Environment, genes and mutations
Pollutants in the environment cause dreaded diseases like cancer by mutating some genes. Scientists have begun to explore the human genome to …
Sponged to death
Natural sponges from the Mediterranean Sea are fast disappearing. Global warming and overfishing figure among the list of perpetrators of this …
Waves of despair
Electromagnetic interference, due to radio waves emitted by gadgets like cellular phones can create widespread havoc. For instance, they can …
Deep in trouble
The ecology of Scotland may undergo a major transformation due to climatic changes, says a report
Disappearing tree
An evergreen tree found only in Africa is on the verge of extinction because of large-scale stripping of its bark
Truly global woes
While UK faces increased incidence of floods, the US water resources are threatened by global warming
Algae alleviates
South African townships that were earlier helpless in the face of pollution caused by human wastes, are now bucking up to the problem. Spirulina, …
Desert blooms
Halophytes - plants growing on saline soil - could be India's Answer to the problems of salt desert and wasteland reclamation, besides Being …
For cleaner air
The US Environment Protection Agency has launched new air pollution standards for particulate matter. Industry will have to gear up
Nowhere to go
What happens to living beings when climate change threatens even national parks and nature reserves
Mangroves' rescue act
Scientists stress that conserving mangroves will provide an important buffer to save coastal regions from the ravages of sea level rise due to …
Warm cold relationship
Earth may have a 1,500-year temperature cycle that is governed by minor changes in the sunlight
Reptilian recovery
Once threatened, the gharials get afresh lease of life at the Kukrail Reserve Forest near Lucknow
Costly cleanup
Factory workers engaged in cleaning bomb factories in the US may be exposed to radiation
Pollen rain
Breaking past records, the city Atlanta was enveloped by a coat of pollen from the trees of northern Georgia
Shifting blame
Avian diversity in the Northeast is better off with shifting cultivation than selective logging and monoculture forests
In favour of wetlands
Benefits from upstream irrigation projects cannot replace those derived from natural floodplains
Salted lands of Australia
Bad cropping practices and ill-planned water management leads to salted Australian farmland
Postponed
Issues concerning the earth's future took a backseat as unseemly politics ruled the day at the just concluded Earth Summit II SUPRIYA AKERKAR …
More fuelwood = more forests?
In India, where 500 million people out of about 1,000 million depend on forests for their survival, any 'sweet-talk' about wood consumption is …
A conversion problem
Catalytic converters, devices meant to clean car exhausts, are backfiring on the environment
A very heavy metal load
Waters of the gulf of Mannar and Palk bay are contaminated with industrial pollutants like lead
B: High drama
The forest convention was the most controversial issue at the Summit. However, the G-77, a strident opposer, failed to act as a united force
It's El Nino
The maverick child has brought about weather changes that threaten the unique ecosystem of Galapagos Islands
Fading beauty
Changing climate conditions in the Northeast are wiping out the fragile orchids. Will other species follow?