Future Uses Author: MYRNA E. WATANABE, pp.14 Date: May 30,1994 They live--thrive, even--in boiling water! They feed on sulfur or hydrogen. They could be from one of the moons of Jupiter. In fact, their existence here on Earth has led scientists to realize that planets they hitherto assumed to be lifeless might support life. These thermophilic, or heat-loving, microbes--Archaea--are attracting a small but growing cadre of researcher

Future Uses Author: MYRNA E. WATANABE, pp.14 Date: May 30,1994 They live--thrive, even--in boiling water! They feed on sulfur or hydrogen. They could be from one of the moons of Jupiter. In fact, their existence here on Earth has led scientists to realize that planets they hitherto assumed to be lifeless might support life. These thermophilic, or heat-loving, microbes--Archaea--are attracting a small but growing cadre of researcher

They live--thrive, even--in boiling water! They feed on sulfur or hydrogen. They could be from one of the moons of Jupiter. In fact, their existence here on Earth has led scientists to realize that planets they hitherto assumed to be lifeless might support life. These thermophilic, or heat- loving, microbes--Archaea--are attracting a small but growing cadre of researchers and serious research funding from the United States governmen

Although the field traditionally has branched into the study of fungi species that cause disease, mycologists say their field now encompasses molecular biology, ecology, chemical-extraction techniques, and other specialties and skills not usual for the traditional mycologist. The research emanating from laboratories studying fungi is diverse, including investigations of biological control of pest plants, production of new strains of

Although the field traditionally has branched into the study of fungi species that cause disease, mycologists say their field now encompasses molecular biology, ecology, chemical-extraction techniques, and other specialties and skills not usual for the traditional mycologist. The research emanating from laboratories studying fungi is diverse, including investigations of biological control of pest plants, production of new strains of

On Dec. 31, 1993, the last stores of the smallpox (variola) virus were to be destroyed simultaneously in Russia and the United States, according to an agreement arranged through the World Health Organization (WHO). If the agreement had been effected, it would have been the first intentional destruction of a human disease and its causative organism. The date has passed, however, and the stores remain intact. But researchers through

Research RU 486 Research Forges On, Despite Political Hurdles Author: MYRNA E. WATANABE Date: January 24, 1994, pp.14 RU 486, discovered more than 10 years ago, is an antiprogestin. Antiprogestins attach to progesterone receptors on the cell membrane in competition with the steroid hormone progesterone. When progesterone binds with a receptor, a cascade of biochemical events leads to DNA transcription. An antiprogestin, once bound

RU 486, discovered more than 10 years ago, is an antiprogestin. Antiprogestins attach to progesterone receptors on the cell membrane in competition with the steroid hormone progesterone. When progesterone binds with a receptor, a cascade of biochemical events leads to DNA transcription. An antiprogestin, once bound to the progesterone receptor, suppresses transcription. In the uterus, this leads to hormonal and biochemical changes t

On its launch this past October 5, the Landsat 6 remote- sensing satellite crashed into the Indian Ocean--a sourly disappointing turn of events for researchers in several scientific fields. These scientists have grown increasingly dependent on the space device, which scans specific electromagnetic wavelengths from Earth, to supply them with unique data on the ever-changing planet. For these researchers, this latest setback is representative of the roller-coaster history of the two-decade-old

With Five-Year Ban On Fetal Tissue Studies Lifted, Scientists Are Striving To Make Up For Lost Time Author: MYRNA E. WATANABE, pp.1 delayed by the moratorium, that may relieve human suffering Sometime this month, the National Institutes of Health will announce the recipients of the first federal grants since 1988 for research on human fetal tissue transplants using material derived from elective abortions--the main source of live and healthy fetal tissue that can be maintained in culture

"Word's biggest bacterium found in a fish," declared the front- page headline in a March 1993 edition of USA Today, while the New York Times trumpeted its coverage with: "In the world of bacteria, a behemoth." Even the relatively staid science journals couldn't resist. Science announced the identification of "Monsters from the guts," and Nature's header read "Giant among the prokaryotes." The extraordinary flurry of interest--and imagery--was over an article in Nature (E.R. Angert, et al., 362: