HIV/AIDS researchers gather in Winnipeg
As reported by the Winnipeg Free Press, researchers from around the world gathered in Winnipeg this past Sunday for the first International Symposium on Natural Immunity to HIV.
Hosted by the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID), the University of Manitoba and the Public Health Agency of Canada, the event was intended to bring top researchers together so that they could exchange theories.
“One of the ways of doing that is through an international consortium where they can collectively come together, share ideas and find ways to work together on common research projects that will hopefully expedite the discovery of an HIV vaccine,” said Heather Medwick, acting president and CEO of ICID.
Natural immunity to HIV/AIDS was discovered in Kenya by U of M researchers over 20 years ago. It is considered to be one of the most prominent leads in discovering a vaccination, but its rarity makes it difficult to establish significant data from which conclusions can be drawn.
Winnipeg taxi drivers want panic alarms
Taxi drivers are asking the city and the province to subsidize the cost of panic alarms that would be used to alert the police if they are in distress while on the job, reported CBC News.
The request follows an incident on Nov. 9 when a woman allegedly assaulted a driver and stole his vehicle that she later crashed into two vehicles and rolled into a ditch.
According to police, the woman was charged with assault and impaired driving.
Gurmail Mangat, president of the Unicity Taxi board said that, while crimes against taxi drivers have dropped significantly since plastic shields and surveillance cameras became mandatory, he would like to see panic alarms linked to Winnipeg police dispatchers installed in every taxi.
In the meantime, Unicity is considering adding a flashing light to the exterior of taxis to alert passersby if a driver is in distress, according to Mangat. If a passerby notices the bright light they could then call 911 on behalf of the driver.
City considers garbage gas as energy source
According to CBC News, a city hall committee is looking at possible uses for approximately 100,000 tonnes of methane gas emitted by rotting trash at the Brady Road Landfill.
The public works committee voted this past weekend to begin accepting proposals on how to capture and recycle the gas.
According to a report submitted to the committee, reducing Brady Landfill greenhouse gas emissions “is the single most effective action the city can take to address the issue of climate change.”
“Why would we want to burn off a gas that we can use in other ways?” said Darryl Drohomerski, manager of Winnipeg’s solid waste services.
“The goal through the proposal call is to allow bidders to be able to tell us that they want to use this gas in such a manner that’s better for the environment and also better for the city.”
According to city documents, the captured methane could be sold to a utility, like Manitoba Hydro, or used to fuel operations at the University of Manitoba.
