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PhysOrg.com
Research required urgently to control planthopper pests June 23-25 conference to address major threat to Asian rice production A small insect that has devastated millions of hectares of rice in southern China and Vietnam over the past few years—causing the loss of thousands of tons of the grain at a crucial time for global production—is the focus of a critical and timely conference this week in the Philippines. Protected Royal Bengal tiger killed by villagers (AP) -- A news report says villagers and forest guards have beaten to death a protected Royal Bengal tiger after it killed three people near the world's largest mangrove forest in southwestern Bangladesh. Global war deaths have been substantially underestimated Research paper: 50 years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia Globally, war has killed three times more people than previously estimated, and there is no evidence to support claims of a recent decline in war deaths, concludes a study published on BMJ.com. Only 1 in 5 women in developing world receive effective cervical cancer screening Few women in the developing world are screened effectively for cervical cancer and those at highest risk of developing the disease are among the least likely to be screened, accordingly an analysis published in PLoS Medicine. The study, by Emmanuela Gakidou (University of Washington, Seattle, USA) and colleagues, also finds striking inequalities in access to cervical cancer screening between and within countries. Novel compound may treat acute diarrhea In a development that may lessen the epidemic of diarrhea-related deaths among children in developing countries, scientists in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D., at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have discovered a novel compound that might lead to an inexpensive, easy-to-take treatment. The results of pre-clinical tests appear in the June 16 online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Arsenic and new rice Amid recent reports of dangerous levels of arsenic being found in some baby rice products, scientists have found a protein in plants that could help to reduce the toxic content of crops grown in environments with high levels of this poisonous metal. Publishing in the open access journal BMC Biology, a team of Scandinavian researchers has revealed a set of plant proteins that channel arsenic in and out of cells. Rice grown in United States contains less-dangerous form of arsenic Rice grown in the United States may be safer than varieties from Asia and Europe, according to a new global study of the grain that feeds over half of humanity. The study evaluated levels of arsenic, which can be toxic at high levels, in rice worldwide. The two-part report is scheduled for the May 15 issue of ACS` Environmental Science & Technology. Better-educated women are a healthier weight, new research reveals A new comparison of multi-national data, released this month, reveals that highly educated women have a healthier average weight than less educated women, but that the meaning of “healthier” changes according to a nation`s relative wealth. In countries where malnutrition is prevalent, better-educated women weigh more. But in wealthier countries — with rapidly growing rates of obesity — better-educated women weigh less. How strong is a hurricane? Just listen Knowing how powerful a hurricane is, before it hits land, can help to save lives or to avoid the enormous costs of an unnecessary evacuation. Some MIT researchers think there may be a better, cheaper way of getting that crucial information. New and deadly viruses passed through sweet food and domestic animals Nipah virus is a new and deadly brain and lung disease that emerged from Singapore and Malaysia ten years ago. It is now spreading into rural India and Bangladesh killing up to three-quarters of the people who become infected in some outbreaks, scientists heard today at the Society for General Microbiology`s 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. ... |