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International experts gather to address pressing threats to food security

From catastrophic floods in Pakistan that have left millions homeless and hungry to the aftermath of Haiti's devastating earthquake, relief efforts are under way in many parts of the world where disasters have brought food crises along with destruction. In Africa's Sahel region, severe drought has been followed by floods that are now threatening the food security of millions of people among the world's poorest. More than half of Niger's population - some 7 million people - as well as millions more in neighbouring Chad, Mali and Mauritania face hunger and malnutrition.

3 Sep 2010

IPS examines agricultural funding in Africa

Inter Press Service examines how some African countries are benefiting from the global agriculture fund the G8 pledged $22 billion to in July 2009. According to the article, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), which seeks to increase African spending on agriculture to foster more growth, "has received a major boost as several countries have begun drawing" on the G8 money.

3 Sep 2010

WFP, UNICEF heads appeal for more flood aid for Pakistan

After touring flood-hit areas in Pakistan on Tuesday, the executive directors of UNICEF and the World Food Program appealed for more flood relief aid, VOA News reports (Maroney, 8/31).

2 Sep 2010

Tooth brush in a teenager’s stomach

A 15-year-old girl in New Zealand came to the emergency department at an Auckland hospital after accidentally swallowing her 19-centimetre toothbrush. The case study was published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

31 Aug 2010

Anti-smoking measures beefed up

Tasmanians are looking at one of the tightest tobacco control measures ever adopted. The Tasmanian Government is proposing a no-smoking zone at almost all public places including shopping malls and sporting venues and introducing smoke-free buffer zone around children's playgrounds.

31 Aug 2010

SCIPP discusses improvements since Hurricane Katrina's impact

Five years ago, New Orleans was hit by one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Three years later - almost to the day - the city survived another major hurricane with barely a scratch. What happened to make the outcomes of Hurricane Gustav so much different from Katrina? LSU's Climate Center, part of the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, or SCIPP, which partners LSU with the University of Oklahoma, released "Beyond Katrina: Lessons Learned," to evaluate the progress New Orleans, the state of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region have made since Katrina's devastating impact in 2005.

31 Aug 2010

QPIP observes 1st anniversary

Quality Physicians Insurance Program, a risk purchasing group providing professional liability insurance to physicians in Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia, recently celebrated the company's 1st anniversary.

31 Aug 2010

Scientists find effective training regimens to determine exercise intensity

For competitive bicyclists with goals - whether competing in the Tour de France or aiming for the podium at a local race - faster cycling comes from training regimens based on various zones of exercise intensity. New research from exercise scientists at the University of New Hampshire has found that effective training regimens, which generally are created after expensive, time-consuming laboratory tests, can be developed from a relatively simple, do-it-yourself test.

31 Aug 2010

Leaked draft of 'DRC Mapping Exercise' is ridiculous', says Government of Rwanda

The Government of Rwanda today described the leaked draft of "DRC Mapping Exercise" as malicious, offensive and ridiculous.

30 Aug 2010

NSW bed sore death could have been prevented: Coroner

After the death of a severely disabled woman in New South Wales, the coroner has ruled that the death due to bed sores was avoidable and caregivers need more training to manage such cases. 26-year-old Kate Therese Bugmy died at Broken Hill Base Hospital in June 2007 as a result of sepsis from bed sores. She had severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and an intellectual disability and weighed just 36 kilos when she died.

26 Aug 2010

Washington Times examines how U.S. assesses corruption in aid recipient countries

The Washington Times continues its coverage of the challenges facing the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) - "the U.S. government agency that provides large-scale grant to … chosen countries to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. … Although MCC says control of corruption is the single most important indicator by which a nation is deemed qualified for aid money, a review of the State Department's most recent report on human rights reveals that … virtually every country receiving similar grants - has been criticized for government corruption."

26 Aug 2010

Brisbane building site accident raises safety issues

After an accident that involved a subcontractor at a Brisbane CBD building site, workers have refused to return to work until they are satisfied with the safety arrangements. The subcontractor Braedon Webber, 25 is still in an induced coma this morning after being trapped between a piece of equipment and a concrete beam at the Laing O'Rourke tower at 123 Albert Street shortly before 7am yesterday.

25 Aug 2010

Centocor R&D wins CIO 100 Award for tranSMART data management system

Recombinant Data Corp., a healthcare data warehousing and clinical intelligence solutions provider, today announced that Centocor R&D, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, won a CIO 100 Award for tranSMART, a research data management system delivered through a partnership with Recombinant that enables drug research and development data sharing across Johnson & Johnson.

25 Aug 2010

Doctoral students receive insights on potential career paths at symposium hosted by Emergent Biosolutions

Emergent BioSolutions Inc.today hosted "Looking Beyond the Bench," a symposium organized for doctoral students enrolled in the NIH-Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. The symposium featured Emergent executives, who, based industry, provided insight on potential career paths awaiting biomedical researchers.

25 Aug 2010

Stem cell research issues fought out in the court

A US district court has issued a temporary injunction stopping President Obama’s plans to increase funding for human embryonic stem cell research. The US government will appeal. According to a Justice Department spokesman, they are likely to file a case this week.

24 Aug 2010

Guthy-Renker partners with leading dermatologist for new skincare line

Guthy-Renker LLC, one of the largest and most respected direct marketing companies in the world and marketers of Proactiv, America's #1 acne system, is pleased to announce its partnership with leading dermatologist, Susan Evans, M.D., for a new skincare line called The Papaya Renewal Collection by Dr. Evans Cosmeceuticals.

24 Aug 2010

Heart to Heart International sends shipment of aid through IMC to help flood victims in Pakistan

An estimated 20 million people in northwest Pakistan have been displaced by the worst flooding in decades. In response, Heart to Heart International has already sent an initial shipment of aid valued at $150,000 (U.S. wholesale) through its humanitarian partner, International Medical Corps (IMC), and more aid is on the way.

24 Aug 2010

New York Times examines how U.S. aid can shape recipients' perspectives about America

The New York Times looks at the relationship between U.S. foreign aid's ability to shape aid recipients' attitudes toward the U.S. The article includes the perspectives of former USAID administrators J. Brian Atwood, who led the agency under President Bill Clinton, and Andrew Natsios, who was the director under President George W. Bush.

24 Aug 2010

Tram accidents on the rise: Study

There has been an increase in tram accidents and injuries, despite new safety measures. In a Melbourne-based study, conducted by a group of emergency doctors, 1,769 cases of trauma that occurred in tram accidents between 2001 and 2008 were looked into.

23 Aug 2010

Castor bean genome may help prevent potential bioterrorism events

A research team co-led by scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), University of Maryland School of Medicine, today published the sequence and analysis of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) genome in Nature Biotechnology.

23 Aug 2010