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Observers say the outcome of a vote on cloning next week is too close to call

Spending bills for NIH, NSF put off until 'lame duck' session

Researchers are cheered by developments that allow human embryonic stem cell research to start

If you are a journal publisher or editor, it's pretty much impossible to avoid controversy. There's the good kind: a well-argued disagreement on an important subject, or astounding new evidence that overturns an established theory, for example. But then there's the bad kind: an author who doesn't stick to your rules, a paper that doesn't hold up, or worse.The real test of a journal's mettle is not whether it manages to avoid the second type of controversy but rather, how well it copes with the f

Unlike its genomic, proteomic, and transcriptomic predecessors, a comprehensive glycome project (see "Sugars get an 'ome of their own," 18[15]:45–7, Aug. 2, 2004) may have to include telescopes and spacesuits. Last month, astronomers announced that they've detected sugar molecules in the coldest gas and dust clouds of the central Milky Way. The intensity of the signal was surprisingly strong, hinting that these clouds, the birthplace of stars and planets, may also be churning out the build

Pyrrolysine, the 22nd amino acid, discovered in 2002, might lay claim to being the 21st following the discovery by Ohio State University researchers that, like the twenty canonical amino acids, it is translated by the genetic code using a natural tRNA synthetase-tRNA pair.1 Pyrrolysine is the first new amino acid discovered since selenocysteine in 1986, but the latter results from modification of serine after attachment to its tRNA.Microbiologist Joseph Krzycki and chemist Michael Chan discovere

Courtesy of Georgia Institute of TechnologyMost patients with insulin-dependent diabetes still control their blood glucose levels with a poke in the finger and a shot in the arm. While that crude but effective procedure is years away from being replaced on a large scale, many are looking to deliver insulin and other drugs in a more foolproof, less invasive manner.Associate professor Andrew Lyon's lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a thin, self-assembling, layered hydrogel f

Two recent reports offer a taste to the little-known underlying immunological mechanisms of celiac disease, a digestive autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten protein, which affects as many as 1 in 100 people in the United States.Working ex vivo, a University of Chicago group found that interleukin-15 overexpression helps convert antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) into rogue lymphokine-activated killers (LAKs) via the CTL receptor NKG2D.1 The LAK cells provoke a more general immune

TRIPLE DELIGHT:Courtesy of Ethan BierVentral (top) and ventro-lateral (bottom) views of Drosophila embryos triple-labeled to visualize expression patterns. The top image (early blastoderm) shows snail (blue), single minded (red), and rhomboid (green); the bottom image (early gastrulation) shows short gastrulation (blue), ventral nervous system defective (green), and intermediate nervous system defective (red). (Reprinted from http://superfly.ucsd.edu/~davek/gallery.htm)Scientists at the Universi

Courtesy of CiphergenResearchers hunting protein abnormalities or combinations that signal disease need assay chips sensitive to the broadest possible array of proteins, over the widest concentration range. But those researchers also want technology that can read large batches of samples quickly without sacrificing accuracy. To meet those needs, Fremont, Calif.-based Ciphergen Biosystems http://www.ciphergen.com has created its new ProteinChip System Series 4000 mass spectrometer.Like the compan

By putting two enzymes on the same shift, San Carlos, Calif.-based NuGEN http://www.nugeninc.com can turn five nanograms of total RNA into enough cDNA for a microarray in just four hours. Key to the technology, termed Ribo-SPIA, are minimal starting material, speed, and linearity, says Anne Kopf-Sill, vice president of product development.Researchers normally must amplify 2–5 micrograms of RNA to perform an array experiment. "With Ribo-SPIA technology, you don't need to acquire a large sam

Courtesy of Sceptor IndustriesIt looks like an inhaler for treating asthma, but it could help biodefense experts sleep easier at night. BioSim, from Kansas City, Mo.-based Sceptor Industries http://www.sceptorindustries.com, replaces the need for live bacteria to test the efficiency of pathogen-detection systems.Designed to test PCR-based systems, the device sprays puffs of tiny polystyrene beads coupled to bacterial DNA. The carrier beads simulate bacterial spores in the air and on surfaces, so