Although these three alternatives to injections don't look alike, the mechanisms by which they protect against diseases have much in common. 

Theoretically, scientists should be able to deliver antigens against E. coli, cholera, or other diarrhea-causing pathogens in just about any fruit or vegetable. But practicality may trump technology when it comes to picking how to package an edible vaccine. 

The eyes may be windows to the soul, but the nose is a gateway to the mucosal immune system. Drug companies are now developing vaccines to take advantage of that gateway. Courtesy of Aviron MISTING UP: Aviron's nasal flu vaccine, which has recently completed Phase III trials, targets the mucosal system and protects against both flu and ear infection. "If you can stimulate the mucosal immune system--that's the majority of the immune system," explains Larry G. Stambaugh, president and CEO of M

LIMBO: A postdoc in Deborah Andrew's lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faces an uncertain future because H-1B visas ran out before she could obtain one. During a three-year stay on a training visa, a Portuguese postdoc in Deborah Andrew's lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine began characterizing titin --a gene that codes for a key muscle protein. She may not get to finish. The reason? Her training visa's extension ran out last month. And her efforts to apply for the five-year H-1B

T he Senate's snuffing of anti-tobacco legislation last month also extinguished some optimism for increased science funding for fiscal year 1999, which begins Oct. 1, 1998. "It's definitely a setback," Mary Woolley, president of Research!America, admits. President Bill Clinton had earmarked some of the anticipated revenue from proposed increases in cigarette taxes to pay for a boost in biomedical research funding. Without that revenue, Research!America's goal of doubling biomedical research fu

Leaders of separate public and private efforts to sequence the human genome used words such as "cooperation," "collaboration," and "partnership" to describe their intentions toward each other during a hearing last month in Washington, D.C. But both projects appear headed on separate, although not quite independent, courses. The private project--a joint venture between Perkin-Elmer Inc., a Norwalk, Conn.-based manufacturer of sequencing equipment, and J. Craig Venter, president of The Institute

Pointing to a few empty chairs in a conference room, moderator David T. Curiel joked that a symposium on emerging nonviral vectors was a "failure" compared to other packed talks at the American Society of Gene Therapy's inaugural meeting last month. The director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's gene therapy program also noted that viral vectors have generated more research activity than nonviral vectors. However, nonviral backers think their delivery vehicles for therapeutic geneti

Principals behind joint-venture proposal and public effort seek to define relationships A private effort to sequence the human genome four years ahead of the Human Genome Project's 2005 goal could either compete directly with the federal project or meld seamlessly with it. Before any relationship between the two efforts becomes formalized, scientists and federal officials involved with the Human Genome Project must determine whether the private approach will work, who will own the data, how qu

The excitement of turning theory into therapeutics...The opportunity to focus on research, without the distractions of committee work...The prospect of advancing one's career without navigating the tenure process...The chance to collaborate, rather than carve an individual niche...The potential for greater remuneration--if the science proves marketable... A host of reasons prompts scientists to ponder switching from academia to industry--whether as start-up employee, biotech entrepreneur, or B

Vectors in development seek to benefit from earlier trials The gene therapy field resembles a toolbox containing instruments researchers haven't quite mastered, and the number of devices--viral and nonviral vectors--in this toolbox keeps increasing. "There are all these different tools out there," notes A. Dusty Miller, researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. "People are still trying to figure out what tools to use for what diseases." Photo: Richard Lobell Photography

BOUGHT OUT: Eileen Gorman lost her senior scientist position with DuPont when Dade International (now Dade Behring) purchased her research unit. She now runs her own consulting business. In retrospect, Eileen G. Gorman should have known. However, she had every reason not to worry. A chemist, she had survived constant restructuring--characterized by multiple name changes of her department--during her nearly 15 years with the Glasgow, Del.-based in vitro diagnostics unit of E.I. DuPont de Nemo

ACADEMIC EROSION: Although neither males nor females approach NSF's goals for attracting students to science and engineering careers (represented by dotted line), women tend to flee the sciences faster than men--particularly after high school. First came the age of intrepid female pioneer researchers. Then came the epoch of "supermom" scientists. So where do women in science stand today? Many presenters at the Conference on Women, Science, and Engineering held last month at the New York Acade