Embryo engineering a moral duty, says top scientist

It would be unethical and a "sin of omission" to prevent the genetic engineering of embryos, a leading scientist has argued.

Cloning pioneer Dr Tony Perry told the BBC that advances in genetics posed a "wonderful opportunity" for eliminating diseases such as cystic fibrosis.

Last month, a group in China announced it was the first to successfully edit the genome of a human embryo.

Other scientists say it is unnecessary and a line that should not be crossed.

The breakthrough at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong, China, showed the errors in the DNA that led to a blood disorder, beta thalassaemia, could be successfully corrected in non-viable embryos.

It worked in seven out of 86 attempts and marked the latest development in one of the most exciting fields in science - Crispr.

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Legacy of Agent Orange

As April 30 approaches, marking 40 years since the end of the Vietnam War, people in Vietnam with severe mental and physical disabilities still feel the lingering effects of Agent Orange.

Respiratory cancer and birth defects amongst both Vietnamese and U.S. veterans have been linked to exposure to the defoliant. The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange onto Vietnam's jungles during the conflict to expose northern communist troops.

Reuters photographer Damir Sagolj travelled through Vietnam to meet the people affected, four decades on.

If you are on the plane taking off from Danang airport in Vietnam, look through the window on your right - between the departure building and the yellow wall separating the airport from densely populated neighbourhoods - you will see an ugly scar on the already not very pretty face of the Vietnam War.

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Being overweight 'reduces dementia risk'

Being overweight cuts the risk of dementia, according to the largest and most precise investigation into the relationship.
The researchers admit they were surprised by the findings, which run contrary to current health advice.
The analysis of nearly two million British people, in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, showed underweight people had the highest risk.
Dementia charities still advised not smoking, exercise and a balanced diet.
Dementia is one of the most pressing modern health issues. The number of patients globally is expected to treble to 135 million by 2050.
There is no cure or treatment, and the mainstay of advice has been to reduce risk by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Yet it might be misguided.


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MS drug 'may already be out there'

Depression and heart-disease drugs are to be tested in a trial to find treatments for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) from existing medicines.

There are currently no treatments in the secondary progressive stage of the debilitating disease.
Doctors hope the necessary drugs are already out there, but have never been tested on MS.

More than 400 people will take part in the trial at University College London and the University of Edinburgh.

Walking, balance, speech, and vision become impaired in the later stages of the disease.

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Ebola outbreak 'over by August', UN suggests

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa will be over by August, the head of the UN Ebola mission has told the BBC.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed admitted the UN had made mistakes in handling the crisis early on, sometimes acting "arrogantly".

A year after the outbreak was officially declared, the virus has killed more than 10,000 people.

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says a "global coalition of inaction" led to tragic consequences.

Looking back over the year, the charity suggests its early calls for help were ignored by local governments and the World Health Organization.

It was frustrating that we weren't heard and that has probably led to the scale of the epidemic we see today -
Henry Gray, Medecins Sans Frontieres

Most deaths occurred in the worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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Ebola: Liberia's Johnson Sirleaf urges 'Marshall Plan' - BBC News

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called for a "Marshall Plan" for the Ebola-affected countries of West Africa.

She was referring to the massive US aid programme for Europe launched after World War Two.

Her comments came after Sierra Leone was immediately granted more than $80m (£52m) to help end the Ebola outbreak and recover from its effects.

The IMF has pledged a $187m financial aid package for Sierra Leone.

Nearly $5bn has been pledged internationally to the Ebola effort, but less than half of the help has materialised.

About 600 delegates from around the world met in Brussels on Tuesday to talk about Ebola and long-term plans to fight the disease.

Nearly 10,000 people have died in the outbreak, the vast majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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Pakistan arrests parents for refusing polio vaccine - BBC News

Pakistani authorities have conducted their first-ever mass arrest of parents for refusing to allow their children to be vaccinated against polio.

Authorities in Peshawar, in the north-west of the country, detained 471 people and charged them with "endangering public security".

The local government says they will only be freed once they have pledged in writing to vaccinate their children.

The Taliban prohibit vaccinations and have attacked health workers.

The Pakistani government has declared "war" on the disease. "We have decided to deal with the refusal cases with iron hands. Anyone who refuses will be sent to jail," said Riaz Khan Mehsud, deputy commissioner of Peshawar.

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Leukaemia mutations 'almost inevitable', researchers say -BBC News

It is "almost inevitable" that your blood will take the first steps towards leukaemia as you age, researchers show.

The cancer is often associated with children, but some types become more common with age.

The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, showed 70% of healthy people in their 90s had genetic errors that could lead to leukaemia.

The researchers warn that the number of cases could soar as life expectancy increases.

The team at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, outside Cambridge, analysed the blood of 4,219 people.

They focused on accurately testing for errors in the DNA that are linked to the blood cancers. If one blood cell in a hundred carried such a mutation they would pick it up.

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Cut music to 'an hour a day' - WHO - BBC News

People should listen to music for no more than one hour a day to protect their hearing, the World Health Organization suggests.

It says 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of permanently damaging their hearing by listening to "too much, too loudly".

It said audio players, concerts and bars were posing a "serious threat".

WHO figures show 43 million people aged 12-35 have hearing loss and the prevalence is increasing.

In that age group, the WHO said, half of people in rich and middle-income countries were exposed to unsafe sound levels from personal audio devices.

Meanwhile 40% were exposed to damaging levels of sound from clubs and bars.

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Infected chickens cause 'growing concern' - BBC News

Concerns are growing about antibiotic resistance of food-poisoning bacteria carried by poultry, according to a new report.

Campylobacter, which is present in many shop chickens, is becoming resistant to front-line drugs, a study in 28 EU countries has found.

It reduces the options for treating human infections, say scientists.

A separate report by the UK's Food Standards Agency found campylobacter in UK chickens remained at high levels.

The report from the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), monitored antimicrobial drug resistance in humans, animals and food during 2013.

Mike Catchpole, chief scientist at the ECDC, said antibiotic drug resistance in bacteria present in shop chickens was "of concern considering that a large proportion of human campylobacter infections come from handling, preparation and consumption of broiler meat".

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WHO 'taken aback' by measles outbreaks - BBC News

Measles vaccinations must be immediately stepped up across Europe and central Asia after a series of outbreaks, the World Health Organization says.

Officials say they have been "taken aback" by more than 22,000 cases in 2014 and the first months of this year.

The WHO demands that counties control the outbreaks with "no exception".

It say the surges threaten the goal of eliminating measles in the region by the end of 2015.

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It is unacceptable that measles continues to cost lives, money and time”

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab
WHO
Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, said: "When we consider that over the past two decades we have seen a reduction of 96% in the number of measles cases in the European region, and that we are just a step away from eliminating the disease, we are taken aback by these numbers.

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Swine flu: India health minister urges calm - BBC News

Indian Health Minister JP Nadda has urged the public not to panic, as the number of deaths so far this year from swine flu passed 900 from 16,000 cases.

Rajasthan and Gujarat are among the worst affected states.

Officials in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's largest city, have announced restrictions on public gatherings as a precautionary measure.

The current outbreak, which began in December last year, is India's deadliest since 2010.

Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in separate outbreaks of the H1N1 virus since 2009.

In Ahmedabad, officials have said weddings and funerals may take place but participants must wear protective masks.

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'Give HIV drugs to healthy gay men' - BBC News

Healthy gay men should be offered daily HIV drugs to prevent infections, say campaigners.

A UK study, on 545 high-risk men, found one case of HIV could be stopped for every 13 men treated for a year.

The research team says it would be similar to the pill for women and would not encourage risky sex.

The findings have been described as a "game changer" and the NHS is considering how to adopt them.

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Drugs in dirt: Scientists appeal for help - BBC News

US scientists are asking the public to join them in their quest to mine the Earth's soil for compounds that could be turned into vital new drugs.

Spurred on by the recent discovery of a potential new antibiotic in soil, the Rockefeller University team want to check dirt from every country in the world.

They have already begun analysing samples from beaches, forests and deserts across five continents.

But they need help getting samples.

Which is where we all come in.

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