31 July 2006 Census of Marine Life A startling revelation about the number of different kinds of bacteria in the deep-sea raises fundamental new questions about microbial lifeand evolution in the oceans.In a paper published in the USA by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal (July 31, online early edition), scientists reveal […]
29 May 06 United Nations Environment Programme / World Bank Without significant gains from energy efficiency efforts, China, India and Brazil within a single human generation (by 2030) will more than double their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in major impacts on global energy markets and climate. However, experts estimate that cost-effective retrofits […]
Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre 17 May 2006 Research by a 16-year-old Ottawa-area student that contributes new insights into the workings of the HIV-AIDS virus has earned top prize in the 2006 National sanofi-aventis biotech challenge, announced today in a ceremony at the National Research Council. Grade 11 student James McLeod bested 12 fellow regional […]
17 Jan 06 United Nations University Asia suffered 220 landslides in the past century – by far the most of any world region – but those in North, Central and South America have caused the most deaths and injuries (25,000+) while Europe’s are the most expensive – causing average damage of almost $23 million per […]
22 Dec 05 WorldFish Centre One year after a tsunami devastated South Asian communities, global fisheries experts say habitat restoration, retraining and education programs are much needed to revive severely exhausted fisheries and steer survivors into more sustainable livelihoods than fishing. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/wc-t1121605.php Example coverage BBC, click here Agence France Presse, click here The […]
14 Dec 05 Census of Marine Life A physconect siphonophore, Marrus sp., photographed during NOAA’s Arctic “Hidden Ocean” expedition in support of the Census of Marine Life. (c) 2005, Kevin Raskoff Discoveries and news in 2005 from the global Census of Marine Life Coastal Fish Tracking, Using Implanted Chips, Becoming Continental Project; 1,800+ Sharks, Turtles, […]
27 Nov 05 University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics Coping effectively with a predicted influenza pandemic that threatens to affect the health of millions worldwide, hobble economies and overwhelm health care systems will require more than new drugs and good infection control. An international medical ethics think-tank says that all-important public cooperation and the […]
11 Nov 05 United Nations University Amid predictions that by 2010 the world will need to cope with as many as 50 million people escaping the effects of creeping environmental deterioration, United Nations University experts say the international community urgently needs to define, recognize and extend support to this new category of ‘refugee’. Full text: […]
Joint Centre for Bioethics, Toronto 27 Nov 2005 Ethicists offer guide to decision-making in predicted flu pandemic; quarantine, duty to care, resource allocations among key issues Coping effectively with a predicted influenza pandemic that threatens to affect the health of millions worldwide, hobble economies and overwhelm health care systems will require more than new drugs […]
23 Oct 05 Census of Marine Life Seafood prices collected from U.S. restaurant menus dating to the 1850s will help plot the shifting harvest of marine species, according to a study to be announced at Oceans Past a Census of Marine Life conference in Denmark on the History of Marine Animal Populations. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/cp-rsp101705.php
25 Oct 05 DIVERSITAS, Paris By diluting the pool of virus targets and hosts, biodiversity reduces their impact on humans and provides a form of global health insurance, biodiversity experts say. Example coverage: Voice of America, click here Reuters, click here BBC, click here Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/gumc-vbs101805.php Coverage summary: click here
21 Aug 05 WorldFish Centre Calling fisheries critical for nourishing the poor and for helping Africa cope with the health, economic and social devastation of problems like HIV and AIDS, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the WorldFish Center and partners are making an urgent appeal to boost the continent’s fish production and strengthen […]
29 Jul 05 Census of Marine Life A historic expedition of Census of Marine Life explorers to the planet’s most northern reaches has revealed a surprising density and diversity of Arctic Ocean creatures, some believed new to science. Photo: Kevin RaskoffFull text: ww.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-07/coml-com072805.php Example coverage: click here
26 Jun 05 University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics The biggest issue in medical ethics today is the growing occurrence of conflict between health care providers, their patients and patients’ families over treatment options, according to Canadian medical ethicists in a survey published today. Full release text: click here Example coverage: Toronto Star, click […]
16 Jun 05 United Nations University Growing desertification worldwide threatens to swell by millions the number of poor forced to seek new homes and livelihoods. And a rising number of large, intense dust storms plaguing many areas menace the health of people even continents away, international experts warn in a new report. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-06/unu-mea061005.php […]
08 Jun 05United Nations UniversityVast genetic resources – “blue gold” on the international deep seafloor – need protection from unfettered commercial exploitation, warns a new report from the Japan-based United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). Increasingly recognized as important to humankind for their potential medical and other uses, deep-sea resources are now more […]
15 May 05 United Nations University A global education system in which a fully portable personal computer is as common as a pencil or textbook to school children even in the poorest nations is the vision of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor, who next week will detail in Tokyo for the first time […]
Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre, Toronto 12 May, 2005 Top winners: Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Cape Breton, Ottawa, St. John’s Teen Scientist from Winnipeg to Compete for Canada in Philadelphia June 17-20 Canada Announces Almost $1 Million for Future Competition Ground-breaking research by an 18-year-old Manitoba student that contributes to the global search for an HIV/AIDS […]
01 May 05 United Nations University Since the start of the war of 2003 some 84% of Iraq’s higher education institutions have been burnt, looted or destroyed while four dozen academics have been assassinated and many more brave daily threats, according to an analysis of the system’s reconstruction needs released today by the United Nations […]
11 Apr 05 University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics In a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB), published in PLoS Medicine, the open access global health journal, an international panel of 63 experts were asked to rank the nanotechnology applications they think are most likely to […]
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment / United Nations University March 30, 2005 A landmark study released today reveals that approximately 60 percent (15 out of 24) of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth are being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next […]
21 Mar 05 United Nations University South America’s giant Pantanal wetlands, one of the world’s most bio-diverse ecosystems, is at growing risk from intensive peripheral agricultural, industrial and urban development – problems expected to be compounded by climate change, United Nations University experts warn. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/unu-sav031705.php Example coverage: AP | Reuters | EFE | BBC Brazil | O Globo […]