Using satellite laser altimetry, basal melting of ice shelves is determined to be the main driver of Antarctic ice-sheet loss, with changing climate the likely cause.

Even a cure is not preventing deaths from malaria in Uganda. Poor education and limited access to healthcare are among the reasons why.

Nature Outlook maps the challenges in tackling the malaria epidemic.

Some 10,000 bears are farmed in China to procure their bile for traditional Chinese medicine. This cruel practice
has stimulated a wave of condemnation across the country. (Correspondence)

As president of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, I am disappointed with the suggestion by Ken Giller, our partner in
the nitrogen-fixation research programme N2 Africa, that the teaching of conservation agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
is “wholly misplaced” (Nature 483, 525–527; 2012). (Correspondence)

Faced with slow progress towards an international agreement to limit greenhousegas emissions, governments are taking
the initiative by passing their own climate laws. Mexico — plagued by a persistent drought but optimistic about its prospects for wind power — made one of the boldest commitments of any nation to limit climate change.
Although many countries have established domestic climate regulations, Mexico is only the second, after the United Kingdom, to make tough national targets legally binding.

The primary drivers of the Northern Hemisphere expansion of the tropical climate zone over the past several decades are shown to be the recent increases in black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone rather than in greenhouse gases, which contribute to a lesser extent.

Epigenetics and lifestyle are conspiring to inflict a massive epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the subcontinent.

Legislation that came into effect in India this month aims to deal with the environmental effects of electronic waste in the country. According to a government report, this waste stream has increased by a factor of more than five in seven years and is expected to exceed 800,000 tonnes in 2012. (Correspondence)

The WHO releases action plan to tackle the spread of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.