Blood donation in post-Ebola West Africa
Copyright: James Meiring. Winner HIFA Photography award 2016 What do wellington boots drying in the African sun have to do with blood donation in the post-Ebola era? Tell you later. But first, as its World Blood Donor Day on June 14th, lets consider the differences between the blood transfusion services in a high income country like the…
Author of the Month Blog: Equine Thermography in Practice, Dr Maria Soroko
About the author My interest in equine thermography started during my Equine Science Masters degree studies at Aberystwyth University, Wales in 2008. The initial research in equine thermography was for my Masters dissertation on the application of thermography in diagnosing injuries of racehorses (fig. 1). The main objective of the investigations was to assess thermography…
Finding a balance between equality and safety in blood donation: the 12 month ban for MSM donors
World Blood Donor Day 2016 uses the theme “Blood connects us all” to motivate new blood donors to come forward and encourage regulars to continue to give blood. Donors must meet certain rules in order to provide safe blood. Gay and bisexual men (LGBTQ) used to face a lifetime ban, but now can donate blood if they have not had sex with another man for at least 12 months. Now, the 12 month rule is under fire in the wake of the Orlando shooting. Is this discrimination due to association with HIV/AIDS, or is the policy based on sound evidence?
A fifth of the world’s plants under threat, as report says 391,000 species now known to science
A ground-breaking report from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has produced an estimate of the number of plants known to science. By searching through existing databases, the researchers have estimated that there are now 390,900 known plant species, of which around 369,400 are flowering plants. But this figure is only those species currently documented: new…
Author of the Month Blog: Environmental Horticulture, Dr Ross Cameron
Dr Ross Cameron of the University of Sheffield outlines his latest book (Environmental Horticulture – Science and Management of Green Landscapes), co-authored with Prof. James Hitchmough and how writing the book can sometimes be easier than settling on a name that everyone approves of.
Malaria control, disasters and conflict
WHO European Region announced last week that Europe is now malaria free. This is great news to coincide with World Malaria Day this year. The challenge is to make sure Europe remains free of malaria into the future. Europe has been declared malaria free before, back in 1975. What happened to allow it to return?
Malaria incidence and invasive plants – is there a link?
25 April is World Malaria Day – a time to reflect on the steps we can take to tackle this terrible disease. Much progress has been made in the fight against malaria over the past 15 years, like the use of bed nets impregnated with pesticides, but 3.2 billion people are still at risk. If…
Buzzing activity around pollinator health
Yesterday I cherished the start of spring in England by attending an event devoted to pollinators and pollination at the University of Reading. Most presentations at this meeting organised by the Royal Entomological Society were understandably about bees, but we also heard a few talks highlighting the importance of other pollinator groups. For about five…
National Park Week: Free admission to U.S. national parks
All national parks in the USA. will be accessible admission-free from April 16 through April 24. The week of free admission during National Park Week is to mark the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. This year’s celebration brings the grand total of free-admission days at America’s national parks to 16—well above the nine…
Workshop on “Food Security: Infectious Diseases in Farm Animals”- Invited Lectures, Day 2
St. Catherine’s College, Manor Road, Oxford, UK, 4-7th April 2016 Attended by M Djuric, CAB International, Wallingford, UK, on 5th April 2016 (Day 2) This workshop meeting was jointly organised by the Pirbright Institute, Woking, UK and Cairo University, Egypt and was sponsored by the British Council Research Links Programme. The aims of the workshop…