BASIC Countries KYOTO protocol

Monday 31 October, 2011.

BASIC countries to frame common position on Kyoto protocol The environment ministers of BASIC countries Brazil, South Africa, India and China will frame a common position ahead of the crucial Durban climate conference next month on several issues including the second commitment period of Kyoto protocol. The ninth meeting of BASIC countries being attended by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natrajan in Beijing on Monday is mainly for preparing the negotiations for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference to be held in Durban from 28th November to 9thDecember, officials of the Environment Ministry said. "Because in Durban, we have to take some decision on many things. BASIC countries have to discuss what should be their strategy and their approach to the Durban issues. The second commitment period of Kyoto protocol will be on the agenda. That is one of the important issues. There are other issues too," a senior official of the ministry said. Kyoto Protocol favours only legally binding agreement which calls for mandatory emission cuts by rich countries and voluntary cuts by developing nations. India is opposed to any legally binding cuts for developing countries. Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarjan will be in Beijing on Monday to attend the 9th edition of the meet being hosted by China on 31st Oct and 1st Nov, they said. To a question whether China is in agreement with the recent statement issued by Heads of IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa), the official said, "China is broadly in agreement with that (IBSA) approach." The joint declaration issued after the 5th IBSA Summit at Pretoria on 18th October had said, "The outcome of Durban should be comprehensive, balanced and ambitious, within the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Convention, in particular principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities." Describing the BASIC meeting at Beijing as "definitely very crucial", the official said, "It is important because the BASIC countries are the four biggest economies in the developing world. Their approach will be very crucial in Durban."

'Junk DNA' defines differences between humans and chimps

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Junk DNA defines differences in humans and chimps. Credit: None

For years, scientists believed the vast phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzees would be easily explained – the two species must have significantly different genetic makeups. However, when their genomes were later sequenced, researchers were surprised to learn that the DNA sequences of human and chimpanzee genes are nearly identical. What then is responsible for the many morphological and behavioral differences between the two species? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have now determined that the insertion and deletion of large pieces of DNA near genes are highly variable between humans and chimpanzees and may account for major differences between the two species.

The research team lead by Georgia Tech Professor of Biology John McDonald has verified that while the DNA sequence of genes between humans and chimpanzees is nearly identical, there are large genomic "gaps" in areas adjacent to genes that can affect the extent to which genes are "turned on" and "turned off." The research shows that these genomic "gaps" between the two species are predominantly due to the insertion or deletion (INDEL) of viral-like sequences called retrotransposons that are known to comprise about half of the genomes of both species. The findings are reported in the most recent issue of the online, open-access journal Mobile DNA.

"These genetic gaps have primarily been caused by the activity of retroviral-like transposable element sequences," said McDonald. "Transposable elements were once considered 'junk DNA' with little or no function. Now it appears that they may be one of the major reasons why we are so different from chimpanzees."

McDonald's research team, comprised of graduate students Nalini Polavarapu, Gaurav Arora and Vinay Mittal, examined the genomic gaps in both species and determined that they are significantly correlated with differences in gene expression reported previously by researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

"Our findings are generally consistent with the notion that the morphological and behavioral differences between humans and chimpanzees are predominately due to differences in the regulation of genes rather than to differences in the sequence of the genes themselves," said McDonald.

The current analysis of the genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees was motivated by the group's previously published findings (2009) that the higher propensity for cancer in humans vs. chimpanzees may have been a by-product of selection for increased brain size in humans.

Provided by Georgia Institute of Technology

Lung regeneration closer to reality with new discovery

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College say they have taken an important step forward in their quest to "turn on" lung regeneration -- an advance that could effectively treat millions of people suffering from respiratory disorders.

In the Oct. 28 issue of the journal Cell, the research team reports that they have uncovered the biochemical signals in mice that trigger generation of new lungalveoli, the numerous, tiny, grape-like sacs within the lung where oxygen exchange takes place. Specifically, the regenerative signals originate from the specialized endothelial cells that line the interior of blood vessels in the lung.

While it has long been known that mice can regenerate and expand the capacity of one lung if the other is missing, this study now identifies molecular triggers behind this process, and the researchers believe these findings are relevant to humans.

"Several adult human organs have the potential upon injury to regenerate to a degree, and while we can readily monitor the pathways involved in the regeneration of liver and bone marrow, it is much more cumbersome to study the regeneration of other adult organs, such as the lung and heart," says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Shahin Rafii, who is the Arthur B. Belfer Professor of Genetic Medicine and co-director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College.

"It is speculated, but not proven, that humans have the potential to regenerate their lung alveoli until they can't anymore, due to smoking, cancer, or other extensive chronic damage," says Dr. Rafii, who is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Our hope is to take these findings into the clinic and see if we can induce lung regeneration in patients who need it, such as those withchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)."

"There is no effective therapy for patients diagnosed with COPD. Based on this study, I envision a day when patients with COPD and other chronic lung diseases may benefit from treatment with factors derived from lung blood vessels that induce lung regeneration," states Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, who is a co-author of this study and professor of pulmonary and genetic medicine at Weill Cornell. 

Dr. Rafii and his researchers had previously uncovered growth factors that control regeneration in the liver and bone marrow, and in both cases, they found that endothelial cells produce the key inductive growth factors, which they defined as "angiocrine factors." In the current lung study, they discovered the same phenomenon -- that blood vessel cells in the lungs jump-start regeneration of alveoli. "Blood vessels are not just the inert plumbing that carries blood. They actively instruct organ regeneration," says Dr. Rafii. "This is a critical finding. Each organ uses different growth factors within its local vascular system to promote regeneration."

To conduct this study, Dr. Bi-Sen Ding, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Rafii's lab and the first author of this paper, removed the left lungs of mice and studied the biochemical process of subsequent regeneration of the remaining right lung. Previous pioneering work by Dr. Crystal had shown that when the left lung of mice is removed, the right lung regenerates by 80 percent, effectively replacing most of the lost alveoli. "This regeneration process also restores the physiological respiratory function of the lungs, which is mediated by amplification of various epithelial progenitor cells and regeneration of the alveolar sacs," says Dr. Ding.

"This regenerative phenomenon, however, only occurs after a trauma that abruptly reduces lung mass. Then the specific subsets of blood vessels in the remaining lung receive a message to start to repopulate alveoli, and our job was to find that signal," says Dr. Daniel Nolan, a senior scientist in this project who developed methods to characterize the lung blood vessel cells.

The scientists found that removal of the left lung activates receptors on lung endothelial cells that respond to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2). Activation of these receptors promotes the rise of another protein, matrix metalloproteinase-14 (MMP14). The researchers discovered that MMP14, by releasing epidermal growth factors (EGF), initiates the generation of new lung tissue.

When the investigators disabled receptors of VEGF and FGF-2 specifically in the endothelial cells of the mice, the right lung would not regenerate. The defect in the lung regeneration was found to be due to the lack of MMP14 generation from the blood vessels. Remarkably, when these mice received an endothelial cell transplant from a normal mouse, the production of MMP14 was restored, triggering the regeneration of functional alveoli.

"The recovery of lung function and lung mechanics by transplantation of endothelial cells that stimulate MMP14 production may be valuable for designing novel therapies for respiratory disorders," says Dr. Stefan Worgall, who helped with the functional lung studies in this project. "This study will also help us understand mechanisms for repair in the growing lungs of infants and children," he adds. Dr. Worgall is associate professor of pediatrics and genetic medicine and distinguished associate professor of pediatric pulmonology.

Given MMP14's role, Dr. Rafii classifies it as a crucial "angiocrine" signal -- a lung endothelial specific growth factor responsible for alveolar regeneration. Dr. Rafii's team also seeks to reveal the initiation signals resulting in the activation of lungblood vessels. "Changes in local blood flow and biomechanical forces in the remaining lung after removal of the left lung could certainly be one of the initiation cues that induce endothelial activation," says Dr. Sina Rabbany, who is a co-senior author of this study and a professor of bioengineering at Hofstra University and adjunct associate professor of genetic medicine and bioengineering in medicine at Weill Cornell.

The researchers will next determine if MMP14 and other as-yet unrecognized angiocrine factors are responsible for lung regeneration in humans as well as mice. "We believe the same process goes on in humans, although we have no direct evidence yet," says Dr. Ding. The study's authors theorize that patients with COPD (a disorder most often caused by chronic smoking) have so much damage to their lung endothelial cells that they no longer produce the proper inductive signals. "We know smoking damages lungs, but lungs may continue to regenerate alveoli," says Dr. Koji Shido, a co-author of this study. "But at certain point, significant injury to the endothelial cells could impair their capacity to support lung regeneration."

"Perhaps replacement of angiocrine factors, or transplantation of normal lung endothelial cells derived from pluripotent stem cells, could restore lung regeneration" speculates Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, who is the director of the Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine at Weill Cornell, and a co-author of this study. "Currently, we are generating pluripotent stem cells derived from patients with genetic pulmonary disorders to identify potential pathways, which may ultimately enhance our understanding of how lungendothelial cells may improve lung function in these patients."

Provided by New York- Presbyterian Hospital

High tech detection of breast cancer using nanoprobes and SQUID

October 28, 2011



Mammography saves lives by detecting very small tumors. However, it fails to find 10-25% of tumors and is unable to distinguish between benign and malignant disease. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Breast Cancer Research provides a new and potentially more sensitive method using tumor–targeted magnetic nanoprobes and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensors.

Cell Based Assay & Kits - Assays for cAMP, ATP, NADP(H), HDAC Caspases, cell toxicity, cell cycle

A team of researchers from University of New Mexico School of Medicine and Cancer Research and Treatment Center, Senior Scientific, LLC, and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies facility at Sandia National Laboratories created nanoprobes by attaching iron-oxide magnetic particles to antibodies against HER-2, a protein overexpressed in 30% of breast cancer cases. Using these tiny protein-iron particles the team was able to distinguish between cells with HER-2 and those without, and were able to find HER-2 cancer cells in biopsies from mice. In their final test the team used a synthetic breast to determine the potential sensitivity of their system.

Dr Helen Hathaway explained, "We were able to accurately pinpoint 1 million cells at a depth of 4.5 cm. This is about 1000x fewer cells than the size at which atumor can be felt in the breast and 100x more sensitive than mammographic x-ray imaging. While we do not expect the same level of nanoparticle uptake in the clinic, our system has an advantage in that dense breast tissue, which can mask traditional mammography results, is transparent to the low-frequency magnetic fields detected by the SQUID sensors."

Future refining of the system could allow not only tumor to be found but to be classified according to protein expression (rather than waiting for biopsy results). This in turn could be used to predict disease progression and refine treatment plans and so improve patient survival.

More information: Detection of breast cancer cells using targeted magnetic nanoparticles and ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensors Helen J Hathaway, Kimberly S Butler, Natalie L Adolphi, Debbie M Lovato, Robert Belfon, Danielle L Fegan, Todd C Monson, Jason E Trujillo, Trace E Tessier, Howard C Bryant, Dale L Huber, Richard S Larson and Edward R Flynn. Breast Cancer Research (in press)

Provided by BioMed Central

Kidney Disease information : Nephrology

Why some kidney disease patients can't repair blood vessels

In some kidney diseases, patients have high blood levels of a protein that blocks blood vessel repair, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Inhibiting the protein may reduce patients' risk of developing kidney failure.

Patients with an autoimmune kidney disorder called anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis produce antibodies that damage blood vessels in the kidneys. Researchers have wondered what factors play a role in determining whether patients' bodies can repair this damage.

To investigate, Sandrine Le Roux, PhD, Fadi Fakhouri, MD, PhD (Institute of Transplantation Urology Nephrology, in Nantes, France), and their colleagues examined the blood of 81 patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, 21 patients with other types of kidney disease, and 18 healthy individuals.

The investigators found that compared with others in the study, patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis harbor elevated blood levels of the molecule Flt1, which hinders the repair of blood vessels. As a result, their bodies may not be able to fix damaged blood vessels, setting them on a path of continued disease progression.

"Our data suggest that in some kidney diseases, not only are blood vessels damaged, but their repair is also impaired by an increase of Flt1 in the blood," said Dr. Fakhouri. "Inhibiting Flt1 may help improve blood vessel repair in some kidney disease patients and thus reduce their risk of progression to kidney failure," he added.

More information: The article, entitled "Elevated Soluble Flt1 Inhibits Endothelial Repair in PR3-ANCA-Associated Vasculitis," will appear online on Thursday, October 27, 2011

Vitamin B derivative helps diabetics with mild kidney disease

A vitamin B6 derivative may help slow or prevent the progression of mild kidney disease in patients with diabetes, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology(JASN). The drug may benefit increasing numbers of patients as the prevalence of diabetes rises.

Approximately 40% of all patients who need dialysis or a kidney transplant can blame diabetes for their kidney problems. Because the number of patients withtype 2 diabetes is expected to double by 2030, the prevalence of kidney failure is sure to increase. New therapies that can delay the progression of diabetic kidney disease may help prevent kidney failure and save lives. Researchers have wondered whether the drug Pyridorin, a derivative of vitamin B6, may be such a candidate. Pyridorin targets several cellular processes that may be relevant to the progression of diabetic kidney disease.

Edmund Lewis, MD (Rush University Medical Center) and his colleagues within the Collaborative Study Group (a large clinical trial group comprised of various kidney care centers) tested the potential of Pyridorin (generic name pyridoxamine dihydrochloride) for treating patients with diabetic kidney disease.

For one year during the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 317 patients received placebo twice a day, Pyridorin at a dose of 150 mg twice a day, or Pyridorin at a dose of 300 mg twice a day.

Overall, the drug did not provide any benefit over placebo for slowing or preventing the progression of diabetic kidney disease; however, Pyridorin did help patients with only mild forms of the disease.

"It appears the drug may be beneficial in a sub-group of patients with only mild kidney disease but does not appear to be beneficial for patients with more advanced kidney disease," said Dr. Lewis. "The results warrant further trials in patients with mild diabetic kidney disease," he added.

More information: The article, entitled "A Randomized Trial of Pyridorin in Type 2 Diabetes,

Anticoagulant fondaparinux - used in treatment of DVT - deep vein thrombosis - a new economical way to manufacture drup

Discovery represents 'new paradigm' in the way drugs can be manufactured

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Linhardt and his colleagues have developed a new and much more efficient process to manufacture the drug fondaparinux. Here the chemical structure of the new drug is compared to the original. Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Robert Linhardt is working to forever change the way some of the most widely used drugs in the world are manufactured. Today, in the journalScience, he and his partner in the research, Jian Liu, have announced an important step toward making this a reality. The discovery appears in the October 28, 2011 edition of the journal Science in a paper titled "chemoenzymatic synthesis of homogeneous ultra-low molecular weight heparins."

Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. '59 Senior Constellation Professor ofBiocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Jian Liu, a professor in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have discovered an entirely new process to manufacture ultra-low molecular weight heparin.

The research shows that the drug is identical in performance and safety to the current and successful anticoagulant fondaparinux, but is purer, faster, and less expensive to produce.

"This research represents an entirely new paradigm in drug manufacturing," Linhardt said. "With this discovery, we have successfully demonstrated that replacing the current model of drug production with a chemoenzymatic approach can greatly reduce the cost of drug development and manufacturing, while also increasing drug performance and safety, and reduce the possibility of outside drug contamination. It is our hope that this is the first step in the adoption of this method for the manufacture of many other drugs."

The new process uses chemicals and enzymes to reduce the number of steps in production of fondaparinux from approximately 50 steps down to just 10 to 12. In addition, it increases the yield from that process 500-fold compared to the current fondaparinux process, and could decrease the cost of manufacture by a similar amount, according to Linhardt.

Fondaparinux, which is sold as a name-brand drug and was also recently approved by the FDA as a generic drug, is a synthetic anticoagulant used to treat deep vein thrombosis, with over $500 million in annual sales. It is part of a much larger family of anticoagulant drugs known as heparins. But, unlike most heparinproducts, it is chemically synthesized from non-animal materials. All other heparin-based drugs currently on the market use materials from the intestines of pigs and lungs of cattle as source materials. Such animal materials are more likely to become contaminated, according to Linhardt. 

Iduron - GAG specialists. - High quality glycosaminoglycans and enzymes for scientific research

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This graphic explains the simplified version of heparin discussed in the paper by Dr. Xu and colleagues. Credit: John Zhu/UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

"When we rely on animals, we open ourselves up for spreading viruses and prion diseases like mad cow disease through the use of these heparins," Linhardt said. "And because most of the raw material is imported, we often can't be sure of exactly what we are getting."

But, fondaparinux is extremely costly to produce, according to Linhardt. "The process to produce the drug involves many steps to purify the material and creates tons and tons of hazardous waste to dispose of," Linhardt said.

The new process developed by Linhardt and Liu greatly reduces the number of steps involved in the production of the drug. This reduces the amount of waste produced and the overall cost of producing the drug.

"Cost should no longer be a major factor in the use or production of this drug," Linhardt said.

The process uses sugars and enzymes that are identical to those found in the human body to build the drug piece by piece. The backbone of the material is first built sugar by sugar and then decorated with sulfate groups through the use of enzymes to control its structure and function in the body.

Linhardt and Liu have already begun testing the drug in animal models with successful results and think the drug could be quickly transferred to the market.

"Because the new drug is biologically identical in its performance to the already approved fondaparinux, the approval process for this new drug should work very similar to the approval process used for fondaparinux," Linhardt said. He also thinks that this combined chemical and enzymatic synthesis can be quickly brought to patients in need and adapted for the production of many other improved carbohydrate-containing drugs.

"During this study, we were able to quickly build multiple doses in a simple laboratory setting and feel that this is something than can be quickly and easy commercialized to reduce the cost of this drug and help to shift how pharmaceutical companies approach the synthesis of carbohydrate-containing drugs."

The finding is part of a much larger body of work occurring in the Linhardt lab to completely replace all types of heparin-based or other glycoprotein-based drugs with safer, low-cost, synthetic versions that do not rely on foreign, potentially contaminated animal sources. More information on this research can be found here, here, and here.

More information: "Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of Homogeneous Ultralow Molecular Weight Heparins," Science (2011).

Provided by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

ITs all Biological when come to women's look - directly linked to Oestrogen levels.

It's written all over their faces

Women with feminine looking faces are more likely to want a brood of children, according to the latest research.

A new study by psychologists at the University of St. Andrews, indicates that high levels of oestrogen are linked to how many children a woman wants.  The findings also suggest that men may find certain women’s faces more attractive because they are more likely to bear children.

Previous research has always linked desire for motherhood with levels of testosterone in women. Instead, the new study led by psychologist Dr. Miriam Law Smith, shows that women’s maternal tendencies are more closely related to the female sex hormone.

Dr. Law Smith and a team of psychologists at the University’s Perception Lab analysed the oestrogen levels of young women aged between 18 and 21, who had answered questions relating to their maternal desires.  They found that women who said they wanted to have more children had higher oestrogen levels than those wanting fewer children.

Dr. Law Smith explained, “Women differ in what they see as an ideal family size; some may want a large family, for example, four children, while others prefer only one child.  We were surprised by the strength of the result between this maternal tendency and hormone levels, as so many social and cultural variables impact on how many children women will have, or will want to have”.

“We know that oestrogen is strongly related to maternal behaviour in many other animal species, but to see such a large correlation in humans is astonishing.  Of course, we’re not saying that all maternal tendencies are related to oestrogen levels, because maternal tendencies are also shaped by our experiences, our background, our upbringing, and a whole host of social and cultural factors."

In a second experiment, the research team found that maternal tendencies were also related to facial appearance; women who wanted more children had faces that were perceived as more feminine looking (smaller jaw and nose, larger eyes and lips).  On the whole, feminine faces in women have been found most attractive by men.

Dr. Law Smith continued, “In terms of evolution, if a woman’s facial appearance signals aspects of maternal personality, as well as underlying fertility as we have previously shown, then what men find attractive could ultimately influence the size of the resulting family”.

Head of the Perception Lab at St. Andrews, Professor David Perrett, added, “Our work shows strong hormonal effects in young adults.  It will be interesting to find out the extent to which desires for children and hormones change with age as many women don’t start families until they are 30.”

The research is published in the journal Hormones and Behavior.

Provided by University of St Andrews

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) activated by UV rays in cosmos

Complex organic matter may have been found beyond the Solar System

Scientists in Hong Kong believe they have found traces of organic compounds deep in interstellar space that have similar structures to coal and oil. The findings - which are based on infrared spectroscopic data - suggest that these organic compounds exist throughout the universe, and may have seeded life on Earth. 

For decades astronomers have been aware of a band of mid-infrared emissions coming from interstellar space, but haven't been certain of its origin. Many believe the emissions arise from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that are excited by ultraviolet photons. Others claim that there are flaws with this hypothesis. These scientists argue that the infrared emissions exist even around cool stars where there is no stimulating ultraviolet radiation, and - perhaps more significantly - that in interstellar environments no individual PAHs have ever been identified. 

Now, Sun Kwok and Yong Zhang of the University of Hong Kong have come up with a different answer to what these emissions mean. Taking data from the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory and Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope, Kwok and Zhang analysed the spectra of dust formed in exploding stars, known as novae. Rather than finding sharp, well-defined features that would be consistent with pure PAHs, the researchers discovered features hinting at non-aromatic, or aliphatic, compounds. Indeed, the researchers believe their data are most consistent with emissions from organic matter with a mixed aromatic-aliphatic structure, similar to coal and oil. 

A proposed structure for the interstellar aromatic-aliphatic compound © Nature

If interstellar space does harbour such complex organic matter, it would be a significant discovery. Coal- and oil-like compounds have already been spotted on meteorites - the remnants of a distant past when Earth was bombarded by comets and asteroids. Linking such compounds to deep space suggests that Earth's complex organic matter - and by extension life - might have been seeded from outside of the Solar System. 

However, Aigen Li of the University of Missouri in Columbia, US, disagrees with an aspect of Kwok and Zhang's model - that the organic matter's aromatic component causes a 3.3um infrared emission feature and its aliphatic component causes a weaker, 3.4um feature. If this were true, Li says, absorption spectra from particularly dusty regions of space should also have a strong 3.3um feature and a weak 3.4um feature - but past observations have actually shown these strengths to be reversed. 'Therefore, the [two features] cannot be from the same material,' and PAHs are still a likely cause of the infrared emissions, he concludes. 

Still, Kwok and Zhang are persevering. 'We hope to continue to pursue astronomical infrared spectroscopic observations to better identify the exact chemical composition of these compounds,' says Kwok.

Manas - back in unesco heritage list

Manas back in prestigious World Heritage list

Golden days are back. After 19 years, Manas National Park is declared again as World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The decision was taken in the 35th session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting held in Paris. With the removal of the danger tag, now Assam has two sites under this category, the other is Kaziranga National Park situated at Upper Assam. It carried out joy and satisfaction to forest department, NGO's and to the local people, whose effort and dedication able to remove the Danger tag off Manas. Situated on the foothills of the Himalayas and extended part to Bhutan,Manas National Park is one of the most tourist 'after sought ' place in North-East. The park has air, rail and road connectivity. While Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Borjhar in Guwhati is the nearest Airport,Barpeta Road town is the nearest Rail station. It is nearly one and half hour drive from Barpeta Road to the Park. It also provides lodging facilities depending upon the availability. The weather in and around the park is moderate. The minimum temperature is around 17 degree Celsius while maximum is around 38 degree. Heavy rainfall occurs between the month of May to September. Manas was declared a sanctuary on October 01, 1928 and was designated a World Heritage site in the year 1985.The scenic beauty and presence of varieties of wild-life made the Manas National Park one of the envy-able tourist destination. But things got changed after that. In '80s and '90s Manas witnessed instability and large scale destruction. Poaching of famous Rhinos, destruction of infrastructure became rampant in that period. Keeping in mind all these activities, UNESCO declared Manas as a World Heritage Site in danger in the year 1992,seven years later it got a place in the prestigious list. But, drastic change occurred after a few years. Local people, NGOs supported by Bodoland Territorial Council and Assam government came forward to save the park. Poachers turned to be the savior of the animals. It helped to prevent poaching of animals and other flora and fauna. "The role of local people is tremendous", said Mr. Anindya Swargowari, Conservator of forest department. Local people were properly guided in the development of the park. Deputy chief executive member of Bodoland Territorial Council, Kampa Borgoyari also said that without the continued support of the people, the danger tag could not have been removed. The Assam forest Minister Rockbul Hussain also lauded the efforts made by all to restore the glory of Manas. Rhinos have been re-introduced; the numbers of elephants and wild-buffalos have been increased. The presence of little known white-winged ducked and Manipur bush quail has also been proved. When the UNESCO team visited Manas National Park in the first part of this year, they also expressed satisfaction in the overall development of the park. As now the danger tag removed from the park, it will be much easier for the park authority to achieve smooth and enhance fund flow.

Glaciers in Tibet melting due to global warming: Researchers - Climate Change causing hydrological changes in rivers

Glaciers in Tibet melting due to global warming: Researchers

Glaciers in southwest China's Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a key source of major rivers in this country and those in the Indian subcontinent, are melting "faster than ever" under the influence of global warming, Chinese researchers have warned. Experts have been conducting research on the waters, geology, glaciers and wetlands in the headwaters of Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers in northwest China's Qinghai province since 2005. There is no mention about the possible affects on Brahmaputra and Sutluj rivers which also emanate from Tibet. Results from the study show that a large area of the glaciers has melted in the 2,400-square-kilometre region. Glaciers are the largest source of fresh water on the planet. They are also a reliable indicator of climate change, and easy for scientists to observe. An expert with Qinghai's Three-River Headwaters Office said the cluster of some 80 glaciers around the Aemye Ma-chhen Range, the source of the Yellow River headwaters, is shrinking especially fast. "I can sometimes see the Ameye Ma-chhen Range on the plane. But I worry that we are not likely to see the glaciers there in ten years or more," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Li Xiaonan, deputy head of the office, as saying. Cheng Haining, a senior engineer with the provincial surveying and mapping bureau, said about 5.3 per cent, or 70 square kilometres, of the glaciers in Yangtze headwaters had melted away over the past three decades. Cheng said that "the melting of glaciers is closely connected with climate change." He said the data collected by three meteorological stations over the past 50 years show a continued rise in the average temperature of the three-river headwaters area. The winter of 2009, for example, was the warmest in 15 years, according to the provincial climate centre. Last year the average temperature there hit a five-decade record high. Local residents in Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture said Lancang River froze in November in the 1970s, but it did not freeze at all in 1999. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the glaciers in Lancang River headwaters have disappeared due to the warm weather, researchers said. Besides climate change, experts said that human activities and excessive exploitation account for the melting of glaciers. Xin Yuanhong, a senior engineer with the Qinghai Hydrography and Geology Study Centre, said the melting of the glaciers could lead to a water shortage and even a dry-up of rivers in the long run, and consequent ecological disasters like wetland retreat and desertification. "The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is among the regions worst hit by global warming. Consequently, this will have a deleterious effect on the global climate as well as the livelihood of Asian people," Qin Dahe, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. Experts called for intensified efforts in conducting further studies on glaciers, and setting up a database to monitor glacier change in the three-river headwaters region.

Glaciers in Tibet melting due to global warming: Researchers - Climate Change causing hydrological changes in rivers.

Glaciers in Tibet melting due to global warming: Researchers

Glaciers in southwest China's Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a key source of major rivers in this country and those in the Indian subcontinent, are melting "faster than ever" under the influence of global warming, Chinese researchers have warned. Experts have been conducting research on the waters, geology, glaciers and wetlands in the headwaters of Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers in northwest China's Qinghai province since 2005. There is no mention about the possible affects on Brahmaputra and Sutluj rivers which also emanate from Tibet. Results from the study show that a large area of the glaciers has melted in the 2,400-square-kilometre region. Glaciers are the largest source of fresh water on the planet. They are also a reliable indicator of climate change, and easy for scientists to observe. An expert with Qinghai's Three-River Headwaters Office said the cluster of some 80 glaciers around the Aemye Ma-chhen Range, the source of the Yellow River headwaters, is shrinking especially fast. "I can sometimes see the Ameye Ma-chhen Range on the plane. But I worry that we are not likely to see the glaciers there in ten years or more," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Li Xiaonan, deputy head of the office, as saying. Cheng Haining, a senior engineer with the provincial surveying and mapping bureau, said about 5.3 per cent, or 70 square kilometres, of the glaciers in Yangtze headwaters had melted away over the past three decades. Cheng said that "the melting of glaciers is closely connected with climate change." He said the data collected by three meteorological stations over the past 50 years show a continued rise in the average temperature of the three-river headwaters area. The winter of 2009, for example, was the warmest in 15 years, according to the provincial climate centre. Last year the average temperature there hit a five-decade record high. Local residents in Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture said Lancang River froze in November in the 1970s, but it did not freeze at all in 1999. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the glaciers in Lancang River headwaters have disappeared due to the warm weather, researchers said. Besides climate change, experts said that human activities and excessive exploitation account for the melting of glaciers. Xin Yuanhong, a senior engineer with the Qinghai Hydrography and Geology Study Centre, said the melting of the glaciers could lead to a water shortage and even a dry-up of rivers in the long run, and consequent ecological disasters like wetland retreat and desertification. "The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is among the regions worst hit by global warming. Consequently, this will have a deleterious effect on the global climate as well as the livelihood of Asian people," Qin Dahe, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said. Experts called for intensified efforts in conducting further studies on glaciers, and setting up a database to monitor glacier change in the three-river headwaters region.

Save critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin: WWF- courtesy AIR

Save critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin: WWF

The World Wildlife Fund, WWF has called for an urgent action to protect the critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin population in the Mekong River. In a statement sent to China's Xinhua news agency on Wednesday, the WWF said that the calf survival was found to be very low and at a high risk of extinction. Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella Brevirostris) inhabit a 190 kilometre stretch of the mainstream Mekong River between Kratie in Cambodia and the Khone Falls, on the border withLaos. The Director of WWF's Freshwater Programme, Dr. Li Lifeng said that surveys conducted from 2007 to 2010 show the population is slowly declining. Dr. Li said that the evidence is strong that very few young animals survive to adulthood, as older dolphins die off and are not replaced. He also explained that the dolphins die due to pressures of gillnet entanglement. Gilnetting is a common fishing method used by commercial and artisanal fishermen of all the oceans and in some freshwater and estuary areas. Currently, there are 85Irrawaddy dolphins left in Southeast Asia's Mekong River. Dr. Li said that although the population estimate is slightly higher than the previous estimate but the researchers were quick to note that the population had not increased over the last few years. He also said that the research is based on the photographic identification of dolphins through individually unique features of their dorsal fins. He said that most of the dolphins can be identified, and they use the information to estimate the population size.

Courtesy All India Radio