CONTENTS
November 2008
Identical four-year-old twins
Addi and Cassi Hempel smile, laugh, and play.
They also have dementia, a manifestation of a
genetic disease known as Niemann-Pick type C
that disrupts cholesterol trafficking inside the
cell. Although rare, NPC bears a striking resemblance
to something much more common.
ALISON MCCOOK asks: Could Addi and Cassi
help the 5 million Americans (and millions more
worldwide) living with Alzheimer's disease? |
RELATED: |
Summer, 2002: One announcement, and all of
PHYLLIS WISE'S basic research at the University
of Washington was called into question. The
Women's Health Initiative clinical trial had
shown hormone therapy was harmful. Afterwards,
Wise revealed the hormone can limit inflammatory
damage and promote neurogenesis,
giving her a new perspective on how clinical and
basic science can work together. |
RELATED: The Discovery of Estrogen Receptor |
 Best Places to Work 2008: Academia Check out our list of the top US and international
institutions. MEGAN SCUDELLARI talks to employees
about what makes their institution such a
great place to do science. |
RELATED: Best Places to Work in Academia 2008 How respondents spend their time RANKING TABLES: Top 40 US Academic Institutions Top 15 US Academic Institutions Top 10 US Academic Institutions Top US institutions on five most important factors Strengths and Weaknesses of the International top 10 |
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EDITORIAL National Character and Scientific Enterprise Is there something in our cultural
heritage that makes us better or worse at biotech? COLUMNS Peer Review Isn't Perfect... ...But it's not a conspiracy designed
to maintain the status quo. OPINION Disease Prevention in Islamic Countries Education is the key, and a network
of international experts is setting up a Supercourse to meet the challenge.
Notebook The Agenda; Immunize thyself; Drug wars; Reuse, or recycle?; Morph mystery; A frog's foe FOUNDATIONS Cholesterol and NPC1, circa 1997 PROFILES The Science of Stress NIH's Gisela Storz has spent her career
drilling down to the core of questions such as how bacteria respond to oxidants - work that has taken her in some unexpected directions. Scientist to Watch: Doris Tsao A real visionary BIOBUSINESS: Serotonin, Repurposed Immune Control CEO Stephen
Roth is banking on a controversial
hypothesis and is fashioning ways
to block a neurotransmitter to fight
autoimmune disease. THE LITERATURE Hot paper: A Potent Protein Identifying a key protein
behind ALS redirects the fight against the disease Hot paper in Microbiology: Abundant archaea Hot Paper In Metabolism: Reserve power Hot Paper In Plant Biology: Tree timer LAB TOOLS Fret-free FRET How to put FRET biosensors to work for you when tracking cell signaling; Pick a spot, any spot; Sensor Sensitivity; Doubling up; Specificity sticks; Plus a web only article on Basic supplies you'll need for FRET imaging CAREERS Libraries 2.0 Secrets from science librarians that can save you hours of work. |