Age-related cataracts (ARCs) are an important cause of blindness in developing countries. Although antioxidants may be part of the body's defense to prevent ARC, environmental contaminants may contribute to their pathogenesis. Elevated exposure to mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) has been reported in fish-eating populations of the lower Tapaj
The facts: Some dolphin species face an uncertain future, especially river species such as the Amazon River Dolphin, and the Ganges and Yangtze River Dolphin, all of whom are critically or seriously endangered. A 2006 survey found no individuals of the Yangtze River Dolphin, leading to the conclusion that the species is now functionally extinct.
A chainsaw buzzes, branches snap, and an Amazon tree crashes to the ground. It could be just another of the thousands of trees felled each year in Brazil
A chainsaw buzzes, branches snap, and an Amazon tree crashes to the ground.
It could be just another of the thousands of trees felled each year in Brazil's portion of the world's largest forest except for one detail: a microchip attached to its base holding data about its location, size and who cut it down.
With a hand-held device, forestry engineer Paulo Borges pulls up the tree's vital sta
The world's rivers are in crisis including in North America and Europe where governments have invested trillions of dollars to clean up freshwater supplies, a study showed Wednesday.
"Threats to human water security and biological diversity are pandemic," Charles Vorosmarty of the City University of New York, co-lead author of the report in the journal Nature, told Reuters.
Efforts to mitigate climate change through the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) depend on mapping and monitoring of tropical forest carbon stocks and emissions over large geographic areas.
Nations including Democratic Republic of Congo are making surprise progress toward taking part in a $200 million project for slowing deforestation from late 2010, World Bank experts said.
They also said Latin America, with forested nations around the Amazon, had strong incentives to take part since most of the continent's greenhouse gas emissions came from deforestation and shifts in land use,
Large-scale deforestation in the Amazon has declined by 47.5% over the past 12 months, according to a preliminary survey by the Brazilian Ministry of Environment using a low-resolution satellite. The figure is one of the largest declines since measurements began 20 years ago.
