I was fascinated to read the report entitled "Homing in on Homocysteine."1 It is marvelous that Kilmer McCully persevered with his research, and that its great importance is finally being acknowledged. In the excellent report prepared by Ricki Lewis, however, there was an error in the chronology of events. Win Barber and I at the Wills Eye Hospital found that Connie had markedly elevated levels of homocysteine in her urine. She had been admitted to the Wills Eye Hospital for surgery for glauco

Congratulations on the publication of the Commentary by Dimitri Viza (The Scientist, 12[18]:8, Sept. 14, 1998). His comments are pertinent and powerful. However, I believe that he fails to give sufficient emphasis to why research is performed in the first place. Surely there must be some individuals who are driven by a need to answer a question that they believe is of overwhelming significance, such as, "How can the ability of organisms to learn be improved?" or "What is the basis of altruist