New malaria vaccine is world-changing, say scientists

[Tank]

Some wonderful news!

New malaria vaccine is world-changing, say scientists

"A malaria vaccine with "world-changing" potential has been developed by scientists at the University of Oxford.

The team expect it to be rolled out next year after trials showed up to 80% protection against the deadly disease.

Crucially, say the scientists, their vaccine is cheap and they already have a deal to manufacture more than 100 million doses a year.

The charity Malaria No More said recent progress meant children dying from malaria could end "in our lifetimes"."

[Asmodean]

children dying from malaria could end "in our lifetimes"."

Well, if they are dying from malaria while "we" are not... Seems likely, is all the Asmo's saying 

[billy rubin]

the chinese are way ahead of the west on malaria

they isolated artimisinin from looking into old chinese traditional medicine books

[Asmodean]

Combine some roach goo with some powdered rhino horn, add a sprinkle of lizard foreskins and a eye of a blind bat, and voilà!

Nah... I shouldn't mock. Some traditional medicine has some validity. Sometimes.

[Tank]

Combine some roach goo with some powdered rhino horn, add a sprinkle of lizard foreskins and a eye of a blind bat, and voilà!

Nah... I shouldn't mock. Some traditional medicine has some validity. Sometimes.

I think every single example of folk medicine should be recorded and thoroughly investigated and researched. It's pragmatic medicine at its finest.

[billy rubin]

the antimalarial drug was a for real example.

[Tank]

Digitalis from Fox Gloves and Aspirin from Willow trees also come to mind.

[billy rubin]

yes and atropine from nightshades. and curare


one of the biggest losses from extinctions in tropical forests is natural pharmaceuricals

[Tank]

I totally agree. We haven't catalogued all of the organisms let alone examined their medical properties.

[billy rubin]

i knew an evolutionary ecologist who pointed out an uncomfortable truth once, which was that in terms of value to human society, it was better to let the arctic and antarctic die and concentrate on the tropical rain forests.

his argument was that species diversity in the polar regions is so low that benefits to humans based on flora and fauna were negligible, whereas in the tropics there was so much going on that it would be more unfortuneate to lose it.

the real point of his argument in the end is that we cant save everything-- its dying all around us-- and we re going to have to make hard decisions about what we want top concentrate on.

lots of the amazon is already gonbe beyond recovery, i have just read

[Asmodean]

Hm. I suspect that for every legitimate traditional remedy there be ten on par with homeopathy - or worse.

[Tank]

i knew an evolutionary ecologist who pointed out an uncomfortable truth once, which was that in terms of value to human society, it was better to let the arctic and antarctic die and concentrate on the tropical rain forests.

his argument was that species diversity in the polar regions is so low that benefits to humans based on flora and fauna were negligible, whereas in the tropics there was so much going on that it would be more unfortuneate to lose it.

the real point of his argument in the end is that we cant save everything-- its dying all around us-- and we re going to have to make hard decisions about what we want top concentrate on.

lots of the amazon is already gonbe beyond recovery, i have just read

I can agree with his logic.

[Tank]

Hm. I suspect that for every legitimate traditional remedy there be ten on par with homeopathy - or worse.

If the ratio were 100:1 it would still be worth the recearch.

[billy rubin]

i dont put much credence in tiger whiskers or grinding fossil brachiopods for medicine, but herbal stuff is a whole different category. there are centuries of hands-on experimentation thst generate specific uses.

easy to test

nothing to lose

[Recusant]

Noted some cautious wording in the article:
"We hope that this will be deployed . . ."
"the potential achievement that this vaccine could have if it's rolled out . . ."

Then there is the question of acceptance by those who would benefit. Still, sounds like excellent work by Oxford's team at the Jenner Institute.