.

Goodbye maples, pines

IMAGINE a hill station without pines. Worse, Canada sans the maple tree. This could be a reality. Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel claim many tree species that depend on the wind to disperse their seeds like pines and maple might become extinct due to climate change. Current changes in the climate like higher concentrations of CO2 in the air and reduction of surface wind speed are expected to continue well into the next half century.