Washington, September 18 : Scientists at the Global Crop Diversity Trust, who are the people behind the ‘doomsday seed vault’, are undertaking a major effort to search crop collections, from Azerbaijan to Nigeria, for the traits that could arm agriculture against the impact of future changes.

Traits, such as drought resistance in wheat, or salinity tolerance in potato, will become essential as crops around the world have to adapt to new climate conditions.

Climate change is having the most negative impact in the poorest regions of the world, already causing a decrease in yields of most major food crops due to droughts, floods, increasingly salty soils and higher temperatures.

Washington, September 18: Scientists at Durham University in the UK have found the “missing link” between small and super-massive black holes.

For the first time, the researchers have discovered that a strong X-ray pulse is emitting from a giant black hole in a galaxy 500 million light years from Earth.

The pulse has been created by gas being sucked by gravity on to the black hole at the centre of the REJ1034+396 galaxy.

X-ray pulses are common among smaller black holes, but the Durham research is the first to identify this activity in a super-massive black hole.

Most galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain super-massive black holes at their centres.

Washington, Sept. 18 (ANI): An audacious attack on the U. S. Embassy in Yemen on Wednesday demonstrates a renewed offensive capability by al Qaeda and may be the group''s premier operation for 2008, U. S. intelligence officials and specialists on the terrorist group said.

According to the Washington Times, over the past two years, the organization has regrouped in Pakistan´s tribal region and trained recruits from Western nations and Africa.

The identities of the attackers in the Yemeni capital of San''a were not clear, although a U. S. counter-terrorism official said some of the assailants wore Yemeni military uniforms. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the nature of his work.

Washington, Sept. 17: Arizona Senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain has a major problem on his hands, and that is how to neutralize the political and the economic impact of the meltdown on Wall Street.

According to the Washington Post, McCain may not have single-handedly created this problem, but he has made it worse by uttering the words -- "the fundamentals of our economy are strong".

This, without doubt, is a clear evidence of a badly delivered statement.

Washington, Sept 18: Former Miss Alaska Maryline Blackburn has revealed she knows what it''s like to run against Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

In 1984, Palin was in the running for a different title – Miss Alaska. Palin competed under her maiden name, Sarah Heath.

However, Blackburn beat her for the title in a pageant she remembers as being very competitive.

"My first impression was, ''Oh my God, she''s gorgeous, she''ll probably be the one who wins,'' " People quoted Blackburn, as saying.

Washington, September 18: Examining the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on skin, American researchers have come to the conclusion that indoor tanning beds certainly do not offer a “safe” suntan.

In a series of three review papers, published in the journal Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, the authors suggest that indoor tanning beds, used mainly by young women, are linked to an increased risk of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.

They have even recommended banning under-18s from using such beds as well as any publicity material claiming that tanning beds are safe.