Chris Baraniuk

A new outbreak of Ebola virus disease in central Africa, caused by the rare Bundibugyo version of the virus, has caused more than 300 suspected cases and killed 100 people, health officials have said.The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the situation a public health emergency of international concern.1The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has so far identified 336 suspected and 10 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).2 There have been 87 deaths in the DRC to date. Uganda has had two confirmed cases and one additional death.3In response WHO has sent five tonnes of medical supplies to the DRC, and $500 000 (£374 000; €430 000) has been released from the agency's contingency fund for emergencies.This Ebola outbreak is causing particular concern because it has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain, which has been detected in only two previous outbreaks, in 2007 and 2012. There are no approved treatments or vaccines for Bundibugyo Ebola.The first field tests …

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Three experimental vaccines are to be fast tracked in response to the ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease in central Africa.The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen 48 confirmed deaths, and one person in neighbouring Uganda is now known to have died since cases first emerged last month,1 though some estimates put suspected deaths in the hundreds.2Now, more than $60m in funding for three distinct vaccine candidates has been announced by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI), a non-profit organisation, and its partners.3All three vaccines are designed specifically to target the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, which has only ever been detected twice before, during two previous outbreaks. At present, there are no approved …

“Better to die from Ebola than the attacker who would come and cut my head off.” That was what Yap Boum II’s driver told him as he arrived this week in Beni, North Kivu, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Boum is head of the emergency preparedness and response division for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). He is also regional incident manager for the Ebola response. In early June he visited an Ebola treatment centre in Beni. A week before his trip more than 30 people were killed in attacks on nearby villages. Multiple victims were beheaded.1“When you listen to that, you change your perspective on what your role is in the response,” Boum told The BMJ . “The most important thing we have is the trust of the community—which is not a given.”Since the current Ebola outbreak emerged in mid-May2 there have been more than 650 confirmed cases of …

Helium-3 is expensive and demand is forecast to soar, so some are planning to mine it on the moon.

Lanchester Wines in north-east England uses heat from a disused coalmine to maintain wine temperatures and with 23,000 flooded mines in the UK, there’s huge potential for more businesses and homes to follow its lead

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Chris Baraniuk - Technology Reporter Booing fans and disgruntled pundits. One of the biggest controversies of the 2026 World Cup so far has