Unconventional is the theme of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's latest round of endorsements. The foundation on Monday awarded 81 five-year research grants of $100,000 to scientists pursuing
bold ideas that could lead to breakthroughs, focusing on ways to prevent and treat infectious diseases, such as HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia and diarrheal diseases [
AP]. One grant, for example, will be awarded to Rutgers University's Eric Lam, who is working to develop tomatoes that can deliver antiviral drugs. Another grant will fund a British research team attempting to compile a library of all possible mutations of HIV with the ultimate goal of a vaccine that can protect against many variant forms of the virus. In the US, [one researcher will receive] a grant to see if shooting a laser at a person's skin before administering a vaccine can enhance immune response [Telegraph]. Fourteen of the grants focused on novel ...
