Rumours are popping up around comet C/2012 S1 faster than astrophysicists can squash them. No, there are no alien aircraft accompanying the comet known to the public as ISON; no, electric discharges didn’t link it and Mars when it flew by the red planet in October (the cameras of Rovers Opportunity and Curiosity didn’t even … Continue reading
Howard Martenstyn was only 12 years old when his brother threw him overboard. Cedric and he were on a boat off the coast of Trincomalee and Howard didn’t know how to swim. Suffice to say, he learned quickly. He adored his older brother and from him he also learned to love the world’s wild places … Continue reading
30km South West of Colombo port, the S.S Worcestershire lies some 60m deep – one of an estimated 200 wrecks that garland the island of Sri Lanka. Fascinated by its history, eager to rise to the challenge of a technical dive, Dharshana Jayawardena would later recall his descent to the ship, writing: ‘As always, a … Continue reading
[COLOMBO] Sri Lanka plans to boost its science, technology and innovation (STI) strategy through a newly created, state-funded organisation that is dedicated to building a conducive atmosphere among all stakeholders. Ajit De Alwis, project director at the Office of Science, Technology and Innovation launched last month (1 February), told SciDev.Net that the organisation’s mandate was to “ensure effective coordination and … Continue reading
[COLOMBO] A 12-nation study has found Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan rice samples having the highest levels of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal. Parts of Cambodia, France, Ghana, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Spain, Thailand and the US were also covered by the survey, the results of which were published online in Environmental Science and Technologyon 13 May. … Continue reading
[COLOMBO] An international team of researchers has developed a simple but effective urine test to diagnose lymphatic filariasis, a neglected parasitic disease that affects more than 120 million people globally. The test is more affordable and less cumbersome than existing diagnostic methods, scientists from Bangladesh, Japan and Sri Lanka reported in Parasitology International, on 13 September. Lymphatic filariasis, also called … Continue reading
[ACEH/COLOMBO/NEW DELHI] Tsunami warning systems appear to have worked effectively during last week’s (11 April) earthquake and aftershocks off the Indonesian coast of Sumatra, but experts say improvements are still needed. The 8.6 magnitude undersea quake triggered a tsunami warning in several countries. It was the first real-time test of three tsunami warning systems — in Australia, India and … Continue reading
[COLOMBO] New computer modelling studies of possible earthquakes in the Indian Ocean, and the tsunamis they could trigger, suggest that the December 2004 tsunami that devastated parts of Sri Lanka’s coastline was about the worst the country could face. Scientists from the University of Peradeniya modelled worst-case scenarios of earthquakes in each of the quake-prone zones in … Continue reading
[COLOMBO] Sri Lankans, aged 60 and over, are more likely to die of rabies than their younger compatriots, says a new study. The findings, published last month (31 May) in Infection, Genetics and Evolution, indicate that school awareness programmes and proactive surveillance have helped younger people receive timely treatment for theinfectious disease. Older victims tended to … Continue reading
COLOMBO] Cultivation of cardamom, a high value spice crop, can take a toll on evergreen forests in tropical countries, independent studies in Sri Lanka and India have shown. Apart from disturbing biodiversity, cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), plantations affect water and soil quality in tropical forests, the studies said. Researchers from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom studying abandoned cardamom … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 