The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) -- a farmer's organisation -- has taken the lead in proposing an alternative to the Union government's draft bill on protection of plant varieties, which is

IMAGINE a building swaying like a pendulum so that it doesn't crumble during an earthquake. Engineer Victor Zayas of Earthquake Protection Systems in San Francisco has designed just such a system

NORMAL life came to a grinding halt in Canada when a geomagnetic disturbance hit two of its communications satellites -- Anik E1 and Anik E2. Television and radio transmissions were disrupted

The plans of the International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) to use trained falcons to scare away birds that pose a risk to aircraft near airports has run into rough weather. IAAI's move, based

JUPITER will be the site of violent activity when fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit the planet in the second or third week of July. The once-in-a-millenium event will offer astronomers a grand

In much of the US east coast north of Washington, a salt shortage is compounding a wretched winter. Rock salt, which is dumped by the tonne on roads to prevent the formation of ice, is now in great

Anthrax has claimed three elephants in Jaldapara wildlife sanctuary in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, sparking fears that the infectious disease could wipe out animal life in the reserve. The

YOU thought loofahs were just for scrubbing in the bath? Well, an Italian firm has come up with a new role for the fibrous skeleton of the gourd-like Luffa cylindrica. It can be a non-toxic and

BRITAIN'S Overseas Development Agency (ODA) has washed its hands off Kenya's forest reserves. It has unceremoniously withdrawn a L12 m grant for a forestry convention programme launched in Kenya

The Delhi Fire Service wants legislation with "more teeth" to bring to book the owners of more than 100 high-rise buildings in the Capital for not installing basic fire safety measures. Noncompliance