Christina Scott Author
Guest Author
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/ 18 April 2005

New hope for Marburg virus drug

As the deadly outbreak of Marburg virus continues to claim lives in Angola, researchers have worked out how the closely related Ebola virus invades human cells, according to a report on the Science and Development Network website. The findings could lead to a treatment for the diseases, which each kill up to 90% of those infected.

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/ 3 February 2005

The great evolution debate rages on

The theory that humans have evolved over millions of years independent of any "divine" influence is not widely accepted in many countries. That list now includes Brazil, according to the Science and Development Network. Meanwhile, evolutionary facts underpin many of the events coming up at Africa’s largest science festival, the ninth annual Sasol Science Festival in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape.

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/ 15 December 2004

Drug-resistant TB may have hit its sell-by date

The first promising tuberculosis (TB) drug in almost 40 years could be the best yet, according to the <i>Science and Development Network</i>. This is good news for Southern Africa, which is home to large numbers of people suffering from TB as a result of HIV/Aids. Animal tests indicate that the drug could also treat the disease faster, reducing costs, according to new research.

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/ 25 November 2004

Cheap drug saves the lives of HIV+ Zambian kids

An inexpensive antibiotic often used to treat lung infections could help prevent deaths in children infected with HIV. A multinational research team tested the preventative effect of the widely-available antibiotic co-trimoxazole in 540 Zambian children between the ages of one and 14 years, The antibiotic cut Aids-related deaths such as pneumonia in the HIV-infected children by almost half at 43 percent.