SCOTLAND
The government announced it will formally ban growing genetically modified crops in the country—counter to England’s plan to embrace GMOs. The foods have been approved as safe by the European Union.
CHINA
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The People’s Liberation Army has trained male macaques to search and destroy birds’ nests near military airfields in northern China. The operation prevents damage to aircraft, which can suck the feathery creatures into their engines, the government says. Many ornithologists, however, argue that the method will jeopardize the avian species in the long run.
KYRGYZSTAN
Glaciers along Central Asia’s largest mountain range, the Tien Shan, have lost 27 percent of their mass and 18 percent of their area in the past 50 years. The meltwater is a major source of freshwater for at least three nearby countries, raising the possibility of future drought.
FRENCH GUIANA
This month the European Space Agency launches a prototype of a space-based detector for gravitational waves, ripples in the curvature of spacetime.
U.S.
Beginning this month, new labeling laws from the Food and Drug Administration require large restaurant chains to list the calorie count in alcoholic drinks. The rules apply only to drinks listed on the menu.
NORTH AMERICA
Fossil evidence suggests that the arrival of big cats on the continent millions of years ago played a part in the extinction of severalcanine species—the result of competing for the same prey.