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Guardian and Mongabay reveal approaches to officials and MPs on behalf of Vantara zoo ahead of UK-chaired Cites meeting on endangered animal imports
British government ministers were told not to engage formally with Vantara, the controversial mega-zoo run by the Indian billionaire Anant Ambani, after lobbying efforts by the private animal sanctuary in the run-up to a UK-chaired meeting on the trade in endangered species, according to documents.
This week, the UK heads a 32-country committee meeting in Geneva of Cites, the United Nations body that regulates trade in endangered species. The meeting will examine how India has responded to compliance concerns about imports of endangered animals.
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The handover marks the end of a 13-year licence for Smart DCC, a subsidiary of Capita, after years of spiralling costs and delays
Control over Great Britain’s 39m smart meters has passed to a non-profit startup after its former owner presided over more than a decade of spiralling costs and delays in the troubled network.
The company owned by crisis-hit outsourcing firm Capita has promised a “seamless transition” to its not-for-profit successor, which will take over running the data network connecting the smart meters from this week.
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Hortobágy, Hungary: Their sheer size is striking enough, but the noise is something else, especially when they gather in huge migratory flocks
With a standing height of 1.4 metres, common cranes are Europe’s tallest birds and at this famous national park they collect in astonishing numbers as they migrate.
The autumn count is 180,000, although the only accessible spot to see them supports a sub-roost of 50,000. Each bird has a wingspan of 2 metres and the flight is slow and rhythmically precise. The visual effect of any large airborne congregation is at the scale of a whole landscape and its skies above.
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Timau’s industry has provided local Kenyans with an economic lifeline. But now, many believe it has made them seriously ill
When Reuben Muriki fainted while doing a chore in the compound of his home near the horticultural town of Timau in central Kenya several years ago, it marked the start of a series of increasingly serious health episodes.
His joints became swollen, his skin became discoloured and he found breathing difficult. He was in and out of hospital, and was forced to quit his work as a pesticide sprayer at a flower farm. Doctors treated him for suspected tuberculosis in vain.
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Patroclo and Achille’s interspecies affair sheds new light on social and sexual relations between animals, scientists say
In ancient myth, Achilles and Patroclus were two Greek heroes of the Trojan war whose intense bond was believed by some to have turned into a sexual relationship.
In modern science, they are a bull, Achille, and a donkey, Patroclo, whose tender interspecies affair has helped to shed new light on social and sexual interactions between animals.
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UN-backed report finds even temporary rises above Paris agreement target could cause harm to glaciers and polar ice sheets
Earth’s icy regions face such dangerous melting that global heating should be brought back below 1C after an inevitable period of overshooting global temperature targets, a UN report has found.
Permanent and widespread losses of snow and ice expose a “persistent myth” that overshooting the 1.5C target of the Paris climate agreement – to 2C or 3C – could be manageable or even preferable to urgent cuts to emissions, the report found.
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Devon nature reserve says ‘reckless’ theft of narrow-headed ant colony sets back years of conservation work
A nest containing up to 5,000 of England’s rarest ant species has been stolen from a nature reserve, a conservation charity has said.
Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT) said a nest of narrow-headed ants had been dug up and taken from Chudleigh Knighton Heath nature reserve in south Devon, which is the last place in England where the species still exists.
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At more than $52m, the race has become the most expensive in US history, but residents are fed up with flooding
Aida Havel mulled her fate over coffee after working the early voting polls all day in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. “We are trapped,” she concluded.
The Dare county commission candidate lives about 50 miles (80km) south, on Hatteras Island on the state’s Outer Banks.
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From feeding schoolchildren to recycling tyres, these entrepreneurs are challenging stereotypes while solving social and environmental problems
Africa is thought to have a higher proportion of female entrepreneurs than any other continent and yet many still struggle to access financing. Four business leaders from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi tell us about the inspiration behind their success – and the challenges women still face.
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A Guardian investigation has found that despite a recommendation to slow down, leading shipping companies continue to travel above advised speeds in a key habitat for cetaceans
Marine biologist Alice Barbarioli waits with her camera trained on the horizon. A few minutes earlier, the hydrophone beneath the Pelagos research vessel detected codas – the sequence of clicks sperm whales use to communicate.
The sperm whale reveals its head and dorsal fin as those onboard the vessel in the Pelagos sanctuary, a conservation area established to protect marine mammals in the north-western Mediterranean, rush to take photos and note the rhythm of its breathing. After a few minutes, the animal arches its back, and begins to head back into the depths of the sea. They wait to catch a glimpse of its tail.
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Od otpornog škroba do staničnih stijenki biljaka, znanstvenici istražuju skrivenu konkurenciju i suradnju među crijevnim bakterijama, postavljajući intrigantna pitanja o tome što se događa s različitim vlaknima nakon što dođu do debelog crijeva.
U nedavno objavljenoj studiji znanstvenici su procijenili učinke konzumacije oraha na imunoglobuline (Ig) i antitijela usmjerena protiv lipoproteina niske gustoće modificiranih malondialdehidom (MDA-LDL). Nakon dvije godine, dugotrajna konzumacija oraha bila je povezana s ukupnim koncentracijama IgG-a u serumu koje su bile približno 6% više nego u kontrolnoj skupini, što upućuje na mogući utjecaj prehrane na cirkulirajuće imunološke biomarkere.
Aorta se često prvenstveno smatra najvećom krvnom žilom u tijelu - izdržljivim kanalom koji dostavlja krv bogatu kisikom iz srca u svaki organ. No, sve više dokaza upućuje na to da je stijenka aorte također aktivno imunološko okruženje. Imunološke stanice koje se nalaze unutar ili su regrutirane u različite dijelove aorte mogu utjecati na to kako se ova žila razvija, prilagođava mehaničkom stresu i postaje osjetljiva na bolesti.
Međunarodna studija izvještava o 60-postotnom preživljenju bez progresije bolesti 10 godina nakon autologne transplantacije koštane srži, pružajući važne dokaze o trajnim pozitivnim kliničkim ishodima i dugoročnoj sigurnosti kod pacijenata liječenih zbog rane, teške sistemske skleroze.
Novo istraživanje pokazuje da osobe s glioblastomom imaju aktivnije trombocite – stanice koje sudjeluju u zgrušavanju krvi. Trombociti također komuniciraju s drugim stanicama i mogu utjecati na imunološku aktivnost. Hiperaktivni trombociti kod osoba s glioblastomom usporavaju djelovanje T-stanica koje se bore protiv raka, što može pridonijeti rastu tumora i napredovanju bolesti.
Prepune karotenoida i drugih bioaktivnih spojeva, klice brokule i mikrozelenje privlače znanstvenu pozornost. Karotenoidi su prehrambeni pigmenti koji doprinose boji voća i povrća te pomažu u nekoliko fizioloških procesa. Karotenoidi uključuju karotenoide provitamina A, poput beta-karotena, alfa-karotena i beta-kriptoksantina, te karotenoide koji nisu provitamin A, poput luteina, zeaksantina i likopena. Karotenoidi mogu utjecati na osjetljivost na inzulin, metabolizam lipida, adipogenezu i upalnu signalizaciju.
Zubna caklina je visoko mineralizirani vanjski sloj zuba. Caklina štiti unutarnje slojeve zuba od šećera i kiselina koje unosimo hranom, kao i od svakodnevnog žvakanja, grizenja i trenja. Ona je najtvrđe tkivo u ljudskom tijelu.
Znanstvenici s Instituta za imunologiju La Jolla (LJI) i Sveučilišta u Washingtonu (UW) otkrili su da pacijenti s lupusom imaju neobične mutacije koje njihova tijela mogu pretvoriti u bojna polja. Spomenute su mutacije raširene u imunološkim stanicama zvanim neutrofili. Druge imunološke stanice doživljavaju mutirane neutrofile kao prijetnju – te pokušavaju uzvratiti napad. Ta unutarnja borba može doprinijeti razvoju bolnih upala, iscrpljujućih bolova u zglobovima i drugih ozbiljnih simptoma lupusa diljem tijela.
Rad u noćnim smjenama tijekom trudnoće povezan je s povećanim rizikom od neuroloških razvojnih abnormalnosti otkrivenih probirom kod djeteta do 4. godine života, otkriva novo straživanje. No, duljina noćnog prenatalnog sna tijekom ovog razdoblja može promijeniti ovu uočenu povezanost.
Niske razine vitamina B12 povezuju se s kardiovaskularnim bolestima, što je potaknulo znanstvenike da prouče kako nedostatak tog vitamina utječe na krvne žile, što klinička ispitivanja otkrivaju o uzimanju dodataka prehrani te koji bi pacijenti od toga mogli imati najviše koristi.
Deep in the mountains of Palawan, Conservation International scientists are capturing what few people ever see: the secret lives of the Philippines’ rarest species.
At Maido — the Lima restaurant recently crowned the best in the world — one of the star dishes is paiche, a giant prehistoric river fish.Its journey to the table begins on a small family farm deep in Peru’s Amazon.
“Jane Goodall forever changed how people think about, interact with and care for the natural world,” said Daniela Raik, interim CEO of Conservation International.
Conservation International’s Neil Vora was selected for TIME’s Next 100 list — alongside other rising leaders reshaping culture, science and society.
Climate change is happening. And it’s placing the world’s reefs in peril. What can be done?
After decades of negotiation, the high seas treaty is finally reality. The historic agreement will pave the way to protect international waters which face numerous threats.
The Amazon rainforest, known for lush green canopies and an abundance of freshwater, is drying out — and deforestation is largely to blame.
The ocean is engine of all life on Earth, but human-driven climate change is pushing it past its limits. Here are five ways the ocean keeps our climate in check — and what can be done to help.
In a grueling and delicate dance, a team led by Conservation International removes a massive undersea killer.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures might be worth even more. An initiative featuring the work of some of the world’s best nature photographers raises money for environmental conservation.
