• Kenya: Scientists in rare joint-project with traditional rainmakers
• Little robin from Gabon is world's newest species
• Scientists 'listen' to plants to find water pollution

• New brain research indicates Transcendental Meditation Technique develops peak performance
• Dr Peter Swan demonstrates Vedic principles of nature's food cycle
• Raja Michael Dillbeck reflects on Maharishi's achievements in the context of scientific research - Part III

• Ocean dead zones become a worldwide problem
• US: Researcher says Gulf dead zone bigger than ever due to pollution from fertilizers related to Mississippi River flooding
• Mother's smoking tied to oral birth defect

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Positive Trends
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Kenya: Scientists in rare joint-project with traditional rainmakers
17 August 2008 - Traditional rainmakers are helping scientists unravel the mysteries of Mother Nature. The modern-day climate experts are hoping ancient indigenous African knowledge, which has its basis in an ancient global Vedic Culture that existed in harmony with Natural Law, will help solve the negative effects of climate change. (more)

Little robin from Gabon is world's newest species
15 August 2008 - A red-breasted bird discovered by accident in the forests of Gabon is a new species, US scientists said on Friday. They have named the little bird the olive-backed forest robin, or Stiphrornis pyrrholaemus. The Smithsonian Institution team found the bird while visiting the forest on a biodiversity project. (more)

Scientists 'listen' to plants to find water pollution
14 August 2008 - Scientists in Israel have discovered a new way to test for water pollution by 'listening' to what the plants growing in water have to say. By shining a laser beam on the tiny pieces of algae floating in the water, the researchers said they hear sound waves that tell them the type and amount of contamination in the water. Scientists say that testing algae photosynthesis can determine water quality more accurately and easily than labor-intensive methods now used like chemical and radioactive carbon testing. (more)

Genetically modified crops not the answer, says Britain's Prince Charles
12 August 2008 - Britain's Prince Charles, owner of an organic farm, says that increased use of genetically modified crops to help solve world food shortages could lead to environmental disaster. The heir to the British throne was quoted as saying in an interview published Wednesday that he believes new experiments with modified crops could worsen problems with food supplies. Prince Charles, whose farm has supplied products to stores since 1992, is a longtime critic of genetic modification of food. (more)

Some big whales recovering since hunt ban: survey
12 August 2008 - Some large whale species such as the humpback, minke, and southern right whale are recovering from a threat of extinction, helped by curbs on hunts since the 1980s, the world's largest conservation network said on Tuesday. The world imposed a moratorium on hunts of whales in 1986 after many were driven towards extinction by decades of commercial exploitation. (more)

Safety technology at Japanese automaker strives to deter drivers from danger
9 August 2008 - Nissan Motor Co previewed on Wednesday new safety technology that goes beyond a warning beep if drivers veer into the path of danger, and actively tries to pull the car in the direction of safety. Nissan has set a goal of halving fatalities and serious injuries involving its vehicles by 2015, compared with 20 years earlier, and ultimately preventing them all together. (more)

Thailand saves endangered deer to create ecological balance
8 August 2008 - Thailand on Friday released nine critically endangered deer from a species that vanished from the wild three decades ago, in a bid to bring ecological balance to one of the country's national parks. The nine Thamin deer were released into Huay Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in central Thailand. They joined 25 others that were set free in May as part of a five-year programme by the Thai government and universities, the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park, and the Wildlife Conservation Society established to save the deer, which have disappeared in the wild in Thailand but still remain in neighbouring Myanmar. (more)

Republic of Congo gorilla bonanza doubles population estimates
6 August 2008 - A crowd of gorillas has survived in the northern part of the Republic of Congo -- so many that environmentalists can double population estimates, according to a report released on Tuesday. Western lowland gorillas are one of four recognized gorilla sub-species, which also include mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and Cross River gorillas. (more)

Report: 125,000 gorillas found in Republic of Congo
5 August 2008 - Wildlife researchers said Tuesday that they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal's estimated population. The newly discovered gorilla population now puts their estimated numbers at between 175,000 to 225,000. The researchers in the central African nation of Republic of Congo worked out the population figures by counting the sleeping 'nests' gorillas make. The creatures are too reclusive and shy to count individually. (more)

Pollution curbs turn Beijing, China into urban laboratory
3 August 2008 - China's quest to clear up notoriously polluted skies in time for opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games this week has been marked by gargantuan effort. Beijing's massive experiment with controlling pollution is offering international researchers a one-of-a-kind chance to study the large-scale effort in a uniquely urban laboratory. The data being collected now may have larger ramifications beyond the Olympic Games. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

New brain research indicates Transcendental Meditation Technique develops peak performance
9 August 2008 - The recent research of Dr Fred Travis and Dr Harald Harung shows statistically significant markers of enlightenment, the most developed state of consciousness, in practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation Technique -- providing evidence that anyone can develop higher states of consciousness, including the traits of 'peak performance' found in the fields of business and world-class athletics, through this programme. (more)

Dr Peter Swan demonstrates Vedic principles of nature's food cycle
8 August 2008 - Speaking 29 July 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat in continuation of the Global Guru Purnima Assembly in MERU, Netherlands, Dr Peter Swan, Minister of Communication for the Global Country of World Peace, honoured the knowledge of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with a presentation on the food cycle and its underlying Vedic principles. (more)

Raja Michael Dillbeck reflects on Maharishi's achievements in the context of scientific research - Part III
28 July 2008 - Speaking 22 July 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Raja Michael Dillbeck, Raja of Invincible France for the Global Country of World Peace and leading expert on scientific research on the programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, concluded his summary of Maharishi's many achievements as they relate to the field of modern science and scientific research. (more)

Raja Michael Dillbeck reflects on Maharishi's achievements in the context of scientific research - Part II
26 July 2008 - Speaking 22 July 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Raja Michael Dillbeck, Raja of Invincible France for the Global Country of World Peace and leading expert on scientific research on the programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, summarized Maharishi's many achievements as they relate to the field of modern science and scientific research. (more)

Raja Michael Dillbeck reflects on Maharishi's achievements in the context of scientific research - Part I
25 July 2008 - Speaking 22 July 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Raja Michael Dillbeck, Raja of Invincible France for the Global Country of World Peace and leading expert on scientific research on the programmes of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, summarized Maharishi's many achievements as they relate to the field of modern science and scientific research. (more)

State considering proposal from Maharishi University of Management, USA, to create algae bioreactor
23 July 2008 - The State of Iowa is considering a proposal from Maharishi University of Management to create an algae bioreactor, which would both produce and refine algae for use as fuel. The university has applied to the Iowa Power Fund to help support the project, which is currently in the laboratory stage. (more)

German scientists inspired by correlations between quantum physics and consciousness
24 June 2008 - Speaking 17 June 2008 on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Col Gunther Chasse, International Deputy Minister of Invincible Defence for the Global Country of World Peace, reported on his recent meeting with a top physics professor at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich. The professor later corresponded with Raja John Hagelin, world-renowned quantum physicist and Raja of Invincible America, to discuss topics of quantum physics and consciousness. (more)

Professor Eckhart Stein honoured for lifetime of achievements
21 June 2008 - Speaking 17 June 2008 on Maharishi's Global Family Chat, Raja Emanuel Schiffgens, Raja of Invincible Germany for the Global Country of World Peace, honoured Dr Eckhart Stein, world-renowned physicist and pioneer in Consciousness-Based Education. (more)

Maharishi University of Management to host conference on Transcendental Meditation Technique and brain function
31 May 2008 - Speaking recently on Maharishi Global Family Chat, Dr Robert Roth, National Director of Expansion for the Global Country of World Peace in the United States, reported plans for an international conference on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation Technique on brain functioning, to be held at Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa, USA. (more)

Maharishi Vedic Observatory: Ancient technology revived - Part III
2 May 2008 - Aligning one's vision with this ancient observatory aligns our individual awareness with Nature's Intelligence leading to life lived in accord with all the Laws of Nature for greater harmony, balance, and success in life. (more)

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Flops
10 Short Summaries of Top Stories

Ocean dead zones become a worldwide problem
14 August 2008 - Like a chronic disease spreading through the body, 'dead zones' with too little oxygen for life are expanding in the world's oceans. Robert J. Diaz of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and co-author Rutger Rosenberg report in Friday's edition of the journal Science that there are now more than 400 dead zones around the world, double what the United Nations reported just two years ago. (more)

US: Researcher says Gulf dead zone bigger than ever due to pollution from fertilizers related to Mississippi River flooding
23 July 2008 - A 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas-Louisiana coast this year is likely to be the biggest ever and last longer than ever before, with marine life affected for hundreds of miles, a scientist warned. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is so named because the oxygen-depleted water can kill marine life. The phenomenon is caused when salt water loses large amounts of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia that is typically associated with an area off the Louisiana coast at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The fresh water and salt water don't mix well, keeping oxygen from filtering through to the sea bottom, which causes problems for fish, shrimp, crabs, and clams. This year's zone is believed to be caused by nutrient pollution from fertilizers that empty into rivers and eventually reach the Gulf. It has been aggravated by flood runoff from heavy spring rains and additional runoff moving into the Gulf from record floods along the Mississippi. (more)

Mother's smoking tied to oral birth defect
11 July 2008 - Pregnant women who smoke or regularly breathe second-hand smoke may be raising the odds that their baby will be born with a cleft lip, a new study shows. Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common types of birth defect. They arise when the tissues that form the roof of the mouth and the upper lip do not fuse properly, sometime between the fifth and ninth week of pregnancy. In the current study, Norwegian researchers found that women who smoked more than 10 cigarettes per day during their first trimester were nearly twice as likely to have a baby with a cleft lip as nonsmokers were. Similarly, nonsmoking women who were near a smoker for at least two hours each day had a 60 per cent higher risk than women who were not exposed to passive smoking. (more)

Severe danger to coral reefs caused by acidifying oceans
11 July 2008 - The carbon dioxide spewed into the atmosphere by factories, cars and power plants is not just raising temperatures. It is also causing what scientists call 'ocean acidification' as around 25 per cent of the excess CO2 is absorbed by the seas. The threat to hard-bodied marine organisms, such as coral reefs already struggling with warming waters, is alarming, and possibly quite imminent, marine scientists gathered this week for a coral reef conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said. (more)

This summer may see first ice-free North Pole
28 June 2008 - There's a 50-50 chance that the North Pole will be ice-free this summer, which would be a first in recorded history, a leading ice scientist says. The weather and ocean conditions in the next couple of weeks will determine how much of the sea ice will melt, and early signs are not good. Preliminary February and March data from a NASA satellite shows that the circle of ice surrounding the North Pole is 'considerably thinner' than scientists have seen during the five years the satellite has been taking pictures, NASA ice scientist Jay Zwally said. The explanation is a warming climate and a weather phenomenon. (more)

US: Survey suggests research misconduct is common
19 June 2008 - Research misconduct at US institutions may be more common than previously suspected, with 9 per cent of scientists saying in a new survey that they personally had seen fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. The findings come at a time of concern among US lawmakers and others about research integrity in the United States and abroad, financial conflicts of interest by scientists who get paid by drug companies, and study results being warped by the influence of pharmaceutical industry research funding. The findings indicate that more than 2,300 cases of misconduct may be occurring each year at US research sites. (more)

Mediterranean shark numbers drop dramatically
11 June 2008 - The number of sharks in the Mediterranean has fallen by 97 per cent in the last 200 years, putting the sea's ecological balance at risk, a report released on Wednesday said. 'It will have a major impact on the ecosystem because large predatory sharks are at the top of the food chain,' said Francesco Ferretti, the report's lead author. A report last month by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found 11 kinds of shark faced extinction due to overfishing, partly caused by booming demand for shark fin soup in Asia. Fishers from all over the world catch and trade sharks for their lucrative fins, often discarding their carcasses, the report said, noting Indonesia and Spain are among the top culprits. More of a problem in the Mediterranean is 'by-catch' -- where sharks are caught in long-line fishing meant to snag tuna and swordfish. (more)

China's shoreline waters seriously polluted - expert
8 June 2008 - Vast stretches of China's coastal waters are seriously polluted, and the country's coastal wetlands and mangrove forests are vanishing, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, citing a marine specialist. Severely affected areas included waters near East Liaoning, Bohai, and Hangzhou bays, and the estuaries of the Yellow, Yangtze, and Zhujiang rivers, as well as inshore areas of major coastal cities. (more)

US report: Caribbean monk seal declared extinct, monk seal population in serious danger
7 June 2008 - Federal officials have confirmed what biologists have long thought: The Caribbean monk seal has gone the way of the dodo. Humans hunting the docile creatures for research, food and blubber left the population unsustainable, say biologists who warn that Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals could be the next to go. The Hawaiian monk seal population, protected by NOAA, is declining at a rate of about 4 per cent annually, according to NOAA. The agency predicts the population could fall below 1,000 in the next three to four years, placing the mammal among the world's most endangered marine species. (more)

Rising ocean acidity threatens low-lying islands
2 June 2008 - Rising acidity in the ocean caused by seas absorbing greenhouse carbon dioxide could make low-lying island nations like Kiribati and the Maldives more vulnerable to storms as their coral reefs struggle to survive, say scientists. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at its highest level in the past 650,000 years, and half has now been dissolved into the oceans making them more acidic. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are expected to reach about double pre-industrial levels within this century, resulting in an acidification of oceans three times the level experienced during the last major rise in carbon dioxide during the last glacial period 15,000 years ago. (more)