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SMC Heads-Up to 27 October: MeNZB, warming confirmed, Rena
SMC Heads-Up to 27 October: MeNZB revisited, warming confirmed, Rena's king tide
Issue 155 October 21- 27
Scientists: MeNZB delay cost
lives
Research led by
Professor Diana Lennon, head of Clinical Paediatrics, School
of Medicine, at Auckland University, claims a delay in
creating and using a vaccine against the killer disease
menigococcal B caused unnecessary and potentially avoidable
deaths."Many more cases and deaths might have
been prevented if action had been progressed earlier on in
the epidemic cycle," the researchers said this week in a
paper: Reducing Inequalities with Vaccine: New Zealand's
MeNZB Vaccine Initiative to Control an Epidemic."The
weight of this failure to act fell on the disadvantaged of
the population".
Prof Lennon told the SMC that the problems included a lack of leadership, a lack of knowledge, and lack of training, and a mindset that New Zealand was a developed nation that could move on from placing a priority on infectious diseases. She pointed to the potential for advances to be made in current problems, such as pneumonia in small children -- where improving housing can reduce hospitalisations -- and measles.
Meningococcal C on the national schedule?
Dr Nikki Turner, Immunisation Advisory Centre director and Senior Lecturer, General Practice and Primary Health Care at Auckland University -- who was not involved in the MeNZB immunisation programme -- noted that a technical advisory group which she chairs is actively considering whether a meningococcal C vaccine should be included on the national immunisation schedule.
She said it was clear that the MeNZB campaign against serotype B would likely have been more effective if the vaccine had been delivered to New Zealand children earlier than 2004, when the epidemic had begun to naturally wane. But she also said: "The fact that we managed to get a tailor-made vaccine to the New Zealand market is also a remarkable achievement for New Zealand as a small country with relatively limited resources and expertise" Both doctors agreed a lasting benefit from the outbreak was the creation of the National Immunisation Register.
Since July 2011, a dozen people have fallen sick in the Northland since July with meningococcal disease, eight of them with the C serotype, and another dozen in Wellington, with a total of five known deaths.
Earth's surface really getting
warmer
When hackers
released emails from climate change researchers a couple of
years ago, sceptics mounted a "Climategate" campaign
claiming scientists were manipulating temperature records to
substantiate global warming measurements.
Several independent inquiries showed the allegations of
doctored data were untrue. Now US-based scientists have
provided a new analysis of temperature
measurements showing that there is no reason to believe that long term
global average temperature trends might have been
overestimated by other researchers.
The paper is expected
to upset some of those sceptics who had hoped that a new
analysis of temperature records might have shown that
previous analyses were either wrong or could not be
confirmed, said Professor Martin Manning of Victoria
University's Climate Change Research
Institute.
"Ironically it will also come under scrutiny
from many of the climate scientists who have been working in
this area for several decades and have been thinking about
the quality of temperature records from different
perspectives," he added.
BEST
efforts
Research from the Berkeley Earth Surface
Temperature
(BEST) project -- released today but yet
to be peer reviewed -- analysed temperatures from 15
databases and canvassed scientific concerns raised by
climate sceptics, including the urban heat island effect
(UHI), temperature station quality and the risk of data
selection bias. That debate over reliability of temperature
records even reached New Zealand, where NIWA
announced in July 2010 that it was defending a statement of
claim in the High Court by the New Zealand Climate Science
Education Trust, which sought a judicial review of some of
NIWA's actions relating to the analysis of long-term
temperature trends.
The Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature
(BEST) project was created to make the best possible
estimate of global temperature change using over 1.6 billion
existing temperature measurements from over 39,000 sites,
with 16,132 of these being definitely outside urban
areas.
The SMC sought comment from New
Zealand climate scientists on the draft paper, and those can
be read here
On the science radar
Seeing through walls, bowel cancer bacteria, self-building robots, adaptable microchips, interstellar travel and quantum levitation.
King tides could affect Rena
outcome
If the
wrecked hull of the MV Rena hangs together for another week
or so, knowing the timing and height of tides at Astrolabe
Reef may prove will be critical to continuing efforts to
salvage it. An astronomical coincidence -- a new
moon and the moon approaching its closest point to the Earth
-- on October 27 is expected to bring king tides to the
wreck of the MV Rena on Astrolabe Reef two or three days
later. These big tides will be 2.2 metres above the lowest
local tide, and will lift the high water mark 40cm above the
level when the container ship hit the reef at about 30kmh
during the October 5 grounding.
The king tides or perigean-spring tides peak every 7 months, a few days after a new or full moon coincides with the moon being closest to the Earth (or at perigee), in its monthly orbit.
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Principal Scientist Dr Rob Bell said:
"Unfortunately, the Rena struck the reef soon after high tide around 1.8 m above the local lowest-tide datum. This means that there are more limited opportunities for re-floating the vessel than if the grounding happened at low tide. A new moon and the moon's perigee occur together on October 27, with the highest tide ranges two to three days later. This astronomical coincidence provides the year's best window of opportunity for re-floating the Rena".
The SMC has release 10
round-ups quoting scientists on aspects of the Rena
situation. See our Rena resource page on the SMC site for
all the details.
Quoted:
New Zealand Listener
"You can
say, 'We don't need to see you anymore. Go have a normal
life. Forget you were ever here. Forget you ever went
through that trauma. Go and be a normal child with your
family.'" - Prof
Jane Harding, on paediatric care
New from the SMC
Experts respond:
No patents for stem cell tech: Europe's highest court has made a landmark ruling preventing the patenting of diagnostic or therapeutic techniques that use stem cells . Experts respond, lamenting the decision and it's impact on investment.
Rena deterioration: The stricken container ship Rena is being hit with heavy swells, hampering efforts to remove oil, and may break up. The SMC quizzed international engineering experts on the forces at play.
MeNZB
retrospective: In the midst of a rising wave of
menigincoccal c infections, a research paper has been
published examining the 2004 MeNZB vaccination intiaitive
The article states that delays in the vaccination programme
"cost lives". The SMC put questions to an independent expert and
one of the authors.
Reflections
on science:
Antarctic fishing slips
under the radar: An editorial in this
week's Waikato Times highlights the issue of commercial
fisheries in the Antarctic.
In the
news:
Earthquake commission hears from scientists: Scientists spoke this week at the first of many hearings held by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury Earthquakes. See a full roundup of the latest media coverage.
Sciblogs highlights
Some of the highlights from this week's posts:
Milk milk everywhere but not a drop
to drink - Kiwis are drinking less milk but
making more of it. In a guest post, Professor Jack Heinemann
from the University of Canterbury examines the international
economics of the white stuff.
Guest work
Public perceptions of NZ's
freshwater management - Daniel Collins breaks
down the details in a new report on public perception and
the environment from Lincoln University
Waiology
Too much of a good
thing? Can you take too many vitamins and
supplements? Using recent and historical studies,
nutritionist Amanda Johnson tackles the question.
Food Stuff
The Legitimate Risks of
Vaccines - In pursuit of balance, Darcy Cowan
notes that there are some risks associated with vaccines
that must be acknowledged.
Scepticon
Not a pretty picture: recent science
summarised - Bryan Walker comprehensively
captures the latest climate research presented in a new
review - and it doesn't look good.
Hot
Topic
Research
highlights
Please note: hyperlinks point, where possible, to the relevant abstract or paper.
Manuka oil eyed as weedkiller:
Research into natural herbicides useful for organic
agriculture has shown that essential oil distilled from
manuka worked well on post-emergent broadleaf and grass
weeds -- when applied in combination with a commercial
lemongrass oil-based herbicide -- and also demonstrated
interesting pre-emergence activity, controlling large
crabgrass seedlings.
Weed
Science
Seaweed vs
coral: Previous research has hinted at link between
increased seaweeds and loss of corals, but the mechanism
responsible for the declines remained unclear. Now, in a
Fiji field study, marine scientists have shown several
species of seaweed, through direct contact, suppress coral
photosynthesis and cause the corals to bleach -- two
indicators of unhealthy coral. Further analysis of seaweed
extracts pinpointed several chemicals as the culprits.
Proceeding of the National
Academy of Sciences
Lowland
forests go-slow: New research from a 44-year study
of French forests showed lowland forests are slow to adapt
to climate change. Shifts in the distribution of plant
species lag behind annual temperature increases, and in
lowland forest they lag three times more than in highland
areas. This inertia of plant communities in lowland forests
indicates that more attention should be given to these
ecosystems.
Nature
Smoking
as a result of early life stress: Early childhood
adversity increases the likelihood of developing nicotine
addiction in later life, according to a new study. The work
suggests that this adversity may have a different effect on
women and men, especially in the presence of a certain
genetic alteration. Researchers found that self-reported
childhood trauma increased the risk for chronic smoking, and
women were twice as likely to be affected by it as men -
although men carrying a certain genetic alteration were
highly sensitive to the effects of childhood adversity on
smoking.
Neurospsychopharmacology
Facebook
on the brain: Do you have hundreds of friends on
facebook? It could be reflected in your grey matter. Parts
of the brain involved in social perception and memory are
larger in individuals with more facebook friends, according
to the results of a new brain scanning MRI study.
Researchers found that the size of several brain regions was
linked with the number of 'friend' connections an individual
has on their facebook account. The nature of the study did
not allow the researchers to determine if building a large
social network led to an increase in the size of these brain
regions, or vice versa.
Proceedings of the Royal Society
B: Biological Sciences
Plastic
fantastic: A biodegradable plastic that's produced
in bacteria and doesn't rely on fossil fuels has been grown
relatively cheaply in algae, a study reports. Researcher
were able to insert bacterial genes to algae cells which
then produced poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable
plastic sometimes used in the medical industry for sutures.
Earlier attempts to produce PHB on a large scale have been
unsuccessful due to cost.
Microbial Cell
Factories
Swearing on screen
leads to violence: While it's been long established
that watching violent scenes increases aggression levels, a
new study suggests that profanity in the media may have a
similar effect. The carefully balanced research indicated
there was a causal effect between exposure to swearing,
swearing oneself and outright aggression among a sample of
school students. The authors noted that their results
support film and video game ratings based on language,
stating: ""Profanity is kind of like a stepping stone ... it
can start a downward slide toward more aggressive
behaviour."
Pediatrics
Policy
updates
Some of the highlights of this week's policy news:
Alcohol and drug funding boost - A $10 million investment package has been added to the approximate $120 million spent on specialist alcohol and drug treatment services each year. The package is designed to assist thousands of people with alcohol and drug related issues of all severities.
MoH and WHO back fluoridation - Following the New Plymouth district council decision to discontinue fluoridation, both the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization have expressed disappointment and warned that tooth decay will increase.
Biometric data extended -
Immigration New Zealand now has extended powers to
store photos of all non-New Zealanders and to require
fingerprints in some circumstances. The new powers, which
expedite visa applications, are in alignment with
international agreements to enable various agencies to share
biometric data to help confirm
identities
Submissions open on care -
The Ministry of Health is consulting on the draft
document, Guidance for Integrated Paediatric Palliative
Care Services in New Zealand. Feedback and comments can
be received electronically and will inform the
implementation of the guidance.
Upcoming sci-tech
events
• Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse
Gases, and Related Measurement Techniques -
16th WMO/IAEA Meeting - 25-28 October, Wellington.
• Venturing out of narrow
seas - Brian Easton seminar on the history
of New Zealand's economy for Stout Research Centre 'Research
Roundup' seminar series - 26 October, Wellington.
• Climate Change and the End of
Exponential Growth - Public lecture from
Pieter Tans (NOAA, USA) -26 October Wellington.
• From the Bottom Up
- Public lecture on enzymes, electricity
and nanotechnology from Prof Alison Downard for Marie Curie
lecture series - 26 October, Napier.
• National Conference on Biological
Farming Systems - 27-28 October, Rotorua.
• Do the Egyptian Pyramids Provide
a Clue? Seeking More
Environmentally-Friendly Cements - Cafe Scientifique
resented by Ken MacKenzie (MacDiarmid Institute) - 27
October, Lower Hutt.
• Eyeing up Regenerative Medicine
- Public lecture on stem cell eye
treatments by Prof Trevor Sherwin - 27 October,
Auckland.
• Talking about sex at school
- conversation and sexual development -
Seminar from Brian King on his PhD research - 28 October,
Wellington.
For these and more upcoming events,
and more details about them, visit the SMC's Events
Calendar.
ENDS
Science Media Centre NZ
Our aim is to promote accurate, evidence-based reporting on science and technology by helping the media work more closely with the scientific community.
The Science Media Centre is New Zealand's only trusted, independent source of information for the media on all issues related to science. Thousands of news stories providing context from and quoting New Zealand researchers have been published as a direct result of our work.
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