If AIDS didn't have so much cachet, we'd all be a whole lot more concerned with tuberculosis. Not only does it kill 2 million people every year, but it's increasingly evolving into drug resistant strains that easily battle back some of our most powerful antibiotics. Worse, unlike AIDS, tuberculosis can spread through the air, through touch, and through moisture. If a strain grows deadly enough, it poses a terrific threat to developed and undeveloped nations alike. Which makes the inattention to TB research a pretty bizarre spectacle. It's really the sort of thing our medications should be staying on top of -- and not just for the sake of our consciences. In a slightly odd take on the problem, Families USA released a video game in which you can hit TB with the hammer of medical research. TB looks like a booger monster in this, but it's actually a fairly fun game, and the site it leads to has some pretty good resources. Plus, it's the afternoon, and everyone is sleepy.
