Food quality will fall, food costs will rise and stored food will be damaged. Historical relics may be lost to insect attack, rodent and insect infestations on public transport will swell, and fungal contamination of stored food will increase. According to a recent meeting of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Pest Management Group, these may be the consequences of a worldwide phasing out of the crop protectant methyl bromide (MB).

The SCI Pest Management Group invited acclaimed speaker

South Asian patients are less likely to receive treatment for coronary artery disease than white patients, finds a study in this week’s BMJ.

Researchers in London compared rates of coronary revascularisation (a procedure to restore adequate blood supply to the heart) in 502 south Asian and 2,974 white patients with heart disease.

Although the same proportion of south Asian and white patients were deemed appropriate to undergo revascularisation, south Asian patients were less likely

Homoeopathic remedies are no better than placebo for the treatment of asthmatic patients who are allergic to house dust mite, but there is a difference in response between homoeopathy and placebo, concludes a study in this week’s BMJ.

The research team identified 242 asthmatic people allergic to house dust mite. Participants received either homoeopathic therapy or placebo and were assessed over 16 weeks.

They found no improvement in lung function or quality of life between those tre

A Commission survey on the patenting and publication by EU scientists and organisations from industry and academia involved in biotechnology and genetic engineering research, that highlights the need for support to and training of academics in the proper use of the patent system. Public research organisations can handle patent applications almost as professionally as industrial organisations and without significantly delaying the publication of results that are subject to patent applications. In cont

HIV patients at risk of a potentially fatal hypersensitive reaction to the antiretroviral drug abacavir could be identified by genetic testing before drug therapy has started, suggest authors of a fast-track study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET.

The use of the HIV antiretroviral drug abacavir, a potent HIV-1 nucleoside-analogue reverse-transcriptase inhibitor, is complicated by a potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity syndrome in about 5% of cases. Genetic factors influencing the

Authors of a French study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlight the link between a specific strain of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and a severe form of pneumonia in children.

Between 1986 and 1998, eight cases of community-acquired pneumonia due to S aureus strains carrying the gene for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) were recorded in France, six of which were fatal. Jerome Etienne from the Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire of Lyon, France, aimed to assess the clinical feat