When most people imagine a farmer they picture an individual at the wheel of a tractor or out tending cattle. What they may not be aware of is the great technological changes that have happened over the last five years. Tractors can steer themselves, decisions about crop treatments are based on drone imagery of the fields and machine vision is being used to direct robotic harvesters.
The US FDA is contemplating a blanket federal ban on flavoured e-cigarettes, in an attempt to halt the spiraling take-up of vaping by children and teenagers. Many of the fruity flavours appear specifically designed to appeal to younger palates, but the action also includes more traditional mint and menthol products. Flavoured e-cigs have already been banned in Michigan and New York, and other states are considering similar action.
Uganda is stepping up cross-border and airport screening of travelers for the killer Ebola virus disease (EVD), especially those from the Ebola-hit Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The country is also expanding vaccinations with Merck’s investigational recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus–Zaire Ebola virus (rVSV-ZEBOV) vaccine to ward off possible spread of any imported EVD.