Health & Science
Health & ScienceWorld health experts meet to discuss the high levels of antibiotic resistance
Next week, 2-3 December, senior government representatives from more than 30 countries are expected to agree on a pilot system for collecting data on antibiotic resistance—a major step forward in addressing this threat to global public health.
Antarctica sea ice thicker than anticipated reveals an autonomous sub
A novel autonomous sub has acquired the first detailed, high-resolution 3D maps of Antarctic sea ice. Released from a ship, the vehicle crisscrossed the underside of the floes, using upward-looking sonar to measure their shape.
UN reveals major gaps in water and sanitation, especially in rural areas
Global efforts to provide improved water and sanitation for all are gaining momentum, but serious gaps in funding continue to hamper progress, according to a new report from the World Health Organization on behalf of UN-Water.
Bird flu highly contagious H5N8 strain in England, Netherlands and Germany
Bird flu on a duck farm in northern England is the highly contagious H5N8 strain, the same form of the virus already discovered in Germany and the Netherlands, Britain's farm ministry confirmed on Tuesday.
E-cigarettes make “Vape” word of the year, says Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary named “vape” - the word used for drawing on an electronic cigarette instead of a burning stick of tobacco – as its 2014 word of the year.“You are thirty times more likely to come across the word 'vape' than you were two years ago, and usage has more than doubled in the past year,” staff editors have said.
Fears of a new Chikungunya viral strain in Brazil with the coming of summer
The Chikungunya outbreak which continues to affect thousands of Caribbean residents since it first appeared in St. Martin last year has been relatively self-limiting in the United States, due to the fact that the current strain only spreads through the Aedes egypti mosquito vector, which is uncommon on the US Eastern seaboard.
Europe makes history successfully landing spacecraft on a comet, a ten year precision cosmic chase
A European spacecraft made history Wednesday by successfully landing on the icy, dusty surface of a speeding comet, an audacious cosmic first designed to answer big questions about the origin of the universe. The landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko required immense precision, as even the slightest error could have resulted in cosmic calamity.
”Ageing well”, says WHO: in 2020 over 60 will outnumber children under 5
A major new Series on health and ageing, published in “The Lancet”, warns that unless health systems find effective strategies to address the problems faced by an ageing world population, the growing burden of chronic disease will greatly affect the quality of life of older people.
Cannabis debate in US rages with legalization claiming more states
Residents of Oregon, Alaska, and the US capital Washington voted on Tuesday to legalize marijuana in key victories that could fuel the legalization movement as cannabis usage is increasingly recognized by the American mainstream.
Uruguay, “a role model for the region and the world” in tobacco policies
The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is supporting the Government of Uruguay as it defends its tobacco control policies against claims brought by the Philip Morris tobacco company.
