BBC Medical Science –
Researchers are developing a malaria vaccine which blocks development
of the disease-causing parasite while it is still inside the mosquito.
The vaccine targets Pfs25, a protein key to the parasite’s development
during its time in the mosquito’s gut. When a mosquito bites a
vaccinated person it would ingest antibodies which would block the
protein’s action. The US National Institutes of Health study appears in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers said
the vaccine had the potential to eliminate malaria from entire
geographic regions. However, experts warned that the vaccine would not
prevent or limit disease in the person who had been vaccinated, and
predicted this could make it difficult to sell the idea to infected
communities. Tests of other malaria vaccines are under way, but as yet
none has been licensed for widespread use. Most attempt to neutralise
the malaria parasite - Plasmodium - while it is in humans. But this has
proved difficult, because Plasmodium cells escape the human immune
system by hiding in liver and blood cells. Malaria kills between one
and three million people worldwide each year, with most of the deaths
in sub-Saharan Africa. More than a million children in Africa die from
malaria each year. The latest vaccine has so far only been tested in
mice. It is a combination of the Pfs25 protein, and other molecules
which are more easily recognised by the immune system, and more likely
to spur it into action. The combination triggers the production of
large quantities of antibodies which, when ingested by the mosquito,
zero in on the malaria parasite in its gut. A microscopic analysis of
the guts of mosquitoes fed a serum containing the antibodies triggered
by vaccination in the mice, showed that they were completely free of
the malaria parasites. In fact, the mice produced higher levels of
antibodies when they were tested three and seven months after their
initial set of jabs, than they did after one week. (12/19/06)
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BBC Environment — Ski
resorts across the European Alps are becoming increasingly worried as
current bad snow conditions threaten the all important Christmas
holiday period. This autumn has been one of the worst on record with
high temperatures and little snowfall. Many resorts have had to
postpone their openings and the main ski races have been cancelled
because of a lack of snow. With millions of skiers heading to the
resorts over the next week there are concerns that the open runs will
be very busy and people could be put off from booking again at
Christmas and the New Year, costing the multi-million pound industry
heavily in lost revenue, and threatening jobs. Many believe global
warming is to blame for the lack of snow. The Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development warned that many low-level resorts could
soon be unviable and predicted warmer temperatures in the future. Snow
cannons in the Austrian province of Salzburg Ski operations around
Europe have been using snow cannons Already banks are refusing to offer
loans to resorts under 1,500 metres as they fear for their future snow
cover. Germany is threatened the most, followed by some Austrian and
Italian resorts. However, the picture is not as bleak as some say, with
the high resorts having good conditions on some runs. I am in the Swiss
resort of Verbier and the open runs have good snow and more are set to
open this weekend helped by artificial snow. “We have many new
snow-making cannons across our slopes and this has helped greatly,”Pierre-Yves Deleze told the BBC. “Some snow is forecast to fall next
week and then everything should be OK. If not though, it will make us
more nervous for Christmas.” … Report from Moscow: Nobody knows what
to make of it. This is the middle of December in a country known for
the severity of its winters. There’s not a snowflake to be seen. Red
Square should be covered in white by now. It’s not. Its cobblestones
are as stubbornly damp and grey as the skies overhead. There would
normally be ice on the Moskva River. There’s none. “It’s just fantasy!”is the way the weather forecast began on one of Moscow’s radio stations
earlier this week. The announcer’s voice betrayed a mixture of
disbelief and despair. That’s because Russians are proud of their cold
winters. Some people welcome the fact that walking and driving the
snowless streets and pavements is easier than slipping and sliding.
Others, though, definitely feel that something is wrong. Temperatures
for the last couple of weeks have been about five degrees above zero.
At this time of year, five below zero would be more usual. (12/19/06)

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BBC Technology — The
green light has been given for two offshore wind farms in the Thames
Estuary, one of which will be the world’s biggest when it is completed.
The government said the schemes would produce enough renewable
electricity to power about one million households. The larger London
Array project covers 90 sq miles (232 sq km) between Margate in Kent
and Clacton, Essex. The second wind farm, called the Thanet scheme,
will cover 13.5 sq miles (35 sq km) off the north Kent coast. The
£1.5bn London Array scheme will have 341 turbines rising from the sea
about 12 miles (20km) off the Kent and Essex coasts, as well as five
offshore substations and four meteorological masts. The consortium
behind it is made up of Shell WindEnergy Ltd, E.ON UK Renewables and
Core Ltd. The smaller £450m Thanet project will be located seven miles
(11km) out from North Foreland, Kent, and will have 100 turbines.
Developed by Warwick Energy, it could be supplying electricity to about
240,000 homes by 2008. The government said both schemes would make “a
significant contribution to the aim of a five-fold increase in the UK’s
renewable energy resource by 2020″. Friends of the Earth said about 1%
of electricity used in the UK would come from the London Array
turbines. Spokesman Martin Williams said: “It really is a big wind
farm, but when you look at the scale of the challenge of climate
change, we’re going to need to do an awful lot more than just this one
offshore wind farm.” And the RSPB backed the London Array scheme after
plans were amended to prevent harm to red-throated divers - a bird
rarely seen in UK waters. The charity said 7,000 of the birds were
found off north east Kent between 2002 and 2005, a larger population
than thought, and so developers reduced the number of first phase
turbines. Dr Mark Avery, conservation director at the RSPB, said: “We
are very pleased that this wind farm is to be built. Renewable energy
generation is crucial to tackling climate change.” (12/19/06)
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