Snippets

Here's a few news articles that caught my attention today. Two relevant, one not so relevant except that it argues for a greater familiarity with biology.

#1 A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows the number of new HIV infections in the US is actually higher than previously estimated. The agency recently adopted improved statistical techniques that indicate that 56,300 people in the US contracted AIDS in 2006, up from the estimate of 40,000 that the agency has commonly cited as the annual infection rate.

#2 The death rate due to AIDS is so high in Uganda that a Ugandan official has suggested to MPs that funerals should be limited to Saturday afternoons to stop people taking time off work to attend them.

#3 British celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has apologised after accidentally recommending cooks use a potentially deadly plant in organic salads. Thompson said he had confused henbane with a different plant. Presumably one that does not cause vomiting, convulsions and death.