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WASHINGTON, Oct 12: An increase in fatal drug-resistant infections in the...more
Desperate Clinton seeks WASHINGTON, Oct 12: As the US ratification of the Comprehensive Test...more BEIJING, Oct 12: China today urged the United States to act positively and ....more Medicine research WASHINGTON, Oct 12: The work that won German-born scientist Guenter .....more 2 Dutch scientists win 1999 nobel prize for physics STOCKHOLM, Oct 12: Two Dutch scientists, Gerardus’t Hooft and Martinus.....more |
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Lord Paul meets ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Leading NRI industrialist and Britain’s roving business ....more Let poor enjoy fruits of scientific research: India UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12: India has called for steps to ensure equitable.....more
International community BERLIN, Oct 12: The international community has been urged to devote.....more |
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WASHINGTON, Oct 12: An increase in fatal drug-resistant infections in the United States can be traced to the over-use of antibiotics, especially in agriculture, say public health scientists. "There is a global public health problem of antibiotic resistance," says Fred Angulo, a public health scientist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The threat of untreatable infections is growing in hospitals, communities generally and on the farm, he says. "We need to use these drugs more prudently wherever they are used to slow the progression of resistance." Antibiotics, introduced more than 50 years ago, have saved countless lives worldwide. Before the development of these drugs, death through bacterial infections in even minor wounds was a frightening possibility in this country. Now, because of resistance to antibiotics, once-treatable infections again are becoming fatal. More than 90 per cent of strains of staphyloccous aureus bacteria, a common cause of hospital "staph" infections, are now resistant to penicillin, according to according to Angulo. Four children died in the last few years from common staph infections resistant to antibiotics, according to the CDC. Last year, however, vancomycin-resistant strains of staph appeared in the United States, starting with a man dying in New York. "Uses of antibiotics creates selective pressures which result in dissemination and spread of bacteria resistant to antibiotics," Dr Angulo says. Use of the so-called "miracle" drugs is widespread in the United States. In 1954, this country produced two million pounds of antibiotics, for 1999, the figure exceeds 50 million pounds. The problem of resistance partially is due to doctors over-prescribing antibiotics for humans, says Dr Angulo. The CDC estimates that about one-third of the 150 million outpatient prescriptions for antibiotics every year are unnecessary. But a lesser-known problem of over-use occurs on farms. More than half of the antibiotics used in the United States are estimated to be used in animal feed for poultry, hogs, and cattle. Some 30 antibiotics - such as tetracycline, penicillin and streptomycin - are approved by the FDA for many uses in livestock. But, in 80 per cent of cases, instead of being used to treat sick animals the drugs are used to fatten the animals faster, according to Rebecca Goldburg, senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund. "This indiscriminate and non-essential use of antibiotics in agriculture dangerously increases the possibility that these antibiotics and other closely related ones will be ineffective when needed to treat people," she says. Between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds of tetracycline and streptomycin - both used to treat infections in humans - are prayed to control bacterial disease among fruit trees, she says. In comparison, one pound would be enough to treat around 450 people. Antibiotics that are effective in human medicine are also used for treatment of bacterial infections in salmon, catfish, trout and other commercially-raised fish. In the United States more than 55 million pounds of farmed salmon are produced per year. Dr Goldburg estimates that nearly 150 pounds of antibiotic are applied per acre of salmon. "Since pens are placed in natural sea waters, antibiotics and the resulting resistant bacteria have contact with other marine life and end up spreading into surrounding streams, lakes and rivers," she says. "This increases the odds that humans will develop resistance to antibiotics or come in contact with fatal resistant bacteria," says Dr Goldberg. Antibiotic resistance can move from animals and plant disease to human bacteria, she says. E-coli and salmonella, for example, are in the same bacteria family as erwinia, a fruit tree disease. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC, resistant strains of three specific organisms that cause disease in humans - salmonella, camphylobacter and e-coli - are directly linked to the use of antibiotics in animals. Bacteria in this family can exchange genes from plants with similar genes in humans, therefore increasing resistance to antibiotics, Goldberg warns. In 1997, the World Health Organisation recommended ending the use in animal feed of all antibiotics used in human medicine, as well as closely related drugs. In response, the use of four antibiotics in animal feed was banned throughout Europe in 1998. "Sweden banned all non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in agriculture in 1986, and the country has evolved a highly successful system of meat production that does not depend on such drugs," adds Dr Goldberg. In March, five national environmental and public interest organisations, including the Environmental Defense Fund and the union of concerned scientists, filed a petition with the FDA to ban the use of antibiotics on livestock used to promote growth that are used - or related to those used - in human medicine. The list includes penicillin, tetracyclines, erythromycin, lincomycin, tylosin, and virginiamycin. The agency itself has proposed limiting new uses of antibiotics in agriculture. This has been strenuously opposed by powerful pharmaceutical and agricultural interests while public health experts say that, despite being a ‘good start’, it is too weak. "It is not sufficient merely to limit new uses of antibiotics," says Goldberg. "The current overuse of antibiotics both in human medicine and in animal feed must be quickly curtailed. " (IPS) |
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Desperate Clinton seeks delay on vote on CTBT WASHINGTON, Oct 12: As the US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) hovered on the edge of rejection, a desperate President Bill Clinton has formally requested the Senate to delay the vote on the accord in the interest of national security. In a letter to Senate Republican Majority leader Trent Lott, at the demand of the Grand Old Party (GOP) members, Clinton yesterday wrote, I request that you postpone consideration of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on the Senate floor. I firmly believe the treaty is in the national interest...However, I recognise that there are a significant number of Senators who have honest disagreement, he noted. Fearing failure of garnering enough support for the treaty during the voting, set for today or tomorrow, Clinton warned, I believe that proceeding to a vote under these circumstances would severely harm the national security of the United States, damage our relationship with our allies and undermine our historic leadership over 40 years... Clinton’s letter came a day after three cabinet members and the White House’s national security adviser pleaded the administration’s case that rejection by the Senate could hurt nonproliferation efforts. Lott upon receiving the letter said that he welcomes this reversal by the White House. He had said earlier that Clinton would have to agree to put off the accord until next year. Analysts feel that a delay in US ratification of CTBT may take the pressure off India to sign and ratify the treaty. Clinton himself pointed out that if America does not ratify, it will find it difficult to persuade New Delhi to sign. The Republicans made the demand for Clinton’s request for postponement of the ratification vote to be put in writing because of serious suspicion that he will later blame them for the postponement and the democrats could then use it as an election issue. But the reason Clinton wants postponement is that the supporters of CTBT—the entire group of 45 democrats and a few Republicans—lack 15 to 20 votes for two-thirds majority needed for ratification in the 100-member senate. The Republicans had also demanded that Clinton should not put up the CTBT for ratification next year but postpone it to be handled by the new Congress and the new President in 2001. Clinton did not accept that condition in writing but authorized his National Security Adviser Sandy Berger to say that the White House would not bring it back up if the votes weren’t there to pass it next year. The treaty was doomed when the non-political heads of the national laboratories and the intelligence agencies headed by the CIA said that they simply cannot monitor every test at the present state of the art and that it would take five to ten years for the new computers, with speeds of 100 trillion operations per second, to be ready and give the requisite confidence. Clinton appears desperate to avoid a vote as he feared that comparisons would be drawn between the defeat of the treaty of versailles by the Senate and the certain defeat of the CTBT if it is put to vote. (PTI) |
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BEIJING, Oct 12: China today urged the United States to act positively and set an example for other countries by ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The U S ratification of the CTBT is very important to the future of the Treaty and that will also serve as an example and promote ratification by other countries, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told reporters here. Pointing out that the U S has conducted the maximum number of nuclear tests, she said a positive reaction by Washington in response to the final call at the recent review conference in Vienna would help early implementation of the CTBT which hopes to ban nuclear tests worldwide. The Chinese reaction comes in the wake of U S president Bill Clinton asking the Senate to delay voting on the CTBT since it is expected to be defeated by the republicans. Clinton said he was open to delaying a vote for months, or more than a year if required, but added he could not accept the Republican demands that he explicitly agree to put it off to the next Congress in 2001. Zhang stressed that U S ratification would set an example to Other nations To follow suit. She did not specify the other countries but Beijing is keen that India and Pakistan, the latest entrants to the Nuclear Club, sign the CTBT without much ado. Zhang urged the remaining 44 countries to sign the Treaty to enable the CTBT to come into force. (PTI) |
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Medicine research WASHINGTON, Oct 12: The work that won German-born scientist Guenter Blobel the nobel prize in medicine is now used as the basis for a range of medical research, from developing new treatments for cystic fibrosis to searching for drugs based on the body’s own genes. The prize honours his work in identifying the signals that help proteins find their way around cells. Proteins do all the work of cells, and are the direct product of all genes. Researchers who have worked with Blobel, or who have used his work as a basis for their own experiments, say understanding these signals forms a vital basis for knowing how a cell works. Blobel describes the signals as the body’s own postal system. "It’s very fundamental research," Dr. David Sabatini, chair of the Department of Cell Biology at the New York University School of Medicine, said in a telephone interview. "Proteins have to be addressed someplace within the cell." Many biotechnology companies use or even modify these signals to make their products, which are based on the body’s own compounds, said Sabatini, who worked with Blobel early in the Prizewinner’s career. "Proteins made by biotech companies such as hormones or growth factors, et cetera, contain these signals," he said. One example is Human Genome Sciences Inc., which searches through the human genome, the collection of all genes, looking for genes that control potentially useful proteins. Dr. William Haseltine, Chief Executive Officer of HGS, said the signals identified by Blobel are more than just addresses — they make sure that proteins get to where they are supposed to be. "It’s the pore that our proteins use to get the surface," he said. Haseltine’s company is working on a range of proteins, from the VEGF protein which helps control the growth of blood vessels — useful in treating both cancer and heart disease —to a protein used to rev up immune cells. (REUTERS) |
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2 Dutch scientists win 1999 nobel prize for physics STOCKHOLM, Oct 12: Two Dutch scientists, Gerardus’t Hooft and Martinus J G Veltman, won the 1999 nobel prize for physics today for their work on the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics. Their work has given researchers a well-functioning theoretical machinery which can be used for, among other things, predicting the properties of new particles, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. Veltman, of Bilthoven, is retired from the University of Michigan, and ‘T hooft has been a professor at the University of Utrecht since 1977. Their association began in 1969 when T Hooft studied with Veltman. US-based scientists won or shared the chemistry prize in nine of the past 10 years, and the physics prize in eight of the past 10 years. The research by last year’s winners, which explored the inner structure of matter, has had far-reaching implications. Walter Kohn of the University of California-Santa Barbara and John Pople of Northwestern University were co-winners of the chemistry prize for theoretical work on the quantum properties of molecules. Kohn, a 75-year-old native of Austria, was cited for development of density-functional theory which simplified the mathematical description of the bonding between atoms that make up molecules. Pople, a 72-year-old British citizen, was cited for developing computer techniques to test the chemical structure and details of matter. The resulting computer program is used by thousands of universities and companies worldwide. (AP) |
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Lord Paul meets Pakistani business houses ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: Leading NRI industrialist and Britain’s roving business Ambassador Lord Swraj Paul had a series of meetings with Pakistani business houses to promote the United Kingdom’s commercial interests. Lord Paul, who arrived in Karachi on Sunday, also had a meeting with the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on various matters, including the controversial issue of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) that included some British companies. I had a very positive discussion with the Governor of SBP during which the latter informed that the Pakistan Government was trying to find a solution to the problem, he said. The Nawaz Sharif Government is having problems with a number of IPPs after it raised several objections on the agreements signed by these firms with the previous Benazir Bhutto Government. Lord Paul also met members of overseas chambers of commerce, Pakistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and also visited the Karachi Stock Exchange during his stay in Karachi. He is scheduled to call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and will also meet Finance Minister Ishaq Dar during his stay in the country. (PTI) |
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Let poor enjoy fruits of scientific research: India UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12: India has called for steps to ensure equitable diffusion of benefits of science and technology among developed and developing nations, stressing that the poor are often unable to enjoy fruits of research. To the extent that poor face distinctive challenges, science and technology must be directed purposefully towards them, said Prof M G K Menon addressing a UN Committee. In part, Menon said yesterday, it would require that the wealthy Governments enable the grossly underfunded and underpowered United Nations institutions to become vibrant and active partners of human development. The problem is that, for myriad reasons, the technological gains in wealthy countries do not readily diffuse to the poorest ones. Research and development of new technologies are overwhelmingly directed at rich-country’s problem, the former minister for science and technology said. Menon gave statistics to show the wide gap existing between the rich and poor in communication accessibility while stating that the international system currently fails to meet the scientific and technological needs of the poorest, in an increasingly seamless global market place, two societies will now co-exist unless the disparities are remedied — A world of the privileged with high income, education, literacy, internet communications, accessing information and technology at lower costs and others lacking even basic telecommunication. Urging the UN to take stock of the emerging disparities and address marginalisation through pro-active policy, Menon said the market would only make global citizens of those who can afford it unless we work to redress the situation. We have a unique opportunity in the UN to devise a framework that will facilitate the establishment of the necessary infrastructure in developing countries so as to enable them to be part of the technological revolution, Menon told the delegates. In this connection, he advocated examination of the proposal made in the human development report this year for a bit tax on data sent by E-mail. The yield in a single industrial nations is estimated at ten billion dollars, he said. (PTI) |
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International community
urged to check BERLIN, Oct 12: The international community has been urged to devote more attention and resources towards prevention of conflicts and to take action to curb illegal sales of weapons worldwide. The need to take preventive measures in the light of raging conflicts in several parts of the world was highlighted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, at the ongoing 102nd conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) here. While Annan in his message said that the goal of the international community must be to embark on an age of prevention of conflicts, Robinson in his address said prevention of conflicts remained the biggest challenge facing the world in the field of human rights. The UN chief also said that threats to national sovereignty arose from problems and forces extending across state boundaries that no single Government could "control" on its own. The International Red Cross chief Dr Oornelio Sommaruga in his address on the second day of the week-long conference demanded that action be taken to prevent enormous quantities of arms, mostly light weapons, from finding their way into the "wrong hands". "The challenge posed by war as profitable business was one of the main challenges facing humanitarian law," he said. Sommaruga regretted that the price of the generous distribuion and untrained use of illegal weapons worldwide was one that innocent civilians often had to pay with their lives. He said that war as business also posed another threat to international humanitarian law in the wake of growing "privatisation" of armed conflict. There is need for some legal steps to restrain the companies that are openly peddling their mercenary services to weak governments and wealthy business concerns, the red cross chief suggested. The German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in his address last evening called on the parliamentarians from all over the world to "make their voices heard when ethnic groups are incited to hatred against each other or when minorities are oppressed and persecuted." Nearly 1,300 parliamentarians including 30 presiding officers from 138 countries are attending the conference which took up last evening the general debate on the political, economic and social situation in the world. Topical issues like the situation in East Timor and Kosovo are due to be discussed at the debate for which three days upto Thursday has been allotted. (PTI) |
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