There is increasing research interest in potential applications of halloysite as fillers for polymer composites, controlled drug delivery, carriers for the supply and sustained release of active agents for anticorrosion coatings, in nanoreactors or nanotemplates, and for the uptake of contaminants or pollutants and support for catalysts. In this review, recent findings in terms of the prospects and challenges of using halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) in different polymeric matrices targeting a range of old and new applications are discussed and evaluated. The compositions include chitosan/halloysite membranes as bone-tissue scaffolds, polylactic acid (PLA)/halloysite membranes for food-packaging applications and their antimicrobial activities, instrumented impact properties of epoxy/halloysite nanocomposites and the role of halloysite in the self-healing of epoxy composites, polyacryronitrile (PAN)/halloysite membranes for use in water filtration as well as a review of some recent applications of halloysite/alginate beads in the adsorption of contaminants such as lead.

Cryptosporidiosis is a major infection of humans, leading to diarrhoea and growth failure in children, diarrhoea and malnutrition in immunocompromised adults, and is associated with increased mortality in all age groups. Using the country of Zambia as an example, I review the possible approaches to treatment and prevention in a tropical setting. The current optimal therapy for cryptosporidiosis is nitazoxanide which works well in HIV uninfected children, but treatment in patients with HIV infection remains remarkably difficult. No single drug has demonstrated efficacy in a randomised trial. No vaccine is available, so the best option for prevention for the moment is filtration and clean storage of drinking water. This would be expected to reduce cryptosporidiosis dramatically, but this needs to be demonstrated directly. Water filtration would have the added benefit of protection against many other pathogens, but the paucity of alternative approaches highlights the need for a better understanding of this important human pathogen.