Findings reported in Science help explain why Spanish flu was so lethal. The 1918 Spanish flu was a global disaster, killing an estimated 20 to 50 million people, many of them otherwise healthy adults. By partially reconstructing the Spanish flu virus, researchers have now discovered at least part of what made the virus so lethal, thus providing essential information for influenza drug and vaccine research.

Which flu did you get? TIGR scientists survey five New York flu seasons

On the eve of the 2005-06 flu season, scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) have captured influenza evolution in action. In a study published in this week's journal Nature, the researchers report the first large-scale project to sequence the influenza virus. The study offers a unique snapshot of the rapidly evolving flu virus in a human population--and a new strategy for surveillance.

The floodwaters that inundated New Orleans immediately following Hurricane Katrina were similar in content to the city?s normal storm water and were not as toxic as previously thought, according to a study by researchers at Louisiana State University. Their study, the first peer-reviewed scientific assessment of the water quality of the Katrina floodwaters, is good news for those who've been exposed directly to the floodwaters, the scientists say.

A Florida State University researcher who specializes in the evolutionary history of wasps is now creating a buzz about a new way for scientists to store, share and study plant and animal images.

The high heat that accompanied the recent drought was the underlying cause of death for millions of pinyon pines throughout the Southwest, according to new research.