R.G. McDaniel, a University of Arizona plant geneticist, holds a patent on a flowering plant that grows in Arizona. The plant produces a "natural insecticide" that is lethal to insects yet is relatively safe for consumption by humans and warm-blooded mammals. Meanwhile, in Independence, Oreg., Krishen Bhat, the vice president for research at an agricultural company called Botanical Resources--a subsidiary of John I. Haas Co., the major hops refinery in the United States--is hurriedly working to

With species preservation now becoming at least as important as entertainment, researchers in many fields take up zoo residence "And on your right, enveloped by a cloud of vapor billowing from a just-opened tank that stores eggs, sperm, and embryos at sub-zero temperatures, the scientists in their white lab coats seem to blend into their habitat." This may be what a Cincinnati Zoo tour guide will say this fall as she takes a group of visitors through a unique feature at the zoo--an in vitro f

New policies may make it more difficult for them to work temporarily, but may make it easier for them to get permanent visas Universities, industries, and government agencies that employ foreign scientists see the 1990 Immigration Act, which revamps the visa application process for skilled workers and the quotas of temporary and permanent visas issued, as a mixed blessing. The 110-page law, signed by President Bush last November, triples the number of permanent visas for skilled workers to 1

New legislation designed to reward outstanding scientists might help to keep them in the Public Health Service ranks Attracting senior-level scientists to Public Health Service jobs in the Department of Health and Human Services and keeping them there has been tough over the past 10 years. Congressmen, policymakers, and other government officials contend that scientists have been leaving government service for better opportunities and agencies have had difficulty replacing them because thei

Academic and industrial researchers hold differing views on whether--and how severely--the chemistry profession is suffering Talk to academic chemists these days and they're likely to tell you they're worried. The anxiety they feel doesn't concern a difficult experiment; rather, they fear for the future of their profession. They see fewer United States college students majoring in chemistry. But they also see diminishing quality in the current crop of doctorates. They see unfilled job open

X-ray crystallographer Vivian Cody has found a way to sit--virtually--in the midst of enzyme drug binding sites. She especially likes to experience the feel of it all--the pushes and pulls that a drug goes through as it finds the coziest place to rest on a protein. Although this kind of molecular space exploration sounds like fun and games, some scientists in academia, industry, and government see it as a most serious and advanced application of "virtual reality," an emerging computer technolog

Technical and cultural concerns hamper the full-scale launching of an innovative vehicle to relay scientific results Plans to bring science publications into the computer age are making slow but steady progress as individuals, academic associations, and publishers investigate the feasibility and economics of producing journals electronically. These online "publications" of peer-reviewed research articles will be circulated to scientists either directly, through existing computer networks tha

Scientists fear that a patchwork of local laws more stringent than federal restrictions may hamper research and industry As state legislatures throughout the United States take steps to intensify their participation in biotechnology regulation, some states are enacting restrictions on the use of biotechnological products. In some cases, these laws go beyond limits already put in place by the federal government. While legislators say they believe that such regulation protects their states' eco

Volume 5, #3The Scientist February 18, 1991 RUTGERS SCIENTISTS PLANT SEEDS OF TRUST WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY Author: Robin Eisner Date: February 18, 1991 Agricultural scientist Peter Day knows that if he wants to plant his genetically engineered eggplant in southern New Jersey by 1992, cultivating relationships with local planning boards, homeowners associations, and farmers is as important as nurturing the seedlings in the greenhouse. So he and his Rutgers University team of scie

The agency's plans to fund up to 80 facilities at universities now seem doomed by harsh criticism and funding shortages In Texas, the so-called third coast of biotechnology, a new statewide association of biotechnology companies hopes to put local investors in touch with scientist entrepreneurs. Its California counterpart successfully lobbied last year against a bill restricting animal testing. A Pennsylvania association is in the process of developing a high school curriculum on biotechnology

Although $12 billion a year is spent in the U.S. for pet food and care, research funding for companion animal health falls short Three-year-old Jessie, her gums white from blood loss, was rushed, hemorrhaging and near death, to the emergency room of a Canadian hospital. Test results showed that she was suffering from massive ulcers brought on by an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication she had been given to treat a hip condition. After a surgeon at the hospital removed the largest ulce

Orville Vogel, professor emeritus of agronomy and soil at Washington State University, and Hilary Koprowski, director of the Wistar Institute, received the 1990 John Scott Awards at a November 27 ceremony. The awards, given by the city of Philadelphia's Board of Directors of City Trusts, recognize men and women whose inventions have contributed to the "comfort, welfare and happiness" of mankind. Vogel, 82, was honored for his breeding of semidwarf wheats, which helped spawn the "green revoluti