Nell Greenfieldboyce

Nell Greenfieldboyce appears in the following:

Why Won't The Fear Of Airborne Ebola Go Away?

Friday, October 17, 2014

Infectious disease specialists say Ebola can't spread through the air, but many Americans remain deeply skeptical. The history of past outbreaks suggests airborne transmission isn't a threat.

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Ebola Virus Takes Center Stage In Washington

Thursday, October 16, 2014

President Obama has canceled travel plans. Head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thomas Frieden appears before a congressional panel to answer questions on U.S. Ebola preparedness.

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Indonesian Cave Paintings As Old As Europe's Ancient Art

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Prehistoric cave paintings of animals and human hands in Indonesia are as ancient as similar paintings found in Western Europe, according to a new study that suggests humans may have carried this art tradition with them when they migrated out of Africa.

"Until now, we've always believed that cave painting ...

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On The Alert For Ebola, Texas Hospital Still Missed First Case

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Diagnosing and treating Ebola isn't so hard, health workers say; hospitals across the U.S. should be ready. But initial symptoms, such as fever and headache, can look the same as other illnesses.

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Health Officials Consider Blood Serum As Possible Ebola Treatment

Monday, September 29, 2014

The World Health Organization is enthusiastic about "convalescent serum," which comes from the blood of people who have survived Ebola. But it's unclear how well it could work.

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Research Institutions Will Have To Identify 'Dual-Use' Pathogens

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Any research institution that receives federal funding will soon have to screen certain kinds of scientific experiments to see if the work could potentially be misused to endanger the public.

The new policy will take effect next year, and it's the latest effort by the U. S. government to come ...

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Could Ebola Become As Contagious As The Flu?

Monday, September 15, 2014

Currently, Ebola is known to spread only through contact with body fluids. Some people have worried that Ebola could start spreading through the air. But scientists say that's not likely.

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Health Officials Hope To Speed Up Possible Ebola Cures

Friday, September 05, 2014

The World Health Organization is holding a special meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss how to fast-track the development of experimental therapies and vaccines to combat the Ebola outbreak.

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The Latest Word From WHO On Experimental Ebola Therapies

Friday, September 05, 2014

One of the reasons Ebola is so terrifying is that there's no vaccine and no cure. But the World Health Organization hopes to change that, with plans to quickly test experimental products during this outbreak.

By November, two promising vaccines will have been tested on people to see if they're ...

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How Much Bigger Is The Ebola Outbreak Than Official Reports Show?

Thursday, August 21, 2014

The World Health Organization says the official number of Ebola cases and deaths may "vastly underestimate" the scale of the outbreak. So how bad is it really?

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A Virtual Outbreak Offers Hints Of Ebola's Future

Thursday, August 14, 2014

As the Ebola outbreak rages in West Africa, it is also unfolding — in a virtual sense — inside the computers of scientists trying to predict how far the outbreak will spread and when it will end.

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Biologists Choose Sides In Safety Debate Over Lab-Made Pathogens

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The debate about whether it's OK to engineer and study microbes that could prompt a human pandemic has reignited. Each side now has a website and its own list of Nobelists and superstar supporters.

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Ethics Panel Endorses The Use Of Experimental Drugs To Slow Ebola

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

A panel convened by the World Health Organization has approved the use of experimental drugs and vaccines to combat the Ebola outbreak, so long as certain conditions are met.

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The World Health Organization Says Yes To An Experimental Ebola Drug

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

A panel of experts convened by the World Health Organization has unanimously endorsed the idea of offering unproven vaccines or treatments to help combat the unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

This outbreak is unusual not just because it has spread to four countries and involves so many people, says ...

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Big Data Peeps At Your Medical Records To Find Drug Problems

Monday, July 21, 2014

It's been tough to identify the problems that only turn up after medicines are on the market. An experimental project is now combing through data to get earlier, more accurate warnings.

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The Little Spacecraft That Couldn't

Thursday, July 10, 2014

A team of volunteer space cowboys may have to say goodbye to ISEE-3 and to their dream of reviving for a final mission the creaky, 36-year-old hardware. Failed tests Wednesday suggest a fuel problem.

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As Engines Sputter To Life, Vintage Spacecraft Turns Toward Moon

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

A gung-ho group of space enthusiasts has started the process of putting a vintage NASA spacecraft on a new flight path, so that this venerable piece of hardware will be able to do useful science once again.

The old spacecraft, called ISEE-3, launched back in August 1978. Its original ...

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A Shocking Fish Tale Surprises Evolutionary Biologists

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Unrelated lineages of electric fish all use the same small set of genes to create their voltage, a genetic search shows. Maybe the same genes could one day power pacemakers, bioengineers suggest.

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How To Become A Neanderthal: Chew Before Thinking

Thursday, June 19, 2014

The strong jawline and pronounced teeth of of Neanderthals likely evolved before their large braincase, scientists say. The evidence? A treasure of bones recovered from a single cave in Spain.

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Is Collecting Animals For Science A Noble Mission Or A Threat?

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Museums are filled with dead insects, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles meticulously gathered worldwide in the name of scientific discovery. But some researchers now say scientists should think twice.

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