Health & Science

• Monday, May 12th 2014 - 23:56 UTC

  Mujica asks Obama support for scientific knowledge and to combat smoking

  

  In an enjoyable press conference at the White House Uruguay's President Jose Mujica spoke about the increasing importance for people in the US to be bilingual, the dangers of smoking and his interest in having access to U.S. knowledge and professors. President Barrack Obama praised the Uruguayan leader's 'extraordinary' credibility and leadership in democracy and human rights issues.

• Monday, May 12th 2014 - 06:48 UTC

  Brazil downplays, mathematically, the threat of dengue for Cup tourists

  

  A study by Brazilian experts calculates that, in the worst case scenario, just 100 of the 600,000 foreign tourists who will visit Brazil during the World Cup soccer tourney scheduled to begin in June, or less than 0.02% of the total visitors, will contract dengue during their stay in the country.

• Wednesday, May 7th 2014 - 06:21 UTC

  Live avian influenza virus discovered in Antarctica Adélie penguins

  

  Researchers have found a new type of avian influenza virus in a group of Adélie penguins (pygoscelies adeliae) from Antarctica. Aeron Hurt, PhD, a senior research scientist at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne, Australia, said that this is the first time that a distinct, live flu virus has been found in these birds.

• Tuesday, May 6th 2014 - 06:41 UTC

  WHO declares a polio international public health emergency

  

  The World Health Organization warned Monday that polio has reemerged as a public health emergency, after new cases of the crippling disease began surfacing and spreading across borders from countries like Syria and Pakistan.

• Monday, May 5th 2014 - 06:31 UTC

  Mosquito transmitted Chikungunya has become an epidemic in the Caribbean

  

  The head of the Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA), Dr James Hospedales, has declared the Chikungunya virus has reached epidemic proportions in the Caribbean. The mosquito-borne illness was first detected in the Caribbean in December 2013, in St Martin, and last week Antigua and St Vincent and the Grenadines became the latest countries to declare an outbreak.

• Monday, May 5th 2014 - 06:11 UTC

  The Lancet acknowledges Argentina's child mortality rates have dropped dramatically

  

  Argentina has been improving its mortality rates over the past decades, as it was revealed on Friday by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. Although Argentina's rates are better than other countries in the region, including Brazil, Cuba, Uruguay and Chile among others still have the better numbers.

• Sunday, May 4th 2014 - 13:52 UTC

  Bacteria antibiotic resistance is winning the day and a major threat to public health

  

  A new report by WHO–its first to look at antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, globally–reveals that this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country.

• Saturday, May 3rd 2014 - 06:30 UTC

  Licensed pharmacies in Uruguay will sell marihuana at a dollar a gram

  

  Uruguayan authorities have revealed how marijuana will be produced and sold legally in the country following the approval of the bill last December. Licensed pharmacies will sell the drug for approximately one US dollar a gram with consumers allowed 40g a month.

• Friday, May 2nd 2014 - 21:52 UTC

  Sea coral cnidarian protein offers new barrier against HIV infection

  

  National Cancer Institute researchers have discovered a new class of protein found in sea coral that appears able to prevent HIV from entering T cells. If the proteins can be adapted for use in sexual lubricants and gels, they could offer a new form of barrier against HIV infection.

• Friday, April 25th 2014 - 21:24 UTC

  UK £200 million new polar research vessel will ensure presence in Antarctica and he South Atlantic

  

  The British government will fund a new £200 million polar research ship to put UK scientists at the forefront of climate and ocean research in both Antarctica and the Arctic, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced on Friday in a speech.