What went wrong in 1995

Arabian Sea cyclones increasing in number, intensity the Arabian Sea, which has warmed by 0.5o C over the past nine decades, is experiencing a shift in its climate. So much so that intense cyclones with wind speed of more than 100 km per hour have become frequent, said a team of marine scientists led by the National Institute of Oceanography (nio), Goa.

A vicious cycle exposed

Science & Technology - Briefs

health Side-effects stay Chemicals called contrast agents used during cardiac angiography can seriously damage kidneys which, in turn, increases chances of heart attacks. Side-effects were earlier thought to be temporary.

The ant's travelogue

Science & Technology - Briefs

evolution Link...or is it? A well-preserved fossil of primitive lemur Darwinius masilla, nicknamed Ida is believed to represent the point from which the group of monkeys, apes and humans (anthropoids) evolved. The fossil lacks the traits which characterize a modern lemur, a non-human primate. Instead it

19,742 years off the mark

Global warming began in the 18th century glaciers, both in the northern and southern hemispheres, started melting in the mid-eighteenth century, triggered by climate change. Researchers from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun tracked the age of lichens (a composite organisms

Shells turn brittle

Carbon emissions harm marine organisms studies linking an increase in the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to the acidification of oceans are widely reported and accepted. The effects of acidification on marine life are not well understood. A team showed a direct link between ocean acidification and decrease in the weights of calcareous shells of microplanktons.

Rain check

Warming of the seas is rerouting monsoon

Science & Technology - Briefs

health sciences Mussels in surgery

Ocean seeding fails

Algae grown to trap CO2 become feed for organisms THE Indo-German experiment to induce algal bloom in the South Atlantic Ocean has been ruined by tiny marine organisms called zooplanktons. They ate half the algae grown by spraying a swathe of the ocean surface with iron dust. The ocean fertilization experiment called Lohafex was carried out by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute and the National Institute of