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W. Paul Havens, Jr., a professor of medicine at Jefferson Medical College and a prominent researcher into viral hepatitis, died April 6 at his home in Haverford, Pa., at the age of 80. Havens began his medical career in 1932 as a graduate of Harvard Medical School, when the amount of clinical information available in the United States was, of course, not nearly as voluminous as it is today. During the time Havens served with the U.S. Army Medical Corps in World War II, little was known about

The next president--whoever it may be after elections this fall--must make the future of the biotechnology business a priority, according to a leading industry group. In a detailed agenda released late last month and forwarded to each major party's platform committees, the Industrial Biotechnology Association (IBA) identified the issues most important to its 130 members. "The highest-visibility issues for biotechnology this election surround health care reform and patent issues," says IBA dir

Pugwash For The Pros Keeping Current - Sort Of Olympic Trials Peak Conditions Young scientists and other professionals who as students were active in Student Pugwash USA now have a means to stay involved with the Pugwash movement after they graduate. The Student Pugwash office has announced the birth of Professional Pugwash, a new arm of the movement that explores the relationship of science to society (The Scientist, April 2, 1990, page 7). While Student Pugwash is itself a spin-off o

Amid the advertisements for bras, baby clothes, and low-rate mortgages cluttering the first section of the April 21 New York Times appeared a photo of a big, fat, white rat. A full-page ad featuring the rodent was headlined, "Some People Just See a Rat. We See a Cure for Cancer." Text running beneath the striking photo attacked "animal rights activists [who] use disinformation, pressure tactics and active terrorism.... "Society cannot allow itself to be manipulated by a handful of zealots w

The public strongly supports scientific research, according to a recent poll from Louis Harris and Associates Inc., but shows marked favoritism when asked to choose among fields. Of eight areas, medical research was rated as "most valuable" by almost half of those polled--49 percent--while environmental and energy investigation were so ranked by 29 percent and 10 percent, respectively. At the bottom end of the sampling, only 1 percent to 3 percent of the people questioned gave top votes to el

But more visibility and funding are needed if their esoteric studies are to have impact beyond the playing field Like many sports scientists, David Lamb came to his profession by way of an interest in athletics. "I wanted to be a coach, but my [physical education] student teaching was one of the stereotypical worst experiences. So I decided to go back to school." It was there, at Michigan State University, says Lamb--now a professor of preventive medicine and health at Ohio State University

Continued industry growth and the rush to develop new products had a hand in raising average annual salaries for scientists working in biotechnology in 1991, according to a recently released survey. The increases also reflected additional funds raised in stock offerings. These helped pay for new or expanded research projects, many of which necessitated hiring more staff, often at higher salaries, according to J. Robert Scott, a Boston-based consulting firm that conducted the survey. Among the

Two decades after the bold concept of these specialized high schools was hatched, they are demonstrating their worth By now, the gruesome statistics have made it clear that primary and secondary science and math education in the United States is in bad shape, with youngsters manifesting what many officials consider an ominous combination of ineptitude and disinterest: * The nation ranks 14th among developed countries in terms of students' ability to perform advanced algebra. * Korean school

While the agency moves to identify long-term goals, critics question the plan's feasibility as well as its fairness More than a year into the process, an atmosphere of fear, mistrust, and even hostility is clouding the formulation of the National Institutes of Health's long-range strategic plan. Although the process is alive and advancing, there are skeptics in the biomedical research community whose perceptions of what a strategic planning process is, what it should be, and what it can accom

The High Performance Computing Act, which became law last December, provides a boost in federal funds to improve and integrate the confusing collection of computer networks used by scientists to transmit data and electronic mail. The ultimate goal is to create a high-speed national computer network, analogous to the interstate highway system, with a capacity to transmit data at one gigabit (1 billion bits) per second, a speed 700 times greater than today's system. Such a system would provide e

Robert E. Pollock, Distinguished Professor of Physics at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Henry G. Blosser, University Distinguished Professor of physics at Michigan State University, have received the American Physical Society's Tom W. Bonner Prize. The prize, APS's highest honor in experimental nuclear physics, was presented on April 22 at the society's meeting in Washington, D.C. Pollock and Blosser will share the $5,000 cash award. Pollock, 56, conceived and designed the cooler facilit

Susan G. O'Leary, director of clinical training in the psychology department at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and an associate professor in the department, has been elected chairwoman of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology for 1992-94. The council includes directors of 144 doctoral programs in the United States and Canada. O'Leary earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1972 from SUNY-Stony Brook. At Stony Brook, she was an assistant professor in 1973