Big Pharma: Big markets. Traditional science. Big future and lofty salaries. Biotech: Lots of competition for smaller markets. Cutting-edge science. Iffy future, but tempting stock options. Such are the widely held perceptions regarding the industry sectors that employ life science researchers. Those perceptions have become clichés, and like all great clichés, they're not altogether accurate--but they do contain a kernel of truth. The real truth is, the maturing biotech industr

STARTED A TREND: Jane Lubchenco and her husband Bruce Menge became pioneers in the fractional tenure-track concept when they accepted positions at Oregon State University. Maybe you're just entering the work force, after four, six, nine, or even more years of post-high school priming. Or maybe you've been working for a few years and you just got wind of a fantastic opportunity you'd like to pursue. If you're the neophyte, now comes the seemingly monumental task of gathering transcripts and r

The biotechnology industry is among the biggest employers of life science professionals, with 140,000 employees generating $17.4 billion of revenue in 1997, according to an industry report by Ernst & Young LLP of Palo Alto, Calif. Since the birth of biotechnology in the 1970s, many of the seminal companies--such as Biogen and Genentech-- have matured into profitable or near- profitable companies. As these companies arose, venture capitalists fell in love with start-up biotechs in the 1980s

Edited by: James Kling M. Packer, M.R. Bristow, J.N. Cohn, W.S. Colucci, M.B. Fowler, E.M. Gilbert, N.H. Shusterman, "The effect of carvedilol on morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure," New England Journal of Medicine, 334:1349-55, 1996. (Cited in more than 160 publications to date) Comments by Edward M. Gilbert, division of cardiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City STANDARD OF CARE: Research by Utah's Edward Gilbert suggests that blocking nore

Edited by: James Kling P.A. Hoodless, T. Haerry, S. Abdollah, M. Stapleton, M.B. O'Connor, L. Attisano, J.L. Wrana, "MADR1, a MAD-related protein that functions in BMP2 signaling pathways," Cell, 85:489-500, 1996. (Cited in more than 115 publications to date) Comments by Jeffrey L. Wrana, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and department of medical genetics and microbiology, University of Toronto CHAIN REACTION: A team led by Jeffrey Wrana of the Hospital for Sick Children

Computer consultants warn that the cost of adjusting programs will skyrocket if researchers wait until after their systems crash Jan. 1, 2000, is coming. While self-proclaimed prophets are out pounding pulpits to warn against impending cosmic doom, computer programmers, engineers, and information specialists are wringing their hands over a far more mundane issue-how computers will handle the switch from the year 1999 to the year 2000. Many fear that some instruments and applications won't hand

Affecting more than 2 million Americans, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains an enigma. The chronic swelling and pain brought about by RA can be debilitating in severe cases, and, as is true of most autoimmune diseases, the mechanisms and risk factors that influence onset are poorly understood. But long-suffering patients and eager biotech companies need not give up hope; recent insights into the autoimmune response and a new project that aims to ferret out genetic risks for the disease promise t

INSECT-RESISTANT: Monsanto's NewLeaf potatoes, above, are genetically engineered to protect against the Colorado potato beetle, which can severely damage plans, below Controversy is stirring in the European Union (EU) over genetically engineered food crops. The EU has already demanded that genetically engineered crops imported after July 31 be labeled as products of biotechnology. In the United States also, some consumers are wary of these new "supercrops," fearing that introduced genes could

Date: September 15, 1997 Comparison Chart HPLC is an essential work-horse for most bio-laboratories. Without a functioning system, the days of gravity columns-once a not-so-fond, distant memory-can return with a vengeance. And a system that no longer fits your research needs can collect dust like so much scrap metal. In choosing an instrument, consider the demands your research will place on it. For example, determine what type of solvents you will most often use. Solvent compatibility of th

'CLEAR AWARENESS': Keith Clark says epidemiologists have recongized the importance of geography in studying infectious diseases. Adventurers of the 18th and 19th centuries in search of gold and new trade routes were not the only ones to value a good map: Early epidemiologists inspected the lay of the land in attempts to discern the causes and spread of diseases. But as unexplored frontiers slowly disappeared, geography came to be taken for granted. In fact, the number of classic epidemiology p

Process of proteins flowing through channels of Continuous Bed. Loading-whether it's a computer program, the station wagon in preparation for a big vacation, or an ion exchange purification, nobody likes to wait. "The faster you can load the column without losing any resolution, the better off you're going to be. In all I've done, [sample loading] has always been the limiting step," says Anthony David Couvillon, lab manager in the division of signal transduction at Beth Israel Deaconess Medic

Tedious, time-consuming, exasperating: Those are perhaps the three words that researchers use most commonly to describe protein purification. Proteins, and their little sisters the peptides, are among the most difficult compounds to purify. Enzyme degradation and chemical decomposition conspire to ruin protein samples throughout the steps of purification. Proteases in the original sample and varying salt concentrations can result in degradation or precipitation. Varying pH and temperature may