HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH

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Using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing method, scientists found editing HIV out of DNA prevented reinfection by other, unedited cells. By  Stephen Feller    While many patients benefits greatly from antiretroviral drugs, once they are stopped, HIV in T-cells start replicating and increasing viral load again. Scientists say this could be preventable by editing patients' DNA, based on a recent study. Photo by RAJ CREATIONZS/Shutterstock PHILADELPHIA, March 21 (UPI) --  Scientists edited  HIV -1 DNA out of the genome of human immune cells, preventing virus replication and reinfection of the cleared cells. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technique, scientists at Temple University eliminated HIV-1 DNA from T cell genomes in lab experiments, and prevented reinfection after the cells were re-exposed to the virus, they report in a study published in Nature: Scientific Reports . The  CRISPR/Cas9 gene editin...

Canine mediated rabies is endemic in Tanzania despite the fact that the disease can be prevented entirely by mass dog vaccination. Since 2003 the Serengeti Health Initiative has been carrying out rabies vaccination campaigns that aim to achieve the 70% coverage required in order to eliminate rabies. The research team, a partnership among the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health at Washington State University, and Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, studied whether the use of incentives might increase owner participation in the vaccination events, and also examined the most effective way to estimate post-vaccination coverage. Sixty-two villages were randomly allocated to either a control (no incentives) or one of three incentives: bright colored collars given to the dogs, bright colored wristbands given to the owners and both collars and wristbands handed out. Dog owners were also asked to rate which incentiv...

By  Nico Lang World AIDS Day  recognizes the everyday lives and particular struggles of people around the world living with AIDS and HIV, but one population has been long overlooked. According to recent findings from the World Health Organization that analyzed data from 15 countries, transgender women are  nearly 49 times more likely  than the general population to contract HIV. This means that, just for being who they are, they are part of the population at highest risk for acquiring HIV. But according to advocates, the transgender community's HIV problem remains an  "invisible" epidemic, as trans women are too often ignored in health advocacy, stigmatized for their diagnosis or criminalized. Mic  spoke to the Human Rights Campaign's Noël Gordon, a senior specialist for HIV prevention and health equity, who argued that transgender women "find themselves at the eye of a perfect storm" when it comes to contracting HIV. "A number of fact...

 By    Joseph Burite   John Magufuli   Photographer: Daniel Hayduk/AFP/Getty Images New president Magufuli seeking to curb perceived overspending Future cabinet appointments seen as signaling extent of reform Don’t wait by your mailbox for a Christmas card from Tanzania’s president this year. Since taking office in early November, John Magufuli has been on the warpath against perceived government overspending and work-shy staff. This month’s Independence Day celebrations are out; officials have been told to  curb  their overseas travel. And they’ve been barred from  printing cards  for the festive season at the government’s expense. It’s an approach familiar to those who followed the 56-year-old’s previous stint as Tanzania’s works minister, in which his zeal earned him the nickname of tingatinga, Swahili for bulldozer. It may also be the image-boost needed by his Chama Cha Mapinduzi party,...

. View gallery . . Aboard the papal plane (AFP) - Pope Francis said fundamentalism is "a disease of all religions", including the Roman Catholic Church, as he returned from a three-nation tour of Africa in which he preached reconciliation and hope. "Fundamentalism is always a tragedy. It is not religious, it lacks God, it is idolatrous," the Argentine pontiff told journalists on the plane back from the Central African Republic. There, on the final leg of his first trip to Africa, the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics called on Christian and Muslim "brothers and sisters" to end the sectarian conflict that has torn the country apart. He was given a rapturous welcome by thousands of people as he visited a mosque in the flashpoint Muslim PK5 neighbourhood of the capital Bangui, on what was the most dangerous part of his 24-hour visit to the country. "Together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and ...

There’s a reason he’s called the King of the Jungle. Generic photo of a lion in Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Photo:  Joachim Huber/Wikimedia Commons A pride of lions feeding on a buffalo failed to protect its dinner from a pack of hungry hyenas and jackals in Tanzania, but the king of the jungle quickly restored order. In the Ngorongoro Crater, said to feature one of the densest populations of lions, a group of safari tourists observed the amazing encounter from afar but managed to capture the remarkable wildlife footage. The 100100 Channel , which posts wildlife videos from its African safari clients, called it a “Jungle battle between lions and hyenas and the king.” In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the pride of lions was feasting on a downed buffalo while also trying to discourage hyenas and jackals from getting in on the kill. Eventually, the hyenas and jackals overwhelmed the lions and begin devouring the prey, some jumping onto each other to get to ...