Monthly Archives: October 2009
HIV vaccine trial not so positive after all
In September, scientists from the Thailand Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the U.S Army, hailed a breakthrough in research towards a HIV vaccine….a positive result. Now, the full results by Rerks-Ngarm and colleagues, published on 20th October in … Continue reading
Filed under Infectious Disease, Medicine, Microbiology
Be noble, cheats don’t always prosper
Social amoebae have evolved resistance to cheaters, which makes sure that the amoebae work together for the good of the group, say scientists published in Nature last week. Social amoebae, such as Dictyostelium, co-operate together to form multicellular, fruiting bodies … Continue reading
Filed under Biology
Paracetamol can limit effectiveness of vaccines in children
Treating vaccinated children with paracetamol as a precautionary measure against fever may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine itself, according to research by Prymula et al. published in The Lancet on the 17th October. Fever is classed as a temperature … Continue reading
Filed under Medicine
Diarrhoea is the 2nd biggest childhood killer worldwide
Diarrhoeal disease is a significant global health problem. Every year there are ~4 billion cases, and 2.5 million deaths, from diarrhoea. Most of these cases are in developing countries, and the sad fact is each year 1.5 million children under … Continue reading
Filed under campaign, Clean water, Infectious Disease
There’s gold in them there bacteria
Scientists have found that the bacterium, Cupriavidus metallidurans, can transform toxic gold compounds to metallic gold, according to research by Reith and colleagues published online on the 7th October in the journal PNAS. Bacteria are naturally found on gold particles … Continue reading
Filed under Biology, Science, Uncategorized
And the winner is…………….
So it’s award season in the scientific world………and it’s a biggie….The Nobel Prize. Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace, and from 1968 the Sveriges Riksbank Prize … Continue reading
Filed under Ig Nobel, Nobel Prize, Science, Uncategorized
