Reports

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has used his Facebook page to announce his candidacy for presidential elections next January, ending months of speculation over his intentions. He will make a formal declaration at a rally on Saturday. On Wednesday, he wrote on his Facebook page, "Today, I confirm that after wide and thorough consultations spanning the six geo-political zones that make up Nigeria, with members of my family, my party, the opposition, civil society, the Private Sector, members...

Cancer patients who die in the hospital have worse quality of life at the end-of-life, compared to patients who die at home, and their caregivers are at higher risk for developing psychiatric illnesses during bereavement. Bereaved caregivers of patients who died in an intensive care unit (ICU) are five times more likely to be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared with caregivers of patients who died at home with hospice services. The findings are from a study by...

The Intermountain West in the US is renowned for the beauty of its towering mountains and high deserts, but the region’s lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides in this part of the country. Researchers have found that the risk for suicide increases by nearly one-third at an altitude of 2,000 metres, or approximately 6,500 feet above sea level. The Western US states have some of the highest average elevations in the nation and, according to data...

When men outnumber women, females marry younger and the age gap between spouses grows. Women don't stay on long because men are more motivated to commit. That's what a group of researchers have found. "They (the women) want to secure the relationship before some other guy gets her," explains Daniel Kruger, research assistant professor in the School of Public Health, University of Michigan. The study looked at the ratio of men to women in the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the US...

The Asia Foundation has launched a five-year, $6.8 million project to prevent human trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers in six districts in Nepal. Its own contributions will bring the total amount to approximately $7.4 million. The award, given by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), goes into effect immediately. Trafficking in persons is serious and widespread in Nepal, a country facing a deepening political crisis. Ongoing internal conflict and economic...

Biases in eyewitness identifications in police line-ups have been observed empirically. Now scientists would be finding out more about these biases to determine if people avoid pointing the finger at someone they like in a police line-up. Eyewitness misidentification is the biggest cause of wrongful convictions the world over. In the US alone, more than 75 percent of convictions have been overturned through DNA testing. Till now, however, no one has studied this aspect of human behaviour...

Most of the world's last remaining tigers – long decimated by overhunting, logging, and trade – are now clustered in just 6 percent of their available habitat, wildlife researchers have found. They have identified 42 'source sites' across Asia. These sites are now the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of the world's largest cat. The strategies to save the tiger must focus on protecting these remaining concentrations of tigers, the scientists have said. These 42...

Even some of the most advanced technology in medicine couldn't get Clarisse to give up all her secrets. After all, she's kept protected them for more than 50 million years. Clarisse is a snake, found in the Fossil Butte region of Wyoming, perfectly fossilised in limestone and the only one of her kind known to be in existence. Palaentologist Hussan Zaher travelled to Houston at the invitation of the Museum of Natural Science to study her. He brought the precious find to the Methodist Hospital and...

Researchers in the UK have demonstrated nature’s talent for cross-breeding plants to create new flowers. These findings may help explain the rich biodiversity of the natural world. DNA analysis of wild evergreen rhododendrons in the Himalayas has suggested that hundreds of species of the plant could be derived from hybrids — cross-breeds between different species. These findings may help explain the rich biodiversity of the natural world. The study by researchers from the University of Edinburgh...

A week ago an unsettling incident occurred in Assam that went largely unnoticed in the Indian media. Over a thousand suspected illegal migrants crossed the Dhansiri river and, with impunity, took over parts of Orang National Park in Darrang district in the early hours of May 6. They came from the innumerable chars (riverine islands) that dot the Brahmaputra river. They did not come empty-handed – they brought along building materials and cattle. They apparently had come to stay. For good. By the...