Neglected Tropical Diseases: Jostling for Position

Neglected Tropical Diseases and the Post-2015 Global Development Agenda

Part One: Jostling for Position

By E. Michelle Taylor and James Smith

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire in 2015. Earlier this month, the high-level panel appointed to discuss the global development agenda post-2015, met for the second time in London. The recommendations made by the panel are likely to prove extremely important for determining the global health budget over the coming decade. Who the winners and the losers will be in the new agenda is not yet known, but certain parties will hope that this time around Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) will gain a special mention.

Science & Technology Are Not Enough

Scientific and technological advances of the 21st century hold the promise of making the world a better and more equitable place to live. Scientists are now on the leading edge of finding cures for currently incurable diseases, developing crops that feed more people, and discovering cleaner more efficient energy sources.

A recent article in The Guardian entitled “Genomics revolution: UK could miss the boat, scientist warn” discusses one such future promise of the so-called ‘genomics revolution’ in the form of whole genome sequencing.

The article suggests that the ability to fully map a person’s DNA code is fast becoming as cost effective as current genetic testing. We could soon see the day where sequencing the genome of every new born is as common as the heel prick test, heralding a future where knowledge of our genetic predisposition to disease improves diagnosis and treatment.

Flu vaccine important to UK economy

By Joyce Tait

We may be able to give others the ‘flu, even before we know we have it – according to a new study. As such, today’s news about the infectivity of the ‘flu virus before symptoms appear, adds force to the results of Innogen’s study of the value of a ‘flu vaccine[1].

Rothamsted GM Wheat Trial: What can social science tell us?

By Joyce Tait

The debate over genetically modified food is not a new one. Most recently, Rothamsted Research – the research institution attempting to grow wheat designed to be resistant to aphids and, thus, require less insecticide – has drawn the ire of environmental activists and protestors. 

Lost and found in translation

By Julius Mugwagwa, recently in Francophone Africa

My recent journeys to Burkina Faso have grossly exposed my inability to converse in the French language. I have not felt so incapable language-wise in the many times I have travelled; not even in the two weeks I spent in China at a Research Councils UK and Chinese Academy of Sciences Summer School in 2009, or in Havana, Cuba at the Global Forum for Health Research Conference at the end of 2009. Maybe it was, largely, because on these instances I was travelling with colleagues from DPP and/or INNOGEN, and we were participating in meetings where l’anglais langue (English language for those limited in le français langue!) was the main language of communication.

Innogen brings social science perspective to EISF

Innogen was able to bring its unique social science perspective to this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival (EISF), with its scholars leading and participating in both provocative and timely discussions on issues ranging from synthetic biology to the ethical issues of biofuels to where the trajectory of Scottish science over the next 20 years.

Innogen Scholars to tackle ‘The Global Health Challenge’

What do you get when a panel of leading social scientists come together to tackle ‘the global health challenge’?

Answer: Something that looks a lot like Innogen’s forthcoming panel at the British International Studies Association and International Studies Association Joint International Conference.