CONTENTS
August 2007
One primate center is documenting that chimps can teach each other to do simple tasks, and maintain specific behaviors within social groups. BOB GRANT asks: Is this evidence of chimpanzee culture? Plus, a rundown of other non-human species that display glimmers of culture. |
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One pharmaceutical company discovered why a drug failed using a systems approach. Should the drug industry be more excited about systems biology? BRENDAN BORREL investigates, and also explores one company’s take on the approach. |
RELATED: Table: Systems biology at biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies |
The 4,000-plus processors at Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center perform 21 trillion calculations per second, producing data reported by hundreds of papers on subjects from astrophysics to cell biology. ANDREA GAWRYLEWSKI visits the center to tell the story behind this massive system. |
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Does stress affect adolescent brains differently than it affects adult brains, in ways that researchers have overlooked? A young scientist at Rockefeller committed a small act of subterfuge to find out. JENNY MARDER reports on his progress. |
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EDITORIAL Pharma’s 10,000 Losses Can systems biology save the drug industry? COLUMNS How much should Gardasil cost? Merck could cut the price of its new vaccine by 90% and still do very well. Goodbye to oranges? A virus has the orange industry in trouble, and growers are partly to
blame. OPINION A New Paradigm for NIH Grants Giving out smaller grants, but for larger periods of time, will fix a system in distress The Perils of industrialization How the industrialization of academic science has ruined research, and what we can do about it Notebook The agenda; Have science, can’t travel; Selling the self-evident; The DNA behind DNA; Rock the monkey; A summer of statues; Slideshow: Solving the Easter Island mysteries; FOUNDATIONS The Discovery of Streptomycin, circa 1943 PROFILES Scientist to watch: Chris Voigt Channeling neuroscience Elizabeth Jonas was supposed to be a physician. A summer with Rodolfo Llinás changed all that. THE LITERATURE Hot papers: Four groups identify a single adaptor in an immune response pathway Hot paper in physiology: Obestatin not obvious Hot paper in genomics: MicroRNAs abound Hot paper in stem cells: Stem cell regulators LAB TOOLS Seeing faster, seeing smarter Image analysis software offers more screening possibilities than ever, so how should you power your next screen? BIOBUSINESS Back to basics Norbert Riedel's focus on science has helped pull Baxter out of a slump. CAREERS A space for children Industry knows that on-site childcare is good for retention. Is academia starting to catch on? |