40 posts · 13,716 views
A blog on science, global health, social science and science policy...
Charles
40 posts
Sort by: Latest Post, Most Popular
View by: Condensed, Full
- January 15, 2012
- 10:53 AM
- 666 views
The beautiful (numbers) game…
by Charles in science left untitled
In 2006 two nations took to the field in Berlin, Germany in front of a worldwide audience of 715 million people. Italy were to play France in the final of the FIFA World Cup. The match itself would later become famous for that “head butt” by France’s Zinédine Zidane. But despite being eclipsed by a [...]... Read more »
Yamamoto, Y., & Yokoyama, K. (2011) Common and Unique Network Dynamics in Football Games. PLoS ONE, 6(12). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029638
- February 13, 2012
- 02:12 PM
- 581 views
“It’s a boy!” A phrase less common among Black Women…?
by Charles in science left untitled
More boys are born than girls. For every 100 girls born, 105 boys occur. An odd quirk of nature that occurs throughout the world. Except, that is, when it comes to women of sub-Saharan African descent. Right from birth, men across the spectrum suffer a high attrition rate — leading to the tendency of more [...]... Read more »
Amadu Jacky Kaba. (2008) Sex Ratio at Birth and Racial Differences: Why Do Black Women Give Birth to More Females Than NonBlack Women?. African Journal of Reproductive Health. info:/
- January 20, 2012
- 06:49 AM
- 573 views
Dengue stronger the second time round…
by Charles in science left untitled
Originally appearing at endtheneglect.org, Jan 12, 2012… Albert B Sabin is probably best known for his works and research on the polio virus. During World War II he worked on and developed vaccines for encephalitis (sleeping sickness), sand-fly fever, and dengue fever. It is his work into dengue fever during this time that is now [...]... Read more »
OhAinle, M., Balmaseda, A., Macalalad, A., Tellez, Y., Zody, M., Saborio, S., Nunez, A., Lennon, N., Birren, B., Gordon, A.... (2011) Dynamics of Dengue Disease Severity Determined by the Interplay Between Viral Genetics and Serotype-Specific Immunity. Science Translational Medicine, 3(114), 114-114. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003084
- February 4, 2012
- 09:31 AM
- 568 views
The Mysterious Disease… Buruli ulcer
by Charles in science left untitled
Repost: originally appearing at endtheneglect.org April 29, 2011… Imagine for a moment you don’t live where you live. Let’s say you live in Benin, or Togo, or Côte D’Ivoire, or perhaps Ghana (we can even add Australia to the list). Perhaps one day you notice on your ankle a small, somewhat pointed elevation of the [...]... Read more »
Stienstra Y, van der Graaf WT, Asamoa K, & van der Werf TS. (2002) Beliefs and attitudes toward Buruli ulcer in Ghana. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 67(2), 207-13. PMID: 12389949
Walsh DS, Portaels F, & Meyers WM. (2011) Buruli ulcer: Advances in understanding Mycobacterium ulcerans infection. Dermatologic clinics, 29(1), 1-8. PMID: 21095521
- January 5, 2012
- 10:52 PM
- 509 views
Trypanosomiasis has kept Africa green…
by Charles in science left untitled
Originally appearing at endtheneglect.org, Dec 14 2011… “Trypanosomiasis has kept Africa green…” The quote above comes from a book I can’t remember by an author whose name escapes me. In essence, it alludes to the inextricable relationship and balance that exists between all things on our planet, particularly the relationship between man and his environment. [...]... Read more »
Genovese, G., Friedman, D., Ross, M., Lecordier, L., Uzureau, P., Freedman, B., Bowden, D., Langefeld, C., Oleksyk, T., Uscinski Knob, A.... (2010) Association of Trypanolytic ApoL1 Variants with Kidney Disease in African Americans. Science, 329(5993), 841-845. DOI: 10.1126/science.1193032
Cecchi G, Courtin F, Paone M, Diarra A, Franco JR, Mattioli RC, & Simarro PP. (2009) Mapping sleeping sickness in Western Africa in a context of demographic transition and climate change. Parasite (Paris, France), 16(2), 99-106. PMID: 19585887
- February 18, 2012
- 03:50 PM
- 501 views
Hope and health behind bars…
by Charles in science left untitled
“without hope, a man in prison is nothing.” Those were the words declared and despaired by Clarence Norris while serving a life sentence in an Alabama jail. Clarence had a long an torturous ordeal. He was arrested in Alabama in 1931, sentenced to the electric chair three times, had his sentence commuted once, released on [...]... Read more »
Heigel, C., Stuewig, J., & Tangney, J. (2010) Self-Reported Physical Health of Inmates: Impact of Incarceration and Relation to Optimism. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 16(2), 106-116. DOI: 10.1177/1078345809356523
Wilper AP, Woolhandler S, Boyd JW, Lasser KE, McCormick D, Bor DH, & Himmelstein DU. (2009) The health and health care of US prisoners: results of a nationwide survey. American journal of public health, 99(4), 666-72. PMID: 19150898
- March 14, 2012
- 03:49 PM
- 482 views
Space Worms…
by Charles in science left untitled
We begin with a confession. There comes a time in every boy’s life that they realise, or rather they make peace with the fact, that they’ll never play professional sports. Basketball, rugby, football, hockey… the sport of choice changes, but the realisation stays the same. I mention this only as an analogy. A segue into [...]... Read more »
Oczypok, E., Etheridge, T., Freeman, J., Stodieck, L., Johnsen, R., Baillie, D., & Szewczyk, N. (2011) Remote automated multi-generational growth and observation of an animal in low Earth orbit. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 9(68), 596-599. DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2011.0716
Etheridge, T., Nemoto, K., Hashizume, T., Mori, C., Sugimoto, T., Suzuki, H., Fukui, K., Yamazaki, T., Higashibata, A., Szewczyk, N.... (2011) The Effectiveness of RNAi in Caenorhabditis elegans Is Maintained during Spaceflight. PLoS ONE, 6(6). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020459
- March 29, 2012
- 12:30 PM
- 471 views
A short history of Leishmania vaccines…
by Charles in science left untitled
In February of this year we saw the launch of the first human trial for a new vaccine for Visceral Leishmaniasis. The new trial was launched by the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) in Washington, USA with the plan to hold a further Phase 1 trial in India. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is [...]... Read more »
Dunning, N. (2009) Leishmania vaccines: from leishmanization to the era of DNA technology. Bioscience Horizons, 2(1), 73-82. DOI: 10.1093/biohorizons/hzp004
Chakravarty, J., Kumar, S., Trivedi, S., Rai, V., Singh, A., Ashman, J., Laughlin, E., Coler, R., Kahn, S., Beckmann, A.... (2011) A clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the LEISH-F1 MPL-SE vaccine for use in the prevention of visceral leishmaniasis. Vaccine, 29(19), 3531-3537. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.02.096
Nagill, R., & Kaur, S. (2011) Vaccine candidates for leishmaniasis: A review. International Immunopharmacology, 11(10), 1464-1488. DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2011.05.008
- March 10, 2012
- 12:01 PM
- 460 views
Fukushima…
by Charles in science left untitled
“They say we can return to our homes in 30 or 40 years, but how will we live until then?” Tens of thousands of Japanese had to leave their homes following the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan at 14h46 local time one year ago. The resulting tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster destroyed many coastal [...]... Read more »
Tanimoto, T., Yuji, K., Kodama, Y., Matsumura, T., Yamamoto, H., Mori, J., Hosoda, M., Uchida, N., Kami, M., & Taniguchi, S. (2012) The long and winding road for the Fukushima nuclear workers. The Lancet, 379(9819). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60394-8
Tanimoto, T., Uchida, N., Kodama, Y., Teshima, T., & Taniguchi, S. (2011) Safety of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Lancet, 377(9776), 1489-1490. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60519-9
- February 29, 2012
- 01:43 PM
- 455 views
A Trojan Horse to fight disease…
by Charles in science left untitled
Originally appearing at endtheneglect.org From an ancient Latin poem comes the relatively simple concept — deliver the deadly blow within a Trojan horse. The Greeks used it to end the war against Troy after ten long years. In science it’s one of the new and unique ways scientists are coming up with to fight diseases [...]... Read more »
Coutinho-Abreu, I., Zhu, K., & Ramalho-Ortigao, M. (2010) Transgenesis and paratransgenesis to control insect-borne diseases: Current status and future challenges. Parasitology International, 59(1), 1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2009.10.002
De Vooght, L., Caljon, G., Stijlemans, B., De Beatselier, P., Coosemans, M., & Van Den Abbeele, J. (2012) Expression and extracellular release of a functional anti-trypanosome Nanobody(R) in Sodalis glossinidius, a bacterial symbiont of the tsetse fly. Microbial Cell Factories, 11(1), 23. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2859-11-23
Durvasula RV, Gumbs A, Panackal A, Kruglov O, Aksoy S, Merrifield RB, Richards FF, & Beard CB. (1997) Prevention of insect-borne disease: an approach using transgenic symbiotic bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 94(7), 3274-8. PMID: 9096383
- April 14, 2012
- 05:00 AM
- 441 views
Battlefield Theory…
by Charles in science left untitled
Imagine the scene — from the mouth and nose, through the pharynx into the trachea, separating into the left and right main bronchi at the larynx. This is the start of your airway. This is to be the site of inflammation, or rather, the site of battle. Across the landscape that is the airways, two [...]... Read more »
Hirama, T., Yamaguchi, T., Miyazawa, H., Tanaka, T., Hashikita, G., Kishi, E., Tachi, Y., Takahashi, S., Kodama, K., Egashira, H.... (2011) Prediction of the Pathogens That Are the Cause of Pneumonia by the Battlefield Hypothesis. PLoS ONE, 6(9). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024474
- April 24, 2012
- 03:52 AM
- 437 views
How many genes does it take to vote…?
by Charles in science left untitled
“2 genes predict voter turnout” If it was as simple as that we can forego all the campaigning. That was the headline that came with a 2008 study — a watershed moment — in which in which two authors claimed that they sufficiently demonstrated that when it comes to political ideology, genes count for more [...]... Read more »
CHARNEY, E., & ENGLISH, W. (2012) Candidate Genes and Political Behavior. American Political Science Review, 106(01), 1-34. DOI: 10.1017/S0003055411000554
ALFORD, J., FUNK, C., & HIBBING, J. (2005) Are Political Orientations Genetically Transmitted?. American Political Science Review, 99(02). DOI: 10.1017/S0003055405051579
Fowler, J., & Dawes, C. (2008) Two Genes Predict Voter Turnout. The Journal of Politics, 70(03). DOI: 10.1017/S0022381608080638
- April 1, 2012
- 04:25 PM
- 436 views
Cholera riots…!
by Charles in science left untitled
Sometime during the night on May 29th, 1832, a woman that went by the name of Mrs Clarke died. Her death was one of a series of events that sparked-off widespread rioting in Liverpool during the summer of 1832. A summer that played host to a number of “cholera riots” across various towns throughout Great [...]... Read more »
Burrell, S. (2005) The Liverpool Cholera Epidemic of 1832 and Anatomical Dissection--Medical Mistrust and Civil Unrest. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, 60(4), 478-498. DOI: 10.1093/jhmas/jri061
Gill G, Burrell S, & Brown J. (2001) Fear and frustration--the Liverpool cholera riots of 1832. Lancet, 358(9277), 233-7. PMID: 11476860
Puntis J. (2001) 1832 cholera riots. Lancet, 358(9288), 1188. PMID: 11597715
- March 25, 2012
- 06:01 AM
- 432 views
The logic of fashion cycles…
by Charles in science left untitled
I long for the death of skinny jeans. Those in the fashion business have to keep up to date with an ever-evolving scene. Trends and themes change from year to year, and for those that count, looking “last year” is the worst crime to commit. With a fashion industry always trying to stay at the [...]... Read more »
Acerbi, A., Ghirlanda, S., & Enquist, M. (2012) The Logic of Fashion Cycles. PLoS ONE, 7(3). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032541
- June 13, 2012
- 04:58 PM
- 427 views
Addicted to Love…
by Charles in science left untitled
The ultimate reductio ad absurdum argument is that any behaviour can become potentially addictive. Which leads to the next logical question: are there any good addictions? Researchers today talk of addiction as a disease. And in that trope, the “disease concept” of addiction is really just a metaphor. A metaphor with connotations. Researchers posit that [...]... Read more »
Reynaud, M., Karila, L., Blecha, L., & Benyamina, A. (2010) Is Love Passion an Addictive Disorder?. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 261-267. DOI: 10.3109/00952990.2010.495183
- June 24, 2012
- 05:43 AM
- 409 views
Ceci n’est pas la marijuana…
by Charles in science left untitled
“You have been assigned to the condition to smoke an active marijuana cigarette that contains THC. THC is the primary psychoactive cannabinoid that gets people high.” Does the fact that you are told you are taking a drug effect your reaction to that drug… or the drug’s effect itself? This was the simple question posed [...]... Read more »
Metrik J, Kahler CW, Reynolds B, McGeary JE, Monti PM, Haney M, de Wit H, & Rohsenow DJ. (2012) Balanced placebo design with marijuana: Pharmacological and expectancy effects on impulsivity and risk taking. Psychopharmacology. PMID: 22588253
- March 18, 2012
- 09:10 AM
- 405 views
Joseph Priestley and the story of dephlogisticated air…
by Charles in science left untitled
The facts, as they stand, are these: every creature, when respiring, releases phlogiston. In fact, respiration is simply to be considered a form of combustion. Anything that can burn contains phlogiston. Substances, when burnt, release this weightless, invisible substance — an element of their being, their composition — the phlogiston. The phlogiston is always in [...]... Read more »
Fara, P. (2010) Joseph Priestley: Docter Phlogiston or Reverend Oxygen?. Endeavour, 34(3), 84-86. DOI: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2010.07.005
Wilkinson, D. (2004) The contributions of Lavoisier, Scheele and Priestley to the early understanding of respiratory physiology in the Eighteenth Century. Resuscitation, 61(3), 249-255. DOI: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2004.04.007
Basu, P. (2003) Theory-ladenness of evidence: a case study from history of chemistry. Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 34(2), 351-368. DOI: 10.1016/S0039-3681(03)00022-0
Sternbach, G., & Varon, J. (2005) The discovery and rediscovery of oxygen. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, 28(2), 221-224. DOI: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2004.10.012
- May 11, 2012
- 04:41 AM
- 401 views
The Death of TC-5214…
by Charles in science left untitled
All too often, experimental drugs post stellar results from studies conducted in Russia, India and other less developed regions, leading to inflated stocks for the company and misplaced hopes. Only to blow up after the data cannot be replicated in the United States or Europe. TC-5214 is one such example. Targacept Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical [...]... Read more »
Fedorov, N., Benson, L., Graef, J., Lippiello, P., & Bencherif, M. (2008) Differential Pharmacologies of Mecamylamine Enantiomers: Positive Allosteric Modulation and Noncompetitive Inhibition. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 328(2), 525-532. DOI: 10.1124/jpet.108.146910
Lippiello, P., Beaver, J., Gatto, G., James, J., Jordan, K., Traina, V., Xie, J., & Bencherif, M. (2008) TC-5214 (S-( )-Mecamylamine): A Neuronal Nicotinic Receptor Modulator with Antidepressant Activity. CNS Neuroscience , 14(4), 266-277. DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-5949.2008.00054.x
- December 29, 2011
- 08:45 AM
- 400 views
Conflict Elephants…
by Charles in science left untitled
The nine-year civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo only ended in 2006. In eastern DRC, the forest elephants Loxodonta africana cyclotis roamed the Okapi Faunal Reserve. The elephants were once one the largest forest elephant populations in the region. But this was at the beginning of the civil war. War is not often [...]... Read more »
Beyers, R., Hart, J., Sinclair, A., Grossmann, F., Klinkenberg, B., & Dino, S. (2011) Resource Wars and Conflict Ivory: The Impact of Civil Conflict on Elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo - The Case of the Okapi Reserve. PLoS ONE, 6(11). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027129
- May 20, 2012
- 05:57 AM
- 400 views
Koala trypanosomes…
by Charles in science left untitled
In an emergency room at Beerwah, Queensland, the phone rings almost 100 times a day. The emergency room is one at the Australian Wildlife Hospital, providing veterinary care for sick and injured wildlife — admitting anywhere in the region of 30 different species on a daily basis — with injuries resulting from accidents, acts of [...]... Read more »
Hamilton, P., & Stevens, J. (2011) Resolving relationships between Australian trypanosomes using DNA barcoding data. Trends in Parasitology, 27(3), 99. DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2010.11.009
McINNES, L., GILLETT, A., RYAN, U., AUSTEN, J., CAMPBELL, R., HANGER, J., & REID, S. (2009) Trypanosoma irwini n. sp (Sarcomastigophora: Trypanosomatidae) from the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Parasitology, 136(08), 875. DOI: 10.1017/S0031182009006313
Thompson, R., Lymbery, A., & Smith, A. (2010) Parasites, emerging disease and wildlife conservation. International Journal for Parasitology, 40(10), 1163-1170. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2010.04.009
topics
join us!
Do you write about peer-reviewed research in your blog? Use ResearchBlogging.org to make it easy for your readers — and others from around the world — to find your serious posts about academic research.
If you don't have a blog, you can still use our site to learn about fascinating developments in cutting-edge research from around the world.
