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Tue, 01/04/2011 - 16:24 by Neka Sehgal
If good weather prevails and the skies are clear, millions of people in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia will get to see the first partial solar eclipse of the New Year today, Jan. 4, 2011.
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Thu, 10/28/2010 - 09:49 by Rakhi
Pittsburgh -- New research suggests Africa was not the birthplace of the ancestors of monkey, apes and humans as long believed, U.S. scientists say.c
Instead, a researcher from the Carnegie Museum of National History in Pittsburgh says, the earliest "anthropoids" colonized Africa from Asia, The Independent reported.
"If our ideas are correct, this early colonization of Africa by anthropoids was a truly pivotal event -- one of the key points in our evolutionary history," says lead researcher Christopher Beard.
Researchers say new fossils found in central Libya dating to 39 million years ago contain a surprising number of species, including three distinct families of anthropoid primates, the British newspaper reports.
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Fri, 10/22/2010 - 07:10 by Prince damin
Bath, England -- A British man has joined the small group of people who can claim to have caught a tigerfish, one of the world's most dangerous species, while fishing in Africa.
Jeremy Wade of Bath, England, said he reeled in the tigerfish, a larger cousin to the piranha, while fishing in the River Congo and set it free after taking a picture, The Sun reported Thursday.
"The teeth on it are incredibly sharp and are about the same length as a great white shark," Wade said. "It also has an extremely powerful bite and has been known to consume prey the same size as itself, attack people and take pieces out of crocodiles."
Footage of Wade making his spectacular catch is scheduled to air next month on ITV's "River Monsters."
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Thu, 10/21/2010 - 23:03 by Prince damin
London -- Two strains of mosquitoes carrying malaria in Africa have evolved substantial genetic differences and are becoming separate species, British scientists say.
Researchers from Imperial College London studied two strains of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, primarily responsible for transmitting malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, ScienceDaily.com reported Wednesday.
The two strains, known as M and S, are physically identical but have evolved enough genetic differences they appear to be evolving into separate species, researchers say.
This could hamper efforts at controlling the malaria that they spread since attempts to control populations may be effective against one strain but not the other, scientists say.
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Fri, 09/03/2010 - 10:12 by Prince damin
Gainsville, Fla.-- Researchers say one of Africa's smallest creatures -- the ant -- is up to the job of protecting trees from one of the continent's largest animals -- elephants.
University of Florida biology Professor Todd Palmer says hordes of angry ants will crawl up into elephant trunks to repel the ravenous pachyderms from devouring tree cover throughout drought-plagued East African savannas, a university release says.
"It really is a David and Goliath story, where these little ants are up against these huge herbivores, protecting trees and having a major impact on the ecosystems in which they live," Palmer said. "Swarming groups of ants that weigh about 5 milligrams each can and do protect trees from animals that are about a billion times more massive."
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Wed, 08/18/2010 - 10:51 by Prince damin
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania -- One hundred of the world's rarest amphibians have been returned to their African homeland after being carefully raised at two U.S. zoos, officials said.
The Kihansi spray toads are living in a state-of-the-art propagation center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial capital, after being transported from the Bronx Zoo in New York and the Toledo, Ohio, zoo, a Wildlife Conservation Society release said Tuesday.
Spokeswoman Anna Maembe said the Tanzanian government was "very grateful to the Bronx Zoo and The Toledo Zoo for taking care of these precious toads for 10 years.
"We are very optimistic that they will acclimatize soon and be taken to their homeland in Kihansi Gorge in the near future," she said.
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Wed, 08/18/2010 - 09:16 by Prince damin
Manchester, England -- Some conservation programs in Africa are willing to use shoot-to-kill campaigns against poachers to protect endangered species, a British researcher says.
An academic at the University of Manchester in England says private security firms and mercenaries are being used to train game rangers to mount military-style campaigns against poachers, the BBC reported Monday.
Professor Rosaleen Duffy, who has researched the issue for 15 years, says the development of nature tourism has meant international pressure to save high-profile species is intense and has led to extreme protection efforts, including killing poachers outright.
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Wed, 08/18/2010 - 09:16 by Prince damin
Manchester, England -- Some conservation programs in Africa are willing to use shoot-to-kill campaigns against poachers to protect endangered species, a British researcher says.
An academic at the University of Manchester in England says private security firms and mercenaries are being used to train game rangers to mount military-style campaigns against poachers, the BBC reported Monday.
Professor Rosaleen Duffy, who has researched the issue for 15 years, says the development of nature tourism has meant international pressure to save high-profile species is intense and has led to extreme protection efforts, including killing poachers outright.
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Tue, 08/10/2010 - 09:55 by Prince damin
Dallas -- The explosive growth of cellphone use in Africa isn't enough to drive the continent's economic growth without accompanying infrastructure, economic experts say.
Researchers at Southern Methodist University say that while there is evidence of positive short-term impacts, so far there's limited evidence mobile phones have led to large-scale improvements in African countries, a university release says.
Cellphones can do only so much, the researchers say, as long as many Africans still struggle in poverty and still lack reliable electricity, clean drinking water, education or access to roads.
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Sat, 07/24/2010 - 10:18 by Pankaj Damin
Washington -- Scientists say they've identified the method several disease-causing microbes use to infect plants and cause disastrous blights in crops in Africa and Asia.
The mechanism is used by a fungus currently causing wheat rust epidemics in Africa and Asia and by a kind of parasitic algae called oomycetes that caused the potato blight and resulting famine in 19th century Ireland, a National Science Foundation release said Thursday.
The researchers also found evidence suggesting the microbes might infect humans and animals through the same newly discovered mechanism. Human diseases caused by fungi include valley fever and several infections common to AIDS patients, the report said.
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Sat, 07/24/2010 - 01:58 by Prince damin
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso -- Crops could be produced for bioenergy production across Africa without displacing food production to "unlock Africa's latent potential," a report says.
Polices would be needed to manage potential conflicts but bioenergy crop production for fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel would not damage food supplies or natural habitats, a report by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa said Friday.
"If approached with the proper policies and processes and with the inclusion of all the various stakeholders, bioenergy is not only compatible with food production; it can also greatly benefit agriculture in Africa," report author Dr. Rocio Diaz-Chavez of Imperial College London said.
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Mon, 04/12/2010 - 20:33 by Samia Sehgal
MasterCard Inc. has named its President and Chief Operating Officer Ajay Banga as its next Chief Executive. He will take charge from July 1 and is stepping on the company’s board, effective immediately.
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