GM potatoes resist to blight



a variety of Desiree potatoes



A three-year trial has shown that these potatoes can thrive despite being exposed to late onset blight.Blight was is the disease that has plagued farmers for generations and it triggered the Irish potato famine in the 1840s. EU approval is needed before commercial cultivation of this GM crop can take place.

                                                        



                                                                       The research is published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.Potatoes are particularly vulnerable to late blight, a fungus-like organism that loves the damp and humid conditions that often occur during the growing season in Europe. The speed with which this infection takes hold and the devastating impacts on the crop make it the number one threat to six million tonnes of potatoes produced in the UK each year

Jet stream may cause prolonged weather

The main system that helps determine the weather over Northern Europe and North America may be changing, research suggests.The study shows that the so-called jet stream has increasingly taken a longer, meandering path.This has resulted in weather remaining the same for more prolonged periods.

All though the uk has been drench with rain, the US have been
nseasonably hot

                                                                                                                                                               The work was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancements of Science (AAAS) in Chicago.The observation could be as a result of the recent warming of the Arctic. Temperatures there have been rising two to three times faster than the rest of the globe.

Aircraft flying from North America to Europe typically take advantage of the northern hemisphere polar jet to speed their journeys.The jet stream's path is far from uniform and its location can vary.In summer it usually sits to the north of the UK, making British weather a slightly cooler version of what continental Europe is experiencing.

illegal wildlife trade.

Leaders from 40 states are gathering in London to discuss the illegal wildlife trade.The aim is to draw up a global declaration that will tackle animal trafficking.Conservationists believe there are just 3,200 tigers left in the wild.

Interpol, the international intelligence agency, which will also be present at the meeting, says most of this being driven by organised crime syndicates, who have moved from narcotics and guns onto wildlife.

Much of the demand comes from Asia, where animal products, such as rhino horns, are used in traditional medicine or are bought by the rich as trophies.Delegates from China and Vietnam will be attending the meeting, held at Lancaster House on Thursday.They will be joined by representatives from African states, where a lot of the poaching takes place.

UK weather: 100mph winds hit mainland england

Winds gusting over 100mph are lashing parts of the UK in what the assistant chief of the defence staff describes an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".It comes after the Met Office issues its first "red warning" of the winter, meaning there is a "risk to life", with widespread damage expected. 

Power to thousands of homes has been cut off and transport has been disrupted by the hurricane-force winds.Sixteen severe flood warnings remain for Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset.Assistant chief of the defence staff Major General Patrick Sanders, who is coordinating the armed forces response, described the floods as an "almost unparalleled natural crisis".

The British Prime Minister

In the Commons, David Cameron, The British Prime minister, repeated his pledge that "money is no object in this relief effort". He unveiled a package of measures to help businesses and homeowners repairing flood-damaged property to build in new defences and said small businesses affected by flooding would get 100% relief from business rates.

Targets for 2016 asian vultures

After the devastation wrought by a drug on Asian vulture populations, a project hopes to begin releasing captive-bred birds into the wild by 2016.The Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction (Save) programme says it plans to release up to 25 birds into a 30,000-sq-km drug-free "safe zone". 

 

Diclofenac - used by vets on cattle - was identified as causing a crash in vulture numbers and banned by India.But, says Save, the version for human use is still given illegally to cattle.Diclofenac was banned for use by vets and farmers in 2006 because of its effect on vultures that feed on livestock carcasses.

 Use of diclofenac in animals has been reported to have led to a sharp decline in the population in the Indian Subcontinent, a 95% decline in 2003, 99.9% decline as of 2008.Vultures eat the carcasses of livestock that have been administered veterinary diclofenac, and are poisoned by the accumulated chemical

The link between the anti-inflammatory drug, used to reduce swelling in injured or diseased animals, and the devastating demise of Asia's vulture populations was firmly established in 2004.