In The News

Gene-Mappers Take New Aim at Diseases

Nicholas Wade October 30, 2002
The human genome project, which mapped every gene in the body, will soon have a new and improved counterpart to guide genetic researchers. The International “HapMap” project will chart the location of large blocks of unchanged DNA in an attempt to track down variant genes that cause common diseases such as cancer, asthma, and diabetes. The global implications of the mapping project go beyond a...

Kazakhstan: President Orders Study on Effects of Decriminalizing 'Soft' Drugs

Zamira Eshanova October 12, 2002
No longer simply transit areas for drugs from Afghanistan, Central Asian countries are now seeing increasing rates of drug use and addiction. In a radical move to deal with the problem, the president of Kazakhstan is considering whether the Dutch experience of legalizing 'soft' drugs like marijuana could help curb his country’s demand for harder, more devastating drugs like heroin....

The Next Wave of HIV/AIDS: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India, and China

October 1, 2002
The US National Intelligence Council says the number of people with HIV/AIDS will grow significantly by the end of the decade. The increase will be driven by the spread of the disease in five populous countries—Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India, and China—where the number of infected people will grow from around 14 to 23 million currently to an estimated 50 to 75 million by 2010. This estimate...

Bhopal Seethes, Pained and Poor 18 Years Later

Amy Waldman September 21, 2002
When a gas cloud leaked out of the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal 18 years ago, the health threat was the immediate concern. Although health complications continue to loom over the residents – 30,000 people have been diagnosed as suffering from long-term harm – new worries plague the community. The desire for accountability, retribution, and compensation play out on a local stage that seeks global...

Malaysia Lures Sick and Wealthy Foreigners

Reme Ahmad September 19, 2002
With hospital costs 14 times less than in the US and 65% less than in neighboring Singapore, Malaysia is promoting a new type of tourism – one where a hospital stay is included. Health tourism, as it is known, is becoming increasingly popular among the wealthy, who may travel to foreign countries to have surgeries performed at a fraction of the cost of their home country. Malaysian hospitals...

Merck Seeks Wider Coalition on Aids

James Lamont September 12, 2002
US pharmaceutical Merck is following in the foot steps of other multi-national corporations like Anglo-American and DeBeers, who have decided to provide anti-retroviral drugs used to combat HIV/Aids to their workers. While Merck has partnered with Botswana and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide treatment, the company’s chief executive is calling for a “larger coalition” of UN...

China Raises Estimates of HIV-AIDS Cases to 1 Million

Elisabeth Rosenthal September 6, 2002
China's "closed attitude" toward its growing AIDS epidemic opened slightly today when officials acknowledged that at least a million Chinese were infected with the disease and appealed for international assistance. Officials also admitted that the Chinese government had been aware of the growing AIDS problem as early as 1995. This confession was issued in compliance with the...