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Late last year, Phil Willis stepped into the role of chairman of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) in the UK. He spoke with Asher Mullard about his plans to drive the medical research sector forward through tough economic times.
This century will bring exciting biomedical advances thanks to stem cells and genetic engineering. If scientists want the public to grasp the meaning of these developments, they need to start getting personally involved in improving the education system.
For most people, a single bite from a parasite-infected tsetse fly can trigger a slow, agonizing and sometimes fatal disease known as African sleeping sickness. But new research shows that some people, as well as baboons and other great apes, are naturally resistant to infection. Cassandra Willyard awakens to the possibility of using existing immunity to engineer new therapies and transgenic livestock.
Collagen may be the darling of the beauty world for its purported antiwrinkle function, but too much of the protein can have ugly—even deadly—consequences. Measuring and treating this overabundance, known as fibrosis, presents a seemingly impossible challenge. Thomas Hayden visits a company in California offering a weighty solution.