NewsBlog: Goodbye, science writing mentor Posted by Ivan Oransky [Entry posted at 25th April 2006 08:58 PM GMT] I didn't know Laura van Dam particularly well, but I did have the chance to work with her. In 1993, while I was in college, I was an intern at Technology Review, where she was a senior editor. It was a good experience for me, thanks in no small part to Laura, who always had time for this unpolished kid who seemed to always be running off to the lab to finish my thesis. She was infinitely patient, particularly with the pieces that didn't make it into the magazine. I probably learned more when... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: A genome center on a chip? Posted by Jeff Perkel [Entry posted at 25th April 2006 04:21 PM GMT] A nifty paper in yesterday's online edition of PNAS could presage the future of microfluidics development -- not to mention of sequencing technology. Richard Mathies of the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues report the development of an integrated chip capable of performing the complete Sanger sequencing protocol, from template to gel. Lab-on-a-chip,... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Petition backs animal research Posted by Stephen Pincock [Entry posted at 21st April 2006 01:43 AM GMT] In the UK, the battle for people's hearts and minds over animal research continues apace. For a long time, opponents of animal research dominated the news but these days the tables seem to have turned. The latest thrust came yesterday when the Coalition for Medical Progress launched an online petition for those who see experiments on animals as being essential. As I write, after midnight... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Chips spark surge in epigenetics Posted by Jeff Perkel [Entry posted at 20th April 2006 07:51 PM GMT] Since my colleague Brendan Maher returned from a chromatin meeting in January, it seems there's been a burst of activity in the epigenetics field, much of it covered here in The Scientist. On March 17, for instance, I reported on the publication of three papers in Genes & Development, which mapped the binding of the Dosage Compensation Complex (DCC) across the Drosophila X chromosome during fly development. Today,... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Clinical diagnostics in a Starbucks package Posted by Brendan Maher [Entry posted at 13th April 2006 08:20 PM GMT] The New York Times has an interesting business story on the growth of high-priced clinical diagnostic tests involving genomic and proteomic technologies. One chief scientific officer praised the makers of Oncotype DX (which rates the risk of breast cancer recurrence based on a panel of 12 genes) for validating their product in the clinic and then placing it ?in a Starbucks package at a high price.? At $3500 a pop, the test... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Bill Clinton wants corn Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 12th April 2006 05:06 PM GMT] The mood at BIO yesterday preceding Bill Clinton's speech felt more like a rock concert than a keynote address. In fact, I was very nearly carried away in a stampede when the conference organizers finally opened the barriers to the hall. When everyone finally got settled in, there was rapt attention during Clinton's 45-minute speech. True to form, he spoke with perfect organization, seamlessly citing statistics and facts without ever looking at notes. His theme for... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Clinton is at BIO-- or is he? Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 11th April 2006 03:50 PM GMT] Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak at the 2006 BIO meeting today. But when I arrived this morning, I saw large signs alerting the media that the event was closed to the press. Why would BIO prevent the media from reporting on likely the biggest speaker that?s ever attended the conference? Surely this would be a huge plug for the organization. When I spoke to BIO media officials, they told me the decision came from Clinton?s people, not... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Is pharma putting more money into early R&D? Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 11th April 2006 12:21 AM GMT] This morning at the 2006 ... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Research gems in Botswana Posted by Stephen Pincock [Entry posted at 8th April 2006 04:32 PM GMT] Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, is a small city with roughly 200,000 residents. After Windhoek in Namibia where I was yesterday, it seems a little rough around the edges. I'm in town as part of a 10 day trip to Africa on behalf of The Scientist to talk to researchers about the state of science on the continent. The city... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Is bird flu in the UK? Posted by Stephen Pincock [Entry posted at 6th April 2006 01:34 PM GMT] British scientists are expected to reveal today (Thursday) whether a dead swan found on the Scottish coast was infected with H5N1 avian influenza, Scottish authorities said last night. Preliminary tests on the swan showed that it was infected with highly pathogenic H5 avian flu, but the exact strain is not yet known. With infected birds having turned up elsewhere in Europe, the UK has been anticipating the possible arrival of... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Namibia's academic appeal Posted by Stephen Pincock [Entry posted at 5th April 2006 04:50 PM GMT] I arrived in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, this morning, as part of a 10 day trip to Africa on behalf of The Scientist to talk to researchers about the state of science on the continent. In no time, I was being whisked over to the University of Namibia by molecular biologist Kazhila Chinsembu. Chinsembu is originally from Zambia but has been at the University of Namibia for four years. As we drove... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: The state of science in South Africa Posted by Stephen Pincock [Entry posted at 4th April 2006 05:38 PM GMT] Sixty-one years ago, South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research was established by a parliamentary decree that specifically required it to undertake research that improves the wellbeing of the country's people. Given this, I wasn't really surprised, on visiting CSIR's sprawling campus on the outskirts of the city of Pretoria, to find biosciences... Click to continue Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Meeting key figure in African science Posted by Stephen Pincock [Entry posted at 4th April 2006 05:32 PM GMT] Today was the first day of a 10 day trip to Africa on behalf of The Scientist to talk to researchers about the state of science on the continent. On my inaugural stop, I visited John Mugabe, director of the science and technology council of the New Economic Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), whose office is in a research campus on the edge of Pretoria, South Africa. Mugabe is not a vociferous... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Glimpses of stem cell medicine Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 1st April 2006 04:55 AM GMT] After three days of discussions about stem cell machinery, the organizers concluded the Keystone meeting on stem cell biology today by treating participants to data showing what these cells can already do in humans. These efforts appear not quite as differentiated as stem cells themselves, but are hopefully on their way to becoming so. Tonight, Michele De Luca from the Veneto Eye Bank Foundation and the University... Click to continue View comment (1) | Comment on this blog NewsBlog: Epi-embryonic stem cells? Posted by Alison McCook [Entry posted at 1st April 2006 12:05 AM GMT] Researchers have provided clues about a potentially new source of human stem cells that are physically close to the actual embryo, but miles away from the controversy surrounding its use in research. Last night, at the Keystone meeting on stem cells, Ursula Manuelpillai at the Monash Institute of Medical Research in Victoria, Australia presented a poster... Click to continue Comment on this blog

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