Archive by date | February 2011

NAS Study Underway – Are Nuclear Facilities Linked to Cancer?

NAS Study Underway – Are Nuclear Facilities Linked to Cancer?

In response to a request from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the National Academy of Sciences has formed a committee aimed at determining whether people who live near nuclear facilities are at an increased risk for cancer. The committee met with NRC researchers for the first time yesterday in Washington, DC to discuss the best way to examine cancer incidences in populations near 115-120 nuclear facilities in the US. “There are recurrent concerns amongst the public about their perception of increased cancer risks,” says Terry Brock, a senior program manager with the NRC and project manager for the study.  Read more

‘First sketch of Everest’ credited to pioneering botanist

‘First sketch of Everest’ credited to pioneering botanist

Naturalist Joseph Hooker may have been the first westerner to draw the world’s highest peak. The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London has identified a line drawing from its archives as a sketch of Mount Everest made by Hooker on his travels in 1848.

Animal Research: Live Q&A

Thank you for joining our online Q&A. News writer Daniel Cressey and features editor Brendan Maher are here starting at 4PM GMT to take questions about Nature’s recent special on animal rights activism and its survey of nearly 1,000 biomedical researchers. This discussion will be moderated and not all comments and questions will be posted in the window below. We will try to answer questions in the order they appear, but may link together related questions. Do try to have patience.  Read more

Discovery soars while Glory waits in the wings

Discovery soars while Glory waits in the wings

Posted on behalf of Adam Mann After months of delay, the last flight of the space shuttle Discovery is underway. For the 39th and final time, Discovery roared into orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 24 February at 4:55 pm local time – not quite 27 and a half years since its maiden voyage in August 1984. The mission marks a key turning point for NASA’s shuttle fleet: From now on, every launch will be a swan song, with the remaining two shuttles each due to fly one last time before the end this year. For space enthusiasts who gathered  … Read more

India to launch national mission for forests

India to launch national mission for forests

Posted on behalf of K.S. Jayaraman India will create new forests on five million hectares of land and improve the quality of tree cover on another five million hectares at a cost of Rs.460 billion ($10 billion) over 10 years, starting in 2012. The National Mission for a Green India (NMGI) – one of eight missions under India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change – was approved by the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change on 23 February. According to a presentation by the ministry of environment and forests to the council, the NMGI mission will enhance annual CO2 sequestration  … Read more