Mike Shanahan

British universities could help minimise the "brain drain" of skilled workers from poorer countries in Africa, says a new report commissioned by United Kingdom academics. The brain drain "marks a potentially serious barrier to economic growth, development and poverty reduction", says the report.

Using seven countries in Southern Africa, local scientists have found a new way to assess rapidly how human actions are affecting the natural world, according to the Science and Development Network. The index discards the traditional approach of compiling lists of species and estimating the rate at which they are going extinct.

The introduction of genetically modified (GM) maize to Kenyan farmers is to be delayed, according to the <i>Science and Development Network</i>. The GM maize is now scheduled to make its debut in 2010, following revised safety regulations for the Insect-Resistant Maize for Africa project. The new regulations are focusing greater attention to potential threats that GM maize could pose to the environment.

Adding a naturally occurring mineral to water contaminated by arsenic could be a quick and cheap means of removing the toxic chemical, says the Science and Development Network. Water containing high concentrations of arsenic threatens the health of tens of millions of people, mainly in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal.

Global temperature increases could cause significant reductions in yields of rice — the staple food for more than half of the world’s population — according to just-released research available online at the <i>Science and Development Network</i>. Scientists have published direct evidence that rising night-time temperatures associated with global warming can cause rice yields to fall.