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The holiday shopping deluge is under way, and researchers are not immune to the rush. There are sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, grandchildren, and the kids of friends and colleagues to consider. How can one please young people with fun gifts that won't turn their brains to mush? Science can help. Toy stores and other retailers sell a variety of items, both classic and new, that can pique youngsters' curiosity and hold their attention. While science educators warn gift-givers to beware

SIDEBAR : Examples of Women's Health Research Goals Advocates and scientists are optimistic as they update and expand their agenda to include varied research priorities. Today's newspapers are replete with reports detailing advances in women's health: New breast cancer-causing genes are reported with increasing regularity, as are discoveries of connections between hormones or genetics and disease. In the midst of this progress, advocates for research on women's health-scientists, clinicians, p

Sidebar: IOM Members With the election last month of 55 new members, the Institute of Medicine (IoM) has increased the number of minorities in its ranks, bringing the percentage of minority members to its highest point since the honor society was organized 26 years ago. The new slate will be formally inducted at the institute's annual dinner, which will take place next October. The addition of four minority members will bring the institute's total minority representation to 47. That amounts to

CuraGen Corp. http://www.curagen.com Genetics Institute, Inc. http://www.genetics.com/ Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Bio Online Member Website http://www.bio.com/companies/millennium.html PharmaGenics Inc. Page on BioSpace Online: http://www.biospace.com/g/synd/__d3816744/exhib_script/exhibitors/PharmaGenicsInc.html Sequana Terapeutics Inc. http://www.sequana.com/

STICKING POINT: Zebra mussels, here attached to a crayfish, can be real pests. Late last month President Bill Clinton signed the National Invasive Species Act, which will provide additional funds to combat a growing ecological and economic problem. Non-native freshwater and marine plants and animals from as far away as Asia are carried to North American estuaries like San Francisco Bay-where they sometimes gain a troublesome toehold-in ship ballast water. The act authorizes an average of $22

Participants in working groups at the September planning meeting sponsored by the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health brainstormed about the state of their fields, describing gaps in knowledge and making recommendations for future research directions. The groups concluded that more data are needed in several key areas in order to enable researchers and health care providers to accomplish the following goals. Cardiovascular Disease/Vascular Biology evaluate chest

Clay M. Armstrong professor of physiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia John P. Atkinson head, John Milliken Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Marion J. Ball chief information officer, Information Services, University of Maryland, Baltimore Alfred O. Berg professor and associate chairman, department of family medicine, University of Washington, Seattle Merton Bernfield Clement A. Smith Professor of Pediatri

LUCKY STARS: Harold Kroto was studying carbon clusters when he and coworkers discovered buckyballs. Like many of their predecessors, the winners of the 1996 Nobel Prizes in science have found that the media attention accompanying the honor provides an excellent opportunity to speak out on behalf of important causes. Last month, five of the eight newly named science laureates used their "bully pulpit" to voice concerns about research funding at a National Science Foundation news conference. Th

The industry's supporters and critics both claim that surveys support their causes; meanwhile, its boosters ponder improvements to their educational efforts. POLL POSITION: Ronnie Cummins claims that the Pure Food Campaign's surveys reveal negative attitudes toward biotech. Biotechnology representatives paint a rosy picture of the industry's future, portraying it as a rising star gaining influence among commercial interests and policymakers. But surveys reveal a wide range of public reaction

SIDEBAR: For Further Information .. Academic Job Security FLEXIBILITY WANTED: University of Minnesota regent Patricia Spence cites budgetary uncertainty. Colleges and universities all over the United States are making changes-both major and minor-to the tenure system. Some have abolished it, opting for multiyear contracts with faculty, while others have adopted new codes that make it easier to fire tenured faculty members. Like other academic employees, scientists are feeling the constraints

As scientists answer complex questions about how humans think, perceive the world, and behave, age-old divisions between the "hard" and "soft" sciences are beginning to crumble. Researchers in the life and physical sciences increasingly rely on fundamental principles from social, behavioral, and economic science to resolve complex problems and develop new technology. The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health are further blurring the lines, funding initiatives that co

LIFE GOES ON: Francis Collins says he won't change his style. In an October 1 "Dear Colleague" letter to 100 or so leukemia genetics researchers, geneticist Francis Collins explained that he was retracting five research papers on leukemia in leading scientific journals because a junior colleague falsified data. News of the letter was originally reported in the Chicago Tribune on October 29 (J. Crewdson, page 1). Collins, director of the Human Genome Project and the National Center for Human Ge