A Duke University report adds to the growing consensus that a climate of exclusion persists despite women's advancement into academic positions. More women may be getting science degrees today than 40 years ago, but that fact has not translated to gender equity in the academic workplace. Duke's study indicates that lower salaries, fewer leadership positions, and slower promotion rates are not alone in creating barriers that discourage women from continuing in the science career pipeline.1 "We

Agency's report recommends national security guidelines for select agents

Frontlines | Shooting Darts and Counting Eggs Mark Heine Illustration Garden snails might seem dull, but the reproductive behavior of Helix aspersa is far from it: These hermaphroditic animals shoot darts at their intended after copulation. They also count their eggs before laying them. Tomasz Antkowiak and Ronald Chase at McGill University in Montreal recently discovered a large nerve in the land snail's ovotestis; the nerve monitors the number of eggs inside. Because laying eggs is a hu

5-Prime | Birds in Biology: A Chronology 1835 Charles Darwin first surveyed the now famous finches of the Galapagos Islands, but not until a decade later did he fully understand the implications of his observations and incorporate them into his theory of speciation by natural selection. Since then researchers, including David Lack and Peter and Rosemary Grant, have flocked to the hallowed islands to study competition, evolution, and speciation. 1911 Peyton Rous discovered the first oncog

Five research centers will do large-scale genome sequencing

Frontlines | Lying About Your Age is Getting Tougher A person's voice is an age indicator, say researchers at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The team, led by Rahul Shrivastav, assistant professor of communication processes and disorders, determined that two key elements, pitch and rate of speed, can reveal age. Shrivastav analyzed 30 voices, which listeners frequently had identified as being old or young, to determine common characteristics. Using computer software to manipulate

5-Prime | The Myriad Definitions of Self Courtesy of Larry H. Anderson The Biological Basis For each of the genome's thousands of genes, multiple alleles exist. No two people have the same combination of alleles, so each individual's genotype is unique. DNA, found in each cell, is both a genetic fingerprint and a genealogical record. It determines the phenotype--sex, blood type, hair and eye color, susceptibility to disease, and other features--that contributes to an individual's sense of

A Sperm Finds Its Egg Courtesy of Richard Mooi For sea urchins, sex is an out-of-body experience. And in external fertilization, species-specific gamete receptors serve as one way to prevent cross-fertilization. The discovery of an egg protein responsible for this specificity ended a 25-year quest for Charles Glabe, molecular biologist at University of California, Irvine. Glabe and postdoc Noriko Kamei identified the glycoprotein on sea urchin eggs, called egg bindin receptor 1 (EBR1), whic

Frontlines | Marking the First Americans' Arrival Thom Graves Media Y-chromosome genetic markers show that people first arrived on the North American continent about 14,000 years ago, according to two papers in the American Journal of Human Genetics.1,2 This is more recent than previously thought; mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies had suggested an entry date of 30,000 years ago. Researchers led by Mark Seielstad, Harvard School of Public Health, identified a single nucleotide polymorp

5-Prime | It's All in the Translation Those who voted in the Best Places survey (see How They Measure Up: Scientific Institutions) live in many different towns. And while they may wear, eat, or do similar things, one would never know it by listening to them ... Tightening Bunnyhugs, Snapping Suspenders The men at Purdue University wear undershirts, called vests by those at the University of Manchester. While suspenders on men might be fine at Purdue, men at Manchester would never attach the

Best Places to Work in Academia: U.S. Rankings No. 1 US: Fox Chase Cancer Center Courtesy of Paul Cohen At the Fox Chase Cancer Center, which ranked first in the United States in the "Best Places" survey, research is a team sport. "We all have a common mission and a common goal," says Erica Golemis, a principal investigator in the basic science division. "This is the most cooperative, interactive place." TOP 10 US RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS 1. Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia,

Best Places to Work in Academia: Non-U.S. Rankings No. 1 Non-US: Dalhousie University Courtesy of Dalhousie University A sense of community and cooperation makes Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a great place to work, says Benjamin Rusak, professor of psychology, psychiatry, and pharmacology. Here, researchers and faculty often find themselves "looking inward for partners for projects," says Rusak. Dalhousie was chosen in the "Best Places" survey as the number one place to w