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Our monthly round up of infectious diseases news, which this month includes tuberculosis thriving in 'Victorian-like' conditions in London, further doubt about the link between XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome, and the finding thatEchinaceapreparations do nothing for the duration of the common cold.
Plans by several US federal agencies to fight the rapid spread of white-nose syndrome in bats are to be welcomed, but the benefits of further basic research into the causative agent should not be ignored.
RNA polymerase is an ancient enzyme that is present in all cellular life. Werner and Grohmann provide an evolutionary view of this enzyme by describing the differences and similarities in the three domains of life, and propose a hypothesis for the evolution of transcriptional regulation.
Dormancy is a bet-hedging strategy used by microorganisms to generate a seed bank that helps bacteria survive adverse conditions. Lennon and Jones describe some of the mechanisms of dormancy and explain how dormancy affects the stability of ecosystems.
There is much to be gained for the biotechnology sector from collaborations between developing countries and developed countries. Thorsteinsdóttir and colleagues describe the benefits of such collaborations and the hurdles that they must overcome in order to succeed.
Viruses have traditionally been thought of as pathogens, but many confer a benefit to their hosts and some are essential for the host life cycle. In this Review, Marilyn Roossinck describes beneficial viruses that are found in a range of hosts, including bacteria, insects, plants and animals.
