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Achieving these goals for the science division will be challenging. The WHO has a surprisingly small budget for its outsized role, and must work hard to secure consensus and cooperation from funders and member countries. However, all agree on the urgency of these tasks, and the need to come together and realize them. Greater coordination of science activities within the WHO will help to make that happen.

Soumya Swaminathan explains how the World Health Organization’s new science division can promote universal health coverage in all countries.

Graphene quantum dots drawn from common coal may be the basis for an effective antioxidant for people who suffer traumatic brain injuries, strokes or heart attacks.

Their ability to quench oxidative stress after such injuries is the subject of a study by scientists at Rice University, the Texas A&M Health Science Center and the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Quantum dots are semiconducting materials small enough to exhibit quantum mechanical properties that only appear at the nanoscale.

Continue reading “Scientists discover coal-derived ‘dots’ are effective antioxidant” »

Some 360,000 children a year in three African countries will receive the world’s first malaria vaccine as part of a large-scale pilot project, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

Malawi has started vaccinating children under two years of age and Kenya and Ghana will begin using the vaccine in the coming weeks, with health ministries in these countries deciding where it will be used, the WHO said.

We really need to know more about the effects of fungi on human health in space.

A new and greatly improved version of an electronic tag, called Marine Skin, used for monitoring marine animals could revolutionize our ability to study sea life and its natural environment, say KAUST researchers.

Marine Skin is a thin, flexible, lightweight polymer-based material with integrated electronics which can track an animal’s movement and diving behavior and the health of the surrounding marine environment. Early versions of the sensors, reported previously, proved their worth when glued onto the swimming crab, Portunus pelagicus.

The latest and much more robust version can operate at unprecedented depths and can also be attached to an animal using a noninvasive bracelet or jacket. This can, when necessary, avoid the need for any glues that might harm an animal’s sensitive skin.

Continue reading “Marine Skin dives deeper for better monitoring” »

A malaria vaccine which is being called the first to give partial protection against the disease, is being rolled out in Malawi. It works by training the immune system to attack the malaria parasite which is spread by mosquito bites. In a few weeks it will be rolled out in Kenya and then Ghana. BBC Newsday’s Lawrence Pollard spoke to Dr David Schellenberg who has been working on the development of the vaccine with the World Health Organisation in Geneva.

(Photo: Malawians going through a medical checkup by a paramedic Credit: MAURICIO FERRETTI/AFP/Getty Images)

Continue reading “The ‘world’s first malaria vaccine’ is being rolled out in Malawi” »

The health benefits of raw, unprocessed honey are well known, but in Australia, scientists recently made a startling discovery – that one particular, obscure type of honey is capable of killing just about everything scientists throw at it, including some of the worst bacteria known to man.

The findings were published in the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (June 2009 edition), and could hold special significance at a time when many of the world’s top antibiotics are failing, especially against resistant “superbugs”.

The honey in question is known as manuka honey, which is produced in New Zealand and also goes by the name of jelly bush honey.

Continue reading “Manuka Honey Is Killing Every Kind Of Bacteria Scientists Throw At It, Even The Super-Bugs” »

Almost one in ten heart attacks and strokes could be avoided if check-ups were targeted at high risk patients, new research has revealed.

People aged 40 and over in England and Wales are currently eligible to have their heart health assessed every five years.

Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood-sugar levels, smoker status, age and family history are factors considered by doctors when working out a person’s chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

Continue reading “Almost one in ten heart attacks could be prevented if high-risk patients were checked more” »