CONTENTS

April 2006

FEATURES
THE ECOLOGY OF TUMORS
By perturbing the microenvironment, wounds and infection may be key to tumor development
By Paraic A. Kenny, Celeste M. Nelson, and Mina J. Bissell
The Tumor in its Natural Environment
Leukemia and Cancer Stem Cells
By Irving Weissman and Michael Clarke
Stem cells for brain cancer
Peter B. Dirks
WHAT PRICE ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION?
In putting a price tag on endangered species and degraded ecosystems, ecologists and economists have joined forces to formulate a new rationale for environmental issues: restoring natural captial
By Paddy Woodworth
Working for water in South Africa
How Much Does It Cost to Restore a Species?
SEEING IS BELIEVING
Graphical presentation strives to make sense of exploding quantities of data
By Anne Harding
Delivering Diverse Data to Multiple Audiences: the PharmGKB Model
By Russ B. Altman
BEST PLACES TO WORK 2006: INDUSTRY
What makes a company a great place to work? In our fourth annual survey, industry scientists share their insights
By Karen Pallarito
2006 LIFE SCIENCE INDUSTRY AWARDS
Our fourth annual event celebrates excellence in life science product development and services
By Jeffrey M. Perkel and Ishani Ganguli
ALSO THIS MONTH

CONCEPTS THAT CLICK

What do natural disasters and cancer have in common? Ecology.
By Richard Gallagher

MAIL

More on peer review; What essential genes aren't that essential; Fundamentalism and disease; A better life for postdocs

THE AGENDA

Vitamin D Fight?; Ecological Restoration; Biohazards; May the Best Win

PROGERIA EFFORT PAYS OFF

By Ivan Oransky

EDIT AT YOUR OWN RISK

By Alison McCook

HOT BACTERIA NEAR ANTARCTICA

By Stephen Pincock

THE NEW ORLEANS MOLD PROJECT

By Jeffrey M. Perkel

MOUNTAIN LION SCIENTIST FOR HIRE

By Ishani Ganguli

SAVE OUR DATA!

Here's how to prevent clinical biological data repositories from disappearing into the ether
By The Plant Genome Database Working Group

SALT IN THE WOUND

Will India rise up against the oppression of foreign clinical trials?
By Glenn McGee

GOOGLE YOUR BRAIN

Here's what a search engine for your cerebral cortex might look like
By Jack Woodall

A PHOSPHORYLATION PIONEER

Tony Hunter discovered tyrosine kinases because he was lazy - then the fun began
By Karen Hopkin

A TARGET FOR IRESSA

The fall and rise (and fall) of a pharmacogenetics poster child
By David Secko

MECHANISMS OF THE CELL'S SENTINEL

By Ishani Ganguli

MicroRNAs ASSUME A DEVELOPMENTAL ROLE

By Jeffrey M. Perkel

A LYMPHOCYTE MAKES ITS EXIT

By Ishani Ganguli

PAPERS TO WATCH

 

MEMBRANE FUSION MODEL DE-FUSED

 

A STAT5 FLASHBACK

 

SCIENTIST TO WATCH

Enza Maria Valente: Pursuing Parkinson Disease
By Eugene Russo

IN SEARCH OF MICROARRAY STANDARDS

An industry/academia/government coalition puts microarray reproducibility to the test
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

HOW TO DETECT APOPTOSIS

There are many ways to observe programmed cell death; here are six of the most common ones
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

HOW IT WORKS

Quantitative Molecular Microscopy
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

A DANGEROUS IMPORT

Are ethical objections to patents headed for the US?
By Ronald I. Eisenstein

A GENOMICS PAYOFF?

Is diagnostics the best bet for companies such as Celera that once put its money on drug development?
By Aaron J. Bouchie

KEEPING STEM CELL GUIDELINES CURRENT

By Ishani Ganguli

BIOMARKER RIGOR

By Jeffrey M. Perkel

NEW YORK RESEARCHERS RALLY FOR STATE STEM CELL FUNDS

By Ishani Ganguli

THE CHECKUP

Use references to learn about candidates and not just to confirm their claims
By Ruedi Sandmeier

RISE OF THE BIO-LIBRARIAN

The field of biocuration expands as the data grows
By Anne Harding

SCIENTIFIC SISTERHOOD: Q&A WITH AUTHOR ELLEN DANIELL

By Ishani Ganguli

THE SCIENCE OF MENTORING

By Ishani Ganguli

ADVERTORIAL

Invitrogen: Passion At Work For A Healthier Tomorrow

FOUNDATIONS

The First DNA Sequence Database
By Jeffrey M. Perkel