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Basic laboratory procedures can present physical challenges for biomedical researchers with disabilities. But a cadre of innovators has come up with technological solutions that make the laboratory bench more accessible to scientists with impaired sight or movement. Stu Hutson reports on how these adaptive research tools help people with disabilities by using everything from computer screen readers to security lasers.
An indigestion drug blamed for a debilitating illness that affected thousands of people in the 1950s has been resurrected as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease. But not everyone is cheering for the drug, clioquinol, to make a comeback. Lauren Cahoon reports.
A growing body of evidence supports the idea that some infectious diseases have a heritable component, a notion put forth by none other than Louis Pasteur. As scientists begin to catalog the genetic changes that predispose people to specific illnesses, they are also exploring how to prevent sickness by replacing the missing parts of the immune system's defensive armor. Laura Spinney reports.
