CONTENTS

January 2006

FEATURES
Scientists around the world, using a multitude of approaches, are closing in on a functioning artificial cell. Does that mean they're close to creating life in the lab?
By Jack Lucentini
 
 
How to design a chassis for synthetic biological systems
By Drew Endy
It's time to rewrite life's
operating system
By Clyde A. Hutchinson III, Hamilton O. Smith, and J. Craig Venter
A lack of understanding has stymied progress for cancer vaccines. Here's a vision for a more robust future, along with what must happen to see it through.
By Ira Mellman
In the 1990s, the world agreed to stop fumigating with methyl bromide. Many US farmers, however, are still using it, with what could be drastic effects on the ozone layer.
By Alison McCook
We spoke to scientists in their labs about how they stretch their dollars, euros, and pounds. The best tips are collected here. Follow them all, and you can practically hire another postdoc.
By Melissa Lee Phillips
ALSO THIS MONTH
Welcome to the inaugural monthly issue of The Scientist.
By Richard Gallagher
ID in the Schools; Model Organism Genetics; Institutional Repositories; Book to Note
By Stephen Pincock
By Silvia Sanides
By Stephen Pincock
By Adam Marcus
By Stephen Pincock
The research environment has evolved; it's time for the postdoctoral experience to do the same
By the Postdoctoral Fellows Focus Group
The peace dividend pays off in the challenges of teaching English to former bioterrorism researchers
By Tobi Nagel
Synthetic biology requires intelligent design, but not the kind they teach in Kansas
By Glenn McGee
Worried about avian flu? Never mind. What about yellow fever?
By Jack Woodall
Throughout his career, Inder Verma has turned unexpected results into important advances
By Karen Hopkin
Interrogating bacteria for their essential gene sets
By Josh P. Roberts
By Brendan Maher
By Aileen Constans
 
Querying alternative splicing in the brain; Nod's strange trip
Soo-Kyung Lee: A new influence in transcription
By Erika Jonietz
These three tech developments could make an appearance on your benchtop this year.
By Jeffrey M. Perkel
Anxious to get going with RNAi? These tips will make your next knockdown a knockout. Includes list of free online siRNA design tools.
By Aileen Constans
Q-TOF Mass Spectrometer
By Aileen Constans
Compelling science doesn't always make a good commercial case. Here's how to tell the difference.
By Stephen Little
Are intellectual property protections slowing progress?
By Ted Agres
Are intellectual property protections slowing progress?
By James Picerno
NIH to Student Loaners: Let's Make a Deal; New NIH Career Grants for Foreign Postdocs; When Two Degrees Are Better Than One
By Martin Klingenberg