The Scientist - Home

Amid mixed reputation, the organization, known as SHER, focuses on ending discrimination and providing support. Twenty-five years ago, a group of women at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., began meeting every Wednesday at noon to work together to combat sex discrimination at NIH. Today, a group of women meets every Wednesday at noon to work together to combat sex discrimination at NIH. Little more than the faces have changed, according to members of the organization, known as

Sidebar: For Further Information - Alternative Medicine With consumer interest in "natural" remedies on the rise, some academic and corporate researchers have begun to look for new drugs among ancient remedies. Several such efforts focus on the rich, detailed pharmacopoeia of Chinese herbal medicine, which has been painstakingly recorded and passed on for generations. In contemporary China-as in much of the world-herbal concoctions remain the predominant form of medication. In the hands of West

The National Science Foundation has joined the National Institutes of Health in considering changes to its peer-review system of rating grant applications (T.W. Durso, The Scientist, Dec. 9, 1996, page 1). NSF's current four-criteria system-assessing research performance and competence, intrinsic merit, utility or relevance, and the research's effect on science and engineering infrastructure-has been in place since 1981. NSF officials say it's time to revisit the criteria and that the proposed

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION - Alternative Medicine Date: January 6, 1997 Internet Resources: Alternative Medicine Home Page: http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html AYSL Corp.: http://www.ayslcorp.com Paracelsian Inc.: http://www.paracelsian.com Pfizer Inc.: http://www.pfizer.com NIH Office: Office of Alternative Medicine OAM Information Center 9000 Rockville Pike, Room 5B-38 Bethesda, Md. 20892 (301) 402-2466 Fax: (301) 402-4741

It's 25 years and counting since President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act on Dec. 23, 1971, marking the United States' official declaration of war on cancer. The act provided funding to establish medical centers dedicated to clinical research and cancer treatment under the auspices of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Yet, after an estimated $28 billion spent to find cures and better treatments for the dreaded disease, the war is far from over. Most scientists note the tremend

Sidebar: The RGA's Committee's Recommendation CREATIVE BOOST: An alternative proposal from UCSF’s Keith Yamamoto adds innovation into the peer-review equation. As officials at the National Institutes of Health consider a proposal to change the peer-review process by which grant applications are considered, researchers offer divided opinions on whether the plan would help or hinder science. A highly disputed issue -- whether the changes would foster creative, innovative science -- has le

A prominent national science education reform program received a major blow when the National Science Foundation opted to discontinue its support. Sidebar: For Further Information - NAS Science Education Standards 'DISASTER': Without a funding renewal, Bill Aldridge worries about the fate of students and teachers in his project. Educators are devising ways of implementing the National Research Council's (NRC's) National science education standards, which were finalized and released a year ag

Sidebar: Further Information - Companies Creating Antisense Drugs BROADENED FOCUS: Shaji George says an equal number of biologists and chemists make up Innovir Laboratories' research team. Embracing the idea that tomorrow's drugs will not merely treat symptoms, but also attack disease-causing genes, scores of biotechnology companies are developing compounds to intervene in the cell's genetic machinery. One focus of this activity is antisense therapeutics: the use of synthetic nucleic acids de

Science Education Standards National Academy of Sciences Science Education Standards: http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) main Web site: http://www.nsta.org NSTA's Scope, Sequence, and Coordination Web site: http://www.gsh.org/NSTA_SSandC American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061: http://www.aaas.org National Center for Educational Statistics Third International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS): http://www.ed

The following recommendations of the National Institutes of Health's Rating of Grant Applications (RGA) committee are taken from NIH's World Wide Web page (www.nih.gov), where the committee's entire report is available. Comments may be sent to dder@nih.gov. The three proposed criteria listed below should be adopted for unsolicited research project grant applications. Significance: The extent to which the project, if successfully carried out, will make an original and important contribution to

NEW CHAIR IN TOWN: F. James Sensenbrenner Republicans retained control of the House and Senate in last month's elections, but there will be a few newcomers on science-related committees when the 105th Congress convenes early next month.The retirement of Rep. Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.) leaves Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) as his successor as chairman of the House Science Committee. Rep. George E. Brown, Jr. (D-Calif.) will remain its ranking minority member. Committee members Bill Baker (R

Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc.: http://www.aronex.com Genta Inc.: http://www.biospace.com/g/synd/__1bea46f6/exhib_script/exhibitors/GentaInc.html Gilead Sciences Inc.: http://www.biospace.com/g/synd/__fe1bc27a/exhib_script/exhibitors/GileadSciences.html Hybridon Inc.: http://www.hybridon.com Innovir Laboratories Inc.: http://www.biospace.com/g/synd/__abaabeee/exhib_script/exhibitors/InnovirLaboratoriesInc.html Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc: http://www.sddt.com/files/library/1corporateprofiles/corp