MercoPress

Argentine Antarctic campaigns disarray and corruption claims turn off recruiting

Sat, 18 May 2013 06:21:00 GMT

Argentina’s Antarctica campaigns are losing their flair and the country is having difficulties to fill vacancies for the 2013/14 season. This follows repeated claims of alleged corruption and delays in supplying the bases and stations plus an overall lack of support from the Defence ministry.

UK attends with 28 companies the largest healthcare exhibition in Sao Paulo

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:11:00 GMT

UK Government Minister Ken Clarke is leading the UK's largest ever Healthcare Technology and Life Sciences delegation to Brazil. Twenty eight companies will travel to Sao Paulo to attend Hospitalar (21 – 24 May), the largest healthcare exhibition in South America, which is expecting to attract around 90,000 visitors – as well as taking part in the trade mission.

World Hypertension Day: WHO says avoid processed, canned and ready-to-eat-foods

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:49:00 GMT

At least 30% of people in the Americas suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure, for which excessive dietary salt is the main risk factor. For 1 of 3 people who have hypertension, cutting sodium intake can reduce their blood pressure to normal levels. Reducing dietary salt could also prevent an estimated 25% of heart attacks and strokes worldwide.

In Bolivia and suffering from altitude sickness, try Coca beer

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:50:00 GMT

A Bolivian brewer has come up with an innovative solution for quenching thirst and coping with altitude sickness: coca beer, based on the same leaf used to make cocaine.

Communist Germany allowed Western pharmaceutical firms testes new drugs in hospital patients

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:28:00 GMT

Western pharmaceutical firms allegedly conducted drug tests on unwitting patients in communist East Germany. The lucrative clinical trials enabled the GDR government to bring much needed hard currency according to a report from Deutsche Welle.

Monsanto wins leading soybean seed replicating case to the relief of biotechnology industry

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:32:00 GMT

In a decision that drew sighs of relief from the biotechnology industry, the US Supreme Court ruled that an Indiana farmer violated agribusiness company Monsanto Co’s patent for a type of soybean. The court agreed unanimously with Monsanto that Vernon Bowman, 75, had performed an end-run around the law when he used the company’s patented soybean seeds without seeking a licence.

Falklands’ linked scientist who helped identify ozone layer hole has died

Tue, 14 May 2013 05:35:00 GMT

The British Antarctic Survey scientist Joe Farman, who helped identify the "hole" in the ozone layer over the southern pole, has died. Dr Farman who was also a scientific officer at the Falkland Islands Dependency Survey, published the discovery with Brian Gardiner and Jon Shanklin in the Journal Nature in 1985.

HMS Protector back in Portsmouth after a successful nine-month Antarctica deployment

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:26:00 GMT

HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship, has returned to Portsmouth at the end of a nine-month deployment to the ‘Frozen Continent’. Operating in the British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands throughout the Austral Summer, the ship conducted three intensive work periods in the ice, and a fourth work period in the waters surrounding South Georgia.

With ‘gene-editing’ scientists have produced a disease resistant piglet

Fri, 10 May 2013 03:22:00 GMT

A disease-resistant piglet has been produced using new genetic engineering described as ‘gene-editing’. The piglet was born four months ago at Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, and is known as ‘Pig 26’.

Outbreak of mice-vector hemorrhagic fever in Argentina; attacks in rural areas

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:26:00 GMT

A 31-yeaar old farm hand died and a 12-year old adolescent has been hospitalized in the province of Santa Fe following an outbreak of Argentine hemorrhagic fever (FHA) caused by the viral agent Junin and transmitted by camp mice.