Hib hib hurray!
A vaccination programme has reduced the incidence of Hib meningitis in Uganda to zero, repeating earlier successes in Bangladesh, Kenya, Chile, the Gambia, the US and the UK. Hib vaccination was introduced in Uganda in 2001, and prevents some 5000 child deaths a year, caused by infection of the tissues lining the brain and spinal cord.
Bug hair day
A new species of bacteria has been discovered in hairspray. But further tests are needed to say whether Microbacterium hatanonis is any threat to human health, say researchers at the Japan Collection of Microorganisms in Saitama.
Space snacking
Nowhere is safe from advertising. Doritos is inviting the British public to come up with an advert for their nachos that will be broadcast into space from a radio telescope in Norway this June. The ad will be aimed toward the 鈥渉abitable zone鈥� around one of the stars in the constellation Ursa Major. This is 42 light years away, so peckish aliens might take a while to get here.
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They鈥檙e how old?
Smokers who know their 鈥渓ung age鈥� are more likely to quit 鈥� regardless of how much it differs from their real age. A study of 561 patients over 35 showed that those who had been told their lung age were twice as likely to have quit after a year than a control group (British Medical Journal, ).
Bid for Jodrell
The UK鈥檚 Jodrell Bank telescope is up for sale on eBay. While the offering is only a prank, the centre is in fact facing possible closure. Last week, the cash-strapped UK Science and Technology Facilities Research Council threatened to cut the 拢2.7 million annual funding that the telescope鈥檚 operators need to upgrade to a more powerful and sensitive array.