HIV Hitches a Ride The statistics are grim: More than 34 million people worldwide affected with HIV/AIDS, and 800,000- 900,000 cases in the United States with a steady rate of 40,000 new HIV infections each year. Fueled by such statistics, HIV research continues with scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently discovering a mechanism providing insight into the pathogenesis of the virus in which HIV may hitch a ride from select cells to target cells.

DOE to Increase Women Scientists in Workforce Fueled by a booming economy, unemployment record lows have caused concern about the nation's future workforce in foundational areas such as science, engineering, and technology. The federal government is among concerned employers. Department of Energy secretary Bill Richardson says, "The Department of Energy, like the rest of America, has a soaring demand for a technically skilled workforce." DOE points out that in the next two decades, the workfor

Brain Cells Transplant May Prove Useful as Stroke Treatment About 4 million Americans are survivors of a stroke, the leading cause of adult disability, according to the American Heart Association. Historically, stroke medicine has focused on prevention, immediate treatment, and years of rehabilitation. Now, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) researchers have initiated clinical trials that may ultimately lead to restoration of affected abilities even years after stroke occurrence (D.

Florida Receives NIH Grant for Aphasia Treatment University of Florida researchers recently were awarded a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to test several treatments for stroke-induced communication problems, collectively known as aphasia. The concept of neural plasticity--the brain being adaptable and able to create new pathways to regain lost function--is the basis for this research that focuses on a combination of drugs and rehabilitation in the form of mental and phy

Ever since the isolation and culturing of human pluripotent stem cells in 1998, the debate has intensified regarding legal, ethical, and social ramifications associated with research use of these cells that are capable of developing into many different specialized tissues.1, 2 In order for the National Institutes of Health to clarify its position on research with these cells, in January 1999, it placed a moratorium on use of human pluripotent stem cells derived from embryos and fetal tissue in f

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for discerning odors that is far more sensitive than the human nose and has numerous potential applications in the workplace as well as the home. Ten to 100 times more sensitive than the human nose for many compounds, the artificial nose works by visualizing odors; it is simple, fast, and inexpensive. The technique, termed "smell-seeing" by its inventors, uses an array of vapor-sensitive dyes known as metalloporphyrins that cha

Tools of the Trade As knowledge advances regarding deadly diseases and subsequent treatments, many scientists are relying on the tools and techniques being developed by biotechnology companies to achieve research goals. One genomic information company, Incyte Genomics of Palo Alto, Calif., recently launched Incyte.com, a genomics Web site with proprietary human gene as well as public domain sequence information. The company is focused on the discovery and analysis of genes as they are expressed