Science

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Ebola crisis: Top Sierra Leone doctor dies from disease.

One of Sierra Leone's top doctors died from Ebola hours after the arrival in the country of an experimental drug that could have been used to save him.

Victor Willoughby, who tested positive for the disease only on Saturday, is the 11th doctor in the country in the current outbreak.

His death has been described as "a big loss to the medical profession".

Ebola has killed more than 7,300 people this year in West Africa, World Health Organization figures show.

There have been more than 2,470 deaths in Sierra Leone.

Healthcare workers are among those most at risk of catching Ebola because it is spread by bodily fluids.
Respected

Dr Willoughby, 67, died on Thursday, hours after the arrival of the experimental drug ZMab in Sierra Leone, officials said.

ZMapp, which was developed in Canada, has been credited with helping several patients recover, including two US doctors.

BBC Africa deputy editor Josephine Hazeley says Dr Willoughby was one of Sierra Leone's best known and most respected doctors.

Meanwhile the country's chief medical officer, Brima Kargbo, said the death was "a big loss to the medical profession" in Sierra Leone.

"We all looked up to Dr Willoughby and would consult him on many issues relating to our medical profession," he told the Associated Press news agency.

Earlier this week officials in Sierra Leone began house-to-house searches in the capital Freetown to find hidden cases of Ebola.

President Ernest Bai Koroma said Sunday trading would be banned and travel between districts restricted in a bid to stop the spread of the disease.

The country has also banned public celebrations over Christmas and the New Year.

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Stem cell scandal scientist Haruko Obokata resigns.

A Japanese stem cell scientist at the heart of a scandal over false claims and fabricated research has resigned.

Dr Haruko Obokata published supposedly groundbreaking research showing stem cells could be made quickly and cheaply.

There were irregularities in data, no other group in the world could repeat her findings and her own university concluded it could not be done.

In a statement Dr Obokata said: "I even can't find the words for an apology."

Stem cells can become any other type of tissue and hold great potential in medicine.

They are already being investigated to heal the damage caused by a heart attack and to restore sight.

But they are expensive and difficult to produce and one source - embryos - raises serious ethical questions.
'Major discovery'

Dr Obokata's scientific paper published in the prestigious journal Nature claimed that stem cells could be produced from normal adult cells by dipping them into acid for a 30-minute shock period.

The announcement of the creation of these "Stap" cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) sent shockwaves around the world.

They were described as a "major scientific discovery" and a "game changer" by respected scientists in the field.

However, the findings were too good to be true.

The work was investigated by the Riken Institute, the centre that conducted the research, and was retracted by Nature in July, amid concern that some of the results had been fabricated.

Dr Haruko Obokata was later found guilty of misconduct.

Riken has been attempting to reproduce the results, but this week announced it had been unsuccessful.

Shinichi Aizawa from the university said: "We have conducted verification experiments but can't repeat the Stap phenomenon. As a result, we will terminate the verification experiments."

In her resignation announcement, Dr Obokata said: "I worked hard for three months to show significant results, but I'm so exhausted now and extremely puzzled.

"I am keenly aware of my responsibility for troubling a number of people because of my inexperience.

"I even can't find the words for an apology."

Riken has accepted her resignation.

Prof Chris Mason, from University College London, told the BBC: "There were serious problems with the whole thing.

"They've given her a chance, which is right, but she didn't manage to reproduce the results.

"I don't think it has damaged science, there have been some really solid breakthroughs this year and the focus is on truly transformative therapies."

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Stem cell scandal scientist Haruko Obokata resigns.

A Japanese stem cell scientist at the heart of a scandal over false claims and fabricated research has resigned.

Dr Haruko Obokata published supposedly groundbreaking research showing stem cells could be made quickly and cheaply.

There were irregularities in data, no other group in the world could repeat her findings and her own university concluded it could not be done.

In a statement Dr Obokata said: "I even can't find the words for an apology."

Stem cells can become any other type of tissue and hold great potential in medicine.

They are already being investigated to heal the damage caused by a heart attack and to restore sight.

But they are expensive and difficult to produce and one source - embryos - raises serious ethical questions.
'Major discovery'

Dr Obokata's scientific paper published in the prestigious journal Nature claimed that stem cells could be produced from normal adult cells by dipping them into acid for a 30-minute shock period.

The announcement of the creation of these "Stap" cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) sent shockwaves around the world.

They were described as a "major scientific discovery" and a "game changer" by respected scientists in the field.

However, the findings were too good to be true.

The work was investigated by the Riken Institute, the centre that conducted the research, and was retracted by Nature in July, amid concern that some of the results had been fabricated.

Dr Haruko Obokata was later found guilty of misconduct.

Riken has been attempting to reproduce the results, but this week announced it had been unsuccessful.

Shinichi Aizawa from the university said: "We have conducted verification experiments but can't repeat the Stap phenomenon. As a result, we will terminate the verification experiments."

In her resignation announcement, Dr Obokata said: "I worked hard for three months to show significant results, but I'm so exhausted now and extremely puzzled.

"I am keenly aware of my responsibility for troubling a number of people because of my inexperience.

"I even can't find the words for an apology."

Riken has accepted her resignation.

Prof Chris Mason, from University College London, told the BBC: "There were serious problems with the whole thing.

"They've given her a chance, which is right, but she didn't manage to reproduce the results.

"I don't think it has damaged science, there have been some really solid breakthroughs this year and the focus is on truly transformative therapies."

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Asthma and allergy devices 'not used properly'.

Patients with asthma and severe allergies are often not taught how to use their medical devices properly, charities have warned.

Asthma UK said in some cases poor technique led to people being put on stronger inhalers than they actually needed.

And studies by Allergy UK suggest people struggle with instructions on auto-injectors in allergy emergencies.

The charities are calling for better training for patients and NHS staff.

The warning comes after a separate US study revealed only 16% of those prescribed adrenalin auto-injectors in case of a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction used them properly.

Common errors included not holding the device in place for at least 10 seconds and not pushing down forcefully enough with the needle to allow the adrenalin in.

In the same study, only 7% of asthma sufferers were found to use asthma inhalers in the right way, researchers reported in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Training

Study leader Dr Rana Bonds from the University of Texas Medical Branch said the results suggested people weren't properly trained in using the devices in the first place or "forgot the instructions over time".
Picture of an adrenalin auto-pen Adrenaline can help reduce swelling during severe allergic reactions and make it easier to breathe

Maureen Jenkins, clinical director of Allergy UK, said she was not at all surprised by the findings.

She said because there were different designs of inhalers and auto-injectors, people needed to get specific advice for the exact ones they had, which often did not happen.

"We have just finished a leaflet on allergic asthma which talks about proper use of these devices."
Yearly checks

She added that pharmacists were ideally placed to talk patients through using the devices when they picked them up from the chemist.

Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and policy at Asthma UK, said even though in theory everyone with an inhaler should have their technique checked annually, figures showed a third of people with asthma make mistakes with their inhalers.

And many of these mistakes are significant enough to reduce the effectiveness of their treatments.

"This is also hugely wasteful - asthma-prescribing is one of the most expensive areas of cost for the NHS, costing almost £1bn annually.

"You wouldn't give someone a new car without them having driving lessons first, so if you are going to invest in prescribing a lifetime of asthma medicines, it's crucial that healthcare professionals ensure that their patients know how to use them."

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Nasa emails spanner to space station

Astronauts on the International Space Station have used their 3-D printer to make a wrench from instructions sent up in an email.

It is the first time hardware has been "emailed" to space.

Nasa was responding to a request by ISS commander Barry Wilmore for a ratcheting socket wrench.

Previously, if astronauts requested a specific item they could have waited months for it to be flown up on one of the regular supply flights.

Mike Chen, founder of Made In Space, the company behind the 3-D printer, said: "We had overheard ISS Commander Barry Wilmore (who goes by "Butch") mention over the radio that he needed one, so we designed one in CAD and sent it up to him faster than a rocket ever could have."

Mr Wilmore installed the printer on the ISS on 17 November. On 25 November he used the machine to fabricate its first object, a replacement part for the printer.

Nasa says the capability will help astronauts be more self-reliant on future long duration space missions.

Mike Chen added: "The socket wrench we just manufactured is the first object we designed on the ground and sent digitally to space, on the fly.

"It also marks the end of our first experiment—a sequence of 21 prints that together make up the first tools and objects ever manufactured off the surface of the Earth."

The other 21 objects were designed before the 3D printer was shipped to the space station in September on a SpaceX Dragon supply flight.
line

Analysis: David Shukman, BBC science editor

If a 3D printer can churn out something as useful as a tool in space, what else is possible?

Spare parts, components, even equipment, according to the company behind the printer, Made In Space. And that's just the start.

As one might expect from an energetic Silicon Valley start-up, the vision is mind-boggling. Already it plans to send a larger 3D manufacturing machine into orbit next year.

The ambition is for Nasa or other space agencies or companies to routinely send their printing orders up to the International Space Station and for a range of objects to be produced.

This would open the way to create hardware not only for the ISS itself but also for equipment to be deployed beyond it, conceivably such as satellites.

And, looking further ahead, the thinking becomes even more radical. Made In Space says it's been trying out possible raw materials for its printers including a substance similar to lunar soil.

So in theory, a 3D printer despatched to the Moon might be able to dig into the lunar surface, scoop up what is called the regolith, and transform it into the elements needed for a moon base.

That prospect is extremely distant, obviously.

For the moment, the astronauts on board the ISS will be happy to know that if they need a new spanner, they can make one in under an hour.