Health

Anthony James knows mosquitoes, and he knows even more about the disease and illness they spread.

UC Irvine's 10th annual Chancellor's Distinguished Fellows Series begins this month with political pollster John Zogby revealing why Americans voted as they did. Leading intellectuals in science and literature will round out the series in 2009.

Humans are surrounded by viruses, and most are harmlessly keeping bacteria under control. But some harmful viruses, such as the flu or common cold, can make us sick, while others such as Ebola or HIV can kill us.

Dr. Neil Jones is among a few surgeons in the world to master the highly complex procedure of transferring toes microsurgically onto the hand to construct new thumbs and fingers.

Transplant surgeon Dr. Clarence E. Foster III recently traded the convenience of UC Irvine Medical Center's modern operating rooms for the treacherous and harsh environs of war-torn Iraq, where he performed life-saving trauma surgery on injured soldiers and civilians and cared for the health of detainees.

More than 60 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, a persistent high-pitched ringing in the ears.

UC Irvine is part of the largest earthquake preparedness drill in U.S. history - the Great Southern California ShakeOut - which takes place throughout the southland Thursday, Nov. 13.

Researchers at UC Irvine's California Institute for Telecommunications & Information Technology have developed a new way to transform enormous medical datasets into rotating, three-dimensional images, vastly increasing the potential of the institute's 200-megapixel display HIPerWall.

An over-the-counter vitamin in high doses prevented memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's disease, and UC Irvine scientists now are conducting a clinical trial to determine its effect in humans.

Scientists and policymakers generally agree that solving the world's most challenging social and public health problems - AIDS, climate change, cancer, obesity and global terrorism among them - requires collaboration among researchers across a variety of fields.