Epidemiology
RTI taps CDC veteran to lead climate change health effects initiative
RTI International added a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention veteran to head its new program for researching the health effects of climate change.
Michael McGeehin, former director of environmental hazards and health effects at the CDC, will now work at RTI on public health issues, such as how people are affected by flooding, drought, ground-level ozone and diseases.
MedGadget’s MedTech Monday: Rat brain cells control robot
Rat brain cells control robot: MedGadget reported on this technology two years ago, but the research has advanced quite a bit and it is time for an update. Researchers from the University of Reading made a robot that is controlled by brain cells extracted from rats. The cells are cultured and connected to the control circuit. The cells are alive and able to form new connections on-the-go. Where last time the robot moved around slowly in a wooden box without obstacles, now they move around freely on the floor at a much faster pace.
CDC researchers mix avian, Swine Flu
There’s a group of ferrets carrying something particularly nasty in a Centers for Disease Control lab.
That’s where CDC researchers innoculated the animals with both the rare but deadly avian influenza strain and Swine Flu, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The idea is to determine whether the H1N1 influenza virus — the Swine Flu — is capable of re-assorting, or combining with another strain like the H5N1 avian virus.