N Nitrogen

It has been five years since a team of scientists resurrected the 1918 influenza virus from the lungs of a long-frozen victim. At the time, the Jurassic Park–like feat was both widely celebrated and sharply criticized. Opponents worried about the risk of an accidental (or intentional) release of the revived killer, which claimed between 50 million and 100 million lives in about 15 months and has been dubbed the worst plague in human history. Proponents insisted that the insights gained from a fully reconstructed virus would be instrumental in fighting the next pandemic.

A paper published in the November issue of the journal Microbe cites a potential new drug target, among other findings, as evidence that the risk was not taken in vain. Terrence Tumpey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and his colleagues have closed in on a protein called PB1 that enables the virus to copy itself. When researchers substituted the PB1 protein in a normal flu virus with the 1918 version of that same protein, the normal virus morphed into a superkiller: it replicated and spread through its rodent host eight times faster, killing more mice as a result. It turns out that all 20th-century pandemic viruses, among them the 2009 swine flu, have avian flu PB1 genes. Most seasonal flu viruses have human flu PB1 genes.

SAN DIEGO-- On day two of TEDMED , running between Oct. 27 and 30, three themes stood out: the difference between children and adults for therapies; the connection between animals, people and disease; and how genetics will shape health care.

Frances Jensen of Harvard University and Children’s Hospital Boston explained the dramatic differences between developing and adult brains. With faster synapses, teens learn faster than adults, for instance. But as a consequence, they also "get addicted faster, longer and stronger than adults do," she said. Because teens have more synaptic material to affect, they suffer greater brain damage from alcohol than in adults. Differences in developing brain mean should have "no more hand-me-down drugs" for youths, added Jensen.

SAN DIEGO-- On day two of TEDMED , running between Oct. 27 and 30, three themes stood out: the difference between children and adults for therapies; the connection between animals, people and disease; and how genetics will shape health care.

Frances Jensen of Harvard University and Children’s Hospital Boston explained the dramatic differences between developing and adult brains. With faster synapses, teens learn faster than adults, for instance. But as a consequence, they also "get addicted faster, longer and stronger than adults do," she said. Because teens have more synaptic material to affect, they suffer greater brain damage from alcohol than in adults. Differences in developing brain mean should have "no more hand-me-down drugs" for youths, added Jensen.

There is no question that HIV is an ugly virus in terms of human health. Each year, it infects some 2.7 million additional people and leads to some two million deaths from AIDS . But a new album manages to locate some sonic beauty deep in its genome. Sounds of HIV (Azica Records) by composer Alexandra Pajak explores the patterns of the virus's nucleotides as well as the amino acids transcribed by HIV, playing through these biologic signatures in 17 tracks. [More]

There is no question that HIV is an ugly virus in terms of human health. Each year, it infects some 2.7 million additional people and leads to some 2 million deaths from AIDS . But a new album manages to locate some sonic beauty deep in its genome. Sounds of HIV (Azica Records) by composer Alexandra Pajak explores the patterns of the virus' nucleotides as well as the amino acids transcribed by HIV, playing through these biologic signatures  in 17 tracks. [More]

SAN DIEGO--Not everything you try will work, but you need to try lots of ideas. That was advice here from Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Intellectual Ventures and former chief technology officer at Microsoft, on the opening evening of the TEDMED conference, held from October 27 through 29. Myhrvold and the other speakers offered plenty of ways to solve challenging problems.

For instance, he noted the tremendous number of infections in hospitals: 1.7 million cases per year. A device that beams ultraviolet light on surfaces can kill bacteria. In another challenge, Myhrvold said that 99.9 percent of X-ray energy is wasted, but backscattering, or reflecting, it back can make more use of that energy--and capture better images in the process.

SAN DIEGO--Not everything you try will work, but you need to try lots of ideas. That was advice here from Nathan Myhrvold, founder of Intellectual Ventures and former chief technology officer at Microsoft, on the opening evening of the TEDMED conference, held from October 27 through 29. Myhrvold and the other speakers offered plenty of ways to solve challenging problems.

For instance, he noted the tremendous number of infections in hospitals: 1.7 million cases per year. A device that beams ultraviolet light on surfaces can kill bacteria. In another challenge, Myhrvold said that 99.9 percent of X-ray energy is wasted, but backscattering, or reflecting, it back can make more use of that energy--and capture better images in the process.

Chronic infection with malaria and hepatitis B and C occurring in more than 800 million people worldwide leads to at least 1.5 million deaths yearly. Although significant strides have been made in treatment and vaccination for these liver-based diseases, shortfalls remain. Progress has been stymied for several reasons, chief among them is the lack of an effective research model. Now, advances in mouse model creation are conspiring to usher in a new era in the research and treatment of these life-threatening maladies, and possibly many others. [More]

One of the more fascinating psychotic conditions in the medical literature is known as Cotard’s syndrome, a rare disorder, usually recoverable, in which the primary symptom is a “delusion of negation.” According to researchers David Cohen and Angèle Consoli of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, many patients with Cotard’s syndrome are absolutely convinced, without even the slimmest of doubts, that they are already dead. [More]

The annual jab fest for the seasonal flu is already underway, scaring needle-wary youngsters and leaving many grown-ups wondering if the annual stick in the arm is right for them. [More]