United Nations University 1-Feb-2010More than two dozen leading United Nations water experts will convene in Hamilton, Canada Feb. 2-4 to plan fresh strategy for a coordinated approach to the global water crisis that increasingly threatens both human health and international security. At its first-ever meeting in Canada, the group known as UN-Water will also formalize […]
e8 Montreal 21-Jan-2010 2,000-year-old ‘stairway to heaven,’ a threatened World Heritage Site, to benefit from proceeds of $1 million, e8-donated mini-hydro project Philippines officials today received the symbolic keys to a donated 200 kW hydro-electric project that, in addition to green energy, will start generating money to halt deterioration of the country’s fabled ancient rice […]
McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health University Health Network / University of Toronto 8-Jan-2010 Chinese researchers have become the world’s fifth most prolific contributors to peer-reviewed scientific literature on clock-reversing regenerative medicine even as a skeptical international research community condemns the practice of Chinese clinics administering unproven stem cell therapies to domestic and foreign patients. According […]
Rockefeller University New York City 28-Dec-2009 Two New York City high school students exploring their homes using the latest high-tech DNA analysis techniques were astonished to discover a veritable zoo of 95 animal species surrounding them, in everything from fridges to furniture, from sidewalks to shipping boxes, and from feather dusters to floor corners. Guided […]
Christensen Fund, Palo Alto, California 3-Dec-09 A delegation of more than 20 indigenous teens, women, elders and shamen heading to historic Copenhagen climate talks today offered the world self-created video evidence and testimonials of climate change problems in their far-flung home communities. The videos include scenes of cows and zebra dead or dying of drought […]
29-Nov-2009 United Nations University Tokyo / Darwin Carbon credits bring millions for new jobs in indigenous communities; Australian project a model of opportunity, especially for Africa A landmark Australian project that mitigates the extent and severity of natural savannah blazes by deploying traditional Indigenous fire management techniques is being hailed as a model with vast […]
22-Nov-2009 Census of Marine Life Washington DC Deep sea teeming with species that have never known sunlight Census of Marine Life scientists have inventoried an astonishing abundance, diversity and distribution of deep sea species that have never known sunlight – creatures that somehow manage a living in a frigid black world down to 5,000 meters […]
16-Nov-2009 Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases Agencies managing 80 percent of global public health research funding set first priorities for common, concerted efforts on heart and lung diseases, other ‘chronic non-communicable diseases’ An alliance of institutions collectively managing an estimated 80 percent of all public health research funding worldwide today announced their first targets for […]
Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL), Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 6-Nov-2009 The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA “barcoding” is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities – from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others. Some 350 experts from […]
McLaughlin-Rotman Center for Global Health 3 Nov 2009 Experts propose ‘Global Health Accellerator’ to help new drugs, diagnostics, vaccines reach distant markets Research firms in developing countries have a medicine cabinet full of affordable and innovative drugs, diagnostics and vaccines on shelves or in development to address “neglected tropical diseases” but need help to get […]
DIVERSITAS, Paris 11-Oct-2009 Growing water needs, mismanagement leading to ‘catastrophic decline’ in freshwater biodiversity The world will miss its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by next year, according to experts convening in Cape Town for a landmark conference devoted to biodiversity science. The goal was agreed at the 6th Conference of Parties to the […]
Diversitas, Paris Economists, assigning values to ‘ecosystem services,’ report staggering totals and rates of return on investment Experts concluding the global DIVERSITAS biodiversity conference today in Cape Town described preliminary research revealing jaw-dropping dollar values of the “ecosystem services” of biomes like forests and coral reefs – including food, pollution treatment and climate regulation. Undertaken […]
Joint Centre for Bioethics, Toronto 23 Sep 2009 The anticipated onset of a second wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic could present a host of thorny medical ethics issues best considered well in advance, according to the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, which today released nine papers for public discussion. Topics include duty […]
United Nations University 15 September 2009 Sold in 2006: 230 million computers, 1 billion cell phones, 45.5 million TVs; many destined for uncontrolled disposal without change in policies, consumer practices Processes and policies governing the reuse and recycling of electronic products need to be standardized worldwide to stem and reverse the growing problem of illegal […]
McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health 9 Sep 2009 Lower manufacturing, clinical trial, R&D costs of developing country partners equal major opportunities to advance global health, market position Collaboration with health biotech companies in developing countries represents a major opportunity for companies in developed countries to strengthen their market reach and innovation potential, acording to the […]
Encyclopedia of Life Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC 23-Aug-2009 Over 30,000 still images and video, as well as local information about changing biodiversity, have been uploaded to the Encyclopedia of Life via new tools that let the public contribute as never before to a global online science collaboration of unprecedented scale. Experts and citizen scientists alike […]
e8, Montreal 19 July 2009 Pacific nation of 9 islands seeks to expand first solar system, donated by e8, a consortium of G8 country electricity firms Amid worsening climate change-related problems for small island states, Tuvalu has established a national goal of being powered entirely by renewable energy sources by 2020. Government officials and the […]
Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases London / Washington / Toronto 15-Jun-2009 Six of the world’s foremost health agencies, collectively managing an estimated 80% of all public health research funding, today announced formation of a landmark alliance to collaborate in the critical battle against chronic, non-communicable diseases: cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke), several cancers, […]
United Nations Environment Programme Nairobi / Paris 3-Jun-2009 Some $155 billion was invested in 2008 in clean energy companies and projects worldwide, not including large hydro, a new report launched today says. Of this $13.5 billion of new private investment went into companies developing and scaling-up new technologies alongside $117 billion of investment in renewable […]
Consortium for the Barcode of Life, Encyclopedia of Life Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; Natural History Museum, London 31-May-2009 Biodiversity information, innovative internet architecture being fused to create seamless, global view of life Wanted (soon): observations from environment-minded citizens that will allow science to study biodiversity at a planetary level in a massive, comprehensive virtual observatory […]
Census of Marine Life Washington DC 24-May-2009 Census of Marine Life historians reconstruct images of past sea life that boggle today’s imagination Before oil hunters in the early 1800s harpooned whales by the score, the ocean around New Zealand teemed with about 27,000 southern right whales – roughly 30 times as many as today – […]
National Institute of Genomic Medicine Mexico City 11-May-2009 Landmark Mexican Study Reveals Significant Genetic Variation Between Nation’s Population And World’s Other Known Genetic Subgroups Study moves scientists closer to identifying individuals at risk or resistant to flu and other diseases, and to the potential of creating genome-customized drugs Could genetic differences explain why some people […]