The pace of discoveries of disease-causing genes is quickening as the Human Genome Project nears completion. Headlines frequently announce the detection of genes behind familiar ills, and what follows has become a routine: Several research groups race to map the gene, then clone and describe it, while biotech companies wait in the wings to turn the discovery into clinical tests. But gene searches for many very rare, inherited illnesses never make the news, nor are they all straightforward. Gene

Modified Micelles: "In order to separate chiral molecules, you need another chiral species," says Isiah Warner, chairman of the chemistry department at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Warner uses fatty spheres called micelles, which form as fatty acid tails face inward and heads face outward in solution. He links a single enantiomer of the amino acid valine to the fatty acids, creating micelles that bind certain other single enantiomers. It is an old idea with a twist, Warner says:

Finding time to conduct research or learn new teaching techniques can be elusive for life scientists with heavy teaching loads and administrative commitments. Time "off" for a sabbatical leave can offer a welcome chance for a scientist to learn. TOO CLOSE TO HOME: Hamilton College biologist Ernest Williams notes that it can be difficult to focus on research during stay-at-home sabbaticals. "To some extent, a sabbatical is an escape from the usual pressures. It is a different pace, and gets aw

Evolution is the backbone of modern biology, but life scientists sometimes face audiences who perceive it as a threat to their religious beliefs. With laws such as North Carolina House Bill 511, proposed in March as an attempt to "ensure that evolution is not taught as fact in North Carolina public schools," scientists are being asked to clarify the distinction between science and religion. Professors at small Southern and Midwestern colleges seem to have the most experience in discussing-and s

Sidebar: RNA's Role at Beginning of Life - For Further Information Before there was life, there were chemicals. The idea that ribonucleic acid (RNA), because of its catalytic capability and multiple roles in protein synthesis, was the chemical that led directly to life is termed the RNA world hypothesis. Although the phrase "RNA world" is generally attributed to Walter Gilbert, Harvard University's Carl M. Loeb University Professor, in a short 1986 paper, the idea of RNA's importance at the beg

Kits Take the Trickiness Out of RNA Isolation, Purification MINIMIZES CONTAMINATION: Ambion’s Rnase Zap destroys Rnase on laboratory surfaces. RNA is the most versatile biological molecule. It carries genetic information from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, then actively participates in protein synthesis; it also can function catalytically. All cells of a multicellular organism have similar collections of transfer and ribosomal RNAs, but it is the repertoire of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that

Life science laboratories, with their chemicals, glassware, and occasional pathogens, can be dangerous places. Yet today’s life science lab is probably safer than ever before, researchers, lab instructors, and safety officers report. "People are making efforts now to plan research activities more than they used to. Most large universities and many small ones are putting more effort into safety," says Peter Ashbrook, head of hazardous waste management at the University of Illinois, Urbana

Knowing where safety equipment is located and checking safety supplies regularly can prevent or minimize accidents. Researchers and safety experts offer other tips: Know Chemical Characteristics: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides information on material safety data sheets for all chemicals that list associated hazards and instructions on how to handle exposures. For radioisotopes, researchers should know the type of emitted particles, the half-life, and annual ex

Sidebar: A Trio of Innovative T.A. Training Programs Teaching assistants (T.A.'s) were once regarded as second-class citizens by science graduate students with research assistantships. But things have changed over the past decade. Several factors-including recognition of the value of teaching skills, a tight job market, and public demand for quality in undergraduate instruction-have converged to stimulate academic departments to invest more in T.A.'s. As a result, many colleges and universitie

Sidebar: Selected Suppliers of Liquid-Handling Equipment Liquid-handling equipment has always been central to biomedical research. Pipettes and pumps must be accurate and resist contamination, yet work quickly and comfortably in repetitive procedures. While pipettes and pumps will remain key components of experimental protocols, new types of large-scale research will require more automation and miniaturization in liquid-handling capabilities. Both the Human Genome Project and combinatorial che

Being both a scientist by training and a journalist by practice gives one a unique perspective on the challenges of conveying science news to the public. Scientists can help writers and editors do their jobs without reducing every discovery to a potential cure for birth defects or cancer by learning to explain what they do, and how and why they do it, with both eloquence and excitement. A love of basic research drove me to both science and journalism. However, I left science shortly after earn

TIME EFFICIENT: The AMBIS radioisotopic imager from Scanalytics/CSPI. Already an invaluable tool in some basic research, image analysis is edging into the classroom and the clinic. "Any field of life science that can put a video camera onto a microscope will begin to use image analysis," predicts Richard Cardullo, an associate professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside. In general, the technique acquires, digitizes, and then processes a microscope or scanned image, enhan