International
WHO launches call to speed up genomics tech development
AFP
Countries should step up their work on genomic technologies to combat diseases, and share that technology more quickly with developing nations, a new WHO report argued Tuesday.
Genomics — the study of DNA sequences and gene functions — could make a vast contribution to improving human health, said the World Health Organization’s Science Council.
“Genomic technologies are driving some of the most ground-breaking research happening today,” said WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan.
“The benefits of these tools will not be fully realised unless they are deployed worldwide.”
The report included a series of recommendations designed to help make that happen.
Genomics is the study of the total or part of the genetic sequence information of organisms and attempts to understand the structure and function of those sequences.
Its supporters hope it will provide efficient, cost-effective and robust means of preventing, diagnosing and treating major diseases.
– ‘Enormous contribution’ –
The Science Council was set up in April last year to advise WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on advances in science and technology that could directly improve global health.
Made up of nine leading scientists and public health experts, it is chaired by Professor Harold Varmus, a 1989 Nobel laureate and a former director of the US National Institutes of Health.
The council chose to focus on genomics because of its successes in confronting infectious diseases, cancers, and other chronic diseases.
Genomics uses biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology to understand and use biological information in DNA and RNA, with benefits for medicine and public health.
“Genomics can make enormous contributions to human health, from surveying populations for infectious agents, such as the virus that causes Covid-19, to predicting and treating a wide variety of diseases, such as cancers and developmental disorders,” said Varmus.
Genome sequencing data became the basis of global monitoring of both how the SARS-CoV-2 virus was evolving, and the emergence of new Covid variants. It was also used in the development of vaccines.
– Bringing down costs –
It is not ethically or scientifically justifiable for less well-resourced countries to gain access to such technologies long after wealthy nations do, the council’s report argued.
It advocated expanded access to genomic technologies — particularly outside the richest countries — by addressing shortfalls in financing, laboratory infrastructure, materials, and highly trained personnel.
The costs of establishing and expanding genomic technologies were declining, said the report — but they could be brought down further.
Tiered pricing, shared intellectual property rights and investing profits from one area into another could all help make genomic technologies more affordable, it argued.
Ministries should collaborate with scientific organisations on using genomics, building technical capacity and pooling resources with others, the report added.
But it also said that oversight and adherence to international standards was critical in promoting the ethical and legal use of information obtained with genomic methods.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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