Bird flu alert
H5N1 bird flu has killed more than 5000 migratory birds on an island in Qinghai province in north-west China, according to UN officials who visited the area. It is not clear if it is the same strain of H5N1 that has been killing poultry and people elsewhere in Asia. The officials have called for urgent studies within the next six weeks, after which the surviving birds will start to migrate, possibly carrying the virus with them.
Piggyback to the moon
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India鈥檚 first moon orbiter, due for launch in 2007, will carry three European instruments as well as its own scientific payload, the Indian Space Research Organisation and the European Space Agency announced on Monday. ESA鈥檚 instruments include spectrometers to measure the abundances of various elements and minerals on the lunar surface.
Not so neglected
Efforts to tackle the neglected diseases that kill the world鈥檚 poorest people received a $436.6 million boost through the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative set up by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The money will go to 43 projects in 33 countries.
鈥淏lack-only鈥� drug approved
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of BiDil for treating heart failure in 鈥渟elf-identified black patients鈥�. It claims the approval is 鈥渁 step toward the promise of personalised medicine鈥�. It is the first time a drug has been approved for treating people of a specific race (New 杏吧原创, 11 June, p 42).
Disease wiped out
A form of childhood meningitis and pneumonia has been eliminated from the western region of Gambia, where 60 per cent of the population live. Vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) has cut the number of cases to zero, from 2 per 1000 people five years ago.