American School Puerto Vallarta Begins Weekly Science Blog American School of Puerto Vallarta
go to original September 9, 2014

ASPV secondary science classes have started a blog called “Science in the News” highlighting articles that relate to science and technology.

Posts are written by students on a weekly basis under the guidance of science department head, Mr. Adam Kilner.

This week’s posts are on the ebola virus epidemic, a bubble powered speed machine and a girl with three biological parents. You can follow their blog at ASPV Science in the News.

Human Trials for Ebola Vaccine

The deadly Ebola virus has killed over 1500 people in West Africa, prompting the intervention from medical facilities to create a cure, or at least a way to treat the virus and give people hope. The WHO (World Health Organization) predicted that in the next 6 months, 20,000 more people could be infected.

A vaccine, with a focus on prevention rather than cure of the disease has been developed and has responded "extremely well" in primate studies but has yet to be tested in humans. This week, trials are beginning, and 140 patients will be tested, though none will be infected with the virus.

Why wasn't there a vaccine or cure for the disease before? Because Ebola has existed for 40 years, but before this outbreak it had been so rare that it hadn't been a priority to find a solution to it. All being well with the trial, Ebola could soon be the latest in a long line of dangerous viruses that we as humans have managed to win the battle with and control.

To read the whole article, visit Yahoo News

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