Category: Science

Industry losses from bird flu could top $400 million

South Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has said that the nation has culled nearly 20 million birds – or more than 12% – of its poultry to prevent the spread of avian flu, The Korea Times reported citing Yonhap News Agency. A report by the Korea Economic Research Institute predicted that the country’s financial loss could total 492 billion South Korean won after 10% of the poultry population has been slaughtered.

FAO: Horn of Africa Braces for Another Hunger Season [video]

Growing numbers of refugees in East Africa, meanwhile, are expected to place even more burden on already strained food and nutrition security. Currently, close to 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of food assistance, as families in the region face limited access to food and income, together with rising debt, low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production.

New graphene system can detect activity levels of interfaced normal and cancer cells

By interfacing brain cells onto graphene, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown they can differentiate a single hyperactive cancerous cell from a normal cell, pointing the way to developing a simple, noninvasive tool for early cancer diagnosis. “This graphene system is able to detect the level of activity of an interfaced cell,” says Vikas Berry, associate professor and head of chemical engineering at UIC, who led the research along with Ankit Mehta, assistant professor of clinical neurosurgery in the UIC College of Medicine.

Combination therapy holds great promise to clear precancerous skin lesions

A combination of two FDA-approved drugs – a topical chemotherapy and an immune-system-activating compound – was able to rapidly clear actinic keratosis lesions from patients participating in a clinical trial. Standard treatment for this common skin condition, which can lead to the development of squamous cell carcinoma, takes up to a month and can elicit several unpleasant side effects.

Dutch bill proposes euthanasia for over 75s

Dutch MP Pia Dijkstra proposed a bill that would allow euthanasia for anyone over the age of 75 who no longer wants to live. To be eligible a person would need to have “an intrinsic and consistent” wish to die, which would be confirmed by a second interview at least two months after the initial request.

Researchers Develop First Chikungunya Vaccine From Benign Insect-Specific Virus

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed the first vaccine for chikungunya fever made from an insect-specific virus that doesn’t have any effect on people, making the vaccine safe and effective. The newly developed vaccine quickly produces a strong immune defense and completely protects mice and nonhuman primates from disease when exposed to the chikungunya virus.

This drugmaker is taking an unprecedented approach to getting its cancer treatment approved

As researchers look for new approaches for tough-to-treat cancer, many are looking into genetics – more specifically, they’re looking at the type of genetic mutations found in cancerous tumors. One company in particular, called Loxo Oncology is building drugs that act on those mutations, so that the type of cancer someone has wouldn’t matter so much as the genetic information gleaned from sequencing the tumor.

South Korea, Japan step up poultry cull to contain bird flu

South Korean health officials disinfect a stream which migratory birds stay in winter temporarily, to prevent spread of bird flu in Pohang South Korea and Japan have ordered fresh culls of poultry stocks to contain outbreaks of avian flu, authorities in the two countries said. The South Korean Agriculture Ministry said on Monday it had ordered the cull of an additional 2.4 million birds, taking the total number to a record 18.4 million since the first outbreak of avian flu was reported at a farm on Nov. 18. It has called the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N6 strain of bird flu more severe than the H5N8 strain that spread across the country in 2014 and 2015 before being brought under control.

Farmers put on alert as bird flu hits UK poultry

Irish poultry farmers have been put on high alert for avian flu after migratory birds were blamed for an outbreak in the UK. A farm in Louth, Lincolnshire is now under strict quarantine controls as UK agriculture officials attempt to prevent a spread of the H5N8 strain of the bird flu virus.

Zoos shut down as bird flu approaches Seoul

… in the country’s disease control system. As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said that health authorities are entitled to close any chicken farm or cote if necessary. On Sunday, a chicken farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi …