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Issue 303                                                                             31 October - 6 November 2014
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In This Issue
Ebola briefing
Science Radar
Milk scare?
Scimex
Friday video
Policy news
Quoted
New from the SMC
Sciblogs highlights
Sci-tech events

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Ebola in NZ: Low risk but vigilance crucial

Infectious disease experts told a SMC media briefing in Auckland today that our distance from the Ebola outbreak's epicentre in West Africa and the small numbers arriving from there make an outbreak here unlikely.

 

ADHB's Dr Colin McArthur

However, Auckland District Health Board intensive care specialist, Dr Colin McArthur, said hospitals around the country had been preparing for three months to handle a suspected case of the Ebola virus disease, initiating screening procedures, setting aside containment areas, protective clothing and rehearsing procedures.

 

Arrangements with air cargo operators and commercial airlines had been made to quickly get blood samples from suspected Ebola sufferers to Melbourne, where a laboratory is on standby to test blood from all over Australasia.

 

AUT University's Dr Fabrice Merrien said fast-tracked trials of Ebola vaccine were underway and regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration had cleared red tape to speed up release of drugs to treat the disease. 

 

But Dr McArthur said immediate treatment of an Ebola virus disease case in New Zealand would initially involve rehydrating a sufferer to avoid organ shutdown - ebola victims can lose up to 10 litres of Ebola-laden fluids a day.

 

The SMC briefing, which also featured Massey University's Dr David Hayman, the University of Otago's Professor John Crump and the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor, Sir Peter Gluckman, can be played back in full here.

 

Genetic factor?

 

Meanwhile, US virologists suggest genetic factors could play an important role in whether people survive Ebola virus disease. A study published today in the journal Science looked at mice that had been infected with the Ebola virus that has claimed lives in West Africa.

 

While the mice showed a variety of symptoms and all initially lost weigh, 19 per cent of them were unaffected by the disease after a couple of weeks. The scientists suggest that some hosts of the virus may have immunity to this virus or a related one. Scientists have seen similar traits in the human outbreak, where some Ebola virus sufferers recovered quickly while others died after a painful illness.

 

A second study published in Science, on how best to stop the transmission of the Ebola virus, concluded that funerals were "super-spreader events". 

On the science radar this week...
 
Scratching worsens itches, your disgust reaction reveals your political stance, con-artist butterflies 'speak ant' to get royal treatment, tiny stomachs grown on dishes, and what could you power with energy from leftover Halloween lollies?
Milk study a Halloween scare story?

A new study has raised concerns over dairy consumption after it linked high milk intake with increased mortality. However independent experts - and the authors themselves - are urging caution in interpreting the results.

 

The authors of a new study, published in the BMJ, say the increased risk of early death may be explained by the high levels of sugars in milk that, in previous animal studies, have been shown to increase oxidative stress and chronic inflammation.

 

The researchers tracked diet, lifestyle and health data for over 100,000 people in Sweden, finding that women who drank more than three glasses of milk per day had a greater risk of dying during the study period than those who drank just one glass of milk. Similar, although less pronounced, results were also seen in males. 

 

Although a diet rich in milk products has been promoted to reduce the likelihood of osteoporotic fractures, the study found no evidence that high milk consumption lowered the risk of bone fractures.  

 

"Our results may question the validity of recommendations to consume high amounts of milk to prevent fragility fractures," concluded the authors.

 

They did note the limitations of the study, stating, "The findings merit independent replication before they can be used for dietary recommendations."

 

Such caveats didn't stop scare headlines appearing in the overseas media. For example, UK paper the Telegraph ran the headline 'Three glasses of milk a day can lead to early death, warn scientists.'


Dr Carol Wham, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, told the SMC:

 

"This was an observation study and these types of studies are, by their nature, open to dispute."

 

"As the authors suggest the results of this study need to be treated with caution and independently replicated before any cause and effect can be confirmed."

 

Speaking to the UK SMC, Gaynor Bussell, Dietitian and Public Health Nutritionist, said:


"Some caution required here.  Firstly food frequency questionnaires are not the gold standard for estimating food intake, as the authors point out. Secondly, we cannot assume cause and effect as there may be another factor that is hard to identify causing the increased mortality and fracture rate in women, but seems to track with milk consumption."

 

You can read further expert commentary and media coverage on the Science Media Centre Website. A great analysis of the study from NHS Behind the Headlines is also available. 

Media needs good access to research
Are journalists more likely to cover science if they can get speedy access to research papers?

From the SMC's perspective the answer is a resounding "yes" and in that respect open access research publishers have a particular advantage.

An article published as part of Open Access Week by Creative Commons Aotearoa New Zealand manager Matt McGregor explores the issue further.

Interviewed for the article, SMC manager Peter Griffin told McGregor:

"If you want research to be covered well, make it available in a timely fashion, in a format that can be used - and shared with readers."

The ability of journalists to instantly read research papers, and to direct readers to their home on the web, facilitated better coverage of science papers. 

 

However, science publishing is still led by subscription-based journal publishers who publish paper abstracts publicly but store the full text of papers behind paywalls. While there is a push towards making more publicly-funded research available to freely access, a major shift in publishing business models would be required to facilitate more widespread open access publishing in academia.

 

Introducing the Science Media Exchange

 

 

 

With that in mind the SMC, in conjunction with our colleagues at the Australian Science Media Centre, will soon launch Scimex - the Science Media Exchange. 

 

The website promises to be a go-to resource for journalists covering science-related issues, featuring a wide selection of embargoed papers and press releases from some of the biggest journals in the world - subscription-based and open access journals alike.

 

Registered journalists will be able to get everything in one place, with our editors selecting content relevant to our part of the world. Scimex will also give institutions the opportunity to post their science-related press releases and a searchable expert database will allow scientists to list profiles - and to pitch story ideas directly to journalists.

 

A multimedia library will store images and videos for use by the media.

 

"Scimex puts everything in one place and lets journalists, communications officers and scientists come together to share content and collaborate," said Griffin.

 

"There's nothing like this on offer that serves the needs of New Zealand journalists, so we think it has the scope to make a big difference."

 

Scimex is currently in user testing and will be launched before the end of the year at www.scimex.org.

Policy news and developments

 

New research on innovation in residential construction

A report released by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) throws light on how we might increase innovation and productivity in residential building in New Zealand.

 

Start-up hub adds to Christchurch Innovation Precinct

The new Innovation Hub - expected to open next year with $900,000 in funding from MBIE - will support early stage entrepreneurs by providing the necessary technological and social infrastructure required by start-up and early-stage firms to grow.

 

Massey to host $5m Food Safety Research Centre

The new Food Safety Science and Research Centre at Massey University will promote, co-ordinate, and deliver food safety science and research for New Zealand.

 

Submissions sought on dichlorvos reassessment

The Environmental Protection Authority is calling for submissions on its reassessment of dichlorvos, an organophosphate insecticide widely used to control a range of insect pests.


$15m for new biological research partnerships

The Government will invest more than $15 million over a maximum of seven years from its Biological Industries Research Fund to support four research partnerships that will benefit New Zealand's primary industries.
 

Quoted:  TVNZ Breakfast

 

"To think a placebo could solve this incredibly infectious disease just shows a complete lack of understanding of anything scientific or medical."

New From the SMC
Sciblogs highlights

 

Some of the highlights from this week's Sciblogs posts:
 
Homeopathy not the solution for Ebola (or anything else) - Michael Edmonds comments on the revelation that Green MP Steffan Browning signed an on-line petition asking the WHO to consider treating Ebola with homeopathy.
Molecular Matters

Landscapes shaped by water - Daniel Collins looks at how different water processes - from erosion to sediment deposits - have influenced New Zealand's geography.
Waiology

Widening the definition of scientific outputs - Is it time for 'scholarly output' to be broadened to beyond journal publication when it comes to sharing research knowledge, asks Alison Campbell.
Bioblog

Mounting Complexities in the Dietary Salt and Health Relationship - Nick Wilson, Tony Blakely and Cristina Cleghorn scrutinise a recently published study on dietary salt and health to see if we need a high-level international review to clarify the research and policy agenda.
Public Health Expert

There is something about those climate records that keep getting broken - Ken Perrott comments on how we've stopped paying attention to record-breaking seasonal variations, and whether we should be.
Open Parachute
 

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Research highlights 
Some of the research papers making headlines this week.
 
Low self-rated social status linked to mental disorders: When it comes to mental health, where you think you sit on the social ladder can be as important as other measures of social status, according to new Kiwi-led research. The study surveyed over 55,000 people in 18 countries and found that those who ranked themselves lower in society were more likely to suffer mental disorders - even when other measures of social status, such as income or education, were taken into account.
JAMA Psychiatry

PSA screening not recommended in Canada: A new Canadian guideline recommends that the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test should not be used to screen for prostate cancer based on evidence that shows an increased risk of harm and uncertain benefits. The use of PSA screening in New Zealand continues to be debated.
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Variants that help statins lower your cholesterol: An international study, including New Zealand scientists, has looked at over 40,000 individuals who were undergoing cholesterol-lowering statin treatments in order to determine which genetic variants people may possess that aid in success of the treatment. They identified two new genetic variants that may affect how low density cholesterol responds to statin therapy, and say that this knowledge will help in future cholesterol-lowering statin therapies.
Nature Communications

Can social media curb HIV spread? An opinion article suggests that tweets and Facebook posts could be used to help governments and public health experts monitor people's behaviours "to know where, when, and how we might be able to prevent HIV transmission."
Trends in Microbiology

Genetics of Ebola symptoms in mice: In animal models of Ebola infection -- using the species of virus causing the current outbreak -- some varieties of mice display resistance to the virus, suggesting genetic factors may be linked to surviving infection. The US scientists behind the research hope their findings will be used to developed more effective treatments and vaccines.
Science
Upcoming sci-tech events  
For these and other upcoming events, and more details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar.