Here’s a fun video on the ZENN car by Rick Mercer of the CBC.
Thanks Shea!
Month: January 2008
HIV/AIDS Drug Patent Revoked
Doctors WIthout Borders has released a press release that says that an HIV/AIDS drug can now be made generically. This will lower the cost of the drug allowing more people access to it, this is very important for people living in the developing world. The company that held the patent, Gilead Sciences, claimed to have invented the drug tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), which has been discredited based on prior art.
In India, the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS opposed Gilead’s patent application in May 2006 on similar grounds to PUBPAT’s challenge in the US. The evidence on which the US based its decision could therefore lead to the Indian patent office rejecting the patent application. Similarly, in Brazil, a patent opposition filed by HIV/AIDS groups and a government pharmaceutical laboratory could also mean a patent might not be granted for TDF in Brazil.
If a patent is not granted in these countries, generic manufacturers could freely manufacture and export generic versions of TDF without restrictions, leading to greater competition and therefore lower prices.
Be an Environmentalist Everyday
It’s easy to show that you care about the environment (and by extension the health of those around you).
The Nature Conservancy has compiled a collection of ways that you can be an environmentalist daily.
Remember when “environmentalist” meant…recycling?
It’s not so simple anymore. Being an environmentalist today calls for a whole new level of greener thinking — from what you choose at the grocery store to how you commute to work every day.
The list includes riding a bike, taking the stairs, compost, and keeping bees in line.
More on Green Flying
Singapore is going green too, the FAA is trying to green American planes, and don’t forget that you can also travel green!
To add to this list of good news, Christchurch airport is going carbon-neutral, which is really good news!
At a meeting in Christchurch the company received its carbon zero certificate from Landcare Research which chief executive Rene Bakx says comes after a detailed measurement and analysis process.
“We are the gateway for the best of the South Island, and, with an agreed focus on tourism and sustainability, the decision to work towards this goal was a straightforward one for the company to take,” he says.
He says the status has been achieved by the reduction and offsetting of greenhouse emissions by the airport company operations. Emissions from planes are not included in the calculations.
Be Lazy When Waiting for the Bus
Waiting for a bus that never seems to come can be one of life’s more aggravating moments. No need to sit around getting all frustrated with underfunded services though. Thanks to the power of mathematics we now know that you should justbe lazy and sit and wait for the bus.
Scott Kominers, a mathematician at Harvard University, and his colleagues derived a formula for the optimal time that you should wait for a tardy bus at each stop en route before giving up and walking on. “Many mathematicians probably ponder this on their way to work, but never get round to working it out,” he says.
The team found that the solution was surprisingly simple. When both options seem reasonably attractive, the formula advises you to choose the “lazy” option: wait at the first stop, no matter how frustrating (www.arxiv.org/abs/0801.0297).