Health & Science

• Thursday, August 28th 2014 - 06:46 UTC

  Ebola outbreak needs an 'unprecedented' response to bring it under control

  

  The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is going to get worse before it gets better, according to the top US public health official. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control, said the epidemic would need an “unprecedented” response to bring it under control.

• Wednesday, August 27th 2014 - 20:42 UTC

  Falkland Islands resident off to Oxford University with a Chevening scholarship

  

  A Falkland Islands resident is off to the University of Oxford later this year, after being announced as the Falkland Islands' newest Chevening Scholar. Clare Cockwell has been offered a full scholarship under the UK Government's Chevening programme to study towards an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management at Hertford College.

• Friday, August 22nd 2014 - 23:48 UTC

  Don't blame Columbus: TB in the Americas already was present...in seals

  

  The long-held idea that Europeans were the first to bring tuberculosis to the Americas when they arrived in the 15th Century has been thrown into doubt. Instead, a study suggests that the deadly disease was present in the area hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus made landfall.

• Friday, August 22nd 2014 - 13:19 UTC

  Two first patients treated for Ebola virus in US hospital have been released

  

  The two United States aid workers who were the first patients ever to be treated for the Ebola virus at a hospital in the US have been released, capping a transcontinental medical drama that stirred public debate about whether citizens with the virus or exposed to the virus should have been allowed to return.

• Monday, August 18th 2014 - 07:04 UTC

  Scientists create a carbon dioxide absorbing 'polymer sponge' that helps new energy sources

  

  Scientists have created a new sponge-type material that absorbs carbon dioxide, which is believed to play a key role in global warming. The polymer – a large molecule used in plastics – is thought to have the potential to bridge the gap between the use of fossil fuels and new energy sources such as hydrogen, and could be integrated into power plant smokestacks in the future.

• Saturday, August 16th 2014 - 11:49 UTC

  Plenty of generic Viagra in Brazilian pharmacies as patent expires

  

  The day after Pfizer Inc’s patent for Viagra expired in Brazil, Carlos Sanchez flooded pharmacies with his generic erectile dysfunction pills. It was a day his army of lawyers, researchers and marketers had been preparing for more than three years, even winning a bid to move up the patent’s expiration date.

• Saturday, August 16th 2014 - 08:28 UTC

  Ebola-affected region athletes involved in body contact disciplines banned from Youth Games

  

  The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Friday it was prohibiting young athletes from the Ebola-affected region of West Africa from participating in certain events at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

• Friday, August 15th 2014 - 02:18 UTC

  WHO downplays panic: air travel is low-risk for Ebola transmission

  

  The World Health Organization reiterated its position that the risk of transmission of Ebola virus disease during air travel remains low. “Unlike infections such as influenza or tuberculosis, Ebola is not airborne,” says Dr Isabelle Nuttall, Director of WHO Global Capacity Alert and Response. “It can only be transmitted by direct contact with the body fluids of a person who is sick with the disease.”

• Wednesday, August 13th 2014 - 06:41 UTC

  Philip Morris prepared to sue the UK over plain packaging of cigarettes

  

  Philip Morris International, the world's largest tobacco company, is prepared to sue the British government should it implement a law requiring plain packaging of cigarettes, a document showed.

• Wednesday, August 13th 2014 - 06:29 UTC

  First European Ebola infected dies; WHO approves unproven drugs for people at risk

  

  Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, 75, the first European infected by a strain of Ebola that has killed more than 1,000 people in West Africa, has died in hospital in Madrid, a spokeswoman for the city's health authorities said.