Bird Flu Research Raises Terrorism Fears, Mystery Kidney Disease

Rhitu Chatterjee — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:32:24 +0000

Photo credit: Diann Prosser, USGS

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This Week: Scientists studying how bird flu is transmitted between species, have created a new strain that can pass easily between ferrets. But U.S. authorities are asking the researchers not to publish all their findings because they fear the data will be used by terrorists. An epidemic of chronic kidney disease is sweeping across Central America. Researchers don’t know the cause, but they think it may be related to working conditions in sugarcane fields. And a new study suggests that Beethoven’s deafness profoundly influenced his compositions. Also, a quick update on the Durban climate conference, since we covered the story in Podcast no. 140. Scroll down on this page to read the latest coverage on the new international climate treaty signed in Durban.

Kidney Disease Epidemic in Central America: Across Central America, large numbers of men are dying from kidney disease. The cause is unknown, but a growing body of evidence suggests that hard manual labor — especially in the region’s sugarcane fields — is partly to blame.
Read more here: http://www.theworld.org/2011/12/kidney-disease-epidemic/
PRI’s The World looked into this story with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a project of The Center for Public Integrity.
Learn how the United States promoted sugarcane production in Central America and resisted global attention to the CKD epidemic in this ICIJ story by reporters Sasha Chavkin and Ronnie Greene.

Bird Flu Research Raises Terrorism Fears: US authorities have asked the authors of two controversial bird flu studies to redact key details after a government advisory panel suggested the data could be used by terrorists. The papers show how a bird flu variant can pass easily between ferrets. Dutch researcher Ron Fouchier talks about the challenges of the study and what he thinks about the U.S. authorities’ request.
Read more here in this story by the BBC.
When Should Science be Censored? An article by the BBC’s Medical Correspondent, Fergus Walsh.

Beethoven’s Deafness Influenced his Music:A new study by Dutch researchers show that the German musicians deafness profoundly influenced his compositions. The researchers show that as his deafness progressed, he favored notes that were in the lower or middle-range. Eventually, when he became tonally deaf, he returned to using high notes.
Read more in this story on the BBC website.
Click here to read the study. The link also includes a video with the Isolo String Quartet demonstrating how Beethoven’s music changed over time.

The Durban Deal:> In The World Science Podcast no. 140, we brought you an update on the Durban climate conference. When I published that podcast, experts weren’t feeling hopeful about the negotiations at the conference ending in an international climate treaty. But those negotiations continued past the end date of the conference, and on December 11th, countries signed a treaty that legally binds them to cut emissions. The treaty has been named the Durban Deal and it won’t come into place until 2020. What are experts saying about the treaty? Here’s a list of links to help you make sense of the treaty and understand whether it’s likely to help slow down climate change.
“Durban deal clinched by two strong women, a united EU and a compromise.” On The Independent.
The Guardian on the the deal.
Reuters’ Analysis: “Durban deal may do little to cool heating planet.”
More on the deal on Mother Jones.
The Economist’s take.

Swine Flu in the Amazon, Fixing Technological Fixes, Tsavo Lions

Rhitu Chatterjee — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:20:18 +0000

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This week: Swine flu continues to spread. In today’s podcast you’ll hear from two parts of the world that are dealing with the pandemic. We also have a story about the lessons two American brothers learned while bringing renewable energy to the rural poor in Nicaragua. We follow up by talking to environmental engineer Anu Ramaswami about why technological fixes often fail. We have an update on negotiations over a new international climate change treaty. And a new twist on an old tale about a duo of man-eating lions in Kenya.

Ukraine Overreacts to Swine Flu: Ukrainians are panicking about the spreading swine flu virus. But is the hysteria justified? You’ll hear how culture and politics rather than science and good information may be causing Ukraine to react so dramatically.
Report: By Brigid McCarthy in Kiev.
Links:
Information on H1N1 flu from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
More on the upcoming Ukrainian elections from the BBC

Swine Flu in the Amazon: A thousand members of the Yanomami tribe deep in the Amazon have fallen ill with swine flu. Seven have died. Venezuela has shut off a part of the forest to help protect the tribe.
Guest: Fiona Watson, Survival International.
Links:
BBC story
More about the Yanomami people from Survival International

Fighting Poverty in Nicaragua: Two American brothers, Mathias and Guillaume Craig, have dedicated themselves to bringing renewable energy to the rural poor in Nicaragua. They returned home with some important lessons about the limits of technology in eradicating poverty.
Report: By Eliza Barclay in Nicaragua.
Links:
Website of blueEnergy, the Craigs’ organization

Re-thinking Engineering: The Craig Brothers are not alone in discovering that technological fixes often fail to produce the intended results. Some educators say engineers need more training in the social sciences, so those who work with technology can fashion their efforts to serve people better. We talk to one educator on the forefront of this movement.
Guest: Anu Ramaswami, University of Colorado.

Do you have an example of a failed technological fix? Or thoughts on how to design solutions that really work? Bring them to our online discussion with Anu Ramaswami in The World Science Forum here. Anu will be taking your questions and sharing her thoughts through November 13th.

Elsa’s Favorite Science Stories:

Man-eaters of Tsavo: In 1898, two male lions terrorized and killed workers building a railroad over the river Tsavo, in Kenya. Legend has it that the lions killed and ate more than 140 people. Researchers have now analyzed tissues from the lions – on display at the Field Museum in Chicago – and conclude that the lions did not eat as many people as previously thought.
The study
Information about the Tsavo lions, then and now, from the Field Museum of Natural History
World Wildlife Fund page on human-wildlife conflict
Language Learning in the Womb: Babies may start their language lessons earlier than previously thought. German researchers have found evidence that fetuses pick up elements of their mother tongue in the womb.
The study
Gene Therapy Shows New Promise: Two new gene therapy studies have reported promising results. One treated ADL, a neurodegenerative disease that causes nerves to lose their protective sheath. The other cured hereditary blindness.
The ADL study
The blindness study
Notes on bioethics and gene therapy from Georgetown University

Climate Negotiations: This week negotiators met in Spain to discuss the possibilities of a new international climate treaty, but chances remain slim that countries will settle on a new treaty at the climate summit in Copenhagen next month.
Report: By The World’s Marina Giovannelli.
(This story is a podcast exclusive! It is a longer version of a story that aired on The World earlier this week.)
Collection of BBC stories on the Copenhagen summit

Mysterious Bear Disease: An unknown disease is striking bears in zoos in Germany and elsewhere. It is turning spectacled bears bald.
BBC story

PRI's The World: Sci/Tech » Nicaragua

Bird Flu Research Raises Terrorism Fears, Mystery Kidney Disease

Swine Flu in the Amazon, Fixing Technological Fixes, Tsavo Lions