Latest news with #pandemics
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
New National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow aims to fight pandemics
A new science centre is being built which aims to help protect the UK from future government has pledged a "multi-billion-pound" investment to make the National Biosecurity Centre (NBC) in Harlow, Essex, the largest of its kind in Europe by bringing the UK Health Security Agency's existing centres in London and Wiltshire to one agency's scientists research pathogens and boost vaccine production in an attempt to prepare for potential global disease threats. Visiting Harlow, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Covid-19 taught us how crucial it is to be able to respond quickly to new emerging threats and the new NBC will allow us to do exactly that." The government said the UKHSA would continue operating from Colindale in north-west London and Porton Down in Wiltshire until the new centre in Harlow was fully up and running, to ensure a safe and effective transition. About 1,600 jobs will be created to support construction of the Harlow site and it would enable closer collaboration between scientists, the government first facilities are expected to open by the mid-2030s with the site fully operational by 2038."Harlow will become a scientific hub, with the National Biosecurity Centre exploring new ways to treat illnesses, improve people's health and save more lives," said Streeting."By backing innovation, research and life sciences, we will make our NHS fit for the future, and cement the UK as a life sciences superpower."The government said "of the total multi-billion investment in the centre, £250m will be spent by the government over this Parliament alone to kickstart delivery". "The exact total amount of funding for the centre will be confirmed in due course," a spokesperson added. It was hoped the NBC would create partnerships between scientists in the industry and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to pursue new Harlow site would have laboratories that would be used to study dangerous and new Alsop, interim UKHSA chief executive, said: "This is fantastic news for the UK and will mean that we can continue to offer the best possible protection for people's health for generations to come."The announcement follows a government pledge to spend £1bn upgrading a centre that researches animal diseases in Weybridge, Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory site at Porton Down was not affected by this new development and would remain operational. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Woman believed to be Ireland's oldest person dies days before 109th birthday
A woman born in the year of the Easter Rising and who survived two pandemics has died just days before her 109th birthday. Sarah Coyle, believed to be Ireland's oldest person, died peacefully at her daughter Marian Galligan's home in Castleknock, Dublin , on Monday July 14th, just 10 days before her 109th birthday, her family confirmed. She was surrounded by her family when she died, her grandson Thomas Galligan said. Just days earlier, she thanked the family for all they had done for her and 'wanted us to know we had her blessing', he said. Ms Galligan told The Irish Times earlier this year her mother, who grew up in Co Wicklow, had memories of significant periods in Irish history, including from the Civil War (1922-1923) and even the War of Independence (1919-1921). READ MORE Those memories, Ms Galligan said, included of the Black and Tans , British forces operating in Ireland during the War of Independence who were notorious for their violence. Ms Coyle remembered one occasion when all the men called James in her home area were rounded up by the Black and Tans in an effort to identify who had shot one of their members. Ms Coyle's father James was among those taken up the mountains but, while his family feared the worst, he returned home uninjured several hours later. Ms Coyle had nine siblings, some of whom also lived beyond their centenary year. Her sister Lily Kelly, who lives in Solihull in England, turned 103 in April. One of her brothers, Andy Byrne, died shortly before his 101st birthday. Ms Coyle was born in Knockatomcoyle, a townland in Co Wicklow, before her family moved to Coolkenno, near Tullow. She was working as a housekeeper in Foxrock when she met Tom Coyle from Cavan at a dance. [ Ireland's oldest woman (108) recalls Black and Tans and attributes long life to 'new nettles' in cabbage Opens in new window ] They married and lived in Drumcondra. The couple had four children but two of their daughters died as newborns. Ms Coyle, who lost her eyesight in her early thirties, has five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Her husband worked as a postman until he had a stroke in his late 50s, followed by a brain haemorrhage. When asked what her mother attributed her longevity to, Marian Galligan said she would gather the first nettles every spring and put them in the cabbage. 'She used to say, 'that will purify your blood'.'
New York Times
09-07-2025
- Health
- New York Times
A 37,000-Year Chronicle of What Once Ailed Us
To prepare for future pandemics, scientists look to the past for clues. Over the last century, a series of new pathogens have swept the world, including H.I.V., Zika virus and SARS-CoV-2. But the further back researchers look, the fuzzier that history becomes. Thucydides chronicled the plague of Athens, a disease that ravaged the city-state around 430 B.C. Despite all his gory details — 'the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath' — today's historians and scientists still don't know which pathogen was responsible for it. Three decades ago, geneticists conducting historical investigations started adding new clues like the bits of DNA that some pathogens leave behind in human skeletons. In recent years, the search for ancient disease genes has accelerated. On Wednesday, a team of scientists unveiled a new genetic chronicle, documenting the rise of 214 diseases across Europe and Asia over the past 37,000 years. 'The paper is large and sweeping and overall pretty cool,' said Hendrik Poinar, an expert on ancient DNA at McMaster University in Canada who was not involved in the study. The researchers examined the remains of 1,313 ancient individuals for the project. The large scale enabled the researchers to do more than just push back the earliest known occurrence of different diseases. They could also track the rise and fall of epidemics across centuries. The oldest remains the researchers studied belonged to hunter-gatherers. Their bones and teeth contained a host of pathogens, such as hepatitis B, herpes virus and Helicobacter pylori, a stomach-dwelling bacterium. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Civilisations returns with unprecedented access to the British Museum's collection
At a moment when we all fear the civilisation-threatening power of pandemics, autocracy and technological transformation, Civilisations: Rise and Fall, produced by BBC Studios, examines why four famous and mighty civilisations in the past found themselves on the brink of disaster, and how the art and artefacts they left behind hold clues to explaining their fate. Each programme looks at the rise of a different great civilisation and explores the factors that led to its decline. From Ancient Rome to Cleopatra's Egypt, via the samurai of Japan and the lost world of the Aztecs, audiences will discover rare and beautiful art and artefacts from each culture. All objects that feature in the series are in the British Museum thanks to behind-the-scenes access to spaces most visitors never see. These artefacts take us to very particular moments of civilisational transition, as societies confronted upheaval and endured radical change in a bid to safeguard their own futures. Across four episodes, interviews with experts, key academics and curators are combined with bold drama-reconstructions to follow the clues in these treasures that explain why each culture fell from power, and whether these relics can help us understand the risks we face today. Contributors include Dominic Sandbrook from The Rest is History podcast, artists Antony Gormley and Edmund De Waal, co-host of The Rest is Politics podcast Alistair Campbell, Radio 4's Making History presenter Iszi Lawrence and academics and authors including Camilla Townsend, Mark Ravina, Shushma Malik and Salima Ikram. Featured artefacts from The British Museum's world-famous collection include the double-headed serpent of the Aztecs, the Meroe Head of Augustus, a mummified crocodile from Ancient Egypt and a newly acquired set of samurai armour from Japan. Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV, said: 'A new series of Civilisations is always a significant moment for BBC Arts and this incarnation feels particularly timely in our own uncertain age. With unprecedented access to the British Museum's collection, Civilisations: Rise and Fall makes the case that museums are more relevant than ever: they are repositories of human memory, time-capsules – a crucial way for us to understand the past and how we might ensure the future of our own civilisation.' Dr Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the British Museum said: 'We were delighted to collaborate with the BBC for the landmark Civilisations series, and bring some of the most incredible objects in the British Museum's collection to the forefront in telling these global stories. I hope the series captures the imagination of young and old alike, and that we engage whole new audiences with our collection – a collection which shows how history connects us all, something which is now more relevant than ever.' Alexander Leith, Executive Producer, BBC Studios Specialist Factual, said: 'It's a great privilege to be making the next iteration of the Civilisations brand – especially in such close collaboration with the British Museum. The remarkable artefacts they hold offer astonishing points of connection with these past civilisations, and the factors and fault lines on which their fortunes turned – many of which feel disarmingly relevant to our own world. The Civilisations The Fall of Rome When new Roman emperor Honorius ascends to the throne in 395 AD he inherits a system of government that's built one of the most remarkable civilizations in history. For over 400 years the Roman Empire has ruled a vast territory that crosses three continents and encompasses a multitude of peoples and languages. Keeping this disparate whole together is a massive challenge, but decisions taken by Honorius' predecessors have opened up alarming fault lines within the system. Now a series of shocks and threats are colliding in a perfect storm that will see the weakened city of Rome fall to foreign invaders for the first time in 800 years. The Last Days of the Ptolemies in Egypt In 51 BC Cleopatra becomes Queen of Egypt – and Pharaoh – amid a crumbling dynasty plagued by infighting, betrayal, and political chaos. She navigates a treacherous web of family rivalries and Roman interference. Determined to preserve Egypt's independence, she forges bold alliances with Julius Caesar and later Mark Antony, two of Rome's most powerful men. Her reign marks both a last stand for the Ptolemaic dynasty and the dramatic end of three millennia of Pharaonic rule in Egypt. The End of the Samurai in Japan 1853 CE. For centuries, Japan has been cut off from outside influence. In that time the West, and much of the rest of the world, has made extraordinary leaps forward in science, industry and military technology, while Japan remains a feudal medieval society. At the heart of this feudal system are the samurai – warrior knights funded by the state. But when giant American steamships arrive on Japan's shores, the days of the samurai are numbered. The Collapse of the Aztec Empire 1519. Under the strong leadership of Emperor Moctezuma the great Aztec civilization reaches its zenith. The jewel in the crown is the beautiful island city of Tenochtitlan built in the middle of the lake Texcoco, a melting pot of extraordinary arts and culture - home to some 100,000 people. But Moctezuma's empire is fragile. He relies on ritual wars, gathering tribute and maintaining social and religious order through slavery and sacrifice. In doing so he has tightened his grip on the largest South American empire the world had ever seen - but he has made many enemies. The arrival of the Spanish in 1519, under Hernan Cortes, will prove disastrous for the Aztecs. Civilisations: Rise and Fall is a BBC Studios Specialist Factual Unit production for BBC Arts, with BBC Studios handling global distribution. The Executive Producer is Alexander Leith, the Series Producer is Tony Mitchell, and the Production Manager is Emma Hyland. It was commissioned for the BBC by Suzy Klein, BBC Head of Arts and Classical Music. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Alistair Pegg. Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. The collection tells the stories of cultures across the world, from the dawn of human history, over two million years ago, to the present. Objects range from the earliest tools made by humans and remarkable finds from the ancient world to more recent acquisitions from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, as well as the national collections of prints and drawings, and coins and medals. BBC Studios Specialist Factual Productions is a bespoke unit making premium output in the history, art, music and culture space. The work is underpinned by journalistic rigour and specialist knowledge, bringing together diverse voices to ignite conversation and challenge preconceptions. Recent titles include the Grierson Award winning Inside Our Autistic Minds, the RTS winning Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World with Public Enemy's Chuck D, the true crime / natural history hybrid The Great Rhino Robbery and cold war thriller Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game. AM2 Follow for more
Khaleej Times
25-06-2025
- Health
- Khaleej Times
From Tunis to the region: One Health must now move from words to action
When we gathered in Tunis for the first One Health Mena Conference, it was with a shared sense of urgency — but also with a shared recognition of responsibility. The health threats facing our region are no longer distant risks or isolated events. Over the past years, we have witnessed the far-reaching consequences of pandemics, the silent escalation of antimicrobial resistance, the accelerating impacts of climate change, and the alarming erosion of biodiversity. These challenges are deeply interconnected. They cross borders and sectors, demanding responses that are equally integrated, coordinated, and forward-looking. This is precisely why One Health can no longer remain a theoretical aspiration, or a technical concept discussed only in specialised forums. It must become the foundation of how we think about health security in the 21st century — an approach that acknowledges the profound links between human health, animal health, environmental stability, and food systems. In Tunis, this shared conviction was translated into action through the adoption of the Carthage Declaration for One Health, voluntarily endorsed by all participating countries. The declaration sets out a flexible but ambitious roadmap, one that respects the diversity of national realities while promoting joint action. It focuses on four key pillars: early warning and joint surveillance, integrated vaccination, systematic health and environmental data sharing, and robust capacity building. But declarations alone are not enough. As recent global crises have shown us, it takes sustained political will, long-term investment, and strong regional cooperation to turn commitments into concrete results. There is indeed strong political will today, along with a clear commitment to working together, and I believe the Carthage Declaration provides us with the political basis to take this agenda forward. But now we need to move beyond words. The real test lies in how we operationalise these frameworks — how we get governments, supported by international organizations, to work together in a much more coordinated and holistic way to address One Health for the future of our societies and to prevent pandemics at their earliest stages. The road ahead is not only about strategy; it is about execution. For Tunisia, this conference marks not an end point, but the beginning of a long-term strategic journey. We are committed to establishing a Regional Centre for One Health in Tunis, to serve as a platform for North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean — fostering dialogue, facilitating expertise exchange, strengthening surveillance systems, and supporting joint research and training efforts across countries. Throughout the discussions in Tunis, clear regional priorities emerged: improving joint surveillance for zoonotic and cross-border diseases; addressing antimicrobial resistance through close coordination across health, agriculture and environment; improving food safety and security; and understanding and responding to the health consequences of climate change, particularly in fragile settings. These are complex, deeply connected challenges that require breaking down silos and building trust among institutions. Looking ahead, it is essential we engage in a serious dialogue on investment in One Health. While others may articulate the scientific and technical dimensions of One Health, I want to stress the urgent need to ensure adequate and sustained financing of this agenda. One Health is both complex and unique. Its complexity stems from the multiple sectors involved — human health, animal health, agriculture, and environment — each with its own priorities, structures, and funding needs. The benefits of investing in One Health are broad and long-term — yet they are not always easily quantified. Nevertheless, this should not delay or discourage action. The unique nature of One Health also lies in the combination of public and private sector responsibilities. The public sector plays an essential role — from research and preparedness to surveillance, regulation, and safeguarding public goods. Yet scaling up One Health investments requires active engagement of the private sector — not as an afterthought, but as an integral partner. Whether in infrastructure, supply chains, technology, or service delivery, there are significant opportunities where private sector expertise and investment can complement public sector leadership. The financial realities facing many countries in our region make this collaboration not only desirable, but necessary. It is time to move beyond framing One Health only as a public sector responsibility. We must start talking about the business of One Health: about shared value, co-investment, and building sustainable models that deliver both public good and economic opportunity. Encouragingly, we are already witnessing strong signals of confidence from our development partners. The World Bank and the Pandemic Fund have provided dedicated financing to support Tunisia's national One Health roadmap, helping us strengthen our multi-sectoral coordination and readiness. During the conference, we also advanced bilateral dialogue with neighboring countries — Algeria, Libya, and Palestine — identifying concrete areas for cooperation, including pharmaceutical manufacturing, preventive health, technical training, and skills exchange. The momentum is here. Our citizens deserve health systems that are ready, resilient, and able to withstand the complex health threats of tomorrow. One Health offers a blueprint. But real success will require all of us — governments, international partners, private actors, scientists, and civil society — to move from declarations to sustained action. You came to Tunis to join the conversation. Now it is time to join the action. This is a call to all governments in the Mena region: let us move forward, together, from dialogue to delivery — for the health security of our region, and for the generations to come. Dr Mustapha Ferjani is Minister of Health, Tunisia.
