Scientists and publishers generally agree that the Internet is sparking a science publishing revolution.1 They have yet to agree, however, on how to cultivate that revolution without alienating one another. The latest effort to push the online publishing envelope has a sizable group of scientists threatening to boycott journals whose content is not freely available in a public database six months after publication. This call for a "public library of science" (PLOS) has already caused quite a sti

For this article, Eugene Russo interviewed Ellis R. Levin, chief of endocrinology and metabolism at the Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center and vice chairman for research in the department of medicine at the University of California, Irvine. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. M. Razandi, A. Pedram, G.L. Greene, E.R. Levin, "Cell membrane and nuclear estrogen receptors (

For this article, Eugene Russo interviewed Marc Kirschner, Carl W. Walter professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. R. Rohatgi, L. Ma, H. Miki, M. Lopez, T. Kirchhausen, T. Takenawa, M.W. Kirschner, "The interaction between N-WASP and the Arp2/3 complex links Cdc42-dependent signals to actin assembly," Cell, 97:221-31, April 16, 19

This past March, the nonprofit Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation presented grants to 30 young researchers as part of its Beckman Young Investigators (BYI) awards and its Beckman Scholars program for undergraduates. Now in its tenth year, the BYI program has thus far awarded over $30 million to 160 young researchers in the chemical and life sciences. This year, 16 investigators were given $240,000 over three years. The focus of recipients' research projects range from the study of carbohydrate

Sentiments expressed at a March 12 National Academy of Sciences workshop suggest that scientists and policy-makers remain very concerned about data access issues related to the now infamous Shelby Amendment. The amendment, a two-line provision added by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) to an omnibus appropriations law for fiscal year 1999, subjects federally funded scientific research to requests for data made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).1 Its inclusion sparked a debate between indust

At the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting held in San Francisco, Celera Genomics CEO J. Craig Venter and National Human Genome Research Institute director Francis S. Collins spent considerable time appeasing autograph seekers at their respective plenary lectures--the former, signing dozens of copies of the February 16 issue of AAAS's journal Science, the latter, copies of the February 15 issue of Nature. They were the sorts of receptions usually experienced by roc

Stewart Bros. Photographers, Inc. Future site of the HHMI's collaborative research campus. New laboratories will be located in the lower left; the institute will occupy portions of the three office buildings pictured to the right. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the nation's largest privately held funder of biomedical research, has announced plans to build a major new high-tech laboratory facility. The 10-year, $500 million plan includes a biomedical science center for technology developme

Cell Engineering at Hopkins Already a hub for stem cell research, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has announced plans for a new center to focus on selecting and modifying human cells. Called the Institute for Cell Engineering (ICE), the 40,000 square foot building will be funded through a $58.5 million private, anonymously made donation. Hopkins faculty announced the new project at a January 30 press conference. "What we're interested in really is reprogramming cells and puttin

On February 12, amid considerable international fanfare, Rockville, Md.-based Celera Genomics and the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium jointly announced the publishing of long-awaited papers detailing the human genome.1,2. Although the two groups jointly announced the sequencing of about 90 percent of the human genome at a White House press conference last June, drawn-out negotiations delayed the publishing of initial genome data until now. "It would be fair to say that Palestini

For this article, Eugene Russo interviewed Mark E. Fortini, an assistant professor of genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, Iva Greenwald, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and professor of biochemistry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Raphael Kopan, an associate professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at Washington University in St. Louis, and Michael Wolfe, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. Data from the Web

Graphic: Cathleen Heard No one can escape one of the few risk factors common to neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, and many cancers: age. Within the last decade or so, research on aging, once seen as unfeasible and impractical, has become the legitimate purview of many scientists who hope to prolong life, improve quality of later life, and delay humans' decay at the cellular and genetic level. By viewing aging as a fundamental root of other diseases, researchers studying the mechanisms

Plasmodium on the Move Watching movies starring microorganisms can be a pretty good way to go about parasitology research. New York University parasitologists were quite intrigued recently when they reviewed decade-old time-lapse microscopy observations on video that chronicled the pre-infection movement of Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria. It seemed as though the parasite might actually be moving in and out of target cells within seconds rather than settling down to produce a pleth