diseases

Canadian scientists launch early warning system to spot traces of H5N1 bird flu in milk

by
Canadian scientists launch early warning system to spot traces of H5N1 bird flu in milk

It all started with a few text messages in late April. Several well-known Canadian scientists — Toronto-based infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch, Saskatoon-based virologist Angela Rasmussen and Winnipeg-based microbiologist Jason Kindrachuk — were all chatting about the unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in U.S. dairy cows. By then, American officials had tracked cow cases … Read more

Climate change could increase spread of diseases

by
Climate change could increase spread of diseases

The World Health Organization says “urgent action” is needed to research how climate change is affecting malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Rising temperatures are changing how vector-borne diseases – diseases spread by the bite of infected insects – are spread, the WHO said in a press release last week. Climate change expands the geographic … Read more

Feds put $15M into pathogen tracking, health-care supply chain research to prep for next pandemic

by
Feds put M into pathogen tracking, health-care supply chain research to prep for next pandemic

A new $15-million cross-border research project is underway to monitor the movement of pathogens in Canada and the U.S. in the event of future pandemics.  The federal government put up the money that will cover four years of equipment and research. The Integrated Network for the Surveillance of Pathogens: Increasing Resilience and Capacity in Canada’s … Read more

Canada-China relations committee questions witnesses on Winnipeg lab intelligence breach

by
Canada-China relations committee questions witnesses on Winnipeg lab intelligence breach

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland suggested on Monday that there are gaps in the early stages of screening scientists at secret-level facilities such as the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in Winnipeg.  Holland told the House of Commons special committee on Canada-China relations there is a “responsibility of those individuals to disclose their engagements and affiliations.”  He … Read more

Scientists try to unravel the case of 1,300 mysteriously preserved human brains

by
Scientists try to unravel the case of 1,300 mysteriously preserved human brains

6:39Scientists try to unravel the case of 1,300 mysteriously preserved human brains Oxford University’s Alexandra Morton-Hayward spends her days surrounded by brains — literally.  The undertaker-turned-scientist is trying to unravel why some human brains remain remarkably well-preserved after death, sometimes for thousands of years, even when all other soft tissue has long decayed. And anyone … Read more

Time in space is bad for the bones. N.S. prof’s research could help humans on Earth

by
Time in space is bad for the bones. N.S. prof’s research could help humans on Earth

For two decades, Tamara Franz-Odendaal has been studying how space travel affects the human skeleton. Because of the absence of gravity in space, astronauts experience bone loss when they get back to Earth. “We always think of it as just the scaffold that kind of keeps the body together, but it’s a really dynamic tissue,” … Read more

Scientists hope to bank on local vaccine as leptospirosis cases hit 5-year high in Philippines

by
Scientists hope to bank on local vaccine as leptospirosis cases hit 5-year high in Philippines

Dr Villanueva added that labourers who serve as primary breadwinners in Filipino households are especially at risk, as they are often outdoors. For them, getting infected could mean losing their primary income source while they recover from the disease. “It’s not just a health problem but also an economic burden to those affected families,” she … Read more

Olive oil is getting more expensive — and these Italian farmers can tell you why

by
Olive oil is getting more expensive — and these Italian farmers can tell you why

On a warm, blustery December afternoon outside the De Laurentis olive oil-producing co-op in the white hilltop town of Ostuni, Puglia, Luigi D’Amico holds out his palm, revealing an olive picked earlier in the day. Instead of resembling the plump, gleaming green and black fruit overflowing in bins around him, this one is half-consumed, dry … Read more

Oldest mosquito in amber reveals bloodsucking surprise

by
Oldest mosquito in amber reveals bloodsucking surprise

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide are killed annually by malaria and other diseases spread through the bite of mosquitoes, insects that date back to the age of dinosaurs. All of these bites are inflicted by females, which possess specialized mouth anatomy that their male counterparts lack. But it hasn’t always been that way. Researchers … Read more