If there is one thing that the Middle East has an abundance of (besides oil), it would be conflicts. We start our weekly update with a visit to two of these conflict zones: Iraq and Syria.

A recent the survey on the number of people killed in Iraq, the first since 2006, has found that nearly half a million people have died due to the war, though not all deaths are a direct result of violence. Around 40% of those deaths were due to poor healthcare and sanitation, as well as infrastructure failures, which have increased since the US-led invasion of Iraq. Baghdad was the worst hit with violence, but even though the news tend to report most about explosive cars and suicide bombs, gunshots were responsible for 63% of the war-related violent deaths – more than three times those killed by bombs and explosives actually.

In neighbouring Syria, the ongoing civil war is creating a healthcare crisis across the country. Many doctors have fled in fear for their lives, leaving inexperienced doctors – and often veterinarians – to handle the influx of injured people due to the fighting. Experienced doctors outside the country are trying to ease these doctors into these daunting situations using modern technology to help them. Webcams and Skype are being set up in operation rooms to allow doctors thousands of kilometres away to guide local doctors on tricky operations. They are also offering video tutorials to teach them about other conditions they are likely to meet as they try to fill the healthcare void in their country.

On a non-conflict related threat (but still a very real one), researchers found that the increasing aridity of global drylands due to climate change may alter the nutrients cycle in the soil, leading to a decrease in carbon and nitrogen but an increase in inorganic phosphorous in the soil. This could negatively affect the people who depend on drylands for living, since it could lead to a decrease in the plant productivity. It will also decrease the capacity of these ecosystems to act as CO2 sinks and capture the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.

Beyond the hood

The Kepler telescope has found an interesting new exoplanet, reported in yesterday’s Nature. It has a similar size to Earth, a similar density to Earth and probably has a similar core to Earth. But that’s where the similarities end. The exoplanet which is dubbed Kepler-78b, is a lava planet, with temperatures on the surface usually reaching 2000-2800°C. It’s year is only 8.5 hours long, orbiting its star about 100 times closer than our planet orbits the Sun.

In fact, it is so close to its star that scientists are confused it could form where it did. While it may not the habitable planet we are all waiting for, it’s an important step in the search for Earth-like planets, now that scientists can measure planets this small.

On a more earthly note, two new treatments for Hepatitis C are nearing approval, with scientists saying these can make a cure for the viral epidemic, for the first time, a real option. This is the first HCV treatment since interfeuron came into use, and and when taken with ribavirin, eliminates hepatitis C in around 80% of people. The main hurdle for these drugs would be the cost, since most of the people who carry the hepatitis C virus worldwide may not be able to afford the treatment. However, for countries such as Egypt where nearly one in every five carries the virus, the new treatment may be the most important break the healthcare system ever got to fight the spread of the epidemic.

Cancer – this is our focus this week. In a special report (the first of several) at Nature Middle East, this week we are putting cancer in the Arab World under the spotlight. Our editorial will set you off on where the problem lies: we have a serious problem, but there’s little we actually know about it. Doctors are basically stumbling in the dark trying to fend off an unseen enemy. For example, some researchers suspect that Arab women may be getting a more aggressive form of breast cancer than their Western counterparts. But without proper registries in Arab states, we cannot really be sure. Genetic studies are already showing links between cancer and common diseases in the region, such as diabetes.

That’s why several states are taking a more research-focused look at the region now. Some countries, such as Egypt, have started setting up registries to monitor cases. The disease burden varies across the region too, as well as how the states deal with it. Gulf states have been more successful than most states in the region with monitoring, where nearly everyone gets screened. Other states, mostly those in Northern Africa, have poorly managed to the disease, which has led to fast growth that the healthcare systems are unable to deal with.

On a different note, researchers studying the fossils of ancient insects that lived hundreds of millions of years ago found that they show an unexpected level of diversity. In the past, these insects were overlooked due to their tiny sizes, which pit them as miniature versions of their current ancestors. They do offer a unique look at that period of time, however, showing there was already wide diversity of insects some 300 million years ago.

Beyond the hood

You might think that monkey communities are noisy, with all the monkeys calling out at the same time, but seems you would be mistaken. Unlike some humans, other primates may actually be used to taking turns in conversations. Researchers decided to study how marmosets communicate and found that they never repeat the same line. Instead, after one marmoset has finished its call, the other monkey waits roughly five seconds before replying. Like humans, they also reacted to the speed of the call. So when one marmoset increased the speed of its call, the other responded in the same manner.

Finally, for our last piece in the highlight this week we go out to the stars, where NASA has discovered the first “tilted” solar system. our solar system is flat, with all the planets orbiting around the Sun’s equator. But Kepler-56, a star that is roughly some 2,800 light years away is different. It’s two stars rotate around the star at a skewed angle of 45 degrees to the star’s equator. By measuring the velocity of Kepler-56, the researchers found that there was a huge body that pulled the star and shifted the angle of its equator. the planets keep its other in track by their gravitational forces, keeping their orbits co-planar.