The World Health Organization is remaining mum on the issue of maintaining laboratory stocks of the smallpox virus, which the US government wants to preserve for the next five years. The WHO originally slated the two remaining stocks, one at the C
The World Health Organization is remaining mum on the issue of maintaining laboratory stocks of the smallpox virus, which the US government wants to preserve for the next five years. The WHO originally slated the two remaining stocks, one at the C
Researchers have found a nifty new use for Google -- the popular search tool may be able to track the spread of the deadly bacterial disease, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). In a paper published last week on the website of Emerg
A major international funder of research and public health efforts on debilitating infectious diseases has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money to China amidst questions about the country's use of the funds. In November, the Globa
The challenges of crystallizing membrane proteins—and how they’re being overcome
Ron Kaback didn’t believe that electrochemical gradients could power the transport of sugars and amino acids across cell membranes—until he proved that they do.
Group Leader, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Medical Research Council. Age: 36
William Helfand began buying medically themed collectibles in the 1950s when he started working for Merck & Co. Over his 30-year career with the company, Helfand amassed thousands of posters and other old marketing paraphernalia, which were commi
Because of their ability to differentiate into any cell type, stem cells have been thought to play an important role in limb regeneration processes. But new research has found that in zebrafishes that have lost their fins, the regrowing of the lim
Now that the ten-year effort to take stock of the diversity of life in the oceans came to a triumphant end late last year, researchers involved in the Census for Marine Life are reflecting on the project's shortcomings. Of main concern is the futu
Although pathogens have long been suspected to play a role in the neurodegeneration of Parkinson's and related diseases (see our December 2010 feature), very little is understood about the mechanics of the process. Specifically, scientists have been