Nine To Noon Science: Sleeping sickness drug + 'smart underwear'
Mar 24, 2026
Coverage of a promising new single-pill oral treatment for sleeping sickness and how it reaches patients in Africa. A lively look at Robert Goddard’s early liquid-fuel rocket work and its link to modern spaceflight. A quirky segment on smart underwear that counts farts and measures gases to track gut health and digestion.
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Single Dose Cure For Sleeping Sickness
- Sleeping sickness is a fatal parasitic disease spread by tsetse flies that reverses sleep cycles and kills once the parasite reaches the brain.
- A nonprofit, Drugs for Neglected Diseases, developed a new oral drug, fexinidazole, that cures infections with a single three‑pill dose and is provided free to patients.
Nonprofit Developed Free Treatment
- The drug was developed by a Swiss nonprofit initiative called Drugs for Neglected Diseases that began work in 2016.
- They prioritized neglected infections with small patient populations and offered the medicine free to patients, echoing Jonas Salk's polio approach.
Goddard Started Liquid Fuel Rocket Age
- Liquid-fuelled rocketry began with Robert Goddard's 1926 launch using gasoline and liquid oxygen, enabling controllable thrust compared with solid fuels.
- Goddard's 1‑metre rocket reached 12.5 metres and paved the way for later liquid‑oxygen rockets like the V‑2 and Saturn V.