The Scientist - Home

"Contemporary Problems in Science Jobs" by Arthur E. Sowers can be found at http://www.access.digex.net/~arthures/homepage.htm. The American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) is publishing a series of monographs called "New Pathways: Faculty Careers and Employment for the 21st Century," several of which are particularly relevant to the issue of tenure. To obtain any of these monographs, telephone AAHE Publications at (202) 293-6440, Ext. 11, or write to AAHE at One Dupont Circle, Suite

'OPENING THE DOOR': FDA's Joseph Contrera claims the new testing guidelines will encourage innovation. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a plan to revise a 25-year staple of preclinical pharmaceutical testing in the United States. Under the current procedure-criticized by some as lengthy and expensive-development of a new drug must include two-year bioassays conducted on two separate rodent species to determine whether it could cause cancer in humans. FDA recently closed

SIDEBAR: For More Information Supporters of the controversial funding category are fighting efforts to keep its budget from growing and trying to increase applications in an attempt to mollify critics. Funded by a growing "tax" on federal R&D funds that will total almost $1.2 billion in fiscal year 1997, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants are becoming increasingly controversial. Intended to help companies with fewer than 500 employees commercialize new technologies, the progr

Two hundred thirty-nine issues later, the paper's mission remains the same. 

SIDEBAR: For Further Reading 1996 LASKER LAUREATES: Seated, from left, are John Robbins and Rachel Schneerson; standing from left, are Ferid Murad, David Smith, Robert Furchgott, Paul Zamecnik, and Porter Anderson. The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation entered its second half-century earlier this month by presenting a new prize along with its coveted medical research awards. For the first time in its 51-year history, the New York-based philanthropy bestowed the Albert Lasker Award for Special

BANNER YEAR: Sig Hecker will step down on a high note. Late last month, Sig Hecker, the director of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, announced that he would leave his post in one year. Hecker says his decision did not hinge on ever-increasing cutbacks at the national labs. On the contrary, he comments, "actually, right now things [at Los Alamos] look as positive scientifically and from a budget standpoint as they have in 10 years. So it's a good time to step down when everything i

The October 9 issue of JAMA-Journal of the American Medical Association contains three special articles commemorating this year's basic and clinical awards from the Lasker Foundation: J.B. Robbins, R. Schneerson, P. Anderson, D.H. Smith, "Prevention of systemic infections, especially meningitis, caused by Haemophilis influenzae Type b: Impact on public health and implications for other polysaccharide-based vaccines," JAMA, 276:1181-5, 1996. R.F. Furchgott, "The discovery of endothelium-derive

Gregory Milman, chief of the pathogenesis and basic research branch in the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has written a lengthy document containing down-to-earth advice on applying for SBIR grants. It is available on the Web at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/newsletter/maya/sbir/cover.htm. For more information about the SBIR conferences sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Small Business Administration, conta

After serving as chairman of the United States Senate subcommittee on science, technology, and space, Vice President Al Gore brought a technological and environmental bent to the White House. In addition to Gore's background, Clinton's 1992 pledges to build up the country's technology infrastructure, shift some R&D spending away from defense, and "significantly strengthen" the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, may have raised expectations that a Clinton presidency would b

AT ISSUE: Promega Corp.'s sale of Taq polymerase for PCR has riled Hoffmann-La Roche. It's David vs. Goliath in a battle of biblical proportions over the patents for a crucial enzyme in molecular biology. The Goliath in this case is the century-old health-care giant Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. The Basel, Switzerland-based company employs 50,500 people and had 1995 sales of 14.7 billion Swiss francs ($11.8 billion). David is the Promega Corp. of Madison, Wis., a biological reagent company with 420

The effort to collect samples of DNA from diverse populations strives to overcome alleged public misunderstanding of its aims. SIDEBAR: For More Information MISINTERPRETED: "We need to show that this is just not a group of self-perpetuating insiders," says HGDP committee chairman Ken Weiss. Members of a National Research Council (NRC) panel evaluating the issues-both controversial and prosaic-surrounding the proposed Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) have their hands full. Conceived abou

MISCONDUCT POLICY: University of Illinois' C.K. Gunsalus cites problems of oversight in academia. Is science in crisis? Scientists, historians, administrators, and others have debated this issue over the last few decades. The controversial topic was the impetus for a September 19 conference at George Washington University (GWU). Panelists at the day-long symposium, titled "Science in Crisis at the Millennium," think something has gone awry. Keith Yamamoto, University of California, San Franc