French drugs group Sanofi said on Friday that its vaccine against dengue, a mosquito-borne infection that kills thousands of people around the world each year, could be launched in about four years. — PHOTO: AP

BANGKOK – FRENCH drugs group Sanofi said on Friday that its vaccine against dengue, a mosquito-borne infection that kills thousands of people around the world each year, could be launched in about four years. ‘The vaccine could be available… around 2015,’ Jean Lang, head of vaccine development at the group’s subsidiary Sanofi-Pasteur, told reporters in Bangkok.

The launch date is dependent on regulatory approval in each country based on the results of trials. The vaccine is the first for dengue to undergo advanced ‘Phase III’ clinical trials – the final stage before the results are submitted for regulatory approval.

About 4,000 children in the central Thai province of Ratchaburi, one of the worst affected areas in the country, are participating in a study that aims to establish the efficacy of the vaccine. Dengue causes severe, flu-like symptoms in about 50 million people every year, mainly in developing countries. There are four strains, one of which is a potentially lethal type. — AFP

Source: Straits Times

How Did They Excavate

Scientists used their brains and got the success in finding the ant colonies. They dug out 10 tonnes of cement down under the tubes or a hole made by ants into the mud. After a month with the help of scientist Louis Fortune, they discovered some giant and complex structures made by ant which seems to be a masterpiece amongst all. With the help of digging machines, loads and tonnes of earth’s soil was dug and they found subterranean highways connected to the main chambers and some fungus gardens too. This design was provided shortest path of transporting with great excellence and ventilation facility.

Everything seems to be truly designed by an architect. This Ant colony was a little complex owing to the fact that this was of 50 square meters in structure and 8 meters deep into the earth.

Purpose and Reason – The Giant colony of Ants is so huge for the size of the creature that it seems to be equivalent to the building of Great Wall of China. Although it can’t be seen from moon as the Great Wall of China, it can be easily called as one of the wonders of the world. The video shows that though ants are too small in size, their power cannot be underestimated when they work in unity. They have had known to achieve great things despite their small size.

Summary of the Video

The video talks about the effort spent by the scientists in the excavation process. The amount of cement removed was huge before the excavation work could be started. The scientists removed tonnes of earth with the help of special machines and diggers. The site is located on a side route coming from the main route. Tunnels are designed in such a way so as to provide quick transportation and adequate ventilation facility. The superb structure looks as if it were designed by a professional architect. However it has been made possible by the will power and hard work of none other than the smallest creature on earth-the ant.

A mutant mosquito could worsen the situation in Malaysia. Who knows?

A similar trial in the Cayman Islands last year – the first time genetically modified mosquitoes have been set loose in the wild after years of laboratory experiments and hypothetical calculations – resulted in a dramatic drop in the mosquito population in a small area studied by researchers. The plan has sparked criticism by some Malaysian environmentalists, who fear it might have unforeseen consequences, such as the inadvertent creation of uncontrollable mutated mosquitoes. Critics also say such plans could leave a vacuum in the ecosystem that is then filled by another insect species, potentially introducing new diseases.

Death caused by dengue will rise if no counter-measure action is taken

Government authorities have tried to allay the concerns by saying they are conducting small-scale research and will not rush into any widespread release of mosquitoes. The Malaysian government-run Institute for Medical Research said it released about 6,000 sterile male lab mosquitoes in an uninhabited forest area in eastern Malaysia on Dec. 21. Another 6,000 wild male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were also placed in the area for scientific comparison, it said in a statement.

The institute provided few details of the experiment, but said it was “successfully” concluded Jan. 5, and that all the mosquitoes were killed with insecticide. It said it is not planning to release any more mosquitoes until it analyzes the results. It was the first such trial in Asia, an official in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.

Duane Gubler, a professor specializing in infectious diseases at Singapore’s Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School who was not involved with the research, said the plan is likely to be effective in fighting dengue if it is combined with other biological control methods.

“We need new tools. Nothing we’ve done in the past 40 years has had an impact” on dengue, Gubler told the AP.

Using genetically altered sterile male insects against fruit flies and other flies that cause damage in cattle has been successful in places like the United States, Gubler said. He added that environmentalists should not be concerned, because the genetically modified mosquitoes would die quickly.

In the Cayman Islands, genetically altered sterile male mosquitoes were also set loose by scientists in a 40-acre (16-hectare) region between May and October last year. By August, mosquito numbers in that area dropped by 80 percent compared with a neighboring area where no sterile mosquitoes were released. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said last year the project was an “innovative” way to fight dengue after a lack of success in campaigns urging Malaysians to keep neighborhoods free of stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed.

The number of dengue-linked deaths in Malaysia increased 52 percent last year from 88 in 2009. The total dengue infections rose 11 percent from 2009 to more than 46,000 cases last year. Dengue fever is common in Asia and Latin America. Symptoms include high fever, joint pains and nausea, but in severe cases, it can lead to internal bleeding, circulatory shutdown and death. There is no known cure or vaccine.

Source: AP

Do you know that there is a very simple and very economical way to destroy the mosquitoes’ eggs and not let them hatch into larvae. Very very simple, just put in few 1 cent copper coins into the tanks/containers then it will solve all your problems. Because in accordance to Japanese Research Scientists, they found the mosquitoes eggs will be destroyed by a kind of mineral discharge from the copper. DON’T BELIEVE IT. Try it by yourself and even the small snails also will not visit the containers (with copper coins) collected with stagnant water. Your will observe the water collected in the containers will be very clean and clear.

Source: Email