E-Learning Course on Bioinformatics of Animal Viruses
Nucleotide sequencing has become a very popular technique for diagnosis and characterization of pathogens and is accessible to most veterinary practices. A nucleotide sequence provides information on the nature of the pathogen, its source and its main characteristics such as strain, virulence and drug resistance. Bioinformatics provides tools to gather, store, and analyse these biological…
Animal Genetic Research Increasingly Focuses on Medical and Pharmaceutical Markets rather than on Food Production
According to a recent report by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), patenting activity in the field of animal genetics is focusing on medical and pharmaceutical markets, rather than animal products for human nutrition. A vast amount of scientific literature on animal genetic resources, transgenic animals and patents in this field is available in the CAB Direct database. The literature, which originates from more than 150 countries and is published in over 50 languages, is translated and indexed by CABI’s specialists for easy searching. The CAB Direct database currently contains more than 23,000 references with abstracts on animal genetic resources.
African Swine Fever on the Move – China, the EU and FAO Assessing Preparedness in East and Southeast Asia, the Region with >50% of the World Pig Population
By M Djuric, DVM African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to spread in traditionally endemic sub-Saharan Africa, but it is also expanding into previously ASF-free countries with a new front opening up along the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. The risk of ASF entering China is of particular concern since the country keeps almost half of the…
CABI author, Stroma Cole, wins tourism award
Last week, one of CABI’s book authors, Stroma Cole, was awarded the ‘Making the Case’ ATHE Award, which is the award for Tourism in Globalisation: Understanding global complexity through tourism. The award was presented at the Association of Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE) annual conference held in Edinburgh on 4 December. The award was for…
Healthy soil: the foundation for healthy people and landscapes
On 5 December – World Soil Day – we celebrate the importance of soil as a foundation for healthy people and landscapes. As global population grows and places demands on agricultural outputs, we need to think carefully about how we use resources, including land. In the context of food security, simply increasing the amount of…
“A Wakeup Call” on Climate Change and Global Health
Climate change will affect human health through multiple routes according to speakers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Friday. They were there to launch “Climate Change and Global Health”, a book that analyses impacts on human health from heat waves, vector-borne diseases to conflict. Sir Andy Haines, Professor of Public…
Substantial update to the ISC myrtle rust datasheet to coincide with the species discussion at the IUFRO 2014 World Congress this week
Effects of the invasive myrtle rust (Puccinia psidii) on the paperbark tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in Australia (July, 2011). CABI has recently published a comprehensive review and update of its ISC datasheet on the globally important pathogen Puccinia psidii, commonly known as myrtle rust or guava rust. This problematic fungus is of worldwide importance and is…
Can We Strike Back Against Dengue?
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection causing a severe flu-like illness and, sometimes causing a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue. The incidence of dengue has increased 30-fold over the last 50 years. The latest estimates suggest that up to 400 million infections occur annually in over 100 endemic countries, putting half of the world’s…
The Cost of Pakistan’s Floods
IPCC Highlights Urgent Need for Greater Political Will Over Climate Change Readiness The last 2 weeks have seen the worst floods in Kashmir for almost 50 years. In Pakistan alone, more than 250 people have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. The waters currently extend well into the country’s most populous province, Punjab…
World Water Monitoring Day 2014
World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) is observed each year on September 18. It was initially chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the US Clean Water Act on October 18, but was changed to encourage participation in regions of the world where temperatures reach freezing point at that time of the year. WWMD was established…