The fight against AIDS

UNAIDS, the UN body charged with combatting the AIDS epidemic, released its latest report. This carries good news. Though some 33m people are infected, the rate of new infections is falling—down from 3.1m a year a decade ago to 2.6m in 2009. Moreover, as the map shows, the figure is falling fastest in many of the most heavily infected countries. The reason is a combination of behavioural change, a big reduction in mother-to-child transmission at birth and through breast-feeding, and the roll-out of drug treatment for those already infected.

via www.economist.com

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Antarctica, the Timeless Continent

Of the unusual phenomena that occur at the polar extremes of the Earth, time is a particularly peculiar one. Yes, the sky at the South Pole splits the year between whole days of light and dark. But how do humans who venture there—to a place where the world’s 24 time zones converge—and to the rest of Antarctica set their clocks?

via blogs.ngm.com

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Who Owns Antarctica

It stretches 5.4 million square miles. It's freezing, inhospitable, and devoid of any native residents. Why, then, is the southernmost continent at the center of such contentious wrangling? We take a look at who owns what in Antarctica, and why the battles have recently grown more tumultuous.

via awesome.good.is

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