After working as an internist in southern Nigeria, Effiong was inspired to look at the broader determinants of health and healthcare in the developing world. Nigeria’s booming oil industry accounts for more than 90 percent of the country’s earnings, but is also increasingly harmful to public health due to a series of environmental and occupational …
Last year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approved a vaccine for meningococcal disease, or meningitis, yet many of this year’s 20.5 million college students are not vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to contracting the disease. According to the CDC, meningococcal disease refers to any illness that is caused by the type of bacteria called Neisseria meningitides and …
In the last 40 years of mosquito-borne viruses such as malaria, yellow fever and dengue, scientists have introduced myriad interventions to control the population of mosquitoes. This is because controlling mosquitoes has a large effect on controlling the diseases since the mosquito is the vector that carries them. Novel mosquito-control approaches have included everything from …
The rescue of a two-year-old Nigerian child has attracted extensive social and online media coverage across the world. Abandoned by his family after being accused of being a witch, the boy was saved by an aid worker who found him in Uyo, southeast Nigeria. The boy, known as Hope, is said to have been riddled with worms and had to have …
In a recent publication, Science magazine quoted biological anthropologist Nina Jablonski as saying “Skin color is not about race”. She made this statement during a face-off with comedian Stephen Colbert. Her comment is built on over three decades of studying the evolution of the human skin. Dr. Jablonski’s observations have added important ideas to our understanding of how skin …