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How does a Killer T Cell Kill its target? Our new film captures the behaviour of cytotoxic T cells - the body's 'serial killers' - as they hunt down and eliminate cancer cells before moving on to their next target.

As benign as it may look up close, the tiny seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia can wreak quite a bit of havoc on coastal ecosystems. This super algae is very adaptable; it also grows fast and spreads easily. Eric Noel Muñoz gives the details of this plant's incredible invasion, shedding light on the risks of introducing invasive species into new ecosystems.

West Africa was under the media spotlight this year-and rightly so after nearly 11,000 people died in the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded. But although the disease flickers in and out of the public consciousness, a new study shows that another killer was nearly as deadly: snakebites.

PATH global health file report on diarrheal disease

Controversial new research suggests that contrary to the history books, the "Black Death" that devastated medieval Europe was not the bubonic plague, but rather an Ebola-like virus. History books have long taught the Black Death, which wiped out a quarter of Europe's population in the Middle Ages, was caused by bubonic plague, spread by infected fleas that lived on black rats. But new research in England suggests the killer was actually an Ebola-like virus transmitted directly from person to person.

Technical details aside, Crispr-Cas9 makes it easy, cheap, and fast to move genes around-any genes, in any living thing, from bacteria to people. "These are monumental moments in the history of biomedical research," Baltimore says. "They don't happen every day." Using the three-year-old technique, researchers have already reversed mutations that cause blindness, stopped cancer cells from multiplying, and made cells impervious to the virus that causes AIDS. Agronomists have rendered wheat invulnerable to killer fungi like powdery mildew, hinting at engineered staple crops that can feed a population of 9 billion on an ever-warmer planet. Bioengineers have used Crispr to alter the DNA of yeast so that it consumes plant matter and excretes ethanol, promising an end to reliance on petrochemicals. Startups devoted to Crispr have launched. International pharmaceutical and agricultural companies have spun up Crispr R&D. Two of the most powerful universities in the US are engaged in a vicious war over the basic patent.

Was the "Brooklyn Butcher" of 1926 a cold-blooded killer or was something less sinister at play? This interrupted case study introduces students to hemoglobin binding and carbon monoxide poisoning by working through the details of a fictionalized account of a true-crime story. Topics covered include molecule conformational states, binding affinity, deoxyhemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, and oxygen transport. Students also design an experiment to determine the cause of death of the victim. Prior to beginning the activity students should have some knowledge of the respiratory and circulatory systems and be familiar with oxygen binding curves. Detailed understanding of hemoglobin conformational changes is not necessary since this information is covered in the case. Students will also learn briefly about the electromagnetic spectrum and visible light. Originally developed for a non-majors, pre-nursing anatomy and physiology course, the case is also appropriate for use in any of the following courses: introductory biochemistry, introductory biology, introductory chemistry, nursing, exercise physiology, or possibly even introductory physics.

Hank tells us about the team of deadly ninja assassins that is tasked with protecting our bodies from all the bad guys that want to kill us - also known as our immune system.