Scientists in Burkina Faso have deployed a new weapon in the fight against malaria, and waded into a thorny bioethics debate, by letting loose thousands of genetically sterilised mosquitoes. Their experiment is the first outside the lab to release genetically altered mosquitoes in the hope of reducing their ability to spread the often deadly disease. It works using a technique called a gene drive, which edits and then propagates a gene in a population – in this case to prevent males from producing offspring. Investments in anti-malarial drugs, mosquito nets and insecticides have slowed malaria over the past two decades…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Ethan Lindenberger is only 18 years old, but he is already a hardened campaigner. By Ana Lazaro He managed to get vaccinations, against his mother’s wishes. Now he is fighting against the spread of anti-vax movements. “The message is very simple: the misinformation is very dangerous. And that people misinformed is not bad people. They have just been given bad information and given false information and ideas, and you need to fight that with better information”. He has come to Brussels to take part in the Global vaccination summit. In Europe, scepticism about vaccination has being growing during in recent…
A Nigerian pharmacist, Mr Emmanuel Tangang, has advised Nigerians against consumption of fruits during medication to avoid reduction in the potency of the drugs. Tangang gave the advice in an interview on Thursday in Kaduna. According to him, many people do not know that some fruits interact badly with certain medications. “This means your meal can end up reducing the efficacy of your drugs, or worse still, could become a health nightmare. “An example is banana; do not eat them if you take ACE inhibitors such as Captopril, Enalapril and Fosinopril, among others. “ACE inhibitors lower blood pressure and treat…
Prof. Olubunmi Olapade-Olaopa, the Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, says the 71-year-old medical college has clinched the fourth position in Africa in the 2019 World University Ranking. Olapade-Olaopa, who disclosed this on Thursday in Ibadan while speaking with newsmen at the end of the Innovative Research Fair of the college, said the institution is also the first in sub-Saharan Africa. The three-day fair had the tagline: “Innovation for Development.” According to the provost, the premier Nigerian college fell behind Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa as well as Cairo and Mansoura Universities in Egypt. Olapade-Olaopa…
For the first time, a patient got treated for HIV and cancer at the same time, with an infusion of gene-edited stem cells. The results? Mixed. HIV cells HIV invades human immune cells using a protein known as CCR5, which acts like a door to let the virus in. Without it, the virus can’t spread and reproduce. Imagine you’re 27 years old and you start feeling ill. Ill enough that you go to the hospital, and after much poking and prodding and waiting for lab results you learn you’re HIV positive. Two weeks later you find out that’s not even…
By Ronnie Cummins The Climate Emergency is finally getting the attention of the media and the U.S. (and world) body politic, as well as a growing number of politicians, activists and even U.S. farmers. This great awakening has arrived just in time, given the record-breaking temperatures, violent weather, crop failures and massive waves of forced migration that are quickly becoming the norm. Global scientists have dropped their customary caution. They now warn us that we have to drastically reduce global emissions – by at least 45 percent – over the next decade. Otherwise, we’ll pass the point of no return – defined as…
Human genome editing has been raising controversy in the international medical space as there is no regulating body or laws to monitor what scientists do.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield’s Institute for Sustainable Food are collaborating with industry to develop a natural, sustainable biocontrol which targets pests without harming honeybees and other beneficial pollinators By Sean Barton, University of Sheffield Estimated global crop loss to pests – including insects, plant viruses and fungi – is around $100 billion every year, equating to a 40 per cent loss in global agricultural productionNew pesticide alternative could help achieve food security whilst protecting vital pollinators A natural, sustainable alternative to pesticides that targets specific pests, without harming beneficial pollinators such as honeybees, is being developed with the…
A new report finds no evidence of a current danger from microplastics, but the WHO urges further research. By Ashley P. Taylor The minuscule bits of plastic invisibly bobbing around in drinking water do not pose a threat to human health, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment published August 21. Microplastics are those anywhere in size from 100 nanometers to 5 millimeters wide—though there’s no official definition. According to the WHO report, the plastic particles get into drinking water through run-off and wastewater effluent, and those found in bottled water may have something to do with the bottling…
Journalists, scientists and communications officer converged on Abuja, Nigeria to participate in a Science Café jointly organised by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), the Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa+ and the Nigerian chapter of the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB). The 2018 ISAAA report on Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops was also launched at the Science Café, which held at Corinthia Villa Hotel. In his remarks, the Acting Director of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof. Alex Akpa said the delay in deployment of the technology in Nigeria is as a result…