SciDev.Net

Cardiovascular disease accounts for 30% of deaths worldwide and 10% of all years of healthy life lost to disease, and the figures are nearly as high in developing countries — 27 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. This compares with 10% of lives lost worldwide from HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria put together (12% in developing countries). So why have donors not invested as heavily into tackling non-communicable chronic diseases as they have with infectious ones? The authors of this article suggest several reasons: infectious diseases are in some ways easier to solve by a vaccine or drugs so it might seem sensible to use precious funding this way; Western donors may want to see epidemics contained quickly to avoid global spread; pictures of small African children dying of AIDS are more heartrending than a middle-aged man with hypertension, even if that man is supporting a large family; there is a myth that chronic diseases are more costly to prevent than infectious ones. This last issue is one that should be tackled strongly to spread awareness that low-cost methods can have an enormous effect on chronic diseases.

Vaccination for infectious diseases is a vital method of prophylaxis, and has transformed modern medicine. By contrast, research into vaccines against chronic diseases has been less successful, in part because of the increased complexity involved.

In this opinion piece, the authors outline the prospects for the development of chronic disease vaccines. These might not need to rely on the traditional method of inducing the body to produce antibodies, but rather on introducing monoclonal antibodies against specific proteins — this has so far worked well against Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

The authors outline key hurdles in developing a successful therapeutic vaccine. Safety and efficacy are two obvious ones, but there is a third that is unique to vaccines for chronic diseases. Because these vaccines would block bodily chemicals — such as cytokines or hormones — it would not be acceptable for a vaccine to induce a life-long block (unlike a malaria vaccine, for example, where a lifelong block would be ideal).

These might be particularly useful in developing countries, say the authors. Because prophylaxis with vaccines is already a familiar concept, there should be no problem with patients' compliance, and judicious partnerships between public and private organisations could mean the vaccines are produced cheaply.

The mass media is an effective way of getting policymakers interested in a research issue, but only if communicators are able to make the issue attractive. Ways to increase the media appeal of research policy related news are suggested, as is the need to equip researchers and analysts with improved communication skills that will help bridge the research-policy gap.

Anil Gupta, Founder Coordinator of the Honey Bee network and Founder President of the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions, describes the barriers to communication that stand between researchers, policy-makers, policy analysts and the public. He deplores how "big" (formal) science fails to appreciate "small" (local knowledge-based) science, and particularly the part it plays in creating sustainable lifestyles. Other barriers include a reliance on jargon, problems with communicating about risk, and a lack of science funding.

Based in India, Gupta specialises in providing support for small technological entrepreneurs.

The text is also downloadable in Word format.

A mix of factsheets, opinion pieces and case studies on antibiotic resistance in developed and developing countries, the publication looks at the history of antibiotics, the development of resistance and possible ways of combating it. Some of the pieces look at how medical staff cope with resistance, particularly MRSA, in hospitals. The editorial emphasises the need for consumers to play their part, and urges people not to take the benefits of antibiotics for granted. The issue of antimicrobials in animals is covered because of growing evidence that resistant bacteria can spread from animals to humans.

This background piece to understanding antibiotic resistance in Africa is written in accessible language. It outlines the scale of the problem in Africa (bacterial infections cause 45 per cent of deaths) and the commonest types of infections — tuberculosis, respiratory illnesses and sexually transmitted infections.

It addresses problems of antibiotic resistance specific to African populations: the heavy burden of community-acquired infections; the limited range of first-line antibiotics and varying availability of second-line drugs (often vital against resistant bacteria); the hidden costs from longer hospital admission times and more expensive drugs needed to treat resistant pathogens.

The AIDS epidemic is linked to the problem – the HIV virus weakens people’s immune systems making them more susceptible to bacterial infection. In addition, antibiotics used prophylactically in AIDS patients to prevent opportunistic infections are also used for a wide range of bacterial infections, making it more likely that the pathogens will develop resistance.

Another problem is the sale of antibiotics by unsanctioned providers, who might give incorrect information about how to take the drugs. They frequently sell poor-quality or even counterfeit drugs that don’t cure the patient but encourage bacterial resistance.

Consumers need to be made aware of their own responsibilities, says the article, but ultimate responsibility lies with the healthcare providers in instituting and maintaining treatment programmes.

The factsheet outlines the problem of antibiotic resistance detailing the causes, consequences and factors that encourage the spread of resistance. It is ideal for people wanting a snapshot of the problem from WHO's perspective, although for more detailed information see the WHO global strategy for containment of antimicrobial resistance.

This annotated bibliography of mostly online resources covers the relationship between biofuels and climate change.

The bibliography is divided into ten sections: Biofuels; GM trees; carbon sinks and trading; land use change — effects on atmospheric carbon; deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions linked to biofuels; biofuels and food production; biofuels production — what's the energy balance?; bio-regional energy; food miles; and other oil crops — search facilities.

This Compilation lists the human subjects research legislation, regulations or guidelines for 79 countries, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and several international organisations. It was developed for IRBs/Ethics Committees, researchers, funding agencies and others involved in international research with the aim of helping these groups familiarise themselves with the laws, regulations and guidelines of countries in which research will be conducted. A description of the methods used to collect and update the information is included.

This study was prepared for the UNESCO Cairo Office. The key objective was to collect a wide array of data and statistics on R&D systems across the Arab states.

The study was motivated by the attempts of several Arab countries to balance the need to invest in R&D systems with their rapidly depleting resources during the 1990s.

These attempts focused on: diversifying the funding base of R&D activities; maximising linkages between industry and business enterprises and R&D performing institutions; optimising the relevance of R&D activities to client demand; increasing competitiveness among institutions for funds; and institutionalising R&D activities as an economic operation.

The study provides data on the organisation of R&D systems, R&D performing units, trends and levels of funding, full-time researchers, and R&D disparities between Arab countries.

This document provides important — and rare — background data on R&D systems across an important sub-section of the OIC member states and may be valuable for science, technology and innovation policy-makers from these countries seeking to better understand the structure and contribution of R&D in their economies.

This study provides a framework and guidelines for the design, development and implementation of strategies to build an integrated knowledge society and knowledge-based economies in Arab countries, in accordance with the goals of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The study asks what exactly a knowledge society or knowledge economy is. It provides an overview of the analytical tools needed to create a knowledge strategy and makes recommendations as to how strategies might be best implemented. Lebanon and Yemen are presented as case studies, comparing and contrasting their experiences of crafting and implementing their own strategies.

The authors conclude that "moving towards the knowledge society means adopting customs and attitudes that value knowledge as a personal asset, an organisational resource and an economic prerequisite. The region must start moving into intellectual capital leverage, and must strive to create, disseminate, share and make such capital more productive."

This Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) focuses on the challenge of building a knowledge society in the Arab world.

AHDRs have been fairly successful in creating not only dialogue and debate on important socioeconomic and political issues within the region but also catalysing policymakers across Arab countries to improve the state of the Arab world.

This report tackles several important issues relevant to knowledge creation, dissemination and utilisation in the Arab world. It addresses the state of current knowledge in Arab countries; the conceptual linkage between knowledge creation and economic development; the production, dissemination, and measurement of knowledge capital; and the socioeconomic, cultural and political aspects of knowledge creation and use specific to Arab countries, including the role of science and technology.

It presents a five-pillar strategic vision for creating an Arab knowledge society including disseminating high-quality education and building scientific research and development capacity science, and keeping abreast with the information age.

The report is especially valuable for policymakers associated with education, science, technology and innovation realms.

This paper is based on the premise that all countries, especially under-developed ones, need to invest in science and technology (S&T).

It describes and compares Arab countries in the Gulf and Mediterranean regions with others around the world and finds that that neither the Gulf nor the Mediterranean countries investigated possess sufficient human or financial resources to enhance S&T performance.

The paper finds that the role of the private sector in research and development is non-existent and that high scores of Gulf countries on gross domestic product and human development indices do not necessarily translate into high scores in S&T indicators.

The paper also finds a lack of cooperation within and between Gulf and Mediterranean countries and the rest of the Arab world. However, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia show active scientific cooperation with the international community, particularly with countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, notably France. The study suggests geographical proximity, rather than social proximity alone, may also spur S&T collaboration.

The paper is useful for S&T policymakers in OIC countries, Arab countries in particular.

This study outlines the findings of the 2003 TIMSS for the participating Arab countries, namely, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian National Authority, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia. TIMSS is a study of cross-national achievement in mathematics and sciences for fourth and eighth grade students since 1959.

The report provides useful data on each of the participating countries, and compares Arab and international average scores. It includes data on average achievement scores, resource availability, access to computers, the number of curriculum hours designated, teacher characteristics and credentials, and classroom characteristics and instruction quality.

The study finds that while most Arab countries lag behind the international averages, a few have made progress since the last exercise in 1999. It also highlights interesting aspects of this difference and suggests measures to improve student achievement. The document is especially useful for educators in Muslim countries seeking credible data and analysis on student achievement.

This special issue is a large collection of opinion pieces, research and review articles, and news features that highlight the advances in knowledge and challenges to the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, including articles on randomised trials of promising HIV drugs.

It also includes a look at the preventive potential of microbicides and prophylactic HIV drugs. Another key issue covered is the patients' right to access to HIV treatment, and the barriers to treatment that people face if they are migrants or from socially excluded groups such as injecting drug users.

One weapon that those fighting HIV long for is an effective vaccine, and researchers outline the scientific and policy challenges of developing an HIV vaccine. The issue of paediatric HIV/AIDS cases is also discussed.

This timeline details reported cases of bird flu in both animals and people from the first recording of the virus in China's Guangdong Province in 1996 onwards.

The document also highlights milestones in bird flu research, such as the October 2005 finding that the deadly 1918 pandemic virus shares characteristics with the H5N1 virus, and the March 2006 research that explains why H5N1 does not yet easily infect people.

The timeline also shows the geographical spread of the virus from Asia — especially South-East Asia — through central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The timeline is periodically updated — check the World Health Organization's avian influenza website for the latest version.

This document from Friends of the Earth is a partisan analysis challenging claims that genetically modified (GM) crops have brought significant benefits for the environment and poverty alleviation.

It nevertheless provides a useful summary of the key areas where the environmental movement takes issue with the GM movement. The authors are particularly critical of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, which they argue paints a misleadingly positive picture of the impacts of GM crops.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, they examine several GM crops in the United States, GM soybeans in South America and the international community's experience with GM cotton. They also review the current status and prospects for rice, wheat, pharmaceutical crops, biofuels, bentgrass, cassava, sweet potato and potato.

This article presents four years of field research into the commercialisation of genetically modified Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The author, Glenn Stone, challenges the assumption that the rapid spread of Bt cotton is due to farmers carefully assessing the technology on a small scale before adopting it more widely.

Instead, Stone likens the process to a "craze", arguing that Bt cotton technology has disrupted farmers' learning process, as they rely less on experimentation and observation and more on advertising and copying their neighbours.

The article includes critical commentaries by leading scholars from Europe and the United States.

This paper provides a helpful overview of the history, current status and potential value of biotechnology from an African perspective. The authors — three Nigerian scientists — review modern biotechnological tools and techniques, outline their applications, and discuss their benefits and risks.

They focus on the relevance of microbial techniques for fermentation and food processing in developing countries. They also discuss how technologies such as genetic modification can be used to enhance food products' nutritional quality and shelf-life, boost crop yields, develop disease and pest-resistant crop varieties, and diagnose plant diseases.

The authors discuss the key socio-economic, policy and legal issues surrounding biotechnology for developing countries, including intellectual property rights and the need for proper infrastructure.

This document is a three-tier summary of the 'Ecosystems and human well-being: desertification synthesis' report published by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) in 2005. It begins with nine questions and answers introducing the subject, defining desertification, its causes, effects and how it can be better understood.

Answers are then further developed, addressing sub-questions such as how vulnerable are affected populations? And what social, economic and policy factors contribute to desertification?

Finally, it uses extracts from the MA report itself to support the arguments made.

The document estimates that 10-20 per cent of drylands are degraded and identifies desertification as a major environmental challenge affecting some of the world's poorest populations. The MA report suggests prevention as the most effective way to cope with desertification but argues that reducing the pressure on dryland resources must be accompanied by efforts to reduce poverty, as the two are closely linked.