Human Genome Diversity Project http://www-leland.stanford.edu/group/morrinst/HGDP.html Rural Advancement Foundation International http://www.charm.net/~rafi/rafihome.html UNESCO Report http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/PG.html Cultural Survival, a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Mass., that works with indigenous peoples http://www.cs.org. The summer 1996 issue of the Cultural Survival Quarterly is almost exclusively devoted to the issues surrounding HGDP. Human Genome Organiz

For the first time in almost 40 years of recognizing outstanding contributions to medical science, the Gairdner Foundation of Willowdale, Ontario, Canada, will honor the growing field of biomedical engineering. Robert Langer, a biomedical engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has made landmark discoveries in drug delivery, is one of five researchers who will be presented with the foundation's annual International Awards at a ceremony on October 25 in Toronto. "When I star

Industry observers predict increased opportunities as firms set their sights on novel techniques for drug delivery. 'HUGE EXPLOSION: Many potentially therapeutic brain molecules are a boon, asserts Richard Pops. Finding ways to sneak therapeutic drugs past the seemingly impenetrable blood-brain barrier -- a tightly bound wall of endothelial cells that protects the brain from pathogens and other substances -- is keeping a small cadre of biotech firms busy. Researchers at these companies, as

SOLVING REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS: MacArthur fellow Vonnie McLoyd's research combines concepts in socioeconomics, psychology, and anthropology. This year's John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowships will help six scientists advance their cutting-edge, multidisciplinary projects that extend from the ocean depths to distant stars and planets. With grants of about $250,000 or more, the newly named fellows will be able to finance innovative-even maverick-research ideas that might otherwis

Continuing-Education Courses SIDEBAR: Selected Organizations Sponsoring Continuing-Education Programs for Life Scientists As students put away their books for the summer, some life scientists pick up theirs and head off to continuing-education programs. These workshops and short courses offer participants opportunities to brush up on their technique as well as an informal environment for nurturing professional networks and research collaborations. Selected Organizations Sponsoring Continuing-

Peptide-Synthesis Services Peptides-linear chains of amino acids-are the building blocks of nature. Understanding their action figures prominently in recent advances in many fields, particularly immunology. Such insight, for example, allows investigators to elucidate the details of antigen-antibody interactions of the human immune system. VERSATILE: Services at Richmond, VA.-based Commonwealth Biotechnologies include peptide and DNA synthesis. Because scientists aren't able to extract suffic

Encephalopathic Diseases One of the great biomedical quests of the last 20 years surrounds a handful of rare and mysterious brain diseases that affect humans and a small group of other mammals. An ongoing international research effort is aimed at understanding the mechanism of these neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, this area has been of particular relevance because one of the disorders-mad cow disease-has become a major, well-publicized health problem in Europe. Four encephalopathic disea

Favorable Reactions Researchers and industry representatives are reacting positively to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recently proposed revised guidelines for carcinogen risk assessment. That approval is somewhat tempered by warnings sounded by environmental and consumer-education groups regarding the interpretation of certain suggestions in the long-awaited document. OPPORTUNITY: The revisions encourage use of new data notes Bernard Goldstein. The guidelines, released in mid-

N.W. Kim, M.A. Piatyszek, K.R. Prowse, C.B. Harley, M.D. West, P.L.C. Ho, G.M. Coviello, W.E. Wright, S.L. Weinrich, J.W. Shay, "Specific association of human telomerase activity with immortal cells and cancer," Science, 266:2011-5, 1994. (Cited in nearly 80 publications through April 1996) Comments by Jerry Shay, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas END RUN: Texas' Jerry Shay, left and Woody Wright developed a telomerase activity assay. Although telomeres-the tips of chro

B. Vernooij, L. Friedrich, A. Morse, R. Reist, R. Kolditz-Jawhar, E. Ward, S. Uknes, H. Kessmann, J. Ryals, "Salicylic acid is not the translocated signal responsible for inducing systemic acquired resistance but is required in signal transduction," Plant Cell, 6:959-65, 1994. (Cited in 40 publications through April 1996) Comments by Bernard Vernooij, Ciba-Geigy Corp., Research Triangle Park, N.C. Plants have evolved a host of defense mechanisms for fighting infection by viruses, bacteria, an

House Propose Bills Companies, scientists, and patient-advocacy groups all applaud the ultimate objective of recently introduced legislation designed to get effective drugs to patients more quickly. However, not everyone agrees that the current versions of the Senate and House bills to reform the Food and Drug Administration are the way to accomplish the goal. DISSENTER: Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) voted against the Senate bill. Proponents say the bills move reform in the right direction. Mean

Begins To Pay Off Parasites evoke a gut reaction, both literally and figuratively. The synonyms for the worms, insects, and protozoans that survive off the life force of other animals are skin-crawling and stomach-churning: bloodsuckers and leeches, to name a few. And it's not by accident that these words evoke such feelings. Once they are firmly ensconced in various viscera, internal parasites produce a range of debilitating and deadly symptoms. Such conditions are more than metaphorical for