Science News

‘Cheap food’ is no so cheap for poor countries: Study

Washington, June 20 : A Senior Research Fellow in the New Delhi office of the International Food Policy Research Institute says that “cheap food” is not actually cheap for poor countries.

Bart Minten came to this conclusion after studying the food retail revolution in the Africal island nation of Madagascar.

The economist said that supermarket chains, though were praised for bringing low-priced goods to the developing world, had actually failed to attract the poor.

At the heart of the problem is a classic cost-benefit analysis by the consumer, he said.

During the course of study, Minten showed pictures taken of various items (rice, meat, tomatoes) from the newer supermarket chains to a sample of Malagasy shoppers.

Desert plant may hold key for overcoming food shortage

Washington, June 20 : A unique desert plant may hold the key for overcoming food shortage because unlike normal plants, it captures most of its carbon dioxide at night when the air is cooler and mo

Scientists find active submarine volcanoes near Fiji

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Animals with big brains need more REM sleep

London, June 20 : Analysing compiled studies on sleep patterns in 83 species of mammals with the help of statistical techniques, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Starnberg,

White deposits on Mars must have been ice, claim NASA scientists

Washington, June 20 : Scientists have determined that the white material, found by NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander on the surface of the Red Planet, must have been ice as it vanished within four days of

Scientists get a new tool for reconstructing planetary origins

Washington, June 20 : A precision analysis of lava samples taken from the Kilauea Iki crater in Hawaii crater is giving scientists a new tool for reconstructing planetary origins, by revealing more

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