Researchers may have discovered a technique that will eventually lead to a way to vaccinate against the AIDS virus, by creating an artificial antibody carried into the body by a virus.

This synthetic immune system molecule protected monkeys against an animal version of HIV called SIV, the researchers reported in the journal Nature Medicine.

The world's poorest nations are not prepared for the strain climate change will put on their public health systems, according to studies by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and partners.

zoology Undersea myths The mystery behind the underwater display of natural glow, seen by sailors time and again, has been solved. It is the bioluminescent marine fireworm that secretes a mucous which gives out a green glow to attract mates and ward off predators. Reported in the March issue of Invertebrate Biology, the study provides insights into how the fireworm functions

Experts speaking at a seminar on Saturday said that swine flu (A H1N1) virus, if at all entered the city, would have little chance to survive or surge owing to the hot and humid environment here. However, they warned, health providers were required to remain alert till the advent of winter.

The flu outbreak may be winding down in Mexico and causing fewer deaths than feared, but health officials now fear that a more virulent version will return to kill millions.

In the spring of 1918, North Americans were complaining about an unseasonable flu that was sweeping through several cities. They and the rest of the world were still blissfully unaware of what was in store for later that year: a pandemic that would kill 50 million people, or by some estimates many more - certainly more than the Great War that was still raging.

The influenza A (H1N1) epidemic once again shows that poor countries are the worst affected. (Editorial)

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week remained on the verge of declaring a pandemic of the H1N1 swine-associated flu
virus. Public-health bodies and scientists have made progress in starting to understand the outbreak, but major questions remain about how severe the disease will get.

Damned if you do, damned if you don

President Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to spend $63 billion over the next six years on a new, broader global health strategy that would reshape one of the signature foreign policy efforts of his predecessor, George W. Bush.

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