TB

Early humans 'may have spread TB'
By Helen Briggs, BBC News science reporter, BBC NEWS


The tuberculosis bacterium emerged in East Africa three million years ago and may have spread around the world when early humans left their ancestral home.

According to molecular analysis of modern strains, the pathogen is much older than previously thought.

As such, it predates other human afflictions such as the plague.

French researchers hope the work will lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of TB, which kills three million people each year.

TB is re-emerging in areas such as Eastern Europe, south east Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, due to the spread of drug-resistant strains of the disease and the rise in HIV.

It is caused by the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , which attacks the lungs, giving rise to symptoms such as coughing, loss of appetite, fever, and night sweats.
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Woman in Science

Women 'take back seat' in science
BBC NEWS


The path for women in science remains a "difficult trek", according to a group of US researchers writing in the latest edition of Science magazine.

They say that although there have been major advances, academic institutions are still not making full use of the pool of women scientists available.

Female scientists sometimes find the campus environment "chilly" and may encounter "unconscious discrimination".

They also face the extra challenge of balancing home and family life.

"The good news is we have made progress," said lead author Jo Handelsman, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US. "The bad news is we still have a long way to go to achieve equity."

Professor Handelsman and her colleagues believe there are a range of challenges that can derail women and prevent them from fulfilling their full academic potential.

"There is still a lot of covert and overt hostility on American campuses," she said. "Some of it is outright illegal behaviour, but most of it is subtle. It makes women feel undervalued and not respected."
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Climate Change and Evolution

Climate change marks dawn of man
By Olivia Johnson, BBC News


Complex variation of the East African climate may have played a key role in the development of our human ancestors.

Scientists have identified extensive lake systems which formed and disappeared in East Africa between one and three million years ago.

The lakes could be evidence that global climate changes occured throughout this pivotal period in human evolution.

The findings, reported in the journal Science, suggest that humans evolved in response to a variable climate.

Dr Martin Trauth of the University of Potsdam and his team were able to identify and date the prehistoric lakes by studying layers of soil along the Rift Valley in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
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