SciDev.Net Weekly Update (15 - 21 October 2012):

Himalayan glacier melting: not so fast Much more work is needed on the ground to establish the impact of the Himalayan glaciers melt on downstream populations, reports Smriti Mallapaty. News Combining cassava species could lead to better crops  Researchers have devised a non-GM method for hybridising wild and cultivated cassava species, to create improved varieties.  EN | ES  Physics for development movement 'needs a strategy'  Harnessing physics to boost development entails agreeing a clear strategy and building global networks, conference hears.  EN  Mali's locust mitigation capacity undermined by conflict  Northern Mali's ability to respond to expected locust outbreaks has been weakened by war, jeopardising food security and education.  EN  Academies launch universal guide to curb misconduct  With the research boom making science misconduct more common, the time has come for universal guidelines, say academicians.  EN | ES  R&D funding needed to sustain the decline of TB deaths  The global mortality and incidence rates of tuberculosis are dropping, but slow response to drug resistance and funding gaps threaten progress.  EN | ES  Scientific research bodies 'failing to engage public'  Most scientific research bodies in developing nations are more focused on educating the public than engaging with them, a study says.  EN | ES  Study finds success factors for open-source drug discovery  Open-source drug discovery models foster cheap, high-quality research that could lead to neglected disease treatments, finds a study.  EN Other News FAO to partner CBD on biodiversity  EN  Climate change awareness in Africa and Asia 'varies greatly'  EN  Projects aim to boost child brain development  EN  African farmers could soon grow virus-resistant cassava  EN  South Asia nips on agricultural research funding  EN  Cheap weapon against the coral-killer starfish found  EN  Pakistan boosts drive against measles  EN  African farmers turn to climate coping strategies  EN  'REDD+ actions can have varying impacts'  EN | ES  New 'outdoor' mosquito could hamper malaria control  EN  Brazilian seaside registers high coral reef loss  ES  Chilean educational website wins international award  ES More NEWS  Opinions Acting on disaster warnings: Don't miss the human factor  We need to understand why some people act on early warnings while others ignore them, says disaster preparedness specialist Sudhir Kumar.  EN | ES  Biomed Analysis: The social side of vaccine effectiveness  Social attitudes towards vaccines are hard to cram into a mathematical model, but scientists need to take them into account, says Priya Shetty.  EN More OPINIONS  Features Himalayan glaciers debate: melting or growing?  Satellite images are making the fate of the Himalayan glaciers clearer, but not that of the people who live downstream, finds Smriti Mallapaty.  EN  More FEATURES  Heeding disaster warnings Improving early warning systems requires better understanding of why some people fail to act on them, says Sudhir Kumar. Catch up on SciDev.Net's blogs Missed our blogs from the Convention on Biological Diversity's 11th meeting in Hyderbad, India, andEuropean Development Days 2012? Catch up here.