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 […]
Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre / BioTalent Canada Toronto / Ottawa 6-May-2009 Genetic research by a 16-year-old Saskatchewan student that could one day help farmers grow “designer wheat” — tailoring the starch content of grain grown for different markets — has earned the top national prize in the 2009 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC). Grade 10 […]
JRS Biodiversity Foundation Philadelphia, USA 29-Apr-2009 First use of DNA barcoding in war against a major world disease New biotechnologies that allow scientists to quickly and accurately distinguish species based on a simple DNA analysis are being creatively deployed for the first time in the war against a major global disease. The University of Ghana, […]
United Nations University Tokyo, Japan 19-Apr-2009 With the first climate change-related relocation of an Inuit village already underway, some 400 Indigenous People and observers from 80 nations are convening in Alaska for a UN-affiliated conference April 20-24 to discuss ways in which traditional knowledge can be used to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. […]
New Energy Finance London 4-Mar-2009 Impact of recession and low energy prices may postpone peak of world CO2 emissions by more than a decade The world economic crisis has hit investment in clean energy and means its growth is no longer on track for the world to avert the worst impact of climate change, according […]
Census of Marine Life Washington DC 15-Feb-2009 Earth’s unique, forbidding ice oceans of the Arctic and Antarctic have revealed a trove of secrets to Census of Marine Life explorers, who were especially surprised to find at least 235 species live in both polar seas despite a distance of more than 13,000-kilometer distance in between. The […]
United Nations University Programme for Biotechnology for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNU-BIOLAC), Caracas, Venezuela 8-Feb-2009 The growing relationship between scientists and curators is the focus of a 4-day, UN-affiliated international conference in Caracas designed to promote innovative ways to stem the decay of some of humanity’s greatest art and cultural treasures. “With the world financial crisis and […]
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Washington / Panama 12-Jan-2009 Satellite data and other research reveal that huge tracts of abandoned tropical forests that were once logged or farmed are regrowing, prompting a contentious debate among world scientists convening at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Jan. 12. At issue is the extent to which this […]
McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health University of Toronto / University Health Network 7-Dec-2008 Canadian researchers have identified protein biomarkers that shed new light on the development of two severe and debilitating forms of malaria. The findings may let doctors detect earlier two crippling malaria variations – one that develops in the placenta of pregnant women […]