Long hours in the lab and lack of recognition lead some to affiliate with labor unions as a way to better their lot Graduate students tend to bear a heavy burden--teaching undergrad classes and leading lab sessions as well as doing their own research in the pursuit of an advanced degree. They're inclined to keep long hours, and they receive little if any pay for their efforts. That situation has existed for decades, the result of a view that they are, first and foremost, students. Given that

NIST now offers crystallographers a way to let their computers do the work with a database of crystal structures WASHINGTON - Ask a biologist about crystallization - the process of precipitating crystals out of solution - and you're apt to hear it described as a black art requiring patience and a special touch. But a databank that became available last month is expected to make the process more efficient, less time-consuming, and perhaps one day even less magical. The National Institute of St

When the superficial attraction of the latest equipment outpaces our knowledge of its value, the results can be costly The United States government, concerned about increasing health care costs and unsure about the claims made about some recent technologies, is weighing a proposal that would ask federally funded researchers to prove that new machines are indeed better than their precursors before they become widely used. "The fact is, as technologies emerge, they are driven by those who intro