We'll gladly throw our thanks in the pile of congratulatory comments headed in Warren Buffett's direction this morning. As we note below, his decision to give the bulk of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is likely to trigger a cornucopia of new funding for groups looking to discover a fresh set of vaccines for the diseases that afflict developing countries. In our system, for better or worse, drug discoverers gain funding for their work based on the commercial opportunities that they seek to exploit. That has left a lot of programs for the poor out in the cold. Having billions flowing in now from private philanthropy can only help continue the revolution in vaccine work that we're seeing play out around the globe. And our economic system, which generated these fortunes, will end up playing a big role in funding long neglected research. Life rarely plays out to such sweet notes. - John Carroll