Farnesol, found in herbs and fruits, prevents and reverses brain damage linked to Parkinson’s disease in mice, report US researchers. It does this by deactivating a key protein associated with disease progression.
Ladybirds produce a volatile scent that causes their principal food – aphids – to move away to avoid predation. The same smell can also slow aphid reproduction rates. Now, researchers have identified components of ladybird odour that could pave the way to managing aphids – and the crop viruses they spread – without recourse to traditional pesticides.
During WWII, German scientists Heisenberg and Diebner both experimented with converting uranium to plutonium, needed for the atomic bomb. Roughly 12 cubes of uranium said to originate from this programme in early 1940s Germany remain from approximately 1000 produced.
German biotech firm BioNTech plans to commence clinical trials of a possible malaria vaccine by the end of 2022 as the annual death toll attributed to the disease surpasses 400,000 people, many of them in Africa.
Malawi has launched a campaign to eradicate malaria, which accounts for 15% of all the country’s hospital admissions, by 2030.