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Under fire, Ebola researchers seek a cure
With creativity and guts, researchers fighting Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are finding new ways to test drugs, develop vaccines and immunize people in a war zone. They have learnt how to conduct rigorous studies in areas where killings, abductions and arson are commonplace, and where Ebola responders have come under repeated attack. And all while remaining hopeful that their growing knowledge will help to end the outbreak and limit those to come.
Stem-cell agency will ask voters for cash
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is running out of money — but it could soon get a second wind. The agency’s advocates have a plan to ask the state’s voters to approve a US$5.5-billion lifeline for the stem-cell agency. CIRM was created by a similar $3.3-billion ballot measure in 2004. “We have stories of [blind people] recovering functional vision, quadriplegics who were able to lift weights after treatment,” says former CIRM chair Robert Klein, who is leading the push.
Officials hunt last traces of cattle plague
International authorities are renewing a push for the last remaining samples of rinderpest to be either destroyed or consolidated in high-security facilities. Rinderpest wiped out more than 90% of cattle in sub-Saharan Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. In 2011, it became only the second virus ever to be eradicated from the wild (smallpox was the first). Authorities worldwide consider rinderpest one of the most dangerous agricultural bioterrorism threats, and fear long-forgotten samples lurking in lab freezers carry the risk of an accidental or deliberate release.
FEATURES & OPINION
How to make conferences open to everyone
Hosting accessible and inclusive meetings starts with thinking about the needs of all potential attendees — even if people don’t choose to disclose their disabilities. Choose your venue carefully, consider making presentations available in several ways, and don’t forget to design social and networking events with inclusivity in mind.
Develop your start-up’s perfect pitch
In the final instalment of a three-part series on science start-ups, Nature Careers presents a scientist's guide to investor relations: how to find investors, wow them and work with them.
Learning what we need to survive
“Ten days after I called off my engagement I was supposed to go on a scientific expedition to study the whooping crane on the gulf coast of Texas,” begins author CJ Hauser’s moving exploration of the consolations of fieldwork. She describes how nature and camaraderie helped her to understand that all animals — including people — have needs that are necessary for survival.
