Low-calorie diets extend lifespan in almost every model tested, but scientists can't yet agree on what controls this phenomenon.

Thomas Starzl and Barry Trost recognized in awards that aim to reward contributions to mankind

In 2001, the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) was facing serious financial woes.

Courtesy of Steven FinkbeinerInclusion bodies play a protective, not pathogenic, role in Huntington disease, according to a recent study by Steven Finkbeiner of the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease at the University of California, San Francisco.1 The paper contributes to an ongoing debate about the role of inclusion bodies – intracellular clumps of mutant huntingtin (Htt) protein – in the pathology of diseases such as Huntington and spinocerebellar ataxia.Finkbeiner and co

There are more work-related factors that unite scientists than divide them, according to The Scientist's 2004 survey on the Best Places to Work in Academia. Across the world, scientists are surprisingly uniform in their needs. Adequate laboratory and research facilities for themselves and their coworkers topped the list in just about every country. A desire for good working relationships with peers also holds a high place in the ranking.Institutions that ranked favorably in this year's survey sc

The US institutions that made the top 10 list in The Scientist's 2004 Best Places to Work in Academia survey represent an interesting mix of small and large academic and private research centers from across the country. The characteristics that make them great places to work, however, are surprisingly similar.Many respondents from these campuses noted support for interdisciplinary research as one of their institution's strengths. Top-ranked California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, with on

Top Factors by US & Non-US ResearchersMy institution provides adequate laboratory and research facilities for me and my coworkersI maintain good working relationships with my peersMy institution provides an adequate research funding package for new faculty membersMy institution has the resources to supply basic research infrastructure needs not covered by grantsMy institution fosters collaboration among facultyTop Factors by US Researchers OnlyMy institution provides adequate health coverage

Aggregates of misfolded proteins are implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases.

In Huntington's disease, clumps of mutant protein seem to be protective rather than harmful

Work on hormone receptors, cataract surgery, and public policy honored

Scientists have pinpointed a molecular basis for size variations in the beaks of Galapagos finches', a phenomenon observed by Charles Darwin more than a century and a half ago.In this week's issue of Science, Harvard University developmental biologist Cliff Tabin and colleagues identified bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp)-4 as a key player in the pathway controlling avian beak development. His team includes Peter and Rosemary Grant, whose research endeavors on the islands were recorded in Jonatha

Susan Hockfield will also be institution's first life scientist president