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Anthropologists believe that so many people use drugs today because they helped our ancestors survive. Anthropologists Roger Sullivan of the University of Auckland and Edward Hagen of the University of California say our ancestors were exposed to plants containing narcotic substances for millions of years. They believe we are predisposed to take drugs because we evolved to seek out plants rich in alkaloids.

Consuming these plants could have been a basic survival strategy. ?Stimulant alkaloids like nicotine and cocaine could have been exploited by our human ancestors to help them endure harsh environmental conditions,? Sullivan says.
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Researchers are planning to create cable car in space. Twenty tons of cable would need to be taken up to into space to get the project started. Space cable cars could also be established on planets like Mars.

For a space cable car to function, a cable with one end attached to the Earth?s surface would stretch upward over 200 miles. Once in place, passengers could ride an electromagnetic cable car into outer space. NASA Engineers are also looking into magnetic levitation, air breathing rockets, laser propulsion and lunar transfer vehicles.
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Desertification is devastating farm production and the variety of plant and animal life in many parts of the world, according to Adel El-Beltagy, director-general of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Syria.

?We continue to lose good land to desertification through wind and water erosion, salinity, urbanization and unsuitable farming practices,? says Brian Johnson, a British geneticist. He claims intensive farming methods, such as over-grazing, are degrading soils at an alarming rate and cutting their capacity to hold water. ?Soil degradation has a significant effect on productivity,” says Johnson.
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The Bush administration has withdrawn its support for Robert Watson, the American atmospheric scientist who is seeking re-election as head of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change when it holds its election later this month in Geneva. The State Department says it will support Rajendra Pachauri, the Indian government?s nominee, to become the next chair. The move, which was quietly announced, brings allegations that the administration is selling out to oil industry lobbyists, who have been trying to get rid of Watson.
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