With cash and a call for new ideas, Bill Gates tries to boost the campaign for a universal flu vaccine

Bill Gates is putting his shoulder into the push to develop a universal flu vaccine.

The billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder announced Friday that his charity — the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — is offering $12 million in seed money to spur innovative thinking on a scientific challenge that has stumped the influenza research community for decades and is considered the holy grail of flu research.