Courtesy of Trident Photographic ServicesUK and US teams independently pinpointed a gene for Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS), ending a 15-year search.12 Tests for the disorder may be forthcoming. CdLS occurs in 1 in 30,000–40,000 births, causing debilitating growth problems and deformities as well as behavioral difficulties. Misdiagnoses can result in patients succumbing to potentially fatal problems such as twisted bowel.Independently, Tom Strachan1 at University of Newcastle, UK, and I

Frontlines | Adaptation vs. Inheritance Courtesy of Anna Gislén Most people see a blur when they dive underwater, but a group of youngsters in Southeast Asia, who belong to a seminomadic, seafaring tribe called the Moken, can discern small objects on the sea floor. Swedish scientists, who have studied these children, reckon this heightened ability highlights human adaptability to diverse environments. "The ... Moken of Southeast Asia are a shy people," explains Anna Gislén

Frontlines | The Worm that Turned Reproduced with permission from The Institute of Biology from Arme The unisex contraceptive is a slippery fish for Big Pharma. Chris Arme of Keele University, UK, reckons the parasite Ligula intestinalis could provide some clues, however. Apparently, tapeworm secretions switch off egg and sperm production in freshwater carp. As reproduction can kill female carp, some suggest that host sterilization increases the worm's chances of being passed on to fish-ea

A potential anticancer agent in bread crusts could mitigate the harmful effects of acrylamide in your roast dinner.

UK's MRC launches database of potential endocrine disrupter chemicals

Frontlines Image: Erica P. Johnson Artificial cell signaling Cells rely on chemical signals triggered by external change to keep them informed. Christopher Hunter, Nick Williams, and colleagues at Sheffield University, England, tested the cells' abilities against a chemical system that transmits information signals into an artificial cell without a single molecule passing through the membrane (P. Barton et al., "Transmembrane signaling," Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 41:3878-81,

The cost of commercial scientific, technical, and medical journals has risen faster than inflation as publishers' profits soar, according to a September report by the British Office of Fair Trading.1 Yet, despite the report's conclusion that the profits have risen at the expense of education and research institutions, the British OFT, a consumer-protection agency that aims to ensure businesses operate fairly, concluded that free-market forces may eventually correct the journal market imbalance

Image: Courtesy of R.E. Synovec ©2002 American Chemical Society MEASUREMENT of a refractive index gradient by deflection of a diode laser beam on a position- sensitive detector. (Reprinted with permission from Analytical Chemistry, 74:4558-65, 2002). Determining the molecular mass of polymers, including natural biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids, or synthetic plastics, is critical to quality control and to understanding the effects of processing technology on these produ

The state of the art in spectrometry - an ultra-highfield wide-bore NMR machine - will soon allow scientists to take a close look at thousands of membrane proteins with unprecedented resolution

Recent work implicating a single gene in a population with a complex disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, could represent a shift in the study of genetic diseases.

The placebo effect may lead to a significant skew in clinical trials of heart treatments.