Health & Science

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Fossil remains of snake “as long as a bus” in Colombia

  

  The discovery of fossilised remains belonging to the world's largest snake has been reported in Nature journal. Titanoboa was 13 meters long - about the length of a bus - and lived in the rainforest of north-east Colombia 58-60 million years ago.

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Bolivia admits dengue epidemic is “out of control”

  

  Bolivia's Public Health Minister Ramiro Tapia admitted Wednesday that the mosquito transmitted dengue epidemics which has extended to the whole territory is “out of control” and said a total 8.152 cases had been reported of which 7 deaths.

• Wednesday, February 4th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Storm kills five, blackouts Argentina's second city

  Five people, including two children, died and at least 47 others have been injured in the storm that is battering central Argentina, which was recently hit by the worst drought in the past 50 years, officials said Tuesday.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Warning on the “other CO2 problem”: ocean acidification

  The world's marine ecosystems risk being severely damaged by ocean acidification unless there are dramatic cuts in CO2 emissions, warn scientists. More than 150 top marine researchers have voiced their concerns through the “Monaco Declaration”, which warns that changes in acidity are accelerating.

• Monday, February 2nd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  “Sterile flies” to combat cattle screw worm in Uruguay

  

  Mexico made a first shipment of sterile parasitic flies to Uruguay to help combat the cattle “screw worm” or Cochliomyia hominivorax, an insect whose larvae or maggots eat living tissue, and which has gradually spread from Brazil to the southern pastures of South America.

• Thursday, January 29th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Southern Ocean climate fix remains afloat

  

  Plans to curb climate change by using plankton to draw carbon dioxide into the world's oceans have been boosted.

• Thursday, January 29th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Dengue epidemic in Bolivia; worst outbreak in 22 years

  

  Landlocked Bolivia has declared a health emergency as a dengue fever epidemic spreads across much of the country. Health officials say it is the worst outbreak in 22 years and at least three people are known to have died from the disease.

• Sunday, January 25th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  “Low intensity” dengue epidemics in Paraguay

  

  The Paraguayan government admitted a “low intensity” dengue epidemics following 360 cases reported in hospital emergencies of which 179 remain highly “suspicious” of having been contaminated by the mosquito transmitted disease.

• Sunday, January 25th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Low-oxygen areas in oceans linked to global warming

  

  Unchecked global warming would leave ocean dwellers gasping for breath according to an article in the latest edition of Nature Geoscience. Dead zones are low-oxygen areas in the ocean where higher life forms such as fish, crabs and clams are not able to live. In shallow coastal regions, these zones can be caused by runoff of excess fertilizers from farming.

• Thursday, January 22nd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Dengue emergency in Bolivia with 1.000 reported cases

  

  Bolivian officials have declared a health emergency after three deaths attributed to dengue hemorrhagic fever, the often-lethal form of a mosquito-borne disease that more than 1,000 Bolivians are thought to have contracted since November.