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 […]
1-Mar-2005 Census of Marine Life Once a dominant species, the volume of cod on the Scotian Shelf has plunged 96% since the 1850s, according to a landmark research to be published March 1. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/coml-fee022305.php Example coverage: by Scientific American, click here
14 Jan 05 United Nations University The rapid and extensive underground expansion of mega-cities – for subways, malls, parking and public utilities – takes place often with too little knowledge of associated risks and too few plans to minimize the effects of a natural disaster, United Nations University experts warn. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/unu-thv011005.php Example coverage: […]
Joint Centre for Bioethics, Toronto 6 January, 2005 Report urges end to monopoly of economists as development policy advisors Science and technology is so critically important to improving conditions in poor countries that scientific advisors should join economists at the center of government policy-making on development issues, an eminent group of 27 international experts says […]
Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto 6 December, 2004 Cuba, South Korea, and India make and export their own biotech vaccines, Egypt manufactures recombinant insulin, and South Africa is developing a novel vaccine for HIV/AIDS. Health biotechnology is no longer the sole preserve of high-level research institutions of North America and Europe, according to […]
23 Nov 04 Census of Marine Life Even in Europe and the best studied seas, the rapid ongoing discovery of new marine species shows no end in sight, according to the world’s first Census of Marine Life, a massive collaboration to catalog and map marine species worldwide involving hundreds of scientists in more than 70 […]
03 Nov 04 United Nations University, Programme for Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean The use of biotechnologies originally intended to remedy crop infestations and other problems is being pioneered in the protection of priceless art and historical archives in tropical countries from decay caused by insects, heat, humidity and other natural causes. Full text: […]
07 Oct 04University of Toronto Joint Centre for BioethicsNew medical tools that quickly and accurately diagnose diseases like AIDS and malaria top a list of 10 biotech breakthroughs deemed most important for improving health in developing countries within the decade, science that will dramatically move the world towards its Millennium Development Goals for 2015, according […]
Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto Emerging Medical, Environmental Breakthroughs Hold Revolutionary Promise; Experts Call for UN Body to Help Share Knowledge Worldwide A global campaign to foster the universal sharing of innovative medical andenvironmental breakthroughs created through the world’s emerging knowledge of genomics could save tens of millions of lives per year in […]
05 Aug 04 Census of Marine Life Exploring life in the mid-Atlantic at various depths down to 4 km (2.5 miles), 60 scientists from 13 countries on a two-month expedition have surfaced a wealth of new information and insights, stunning images and marine life specimens, several thought to be species never before known to science. […]
Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto Research will enable personalized diets tailored to genetic make up New research designed to help consumers create customized diets based on their genetic make up will create ethical and legal challenges with serious implications for the scientific and medical communities, warns a new consultation paper by a panel […]
24 Jun 04 Census of Marine Life A new ‘Census of Marine Life’ project based in Alaska with global partners seeks to find lifeforms in the world’s oldest seawater. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-06/coml-mic061804.php Example coverage: By MSNBC, from the Associated Press / Reuters, click here Agence France Presse, click here
13 Jun 04 United Nations University The number of people worldwide vulnerable to a devastating flood is expected to mushroom to 2 billion by 2050 due to climate change, deforestation, rising sea levels and population growth in flood-prone lands, warn experts at the United Nations University. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-06/unu-tbv060404.php Example coverage Agence France Presse, click […]
Joint Center for Bioethics, University of Toronto The final months and weeks for terminally ill hospital patients could be made better if hospitals simply instituted a systematic process to seek the thoughts of dying patients and families on how to improve the medical care provided, say experts at a leading international medical ethics think tank. […]
Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre, Toronto 13 May 2004 Top winners: Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Toronto and Montreal Teen Scientist from Alberta to Compete for Canada in San Francisco June 6 Students from Western Canada swept the top three of five awards announced today in the 2004 National Aventis Biotech Challenge. Students from Edmonton (1st), Winnipeg […]
23 Mar 04 United Nations University Up to one-fifth of the world’s people lack sufficient zinc in their diet, while an estimated one-third live in countries considered at high risk of zinc deficiency, warns a comprehensive new report by an international group of medical researchers. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-03/unu-eoi031604.php Example coverage, by The Associated Press via […]
07 Mar 04 United Nations University Government incentives are quickly needed worldwide to extend the life of personal computers and slow the growth of high-tech trash, according to a new United Nations University (UNU) report into the environmental consequences of the information technology revolution. Full text: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-03/tca-uss030204.php Example coverage: Agence France Presse, click here […]
United Nations University 19 Feb 2004 To decide whether a new product seeking patent protection is novel or based upon traditional knowledge, officials require free access to indigenous secrets. Several countries have inventoried traditional knowledge in publicly-accessible databases for this purpose as a way to prevent its commercial theft. In many indigenous cultures, however, traditional […]
10 Feb 04 United Nations University A new breed of fund managers looking to pressure businesses to improve social, environmental and ethical performance, a phenomenon started in 1999, now wield more than $640 billion in clout in the UK alone – more than 12% of all managed investments in that nation, according to experts at […]
01 Feb 04 United Nations University Work should be stepped up on international agreements to oversee prospecting efforts in Antarctica by research institutions, universities and pharmaceutical companies to discover and stake ownership to promising organisms and compounds with genetic properties that make survival possible in extremely cold, arid and salty conditions, says a new UN […]
30 Nov 03 United Nations University In an effort to help raise the quality of water management expertise worldwide, the United Nations University has authorized for the first time in its 26-year history a diploma to be granted to global graduates of a unique new online training program called the “UN Water Virtual Learning Center.” […]