Study: Africans More Genetically Diverse Than Rest of World Research Raises Questions About Accuracy of Ancestral Tracing for African Americans

"The study shows that single sources of data, whether from archaeology, oral history, genetics, or linguistic similarity are not sufficient to understand the complex history of an African region -- one can be transmitted without the others, and each has a different story to tell about the past."

The study found that 71% of African American background is from the Niger-Kordofanian linguistic group, which is a bit of an outdated linguistic class that includes languages spoken in almost every corner of the continent. This doesn't really fit well with the diversity theme of the rest of the article, but it is nevertheless very interesting.

Pope XVI headed to Africa

The Pope's upcoming visit to the continent is sure to re-ignite the debate over whether Catholic teachings promote the spread of HIV/AIDS. From a NYTimes article about his upcoming trip:

He also stated the Vatican’s position forbidding the use of condoms. “The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only fail-safe way to prevent the spread of H.I.V./AIDS,” Benedict said then, adding his endorsement of “Christian marriage and fidelity” and “chastity.”

On his Africa trip, the pope is not expected to revisit the Vatican’s stance on condoms, according to the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. “The position we have is that to think you can resolve AIDS with condoms is an illusion,” Father Lombardi said. Instead, he added, the church will continue to endorse education, promoting “more responsible sexuality,” within the confines of marriage.

The Vatican is as technically correct as the Bush administration was: the only proven, 100% effective way to stop the transmission of HIV through sexual intercourse is abstinence. Because it is technically correct, it shouldn't face so much criticism, but it also can't be the only way.

So prepare yourself: the debate is sure to roar up again. But I'm hoping for a sensible outcome this time around -- one that does not deny that the best way to prevent the spread of HIV is by promoting monogamous relationships and minimizing multiple partners (something Catholic teachings do well) while ensuring that at-risk and victim populations understand what they can do otherwise (proper condom use, the sine-qua-non of prevention).

There may never been a joint campaign because the two sides are never likely to agree (for metaphysical reasons), but as long as both of them spend time getting out the message and not sniping at each other, we can hope for progress in the fight against the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Guinea-Bissau: Do two wrongs this time make a right?

Was the tit-for-tat that eliminated a corrupt general and the President of Guinea-Bissau a good thing for the people of that country? In the Times article, a Western diplomat is quoted saying it's a good thing but Guinea-Bissau's neighbors are (rightfully) worried.

Locals -- according to the article -- are pleased to complacent about the dual-assassination, so the question is, who knows best: GB, its neighbors, or the West?

What's missing is any indication of why this might be a good thing for the people of Guinea-Bissau. There are at least as many possible outcomes to a power-vacuum that are not benevolent as there are desirable ones.

Death of a president, but not a coup?

It seems the president of Guinea-Bissau has been assassinated in a tit-for-tat for the death of the army chief days prior. But according to those who orchestrated his death, this was not a coup.

Following an emergency Cabinet meeting on Monday, military spokesman Zamora Induta said top military brass told government officials "this was not a coup d'etat."

"We reaffirmed our intention to respect the democratically elected power and the constitution of the republic," Induta said. "The people who killed President Vieira have not been arrested, but we are pursuing them. They are an isolated group. The situation is under control."

The constitution calls for parliament chief Raimundo Pereira to succeed the president in the event of his death.

It is remarkable that offing someone who once came to power in a coup, stepped down, and was re-elected to become president can be seen as respect for democracy, and not a coup. Thankfully things have not escalated beyond the dual assassination.

This kind of bizarre chain of events reeks of Africa in the 70s and 80s, and it would be nice to see stronger pressure on them to clean up their act by some of Guinea-Bissau's more stable neighbors (like Senegal). Furthermore, with all the concern in the West about Al Qaeda In the Maghreb (AQIM), it is just as important not to ignore narco-states like Guinea-Bissau before its problems spread further outside its borders.

Ethics of New HIV/AIDS Prevention Model

(First of a series of posts leading up to and after World AIDS Day 2008.)

A new mathematical model of HIV/AIDS prevention published in The Lancet and reported by SciDev.net "could slash the number of new infections because AIDS drugs lower the levels of virus in the body, making transmission much less likely. The authors estimate it could cut infection rates to less than one percent within 50 years. Deaths could fall to 1 per 1,000 people a year by 2016."

The model works by testing people annually and immediately putting infected individuals on a course of anti-retrovirals (ARVs). The ethical dilemma is that ARVs are often not provided until they are needed since, like chemotherapy, they essentially poison the body. Should people be placed on the ARVs prematurely if it means that the rate of infection could be drastically slowed?

This is certainly a difficult question to consider. One question that is unclear in the linked article (but perhaps better elaborated by the Lancet study) is the likelihood that people who know they are infected knowingly place others at risk of infection. What is the effect of a model that simply requires more people to be tested annually and informed of their status? More testing alongside appropriate behavior changes for infected and at-risk populations should be equally effective at preventing the spread of the disease without forcing currently infected individuals to suffer prematurely.