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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 26th 2024 - 13:07 UTC

Health & Science

  • Saturday, May 28th 2016 - 07:27 UTC

    WHO public health advice regarding the Olympics and Zika virus

    WHO advises pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission.

    Based on current assessment, cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus. Brazil is one of almost 60 countries and territories which to-date report continuing transmission of Zika by mosquitoes. People continue to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice.

  • Monday, May 23rd 2016 - 14:09 UTC

    Hundreds of thousands in 500 cities worldwide protest against Monsanto

    According to the March Against Monsanto (MAM) group, people in around 500 cities held peaceful protests against the corporation’s policies

    Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated in nearly 50 countries around the globe to protest against the US mega producer company of genetically engineered (GE) seeds Monsanto, saying the corporation’s modified food and chemical herbicides pose grave threats to health.

  • Monday, May 23rd 2016 - 10:50 UTC

    New recommendations for athletes and visitors of the coming Rio Olympic Games

    CDC recommends using condoms if afraid of getting Zika from sex, and athletes will have hundreds of thousands of them provided for free in the Olympic Village.

    Australian athletes at this summer’s Rio Olympics will be supplied with condoms which offer “near complete” protection against the mosquito-borne Zika virus, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced. However, the virus has been linked to a birth defect that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads.

  • Friday, May 20th 2016 - 10:40 UTC

    India planning to swap medicines for Venezuelan crude oil to recoup losses of drugs sector

    India's drug-maker Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, said that it had to write off US$65 million related to losses in Venezuela in the fourth quarter.

    Indian drug companies could recoup some of the financial losses incurred as Venezuela struggles to make foreign-currency payments and the value of its currency plummets--by participating in a barter plan that would swap medicines for crude oil.

  • Saturday, May 7th 2016 - 08:25 UTC

    UK's state of the art polar research ship to be named Sir David Attenborough

    The decision to name the ship after Sir David Attenborough comes only days before Sir David’s 90th birthday and is in recognition of his legacy in British broadcasting

    The United Kingdom's £200 million state-of-the-art polar research ship is to be named after world renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, the Science Minister Jo Johnson confirmed on Friday. Following a call for suggestions that sparked global interest, Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough has been selected as a name that captures the ship’s scientific mission and celebrates the broadcaster’s contribution to natural science.

  • Wednesday, March 23rd 2016 - 05:48 UTC

    Panel of experts will name the new UK polar research vessel

    The state-of-the-art £200m vessel will be launched in 2019 to replace Royal Research Ships (RRS) Ernest Shackleton and James Clark Ross.

    The name of a new British polar research vessel will be chosen by a panel of experts, even if the public overwhelmingly votes to call it Boaty McBoatface. Lord West, ex-First Sea Lord, said he was rather proud “silly names” had been suggested but hoped none were chosen.

  • Saturday, March 12th 2016 - 05:40 UTC

    Chile's challenge: disposing 27.700 tons of algae/bloom dead salmon

    Sernapesca director José Miguel Burgos reported that the Chilean Navy authorized the dumping of 300 tons dead salmon at sea, 75 miles offshore

    More than 27,733 tons, equivalent to 72% of the total salmon mortality caused by algae bloom, have been removed from the farms affected by this contingency, Chile's National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) informed. In a new report on the emergency affecting the salmon farming industry in the Chilean southern region of Los Lagos, Sernapesca pointed out that 38 farms have been affected by microalgae bloom in the Concession Groups (ACS) 1, 2, 3A, 6, 7, and 10B, with a total mortality amounting to 23.8 million fish, equivalent to more than 38,500 tons.

  • Friday, March 11th 2016 - 05:29 UTC

    Brexit would be “a disaster for UK science” warn 150 fellows from Royal Society

    “Increased funding has raised greatly the level of European science as a whole and of the UK in particular because we have a competitive edge”

    Stephen Hawking has called for Britain to stay in the EU, saying that a Brexit would be a “disaster for UK science”. A letter to the Times newspaper signed by more than 150 fellows of the Royal Society argues that leaving the EU would devastate research.

  • Wednesday, March 9th 2016 - 06:19 UTC

    Mildronate (meldonium), a heart medication popular in Eastern Europe and..athletes

    The drug is a heart medication developed by the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and popular with Eastern European athletes

    When Maria Sharapova announced Monday that she had failed a drug test at the Australian Open by testing positive for the banned drug meldonium, it prompted many questions about what this substance is and how it affects an athlete's performance.

  • Wednesday, March 9th 2016 - 05:08 UTC

    Sambo fish to combat mosquitoes in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio

    This fish, native to El Salvador, is known for feeding on mosquitoes—the same insects that transmit the virus said to be causing physical deformities to babies.

    Governments have been using various tools to fight the spread of the Zika virus in Latin America: fumigation, spraying of insecticides and even a plan to distribute mosquito repellents to athletes during the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.