MPs call on the UK to commit more cash to Global Fund

MPs are urging the UK to give more money to the Global Fund which fights AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.

The International Development Committee has expressed concern that extra funding - pledged by ministers over a year ago - has not yet materialised.
The Fund has faced allegations of fraud, a shortfall from donors and a change of leadership.
Ministers say they will increase donations once they are convinced by the Fund's reform programme.
The MPs' report describes how the Global Fund has approved grants worth £14.1bn in 150 countries since it began work a decade ago.
It currently provides about 65% of all international financing to combat TB and malaria - and 21% of the money used against AIDS.

Difficult year

But the committee points out that the Global Fund has had a difficult year. It had to cancel its latest round of new grants.

The UK government's current pledge is to give the Fund £384m up to 2015.
Ministers have said they will increase the commitment - but the MPs are concerned that this money has not yet been delivered, nor the amount of the increase confirmed.
The committee chair, the Liberal Democrat MP Malcolm Bruce, said: "The UK has been a reliable partner to the Global Fund but we are concerned at the continued delay in providing additional funds.
"We strongly urge the Department for International Development to do all possible to commit funds earlier than 2013.
"A significant increase by the UK could help to catalyse contributions from other donors."
The MPs suggest the G20 meeting in Mexico next month could provide a good opportunity for the UK to make such an announcement - if ministers can be reassured that taxpayers' money is adequately safeguarded.
The committee heard evidence from the Global Fund's new general manager, Gabriel Jaramillo.
He recently announced new funds worth £630m. Japan has made its largest contribution to date.

Value for money for taxpayers The international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, said: "The committee is right to recognise the lifesaving impact the Global Fund can have.
"The past two years have been difficult for the Fund but I am encouraged that strong leadership is now in place.
"The UK is prepared to agree a significant increase in our contribution to the Global Fund - but it must show that the reform programme remains on track and is having an impact.
"We will need to be absolutely clear that British taxpayers are getting value for money for their support to the Fund."
Oxfam's head of development finance, Anna Marriott, said: "We urge the UK government to listen to the findings of this report and commit to doubling the amount of money they give to the Global Fund.
"The Global Fund is a crucial lifeline, providing treatment for millions of TB cases, distributing millions of mosquito nets to help prevent malaria and giving millions of people access to life-prolonging HIV medicines."

Launch success for SpaceX mission

SpaceX mission control celebrates a successful ascent to orbit for Falcon and Dragon

California's SpaceX has launched on a mission to re-supply the space station - the first cargo delivery to the orbiting outpost by a private company.

The firm's Falcon rocket, topped by an unmanned Dragon freight capsule, lifted clear of its Florida pad at 03:44 EDT (07:44 GMT; 08:44 BST).
The initial climb to an altitude some 340km above the Earth lasted a little under 10 minutes.
Within moments of being ejected, Dragon opened its solar panels.
It will take a couple of days to reach the station. The plan currently is for the vessel to demonstrate its guidance, control and communications systems on Thursday, at a distance of 2.5km from the International Space Station (ISS).
If those practice proximity manoeuvres go well, Dragon will be allowed to drive to within 10m of the station on Friday. Astronauts inside the platform will then grab the ship with a robotic arm and berth it to the 400km-high structure.
They will empty Dragon of its 500kg of food, water and equipment, before releasing it for a return to Earth at the end of the month.
The mission has major significance because it marks a big change in the way the US wants to conduct its space operations.
Nasa is attempting to offload routine human spaceflight operations in low-Earth orbit to commercial industry in a way similar to how some large organisations contract out their IT or payroll.
The carriage of freight will be the first service to be bought in from external suppliers; the transport of astronauts to and from the station will be the second, later this decade.
The US agency hopes these changes will save it money that can then be invested in exploration missions far beyond Earth, at destinations such as asteroids and Mars.
SpaceX has many new systems it has to demonstrate in the coming days, and has tried to lower expectations ahead of the mission.
Nasa has set the California company a series of development milestones. Only when those have been met fully will a $1.6bn ISS re-supply contract kick in.
The agency is also looking to engage a second cargo partner. Orbital Sciences Corporation of Virginia is slightly behind SpaceX in its development schedule, although it started work on its Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule system later. Orbital expects to fly a first mission to the vicinity of the ISS later this year or early in 2013.

Ancient virus DNA thrives in us

A history of exposure to infection has marked our genomes

Traces of ancient viruses which infected our ancestors millions of years ago are more widespread in us than previously thought. A study shows how extensively viruses from as far back as the dinosaur era still thrive in our genetic material. It sheds light on the origins of a big proportion of our genetic material, much of which is still not understood. The scientists investigated the genomes of 38 mammals including humans, mice, rats, elephants and dolphins. The research was carried out at Oxford University, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre in New York and the Rega Institute in Belgium. One of the viruses was found to have invaded the genome of a common ancestor around 100 million years ago with its remnants discovered in almost every mammal in the study. Another infected an early primate with the result that it was found in apes, humans and other primates as well. The work established that many of these viruses lost the ability to transfer from one cell to another. Instead they evolved to stay within their host cell where they have profilerated very effectively - spending their entire life cycle within the cell
  
Forced choice The researchers found evidence of the viruses multiplying so extensively within mammals' genomes that they have been compared to an outbreak of disease. The senior author of the study, Dr Robert Belshaw from Oxford University's Zoology Department, said: "This is the story of an epidemic within every animal's genome, a story which has been going on for 100 million years and which continues today. "We suspect that these viruses are forced to make a choice: either to keep their 'viral' essence and spread between animals and species. Or to commit to one genome and then spread massively within it." The study shows that the viruses involved have lost a gene called envwhich is responsible for transmission between cells. Known as endogenous retroviruses, these micro-organisms have gone on to become 30 times more abundant in their host cells. The study is one of many attempting to understand the full complexity of the human genome. Astonishingly, only 1.5% of the genetic material in our cells codes for human life. Half of the rest is sometimes described as "junk DNA" with no known function, and the other half consist of genes introduced by viruses and other parasites.  

Positive services According to the lead author, Dr Gkikas Magiorkinis, "much of the dark matter in our genome plays by its own rules, in the same way as an epidemic of an infectious disease but operating over millions of years. "Learning the rules of this ancient game will help us understand their role in health and disease." This raises the extraordinary scenario of our DNA serving as an environment in which viruses can evolve - a micro-ecology within the double-helix of our genetic material. There is evidence that they can provide positive services. For example the protein syncytin - derived from a virus - helps develop the placenta. Dr Belshaw says that endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are not known to have any obvious or direct health effects. "But there could be effects we're not picking up on or things we could even take advantage of if we detect ERVs moving around or expressing proteins as a result of cancer or infection." The study was supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society.

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