Studies: Bats’ virus tolerance is higher than humans’, hence the massive load of pathogens they traffic
When a host, whether bat or human, is infected with a disease-causing pathogen, the ensuing interaction is often described as a battle: The host’s immune system pulls out the big guns to fight and eradicate the invader. In immunology parlance, this is known as resistance; its end-game is destroying the...
Reworking democracy: Goal of ‘ranked-choice voting’ is to produce winners with a mix of the electorate
Ranked-choice voting (here called instant-runoff voting) can also be used for contests that decide several seats at once, such as races for city councils or school boards. The counting is more involved, but the goal is to produce a slate of winners that roughly matches the partisan makeup of the...
In ranked-choice voting candidates with lowest totals are ejected, votes reallocated to supporters’ second option
Ranked-choice voting, the option Americans are considering to heal divisions in the country, tries to produce winners who have majority support. If no one wins a majority of the vote outright, then the candidate with the lowest total is eliminated and their votes are reallocated to their supporters’ second choices....
Why President Biden’s original $20 billion request for historically Black universities is key to research
It’s a scandal: for decades, more than 400 colleges and universities in the United States that focus on educating students from under-represented communities, including Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Americans, have been underfunded, by both state and federal governments. Efforts are now underway to address some of these historical injustices. Courts...
Historically Black US colleges and universities ready to ramp up funding for scientific research
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States are set to ramp up investments in scientific research and education following a wave of new grants and proceeds from legal settlements. Most of these institutions were created in the nineteenth century to serve students of African descent. They are...
Studies show sexually active British men would consider taking hormonal contraceptives
With reported side-effects of contraceptives ranging from irregular bleeding, breakouts, nausea, headaches and hair loss to mood swings, reduced sex drives, blood clots, anxiety and depression – to name a few – the family planning pill, while revolutionary, is still not perfect. Using it for nearly 15 years until Mary...
From unplanned pregnancy and backstreet abortions to stigma of contraceptives, then moral liberalism
Mary Pelton started taking the pill in 1969. Back then it was still fairly new and something she describes as “an absolute breakthrough.” In upper sixth form at the time, the then-teenager had been prescribed it by her general practitioner (GP) as treatment for irregular periods. Now 70, Mary recalls...
‘Married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship’ case put US on the spot
A highly significant 2014 case granted asylum to a Guatemalan woman, whose abusive husband had pursued her around the country, beating her on the grounds that she was part of the particular social group: “married women in Guatemala who are unable to leave their relationship.” The case was held up...
Confirmed resistance to front-line malaria drugs in Africa, may put a damper on rising vaccine hopes
Scientists have confirmed that malaria parasites in Africa have developed resistance to a key family of drugs used to protect against them. “We’ve all been expecting and dreading this for quite some time,” says Leann Tilley, a biochemist at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who researches the molecular basis...
How tough maritime laws, establishment of Coast Guards played a role in reducing piracy in African seas
The seas off West Africa, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, have been a hotspot for increasingly violent maritime crime, particularly piracy. In 2020, 136 seafarers were abducted in 27 incidents in the Gulf of Guinea and according to Dryad Global, the attacks are becoming increasingly violent as the use...
