avian flu

Nearly 50 million birds have been culled amid efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, which continues to ravage the Northern Hemisphere.

So far this season, tens of millions of birds have died of disease or been culled, driving up prices of eggs, chicken, and turkey meat.

The Scientist spoke with the UK’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, about this winter’s high bird flu prevalence, the effects of the disease, and efforts to combat it.

Epidemiological research suggests that a flu diagnosis might be one factor in the eventual onset of the neurodegenerative disease, but experts say it doesn’t prove a causal relationship.

An influenza virus identified in pigs in China has a concerning mix of genes, but experts say there is no way to know if it will evolve to be transmissible between humans.

The woman, a resident of southeast China, has since recovered.

In the wake of a handful of biosafety lapses at federal research facilities, the US government is temporarily halting funding for new studies aiming to give novel functions to influenza, SARS, and MERS viruses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who accidentally leaked H5N1 into a benign strain of avian influenza may have been rushing off to a meeting.

A group of scientists has called on the European Commission to evaluate the risks and benefits of research that could make deadly viruses more transmissible.

Genetic diversity helped avian influenza A viruses make the leap from birds to humans, researchers report.

Crowdsourcing biomedical research; bird flu contagion?; zebrafish shed light on inherited muscle disorder; the economics of the Human Genome Project; the epigenetics of pair bonding

How the study of human social interactions is helping researchers understand the spread of diseases like influenza and HIV

The mosquito’s role in malaria virulence; the value of grant review; Europe must embrace GM crops; why roaches avoid sugary bait

The brain’s role in aging; tracking disease; understanding the new flu virus; no autism-Lyme link; one drug’s journey from bench to bedside

What scientists are learning about the zoonotic flu virus that has infected more than 100 people in China since February

Two people have died and five have fallen ill from the H7N9 virus.

After a year-long voluntary moratorium to discuss regulations and safety measures, scientists are set to resume controversial H5N1 research.

The head of a US infectious disease funding body urges researchers to continue the voluntary cessation of research on avian influenza.