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Traditional medicine

Opinions

Here is a list of the latest articles

Women weighing Chinese medicine

Redesign trials to integrate Asian, Western medicine

New clinical trial designs can work for testing both Western and traditional medicines, argue Liang Liu and colleagues.

Source: Nature

4 January 2012 | EN

Inuit in Canada

How scientists can join forces with indigenous people

Several collaborations between researchers and indigenous communties are underway, but more needs to be done, says Henry P. Huntington.

Source: Nature

18 October 2011 | EN

Woman selecting local seeds

Conserve biodiversity without state ownership

Developing countries should turn down the UN biodiversity convention proposals to nationalise genetic resources, argue Indian scientists.

Source: Current Science

16 February 2011 | EN | ES

Ayurveda spa in Goa

Ending medical dominance over the developing world

Traditional medical cultures need a true partnership with modern medicine, say Bhushan Patwardhan, Gerard Bodeker and Darshan Shankar.

30 June 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Shelf of traditional medicines, Ethiopia

Discovering Africa's drug potential

How can modern drug discovery methods enhance the value of African traditional medicines, asks South African drug expert Kelly Chibale.

30 June 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Vertical birth in waiting house, Peru

Modernising traditional medicine must work for locals

Local health needs should be paramount in efforts to merge traditional and modern medicine, says Oswaldo Salaverry.

30 June 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Taiwanese lady drying persimmon

Recognising traditional health systems

It's time to consign to history the idea that traditional medical systems have nothing to offer modern medical science, says Antony Taubman of the World Trade Organization.

30 June 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

BioMed Analysis: Keep traditional knowledge open but safe

Databases of traditional medicines can help protect against biopiracy while opening the doors for new drug discovery, says Priya Shetty.

24 February 2010 | EN | 中文

Medicinal biodiversity needs stronger protection efforts

International bodies, governments and indigenous people must all help protect medicinal biodiversity, say Jeffrey A. McNeely and Sue Mainka.

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature

29 April 2009 | EN

nurse administering tb drugs

Uphill struggle against tuberculosis

Africa and India are struggling in the fight against tuberculosis, say Richard E. Chaisson, Neil A. Martinson and Vikram Paralkar.

Source: New England Journal of Medicine

17 March 2008 | EN | 中文

Traditional medicine stall

Room for traditional medicine in Ghana?

Traditional healers can help deliver key health services in Ghana, argues Kofi Akosah-Sarpong.

Source: AllAfrica.com

16 May 2007 | EN

Kazhila Chinsembu

African science must regain control of local resources

Kazhila Chinsembu says Africa risks being 'enslaved' by technology it doesn't own and urges African nations to regain control over their biological resources and indigenous knowledge.

1 February 2006 | EN

A treatment for CMV is available but is too expensive, say experts

Preventing HIV: controversial research must go on

Robert Grant and colleagues say that despite controversy surrounding trials of promising HIV preventive drugs, we must encourage such research rather than try to curb it.

Source: Science

30 September 2005 | EN | 中文

Plant in test tube for traditional medicine

Profits from indigenous knowledge must be shared

Rajesh Kochhar says profits from patents on innovations derived from traditional knowledge should be shared with the world's poor.

Source: The Times of India

30 November 2004 | EN

In defence of traditional Chinese medicine

Tianhan Xue and Rustum Roy argue that traditional Chinese medicine texts can provide hints to effective remedies for specific diseases.

Source: Science

2 May 2003 | EN