SciDev.Net: 8 - 14 April 2013

Hugo Chávez: what did he do for science? Did Hugo Chávez improve Venezuelan science? As elections near, Andrea Small Carmona finds the answer depends on who you ask.  News Data dearth impeding fight against desertification  Attempts to limit desert growth are being held back by a lack of accessible data on land degradation, a UN conference has heard.  EN  Developing countries unprepared for research misconduct  Research into the extent of scientific misconduct in developing countries highlights the need to combat it, say researchers.  EN | ES  Scientists back roadmap to rid world of polio by 2018  A new plan to eliminate polioviruses could eradicate the disease within five years, say 400 experts in a declaration today.  EN  Synthetic vaccine may help tackle foot-and-mouth disease  An artificial vaccine could be modified to use against problematic forms of foot-and-mouth disease that hit subsistence farmers.  EN  Researchers make bricks from waste, desert sand  Researchers in Algeria and Malaysia have developed new bricks made of sand and waste materials, making them cheap and eco-friendly.  EN  Use of GM cotton linked to rise in aphid numbers  Bt cotton engineered to reduce caterpillar infestation causes an increase in non-target pests such as aphids, research finds.  EN | ES  BRICS agree development bank and science forum  A group of powerful developing nations is to create an infrastructure investment bank and set up a forum for science ministers.  EN | ES Other News mHealth 'could save a million African lives by 2017'  EN  India to award biotech solutions in health and farming  EN  Agrochemicals blamed for chronic kidney disease in Sri Lanka  EN  Pacific research aims to boost pearl farms' fortunes  EN  Burundi set to embrace hybrid maize seeds  EN  HIV drug resistance test to slash costs by 80 per cent  EN  Climate change to hit Saudi's agriculture, water  EN  More NEWS  Opinions How to unlock business funding for development projects  Results-based carbon financing shows the way forward for involving the private sector in development, says ClimateCare's Edward Hanrahan.  EN  Islam Analysis: Do or die for OIC science cooperation  The Islamic world's current science effort is on life support and without major 'surgery' could be yet another policy failure, says Athar Osama.  EN More OPINIONS  Features After Chávez: the mixed legacy of revolutionary science  As presidential elections near in Venezuela, Andrea Small Carmona reports on the legacy of Hugo Chávez's socialist approach to science.  EN | ES  More FEATURES  Last chance for Islamic science cooperation? The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has so far failed to make much of its science and innovation agency. Without radical action it could die altogether, says Athar Osama.