Honor Their Indepedent Contributions To Enzymology Author: Neeraja Sankaran The Welch Foundation of Houston has named Robert H. Abeles, a professor of biochemistry at Brandeis University, and Jeremy R. Knowles, the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, as corecipients of the Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry. The two researchers will receive their awards-- consisting of a certificate, a gold medal, and a shared cash prize of $300,000--at a ceremony in Houston on Octob

BERNADINE HEALY, physician and senior health and science policy adviser, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio "THE SCIENTIST does a good job of cutting across all scientific disciplines and providing a unified perspective on the interests of creating new knowledge. It is highly factual, current, and interesting to read." Bernadine Healy's career has encompassed public policy, academic medicine, and medical research and practice. As the first woman director of the National Institutes of Health in

Edward Fred Knipling, the former director and currently science adviser to the entomology research division in the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has received the 1995 Japan Prize for his contributions to "science and technology for agriculture, forestry and fishery which conserves the environment." He was presented with the award at a special ceremony held April 27 in Tokyo. ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY: Edward F. Knipling developed the sterile in

The United Nations Convention on Climate Change, held in Berlin March 28-April 7, was marked by a presence hitherto unseen at such events_representatives from the insurance industry. The company officials, who attended in order to learn more about climatic issues, herald a rapidly expanding dialogue between these traditionally mutually exclusive communities, according to both insurance and science observers. SCENE OF CHANGE: BBSR provides scientists and insurers a platform to discuss issues of

The National Eye Institute (NEI) celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. But, as institute director Carl Kupfer notes, while its accomplishments over the years have more than justified its formation as a separate research agency of the National Institutes of Health, it took a bit of persuasion to carry out that vision. FAR-SIGHTED FOCUS: Cal Kupfer, the institute's first director, recounts NEI's past successes and looks forward to achieving new goals in treating eye disease. "In the 1950s,

A National Science Foundation report, scheduled for release this summer, on the demographics of scientists and engineers (S&E) in the federal work force shows a rise in employment of about 6 percent_13 percent among scientists_from 1989 to 1993. But according to various federal officials, these figures may already be outdated, in light of employment cuts that have occurred since the report period or are being proposed by Congress and the Clinton administration. PARING DOWN: H. Ronald Pulli

President-Elect Of Scientific Honor Society Sigma Xi UNLEADED LEGACY: "These discoveries will affect the health of millions of people for decades to come," asserts Clkair Patterson, regarding the environmentally friendly products that have arisen from his work. William R. Wiley, corporate vice president of research and technology policy at Battelle Memorial Institute, Richland, Wash., was chosen to become the president of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, in 1996-97. Wiley was elected

Research in the neurosciences is in the midst of a particularly exciting period of discovery, says Zach Hall, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), as scientists continue to learn more about the basic biology of such disorders as stroke, epilepsy, and degenerative conditions like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Huntington's diseases. Hall's institute has supported and participated in many of these landmark studies. Now the field stands poised on the brin

For the third time in its 38-year history, the Gairdner Foundation of Willowdale, Ontario, Canada, has selected a scientist who is already a Nobel laureate to receive one of its prestigious International Awards. Traditionally, this award has been considered a "Nobel predictor," with 43 out of 238 honorees having gone on to win the coveted prize. Prior to this year's announcement, Frederick Sanger and H. Gobind Khorana, who won their Nobels in 1958 and 1968, respectively, were the only scientist

Researchers working on a large-scale plan to develop a linkage map of the genome of African Americans a project similar to the Human Genome Project (HGP)_vow to continue their efforts, despite being rejected for funding by the National Institutes of Health. As they pursue other sources of funding, they say they will carry on with the project in a loosely associated alliance of smaller research efforts at Howard University and other institutions. "It is just too important a project to be dismant

National Science Foundation officials have set an ambitious goal for the agency and the scientific community--to make women an equal part of the United States scientific work force by the turn of the century. For its role in the effort, NSF has appropriated $7 million in each of the last two fiscal years, toward expanding its programs to train, encourage, and retain women in science. The funding figures, which officials hope to maintain in the current budget process, represent a 200 percent in

Y. Chen, A. Mestek, J. Liu, J.A. Hurley, L. Yu, "Molecular cloning and functional expression of a f opioid receptor from rat brain," Molecular Pharmacology, 44:8-12, 1993. (Cited in 81 publications through December 1994) Comments by Lei Yu,Indiana University School of Medicine This description of the genetic sequence of the molecular receptor for "morphine-like drugs" marks the end of a 20-year quest, according to Lei Yu, a professor of medical and molecular genetics at the Indiana University