In 1951, a wealthy Swedish count named Leonard Bernadotte organized a meeting of Nobel laureates in the scenic town of Lindau, Germany. His goal was to attract foreign scientists to a country whose own scientists had become isolated as a result of World War II. In the 50 years since, the purpose of the annual meetings, which alternate their focus among the Nobel categories of chemistry, physics, and physiology or medicine, has changed significantly. No longer just a mechanism for attracting fore

The death of University of Pennsylvania gene therapy patient Jesse Gelsinger continues to have implications for Penn's Institute for Human Gene Therapy (IHGT) and for Health and Human Services (HHS) policy in general. Based on recommendations of a six-member independent panel led by William H. Danforth, chancellor emeritus of Washington University in St. Louis, Penn recently announced a restructuring of the IHGT. A day earlier, HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala had announced new protections for hum

HGP Enters Final Phase: Even as the Human Genome Project (HGP) enters its final phase, which officially began May 9, perhaps the most fundamental bit of genomic trivia persists: Exactly how many human genes are there? At the 13th annual Cold Spring Harbor Meeting on Genome Sequencing and Biology held May 10, scientists marveled at the astounding acceleration of sequencing efforts in the last year. Participants, including all 16 leaders of the HGP sequencing centers, enjoyed the most recent seque

Congress Revisits Stem Cell Issue As Congress begins a new session, the topic of stem cell research is once again on the agenda. Yet the short session and the issue's contentiousness make new legislation in 2000 unlikely. At an April 25 congressional briefing, scientists gave an update on stem cell research and applications in advance of an April 26 hearing. The briefing also reintroduced the stem cell research guidelines presented last fall by the American Association for the Advancement of Sc

Institutional review boards (IRBs)--whether independent or located at hospitals, academic health centers, or universities--have an imposing charge: They must sift through and analyze a profusion of clinical research trials to ensure that participating human subjects will be treated ethically and without undue risk. But for a variety of reasons, many IRBs aren't getting the job done--this according to an April report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in the U.S. Department of Health and

In December of 1999, after digesting three months of public comment on a preliminary draft, the National Institutes of Health released the final version of a policy entitled "Principles and Guidelines for Sharing of Biomedical Research Resources."1 The policy advises NIH grantees on, among other things, the appropriate way to disseminate unique research tools--everything from cell lines to reagents to animal models to laboratory equipment to computer software--that arise out of grant funding. It

For this article, Eugene Russo interviewed Nina Bhardwaj, an associate professor of clinical investigation at Rockefeller University. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that this paper has been cited significantly more often than the average paper of the same type and age. M.L. Albert, B. Sauter, N. Bhardwaj, "Dendritic cells acquire antigen from apoptotic cells and induce class I-restricted CTLs," Nature, 392:86-9, March 5, 1998. (Cited in more than 187 papers since publicati

HIV X-ray crystallography researchers hope that they can harness the proper weaponry to fight HIV by actually seeing how their enemy infects cells. This paper revealed a critical stage of HIV infection: the viral surface glycoprotein gp120 binding the CD4 receptor on a vulnerable T cell. By discovering aspects of the mechanism by which the viral and cell membranes fuse, crystallographers hoped to get clues for potential drug and vaccine targets. Structure-based drug design has already been helpf

Paul Berg Regulating biotechnological discoveries hasn't gotten any easier since scientists and policymakers faced their first major challenge 25 years ago. In 1973, recombinant DNA technology burst onto the scene.1 The response was remarkably swift. A group of scientists led by Paul Berg, now director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, called for an international moratorium on recombinant DNA research, fearing that the technol

Cancer Registry Collaboration The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently officially announced a collaboration to develop a cancer surveillance and cancer control research system. It's the latest of several collaborative efforts--the two agencies often overlap on projects involving areas such as surveillance, tobacco control, and dietary intervention. CDC director Jeffrey Koplan and NCI director Richard Klausner signed a memorandum of underst

Telomerase Structure Researchers at John Hopkins University recently elucidated the structure of telomerase by comparing the telomerase RNA genes of 32 different vertebrate species (J.L. Chen et al., "Secondary structure of vertebrate telomerase RNA," Cell, 100:503-14, March 3, 2000). Responsible for the elongation of telomeres--the caps on chromosomes that prevent chromosome degradation--telomerase is a potential cancer drug target since, when overly active, it can contribute to the growth of c

Early cartographers, without the luxury of an aerial view of their surroundings, did their best to map expanses of land based on expeditions and, of course, on previous maps. Although quite helpful, they and their maps were often less than perfect. Cartographers sketching the layout of the American colonies, for example, might map a lake or a mountain that simply didn't exist. Subsequent maps might then incorporate the make-believe landmark, sometimes even "moving" it several miles from its pre