Today, it was announced that OneWorld Health, UC Berkley and Amyris Biotechnologies will receive a $42.6 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to develop a generic form of the drug Artemisinin, which used in combination with other drugs can reduce deaths from malaria by almost 100 percent.

$2.40 is too high a price to pay for the life of a poor person in Asia or Africa.

Around 500 million come down with malaria annually. While the average cost of treatment is around $2.40, unfortunately, $2.40 is too high a price to pay for the life of a poor person in Asia or Africa. Jay Keasling, a UC Berkley professor is working to produce a genetically engineered form of artemisinin which can be produced for one tenth the cost. Ironically, this will put out of work many of the poor Asians which the drug might one day benefit.

Gates always leaves a penny in the penny jars at convenience stores.

In recent years, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has come under fire for giving schools copies of Microsoft Windows or computers that run on the Microsoft Windows system. But Bill Gates has shown his philanthropy in other ways. Beyond computers, the Foundation has shown a vast commitment to reforming High Schools across the country. Also, Gates always leaves a penny in the penny jars at convenience stores. Recently, after redecorating his mansion, Gates gave an employee his old sofa. That employee was able to buy a new house and an SUV with change found in the sofa.

Gates made it clear that he understands that you can’t take it with you. Recently, he has hidden eight golden tickets in versions of Windows XP. He has announced that the finders of the tickets will be given a free all expense paid tour of the Microsoft Redmond campus. At the end of the tour, one of those lucky girls or boys will be given a majority share of Microsoft stock.

posted by NewsBlog 5000  # Monday, December 13, 2004