Press releases

Jacob Palis, a prominent Brazilian mathematician, has been elected president of TWAS, the Academy of Science for the Developing World. A new council has also been chosen.

Wearing light solar-powered GPS satellite transmitters, wild swans from Mongolia are winging their way across Eurasia, while land-bound scientists tracking the birds’ journeys on computers say that these unique studies will shed light on how wild birds may be involved in the spread of avian influenza.

Cell biology: Understanding ageing, Planetary science: Asteroids show signs of ageing, Volcanology: The heat is on explosive eruptions, Cancer: Two faces of p53, Synthetic chemistry: Special protection, Fluid dynamics: Flows stay smooth, Bottom-dwellers use nitrate to survive in mud

Lymphatic filariasis or commonly known as Elephantiasis is a mosquito borne disease which affects more than 100 million people in 80 countries. Researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia have developed a rapid test to detect the infection.

Proceedings of the International Conference on Water Values and Rights held in Ramallah, Palestine. It contains 55 peer-reviewed papers regarding : Water Resources Management, Wastewater management, Water: Development, Strategic Planning and Regional Cooperation, and Water Rights and International Water law

Iranian interventionist policy in Iraq has already attained a significant part of its objectives. In fact, despite US forces occupying the country, Iran has more influence over developments in post-Saddam Iraq.

Nature Research Journals Press Release. Other newsworthy papers include Molecules as ID tags - Nature Materials; Excess Wnt kills - Nature Immunology

Induction of women in Indian mining is a non-traditional activity, and consequently there is a tendency to downplay the fact that women constitute an important segment of the workforce. This paper overviews the Indian Mines Act (1957) for providing employment to the women miners and investigates the daily employment of women in mines.

A form of the well-known protein, p53, appears to promote brain nerve fibre regeneration in a mouse model. Simone Di Giovanni and colleagues, publishing in the EMBO Journal, believe this could encourage new routes in the search for treatments for disorders such as spinal cord injury, brain trauma or possibly Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Cheap IVF could help tackle Africa's infertility problem, Big bursts from smaller stars, Making light of magnetic resonance, Plankton carbon storage was overestimated

India needs to rekindle people's entrepreneurship qualities particularly when it is at the threshold of becoming a leading economic power in the globalisation era. This paper gives many good examples of social entrepreneurship in India.

Investment managers are judged by their ability to earn comparable returns over shorter time periods. This paper attempts to study the superior stock picking skill of fund managers based on the returns realized on the stocks they hold and trade.

Susumu Onishi, former president of Elsevier's health sciences division Excerpta Medica, has joined MMC in Tokyo as consultant director to help build the Japan unit under the leadership of Antoine Bocquet, director of MMC in Japan, who also retains his position as Associate Director of Nature Publishing Group (NPG) in the Asia-Pacific region.

The inability to end the conflict between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel for nearly five weeks reflected the diplomatic powerlessness of the entire world – barring the United States and Israel – under the auspices of the United Nations.

Some three million people die from water-related diseases each year. This research from the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) in Argentina is beneficial to millions. On sunny days, the SOLWATER reactor is able to disinfect about 20 litres of water in four to six hours.

Summaries of newsworthy papers Nature and the Nature Research Journals for papers that will be published online on 27 August 200

Hopefulness and Impatience Mark Conclusion of Six-Day Meeting of PLWHAs, Scientists, Activists, Policymakers and Community Caregivers at the just concluded XVI AIDS Conf. in Toronto

HIV in Asia: theological responses and interfaith working, Indonesia introduces the first prison Methadone maintenance treatment in Asia, Youth breaking the ''conspiracy of silence', Explosive epidemic among injecting drug users, New priorities for South Asia, Female condom experiences in Asia and the Pacific, Can Asia learn from Africa?

Seventy top flu scientists and health officials, including six Nobel laureates, today backed a plan to end secrecy over avian flu data: the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID).

By plucking single cells from human embryos, Robert Lanza and his colleagues have been able to generate new lines of cultured human embryonic stem (ES) cells while leaving the embryo intact.

Since the early 1990s, China has been investing in nanoscience and nanotechnology research. The article describes many advances made in nanotechnology by scientists in China, its global impact and the need to maintain standards.

The benefits of long-term treatment with statins are well established - they lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks and strokes. Now a novel beneficial action of statins is reported in a study published online this week in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

In Vietnam, there is a saying “Forest is gold”, sadly, this treasury is being illegally looted. Yet, for thousands of years, every group of people have accumulated experiences of using plants as medicines. The knowledge which is not yet recorded in any books, is at the most serious risk of loss.

New compounds give voice to silenced neural DNA, Quantum paradox predicted to occur in graphene, Spin-flow without electric currents, Fatherhood changes brain anatomy, Fighting Lyme disease, Cystic fibrosis: explaining persistent lung infections, Understanding leukaemia

The main theme of the symposium was “Designing the Future through Sports”, and the sessions focused on issues such as how sports contribute to our society and healthy living, and how we should engage in sporting activities.

The molecular structure of a key avian influenza protein reveals a quirk that could be used to design more potent drugs against pandemic flu; The use of unvaccinated 'sentinel' birds may not always prevent the silent spread of the H5N1 virus through vaccinated flocks

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature - Planetary science: Caps off to carbon dioxide on Mars, Microbiology: Unseen Archaea vital to nitrogen cycle, Quantum physics: Taking electrons for a spin, Watching early galaxies take shape

Researchers used this method to investigate in vivo the fate of various adult stem cells transplanted into the mouse ischemic brain. Results indicate that adult stem cells could be used as vehicles to introduce therapeutic genes into the central nervous system in an attempt to support brain recovery.

Neurobiology: Survival of the well-connected, Neuroscience: Protein folding lost in translation, Development: How neurons sprout like trees, Antiviral protein linked to healthier lungs, One recurrent cause of mental retardation found, Fighting flies, A potential new target for antidepressants

India is on its way to have a ‘crispy revolution’ due to emerging growth and rapid progress in potato processing sector. Growing urbanization and changing food habit have made the potatoes leave the tables and take the refuge in packets or pouches at everybody's pleasure across the generation gap.