By Leah Rosenbaum For more than a century, scientists have tried to grow Treponema pallidum, the corkscrew-shaped bacterium that causes syphilis. But the stubborn spirochete has refused to thrive any place outside of a human or rabbit for more than 18 days. That doesn’t give researchers much time to study it. “I’ve basically spent my entire career watching these organisms die,” says microbiologist Steven Norris, of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Until now. Norris and colleagues have cooked up a new recipe that keeps the bacteria alive for months, they report June 26 in mBio. “We know very little…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
In order to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment, the Lagos State Ministry of Environment on Saturday mopped up an illegal dumpsite at Coconut Area of the Apapa axis. The Commissioner for Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti who observed that the black spot had been in the area for over a year, said the mop-up of refuse on the Apapa axis of Oshodi Expressway was necessary because of the hazard it posed for the residents of the environment. He said that after the mop-up, refuse bins would be placed at strategic locations in the area. ”There is a proliferation of trucks in…
The World Health Organisation (WHO), has recommended that every adult should consume less than five grammes of salt; less than one teaspoon daily to maintain a healthy life. WHO, on its Twitter Handle @WHOAFRO, on Saturday, said most people still consumed too much salt, an average of nine to 12 grammes daily or about twice the recommended maximum level of intake per day. According to the organisation, consuming too much of the product increases the risk of developing high blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, which adds to health care cost for governments. It said that around 2.5 million…
An international study, coordinated by researchers from the French national Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD France), and involving the CEA/Genoscope and the Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice), has identified the geographic origin of African rice domestication. By sequencing over 246African wild and cultivated rice genomes, the researchers have shown that this plant was domesticated 3,000 years ago in the Inner Niger Delta in northern Mali. These results, published on July 5th 2018 in the journal Current Biology, also demonstrate how past climatic changes led to profound societal transformations, notably the adoption of agriculture. The third most produced cereal in the world after…
In 2015, the Union ministry of environment, forests & climate change (MoEF&CC) had announced new emission norms for thermal power plants across India. For power stations located within 300 km of the Delhi-NCR region, the deadline for meeting the norms is December 2019. A new survey by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) indicates that most plants will not meet the deadline. This means that thermal power plants in Delhi-NCR will continue to contribute to the overload of toxic pollution in the capital’s air. That’s not all. The Delhi-NCR region has over 3,000 legal brick kilns, which had been largely practicing…
By EarthScience2018 New research links outdoor air pollution — even at levels deemed safe — to an increased risk of diabetes globally, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs (VA) St. Louis Health Care System. The findings raise the possibility that reducing pollution may lead to a drop in diabetes cases in heavily polluted countries such as India and less polluted ones such as the United States. Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases, affecting more than 420 million people worldwide and 30 million Americans. The main drivers of…
Dr Amos Ujulu, Director of Disease Control Department (DCD), Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ASPHCDA), says the state has recorded 1,564 cases of cholera this year. Ujulu disclosed this during his presentation on the recent outbreak of cholera to the State Executive Council Meeting in Yola. He said that over 100 communities were affected by the outbreak of cholera in the northern part of the state. He listed the affected local government areas as Maiha, Mubi North and Mubi South, adding that the disease further spread to some parts of Cameroon bordering Nigeria. According to him, the state…
Australian scientists on Thursday said they have taken a crucial step toward in developing a new malaria vaccine by using a novel “atomic-scale” blueprint to track how the parasite invades human cells. “With this unprecedented level of detail, we can now begin to design new therapies that specifically target and disrupt the parasite’s invasion machinery, preventing malaria parasites from hijacking human red blood cells to spread through the blood and, ultimately, be transmitted to others,” Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Associate Professor Wai-Hong Tham said in a statement. Her team’s discovery was published in scientific journal Nature. The researchers’ work involves using…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that a new drug – Carbetocin – has the potential to save thousands of women’s lives in childbirth annually. WHO said Carbetocin now serves as a new competition – with improved benefits – to Oxytocin, a stand-by drug used to prevent potentially-fatal bleeding after childbirth. WHO said excessive bleeding after childbirth still kills around 70,000 mothers a year and currently, Oxytocin is the first-choice medication, but it must be kept cold, unlike the new drug, Carbetocin. The study, partly led, among others, by WHO and published on Wednesday, suggested that the new drug…
The 194 Member States of the World Health Organisation (WHO) have finally ratified the framework on tobacco control. The ratification, aaccording to WHO, comes almost six years after the first protocol was adopted. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) announced that with the ratification of the UK, the necessary number of parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products has been reached for its enter into force in 90 days. It’s a “clear message of the international community’s commitment to combating illicit trade in tobacco products worldwide,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that it’s the “first…