By Jessica Berman

A genetically engineered malaria vaccine has been shown to prevent the disease in mice, researchers say. The findings offer hope of halting the illness in humans, as well as stopping transmission of the mosquito-borne disease.

Researchers at the Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) at the University of Washington, in conjunction with the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, have developed a vaccine that uses the entire malaria-causing parasite — called P. falciparum — to stimulate a protective immune response.

Before he earned his MD, Joel Kaufman was a best-selling author — for a week, at least.

In 1982, he took a year off from his studies to work for the consumer advocacy Public Citizen Health Research Group in Washington, D.C. The result was a book, Over the Counter Pills That Don’t Work.

By Susan Brink

The number of new cancer cases grew worldwide to 17.5 million in 2015 from 13.1 million in 2005. The fastest growth is in some of the world's poorest countries, according to a report on the global burden of cancer in the December 3 journal JAMA Oncology.

In his 2016 year-in-review blog, Bill Gates names University of Washington President Dr. Ana Mari Cauce as one of his 'favorite fanatics', for imagining and realizing the Population Health Initiative and for her dedication to improving the lives and health of all people.