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Were it not for World War II, Hilary Koprowski might be famous today as a concert pianist instead of a biomedical scientist whose achievements, including development of the first oral polio vaccine, have saved thousands of lives. Koprowski, who was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1916, at one time considered a career as a pianist, graduating from music conservatories in Warsaw and Rome. As the only child of the first female dental surgeon ever graduated from a Russian dental school, Koprowski grew

WASHINGTON--The National Science Foundation has created a new program that funds research on how to store, retrieve, and manipulate scientific data. Its goal is to help scientists make better use of the flood of information their work is generating, as well as to stimulate cooperation among individual disciplines in tackling common problems in processing data. In addition, participants hope to upgrade the status of the information sciences by demonstrating the importance of modern scientific da

In 1892, when Gen. Isaac J. Wistar founded the institute that a century later still bears his name, his main intent was to make a home for the anatomical collection that belonged to his great-uncle Caspar Wistar, a University of Pennsylvania anatomist and physician. Fortunately, the general thought to add a few laboratories and research rooms to the museum on the first floor, which displayed such items as a great whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling. But though it was the general who fou

Getting Leaner But Not Meaner All You Need is Drugs Thanks, But The Answer's No Spreading The News Researchers have an obligation to think about what's good for society as well as what's important for science, says Rep. George Brown (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Transportation Committee. Such public-spirited thinking, he says, could lead to a smaller federal research budget but a healthier citizenry and stronger national economy. Speaking at the National Academy of Sc

Making sense of the mass of numbers in the president's budget isn't easy, even for administration officials who have played a role in developing them. For example, at his news conference held the day the budget was released, presidential science adviser Allan Bromley declared that military spending in the 1993 proposed budget represents only 53 percent of the total R&D budget request. Several articles in the national media cited that number as proof that the Bush administration has shifted it

In his best-selling expose, And the Band Played On (New York, St. Martin's Press, 1987), San Francisco Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts documented how AIDS was largely ignored by the research and funding communities until the disease reached crisis proportions. Today, however, AIDS has become a glamorous field of investigation. Because the United States research establishment has become convinced that proceeding at an accelerated pace might help save lives, the processes of proposal review and d

For gay scientists hoping to do work for the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Energy, or the National Security Agency, one sign that times have changed is that homosexuality, in and of itself, is no longer a basis for denial of a security clearance. "Before 1975, no gay person was allowed to have a security clearance, even at the lowest level. Since then, things have gotten significantly better," says Richard Gayer, a San Francisco lawyer whose practice focuses on appealing denial

WASHINGTON--The National Science Foundation violated several federal procurement laws in an attempt to replace the National Academy of Sciences as the contractor for its prestigious graduate fellowship program, according to a report issued by the agency's inspector general, Linda Sundro. These actions include a breach of confidentiality in the bidding process, conflict of interest by a staffer, and a failure to follow normal procedures in reviewing the bids of potential contractors. The resul

Increasing fears about carcinogens and other poisons will fuel further growth in the already booming field, experts say The science of toxicology has come a long way in a relatively short time. Back in 1961, when a fledgling society of researchers devoted to the study of poisons and their effect on the human body was well-formed enough to merit holding an annual meeting, the group had 161 members. Next week, as the Society of Toxicology (SOT) convenes its 31st annual meeting, its membership

Researchers hold mixed opinions, with some advocating a streamlined approach that credits only germane contributors Geophysicist Marcia McNutt routinely reads a stack of journals ranging from the Journal of Geophysical research to Science and Nature. When she reads a paper in any of these publications, she usually feels safe making a few assumptions about the authors listed on the paper. "I usually assume the first author is the person who actually did the research," says McNutt, a professo

French Program Funds Cognitive Science Studies The Fondation Fyssen in Paris is offering grants of up to three years to support young scientists who plan to enter research careers in fields related to cognitive science. The grants program is intended to foster the organization's goal of increasing knowledge of the biological and cultural nature and development of cognitive mechanisms in humans and animals. The maximum available grant support is 95,000 FF (approximately $18,000

A gaseous byproduct of decaying uranium and radium, radon itself decays when it enters the atmosphere, forming a series of "daughter" particles. Two of them, polonium 218 and polonium 214, are alpha emitters, meaning that, when inhaled in high concentrations, they emit alpha particles, known to initiate cancers in the bronchial epithelia. Radon concentrations are traditionally expressed in picocuries (pCi) per liter, whereby 1 pCi represents the amount of material needed to produce 2.2 radioa