Short of funding, a cell biologist sells her own `BlueGene' T-shirts to finance controversial research on the reovirus
DEL MAR, CALIF. -- Scientists who challenge conventional wisdom sometimes must go to great lengths to get recognition for their ideas. So colleagues should not be surprised when they see Ruth Kavenoff at this week's meeting of the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) in Anaheim, Calif., wearing her research on her chest.

Kavenoff, a 46-year-old cell biologist, will be recognizable by her T-shirt, which is decorated with an elaborately detailed picture of genes. The T-shirt is more than just an emblem of her dedication to her science: It represents the means by which she has managed to continue doing research.

Her presentation at the association meeting of a poster, dealing with a controversial theory on the RNA chromosome structure of the much-studied reovirus, will mark her return to scientific conferences after an...

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