In The News

Is Insecticide Sprayed to Fight Zika a Risk for People and Wildlife?

Andres Viglucci August 15, 2016
Florida is using naled, a pesticide that is reported to target honey bees as well as mosquitoes. “County mosquito-control officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency play down the risks posed by aerial spraying of naled, which has been approved for use against adult mosquitoes in the United States since 1959, but is banned by the European Union,” reports Andres Viglucci for the Miami...

Will This Be the Happiest Place in the World?

Louise Redvers August 5, 2016
People who don't need to resort full attention to survival turn to more fulfilling pursuits including happiness. The United Arab Emirates is intent on developing itself as a place of happiness, by appointing a state minister, renaming some departments, and selecting 60 officials to travel overseas to study the state of mind and how it spreads. “Currently ranked 28th out of 156 countries...

Your Soap and Toothpaste Could Be Messing With Your Microbiome

Alison Moodie August 3, 2016
Homes, schools, clinics and hospitals are well stocked with soaps that include antimicrobial chemicals. Studies suggest that antibacterial soaps are not much more effective than plain soap and that the chemical triclosan can disrupt hormones. Studies have also found the chemical in most people’s urine and in many streams. “Disturbing the human microbiome has been ‘linked to a wide array of...

Fighting the Zika Virus

Nayan Chanda February 17, 2016
Over their lifetime Aedes aegypti mosquitoes may not wander more than a few hundred meters from the source where they emerged as larva without human intervention. Still, the range for the insects is widening, and they have a presence on every continent. Mosquitoes are vectors for multiple blood-borne pathogens, including dengue and the Zika virus, and those are also spreading. The World Health...

Short Answers to Hard Questions About Zika Virus

Donald G. McNeil Jr, Catherine Saint Louis and Nicholas St. Fleur February 2, 2016
The World Health Organization has declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus a global public health emergency, suggesting that up to 4 million people could be infected this year. The virus, spread by the common Aedes genus of mosquitoes, was identified in Africa in 1947. Brazilian researchers linked the virus with microcephaly in newborns in 2015 – and it not yet known if Zika is the only cause....

WHO: Extremely Alarmed by Zika, Could Reach 4 Million Cases

Tom Miles, Stephanie Nebehay and Kate Kelland January 28, 2016
The World Health Organization is convening an emergency meeting on the Zika virus. Describing the virus as a threat of alarming proportions, WHO officials anticipate it could affect up to 4 million people. The virus has been linked with severe birth defects and stunted brain development. “There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild...

Family Planning Is “Critical Link" in Eradicating Poverty

Zofeen Ebrahim and Liz Ford January 27, 2016
Health experts point out that access to family planning and preventing unwanted pregnancies are essential for sustainable development. Member states of the United Nations last year adopted 17 goals on sustainability, including reducing poverty and inequality, while promoting economic growth and full employment. Family planning is a critical link for each goal, notes Ellen Starbird of USAid, as...