What is the most important scientific question of our time? [more inside]
posted by Demogorgon on Oct 12, 2009 - 44 answers

What are some in the field jobs that involve studying the environment seeking medical advances? A friend asked me the following question, and I looked around and was stumped by it. A couple basic things came to my attention, like tracking the spread of different illnesses in developing countries and passing out vaccines, but I hope I'm missing something. "What branch of biology encompasses the outdoor study of plants, animals, environments, and whatever else in order to find medical advancements? You see in movies people hunting in the amazon for weird plants in order to cure diseases. Is this a real profession? Could I really go to Africa to study a plague because the genetic information found within it could lead to a cure for cancer?"
posted by Tres on Feb 24, 2009 - 11 answers

Why can't vaccination encourage the evolution of viral potency?
posted by freebird on Oct 5, 2006 - 16 answers

How many sexes are there? [more inside]
posted by anotherpanacea on Jun 28, 2006 - 17 answers