Overseas Environmental News
* Firms chosen for Galileo run-off *
Eleven industrial groups will compete for the contracts to build Europe's much-delayed satellitenavigation system, Galileo. Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7625357.stm
* Hadron Collider forced to halt *
The Large Hadron Collider at Cern is out of action after magnets fail as helium leaks into the tunnel. Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7626256.stm
* Europe plans asteroid sample grab *
British and German engineers are working on a potential new European mission to bring back material from an asteroid. Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7623411.stm
SCIENCE/NATURE
BBC DAILY E-MAIL: UK EDITION
Monday, 22 September, 2008, 23:00 GMT 11:00 +12:00:Pacific/Auckland
* Exxtinct tortoise 'can live again' *
Careful cross-breeding could bring an extinct species of Galapagos tortoise back into existence, scientists suggest.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7630239.stm
* Dig pinpoints Stonehenge origins *
The first accurate carbon dating of Stonehenge reveals the monument was built in 2300 BC, some 300 years later than previously thought.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7625145.stm
* Hadron Collider halted for months *
The Large Hadron Collider near Geneva will be out of action for at least two months because of a technical fault.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/sci/tech/7626944.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/walruses-the-friendly-funloving-musicallytalented-creatures-are-under-threat-from-climate-change-925399.html
With its bearded face and thick blubber, the walrus isn't the prettiest mammal in the ocean ? That distinction is more likely to go to a sleek seal pup or a playful dolphin. But looks aren't everything, and scientists who work closely with walruses say that they have winning personalities, a great sense of fun and are musical to boot. Now, though, these majestic creatures could be at risk from the effects of climate change. Divided between the larger and more numerous Pacific walrus and the smaller and rarer Atlantic walrus, the world's walrus population is found at Arctic latitudes across Alaska, Canada, Greenland and western Russia. Here, walruses spend much of their time on and around ice floes, feeding on molluscs. But as temperatures at the North Pole rise, this pack ice is shifting north over deeper waters where the walruses struggle to reach their food.
To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/18/poles.endangeredhabitats
Arctic sea ice at second lowest extent ever recorded. The area of ice at least five years old has fallen by more than half since 1985 and the Northwest and Northeast Passages are now navigable by sea