CONTENTS

June 2006

FEATURES
For some, science podcasts are time-savers that open their minds to new fields. For others, they're just another fad. What's the future?
By Ishani Ganguli
8 Reasons to Tune In
A science podcaster bares all
Podcasts go to school
The Scientist's Guide
to Science Podcasts
By Philip Cohen
HIV Shows Itself
A 1981 report in the MMWR marks the beginning
The Impact of HIV
Its progression, 1981-2006 and beyond
Is African Science - Long Plagued by a Lack of Equipment and Resources - Poised for a Comeback?
By Stephen Pincock
Why we must
re-educate African science

By Kazhila Chinsembu
Moving African science forward
An continent-wide framework is necessary, argues an advisor to the New Partnership for Africa's Development
By John Mugabe
Lessons from EGFR research show how to kick-start a systems approach for other areas of biology
By H. Steven Wiley
Seeing EGFR from
a Systems Perspective

Five Simple Steps to Systems Biology
ALSO THIS MONTH

THE ELEPHANT MAN AND
THE ART OF JIGSAW PUZZLES

By Richard Gallagher

MAIL

A new type of cancer cell growth;
The problem with microarrays;
The interactome: Next steps

THE AGENDA

HIV's Anniversary;
A First for Systems Biology;
Africa in France;
A Feel-Good Biography

COCKROACHES: NATURE'S PETRI DISH

By Stephen Pincock

SCIENCE PEN PALS

By Ishani Ganguli

THE TASK OF KEEPING ELEPHANTS

By Stephen Pincock

AN INTERVIEW GOES UP IN SMOKE

By Brendan Maher

MUMPS IN SEAT 21C!

By Melissa Lee Phillips

TIME FOR A GLOBAL SCIENCE CORPS

Spend a year in a lab in a developing country, and build scientific capacity around the world
By Harold Varmus

THE THREE WORST PLACES
TO BE A POSTDOC

When choosing postgraduate
training, senior faculty aren't
always the best mentors
By Glenn McGee

WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY, AND HE IS US

What infectious disease says about humanity's penchant for
self-destruction
By Jack Woodall

HOW BACTERIA TALK

It's a good thing "rock star of microbiology" Bonnie Bassler didn't end up studying cancer
By Karen Hopkin

SO MUCH DIVERSITY, SUCH LITTLE CELLS

Comparative yeast genomics reveals mechanisms of genomic evolution
By Nicole Johnston

LIPID RAFTS' FAILURE TO LAUNCH

Debating what binds
membrane microdomains
By Jill U. Adams

PAPERS TO WATCH

 

CELL DIVISION REWINDS

 

UNTANGLING NUCLEOLAR NETWORKS

 

SCIENTIST TO WATCH

Helen Blackwell:
The Accidental Microbiologist
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

WHY YOU SHOULD BE ANNOTATING

Scientists who rely on accurate gene predictions should share in the burden of creating them
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

UPGRADE YOUR LAB TO TIRF

Why spend six figures on a new total internal reflection fluorescence system when you can upgrade your existing microscope for just $30,000?
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

HOW IT WORKS

TIRF Microscopy
By Jeffrey M. Perkel

BIOTECHS AIM FOR
ALTERNATIVE FINANCING

London's lesser-known stock exchange offers the possibility of money for hungry biotechs
By Jesse Schulman

MAKING ETHICS FIT

How companies are integrating ethics into their core foundation
By Ted Agres

RAISING BIOZONA

By Aaron J. Bouchie

FDA SEEKS 'LITTLE' INFORMATION

By Clare Kittredge

BIOSIMILARS: EUROPE SAYS YES

By Stephen Pincock

FINDING YOUR BEST EMPLOYEES

How to select the right search firm
By Toby Freedman

CAN YOU GO HOME AGAIN?

Going from academia to business - and back again - is no easy feat. The exceptions not only prove the rule, but also that it can be done.
By Karen Pallarito

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'?

By Ted Agres

KILLER APP: MICROSOFT BIO?

By Ned Stafford

MULTIPLE PIs

By Karen Pallarito

FOUNDATIONS

The Discovery of
Reverse Transcriptase
By Jeffrey M. Perkel