Medical Profession Suffers from International Conflict

Dr. Chukuka Enwemeka, Dean of the University of Wisconsin's College of Health Sciences in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has discovered phototherapy with blue light can destroy the super bug that prevents antibiotics from killing staph infections from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Blue light has been shown to kill more than 90 percent of two strains of MRSA, and repeat treatments have killed 100 percent.

     According to Dr. Enwemeka, "phototherapy has been around for decades." Why has it taken until relatively recently for this therapy to be used more frequently? Western scientists were suspicious, Dr. Enwemeka said, because "Much of the research on phototherapy started in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the Cold War."

Who Needs International Expertise?

Public health and the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared March 8, 2014, (and the later search for Air Asia Flight 8501, which crashed into the Java Sea on December 28, 2014) demonstrate how global problems require cooperation of experts in a wide variety of disciplines.

     Not only does disease involve those versed in the biological complexity of the causes, cures, and prevention of a multi-country Ebola, flu, or Zika virus epidemics, but it also requires precautions by those involved in all aspects of transportation. Urban design and environmental science also can have an impact on how diseases are transmitted throughout the world.


      In the case of Flight 370's disappearance, lack of coordination between countries confused the search effort for at least three days when 12 countries were flying nearly 40 planes and navigating as many ships in an area east and west of Malaysia. When military and civilian personnel began sharing speculations and data about radar soundings, satellite photos, and debris sightings, the search area shifted to 1500 miles off the west coast of Australia and then an area to the northeast that was closer to Australia and in a less turbulent spot in the Indian Ocean.

Even with 26 countries involved in the search, as of September, 2014, there was still no trace of the downed plane. It was not until July, 2015 that the first wreckage from Malaysia Flight 370 turned up on the French territory of Reunion Island, off the east coast of Africa east of Madagascar. Another possible piece of the lost plane was found between Madagascar and Mozambique in March, 2016. (Debris from the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 continued to reach Alaska four years later in 2015.) Since Madagascar is far west of the area near Australia, where the plane was thought to go down, weather and ocean current experts will help pin point where the plane might have run out of fuel. Even before the plane has been located, underwater experts have joined the mission to map the mountainous ocean floor. Despite this massive international search, after nearly three years the airplane had not been found and the search was discontinued on January 17, 2017.

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 also has led to trials of new ways to track aircraft flying over ocean expanses. In a report submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a test of the global satellite communication system developed by UK firm, Inmarsat, showed it was possible for aircraft flying over oceanic airspace to report position, speed, altitude, and direction every 14 minutes at a minimal or neutral cost.

The number of people and variety of disciplines required to solve a crisis brought on by disease or a plane crash illustrates how tasks involving international cooperation are not limited to diplomats. To see how many kinds of research can involve an international effort, check out the later post, "Calling All Space Sleuths."

Summer "Vacation" Projects

Older teens 16 to 19 years of age, maybe as many as 60% of them, have figured their futures will be better served by attending summer school or participating in sports and clubs, rather than working in a minimum wage job. Although such choices probably feel like heresy to parents and teachers who spent their summers as lifeguards and waitresses at resorts, working construction, or going from office to office as temps, young people who spend their summers focusing on opportunities that will lead to a career, especially a career with an international application, could be less likely to boomerang back home because they cannot find a job. As reported in the World Future Society's March 2014 issue of The Futurist, the analysis of older teens by Gray & Christmas can be interpreted to suggest summer vacation is an excellent time to help young people do some career planning and preparation.

     Where should students look for career-related summer programs and internships? Local colleges and universities, churches, 4H (even in urban areas), zoos and humane societies, children's, art, and other museums, libraries (in addition to programs, read biographies, self-help and special interest books), schools devoted to the arts (music, theatre, dance, art, fashion design), newspapers and magazines, fitness centers and gyms, YMCA and YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, professional and amateur sports teams, social service societies (Rotary, Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus), local, state, and federal governments, scout troops, political parties and candidates, camps devoted to a particular career, such as computers or space (See the earlier blog post, "Space Explorers.").

     Whether it is a Pillsbury Bake-off recipe or a winning photograph, contests are another summer activity that can lead to recognition and a future career. Contests are mentioned in a number of earlier blog posts: "Take Your Best Shot," "Young Voices," "Work Around the World," "TED Talks for Teens," "Robot Revolution," "Dairy Cows on the Moove," "A Healthy Environment."

     And don't ignore do-it-yourself projects: planning and planting a year-round sustainable garden (See the earlier blog post, "A Healthy Environment."); organizing a yard sale or running a lemonade stand with attention to pricing, display and advertising; using video or a vine to tell a story; planning the best cost-effective virtual foreign trip by watching exchange rates in a number of countries (See the earlier blog post, "When to Buy/Sell in the World Market."); subscribing to the World Edition of littlepassports.com in order to receive a monthly letter about a country visited by fictional "Sam and Sofia"; charting the weather (See "Climate Control."); or counting bees (See "The Bees and the Birds.").

     Whether they learn Hindi, how to coach soccer, or the value of a ruble, summer presents an opportunity for students to position themselves for employment in the global marketplace. After all, according to trendwatching.com, the global culture sees "consumers from nine to 90, from Chicago to Bangkok" using the same smartphones, eating sushi, and wearing the same sneakers.