Health & Science

• Thursday, June 14th 2012 - 10:21 UTC

  Brazil has 65 of the top 250 universities in Latam, with Sao Paulo top ranked

  

  Brazil dominates the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Latin American University Rankings for the second year, with 65 institutions in the top 250, led by the Universidad de Sao Paulo.

• Tuesday, June 12th 2012 - 21:50 UTC

  World Health Organization classifies diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans

  

  After a week-long meeting of international experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified on Tuesday diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer.

• Monday, June 11th 2012 - 19:23 UTC

  Extended blooming phytoplankton discovered under thinning Arctic ice cap

  

  Scientists have made a biological discovery in Arctic Ocean waters as dramatic and unexpected as finding a rainforest in the middle of a desert. A NASA-sponsored expedition punched through three-foot thick sea ice to find waters richer in microscopic marine plants, essential to all sea life, than any other ocean region on Earth.

• Monday, June 11th 2012 - 03:15 UTC

  “Depraved” sexual activities among penguins come to light a century later

  

  Accounts of unusual sexual activities among penguins, observed a century ago by a member of Captain Scott's polar team are finally being made public.

• Friday, June 8th 2012 - 23:34 UTC

  Beverage industry blasts New York for limiting sale of oversized sugary drinks

  

  New York City's top health official shot back at critics who have blasted the city's plan to limit the sale of oversized sugary drinks such as soda, calling beverage industry opposition ridiculous.

• Tuesday, June 5th 2012 - 02:54 UTC

  China attempting to beat deepest manned submersible dive record (7.000 metres)

  

  An oceanographic ship carrying China's manned deep-sea submersible, Jiaolong, left the eastern port city of Jiangyin on June 3 for the Mariana Trench to attempt the world's deepest manned submersible dive.

• Monday, June 4th 2012 - 03:22 UTC

  Latin America holds 42% of the world’s agriculture expansion potential

  

  Latin America is one of the few regions of the world where agriculture production can expand since it holds 42% of that potential globally, said Victor M. Villalobos Director General of the Inter American Institute for the Cooperation on Agriculture, IICA.

• Thursday, May 31st 2012 - 18:33 UTC

  Indian school boy solves 350-year old mathematical problem set out by Newton

  

  An Indian school boy from Calcutta and currently in Germany, Shouryya Ray, has shocked everyone by solving a 350-year-old mathematical problem which was set by one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians, Sir Isaac Newton.

• Tuesday, May 29th 2012 - 17:41 UTC

  Indonesia stops US beef imports because of a mad cow case in California

  

  Indonesia has stopped imports of US beef, following a case of mad cow disease that was detected in California, reports Farming News Daily. Indonesia Agriculture Minister Suswono said the government had no time frame, but said the suspension applied to all beef shipped after April 24.

• Friday, May 25th 2012 - 02:51 UTC

  Alcohol consumption in Latin America is considerably less than in Europe and US

  

  Alcohol consumption in Latin America is low compared to Europe and the US and averages 5.5 litres of pure alcohol per year per capita, although with marked differences between countries and gender. In Europe consumption is estimated at 13 litres of pure alcohol while in the US the average in 9.8 litres.