Health & Science

• Friday, December 15th 2017 - 07:01 UTC

  Argentina prepares to fight Zica with sterile mosquitoes by radiation

  

  After its success in controlling a devastating fruit fly with nuclear technology, Argentina is gearing up to fight a new enemy: mosquitoes that transmit Zika, in addition to dengue and chikungunya. The method applied in both cases is the sterile insect technique, SIT, an insect birth control method that uses irradiation to sterilize and release insects to suppress pest populations.

• Thursday, December 14th 2017 - 10:58 UTC

  Up to 650 000 people die of respiratory diseases linked to seasonal flu each year

  

  Up to 650 000 deaths annually are associated with respiratory diseases from seasonal influenza, according to new estimates by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC), the World Health Organization and global health partners.

• Thursday, December 14th 2017 - 04:30 UTC

  Mt Hope is the tallest mountain in the British Antarctic Territory with 3.239 meters

  

  Britain has a new highest mountain after new data showed measurements from old overland surveys were inaccurate. It was thought until this point that Mount Jackson was the tallest mountain in the British Antarctic Territory at 3,184m above sea level. However, new satellite data by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) shows Mount Hope is the tallest mountain, at 3,239m.

• Wednesday, December 13th 2017 - 23:59 UTC

  Nobel Prizes criticize current US policy during the awards gala banquet

  

  A United States researcher who shared this year's Nobel Prize for medicine bluntly criticized political developments in the US in his address at the awards' gala banquet Sunday night. Michael Rosbash, who was honored for his work on circadian rhythms — commonly called the body clock — expressed concern that U.S. government support such as that received by him and colleagues Jeffrey Hall and Michael Young is endangered.

• Wednesday, December 13th 2017 - 22:08 UTC

  “Ground break” in tackling protein defect that causes Huntington's disease

  

  Scientists have for the first time corrected a protein defect that causes Huntington's disease, by injecting a drug into the spine, offering new hope for patients with the devastating genetic disease. Lead researcher Sarah Tabrizi, professor of clinical neurology at University College London, said the ability of the drug to tackle the underlying cause of Huntington's by lowering levels of a toxic protein was “ground-breaking”.

• Tuesday, December 12th 2017 - 21:04 UTC

  Universal health coverage is a fundamental human right

  

  “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition”, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

• Wednesday, December 6th 2017 - 13:47 UTC

  Brazil and US scientists discover molecule that has destroyed millions of citrus groves

  

  Researchers have identified the molecule that attracts the insect that transmits citrus greening disease, a development expected to help farmers control a plague that has destroyed trees in growing regions of Brazil and the United States. The scientific breakthrough is the result of six years of research on Diaphorina citri, the vector of citrus greening disease.

• Wednesday, November 29th 2017 - 06:15 UTC

  One in ten medical products in developing countries is substandard or falsified

  

  An estimated one in ten medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, according to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO). This means that people are taking medicines that fail to treat or prevent disease.

• Saturday, November 25th 2017 - 23:39 UTC

  Yellow fever cases re-emerge in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo

  

  Between July and mid-October 2017, a total of 71 suspected yellow fever cases were reported in São Paulo State, Brazil. Of these, two were confirmed, six are under investigation, and 63 were ruled out.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 15:15 UTC

  Falklands announces new Legislative Assembly and portfolios assigned

  

  The new Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands has been announced, following the General Election which concluded on Thursday 9th November.