Taking a gamble on bird flu. Drugmakers such as Sanofi-Aventis SA and Chiron Corp. are racing to prepare for a possible pandemic as the avian influenza virus has spread from Asia to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. [News Source]

Working to keep flocks disease-free. Bird flu's always been around, says farmer Bill Woods, but precautions and safety measures are key to prevention. [News Source]

Studies suggest avian flu pandemic isn’t imminent. Two groups of researchers, in Japan and in Holland, say they have discovered why the avian flu virus is rarely if ever transmitted from one person to another. [News Source]

A clue is found on why bird flu is slow to spread among humans. According to research published this week by teams in the U.S. and the Netherlands, the bird virus primarily infects cells deep in the human lung, possibly making it difficult for the germ to spread. [News Source]

Researchers shed more light on bird flu. Two research teams have independently discovered explanations for the chief features of the H5N1 bird flu virus -- its difficulty infecting humans, and the deadly effects when it does. [News Source]

Studies spot obstacle to human transmission of bird flu. Two new studies help explain why human-to-human transmission of the bird flu virus has so far not happened -- and might not happen in the future. [News Source]

Clue to slow human bird flu jump. Scientists believe they may have discovered a reason why the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus cannot yet jump easily between humans. [News Source]