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Europe readies for solar storm risks
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April 03, 2013 04:51 PM
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BRUSSELS: Europe launched its first space weather coordination centre Wednesday to raise the alarm for possible satellite-sizzling solar storms that also threaten astronauts in orbit, plane passengers and electricity grids on Earth.Though impossible to predict, a worst-case scenario mega-storm can...
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Escaping the smoke: E-cigs a popular alternative to regular cigarettes
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February 13, 2013 12:19 AM
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PARIS: The camera zooms in on a stubble-bearded hunk dragging on a cigarette and blowing out a cloud of smoke with what seems to be great satisfaction. It resembles the TV smoking ads of yesteryear, now banned in most of the world, yet this modern-day offering is approved for American television...
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Scientists solve 3,000-year-old pharaonic whodunit
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December 18, 2012 08:25 AM
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PARIS: An assassin slit the throat of Egypt's last great pharaoh at the climax of a bitter succession battle, scientists said Monday in a report on a 3,000-year-old royal murder.Forensic technology suggests Ramses III, a king revered as a god, met his death at the hand of a killer, or killers,...
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People live longer but are not always healthier: study
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December 13, 2012 08:10 PM
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PARIS: People live more than a decade longer on average today than they did in 1970, but spend much of these boon years battling diseases like cancer, according to a global health review published Thursday.By 2010, a man's life expectancy at birth had risen 11.1 years from 1970 and that of a woman...
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EU, US rule out climate funding pledges in Doha
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December 05, 2012 03:34 PM
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DOHA: The European Union and United States said on Wednesday they would not make concrete near-term funding pledges at UN climate talks to help developing countries cope with the fallout from global warming.The EU said tight finances prevented it from taking on new commitments as a bloc, while...
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Kyoto Protocol under the microscope
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November 30, 2012 12:52 AM
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PARIS: As the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol draws to a close, the world will dissect its record for successes to emulate in the fight against global warming – and pitfalls to avoid. If all goes well, Kyoto will eventually be superseded by a new worldwide treaty, whose design is being...
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Asia's mega-cities badly exposed to superstorms
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October 30, 2012 04:51 PM
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PARIS: The hammer blow dealt to New York by superstorm Sandy should raise the alarm for coastal mega-cities in Asia which are more exposed but less equipped to deal with such threats, experts said on Tuesday.New York was able to draw on top-level civil engineering, good governance and the world's...
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D-Day for crunch biodiversity talks
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October 19, 2012 02:20 PM
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HYDERABAD: Negotiators sought Friday to persuade wealthy nations to bankroll ambitious targets for stemming the loss of Earth's dwindling natural resources.Just days after 400 plants and animals were added to a "Red List" of species at risk of extinction, ministers from more than 80 countries are...
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Biodiversity conference mulls true cost of nature
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October 16, 2012 10:30 AM
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HYDERABAD, India, Oct 16, 2012 (AFP) - Should European farmers pay for pollination provided by bees? Should city dwellers in Brazil pay for the abundant rain generated over the Amazonian forest? And if mangroves are a shield against tsunamis, shouldn't seaside resorts in Thailand be paying for...
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Stem cells blamed for cancer re-growth
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August 01, 2012 08:14 PM
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PARIS: Researchers presented evidence Wednesday for the existence of cancer stem cells, with three different studies seeking to end a decades-old scientific dispute about how tumours grow. The discovery should lead to new drugs targeting stem cells that cause tumours to reappear after cancer...
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Genetically modified athletes: the next concern?
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July 17, 2012 12:35 AM
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PARIS: As athletes get ready to smash Olympic records in London, scientists are in a high-stakes race of their own to develop a test that will unmask anyone altering their genes in a desperate quest for gold. Observers said science will not prevail in time for the games that start on July 27....
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Scientists watch black hole feast on unlucky star
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May 02, 2012 09:05 PM
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PARIS: Scientists have witnessed the rare spectacle of a supermassive black hole devouring a star that had ventured too close -- an event that occurs about once in 10,000 years, they reported on Wednesday. Matter-sucking black holes normally lurk dormant and undetected at the centre of galaxies,...
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Pigeon riddle flies in face of science
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April 11, 2012 10:50 PM
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PARIS: Scientists have sent robot scouts into deep space and unravelled the genome, yet on Wednesday were forced to admit they were still baffled by how homing pigeons navigate. Experts at Vienna's Institute of Molecular Pathology said they had overturned claims that the birds' feat is due...
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Ennahda looks to build a coalition following victory
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October 26, 2011 01:02 AM
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TUNIS: Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party prepared for coalition talks Tuesday as early results showed it dominating the Arab Spring’s first free elections. Ennahda took 15 of the 39 seats from five domestic polling districts in the new constitution-writing assembly, the ISIE elections...
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