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Excessive hunting ROME, Mar 13: Wild animal populations are dwindling in many parts of the world because of excessive hunting, the United Nations Food and ...more Scientists
get proof of WASHINGTON, Mar 13: Researchers have said they have confirmed the existence of a natural system used by the body to defend against the ... ..more Oestrogen helps prevent arthrities of knee: Study LONDON, Mar 13: Long-term use of oestrogen in older women can help to increase bone density and prevent osteoarthritis of the knee, Australian. ..more Thriller writer Robert Ludlum dies at 73 MIAMI, Mar 13: Robert Ludlum, the prolific author of "The scarlatti inheritance" and...more |
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Little Vlad Putin skipped MOSCOW, Mar 13: Eleven-year-old Vladimir Putin infuriated his gym teacher, skipped his math homework, nearly flunked drawing, and, in short ..more New
homes for slum COLOMBO, Mar 13: Sriya Kanthi lives with her family in a two-room shack in the Shanty town of Wanathamulla in the Sri Lankan capital. .......more Taliban
says determined ISLAMABAD, Mar 13: Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil has said that United Nations mediation in Afghanistan’s civil war was dead .........more Foot-stomping
elephants SAN FRANCISCO, Mar 13: When an elephant puts its foot down, people listen. And so, apparently, do other elephants — using their toenails to ..........more |
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Excessive hunting threatens wild animals: FAO ROME, Mar 13: Wild animal populations are dwindling in many parts of the world because of excessive hunting, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned yesterday. Fao experts said the risks of a "bushmeat crisis" could threaten the food security of many forest communities living in developing countries, while the trade in meat from wild animals could result in the extinction of many animal populations, especially of vulnerable species such as elephants, larger antelopes, gorillas and chimpanzees. FAO’s Douglas Williamson said shrinking populations, particularly of large forest animals, could also result in a long-term change in forest ecology, as many plants that depend on animals for pollination, seed dispersal or seed germination eventually disappeared. Among the main factors threatening long term supplies of wild meat were increasing population needs and pressure, the use of new technologies such as automatic weapons, the temporary encroachment of large numbers of people displaced by conflicts and the growth of a commercial trade in wild meat, Williamson said. (DPA) |
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Scientists get proof of natural anti-cancer system WASHINGTON, Mar 13: Researchers have said they have confirmed the existence of a natural system used by the body to defend against the cancer-causing effects of toxic chemicals in food and the environment. Scientists had long suspected that such a system existed, but researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Tsukuba University in Japan said they used tests involving genetically engineered mice to confirm it after 20 years of research. The system appears to be a common one in many animals, the researchers said, adding that they were seeking ways to use the corresponding system in the human body to help protect people from cancer. The body’s protective system hinges on a sharp boost in protective enzymes — called phase II enzymes — that can dispose of toxic chemicals. The enzymes effectively neutralize toxins’ ability to damage dna and trigger cancer, the researchers said. Scientists already knew that natural substances in plants, such as the sulforaphane in Broccoli, as well as some synthetic chemicals, could tap into this system to provide a protective effect. In two studies appearing in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences, the researchers said they not only demonstrated the basic workings of the system in mice, but also found a "switch" that regulates it. "We’ve gained long-awaited proof of a basic mechanism that can reduce the risk of cancer," Dr. Paul Talalay, a Johns Hopkins molecular pharmacologist who participated in the research, said in a statement. He said that raising the levels of phase II enzymes can provide a "highly effective way" to guard against cancer. "Our precise understanding of this system should make it fairly easy to design drugs that can fine-tune it," added Johns Hopkins researcher Thomas Kensler, a toxicologist who is overseeing early clinical trials of one such drug in China. "We have evidence that we can increase the system’s levels of protection in people and are planning long-term studies that would reveal any lowered incidence of cancer." The researchers focused on strategies that cells use to control activity of the phase II enzymes. They knocked out the "switch" —a protein called NRF2 — in a bid to remove the protective system in genetically engineered mice. The researchers exposed both the "switched-off" mice and normal mice to benzpyrene, a potent carcinogen found in cigarette smoke. They said both types of mice developed tumors, but the "switched-off" mice had many more. In addition, scientists gave both the normal and the "switched-off" mice a drug called oltipraz, which is used for parasite infections and has been shown to reduce cancer risk, along with the cigarette smoke carcinogen. The normal mice had their tumor number cut by half, but the other mice were tumor-ridden, even with the protective drug. (REUTERS) |
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Oestrogen helps prevent arthrities of knee: Study LONDON, Mar 13: Long-term use of oestrogen in older women can help to increase bone density and prevent osteoarthritis of the knee, Australian researchers said today. Osteoarthritis, the degradation of cartilage in the joints, is the major cause of disability in people over 65. It usually occurs in the hips and knees and is more common in women after the menopause. But new research by scientists at the Alfred Hospital in Victoria, Australia has shown that replacing depleted levels of the female hormone oestrogen can help to protect against the disorder. Women who took Oestrogen replacement Therapy (ERT) for five years had more cartilage in their knee joints than other women in the study who had never used hormone supplements. "Maintenance of knee articular (joint) cartilage may be the mechanism by which ERT protects against knee osteoarthritis," said Professor Flavia Cicuttini. Eighty-one women over 50 years old took part in the study published in the annals of the rheumatic diseases. Forty-two had used ERT for five years and the remaining women had never taken hormone therapy. The researchers said the cartilage volume in the ERT group was eight percent greater than in the other women. "This study suggests that use of ERT for more than five years is associated with greater knee cartilage volume," Cicuttini added. (REUTERS) |
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Thriller writer Robert Ludlum dies at 73 MIAMI, Mar 13: Robert Ludlum, the prolific author of "The scarlatti inheritance" and other complex spy thrillers that routinely topped bestseller lists, has died in Naples, Florida after suffering a massive heart attack, a family spokesman said. He was 73 years old. Ludlum, a master of the cold war espionage genre whose novels sold more than 220 million copies in 40 countries and 32 languages, had recently had heart surgery and appeared to be making good progress until the heart attack. "I can confirm that Robert Ludlum passed away yesterday at about 1345 hrs local time (10.45 a.m. est, 1545 gmt) of cardiac arrest," said Debbie Curry, a spokeswoman for Naples Community Hospital where Ludlum was taken from his home. Born in New York city on May 25, 1927, Ludlum worked as an actor and theater producer for 20 years before turning to spy novel writing as a lark, wondering at age 40 if he could have any success at it. His first book, "The scarlatti inheritance" in 1971, was an instant hit and it was followed by many others including "The osterman weekend, "The matlock paper," "The matarese circle," "The parsifal mosaic" and "The apocalypse watch." "The bourne identity," published in 1980, is headed for big-screen release by universal pictures later this year with a cast headed by Matt Damon. In interviews Ludlum often boasted that his theatrical training helped him to set up scenes and plot complicated books that the reader enjoyed the way he might a good show. Although sometimes criticized for aping the styles of fellow thriller writers John Le Carre and Tom Clancy, Ludlum’s popularity was unquestioned and he was a staple of airport bookstore reading racks. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Corp’s Chief Executive and one of the world’s richest men, named Ludlum as his favorite author in a published interview. Ludlum’s latest book, "The prometheus deception," his 22nd novel, was published last year and appeared this year on the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and publishers weekly bestseller lists. A typically convoluted cold war tale, "the prometheus deception" has retired hero Nicholas Bryson infiltrating his former shadow agency to halt a scheme to stockpile weapons for use against the United States in a plot for world domination. "In terms of style, the Ludlum hallmarks of ham-fisted cliche, risible dialogue and the scattergun use of italics and exclamation marks all are happily in evidence," The Express newspaper in Britain wrote in a book review recently. The novel was published in the United States by St. Martin’s Press, which lured Ludlum away from Bantam books after more than 20 years with a multimillion-dollar multi-book publishing deal two years ago. Ludlum was to receive 4 million per book, according to published reports. Ludlum maintained a home in Connecticut and in Naples, where he died. (REUTERS) |
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Little Vlad Putin skipped homework like rest of us MOSCOW, Mar 13: Eleven-year-old Vladimir Putin infuriated his gym teacher, skipped his math homework, nearly flunked drawing, and, in short, was "one of us", a popular Russian tabloid has declared. In the year since the President took power, Russian and foreign media have dug for details of the Russian President’s past, much of which has remained in the shadows because of his career as a one-time KGB spy. The popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda scored a coup yesterday when it announced it had unearthed Putin’s grade book in the attic of a small wooden house where he spent his childhood. Alas, the evidence hardly bore signs of future greatness. Throughout the 1963-64 school year, Putin did battle with his physical education teacher, who sent him out of class and punished him for forgetting his uniform. Putin’s marks were mediocre. On the Soviet five-point scale he got threes in arithmetic and natural science and a worrying two in drawing. The only subject in which he scored a perfect five was history. But he also got a five for "behaviour", despite the pestering of his gym teacher. If well-behaved, Putin still got up to mischief. He was caught exchanging notes with a boy named bogdanov during lessons, and one day a teacher remarked: "Before class (Putin) threw chalkboard erasers at the children". His father was summoned to school after he got into a fight with an older boy. Still, Komsomolskaya Pravda was happy with what it found. "Leafing through Putin’s grade book, we recalled ourselves and our own beloved old school," the newspaper wrote. "The same gym teachers, falling on our heads from the parallel bars, idiotic drawing classes, fights in the bathroom and the hallway. Our President is one of us and grew up amongst us. Personally, this gives us hope." (REUTERS) |
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New homes for slum dwellers in new Colombo COLOMBO, Mar 13: Sriya Kanthi lives with her family in a two-room shack in the Shanty town of Wanathamulla in the Sri Lankan capital. Wanathamulla is one of the numerous squatter settlements in Colombo, where more than half of the about 800,000 residents live in slum colonies. Rows and rows of chicken coop-like homes along lanes overflowing with garbage, make up the slum colony. Men, women and children bathe at roadside taps. "I would love to live in cleaner surroundings," says Sriya, who works as a tea packer in a tea export company. Elinta Elizabeth too lives in Wanathamulla, with her family of four people in a tiny hut. Her daughter sleeps at night at her uncle’s home, because Elinta’s house does not have space for four people to sleep. She wishes she could live in a bigger house. Their dreams are likely to come true. An ambitious Government scheme to beautify Colombo, which was announced by the Government in the first week of March, will house tens of thousands of shanty town dwellers in clean, low-cost housing. "We want to beautify colombo and make it a pleasant place to live in," says Urban Development Minister Mangala Samaraweera. A new urban development plan announced by Samaraweera will not only replace the Shanty towns with new high-rise housing for the poor, but move out of Colombo, all Government buildings, including the office and home of the head of state. "We want to liberate Colombo of its rulers," the minister told reporters. The scheme will be self-financing for it is estimated to free about 3,000 hectares of prime land in the city for commercial development. The money earned from the sale of this land will be used for developing Sri Jayawardenapura, about 10 km from Colombo. The new township was named the administrative capital of Sri Lanka in the 1980s. A new Parliament building, on Ong Island in an artificial lake with hundreds of varieties of birds, and several Government buildings, have already been built in Sri Jayawardenapura. Samaraweera said once President Chandrika Kumaratunga moves to her new home and office at Sri Jayawardenapura, her present official residence in Colombo would be converted to a state guest house. The Presidential Secretariat would be used as a museum and a conference hall for ministers. According to Krishan Deheragoda, Chairman of the Urban Development Authority, the entire plan would cost 40 billion rupees (nearly half a billion US dollars) and take between three to five years to complete. Some 420,000 shanty town residents like Sriya and Elinta are to be moved into new buildings having electricity, water supply, sanitation and even telephone connections. In the first phase, 500 housing units are being built in three buildings, each with 10 floors. Groups of 300 to 500 tenants would be helped to form an owners’ group, with each owner holding one share of 25,000 rupees (294 dollars). The owners’ groups will buy facilities like electricity and water in bulk and then re-distribute the utilities to tenants. They will also be responsible for maintaining the buildings. Urban Development Authority chief Deheragoda believes that the Shanty town dwellers can pay this much quite easily because of higher urban incomes of the poor. However, Vidura Sri Nammuni, former president of the Sri Lanka Architects Association, thinks that the idea is unlikely to work as it has failed in most other parts of the world. Nammuni Saysb that slum dwellers will not want to move out of colombo, because most of them work in the city. He also disapproves of building ‘high rise Shanties’. "We should not consider only the bad aspects of Shanties. There are also positive aspects," he says. "On the one hand we 2-,5 to move away from living in a concrete jungle and then decide to put these people in boxes on top of each other," he says, criticising the plan to build 10-storey buildings to house slum dwellers. The minister has been giving high priority to beautifying Colombo since he took over office in December 2000, when he announced a plan to demolish unauthorised buildings. Since then, dozens of small shops and buildings have been bulldozed by Government demolition units. The owners of these dwellings have held protest marches and on occasion turned to arson, and even threatened self-immolation. (IPS) |
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Taliban says determined to rule all Afghanistan ISLAMABAD, Mar 13: Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil has said that United Nations mediation in Afghanistan’s civil war was dead and Taliban rule throughout the country might have to be imposed by arms. Muttawakil underlined yesterday the UN-Taliban tension in dismissing as unimportant the amount of international humanitarian aid that could be endangered by its decision to destroy all ancient statues in Afghanistan. The Taliban Minister also confirmed all movable statues had been destroyed and the last of the two giant Buddhas in Bamiyan were being demolished — a campaign against "idols" that has triggered outrage around the world. The UN, which had appealed for preservation of Afghanistan’s rich pre-Islamic heritage, had already angered the Taliban by imposing sanctions in January trying to force them to hand over Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi militant accused of blowing up two US Embassies. "We will do our best to find someone else, another country, because the UN had already lost its impartiality in the Afghan crisis for this (peace) mediation role," he said in an interview with Reuters at the home of the Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan. Muttawakil said he continued to talk to Francesc Vendrell, the Envoy of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan assigned to start peace talks, only as a representative of the United Nations and not as a potential peace mediator. While saying he hoped through negotiation to establish Taliban rule in the corner of Afghanistan not already under its control, the Foreign Minister did not sound optimistic. He said the Taliban’s opposition, led by Ahmad Shah Masood, were continuing to receive foreign assistance, especially from Russia, and was unlikely to want peace talks. "Our priority will be to solve this problem by peaceful means but if there is no chance, we will have to fight, win it on the battlefield," said Muttawakil. Afghanistan has been torn apart by 21 years of war, first against the soviet invasion and for the past decade in a civil conflict. Muttawakil, who said after pausing that he was "about 30" years old, fought briefly before spending his time in a religious school in Pakistan. The Taliban’s continued focus on warfare at a time when hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been driven from their homes by drought has been condemned by foreign Governments. Heavy fighting is expected to resume with the onset of spring in the next two months, "The people of Afghanistan are fed up with war and they would like to have the same kind of peace that is already restored in 95 percent of the territory of Afghanistan," said the bearded cleric. "They are waiting very eagerly for the implementation of the same kind of peace in the remaining part," Muttawakil said. "We are hopeful, with the support of the people, we will be able to implement it in the remaining part of Afghanistan." Muttawakil was in Islamabad for a meeting on Sunday with Annan, which he said had produced agreement only on the need for humanitarian assistance to the masses of Afghans fleeing war and potential famine. He played down the diplomatic impact of the destruction of the statues, the latest in a number of Taliban policies including its treatment of women and alleged support for international terrorism — to draw UN condemnation. "If the crises are solved first inside Afghanistan I am hopeful that with the passage of time the external problems can be solved easily," Muttawakil said. (REUTERS) |
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Foot-stomping elephants communicate seismically SAN FRANCISCO, Mar 13: When an elephant puts its foot down, people listen. And so, apparently, do other elephants — using their toenails to sense messages sent from as far as 32 km away. A new study by Stanford University researchers indicates that elephants use foot-stomping and vocal rumblings as part of an elaborate system of seismic communication, sending vibrations through the ground to other elephants far beyond the reach of audible sound. "If they are sensing these messages in the ground, it radically changes our perspective how far they can communicate," Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell, a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center for Conservation Biology said in an interview on Monday. "They may be communicating at far greater distances than we thought." O’Connell-Rodwell’s study, published in the December issue of the journal of the Acoustical Society of America, sheds new light on how elephant herds transmit messages — sensing greetings or warnings of danger through their feet. By studying separate groups of elephants in Africa, India, and in captivity in Texas, the Stanford researcher found indications that elephants have a highly developed set of seismic signals, creating ground vibrations both through their vocal calls, which create a low level rumbling, and by stomping their feet in mock charges. Other animals, ranging from certain types of moles and seals to insects, fish, and reptiles, are known to use seismic signals to find mates, locate prey or establish territories. But the elephants’ methods of seismic communication appear to be more complex, and travel far greater distances. O’Connell-Rodwell said that the seismic waves created by various elephant actions — ranging from foot-stomping warnings to vocal calls of greeting — were recreated and transmitted through the ground to see if elephants would display the same reaction if no audible sound were present. The results showed that the elephants, particularly female ones, picked up the signals and reacted. "We think they’re sensing these underground vibrations through heir feet," O’Connell-Rodwell said. "Seismic waves could travel through their toenails to the ear via bone conduction, or they may be using seismic sensitivity in their trunk. It may be a combination of both." Earlier elephant studies have shown that they can produce low-level 20 hertz vocal rumblings which can travel up to ten km through the air under ideal conditions. Subsequent studies showed that these rumblings themselves create a seismic "echo" in the earth, where the vibrations travel even greater distances. These vibrations are also created by the foot-stomping and ear flapping of mock elephant charges, which the animals use as a defense mechanism when danger is perceived. "Based on our mathematical models, we estimate that seismic signals produced by elephants can travel between 16 - 32 km in the ground," O’Connell-Rodwell said. She added that current evidence indicated that seismic signals conveyed basic information about where elephants are and what their mood is — enabling elephants at some distance to sense fear or anger. "Whether or not they can discriminate individuals in the ground is something that we are trying to do in the future with more studies," O’Connell-Rodwell said. Already, observation of elephant behavior in Angola hinted that seismic signals may travel even farther, with thirsty elephant herds there detecting and moving toward thunderstorms as far as 100 miles (160 km) away. O’Connell-Rodwell said evidence of seismic communication was found in both Asian and African elephants, and could lead to a far broader understanding of how all sorts of animals communicate in the wild. "It really opens the door to (seismic communication among) other mammals," O’Connell-Rodwell said. "We picked the one animal that was the most obvious — because elephants are so large, and so heavy. But are also looking for this possibility in rhinos, possibly in bison, and possibly in lions," she said. (REUTERS) |
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