When Jeffery Taubenberger set out to learn why the influenza virus that killed 50 million people in 1918 was so deadly, he ran into a problem. A researcher at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Taubenberger wanted to sequence the flu bug’s genome. But doctors back then hadn’t isolated a sample; the intact virus didn’t exist. So Taubenberger and his colleagues had to hunt for some decades-old viral RNA. One bit came from a 21-year-old Army private whose lung tissue had been archived at AFIP since 1918. A critical segment came from a woman buried in permafrost in Alaska, where the cold had preserved the genetic material. Piece by piece, over 10 years, Taubenberger reconstructed and read the entire RNA sequence.
The virus turned out to be derived from a strain of avian flu, and further analyses revealed how it spread so fast and how minor mutations can make extremely dangerous viruses. That might teach us to design better vaccines and antiviral drugs to fight present-day influenza.
Yet Taubenberger’s work is controversial. Critics fear that reconstructions could allow terrorists to unleash the fury of past epidemics. That’s a shortsighted concern – emerging diseases are a far greater threat to humanity than any bioweapon. Millions die every year from tuberculosis and malaria; smallpox has killed more people than all other diseases combined. We need every tool in the scientific arsenal to develop countermeasures, and Taubenberger’s work promises to help lead the way.
– J. Craig Venter
The Big Idea: Mapmakers
Four centuries ago, clocks and compasses mapped the world. Now databases and digital imagery are mapping the universe, from nanometers to light-years.
HapMap
International -researchers are collaborating to map haplotypes, finding where one person’s genome varies from another’s. The results may explain individual differences in disease and aging.
Google Maps
What else is there to say? Satellite imagery tools and an easy interface make for the most profound connection yet between the real world and the virtual. And there’s one for Mars, too.
Galileo
The European answer to the US global positioning system. Galileo – finally launched last year after many delays – is civilian run, more precise, and compatible with GPS and Russia’s Glonass.
Guide to the Universe
Astrobiologist Margaret Turnbull combines data on other planets with what we know about life. Result: a list of places we might find aliens. You know what another word for that is? Itinerary.
Jeffery Taubenberger
credit Chris Mueller
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