Call to arms on climate
Eleven of the world鈥檚 top science academies, including ones from the US, UK, China and Russia, have issued an unprecedented joint statement ahead of the G8 summit, putting pressure on governments to take action on climate change. The statement calls on world leaders to 鈥渋dentify cost-effective steps that can be taken now to contribute to substantial and long-term reduction in net global greenhouse gas emissions鈥�.
Terror threat censored
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An online academic paper detailing how bioterrorists could contaminate the US milk supply with the botulinum toxin has been removed from the website by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The paper, by Lawrence Wein of Stanford University, was taken down on 27 May after a request from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Crashing eel stocks
Eel fishing in Europe should be halted immediately to save stocks from collapse, according to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, the scientists who advise the European Union on fisheries management. ICES has previously warned that eel numbers have plummeted due to overfishing and dams on rivers.
The lawless abyss
A UN report says new laws should be drafted to clarify the legal status of deep-sea environments and protect them from 鈥渂ioprospecting鈥�. According to the UN University Institute of Advanced Studies in Yokohama, Japan, exploitation of deep-sea organisms is not regulated by existing treaties.
Rover backtracks to safety
After weeks of spinning its wheels in a Martian sand dune, NASA鈥檚 rover Opportunity finally freed itself last Saturday. The rover got stuck on 25 April as it was crossing a series of shallow sandy ridges. NASA鈥檚 ground controllers eased the rover out by slowly backing it over its previous tracks.