Welcome to a forgotten corner of the ancient forest.
See these little fellas. Cute aren't they? Well not to some. To some people they are dinner, they are known as "Bush meat".
Nature has a delightful habit of exacting its revenge however. Nathan Wolfe of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland has found that the practice of consuming "bush meat" is a great way of spreading simian diseases through the human population. What's more some of these diseases have a much greater impact on the human population that they do on chimps, HIV springs to mind.
HIV is thought to have crossed into humans from other primates many times over, eventually taking root some 50-100 years ago and spawning today's pandemic. Wild primates are also suspected of triggering Ebola outbreaks and an infection called HTLV that can cause leukaemia.
Sadly, we keep people in Africa in such poverty and ignorance that the bush meat trade is thriving, to the cost of us all.
Read more in Nature.
There are many jewels hidden amongst the leaves in this forgotten part of the ancient forest. Spend some time browsing and you are sure to find some. Click here or continue your search below
or read the most recent entries here.Ah yes. And when you confront people who are claiming that "AIDS is a homosexual disease" with the facts, they try to wriggle out of it by saying that, well, if we got it from monkeys...it's because some sick pervert screwed a monkey. Anything but deal with the issues rationally...
Posted by: Jonathan at March 20, 2004 12:21 AM$400,000,000 to ASIO
49 brand new Abraham Tanks from the US of Arrogance
Not to mention billions more on 'defence' and communism... whoops terrorism
Yet we cant even feed our own people...
On another note...
Ever wondered where your $1 a day to some kid in the third world goes? Adminstrative fees?
Stumble It!