Few people would envision a former Florida shrimp processor leading a multimillion-dollar Silicon Valley biotechnology company.

Johnson began airing new ads for its birth control patch, and viewers may have noticed that the message was significantly more sobering than in past ads.

When British regulators suspended the license of Chiron's manufacturing plant in Liverpool, England, in October 2004, the move caught the US Food and Drug Administration by surprise and triggered an international vaccine crisis.

This past spring the Novartis subsidiary, Sandoz, made a bid to sell a copycat version of human growth hormone in the European Union and was rejected, triggering a law-suit between Sandoz and the EU that is still ongoing.

Low costs. Skilled workers. New patent protections. A ready pool of patients for clinical trials. These are the ingredients contributing to India's blossoming biotechnology industry, which grew by nearly 40% last year and is now second only to the United States in its number of FDA-approved drug manufacturing plants. India boasts more than $700 million in annual revenues from its biotechnology industry.While revenues from the United States' biotechnology industry were far more, $39.2 billion in

At the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, Fred Gage and colleagues examine how a generic embryonic stem cell evolves into a highly specialized brain cell. Their hope is that understanding stem-cell evolution will reveal what keeps cells healthy and lead to new therapies. But federal restrictions on human embryonic stem-cell research are discouraging Gage and others. "I would say that I'm limiting my effort in this field," he says. "It's been time consuming. Resources are taken a

Courtesy of Pedro ScassaValley Fever, a pneumonia-like lung disease that strikes 50,000 people each year, has become an epidemic in southern Arizona, and John Galgiani, director of the University of Arizona's Valley Fever Center for Excellence in Tucson, wants to know why. But the research that might help this microbiologist uncover the state's Valley Fever mystery has been brought to a halt by the very agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, charged with protecting people from d

Digital VisionAs the US Congress and others investigate conflict-of-interest allegations at the National Institutes of Health, ethics lawyers warn that reforms will not be easy, and questions remain about whether overly aggressive changes could hinder the practical application of biomedical research. At issue are NIH scientists' outside consulting relationships with drug and biotechnology companies that work with the agency. In December 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that federal research l

Francesco FiondellaWhen he addressed the nation in January, President George W. Bush left little doubt that he intends to invest enormous amounts of federal cash into homeland security, including efforts to protect Americans from bioterrorism. What the president did not say during his annual State of the Union speech was where the funds will come from.The federal budgets for FY2004 and FY2005 reflect a fundamental shift in White House priorities when it comes to scientific research, one that foc

A mid the flurry that followed the United States Congressional winter 2003 recess, the presidential primaries, and the debate over this year's budget, lawmakers gave final approval to 30 words that could have far-reaching consequences for the scientific community. With few hearings, and scant review or debate, Congress sanctioned a plan that forbids the US Patent and Trade Office (PTO) to issue patents on human organisms.1While seemingly innocuous – after all, the federal government has lo

An aborted attempt at reform leaves Veterans Affairs research plans in question

Erica P. Johnson New US visa restrictions, prompted by fears of renewed terrorist attacks, present a dilemma to people in science: How does the government guarantee the public safety and yet sustain the free exchange of research and researchers? Many observers say post-Sept. 11 limitations have already put scientific research at risk. Visas are harder to get and sometimes denied. Federal grants arrive with strings attached--restricted participation by researchers from overseas. And some academ

D.F. Dowd When terrorists unleashed a new kind of fear in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, few Americans may have guessed their attacks would also have significant repercussions for scientists and scientific research. Frustration over visa delays, discouragement over visa denials, and fears that US students, researchers, and employers might now be reluctant to work with them have led some foreign scholars to look elsewhere to advance their careers. As a result, concerns are growing that ne

M.C. Escher's Tower of Babel ©2003 Cordon Art, Baarn, Holland Shortly before Christmas 2002, Xuguang Jiang took a break from his doctoral program at Iowa University and returned to his Beijing home with two goals: to see the family he missed so much, and renew his student visa. As of late January, the 27-year-old engineering student was still waiting for US embassy officials to finish the extensive background checks now required for some foreigners studying in America. Last he heard, it

Nearly three years ago, the federal government gave Nancy Connell the green light to investigate how people respond to infection by Bacillus anthracis, the bacterial agent that causes anthrax. With $3 million (US) from the Department of Defense, Connell hoped to learn how to detect the bacteria within hours of infection. But thanks to the hurdles put in her path, it took until this past July for Connell to get her hands on the bacterial strain for her study. Today, her team at the Center for B