Feature Article

As temperatures soar, forests blaze and houses burn, the media and public may be forced to face up to the reality of a changing climate, says Max A. Moritz.

The Olympics is a vast experiment in human performance, sport technology and global travel. Nature meets some of the scientists behind the scenes.

With more than half the continental US experiencing a severe drought, global food prices have skyrocketed in recent days. Separately, long-term projections just released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) expect prices to remain high over the coming decade - with possible benefits to developing countries that invest in agriculture.

India appears set to export two million tonnes of wheat at subsidised prices as part of a plan to offload surplus grain, sparking concern among anti-poverty activists and raising questions for some of the country's trading partners.

The majority of glaciers on the Tibetan plateau and in the surrounding region are retreating rapidly, according to a study based on 30 years of satellite and field measurements.

The Earth Summit was a historical opportunity to set the world on the correct development trajectory. Negotiators from 191 countries came together to chart a road map for sustainable development and poverty eradication. The theme was green economy. But developed and developing countries refused to bury their differences. Developed countries were not ready to let go of their extravagant lifestyle, while developing countries were expected to take on green commitments. The countries could not even reach a consensus on the definition of green economy.

Legal actions and oversight are necessary to keep the drug industry in line. (Editorial)

The last deglaciation (21 to 7 thousand years ago) was punctuated by several abrupt meltwater pulses, which sometimes caused noticeable climate change. Around 14 thousand years ago, meltwater pulse 1A (MWP-1A), the largest of these events, produced a sea level rise of 14–18 metres over 350 years. Although this enormous surge of water certainly originated from retreating ice sheets, there is no consensus on the geographical source or underlying physical mechanisms governing the rapid sea level rise.