Category: Health
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Curious case of armadillo leprosy
Texans love all things armadillo. It is the state animal and Texas has become somewhat of a haven for hunting the small creature. In Louisiana and Texas, people hunt, skin and eat armadillos. Nothing exemplifies this all-things-armadillo attitude quite like the fact that barbecued armadillo and armadillo chili are popular delicacies in Texas. During the…
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Middle East Coronavirus
Since the summer of last year, the perennial talk of epidemics and pandemics has focused on a novel coronavirus. A virus that belongs to a diverse group of that affects many animal species — from bats to humans. At the time the public health risks were unknown. How many could eventually possibly become infected or…
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Industrial Food and Evolution
Back in 1748, William Cullen invented the first known refrigeration system at the University of Glasgow. Today, the refrigerator is something many take for granted. Probably, not much thought is given to refrigeration, but when you pause and think about it, heating and cooling has made one of the biggest contributions to modern society and…
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Mosquito-borne diseases: Fighting fire with fire
I have a decidedly “live and let live” approach to life. There are no animals in this world which I harbour any malicious feelings towards, regardless of how many of those animals would think nothing of poisoning, eating, maiming, or otherwise killing me (it’s a tough world out there). No animals, with one exception. I…
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15 million mobile phones used to track malaria
We all know that mosquitoes spread malaria. What we never quite realise is that humans also spread malaria — and quite significantly. In some places, the spread of malaria is directly linked to the mass movements of human populations. The movements of infected humans seem to increase the dispersal of parasites beyond what would be…
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Morphine Hurts
Why does Morphine cause pain? He was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 27. At the age of 39 he was in so much pain he begged his doctors to die. He was in pain because of morphine. In the 12 years he lived since he was diagnosed he had a therapeutic regimen…
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Predicting the next epidemic
In some parts of this world the rains predict disease, and a hot, dry, dusty wind is the harbinger of a meningitis outbreak that is yet to come. Now, from where you sit, Google will soon predict the next great epidemic. At this time of year, ever since that 2009 paper was published on flu…
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Bacon Fans United: The Pig Genome Sequenced
Breeding healthier and meatier piggies has been one of the many scientific challenges of the past decades; creating more reliable models to study human diseases is another. The swine disease model is indeed much better to use when studying human disorders than the (thus far) widely used murine models. Although pigs reproduce slower than mice…
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BioGrid Australia wins People¹s Choice Excellence in BI Award for 2012
BioGrid Australia has won the hotly contested People¹s Choice Excellence in Business Intelligence Award for 2012 for its application of information technology in e-health. The Excellence in Business Intelligence Award, sponsored by BusinessMinds, was won by Telstra for a customer centric solution using nearreal time BI. In the People’s Choice Award, the delegates at the Big Data Summit…
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The Continuing Saga of the Genetically Modified Plant
GM (Genetically Modified) Foods “Jack! Did you see that potato move?! He’s a GM, that one, he’s sprouted eyes and I bet he’ll grow legs next! He’s gonna round up his buddies and take over the farm!” That opening is ridiculous because farmers are a wise group of people and genetic modification of crops will…
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Panique au village: the revolution that caused an epidemic
It boasts, struts, and flaunts with that kind of assurance that only comes from the mentality of knowing that you are right, and that even if you may be wrong, others will admire you for it. This is Paris. Where other cities flowed and spilled out to occupy a space larger than its originality, Paris…
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The evolution of human mortality
How long until we live forever? The general consensus is that we are getting older and living longer. Despite consequences and kryptonite, it is getting easier to stay alive. Heaven can wait, it seems. Every year each baby born is expected to live 3 months longer than its predecessor of the previous year. This has…
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Weekly Science Picks
Sigh, my photo caption sums it all up… But here are the news stories that caught my eye and I hope you find them interesting as well. Maybe reading them will inspire your own work or to dig deeper for answers. In any case, enjoy! This is one of my favorite topics because it…
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Weekly Science Picks
“La rentrée!” Paris — first week of September. It’s when the city reignites again, everyone comes back from holiday and gets back to work, and — more importantly — kids go back to school. In celebration of “le bon retour” my first pick comes from right here on Australian Science. Kelly Burnes’ musings on the…