In 1985, David Beach, yeast geneticist at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island, N.Y., assembled a strong team of young researchers who proceeded to produce a remarkable series of highly cited papers.

From their lab, located along a secluded, peaceful inlet 35 miles from Manhattan, the investigators, led by Beach, made important breakthroughs in understanding the biochemical pathway controlling cell division and engaged in several extremely successful collaborations with other researchers that helped to refine the understanding of the molecular basis of cell cycle control.

Today, however, the team is no longer intact. Bolstered by their accomplishments while training with Beach, Giulio Draetta, Leonardo Brizuela, and Robert N. Booher are now pursuing related projects at other labs, a fact that Beach accepts as a reality of the research world.

"While it's difficult to lose three team members at the same time, it's part of the normal process of science,"...

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