Feb 18, 2009 — A scientist at the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake will receive $1.8 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue studying the effects of aging on vulnerability to the influenza virus. The Trudeau Institute is one of the leading infectious-disease laboratories in the world. Six years ago, researchers first started raising alarms when a dangerous strain of influenza known as "avian" or "bird flu" first started killing people in Asia. Since then, the threat of a flu pandemic has dropped off the front pages.

Last week, lawmakers in Washington cut more than $800 million from the Federal stimulus bill that had been slated for influenza research. But scientists say the threat of bird flu is as great as ever. People are still dying in Asia and researchers still haven't perfected a vaccine. This morning, Brian Mann revisits the influenza issue, as part of a series we call Story 2.0.