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In the Hot Zone with Virus X - Richard Preston

2008-10-28T09:30:59Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

"The Hot Zone" author Richard Preston describes his close call with a mysterious "Virus X," in a visit to a U.S. Army level-4 biocontainment research lab.

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Richard Preston talks about Panic in Level 4: Canibals, Killer Viruses, and Other Journeys to the Edge of Science. These dramatic accounts, all updated since appearing in The New Yorker, are true tales, taking readers on a journey to military labs, hospitals, and jungles around the world, revealing frightening forces and constructive discoveries that are reordering our world - Book Passage

Richard Preston is the author of seven books, including The Hot Zone, The Cobra Event and The Demon in the Freezer, which are his "Dark Biology" series.

Preston is a regular contributor to The New Yorker. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and he has won numerous awards, including the American Institute of Physics Award and the National Magazine Award.

Preston is the only non-medical professional ever to receive the Centers for Disease Control's Champion of Prevention Award for public health.

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Global Pulse - 05/15/08: Bird Flu, The Next Asian Disaster?

2008-10-26T15:30:50Z

(May 15, 2008) In a matter of weeks, Asia has been hit with devastating natural disasters like the cyclone in Myanmar and China's earthquake. Thousands have been killed and millions left homeless. While millions suffer there is another possible disaster spreading throughout Asia, the H5N1 virus or "bird flu". More outbreaks of the virus are spreading from Russia to South Korea leading to quick quarantines and a fear that the virus will infect humans.

SOURCES: BBC, U.K; Russia Today, Russia; NHK News, Japan; KBS News, South Korea.

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Craig Venter - Are We Too Over-Reliant on Antibiotics?

2008-10-21T03:31:10Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Celebrity geneticist Craig Venter examines possible long-term implications of antibiotics and antiseptics.

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Joining 3.5 Billion Years of Microbial Invention featuring biologist J. Craig Venter.

Biologist, author and businessman Craig Venter discusses his work mapping and synthesizing genomes. Venter recalls his work mapping the human genome and expands on his current work which includes categorizing new genes and species of microbes from ocean water. Venter also explains how microbial research can be used for metabolic engineering and alternative energy sources.

J. Craig Venter, PH.D. is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his contributions to genomic research and is one of the country’s most frequently cited scientists. He is Founder and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute and J. Craig Venter Science Foundation, not-for-profit research and support organizations dedicated to human genomic research, exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics, and alternative energy solutions through microbial sources. He is also the Founder and Chairman of the Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR).

Dr. Venter began his formal education after serving as a Navy Corpsman in Danang, Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in physiology and pharmacology, both from the University of California at San Diego and both in three years, he was appointed professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. In 1984, he moved to the National Institutes of Health, where he developed expressed-sequence tags (ESTs), a revolutionary strategy for gene discovery. In 1992, he founded TIGR, where he and his team decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, using an original whole-genome shotgun technique. Since then, TIGR has sequenced more than 50 genomes using Dr. Venter's techniques.

Dr. Venter is the author of more than 200 articles and the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, public honors, and scientific awards, including the Financial Times Man of the Year Award, TIME Magazine Man of the Year (runner up), 2002 Gairdner Foundation International Award, and the 2001 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize. Dr. Venter is a member of numerous prestigious scientific organizations including, including the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Society for Microbiology. He was also one of the first 38 people to be selected by Desmond Tutu as part of the "Hands That Shape Humanity" world exhibition.

Dr. Venter's autobiography A Life Decoded was published in October of 2007.

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Paraguay scrambles to control yellow fever - 29 Feb 08

2008-10-20T09:29:22Z

Paraguay is struggling to vaccinate tens of thousands of people after an outbreak of yellow fever.

These are the first cases of the disease in the Latin American country in over 40 years.

The mosquito-borne viral illness has killed at least three people and there are fears the numbers could rise quickly.

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