Synthesizing a Flu Vaccine Without the Virus

A new vaccine strategy, which uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) instead of proteins purified from viruses, could make flu shots cheaper, safer, and easier to produce. German scientists have shown that they have been able to protect mice, ferrets, and pigs against influenza.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Mutated Protein Allows Flu’s Lethality in Some Patients

The flu can be lethal in some patients, but benign in others. The reason that this is the way that flu infections work might be the cause of a protein, which might be mutated in patients who are more easily affected by the flu than others.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Flu Infections and MRSA Combine into Lethal Cocktail in Maryland

MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus can be even deadlier when it is combined with a virulent flu infection. It’s been reported that a family of five have fallen ill and three have died from MRSA pneumonia that took hold in the lungs and was inflamed by a flu infection.

Read more @ SciTechDaily

Google Flu Trends

Explore flu trends thanks to Google.

Google Map of Swine Flu

A great interactive map from Gmaps of the swine flu pandemic.