Author Archives: News Intern2

Arctic oil drilling begins in Chukchi Sea

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On 9 September, oil company Shell began drilling off the coast of Alaska in what is the first offshore exploratory arctic drilling in the Chukchi Sea for more than 20 years (see Oil exploration ramps up in US Arctic).

Shell has received permission to drill three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea, but can only drill in oil-bearing zones until 24 September to give adequate time to drill a relief well, if required, before the threat of encroaching sea ice would make it impossible. Shell has requested an extension of almost three weeks, as they expect that sea ice movement in the area will be later than usual this year — on 26 August, Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent ever recorded.

The first pilot test hole, on which drilling began Sunday, is about 22cm wide and is intended to reach an oil reservoir at a depth of more than 2,400 metres. Drilling however is currently only allowed to 427m, as permission to penetrate oil-bearing layers is contingent on an oil-spill barge and equipment arriving at the site, which is anticipated to take several more weeks. Continue reading →

West Nile virus hits Texas

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The city of Dallas, Texas, declared a state of emergency this week in what has become the year’s worst outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) in the United States. So far, there have been 700 cases in Texas and 14 deaths, the heaviest toll reported since 2004.

West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne disease. The authorities in Dallas have authorized private companies to increase aerial spraying of mosquito-control pesticides, because there is neither a vaccine nor specific treatment for the disease.

More than 80% of people exposed to West Nile Virus have no symptoms. Almost all the rest experience flu-like symptoms, headaches or skin rashes. But in its most severe form, West Nile Virus invades the nervous system, causing inflammation of the brain, high fever, vision loss, paralysis and even death. Elderly and immunocompromised individuals are most susceptible, but it remains unknown why only a small percentage of those exposed to the virus develop symptoms, whereas most are not affected.

“Infection of the central nervous system is one of the most serious aspects of WNV disease,” says Tom Hobman, a virologist at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. His research group recently published findings in PLoS ONE that provide insight into how the West Nile virus breaches the blood–brain barrier.

The virus destroys key proteins that restrict the movement of materials, including viruses, into brain tissues. This is crucial to understanding how the disease breaks through the body’s defences (see this Nature Medicine article). Only a few viruses can do this, and knowledge of the mechanism may be the key for a vaccine or drugs to treat the disease.

There is now no West Nile virus vaccine available for humans, although a number of candidate vaccines are being tested. DNA vaccines, engineered to include some West Nile virus proteins that provoke an immune response in humans, may be safer than vaccines made up of virus particles. There is a DNA-based West Nile vaccine for horses, but a similar vaccine is not yet approved for human use.  Scientists are also working on comparing the genetic sequences of non-lethal strains with lethal strains of WNV to determine what factors make specific strains of the virus so deadly. These findings hold promise for new vaccine development.

In addition to preventive vaccines, treatment options for West Nile viral infections are also being explored. An antiretroviral drug previously tested for use in HIV infections has shown promise against WNV because the drug can cross into the central nervous system. So far, it has been shown to interact with a crucial receptor in the blood–brain barrier of mice, thereby allowing specific T cells to attack the virus in its most lethal form, inside the human brain.

Gates Foundation backs toilet pioneers

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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the winners of this year’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, handing over a US$100,000 first prize to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, for work on a solar-powered toilet (right) that recycles water and generates hydrogen and electricity (see press release).

Toilets are a serious problem for the 2.6 billion people who lack adequate sanitation facilities, and for the 1.1. billion who have no access to them at all. Coming up with better ways to deal with human waste is a major priority for global development, as discussed in a recent Nature Comment, ‘The bottom line‘.

Toilet design has not changed much since 1775, when flush toilets were first patented. But most of the world does not have access to the plumbing required for flushing — and even in developed countries, conventional toilets consume a lot of water and energy. Last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation challenged researchers around the world to rethink toilet design, to develop models that do not need centralized plumbing and treatment facilities and that are able to recycle wastes into energy and usable products. Eight universities stepped up to the challenge, and their prototypes and projects were showcased at a two-day event in Seattle, Washington, this week.

The Reinvent the Toilet Fair brought together participants from 29 countries, including researchers, designers, investors and representatives of the communities who will ultimately use the new inventions. At the event, Loughborough University, UK, was awarded the $60,000 second-place prize for a toilet that produces biological charcoal, minerals and clean water, and the University of Toronto in Canada won the third-place prize, of $40,000, for a toilet that sanitizes faeces and urine while transforming waste products into resources and clean water.

Toilet-design challenges are not limited to simply reducing water consumption and generating energy from wastes. Other competitors at the forum presented latrines that use insects to help decompose faeces; toilets that trap disease-carrying flies; and safety systems for improved sanitary handling of decomposing faeces. Cultural considerations were also important to the discussions, as usability is paramount: no toilet will work if people won’t use it or it isn’t affordable.

“Imagine what’s possible if we continue to collaborate, stimulate new investment in this sector, and apply our ingenuity in the years ahead,” Bill Gates said in a statement. “Many of these innovations will not only revolutionize sanitation in the developing world, but also help transform our dependence on traditional flush toilets in wealthy nations.”

The foundation simultaneously announced funding in the second round of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, with grants totalling nearly $3.4 million. Grants were awarded to Cranfield University, UK; Eram Scientific Solutions Pvt. Ltd. of Thiruvananthapuram, India; the Research Triangle Institute of Durham, North Carolina and the University of Colorado at Boulder.