Scientists have decoded the DNA secrets of the notorious pathogen phytophthora infestans, or “potato blight”, which still costs the industry more than € 3 billion a year due to crop failures. When comparing P. infestans with similar organisms in the same genus, stretches of the genome stood out as being highly variable, unusually large and …
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Month:September 2009
Doing Business 2010
If you are considering international expansion, or relocation this report might help you understand the playing field. The ranking offers a quick reference point and the report outlines the areas of business regulation in most countries. It is often beneficial to have a local partner when entering a new market and may facilitate the regulatory …
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You can’t teach an old dog new tricks: Greenspan
Yes, Alan Greenspan is still around. He tells us that he predicted that there would be a crash and that there will be another. If he predicted it then he should have done a lot more to manage it, otherwise, given his position, his “prediction” is facile. Saying there will be another is as helpful …
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History Commons
Chatting with a friend about current events and 9/11 prompted me to look at Loose Change – Final Cut, a documentary about 9/11. An eponymous Colonel is mentioned in the first 15 minutes, so I looked up Colonel Steve Butler on the web, which led to a comprehensive reference on History Commons and a 9/11 …
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Japan to lead climate change fight?
Incoming Prime Minister Hatoyama has said that Japan will adopt a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% at the Copenhagen talks in December. This is the bottom end of the range proposed by the UN (15%-40% cuts), but far more than considered by Japan and other rich emitters so far. Japan is the …
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Arctic warmest for 2,000 years, and getting warmer fast.
Evidence from ice cores, tree rings and lake sediments shows that arctic temperatures are now higher than at any time in the last 2,000 years. The arctic cooled slowly over the past 2,000 years as Earth’s orbit changed, but in the past 100 years greenhouse gas emissions have fuelled fast temperature rises. 23 sites sampled …
Continue reading Arctic warmest for 2,000 years, and getting warmer fast.