Brian Vastag

I’m moving…

Brian — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:50:33 +0000

…out of my home office and into the newsroom of the Washington Post. For the next six months I’ll be on the general science beat at the paper, which lost most of its science reporters during the past three years of brutal buy-outs and downsizing. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to bring more science to the Post. Look for my stories online and in the *gasp* print paper too.

Bacteria devoured methane from Gulf spill

Brian — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 20:46:16 +0000

Hungry microbes ate nearly all of the methane spewed by the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, I report in this piece for the Washington Post.

Invasive insects threaten trees, forest

Brian — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:31:55 +0000

Invasive insects, like this emerald ash borer, have destroyed tens of millions of trees in the United States. In a piece for the Washington Post, I track the bugs and call into question USDA regulations meant to stem the tide of tiny invaders.

Another BBC Appearance

Brian — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:41:25 +0000

I appeared live on the BBC World Service (twice) in the wee hours (UK time) of Aug. 23, to discuss the ebola virus. Researchers at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases have made progress on an anti-ebola drug. It would be the first such drug if human trials prove successful. In 2004, I wrote in JAMA about the same researchers’ efforts to produce an ebola vaccine – efforts that continue. The bottom line with ebola is that it’s very tough to treat, and because it causes so few deaths worldwide, there’s no drug company invested in it. So most ebola research is conducted by the U.S. military, which is concerned that the virus could be weaponized and used by bioterrorists.

The Brain Fixer

Brian — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:07:25 +0000

Call it the brain fixer: A potent growth factor that could reverse stroke, interrupt addiction, and halt Parkinson’s disease. But getting it into the brain has proved challenging. In this feature for Nature I explore new technology for sneaking this growth factor, GDNF, into the brain. [Read Story]

Machupo Hunter

Brian — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 03:19:09 +0000

My profile of a young scientific superstar, Jonathan Abraham, appears in the August HHMI Bulletin. Abraham tackles a deadly, emerging South American virus, machupo.[Read Story]

Can the Peace Drug Help Clean up the War Mess?

Brian — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:54:52 +0000

I recently attended psychedelic medicine’s coming out party - a meeting of 1100 researchers and enthusiasts in San Jose, Calif. – and found the early data on MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) as an adjunct to talk therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder pretty compelling. Scientific American ran my piece on the study, which features a vet who says the therapy eliminated his PTSD symptoms. [Read Story]

Ghostwriting “The Great Prostate Mistake”

Brian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:33:47 +0000

My first publication in the New York Times doesn’t have my name on it – but I’m proud of it nonetheless. It’s an Op-Ed about the dangers of P.S.A. testing that I penned for Dr. Richard Ablin, who discovered prostate specific antigen in 1970. The piece made it to the top of the “most e-mailed” list at the Times. Read it here.

Live Radio – BBC World Service

Brian — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:49:02 +0000

I discuss stem cell tourism with BBC superstar Matt McGrath. My yapping starts about halfway in. From Feb. 19, 2010, San Diego.

The Melting Snows of Kilimanjaro

Brian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:19:13 +0000

Glacier remnant on Kilimanjaro

The snows of Kilimanjaro are rapidly disappearing and will be gone by 2033, predicts the most detailed analysis yet of the iconic glaciers gracing Africa’s highest peak.

”They’re being decapitated,” says study leader Lonnie Thompson. “In fact, they’re probably not really glaciers anymore. They’re remnants of another climate.”

Published in Nature. [Link]