Author: News
-
New hope for targeting ‘Sleeping Sickness’
Sleeping sickness, caused by single celled species Trypanosoma brucei, is a fatal vector-borne parasitic disease. The parasite is found in 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with 60 million people at risk and 30 000 deaths every year. There have been many epidemics throughout the 20th century, with 40 000 reported cases in 1998 and an…
-
The secret brains of bees: Study finds that bees can add and subtract
The common honeybee (Apis melifera) is a fascinating creature. Bees are not only among the most common pollinators of plants all over the world, they also make honey, which has been harvested by humans for its naturally high sugar content as far back as 8000 years ago, possibly even further. Of insects that form colonies,…
-
What is that caramel flavoured e-cigarette doing to your lungs?
When Ernst and Young, one of the largest accounting firms in the world, conducted a global survey as to why people chose to use e-cigarettes, the most common reason was that ‘vapes were less harmful than regular cigarettes’. However, research conducted by Quan Lu and Joseph Allen, researchers at Harvard University, has revealed that the…
-
Can cannabis curb the challenges of autism?
Cannabis has long been a contentious substance in many societies. Holding a class B classification in the United Kingdom (UK) under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act, possession of cannabis can result in a prison sentence of up to five years or a hefty fine. However, in late 2018, the UK relaxed its regulations about…