America.gov-Global Health:Research Surveillance

Washington to Host International Neuroscience Meeting

Daniel Gorelick — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:37:27 -0500

More than 30,000 scientists from around the world are assembling in Washington for the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. America.gov examines how this massive concentration of brain power advances research about the brain, nervous system and related disorders.

International Partners Work to Prevent Next Pandemic

Cheryl Pellerin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:17:32 -0500

Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses — animal diseases that can be transmitted to people — and can arise anywhere in the world that wild animals and people interact. Google.org is supporting efforts to identify hot spots where such diseases are most likely to emerge.

Google.org to Help Scientists Forecast Disease Outbreaks

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:07:25 -0500

The relationship between people and pandemics is evolving — from plague in the 1340s and influenza in 1918 to the current hard-fought standoff among birds and people in outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu. America.gov talks to the experts about the next logical step: prevention.

Uruguayan Scientist Wins International Neurobiology Prize

Daniel Gorelick — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:02:07 -0500

Mauro Costa-Mattioli wins the 2008 Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology for identifying a protein that controls the formation of long-lasting memories. America.gov traces Mattioli’s journey from Uruguay to the United States and explores how proteins control memory formation.

Egypt to Host Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:54:12 -0500

Amid a reduction in the numbers of birds and people fallen victim to highly pathogenic avian influenza in 2008, delegates from 116 nations and 24 international organizations will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to review progress and mobilize resources for a long-term response to avian and pandemic flu.

$2 Egg Beater May Help Diagnose Disease in Developing Countries

Daniel Gorelick — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:07:17 -0500

Scientists design a centrifuge made from a $2 egg beater, plastic tubing and tape. America.gov examines how this contraption could replace bulky, expensive laboratory equipment, allow diseases to be diagnosed accurately in remote areas and help health workers limited by insufficient supplies.

Scientists Create New Protein Controlled by Light

Daniel Gorelick — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:41:40 -0500

Scientists design a protein that is controlled by light, paving the way for using light-activated proteins to treat disease. America.gov examines the findings and discusses their implications for innovative medicines, therapies and drug-activation systems to improve human health around the world.

Scientists Discover Workings of New Class of Antibiotics

Daniel Gorelick — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:48:04 -0500

An international team of scientists discovers the workings of a new class of antibiotics that may prove effective against antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. America.gov talks with a leading scientist, who explains how the compounds attack the tuberculosis bacterium.

Four Americans Share in Nobel Science Prizes

Daniel Gorelick — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:21:15 -0500

Nobel Prizes will go to nine scientists — including four Americans — for advances in diverse scientific endeavors, including development of a fluorescent protein, demonstration that the human papillomavirus causes cervical cancer, and discovery of the origin and mechanism of broken symmetry.

International Struggle to Develop HIV/AIDS Vaccine Continues

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:02:06 -0500

The 20-year effort to develop a vaccine to protect against HIV faces another round of challenges as clinical trials are shut down and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases rethinks its approach to vaccine development. The institute’s director explains why developing a vaccine is so difficult.

Experts Learn to Collaborate as Changing Climate Affects Health

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:39:20 -0500

Human health always has ebbed and flowed with the seasons, but the current confluence of extreme weather, global climate change and the shifting distribution of disease is driving the need for more active collaboration between climate scientists and public health experts.

Internet Latest Tool in Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:07:26 -0500

In an era of pandemics and pathogenic emerging diseases, disease surveillance is critical to heading off health crises. America.gov looks at how informal Internet-based groups help with surveillance by continuously collecting information online from subscribers, electronic media and discussion groups, and sending health alerts out by e-mail.