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Ebola vaccine ready
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SPEEDY work. An Ebola vaccine produced in just a year provides 100 per cent protection from the virus. Preparations are under way to make it available to those at risk, including healthcare workers.
Mike Blake/Reuters
Ebola vaccine ready
60 Seconds
Terminator spider One jumping spider is an assassin, but don’t be scared: Evarcha culicivora targets malariatransmitting mosquitoes as they rest after a blood meal. People in East Africa, where it lives, should welcome the spiders into their homes, researchers say (Journal of Arachnology, vol 43, p 123).
“All affected countries should immediately start vaccinations to break chains of transmission”
Glass sneaks back
Andre Vieira/Polaris/eyevine
The epidemic in West Africa is largely under control but cases are still coming to light, and the virus can lurk in the body fluids of survivors for up to six months. “All affected countries should Widespread doping immediately start vaccinations ATHLETICS is under a cloud of to break chains of transmission, suspicion. Analysis of a leaked and vaccinate all front-line report from the International workers,” says Bertrand Draguez Association of Athletics of Médecins Sans Frontières. Although the trial isn’t yet over, Federations suggests that results from blood tests of more than the World Health Organization 800 out of 5000 athletes could be could recommend the vaccine’s consistent with doping, or at least advance release. If this happens, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, says it require further investigation. In 2009, the IAAF introduced will purchase and stockpile it until governments of affected countries the biological passport, a regularly updated record of blood give the go-ahead for its roll-out. measurements for each athlete. Evidence that the vaccine, initially developed by the Public “Even with the biological Health Agency of Canada, works passport, it is still possible comes from studying how well for athletes to cheat by it protected people close to those taking tiny doses of drugs” with Ebola. After three months, no recipients were infected As well as looking for traces of (The Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/S0140drugs, the idea is that cheats 6736(15)61117-5). can be caught by unexplained changes to their usual physiology. Tom Bassindale at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, says that it is still possible for cheats to go under the radar by microdosing – taking small amounts of drugs over long periods of time so there is no telltale spike. It would be better to combine the biological passport with newer, more accurate tests, says Yiannis Pitsiladis, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Medical and Scientific Commission. –Make yourself at home– He is developing a blood test
–Catch me if you can–
that can detect changes in gene expression triggered by blood doping or drugs. It should be able to detect even the smallest drug doses, he says. For any testing regime to be effective, unusual results need to be followed up, says Paul Dimeo at the University of Stirling, UK. It is not clear at the moment whether that is happening in athletics.
Facebook drones FACEBOOK is taking to the skies. Last week, the tech giant unveiled Aquila, the drone it hopes will deliver internet to the masses. The drone has been in development for over a year as part of Internet.org, Facebook’s initiative to help underdeveloped countries get online. A video published on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page describes Aquila as having a wingspan of 40 metres, about the same as a Boeing 737. It is made out of lightweight composite materials, including carbon fibre, and is solar-powered. In the company’s long-term vision for the project, hundreds of drones will circle a large area at an altitude of 18,000 metres, remaining aloft for three months at a time. Lasers will beam information at tens of gigabytes per second between the drones and systems on the ground.
Google Glass is back – sort of. It was quietly shelved earlier this year, but now the Wall Street Journal reports that firms in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors are receiving a new version, said to be faster and with better battery life. Surgeons had used the original device to livestream operations. A new consumer version is believed to be more than a year away.
Cold treat for penguins The Galapagos penguin, one of the rarest in the world, has enjoyed a boost from altered winds and ocean currents – possibly related to climate change. This has brought more cold, food-rich water to the surface near the Galapagos Islands, allowing the penguins’ numbers to double over the past 30 years (Geophysical Research Letters, doi.org/6k4).
Extra sunny D mooted It’s official: the British weather is so bad that everyone in the UK could soon be advised to make up for the lack of sunshine by taking vitamin D supplements. Previously only people considered at high risk of bone and autoimmune diseases, such as pregnant women and those over 65, were recommended to do so.
Testing the ice The science team behind NASA’s planned probe to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa met for the first time this week. Their planning sessions will design experiments testing whether Europa can host life, to be carried on the spacecraft when it launches sometime in the 2020s.
8 August 2015 | NewScientist | 7
SPEEDY work. An Ebola vaccine produced in just a year provides 100 per cent protection from the virus. Preparations are under way to make it available to those at risk, including healthcare workers.
Mike Blake/Reuters
Ebola vaccine ready
60 Seconds
Terminator spider One jumping spider is an assassin, but don’t be scared: Evarcha culicivora targets malariatransmitting mosquitoes as they rest after a blood meal. People in East Africa, where it lives, should welcome the spiders into their homes, researchers say (Journal of Arachnology, vol 43, p 123).
“All affected countries should immediately start vaccinations to break chains of transmission”
Glass sneaks back
Andre Vieira/Polaris/eyevine
The epidemic in West Africa is largely under control but cases are still coming to light, and the virus can lurk in the body fluids of survivors for up to six months. “All affected countries should Widespread doping immediately start vaccinations ATHLETICS is under a cloud of to break chains of transmission, suspicion. Analysis of a leaked and vaccinate all front-line report from the International workers,” says Bertrand Draguez Association of Athletics of Médecins Sans Frontières. Although the trial isn’t yet over, Federations suggests that results from blood tests of more than the World Health Organization 800 out of 5000 athletes could be could recommend the vaccine’s consistent with doping, or at least advance release. If this happens, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, says it require further investigation. In 2009, the IAAF introduced will purchase and stockpile it until governments of affected countries the biological passport, a regularly updated record of blood give the go-ahead for its roll-out. measurements for each athlete. Evidence that the vaccine, initially developed by the Public “Even with the biological Health Agency of Canada, works passport, it is still possible comes from studying how well for athletes to cheat by it protected people close to those taking tiny doses of drugs” with Ebola. After three months, no recipients were infected As well as looking for traces of (The Lancet, DOI: 10.1016/S0140drugs, the idea is that cheats 6736(15)61117-5). can be caught by unexplained changes to their usual physiology. Tom Bassindale at Sheffield Hallam University, UK, says that it is still possible for cheats to go under the radar by microdosing – taking small amounts of drugs over long periods of time so there is no telltale spike. It would be better to combine the biological passport with newer, more accurate tests, says Yiannis Pitsiladis, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Medical and Scientific Commission. –Make yourself at home– He is developing a blood test
–Catch me if you can–
that can detect changes in gene expression triggered by blood doping or drugs. It should be able to detect even the smallest drug doses, he says. For any testing regime to be effective, unusual results need to be followed up, says Paul Dimeo at the University of Stirling, UK. It is not clear at the moment whether that is happening in athletics.
Facebook drones FACEBOOK is taking to the skies. Last week, the tech giant unveiled Aquila, the drone it hopes will deliver internet to the masses. The drone has been in development for over a year as part of Internet.org, Facebook’s initiative to help underdeveloped countries get online. A video published on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page describes Aquila as having a wingspan of 40 metres, about the same as a Boeing 737. It is made out of lightweight composite materials, including carbon fibre, and is solar-powered. In the company’s long-term vision for the project, hundreds of drones will circle a large area at an altitude of 18,000 metres, remaining aloft for three months at a time. Lasers will beam information at tens of gigabytes per second between the drones and systems on the ground.
Google Glass is back – sort of. It was quietly shelved earlier this year, but now the Wall Street Journal reports that firms in the healthcare and manufacturing sectors are receiving a new version, said to be faster and with better battery life. Surgeons had used the original device to livestream operations. A new consumer version is believed to be more than a year away.
Cold treat for penguins The Galapagos penguin, one of the rarest in the world, has enjoyed a boost from altered winds and ocean currents – possibly related to climate change. This has brought more cold, food-rich water to the surface near the Galapagos Islands, allowing the penguins’ numbers to double over the past 30 years (Geophysical Research Letters, doi.org/6k4).
Extra sunny D mooted It’s official: the British weather is so bad that everyone in the UK could soon be advised to make up for the lack of sunshine by taking vitamin D supplements. Previously only people considered at high risk of bone and autoimmune diseases, such as pregnant women and those over 65, were recommended to do so.
Testing the ice The science team behind NASA’s planned probe to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa met for the first time this week. Their planning sessions will design experiments testing whether Europa can host life, to be carried on the spacecraft when it launches sometime in the 2020s.
8 August 2015 | NewScientist | 7