Media Relations Posts
Join Us in Signing the CEO Pledge to End Travel Restrictions for People Living with HIV
Did you know that 45 countries around the world impose travel restrictions on people who are HIV positive? Andy Burness, president of Burness Communications, has joined a group of CEOs from companies such as GBCHealth, UNAIDS, and Levi Strauss & Co. who oppose restrictions on the freedom of movement for people living with HIV.
Can Bananas Feed the World if Climate Change Worsens?
Hurricane Sandy crashed into the northeast U.S. at the end of October 2012, demonstrating the type of severe weather that climate change is expected to bring with increasing regularity. At the same time, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)—a Burness client—released two research papers looking at how feeding the world contributes to global warming, and how agriculture in particular needs to be revamped as climate change continues to worsen.
Protecting Privacy in Whole Genome Sequencing
Whole genome sequencing—which provides a map of a person’s entire genetic makeup—has huge potential for improving medical care. Yet, concerns about personal privacy and misuse of data from these tests could deter people from getting their genes sequenced and sharing their genetic information with researchers and clinicians. That’s why the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has undertaken a review of the privacy and data access issues that arise from whole genome sequencing.
Progress in East Africa as Farmers Begin Adapting to Changing Weather
In a year when abnormal weather has wreaked havoc on farmers around the globe—from record drought in the U.S. to the failed monsoon in India—new research recently published by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) shows that smallholder farmers across East Africa have started to adapt to the changing climate.
Mars, It’s the Journey, Not the Destination
The now famous video “Curiosity’s 7 Minutes of Terror” tells the incredible story of the rover’s difficult landing and explains the complex process the engineers went through and the obstacles they faced in safely landing a $2.5 billion rover on another planet. Using animation and testimony from the engineers, the video turns the complex scientific process into a compelling and accessible story.
Challenging Rabies’ Killer Reputation
Rabies has been thought of as one of the world’s deadliest infections, and exposure to it—usually through the bite of a rabid animal—an automatic death sentence unless immediately treated with a series of painful injections. But according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers have uncovered a pocket of people in a remote area of the Peruvian Amazon who show a natural resistance to the disease.
Trial Signals Major Milestone in Hunt for New TB Drugs
A study by the Lancet reveals a neglected side of the fight against HIV - the battle to help people who have tuberculosis and the incredible lack of good drugs needed to cure them. Today, TB remains the largest killer of people with AIDS.
New Trove of Data Sheds Light on High Health Care Spending in the U.S.
The United States spends far more than any other nation on health care, but that does not translate to better health. As policymakers devise ways to spend our health care dollars more effectively, a new report by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI, a Burness Communications client) brings us one step closer to understanding what is driving health care spending growth and how to control for it.
10 Tips for Successful Malaria Vaccine Advocacy
A group of senior malaria vaccine researchers from all over Africa recently collaborated with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and Burness Communications to publish a guide of best practices called “10 tips for successful malaria vaccine advocacy.” Helping these scientists get their message from the lab to Parliament could mean the difference between a child dying from a preventable disease and a child receiving a vaccine that could save her life.
New Report Supports Use of Dental Therapists in U.S.
Nearly 50 million people in the United States can’t get dental care where or when they need it. As community, tribal, state and national leaders debate how best to solve the nation’s intensifying oral health care crisis, a recent research review, entitled A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists: In the Context of the Movement to Add Dental Therapists to the Oral Health Workforce in the United States, indicates that serious consideration should be given to incorporating mid-level providers such as dental therapists into the dental health team.
