Brian Vastag » Features

A Curious Catastrophe in the Parrot World

Brian — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:57:30 +0000

A Curious Catastrophe in the Parrot World

It’s CSI Parrot: Join me as I follow scientists tracking a virus that’s devastating captive-bred parrots. [Read Story]

Injections of Hope – Doctors Promote Offshore Shots but Some Patients Cry Foul

Brian — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:24:09 +0000

Patients are paying tens of thousands of dollars for stem cell treatments overseas, yet there’s little evidence the shots do any good. My reporting for the Washington Post turned up dozens of stem cell clinics and plenty of unhappy patients [Read Story]

Will We Soon Find Life in the Heavens?

Brian — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:07:17 +0000

One of two cover stories I penned for the July 24, 2008, U.S. News and World Report checks in on the search for life out there, and finds a resurgence of scientific interest in listening for E.T. [Read Story]

How Did Life on Earth Get Started?

Brian — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:01:15 +0000

One of two science cover stories I penned for the July 24, 2008 U.S. News & World Report, surveys the prevailing theories of how life began and peeks into a lab where scientists attempt to recreate the genesis event. [Read Story]

Foreign Clinics Lure Americans with Unproven Treatments

Brian — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:40:28 +0000

As part of a U.S. News package on medical tourism, I cast a sharp eye on overseas stem cell treatments, which cost tens of thousands of dollars and carry little evidence of working. [Read Story]

A User-Friendly Computer Virus

Brian — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:16:44 +0000

A virtual outbreak in the online game World of Warcraft teaches epidemiologists about real-world pandemics. Utne Reader reprinted this feature from Science News. [Read Story]

Ibogaine Therapy: ‘A Vast, Uncontrolled Experiment’

Brian — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 03:34:05 +0000

Bwiti Initiate Eats Iboga Root in Gabon

In this piece for Science, I investigate an underground where addicts treat addicts with an illicit African root.

[Read story]

At the Cloning Circus, Sideshows Abound

Brian — Wed, 26 Sep 2001 06:10:09 +0000

Academic cloning scientists clash with renegade would-be human cloners at an event sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences. This 2001 JAMA report highlights the low success rate of cloning mammals and myriad health problems experienced by the animals. [Read Story] Note: The article is behind a subscription firewall; JAMA owns the rights.