Despite their efforts to curb conflicts of interest, officials lament that some abuses will persist among scientists who consult WASHINGTON--Stung by recent episodes of improper behavior by some of its own researchers, the National Institutes of Health has begun to keep a closer eye on those employees who consult for industry. But even clearly blatant violations of the rules on reporting and limiting how much scientists earn for outside work activities are nearly impossible to detect, say NIH

Countering the widespread predictions of a future scientist shortage, several analysts predict a crisis in quality, not quantity WASHINGTON--The idea of an upcoming massive shortage of scientists and engineers is now being assailed and discredited on many fronts. But that doesn't mean that labor economists and statisticians are anticipating only bright skies ahead for scientists entering the job market. What is emerging is a more limited assessment of employment prospects and the economy that

While the agency's halt to `downward negotiations' may promote fairness, it fails to brighten overall research support vistas WASHINGTON--The National Institutes of Health has officially ended its highly unpopular practice of applying unilateral, across-the-board cuts to the grants of those researchers it funds. But most scientists will find that the varying approaches adopted by individual institutes to replace what were euphemistically called "downward negotiations" do not yield any more mon

Healy unveils $30 million plan to provide interim funding for researchers struggling to secure NIH grants for their research WASHINGTON--In her first official appearance before Congress as National Institutes of Health director last month, Bernadine Healy delivered a gift to the scientific research community: a new $30 million awards program. Healy told the House appropriations subcommittee headed by Rep. William Natcher (D-Ky.) that by the end of September, NIH hopes to have thrown a lifelin

Peter House is chief analyst and director of the Division of Policy Research and Analysis at the National Science Foundation. In one corner of his 12th-floor office stands a bookcase filled with 30 years' work on public policy analysis and technical assessment. So it's somewhat surprising to the 54-year-old House that a single, 34-page unpublished paper written in 1989 and revised several times since then has attracted so much attention and made him the center of a sharp debate over whether the

The same decision-making process was displayed by Fisher's Council of Competitiveness,which was formed in 1986 by a group of prominent leaders from industry and academia. Instead of requesting more for research, the council asked Congress to take the billions now going into what it called "national prestige technology projects," such as the space station, the superconducting supercollider, the Hubble space telescope, the national aerospace plane, and the Human Genome Project, and put them into

While Dingell panel moves to curb misuse of grant money, some observers worry that overall federal support will be reduced WASHINGTON--As Stanford University stands accused of misusing millions of dollars in federal funds meant to reimburse the school for the cost of supporting faculty research, the issue is not simply one of $7,000 bedsheets and $1,200 antique fruitwood commodes. The more important question for scientists is whether some of that money has been diverted from research. Many

NIH's new director isn't shy about stating her agency's needs, while NSF's new leader likes things the way they are WASHINGTON--Bernadine Healy, the new director of the National Institutes of Health, wants to shake things up. Walter Massey, the new director of the National Science Foundation, hopes to stay the course. If both wishes are fulfilled, scientists may see NIH becoming more active on a variety of issues, such as managing research dollars and promoting women, and NSF continuing to p

Former congressman Walgren, now a lobbyist, advises his clients to befriend lawmakers before advancing their own cause WASHINGTON--Scientists who feel frustrated because they can't get Congress to consider their remedies for what ails science can take a tip from a former legislator who is already sympathetic to their cause: Leave your data at home and start thinking instead about becoming friends with the congressional member whose ear you're trying to gain. Doug Walgren was such a frien

A secluded meeting at a New York estate offers the opportunity to talk openly and informally about science issues WASHINGTON--Top-level science advisers from a half-dozen nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, recently held a weekend conference in the countryside near New York, The Scientist has learned. At least one participant has suggested that the late-February meeting could turn out to be the first in a series of regularly held gatherings of top international scien

Volume 5, #6The Scientist March 18, 1991 NIH GUIDELINES COULD FACE A VETO FROM WHITE HOUSE Author: Jeffrey Mervis Date: March 18, 1991 WASHINGTON--The Bush administration is unlikely to endorse any conflict of interest regulations that require clinical scientists to do anything more than disclose financial holdings in the companies whose products they are evaluating, according to White House officials. National Institutes of Health administrators have recently completed work o

NIH takes aim at the links between industry and those doing clinical trials while ignoring firms that get funds for technology innovations WASHINGTON--Current government efforts to prevent financial conflicts of interest among clinical investigators appear to ignore an obscure but well-funded federal program that operates with few safeguards against such potential abuse by researchers. And some scientists think that omission could be a costly mistake. Officials at the National Institutes of