HPV infection can be identified in self-collected vaginal swabs
(American Society for Microbiology) High risk, potentially cancer causing human papillomavirus infections are common among women in Papua New Guinea. But self sampling with vaginal swabs may provide materials that screen as accurately as the more labor-intensive approach using cervical samples obtained by clinicians. This finding is critical to developing same day screening and treatment, which is key to ensuring that women with precancerous lesions are treated in this largely unconnected (electronically) country, and in others like it. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - April 29, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Scientists Who Clearly Love 'Star Wars' Name Beetle After Chewbacca
Han Solo’s companion isn't as tall as we remember.
A newly discovered weevil beetle has been named after the 7-foot-6-inch Wookiee Chewbacca, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal ZooKeys.
The Trigonopterus chewbacca was one of four new weevils identified in Papua New Guinea during a 10-day research expedition, according to the paper. For better or worse, the other weevils are not named after famous movie sidekicks.
Researchers said that they named the weevil after the Wookiee because of its dense scales on the head and legs, which "reminds the authors of Chewbacca’s dense fur."
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Source: Science - The Huffington Post - April 28, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
New curiously scaled beetle species from New Britain named after 'Star Wars' Chewbacca
Chewbacca, the fictional 'Star Wars' hairy character, has given his name to a new species of flightless beetle, discovered in New Britain, Papua New Guinea. The three scientists, who have recorded this weevil species from Bismarck Archipelago's largest island, found a total of four new species. However, it was the scales of one of them that reminded the authors of Han Solo's loyal companion. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - April 26, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Zika virus infection – Papua New Guinea
On 11 March 2016, the National Department of Health of Papua New Guinea reported that 6 cases of Zika virus infection had been confirmed through retrospective testing of samples taken from patients presenting with a febrile illness between July 2014 and March 2016. Cases were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The following are the results by year: (Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks)
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - April 22, 2016 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: dengue [subject], dengue haemhorragic fever, dengue fever, dengue virus, risk assessment [subject], travel [subject], travel and health, air travel, zika, zika, Disease outbreak news [doctype], Papua New Guinea [country], Western Pacific Region [region] Source Type: news
New species of Manus Island rat named after detainees in 'solidarity' gesture
Team including Tim Flannery dub previously unknown species, which weighs nearly half a kilogram, Rattus detentus – Latin for ‘detained’ Manus Island’s newest “detainee” may have been on the island hundreds of thousands of years.Rattus detentus, an ancient, isolated and previously unknown species of the genus Rattus – a rat – has been so named for the Latin “detained”, “in reference to the isolation of ... Manus Island and to the recent use of the island to detain people seeking political and/or economic asylum in Australia”. Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 13, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Ben Doherty Tags: Manus Island Animals Tim Flannery Australia news Wildlife Environment Science Papua New Guinea Source Type: news
New genus and five new flea species discovered in Indonesia
(Entomological Society of America) A new genus of flea and its five new species have been described in an article in the Journal of Medical Entomology. Four of the species were collected on the island of Sulawesi and the fifth was collected in the Indonesian province of West Papua on the island of New Guinea. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - April 13, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Psychology Touts Selfishness for Survival
What's this all about? A high-powered team of psychologists from Yale and Harvard has made a splash with a well publicized claim that moral indignation is usually an affectation aimed at enhancing reputation and, thereby, gaining personal advantage. It is nothing more than a compulsive desire to proclaim how virtuous you are, to "advertise" yourself to others. Rarely does it have anything or little to do with moral responsibility or ethical concerns. Indignation over alleged wrongs and injustices is merely another form of self-righteousness whereby the insecure individual strives for a sense of worth by showing that (s)he ...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - April 11, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
West Africa: Guinea Ebola Death Rises 7
[NEWS] A resurgence of Ebola in a rural Guinean community has killed seven people, health officials said Wednesday, even as the World Health Organization voiced confidence that remaining isolated cases could be contained. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - April 1, 2016 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Saving Children’s Lives Through Drones
The drone took 10 minutes to cover 10 km. Photo Credit: UNICEFBy Charity Chimungu PhiriLILONGWE, Malawi, Mar 28 2016 (IPS)The first successful test-flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone was an unhindered 10 km journey from a community health centre to the Kamuzu central hospital laboratory in the capital Lilongwe. Local community members watched with excitement as the drone rose into the sky, after being launched by the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and government of Malawi at the area 25 health centre. The first of its kind in southern Africa, the US manufactured machine was on trial ti...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - March 28, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Charity Chimungu Phiri Tags: Active Citizens Africa Civil Society Development & Aid Featured Headlines Health IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Population Poverty & SDGs Source Type: news
Raskols and crime in Lae, Papua New Guinea, thwarting sustainable development - Sali G.
This study on 'raskols' (rascals) and crime in Lae, Papua New Guinea (PNG) was conducted between 2012 and 2013. The aim of the study is to examine the occurrences of crime in Lae committed by the raskols. There were a total of 68 raskols who participated i... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - March 24, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Economics of Injury and Safety, PTSD, Injury Outcomes Source Type: news
Homo Sapiens' Sex With Extinct Species Was No One-Night Stand
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - Our species, Homo sapiens, has a more adventurous sexual history than previously realized, and all that bed-hopping long ago has left an indelible mark on the human genome. Scientists said on Friday an analysis of genetic information on about 1,500 people from locations around the world indicated at least four interbreeding episodes tens of thousands of years ago, three with our close cousins the Neanderthals and one with the mysterious extinct human species known as Denisovans. People living on the remote equatorial islands of Melanesia represented the only population found to possess an a...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - March 19, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Watch The Live Stream Of The 2016 Total Solar Eclipse
Get ready, sky watchers! The total solar eclipse is upon us and things are about to get gloomy. Parts of southeast Asia will turn dark from 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday as the moon passes between the Earth and the sun. You can watch the spectacular celestial show unfurl at the same time here, via the Slooh community observatory's live stream: The eclipse begins over Indonesia (where Slooh is broadcasting from) and will travel 8,800 miles northeast over Borneo, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Ocean. At its widest point, the shadow of the eclipse will measure 97 miles across. "The cool thing for those who are going to be in the...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - March 8, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
Papua New Guinea: 'Return to Abuser' report reveals cycle of abuse for survivors of violence
A new MSF report uncovers the gaps in services and systems in Papua New Guinea, trapping women and children in cycles of severe family and sexual violence. (Source: MSF News)
Source: MSF News - March 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Nick Source Type: news
Papua New Guinea: “Return to Abuser” Report Examines Shocking Levels of Family and Sexual Violence
Press releasePapua New Guinea: “Return to Abuser” Report Examines Shocking Levels of Family and Sexual Violence
March 01, 2016
PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA/BERLIN—A new report from Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) examines the shocking levels of family and sexual violence in Papua New Guinea, which are among the highest in the world outside of conflict zones. (Source: MSF News)
Source: MSF News - March 1, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Elias Primoff Source Type: news
