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REUTERS
Upfront– EBOLA LEARNS A SNEAKY TRICK A new type of Ebola virus has been discovered. Though it seems to kill fewer of the people it infects, it could make finding a vaccine more tricky. Of the 58 people in western Uganda known to have contracted the new type of Ebola since mid-November, fewer than a third have died, and reports suggest that some patients do not suffer from internal bleeding, a hallmark of Ebola fever. The mortality rate so far is significantly lower than the 50 to 90 per cent typical of the two types of Ebola virus already known. Virologists had already discovered a type of Ebola in monkeys that can infect humans without causing disease, so the emergence of a less virulent Ebola virus affecting humans is not unexpected – but it might not be good news. Less virulent viruses can spread more effectively because carriers stay
alive, and infectious, for longer. The new Ebola virus was identified at a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Atlanta last week, by sequencing one of its genes. Stuart Nichol, head of the lab, says fatality rates can often appear low early in an outbreak, and that several confirmed cases must be followed up before an accurate picture emerges. What is important, he says, is to make sure the new virus is taken into account in vaccine development. Later this month, the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, will finish taking applications for funding to develop a vaccine against all known Ebola viruses. That task has just got harder, since vaccines based on the two previously known types of Ebola are unlikely to work against this new virus or others that emerge in future. –Still deadly–
Liquid assets ECOTOURISM, sometimes criticised as the voyeuristic indulgence of rich first-worlders, really does benefit the environment and the people who live in protected areas. A review of four marine conservation initiatives shows that they have helped reduce poverty and created tourism-based jobs, says Craig Leisher of Nature Conservancy, an environmental group in Arlington, Virginia. The report, Nature’s Investment Bank, co-authored by Leisher and published on 29 November, is based on interviews with more than 1000 people in four recently
“In Fiji, local incomes doubled over five years following the creation of a protected fishery” protected marine zones in Fiji, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. In every case, the conservation schemes had boosted fish catches and helped create new jobs. “In some sites, the scale of improvement was dramatic,” says 4 | NewScientist | 8 December 2007
Leisher. “In Fiji, for example, local incomes doubled over five years following introduction of a protected fishery.” In Indonesia’s Bunaken National Marine Park, meanwhile, ecotourism schemes created many new jobs in restaurants and hotels and as diving guides. The common factors in each case were the heavy involvement of the local community in the creation of the protection zone, the legal designation of “no catch” zones where fish could breed, and the policing of these zones by government agencies. In all four cases, action was taken after a collapse in fish populations through overfishing by outsiders. “There was some anecdotal evidence before, but now we have convincing evidence and the reasons why it works,” Leisher says. “Before the introduction of the marine protected areas, the locals had neither the capacity nor the authority to tell outsiders to go away.” Once known breeding grounds were protected, fish populations grew rapidly and spilled over into zones fished by locals, enabling them to net bumper catches.
Medic heal thyself DOCTORS’ hearts are in the right place, but their behaviour leaves a little to be desired – particularly when it comes to reporting colleagues’ incompetence. So says a survey of physicians’ attitudes led by Eric Campbell at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His team surveyed more than 3500 US doctors, probing their attitudes to a professional charter introduced in 2002. More than 90 per cent of the 1662 doctors who responded agreed with
statements about improving access to healthcare, managing conflicts of interest and regulating the medical profession. However, when asked about their own behaviour, things looked less rosy. For instance, 24 per cent of physicians said they would refer patients to an imaging facility in which they had invested, without revealing this financial conflict. And 45 per cent of those who had encountered an incompetent colleague within the previous three years had failed to report their concerns (Annals of Internal Medicine, vol 147, p 795).
CONSPIRACY? NOT IN CHINA There’s no stopping a good conspiracy theory. For over 30 years, NASA has faced down allegations that it faked the moon landings, and now it is the turn of the Chinese. In October, the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e 1 entered lunar orbit, and last week the country released its first image of the lunar surface. Within hours of the picture’s release the internet rumour mill leapt into action on various Chinese blogs and forums,
casting doubt on its validity and saying it bore an uncanny resemblance to a picture released by NASA in 2005. The Chinese space agency replied that the pictures are similar because they are of the same part of the moon. NASA’s experience with conspiracy theories suggests that denying the rumour will only serve to keep it running. Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist for the lunar probe, more or less guaranteed this by adding: “There is absolutely no forgery.”
www.newscientist.com
REUTERS
Upfront– EBOLA LEARNS A SNEAKY TRICK A new type of Ebola virus has been discovered. Though it seems to kill fewer of the people it infects, it could make finding a vaccine more tricky. Of the 58 people in western Uganda known to have contracted the new type of Ebola since mid-November, fewer than a third have died, and reports suggest that some patients do not suffer from internal bleeding, a hallmark of Ebola fever. The mortality rate so far is significantly lower than the 50 to 90 per cent typical of the two types of Ebola virus already known. Virologists had already discovered a type of Ebola in monkeys that can infect humans without causing disease, so the emergence of a less virulent Ebola virus affecting humans is not unexpected – but it might not be good news. Less virulent viruses can spread more effectively because carriers stay
alive, and infectious, for longer. The new Ebola virus was identified at a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Atlanta last week, by sequencing one of its genes. Stuart Nichol, head of the lab, says fatality rates can often appear low early in an outbreak, and that several confirmed cases must be followed up before an accurate picture emerges. What is important, he says, is to make sure the new virus is taken into account in vaccine development. Later this month, the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, will finish taking applications for funding to develop a vaccine against all known Ebola viruses. That task has just got harder, since vaccines based on the two previously known types of Ebola are unlikely to work against this new virus or others that emerge in future. –Still deadly–
Liquid assets ECOTOURISM, sometimes criticised as the voyeuristic indulgence of rich first-worlders, really does benefit the environment and the people who live in protected areas. A review of four marine conservation initiatives shows that they have helped reduce poverty and created tourism-based jobs, says Craig Leisher of Nature Conservancy, an environmental group in Arlington, Virginia. The report, Nature’s Investment Bank, co-authored by Leisher and published on 29 November, is based on interviews with more than 1000 people in four recently
“In Fiji, local incomes doubled over five years following the creation of a protected fishery” protected marine zones in Fiji, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. In every case, the conservation schemes had boosted fish catches and helped create new jobs. “In some sites, the scale of improvement was dramatic,” says 4 | NewScientist | 8 December 2007
Leisher. “In Fiji, for example, local incomes doubled over five years following introduction of a protected fishery.” In Indonesia’s Bunaken National Marine Park, meanwhile, ecotourism schemes created many new jobs in restaurants and hotels and as diving guides. The common factors in each case were the heavy involvement of the local community in the creation of the protection zone, the legal designation of “no catch” zones where fish could breed, and the policing of these zones by government agencies. In all four cases, action was taken after a collapse in fish populations through overfishing by outsiders. “There was some anecdotal evidence before, but now we have convincing evidence and the reasons why it works,” Leisher says. “Before the introduction of the marine protected areas, the locals had neither the capacity nor the authority to tell outsiders to go away.” Once known breeding grounds were protected, fish populations grew rapidly and spilled over into zones fished by locals, enabling them to net bumper catches.
Medic heal thyself DOCTORS’ hearts are in the right place, but their behaviour leaves a little to be desired – particularly when it comes to reporting colleagues’ incompetence. So says a survey of physicians’ attitudes led by Eric Campbell at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His team surveyed more than 3500 US doctors, probing their attitudes to a professional charter introduced in 2002. More than 90 per cent of the 1662 doctors who responded agreed with
statements about improving access to healthcare, managing conflicts of interest and regulating the medical profession. However, when asked about their own behaviour, things looked less rosy. For instance, 24 per cent of physicians said they would refer patients to an imaging facility in which they had invested, without revealing this financial conflict. And 45 per cent of those who had encountered an incompetent colleague within the previous three years had failed to report their concerns (Annals of Internal Medicine, vol 147, p 795).
CONSPIRACY? NOT IN CHINA There’s no stopping a good conspiracy theory. For over 30 years, NASA has faced down allegations that it faked the moon landings, and now it is the turn of the Chinese. In October, the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e 1 entered lunar orbit, and last week the country released its first image of the lunar surface. Within hours of the picture’s release the internet rumour mill leapt into action on various Chinese blogs and forums,
casting doubt on its validity and saying it bore an uncanny resemblance to a picture released by NASA in 2005. The Chinese space agency replied that the pictures are similar because they are of the same part of the moon. NASA’s experience with conspiracy theories suggests that denying the rumour will only serve to keep it running. Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist for the lunar probe, more or less guaranteed this by adding: “There is absolutely no forgery.”
www.newscientist.com