THE AMBASSADORS
Summer Issue
NEWS
THE AMBASSADORS
Summer
Issue
NEWS
Volume 2,
Issue 3
July 1999
| AUSTRALIA - New
Findings from the dissection of Ancient Egyptian Mummies A recent critical paleopathological and paleogenetic study of two Egyptian mummies in the South Austalian Museum showed interesting data. Both mummies were more than 2000 years old of a 40-years-old multiparous female and a 30-years-old male with broken ribs. The scientists examined them by X-ray, CT scan and DNA tests. The study revealed the unexpected absence of their hearts, unlike the traditional mummification procedures of Ancient Egyptians where the heart is left in the body. In the 1920s, King Tut's mummy was discovered by the archaeologists Lord Carnarvon and Mr.Howard Carter and dissected by Prof.Douglas Derry and Dr.Saleh Bey Hamdi. The heart was present in the King's mummified body. The question is why is there a modification of the traditional embalming technique used by the ancestors? |
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| CAIRO - 2nd International Conference on Population & Molecular Genetics |
| The second conference organized by the Middle East Geneticists Association of America (M.E.G.A.) in collaboration with the genetcis unit, paediatric department, Ain Shams University (GPA) will be held in Cairo from November 30- December 2, 1999. Last year, MEGA held their first meeting in Tunisia which proved to be quite successful. It will be a great opportunity for scientific cooperation between the Egyptian, Middle Eastern and American geneticists. The main topics will be clinical genetics, genetic counselling & education, teratogens, prenatal diagnosis, biochemical & molecular genetics, cytogenetics, pharmcogenetics, agricultural genetics and the role of genetics in all medical fields. The conference will be held under the patronage of both Prof. Hassan Ghallab and Prof. Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, president and vice-president of Ain Shams University. Both Prof. Hamed Shatta, dean of Ain Shams medical college, and Prof. Yehia El-Gamal, head of the paediatric department are the honourary presidents. Prof. Rabah M. Shawky, head of genetics unit is the president of the conference.The conference is officially organized by Alpha Medical Scientific Foundation Ltd., which can be reached on their website www.alphamedical.com.eg or by email alpha@medical.com.eg . |  International medical geneticist, Prof. Vazken Der Kaloustian (McGill) and Prof. A.S. Teebi ( Uof T) in MEGA's first conference held in Tunisia last year congratulating Prof. Tawfik. L. Tawfik for his new book, "Congenital Anomalies of Ear, Nose & Throat" |
KUWAIT - Prospects for Kuwaiti Women Political Rights
| It seems that the big winner in the
new parliamentary election held in Kuwait on Saturday,
July 2, 1999 are those advocating support to women's
rights. For Kuwaiti women to participatiate in future
election and run for office in 2003 the support of the 50
newly elected members of the parliament is vital. If
implemented, this referendum would make Kuwait the first
Gulf country to offer suffrage to women. Currently, only 113,000 men over the age of 21 are eligible voters, a mere 14% of Kuwait's 793,000 population. The Amir of Kuwait, Sheik Jaber Al-Ahmed Al--Sabah asked the new parliament to discuss the issue of offering Kuwaiti women their political rights. If women are granted this right, they would be permitted to vote and nominate themselves in the parliamentary race. It is known that there are thousands of highly educated women in Kuwait: as doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, teachers, lawyers, engineers, journalists and buisnesswomen. In addition, many prominant women have made their mark in the academy at Kuwait University, three of which are Prof. Badriya Al-Awadi (Law), Prof. Faiza Al-Khorafi (Science) and Prof. Rasha Al-Sabah (English Literature). Two daily Kuwaiti newspapers now have women chief editors: Al-Anba' (Bebi Al-Marzook) and Al-Watan (Fatma Hussein). Following the conclusion of the Gulf crisis, Kuwaiti women's contribution became more recognized. In fact, some Kuwaiti men contend that women deserve their electoral legitimacy and political rights, saying that, "they do everything, why should they not vote?" Analysts predicted that the most heated debate will be regarding the issue of allowing women to nominate themselves in parliament, while that of voting may pose far less controversy. The vote for women has the support of many of the new parliament members. Mr.Al-Khorafi.is one of the most influential parliamentary figures has been a stern supporter of women's rights. |
The graduation
ceremony of new Kuwati
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| LONDON - On July 11, 1999, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF; London, UK) held a seminar in London to reivew achievements made since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Egypt. The ICPD marked a shift away from demographic target to an integrated development approach to population issues considering women's reproductive health education at the heart of the program. Dr.Janna Palmer notes in an article (Lancet 1998, 352: 210), "IPPF warns that the shortfall in promised assistance from developed nations will mean that by 2000, inadequate provision of contraception will result in as many as 220 million unintended pregnancies, 50-90 million abortions, 60-110 million unwanted births and the deaths of upto 8.9 million infants and children." IPPF has also set up a Cairo+5 website with links to UNFPA (UN Population Fund) site, which is www.ippf.org/cairo. |
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| NEW BRUNSWICK - VIII Sommet de la
Francophonie Moncton The 8th summit meeting, held every two years, of La Francophonie (VIII Sommet de la Francophonie) will be held in Moncton, N.B. from September 3-5, 1999. La Francophonie is the 52-nation French-speaking counterpart of the Commonwealth. This international conference will be attended by several heads of states and governement officials.Dr.Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of La Francophonie, is going to attend the summit along with the Canadian Prime Minister Mr.Jean Chretien. Youth will be the focus of the Summit's debates and actions. Atlantic Canada has become an area where many international conferences have taken place, most important of which was the 1995 G-7 meeting held in Halifax, N.S. La Francophonie have set up a website for the Moncton summit at www.sommet99.net. Interestingly, Dr. Judith Woodsworth of Mount St. Vincent University recieved the Ordre de La Pleiade at a La Francophonie in Ottawa last week for her contribution to the language and cultural dialogue. |
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NEW JERSEY - A Precious Book to Medical Doctors & Cytogeneticists
"The Principles of Clinical Cytogenetics" is a new comprehensive essential reference text elucidating the principles and its interface with clinical practice. This precious book, edited by Dr.Steven L. Gersen, DIANON Systems Inc. and Dr.Martha B.Keagle, University of Connecticut with 16 contributors. This book was recently published by Humana Press consititutes an indispensable reference for today's professionals or physicians who work in a cytogenetics laboratory.
NEW YORK - Rebuilding Torn Societies
The 12th annual meeting of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) held its meeting in UN headquarters between 16-18 June, 1999. The conference was sponsored by the Office of External Relations Assistant Secretary-General, Gillian Sorensen. On June 17th, the conference participants enjoyed the documentary film by William Greaves highlighting the life and contributions of Ralph Bunche to the UN. For more news on the conference, visit the UN homepage at www.un.org .
OTTAWA - The 28th Science Conference of the Canadian Science Writers Association
Recently, the Canadian Science Writers' Association (CSWA) held their 28th meeting in Ottawa from May 27-29, 1999. The conference was provided with great contributions from both Carleton University and University of Ottawa. They discussed several different issues including the future of the WWW, history & future of telecommunications technology, telemedicine, microinstrumentation, computer software skills shortage, remote sensing, managing pests, desertification myths and realities, agricultural journalism, and the impact group on helping communcation professionals get on with their jobs.
TORONTO - The Hope of New Vaccines in the 21st Century
In the editorial of the VacScene newsletter spring issue of 1999 published by the Pasteur Merieux Connaught (Rhone-Poulenc Group), the question was asked, "As we move forward to the end of this century, the value of vaccines does not diminish, AIDS, cancer, and a range of infectious diseases remain with us, along with a new generation of scientists, thinkers and researchers who are diligently searching for tomorrow's vaccines. What new heights can be reached as we launch into the new millennium?" For vaccine information services visit their website at http://ca.pmc.vacc.com. They can also be contacted at askvis@ca.pmc.vacc.com.
A New Videotape for Pregnant Women
The Medical Audio Visual Communications Inc. have introduced a new 22 minute long videotape entitled, "Is My Pregnancy All Right?". From this video, women can learn about the three main maternal serum screening (M.S.S.) blood test and its importance for diagnosis of Down Syndrome, trisomy 18 and neural tube defects like spina bifida. The video also answers questions on what an ultrasound scan can tell pregnant women. This videotape was produced by the Ontario Maternal Serum Steering Committee and was commended by Jessica Mandel, in the Perspectives in Genetic Counselling 1999 mentioning, "it is a worthwhile addition to a prenatal video library." The committee's website can be found at www.mavc.com and they can be contacted at their email dwc@mavc.com .
VANCOUVER - The "Abreast Dragon Boating"
In February 1996, Dr.D.C. McKenzie, from the Allen McGavin Sports Medicine Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia formed a "abreast in a dragon boat" team to emphasize his belief that upper body excercise is beneficial to help breast cancer survivors to heal and regain control of their lives by understanding that they can lead full active lives. Vancouver's "dragon boat" team annual festival is one of the world's largest, that raises awareness of the community to breast cancer which affects one in eight women and is the number one killer of women aged 35-50!
After the great success of the "abreast dragon boating" project in British Columbia, the idea has spread to other parts of Canada, USA and New Zealand. Recently, in July 1999, a new team was formed in Nova Scotia, which would be the 11th team in Canada.
