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Those just starting out are being trained to think like scientists to keep more of them interested and unlikely to switch majors Standing before the 2,000 students enrolled in his introductory chemistry course at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., chemist George Bodner mixes two flasks of chemicals. Through the exhaustive exchange of questions and answers that follows, Bodner forces this throng of young scientists to "invent" the concept of molarity long before any of them has read in

Scientists fear that a patchwork of local laws more stringent than federal restrictions may hamper research and industry As state legislatures throughout the United States take steps to intensify their participation in biotechnology regulation, some states are enacting restrictions on the use of biotechnological products. In some cases, these laws go beyond limits already put in place by the federal government. While legislators say they believe that such regulation protects their states' eco

NIGMS Expands Biotechnology Program Thanks to a $2 million increase, the three-year-old biotechnology training and fellowship program offered through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will support 122 more fellows and trainees in 1991. The program has a total of $6.4 million to spend this year. So far, about 18 institutions have received five-year training grants, each to support from four to 20 graduate students. The rest of the funds have gone to support postdoctoral fellows

Oil, the environment, and attrition may create a demand for geoscientists that will reverse a 7-year decline in the field As growing environmental problems and the search for oil outside the Persian Gulf place heavy demands on the geosciences, geologists say that education in their field is being revitalized, fueling new opportunities for undergraduate research. They now hope that their effort to attract students has arrested a precipitous seven-year decline in the number of geosciences gradua

Legal Victory Takes Toll On Journal MIT's Magnet Lab Keeps Trying Back In The Classroom A Stand Against Too Many Authors Minority Schools Get Help For AIDS Trials Despite a New York state court ruling last month that scientific journals enjoy special immunity against libel suits based on the expression of an opinion, the editor who was the defendant in the case (The Scientist, Oct. 1, 1990, page 1) believes that he's won a Pyrrhic victory. "The circulation has dropped by a third," says

Long hours in the lab and lack of recognition lead some to affiliate with labor unions as a way to better their lot Graduate students tend to bear a heavy burden--teaching undergrad classes and leading lab sessions as well as doing their own research in the pursuit of an advanced degree. They're inclined to keep long hours, and they receive little if any pay for their efforts. That situation has existed for decades, the result of a view that they are, first and foremost, students. Given that

Volume 5, #3The Scientist February 18, 1991 RUTGERS SCIENTISTS PLANT SEEDS OF TRUST WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY Author: Robin Eisner Date: February 18, 1991 Agricultural scientist Peter Day knows that if he wants to plant his genetically engineered eggplant in southern New Jersey by 1992, cultivating relationships with local planning boards, homeowners associations, and farmers is as important as nurturing the seedlings in the greenhouse. So he and his Rutgers University team of scie

Brookhaven, Livermore rekindle teachers' love of subjects, but no one knows if their students benefit in the long run John Short returned to his Long Island, N.Y., high school science classroom energized by the teacher enrichment course he had attended at nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory. That contact with lab scientists, he recalls, inspired him to institute more hands-on experiences and to encourage students to undertake research projects of their own. For a while. "Ultimately, it was

The agency's plans to fund up to 80 facilities at universities now seem doomed by harsh criticism and funding shortages WASHINGTON -- The National Science Foundation has decided to give its controversial science and technology centers program a rest -- a move that may please longtime critics of the program but disappoint those scientists who had hoped to land centers on their own campuses. A cornerstone of the effort by former NSF director Erich Bloch to safeguard U.S. scientific eminence and

The laboratory's spinoffs earn it a reputation as the center for a thriving industry in oceanographic research and equipment WOODS HOLE, Mass. -- A Japanese oceanographer spending six months at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution a few years ago decided to track down the inventors of a half-dozen key oceanographic instruments to learn what new projects they were working on. He sought help from his WHOM colleagues in planning a cross-country journey to meet them. But, to his surprise, he found

Raising capital is tougher than ever, but analysts voice optimism for scientist-business people with viable products In mid-1989, George Rathmann decided to leave his post as chairman of Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks, Calif., a biotechnology company he cofounded in 1980, to embark on another biotech venture. He joined Bob Nowinski (founder of Genetic Systems Corp. in Seattle) and Chris Henney (founder of Immunex Corp. also of Seattle) to form ICOS Corp., which was incorporated in late 1989. The

The agency's plans to fund up to 80 facilities at universities now seem doomed by harsh criticism and funding shortages In Texas, the so-called third coast of biotechnology, a new statewide association of biotechnology companies hopes to put local investors in touch with scientist entrepreneurs. Its California counterpart successfully lobbied last year against a bill restricting animal testing. A Pennsylvania association is in the process of developing a high school curriculum on biotechnology