Health & Science

• Friday, November 1st 2024 - 07:48 UTC

  Oldest tadpole in the world discovered in Argentine Patagonia

  

  Argentine researchers found by chance what resulted to be the oldest tadpole fossil in the world. According to an article published this week, the fossil was found in the province of Santa Cruz and is believed to have lived in the Middle Jurassic period between 161 and 168 million years ago. This unique specimen is said to shed light on the evolution of frogs and toads. It was found in January 2020, while searching for dinosaur remains.

• Thursday, October 31st 2024 - 19:14 UTC

  First mpox case detected in London; overall risk for UK population “remains low”, UKHSA

  

  The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of Clade Ib mpox, (monkey pox) but it has also said the risk to the UK population remains low.

• Tuesday, October 29th 2024 - 21:46 UTC

  G20 Summit to push for regional vaccine producing coalition

  

  Brazil's Health Minister Nísia Trinidade Tuesday spoke in favor of creating a regional vaccine production coalition to avoid an encore of the setbacks experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. She made those remarks during a press conference after a G20 Health Ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro ahead of next month's Summit, Agencia Brasil reported.

• Monday, October 28th 2024 - 08:48 UTC

  Cicero's case rekindles debate on euthanasia and assisted suicide in Brazil

  

  The case of Brazilian poet and composer António Cicero, who died through euthanasia last week in Switzerland, has rekindled the debate in South America's largest country on whether such a practice should be legalized, Agencia Brasil reported Sunday.

• Thursday, October 24th 2024 - 10:22 UTC

  World Bank endorses Brazil taxing health-harming products

  

  According to a statement released Wednesday by he World Bank (WB), South America's largest country has “a unique opportunity” to improve public health by properly planning taxes on products such as tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks that are known to be potentially harming to humans, Agencia Brasil reported. The organization also listed a series of technical recommendations on how to structure and apply these taxes “in order to make significant progress in public health and tax revenue.”

• Monday, October 21st 2024 - 08:28 UTC

  WHO: 2,2 billion people worldwide with vision impairment or blindness

  

  The World Health Organization in its latest report has said that at least 2.2 billion people worldwide have vision impairment or blindness, of which over 1 billion cases could have been prevented or have yet to be addressed. This is because they do not get the care they need for conditions like short and far-sightedness, glaucoma, and cataracts.

• Friday, October 18th 2024 - 09:18 UTC

  Avian influenza in Falklands, access restrictions at Volunteer Point, Cow Bay and Lively Island

  

  The Director of the Falklands Natural Resources Department, Dr. Andrea Clausen has given an update on avian influenza cases registered at Volunteer Point, Cow Bay and Lively Island.

• Thursday, October 17th 2024 - 10:04 UTC

  Federal Police in Rio launches probe into HIV-infected organ transplants

  

  Brazilian Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro launched an inquiry into the case of six patients receiving HIV-infected organs for transplants, Agência Brasil reported Wednesday. Other institutions already investigating the matter include Rio's Civil Police, the Health Ministry, and the Health Department.

• Wednesday, October 16th 2024 - 21:49 UTC

  Oropouche virus detected in Brazil could belong to new variant

  

  Brazilian scientists said this week that the samples of the Oropouche virus recently detected in South America's largest country could belong to a new variant. According to the latest study on the subject published in The Lancet, the recent increase in cases “could be linked to a new recombinant Oropouche virus, with an increased capacity to replicate.” These findings would be in line with a similar work published last month in Nature.

• Wednesday, October 16th 2024 - 08:18 UTC

  Falklands Waters, UK Hydrographic starts seabed mapping surveys in November

  

  In November, the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) will conduct seabed mapping surveys of the Falkland Islands coastal waters to support safe maritime trade and the development of a sustainable blue economy.