Great rubble of China
Most of the Great Wall of China is in danger of collapse, 30 per cent is in ruins and only 20 per cent of its 6300 kilometres is in decent shape, according to Dong Yaohui of the Great Wall of China Society. Dong walked the length of the wall, and told China Daily that some villagers are using bricks from the wall to build pigsties or are digging out coal from under it.
How now sea cow
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The manatee, or sea cow, has been removed from Florida鈥檚 endangered species list after a survey found more than 3000 in state waters, more than double the number 20 years ago. Environmentalists opposed the move, arguing that habitat loss could halve the population once more by the middle of this century.
Diarrhoea treatment
Clinical trials in Cairo, Egypt, have shown that the drug nitazoxanide slashes the time that rotavirus has a dehydrating effect. Rotavirus is the leading cause of diarrhoea worldwide and kills an estimated 500,000 children a year. There has till now been no effective drug treatment.
Wet bed alarm
Alarms that sound when a child begins urinating in bed produce the most lasting cures for bed-wetting, according to a review in the online journal Evidence-Based Child Health. While drugs such as desmopressin are effective in the short term, the problem often returns when the treatment is halted, the review found.
Tainted blood
Half of the world鈥檚 nations are failing to screen blood donations for HIV or hepatitis, according to a survey published by the World Health Organization on Monday. Safe blood supplies can only be guaranteed by encouraging more unpaid volunteers to donate, the WHO says. Most developing countries rely on paid donors or family members.