LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) – A GlaxoSmithKline
experimental malaria vaccine touted as a new weapon in the fight
to eradicate the disease proved only 30 percent effective when
given to babies as part Africa’s largest ever clinical trial.

The surprisingly poor result for the world’s first potential
vaccine against malaria leaves uncertain whether it can have a
useful role in fighting the mosquito-borne disease that kills
hundreds of thousands of children a year.

LONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) – A GlaxoSmithKline
experimental malaria vaccine touted as a new weapon in the fight
to eradicate the deadly disease proved only 30 percent effective
when given to African babies in a crucial clinical trial.

The surprisingly poor result leaves uncertain whether the
vaccine will have a useful role to play in fighting the
mosquito-borne disease that kills hundreds of thousands of
children a year.

LONDON (Reuters) – Rising temperatures due to climate change could mean wild arabica coffee is extinct in 70 years, posing a risk to the genetic sustainability of one of the world’s basic commodities, scientists said.

Although commercial coffee growers would still be able to cultivate crops in plantations designed with the right conditions, experts say the loss of wild arabica, which has greater genetic diversity, would make it harder for plantations to survive long-term and beat threats like pests and disease.

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Retinal implants to help pilots
see at night, stimulant drugs to keep surgeons alert and steady
handed, cognitive enhancers to focus the minds of executives for
a big speech or presentation.

Medical and scientific advances are bringing human
enhancements into work but with them, according to a report by
British experts, come not only the potential to help society and
boost productivity, but also a range of ethical dilemmas.

LONDON (Reuters) – Genetic testing could help doctors find the small number of patients with advanced bowel cancer likely to benefit from cancer drug Avastin, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a study of Roche’s blockbuster drug, which targets and blocks a protein called VEGF-A, researchers found that different forms of the protein lead to varying responses and Avastin had no benefit in at least half of those taking it.

ATHENS (Reuters) – Just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse for Greece, the exhausted and indebted country has a new threat to deal with: mosquito-borne diseases.

Species of the blood-sucking insects that can carry exotic-sounding tropical infections like malaria, West Nile Virus, chikungunya and dengue fever are enjoying the extra bit of warmth climate change is bringing to parts of southern Europe.

ATHENS (Reuters) – Just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse for Greece, the exhausted and indebted country has a new threat to deal with: mosquito-borne diseases.

Species of the blood-sucking insects that can carry exotic-sounding tropical infections like malaria, West Nile Virus, chikungunya and dengue fever are enjoying the extra bit of warmth climate change is bringing to parts of southern Europe.

LONDON (Reuters) – Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who take stimulants such as Ritalin tend to feel the drugs help them control their behavior and do not turn them into “robots” as many skeptics assume, a study found on Monday.

The research, which for the first time asked children taking ADHD drugs what they felt about their treatment and its effects, found that many said medication helped them manage their impulsivity and make better decisions.

LONDON (Reuters) – Eighteen people are confirmed to be suffering from dengue fever in the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira and another 191 probably have the mosquito-borne disease which is also called “breakbone fever” because of the severe pain it can cause.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) which monitors disease in the European Union, said the outbreak was “significant but not entirely unexpected” given that the most efficient carriers of the disease, mosquitoes known as Aedes aegypti, have an established presence in Madeira.

LONDON (Reuters) – When John Coates was on a winning streak during his days as a trader at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, the narcotic-like “high” he experienced was so powerful he was determined to find out more.

So after 13 years on trading floors on Wall Street he moved to the neuroscience labs of Rockefeller University in New York and of Britain’s Cambridge University.