Health & Science
Health & ScienceWHO admits full-scale battle with tobacco industry, which appeals to 'devious channels'
The sixth session of the Conference of the parties (COP6) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) concluded in Moscow. Several landmark decisions were adopted in the course of the six-day session, regarded as one of the most successful in the WHO FCTC’s history.
The Caribbean and Colombia ban entry of travelers from Ebola stricken countries
A group of Caribbean countries have announced bans on entry to foreigners who have travelled through the three West African countries most affected by Ebola. Jamaica said it would not accept travelers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone for the time being.
Ebola scare reaches cruise industry: Carnival vessel barred from Mexico and Belize
A laboratory technician from the Dallas hospital where a Liberian died of the Ebola virus, and who handled some of his fluid samples for analysis, has been placed in quarantine aboard a cruise ship, the State Department said on Friday.
Ebola's exponential growth
By Gwynne Dyer - Here are two good things about the Ebola virus. It is unlikely to mutate into a version that can spread through the air, as some other viruses have done. And people who have been infected by Ebola cannot pass it on to others during the incubation period (between two and 21 days). Only when they develop detectable symptoms, notably fever, do they become infectious to others, and only by the transfer of bodily fluids.
Argentina claims in can detect the ebola virus in patients in less than 24 hours
Argentina has developed a molecular biological method to detect the presence of the Ebola virus in a patient in less than 24 hours, the Argentine health ministry has announced.
Brazil testing patient suspected of Ebola infection; another 64 in quarantine
Brazilian Health Minister Arthur Chioro said on Friday the results of tests on a patient suspected of Ebola infection would take 24 hours. At a press conference in Brasilia, the minister assured the situation was under control and that proper precautions had been taken to isolate the patient.
Chemistry Nobel Prize for creators of 'nanoscopy' which peers into molecules of cells
A German and two American scientists won on Wednesday the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for smashing the size barrier in optical microscopes, allowing researchers to see individual molecules inside living cells.
Inventors of new energy efficient LED light bulbs, awarded Nobel for Physics
An American of Japanese origin and two Japanese scientists won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics on Tuesday for inventing a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source, leading to the creation of modern LED light bulbs.
Ebola outbreak threatens Africa with dramatic consequences, says IMF
Saharan Africa's economic growth remains strong and should accelerate to 5.8% in 2015 but if the Ebola outbreak in its western corner is protracted or spreads it will have “dramatic consequences” for that zone, the IMF said on Tuesday.
Mysterious outbreak of hemorrhagic fever syndrome in Venezuela kills ten
An outbreak of a mysterious hemorrhagic fever syndrome in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and the country’s capital Caracas has left ten people dead in the last three weeks. Reports indicate that nine people have so far succumbed to the disease in the northern state and a tenth person has died in the capital.
