Washington, Oct 2 : Researchers from University of Michigan suggest that shade trees can protect coffee crops from ravages of climate change.

With the increase in coffee production in recent decades the crop has become more vulnerable to higher temperatures and changes in precipitation.

However, the new study led by Brenda B. Lin, Ivette Perfecto has revealed that shade trees could improve coffee crop’s resistance to temperature and precipitation extremes triggered by climate changes.

The researchers also claimed that this procedure could be applicable to other economically important crops, including cocoa and tea.

With seemingly softened Republican opposition, the $700 billion ‘sweetened’ bailout found a second life on Wednesday - winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House.

In a rare case of consensus between Senate Democrats and Republicans, the economic bailout bill - loaded with more than $100 billion in tax breaks and other aid – was passed by a wide margin, 74-25, and sent back to the House for a second chance on Friday.

Washington, Oct 2 : Michelle Obama has urged University of Colorado students in Boulder at a campaign rally to register and to vote for her husband, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Michelle urged students to register to vote at an event here on Wednesday, underscoring the importance of both Colorado and the youth vote in her husband’s presidential campaign, the Washington Times reported.

Washington, Oct 2 : In the backdrop of the recent US’ incursions on Pakistani soil, the country’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has vouched for a new strategy for battling terrorism that emphasizes on going-it-alone militarily within Pakistani borders and talking with the extremists if they lay down their arms.

“It hurts us even more when the transgressor is our friend and ally, the US. If there are actions to be taken, the actions will be taken by Pakistan. ... I can understand the U. S. frustration. Things are going badly in Afghanistan,” the Dawn quoted Quereshi as saying while addressing around 250 people during an hour-long speech at Princeton University''s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Washington, Oct 2 : Adolescent males who possess a certain type of variation in a specific gene are more likely to develop affinity with delinquent peers, says a new study.

In a landmark study, a research team led by Florida State University criminologist Kevin M. Beaver has established a link between affinity for antisocial peer groups and a particular variation
(called the 10-repeat allele) of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1).

"This research is groundbreaking because it shows that the propensity in some adolescents to affiliate with delinquent peers is tied up in the genome," said Beaver, an assistant professor in the FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Washington, October 2 : Researchers at the University of Georgia (UGA) have developed a new forecasting method to predict clear air turbulence (CAT) that could make flights smoother in the future.

This method would be able to help pilots chart new courses around patches of rough but clear air that can turn a flight dangerous.

“Our new method allows superior forecasts for CAT beyond the tools that have been in use,” said John Knox, an assistant professor in the department of geography in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.