Human African trypanosomiasis, more commonly called sleeping sickness, is induced by a parasite, the trypanosome, transmitted to humans by the bite of an insect, the glossinid tse-tse fly. There has been a resurgence of this disease over the past 20 years in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) in a 1998 report estimated the number of people infected to be about 300 000. Awareness of the seriousness of the situation led to an increase in screening and treatment operations over the past five years, allowing a substantial fall in the number of subjects infected.

Researchers at Duke University have devised a new way to significantly prolong the effects of an anti-inflammatory drug, potentially making it useful for providing longer-lasting treatment for osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis.

A study by a Montana State University researcher suggests a new avenue for developing a vaccine against genital herpes and other diseases caused by herpes simplex viruses.

The levels of a chemical released by the brain determine how detailed a memory will later be, according to researchers at UC Irvine.

Dr. Hugh MacIntyre, Senior Marine Scientist at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama, and colleague Richard Cox of Kaitech Inc. have been awarded $270,274 to develop a tool for improved detection of microalgae by the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET).