e away at the skin and underlying soft tissue.
It turned out to be mucormycosis, a fungal infection caused by a group of molds found in soil and decaying matter, such as fallen leaves and rotting wood. The fungus can attack various parts of the body, but skin infections occur when the fungus contaminates a wound. Read more.
10 Most affected by 2011 Natural Disasters
JOHANNESBURG, 27 November 2012 (IRIN) - Many of the worst natural disasters of 2011 were also the most severe the affected countries had ever experienced, revealed the Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2013, which was released in Doha today.
Brazil, Cambodia, El Salvador, Laos and Thailand appear in the CRI’s 10 most-affected countries; all recorded their severest natural hazards-related catastrophes in 2011.
Floods and landslides claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people and caused almost US$5 billion in direct losses in Brazil, said the index, which is produced by the NGO Germanwatch.
Thailand is listed as 2011’s most natural disaster-affected country. The country experienced its worst flooding ever that year, triggered by the landfall of Tropical Storm Nock-ten. The flooding led to losses worth $43 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters of the world. Read more.
Advances in Influenza Vaccines
Researchers recently found that a single dose of a vaccine being developed by Medicago, Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, could protect against not only the avian influenza (H5N1) strain it was designed for, but also another H5N1 strain and a strain of a different flu subtype, called H2N2.
This phenomenon, known as “cross-protection,” is highly desirable in an influenza vaccine, especially when the threat of a pandemic influenza outbreak looms. That’s because influenza strains often mutate, rendering stockpiled vaccines ineffective. Medicago has a special advantage in this regard, because the company can rapidly produce a vaccine in less than a month after the identification of a flu strain. This speed results from Medicago’s use of entities known as virus-like particles (VLPs) to create its vaccines.
Medicago is a worldwide leader in the development of VLP vaccines using a transient expression system, which produces recombinant vaccine antigens in plants. The accelerated production time frame gives the potential to vaccinate the general public before the first wave of a pandemic. Read more.
New Madrid Wake Up Call
Are you prepared for an earthquake? Tuesday evening, two shallow earthquakes, although small, were felt in Mt. Carmel, Ill. as well as five miles outside Edmond, Okla. Illinois had the largest at 3.6 magnitude, leaving Oklahoma with a smaller 2.9 magnitude quake as reported by the USGS.
The fact that both of these quakes were shallow and follow on the heels of Kentucky's 4.3 just 10 days ago makes the questions begin to fly. Is the New Madrid waking up? Is it gearing up for 'the big one'? When Ky. Experienced a 4.3 two weeks ago, it was felt across 10-12 states. Although it didn't knock runners off their feet, it did alarm many. Knoxville was among the cities that felt the quake. The shaking was not minor in many areas, and it scared people as walls shook and many began to pray. Read more.
Fracking Linked to Uptick in Earthquakes
Since 2003, there have been about 953 earthquakes in Northeastern BC. In 2008 alone there were 590. Honn Kao, Ph.D. Research Scientist, Seismology for the Pacific Geoscience Centre explains 2008 was tied to the investigation of fracking and seismic activity near Fort Nelson. From 2003 and the proceeding 17 years there were only about 185 events recorded by Natural Resource Canada (NRC).
Why the increase in earthquakes? Is it a natural occurrence? Could there be a link between an increased frequency of earthquakes and the new source for the natural gas extraction method of hydraulic fracturing aka fracking?
Fracking has been a method of extracting natural gas from the earth since 1958, however in the last five years, the method has taken an unconventional turn by trying to extract the gas from sh