Chimpanzees follow trends just like we do
It's not the first time this kind of behaviour has been seen in chimpanzees at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust. Over 10 years ago researchers saw a female chimp from a completely different group start wearing grass in her ear and one by one, others adopted the trend. It's very similar to how fashions and trends emerge in humans. Dr Jake Brooker from Durham University, said: "This isn't about cracking nuts or fishing for termites – it's more like chimpanzee fashion."It mirrors how human cultural fads spread: someone starts doing something, others copy it, and it becomes part of the group identity even if it serves no clear purpose."
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The Independent
21 hours ago
- The Independent
US aid cuts halt HIV vaccine research in South Africa, with global impact
Just a week had remained before scientists in South Africa were to begin clinical trials of an HIV vaccine, and hopes were high for another step toward limiting one of history's deadliest pandemics. Then the email arrived. Stop all work, it said. The United States under the Trump administration was withdrawing all its funding. The news devastated the researchers, who live and work in a region where more people live with HIV than anywhere else in the world. Their research project, called BRILLIANT, was meant to be the latest to draw on the region's genetic diversity and deep expertise in the hope of benefiting people everywhere. But the $46 million from the U.S. for the project was disappearing, part of the dismantling of foreign aid by the world's biggest donor earlier this year as President Donald Trump announced a focus on priorities at home. South Africa hit hard by aid cuts South Africa has been hit especially hard because of Trump's baseless claims about the targeting of the country's white Afrikaner minority. The country had been receiving about $400 million a year via USAID and the HIV-focused PEPFAR. Now that's gone. Glenda Grey, who heads the Brilliant program, said the African continent has been vital to the development of HIV medication, and the U.S. cuts threaten its capability to do such work in the future. Significant advances have included clinical trials for lenacapavir, the world's only twice-a-year shot to prevent HIV, recently approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. One study to show its efficacy involved young South Africans. 'We do the trials better, faster and cheaper than anywhere else in the world, and so without South Africa as part of these programs, the world, in my opinion, is much poorer,' Gray said. She noted that during the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa played a crucial role by testing the Johnson & Johnson and Novavax vaccines, and South African scientists' genomic surveillance led to the identification of an important variant. Labs empty and thousands are laid off A team of researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand has been part of the unit developing the HIV vaccines for the trials. Inside the Wits laboratory, technician Nozipho Mlotshwa was among the young people in white gowns working on samples, but she may soon be out of a job. Her position is grant-funded. She uses her salary to support her family and fund her studies in a country where youth unemployment hovers around 46%. 'It's very sad and devastating, honestly," she said of the U.S. cuts and overall uncertainty. 'We'll also miss out collaborating with other scientists across the continent.' Professor Abdullah Ely leads the team of researchers. He said the work had promising results indicating that the vaccines were producing an immune response. But now that momentum, he said, has 'all kind of had to come to a halt.' The BRILLIANT program is scrambling to find money to save the project. The purchase of key equipment has stopped. South Africa's health department says about 100 researchers for that program and others related to HIV have been laid off. Funding for postdoctoral students involved in experiments for the projects is at risk. South Africa's government has estimated that universities and science councils could lose about $107 million in U.S. research funding over the next five years due to the aid cuts, which affect not only work on HIV but also tuberculosis — another disease with a high number of cases in the country. Less money, and less data on what's affected South Africa's government has said it will be very difficult to find funding to replace the U.S. support. And now the number of HIV infections will grow. Medication is more difficult to obtain. At least 8,000 health workers in South Africa's HIV program have already been laid off, the government has said. Also gone are the data collectors who tracked patients and their care, as well as HIV counselors who could reach vulnerable patients in rural communities. For researchers, Universities South Africa, an umbrella body, has applied to the national treasury for over $110 million for projects at some of the largest schools. During a visit to South Africa in June, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima was well aware of the stakes, and the lives at risk, as research and health care struggle in South Africa and across Africa at large. Other countries that were highly dependent on U.S. funding including Zambia, Nigeria, Burundi and Ivory Coast are already increasing their own resources, she said. 'But let's be clear, what they are putting down will not be funding in the same way that the American resources were funding," Byanyima said. ___ ___ For more on Africa and development: The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Vaccine roll outs cut deaths and infections by 60% says study
Emergency vaccination programmes – rolled out in response to outbreaks of five major diseases – are believed to have reduced deaths by around 60% over a period of 23 years, according to a new study. A similar number of infections are also thought to have been believe that vaccinations stopped much bigger outbreaks of illnesses like Ebola, cholera and yellow study also points to the significant economic benefits of vaccination programmes, which run into billions of dollars. Researchers say this is the first comprehensive study to assess the impact of emergency vaccination programmes in response to the outbreak of five infectious diseases – Ebola, measles, cholera, yellow fever and meningitis. They studied 210 different incidents from 2000 to 2023, covering 49 different countries. The vaccine roll-outs seem to have had an impressive impact, reducing deaths by nearly 60%.The number of overall cases of theses infections were also reduced by nearly 60%.The swift deployment of vaccines also appears to have halted wider were economic benefits too – worth an estimated $32 billion. These benefits come mainly from averting deaths and years of life lost to researchers believe this could be a significant underestimate of overall savings, as it doesn't take into account the costs of dealing with a wider outbreak, or the economic disruption caused by a more serious health emergency. It's believed the 2014 Ebola outbreak, which occurred before the existence of an approved vaccine, is estimated to have cost West African countries alone more than $53 billion. The power of vaccines The study was backed by Gavi, the vaccine alliance, which was responsible for many of the programmes. Dr Sania Nishtar, the organisation's CEO, says the study shows just how important quick and effective vaccine roll-outs can be."For the first time, we are able to comprehensively quantify the benefit, in human and economic terms, of deploying vaccines against outbreaks of some of the deadliest infectious diseases."This study demonstrates clearly the power of vaccines as a cost-effective counter-measure to the increasing risk the world faces from outbreaks. "It also underscores the importance of fully funding Gavi, so it can continue to protect communities in the next five years to come."Gavi is currently trying to secure a fresh round of funding in the face of global cuts to foreign aid.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Chimpanzees follow trends just like we do
Humans copy each other with fashion fads and crazes all the time, and it turns out some chimps do too. The latest fashion trend for a group of chimpanzees in Zambia? Sticking grass in their ears. Fierce!Scientists from the University of Durham observed the primates copying each other, and saw the trend growing, despite it seemingly serving absolutely no purpose - other than to look super stylish of course. The team say it shows our closest relatives have even more human-like culture than we first thought. It's not the first time this kind of behaviour has been seen in chimpanzees at the Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust. Over 10 years ago researchers saw a female chimp from a completely different group start wearing grass in her ear and one by one, others adopted the trend. It's very similar to how fashions and trends emerge in humans. Dr Jake Brooker from Durham University, said: "This isn't about cracking nuts or fishing for termites – it's more like chimpanzee fashion."It mirrors how human cultural fads spread: someone starts doing something, others copy it, and it becomes part of the group identity even if it serves no clear purpose."
