Category: Community
US scientists’ adenosine-harvesting bandage offers healing “boost” to broken bones
In a typical bone fracture or break, the body produces adenosine to provide internal healing, but the substance is metabolised by the body just as quickly. As such, scientists at North Carolina’s Duke University (Duke) designed a prototype bandage to absorb and retain adenosine at the injury site, to prolong its healing duty. Duke’s Professor […]
Research paper alleges China CRISPR babies have “unintended mutations”
Dr. He Jiankui’s revolutionary approach to gene-editing may have created problematic “off-target” mutations instead of conferring natural HIV resistance, according to a manuscript released recently. Dr. He’s paper, made public for the first time, contains “a litany of flaws, omissions, deceptions, and egoistical claims” which surround Chinese twins Lula and Nana, created through the CRISPR/Cas9 […]
Samoa’s unvaccinated citizens to show red flags in country-wide vaccination against measles
The tiny Pacific nation of 200,000 is to widen its vaccination programme against measles, a highly infectious and deadly disease outbreak. Previous efforts were concentrated on children, who marked most of the dead, but will now include the entire population in a new vaccination campaign. The death toll from the outbreak has recently risen to […]
US scientists use mild electric current to treat infections from dental implants
Dental-implant based fungal infections still persist with sturdy materials – titanium implants, for example, may be strong, light and corrosion-resistant but can lead to nasty infections and subsequent removal of the implant. However, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh’s (Pitt) Swanson School of Engineering, in the US, suggest that electrifying the titanium may be effective […]
Soon-to-be mothers face physical/verbal abuse in low-income countries
Researchers from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health in the University of Melbourne, Australia, have recently reported observations of labour/delivery mistreatment of women at hospitals in low-income countries, such as Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria; with similar findings also reported in Myanmar. According to the research, women were likely to suffer abuse within 30 […]
World-first finding of fat accumulation in obese/overweight people’s airways
Obese or overweight people are known to be at higher risk of respiratory disease and asthma – a new study backs this association by detecting significant deposits of fatty tissue (adipose cells) in the airway walls of such individuals. The direct pressure or a general increase in inflammation from excess weight on the lungs likely […]
Chinese activists shun traditional treatments/back science activism
Modern medical science appears better favoured over Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as Chinese activists have begun criticising the latter’s use in hospitals. This is in contrast to the West, which has seen mounting challenges to scientific authority and calls for alternative forms of treatment. As such, Chinese researcher Qiaoyan Zhu and Professor Maja Horst of […]
Malaysia advocates “smoking act” to monitor e-cigarette use
Malaysia is looking to impose strict regulations on the sale and use of electronic cigarettes, vaporisers and tobacco products that have all proven harmful to health and led to youth addiction. The Tobacco Control and Smoking Act has been submitted to the attorney-general for a final review and will hopefully be tabled next year. According […]
Singapore offers help to Indonesia, encourages stronger ASEAN coop against haze
Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zulkifli, has petitioned for “stronger resolve and cooperation” among ASEAN countries amid the worsening air quality due to raging forest fires in Indonesia. Masagos said that the transboundary haze has affected the ASEAN region for years – polluting the air and emitting greenhouse gases that cause climate change. […]
Malaysia’s Sunway Medical Centre sets sights on Sunway Velocity
West Malaysia’s Cheras/KL South communities will see a new tertiary care private hospital in Sunway Medical Centre Velocity (SMCV) by the end of 2019, as part of the Sunway Group’s extensive RM320 million (US$77 million) healthcare expansion plan. Encompassing Sunway Velocity’s five key aspects – retail, healthcare, residential, hospitality, education and commercial – the medical […]
