As farmland and fresh water become scarcer, and the global population continues to increase, the farming of aquatic species, or aquaculture, may see an expansion of its role in feeding humanity. Important in this will be keeping the cultures disease-free and maximizing their production; highly specialized research in these areas could have a broad impact on countless daily lives. Two scientists recount not only the importance of this work, but the pleasure they take in doing it.

Bats have long suffered from an undeservedly bad reputation, stemming from largely unfounded fears.  Rabies, for example, is often associated with bats, and yet, over 15 years in the U.S., an average of just two people per year died of bat-related rabies.  Rarely do we hear of the services provided by bats: controlling pests and disease, pollinating plants, spreading seeds…  Threatened by habitat loss, bats are moving out of their forests and into cities.  Recognizing their important role, researchers aim to understand how they adapt to this new ecosystem and how humans can help. 

Adding to the effects of poverty and limited access to medical care, civil unrest and movement of large populations exacerbate public health problems in the developing world. The parasitic disease leishmaniasis has decimated refugee populations in Africa more than once.  Although neglected, for the most part, by drug developers, researchers are seeking more effective treatments, using computer simulations to reveal the structure of individual proteins that they hope to make the parasite’s Achilles heel.

In an unprecedented move, a U.S. biosecurity review board has asked the authors of two studies creating dangerous airborne strains of the H5N1 avian flu virus—possibly transmissible among humans—not to publish the details of their experiments.  Even among scientists, the decision has sparked a great deal of disagreement over the best action to take, now and going forward.