| GLOBAL: Trying to make food cheaper |
 JOHANNESBURG, 16 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - The price of maize, sorghum, wheat and other staple grains is likely to climb again in many food-importing east African countries, agricultural economists warn.
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GLOBAL: Is humanitarianism genetic? |  DAKAR, 16 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - That creatures like ants and bees are willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the colony seems to defy Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest, UK researchers noted in a recent paper on the genetics of altruism. "Altruism reduces the reproductive process of the altruist - so why is it not weeded out by natural selection?"
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GLOBAL: Fewer but more intense cyclones |  JOHANNESBURG, 12 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - As the level of carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere, we will probably see fewer but more intense storms, a group of the world's top experts on tropical cyclones and climate change have concluded.
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GLOBAL: The impact of grey literature on climate projections |  JOHANNESBURG, 11 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - Most food crop cultivation in Africa is rain-fed, but climate change is affecting vital rainfall patterns and pushing up temperatures, diminishing yields that could halve in some countries by 2020. This warning has been widely quoted since it first appeared in a synthesis report for policy-makers in 2007 by the authoritative UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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GLOBAL: Prepare for "climaggedon" |  JOHANNESBURG, 9 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - Rice producing Asian countries had to contend with poor rains in 2009, and now another season of low rainfall has been forecast for some of them, which has prompted concern whether the price of the grain could go up later in 2010.
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GLOBAL: Sniffing out immunity |  DAKAR, 5 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - No more vaccinations or trained medical staff to administer the shots - that is the hope driving new research in Germany into vaccines that could be sniffed. The "c-di-IMP" molecule being tested on mice might one day be able to bring down vaccination costs, boost immunity, and be used in nasal vaccine sprays, according to the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research.
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GLOBAL: Free care for expectant mothers - is it enough? |  DAKAR, 2 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - The government of Sierra Leone has announced that from Independence Day (27 April) it will abolish user fees for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five, but will this, on its own, improve their lot?
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GLOBAL: Are we heading for another food crisis? |  JOHANNESBURG, 2 March 2010 (IRIN Global) - Long dry spells in parts of Africa and erratic rainfall in Asia have cast uncertain clouds over crop yields for 2010 in the world's poorest countries. Food prices in most developing countries are down from their 2008 crisis levels, but still higher than they were in 2007.
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GLOBAL: Tissue bank to study "invisible" stillbirths |  DAKAR, 23 February 2010 (IRIN Global) - US researchers have begun collecting tissue samples from thousands of pregnant women in an effort to learn what causes stillbirths – babies born dead – and preterm deliveries. This is the second of a three-part series on maternal and child health, and the seldom mentioned babies who are born after they have died.
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GLOBAL: When a stillborn is not |  DAKAR, 22 February 2010 (IRIN Global) - Saving a newborn’s life could be as simple as tapping the bottom of its foot, rubbing its back or helping pregnant women in rural communities get to a clinic. In this first part of a three-part series on initiatives to reduce maternal and newborn deaths, IRIN reports on a US-funded study that tracked 120,000 births in rural communities over two years to learn the impact of birth-attendant training on newborn survival.
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