Hyderabad, June 30: What do trees and plants have to do with the research output of an institution? Scientists at the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad believe that greenery on their campus is helping them produce more research papers than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The NGRI has about 16,400 trees on its campus at Habsiguda. It is going to lose about 300 trees to road widening which the institute plans to compensate by planting 4,000 trees.

Well before this city was destroyed by an earthquake 32 years ago, the coming disaster was loudly preceded by strange animal behaviour and other bizarre signals that survivors wish they heeded. "The animals were trying to tell us something. If only we knew that, not so many people would have died," said Fu Wenran, a retired farmer, whose wife was among the estimated 240,000 who perished in Tangshan's quake on July 28, 1976 in China.

With alarm bells ringing over the rapid melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, the Uttarakhand Government has decided to regulate tourist flow to the protected areas of Gangotri National Park, includin

"We have to create awareness about our country's rich flora and fauna and its conservation and ensure that people understand that the preservation of it can provide them livelihood.

Behaviour of monsoon in different climates to be assessed Integrated adaptation strategies to be identified The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has initiated an inter-continental collaborative research on air pollution. The Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (Bioforsk), Norway, and the International Pacific Research Centre, University of Hawaii, will collaborate with the university in the project, which is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indian Meteorological Department and the Department of Science and Technology will also be involved. The Monterrey Tech., Mexico, will extend technical support in nano-nutrients that will help to minimise the impact of greenhouse gases, said a release. Scientific platform "The project will provide a scientific platform for these institutes to initiate research on mitigating the negative impact of global warming on Indian agriculture, especially in rice productivity,' says S. Natarajan, Director, Centre for Soil and Crop Management Studies, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The project will assess the behaviour of monsoon in different climates, and its impact on water availability and rice production in different meteorological sub-divisions. The research, Mr. Natarajan reckons, will lead to identification and implementation of integrated adaptation strategies to sustain rice productivity under changing climatic conditions. Vice-Chancellor C. Ramasamy and Mr. Natarajan will lead the steering committee.

During the survey, the team will send back films, photographs and scientific data on environmental and physiological features of the North Pole.

Research

The Corporation of Cochin will give away certificates of meritorious social service to those schools which successfully implement alternative waste management mechanisms on thier campuses, this

The method to purify water, known as silver ionisation, is a safe consumer-friendly and reliable method as compared to conventional methods, such as chlorination, employed to disinfect drinking