Articles by Joshua Lederberg

The Closing Bell for July 5 was headlined as a lament for the passing of eponyms in science.1 It is unlikely that we will soon dispose of Mendel's Laws or Avogadro's Number. If scientists are jealous about being properly cited in bibliographies, that is a large step towards an eponymic tradition. There may be less of the natural history and surprise observation in science today, but there is no lack of theoretical synthesis that might invite the dignity of being inscribed as a "Law."Self-anointe

Ned Shaw After a lapse of some decades, germs and disease have again been very much on our minds, largely because of the dreadful effect of AIDS throughout the world. We also have had a reawakened consciousness that globally prevalent diseases like tuberculosis and malaria remain historical scourges. Now the daily news tells us of new outbreaks such as severe acute pulmonary syndrome, or SARS, spreading from China, with an outcome that cannot be confidently predicted at this time. Throughout

Epigenetics is the buzz word prominent in the current issue of The Scientist (see "Researchers Focus on Histone Code") and a recent theme issue of Science (August 10, 2001). The term was introduced by Conrad H. Waddington in 1942.1 To paraphrase an erudite epistolary exchange in Science, he is said to contrast genetics with epigenetics, the study of the processes by which genotype gives rise to phenotype. In 1942 we had barely any clue as to what those processes are, so "epigenetic" had no conno

"So intricate and inscrutable a mystery is the origin of language that in 1866 the French Society of Linguistics formally banned further research on the subject." --J. H. Dirckx, 1977. (Dx + Rx: A Physician's Guide to Medical Writing) Genomics and Proteomics are the buzzwords of the dawning millennium. There is no counting of www.-ics.com and www.-ix.com sites to be found on the Web. That most of these terms, old and new, have been contrived as slogans to attract attention, does not diminish t

Arnold Beckman How scientific instrumentation has expanded human vistas is well illustrated by the contributions of Galileo (telescope) and Leeuwenhoek (microscope). The capability for further and deeper observation these men bequeathed to us with their instruments is at least as important as their own notable scientific achievements. It is not given to 20th century folk, in an explosively more complex world, to occupy so many roles simultaneously. But in historical retrospection, the electron

Editor's Note: Joshua Lederberg, chairman of The Scientist's Editorial Advisory Board, edited the book Biological Weapons: Limiting the Threat, to be published this spring (May 1999) by The MIT Press. The following article, adapted from the book's epilogue, is printed with permission of The MIT Press. As the works for Biological Weapons: Limiting the Threat were being assembled, our policy perspectives were informed by new happenings and governmental reactions. Saddam Hussein renewed his h

In what seems like a parody of the academic process, C. Robert Phillips III, a classics professor at Lehigh University, suggests that Ph.D. dissertations be filed and forgotten, rather than exposed to public view (P. Gwynne, "Electronic Posting Of Dissertations Produces Publishing Dilemmas," The Scientist, Oct. 27, 1997, page 1). He worries: "In five years' time, people may not want to be associated with their Ph.D. dissertations. With my own, I thought: 'I'm really glad that this isn't on libr

The conservation of biodiversity is a universally applauded good, bringing to mind the aesthetic values of elegant felines and brilliantly plumaged birds. The rain forest and other plants have also been the source of many important pharmaceuticals, which can be assessed for their economic and health-giving powers. We need but mention familiar examples like quinine and aspirin (and we cannot ignore morphine and cocaine-albeit opium poppies and coca bushes are in no danger of extinction). We shou

My own background in schools of medicine and institutions for biomedical research perhaps leads me to stress the opportunities for those disciplines to impact research and education at schools of public health. While the agenda of such schools has turned more and more to hospital administration and the rationalization of the health-care system, this must not be to the neglect of using science for the most effective population-based measures to protect public health. These measures will be larg

There has been much ado about fraud in science, and even more misunderstanding about its eventual importance in the efficient conduct of science, and our ability to police it. A report on a survey by Judith Swayze was headlined in the New York Times "... the myth that fraud in science is a rarity" (L.K. Altman, Nov. 23, 1993, page C3). In fact, as the text of the story took pains to emphasize, the study found that a majority of interviewees had heard of an example--in other words, that some fra

Editor's Note: On Feb. 1, 1944, the Journal of Experimental Medicine published a scientific paper entitled "Studies on the chemical nature of the substance inducing transformation of pneumococcal types." Coauthored by Rockefeller Institute (now University) Hospital researchers Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty, the paper--preceding by a decade the Nobel Prize- winning revelations of James Watson and Francis Crick--des

In 1900, infectious disease was the leading cause of mortality in the United States, accounting for at least 37 percent of deaths. By 1950, this had been mitigated to 6.8 percent and, by 1989, to 2.8 percent, with corresponding improvements in life expectancy. These numbers, of course, must be taken with a grain of salt, given the eventual preemptive role of infection in chronic illness, and many disorders whose infectious etiology is still to be recognized. Further, the relative importance

Editor's Note: The thorough and timely review of scientific literature pertaining to a researcher's chosen specialty is fundamental to the process of science, says Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Joshua Lederberg. However, says Lederberg--former president of Rockefeller University and now University Professor at that institution--keeping up with the steady, potentially overwhelming flow of significant published documents can be a daunting chore for the diligent, conscientious researcher. In Oct

Each four-year presidential election cycle frames an era of United States politics, including science in high politics. The greenhouse effect, the Valdez oil spill, and biodiversity; AIDS, tuberculosis, and other emerging diseases; fetal tissue research, genome mapping, DNA patents, and DNA fingerprinting; chemical weapons and unemployed Soviet bomb scientists; the space station and the supercollider: The past term has been a busy one for science in the White House. The next term will be b

One milestone of the modern scientific era was the first publication by George W. Beadle (1903-1989) and Edward L. Tatum (1909-1975) on the biochemical genetics of Neurospora (PNAS, 27:499-506, 1941). Its 50th anniversary is being commemorated in several places this summer. Beadle and Tatum's work is worthy of fond celebration not only for its inherent scientific merit--its impact on biochemical research continues to resonate today--but also because it convincingly affirms the value of a kind