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Ancient rodent DNA being used to identify the cause of its low genetic diversity

A rare Patagonian rodent known as the colonial tuco-tuco fascinates biologists because it seems to defy all odds. This threatened species has so little genetic diversity that the slightest whiff of climate change or disease should have wiped it off the face of the earth long ago. Yet the hearty gopher-like creature has not only managed to survive for thousands of years in the harsh climate of the Argentine highlands, it has evolved a complex social structure that's unique among the more than 50 closely related tuco-tuco species.

28 Apr 2006

Vegan diets more enivronmentally friendly than meat based diets

The food that people eat is just as important as what kind of cars they drive when it comes to creating the greenhouse-gas emissions that many scientists have linked to global warming, according to a report accepted for publication in the journal Earth Interactions.

26 Apr 2006

Could global warming be contributing to the resurgence of malaria?

A widely-cited study published a few years ago said no, but new research by an international team that includes University of Michigan theoretical ecologist Mercedes Pascual finds that, while other factors such as drug and pesticide resistance, changing land use patterns and human migration also may play roles, climate change cannot be ruled out.

22 Mar 2006

Animals diseases jumping to humans faster than ever before

According to scientists in the U.S. and Scotland, 75% of the 38 species of harmful organisms and viruses identified in the past 25 years are believed to have "jumped" from animals to humans.

21 Feb 2006

Global warming may be reducing respiratory illnesses

Rising global temperatures over the past two decades may be responsible for a shortened season of a serious respiratory illness in the United Kingdom, according to an article in the March 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

16 Feb 2006

Psychologists find that two different thought processes can explain how we gauge our risk of disease

Psychologists have gained insight into how people judge their personal health risks. The findings suggest that people aren't horribly off the mark as long as they do not rely on media reports and stick to what's happened to people they know.

15 Aug 2005

Psychologists have gained insight into how people judge their personal health risks

The findings suggest that people aren't horribly off the mark as long as they do not rely on media reports and stick to what's happened to people they know.

7 Aug 2005

Australian Medical Association backs mandatory use of ethanol in petrol on health grounds

Australian Medical Association (AMA) President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, has written to the Australian Government's Biofuels Taskforce detailing the AMA's support for the mandatory use of ethanol in petrol in the interests of protecting and improving human health.

2 Aug 2005

Nitrogen oxides emitted by soil could play a substantially larger role in seasonal air pollution

Nitrogen oxides produced by huge fires and fossil fuel combustion are a major component of air pollution. They are the primary ingredients in ground-level ozone, a pollutant harmful to human health and vegetation.

6 Jun 2005

Hong Kong looks at relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases

The relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases is being studied by the Hong Kong Government to see whether there is a major or direct link, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow says.

11 May 2005

New research says global food demands threaten to outstrip world water supply

While many of today’s rivers, lakes and groundwater reservoirs continue to be overexploited, a new report launched today by leading scientists at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development warns that unless steps are taken to improve the way water is managed, twice the world’s current water consumption may be needed by 2050 to feed a global population of some 9 billion.

23 Apr 2005

US tendency to arrogantly flout international ethical practice for patient trials abroad

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed that observing a widely accepted code of medical ethics that protects patients who take part in trials is not necessary for studies conducted abroad, states a comment in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

28 Mar 2005

Global warming will bring climate-related health crises

As a result, governments and health officials need to begin to think about how to respond to an anticipated increase in the number and scope of climate-related health crises, ranging from killer heat waves and famine, to floods and waves of infectious diseases.

20 Feb 2005

Many of George Bush's health policies likely to be controversial in second term

Many health policies under George Bush's second term in office are likely to be controversial, warns a leading British doctor and an American colleague in this week's BMJ.

20 Jan 2005

20 new policies adopted by American Public Health Association

The American Public Health Association recently adopted 20 policies addressing a broad range of issues in public health from underage alcohol consumption and nutrition labeling in restaurants to the supply of flu vaccinations and threats to immigrants’ health care.

21 Dec 2004

Insects implicated in the evolution of new human infectious diseases

Insects and other invertebrates are the arena for the evolution of new infectious diseases in humans, new research shows.

25 Oct 2004

Global warming poses an increasingly sizeable threat to the continued existence of man

James Lovelock, atmospheric chemist and author of Gaia warns that the gravity of the situation facing Earth's inhabitants is greater than we have yet realized and accepted. Lovelock sets forth his predictions -- and proposed solutions -- in a commentary piece published this week in Atmospheric Science Letters.

21 Oct 2004