This October marks the month 70 years ago when the U.S. chemical giant DuPont announced "one of the most significant developments in the history of industrial research": nylon. It was, they said, as strong as steel and fine as a cobweb.

The new 2009 Jetta TDI is an efficient vehicle— this quiet-running, diesel-powered car has a cleaner tailpipe than most cars on the road.

Thanks to a genetic breakthrough, a large portion of Earth's now-inhospitable soil could be used to grow crops -- potentially alleviating one of the most pressing problems facing the planet's rapidly growing population.

The price of rice, the staple food of Madagascar's 19 million people, has stabilised, but the country's southern regions, where remote communities are vulnerable to chronic food insecurity, are preparing for the onset of seasonal food shortages that usually start in October.

"For the time being, prices in Madagascar are stable, but we cannot say we have overcome the problem," Marco Falcone, emergency coordinator of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Madagascar, told IRIN. "The situation remains very fragile and any change could have a big impact."