Posts by Preeti Singh
Mice Engineered to Fight Zika
Until recently there’s been little interest in or funding available to study Zika virus. Within this data vacuum, researchers have been racing to come up with ways to prevent and treat the disease. And they’re making progress—with a little help from mice.
Here’s Why Our Relationship with Cuba Matters
The fruits of Cuba’s biotechnology industry remain off-limits to Americans, and vice versa. We need improved cooperation in health so that life-saving innovations in each country are made available to the other.
We’re Coming for You, Tuberculosis
Our partners at TB Alliance just announced the world’s first availability of TB medicines for children. They’re fruit-flavored (yum!) and easily dissolved in water. Read more and sign the petition asking world leaders to adopt these treatments to end childhood TB once and for all.
A Big Moment for the World’s Fight Against Malaria
The world’s leading malaria vaccine candidate crossed another milestone in a 30-year journey when it received a positive assessment from the European Medicines Agency for its use in protecting young children in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a tremendous scientific achievement.
The “Less Happy” Story: Malaria Increases in Uganda
While malaria cases are declining globally, they remain high and on the increase in rural Uganda, suggesting that more aggressive methods of controlling the disease in high-transmission areas of sub-Saharan Africa are urgently needed.
Expanding Farmlands Create Perfect Storm for Plague in East Africa
A new study published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene found the push to boost food production that is accelerating the conversion of natural lands into croplands in Tanzania may be significantly increasing the risk of plague. Researchers discovered that where maize production has been introduced, the number of rodents infested with plague-carrying fleas that can cause human infections nearly doubled compared to numbers in neighboring forest areas.
Opening the Door to Cheaper HIV Drugs for Children
The UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced today they’ve struck a licensing agreement with Merck—a first-time partner for MPP—for use of their pediatric HIV drug in the low- and middle-income countries with the highest burden of disease. Ninety-eight percent of children with HIV in the developing world live in these countries, which include India, South Africa and Nigeria.
Building Capacity…In Developing Stories That Grab Reporters
We all know that building capacity in the developing world—whether by providing technical training to laboratory staff or equipping a clinical trial site with a reliable power source or setting up financial management systems—is a worthy endeavor. But is it newsworthy? Especially when you don’t give concrete examples of how you’re helping people help themselves? The answer, all too often, is “no.”
