Articles by Franklin Hoke

SIDEBAR: Alternate Paths to Xenotransplantation The tantalizing possibility of using a potentially unlimited supply of organs from animals to replace damaged human ones -- through xenotransplantation -- has, in just the past few years, jumped the divide from purely academic possibility to big-business likelihood. A half-dozen or so well-supported biotechnology companies have sprung into existence to pursue the creation of transgenic animals -- pigs with human genes, primarily -- or to develop

A number of new biotechnology companies are developing pigs with human genes that will partially mask the foreignness of their organs to allow them to be transplanted into humans. Others, however, are closely studying the immune-system biochemistries of pigs and humans to find more classical, drug-based approaches to effective xenotransplantation. The first aim in both cases is the same -- to defeat the devastating and nearly immediate hyperacute rejection of pig organs by the human immune sys

Named Board Chairman At Shaman Pharmaceuticals Author: Franklin Hoke After an abrupt departure in July from his posts as president, chief executive officer, and director of Genentech Inc., G. Kirk Raab, 59, was elected chairman of the smaller Shaman Pharmaceuticals Inc. last month. Both biotechnology companies are based in South San Francisco, Calif. BACK IN THE SADDLE: As board chairman, G. Kirk Raab will advise Shaman Pharmaceuticals' president and CEO, Lisa Conte. Shaman's approach to find

Sidebar: The Rule of Law The past few decades have seen the ascendancy of a new class of science gadfly-the professional bioethicist. During this time, researchers have sometimes found themselves in a warring stance with these largely unbidden critics of biomedicine-and skirmishes between them are not unheard of, even yet. Today, however, the two professions are working hard to build a constructive relationship within which to address the important issues being raised by research advances in

While scientists and bioethicists work out their relative contributions to ethical debates, both say that many of the most important issues will eventually be resolved by yet another professional group-lawyers. The regulations and policy guidelines produced by various federal panels and commissions are often largely written by lawyer members. In addition, researchers and ethicists say that, given the social and economic realities of present-day society, new laws will be needed to fully guarante

if (n == null) The Scientist - Growth In Untenured Academic Science Jobs Seen Hurting Careers The Scientist 9[18]:1, Sep. 18, 1995 News Growth In Untenured Academic Science Jobs Seen Hurting Careers By Franklin Hoke The proportion of poorly paid, temporary jobs in academic science is growing, while the share of full-time, tenured positions is declining, according to researchers and observers of university employment practices. The chance that a new Ph.D.

To Baltimore Biotech Firm Author: FRANKLIN HOKE After a long career with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), biomedical engineer Stephen L. Gordon, 51, has become vice president for advanced technology development at Osiris Therapeutics Inc., a Baltimore-based biotechnology company. Gordon was chief of the musculoskeletal diseases branch for more than 17 years, and, just prior to his move, served as acting director for the institute's extramural re

A federal law written with corrupt Department of Defense contractors in mind has become a serious concern for university administrators, while at the same time giving scientific-fraud whistleblowers new hope for success in pressing their charges. BREAKING NEW GROUND: Scientist-lawyer Eugene Dong first saw the scientific fraud aspects of the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act, also known as the Lincoln Law, was passed in 1863 and amended more than a century later, in 1986. Originally, the

Later this month, the Senate is expected to confirm President Bill Clinton's June nomination of Ernest J. Moniz to be associate director for science of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), under director and presidential science adviser John H. Gibbons. Currently head of the physics department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Moniz, 50, will replace nutrition biologist M.R.C. Greenwood, who resigned in May for personal reasons and has returned to the University of Ca

Within just a few years, a growing number of surgeons expect to be able to transplant cells, tissues, and organs from baboons, pigs, and other animals into humans as accepted therapy for a number of life-threatening conditions and diseases. Driven by scientific innovation and powerful medical need, the field of cross-species transplantation, or xenotransplantation, is moving ahead with several ground-breaking experimental human procedures this year, and more expected in the near future. EXERC

Morehouse College, As Institution's New President Author: Franklin Hoke Former National Science Foundation director Walter E. Massey, 57, became president of Morehouse College in Atlanta on August 12. Morehouse, founded in 1867, just after the Civil War, is a historically black, all-male, four-year liberal arts college of about 3,000 students. Well-known alumni include Martin Luther King, Jr. and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan. GOING HOME: After years as a nation

Because of its therapeutic promise, xenotransplantation is likely to go forward, despite fears of the introduction of new epidemics into the human population and other concerns. The question now being raised in several quarters is whether local or federal authorities should oversee the field, and whether voluntary guidelines or more formal regulations should be invoked. Stephen Morse, an assistant professor of virology at Rockefeller University, says that the issues raised by cross-species tra

With a powerful group of local backers to ease the transition, controversial virologist Robert Gallo hopes for a fresh start, both personally and scientifically, when his Institute of Human Virology opens its doors this fall. The new institute, intended to advance the fight against AIDS and other diseases, will be affiliated with the University of Maryland at Baltimore. And it appears that his fellow scientists -- with a few sharp exceptions -- are ready to let accusations of scientific miscon

A rising tide of "irrationalism" in the United States and Europe is helping to fuel dangerous anti-science sentiments, according to a number of researchers and academics. Proof, they say, can be seen in the increased prominence given to postmodernist science studies in the universities, creationism, and alternative medicine. They claim that the spread of these and other untestable belief systems in society may destabilize science by skewing science education and diminishing public support for

As Longtime Chancellor William H. Danforth Steps Down Author: Franklin Hoke Mark S. Wrighton, 46, became the new chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis on July 1. Wrighton, a research chemist, was provost and chief academic officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology until his appointment. He succeeds William H. Danforth, Washington University's top officer for 24 years. The university's $1.7 billion endowment ranks it in the top 10 of United States schools; its operating bu