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The immediate ancestor of humans may have lived almost exclusively on a diet of leaves, fruits, wood and bark instead of a menu based on the open savanna as other extinct relatives of humanity did, scientists claimed.

The findings, published in the journal Nature, are based on two million years old fossils of the extinct hominin Australopithecus sediba that were accidentally discovered by a scientist’s nine-year-old son in a South African cave in 2008.

With several states reeling under a drought-like situation as they await the monsoon, experts have pointed out that not enough is being done to deal with the situation arising out of scanty rainfall.

Drought management, they say, assumes significance in view of changing weather patterns.

“We are not prepared to handle the effects of climate change on agriculture. It is reflected through our management of drought situation in states like Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,” veteran agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan told.

China’s first woman astronaut and two of her colleagues, who successfully accomplished the country’s first-ever manual space docking, would return home tomorrow after remaining in the space for two weeks.

The three astronauts will return to Earth around 10 am (Beijing Time) tomorrow in Shenzhou-9 (Divine Grace) manned spacecraft, a spokesperson for China’s manned space programme announced here Thursday.

The return capsule is due to land in Inner Mongolia’s Siziwang Banner (county). The landing zone has been used for all previous Shenzhou space missions.

A rare kind of mineral known as “green rust”, which could be used to scape toxic metals and radioactive species from the environment, also played a similar and crucial role early in Earth’s history.

Research suggests for the first time that ‘green rust’ was likely widespread in ancient oceans and may have played a vital role in the creation of our early atmosphere.

Led by Newcastle University, the study shows that during the Precambrian period, green rust ‘scavenged’ heavy metals such as nickel out of the water, the journal Geology reports.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the World Bank Group have agreed to establish the India Wildlife Business Council (IWBC) to promote tiger and biodiversity conservation for sustainable development.

A memorandum of understanding to set up the IWBC to improve the dialogue between business, conservation stakeholders as well as decision makers was signed here Tuesday by CII Deputy Director General Indrani Kar and World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.