Toward a flu vaccine that endures through the seasons

An influenza protein called hemagglutinin -- above, the black knobby protein in the middle -- is the primary target of the seasonal flu vaccine. To remain viable, the virus mutates this protein every year, evading recognition by antibodies. Stephen Harrison, PhD, and colleagues are trying to convince the immune system to target only the places that don't mutate -- hopefully leading to a vaccine that doesn't have to be updated every year. [Read more]

Putting families back together after a disaster

In the wake of a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, reunifying separated children and parents is a very real and urgent concern. Children who are too young to speak for themselves, have developmental delays, or who are injured are at particular risk of separation. A family reunification called REUNITE, being developed by emergency physician Sarita Chung, MD, is the first such system to address the unique privacy and security concerns of a pediatric or hospital population. [Read more]

The iSpawn: More zebrafish, more research

The zebrafish is a fantastic model for research in part because of its remarkable fecundity. A healthy female zebrafish can lay upwards of 1,000 eggs each week. By comparison, the mouse, another popular research model, may have a single 12-pup litter each month. A researcher screening a chemical library of chemical compounds for potential drugs, however, might need tens of thousands of zebrafish embryos, all at the same developmental stage, in order to have meaningful results.

That researcher could really use the iSpawn, a specialized breeding tank developed by the Children’s Aquatic Resources Program and the laboratory of Leonard Zonthat takes advantage of the zebrafish’s natural preference for breeding in shallow water. [Read more]

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