December 1992

Clinton Tenure Nears Date: December 7, 1992 Science policy watchers in some cases are using terms such as "disastrous" and "devastating" to characterize cuts imposed by Congress on the Bush administration's budget request for the 1993 fiscal year. As the dust settles after months of budget wrangling on Capitol Hill, 1993 figures that have emerged from the fray appear to spell serious belt-tightening for the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other major civili

Sciences Date: December 7, 1992 The energetic young field of computational biology is looking to the coming generation of massively parallel computers for its future, researchers say. These machines, enhanced by the contributions of computer scientists who are developing innovative programming tactics, will be crucial in allowing biological researchers to reach ambitious goals. "Parallel computers are going to let this field take off," says Andrew McCammon, a theoretical chemist at the Unive

Influence On Lab Research Date: December 7, 1992 For the scientists who won this year's Nobel prizes in chemistry and in physiology or medicine, a commanding citation record, as determined by the Philadelphia-based Institute for Scientific Information, was a clear indication that they were in the running for this most coveted award. The prize in physics, however, went to a French physicist at CERN whose citation history, although impressive, has not been nearly as meteoric as the other recipi

James J. Stoker, a former director of New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, died October 19 in Greenwood, N.Y. He was 87 years old. Stoker assumed the director position in 1958 when the institute's founder, Richard Courant, retired. Stoker specialized in using mathematical analysis to determine water flow and flood waves of rivers and large reservoirs. Among his books were Differential Geometry (New York, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1969) and Water Waves (Wiley, 1957).

Despite some concerns over the potential for harm to innovation at small firms and undue influence and increased bureaucracy at the agency, government and industry analysts are expressing enthusiasm for a statute requiring pharmaceutical companies to pay "user fees" to the United States Food and Drug Administration. The additional 600 reviewers the fees will finance, they say, will result in decreased review time that will reduce corporate cost, increase government efficiency, and, ultimately,

Five months after it was delivered, a July letter from the National Academy of Sciences to a foreign associate member suggesting that he resign because of his alleged anti-Semitic activities is still generating controversy. Correspondence expressing support for the move, as well as letters protesting it, continue to arrive at the NAS office; two scientific societies have joined the chorus of supporters. The issue has focused attention on the criteria for membership in the academy, prompting so

Editor's Note: The Sept. 28, 1992, issue of The Scientist (page 1) contained an article reporting on a letter from two officials of the National Academy of Sciences to Igor R. Shafarevich, a foreign associate of NAS and head of the algebra section of the V.A. Steklov Institute in Moscow, the mathematics institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the 1970s, Shafarevich criticized the Soviet government, calling for increased human rights in the USSR. The unprecedented letter, signed by Fra

The Scientist is to be commended for its considered treatment of neuroscience research funding in Job Market Sluggish For Neuroscientists by Marcia Clemmitt (Oct. 12, 1992, page 1). The article correctly points out that even though this is one of the most exciting areas of biomedical science, most fine research is underfunded. When Congress passed the Decade of the Brain resolution, hopes were justifiably raised that funding for neuroscience would finally catch up to the enormous research oppo

Franklin Hoke's article on Thomas Starzl's bold experiment in xenotransplantation (The Scientist, Sept. 28, 1992, page 1) is one of the most thoroughly researched I've found in a scientific journal. And yet it completely omits the fact that the subject of Starzl's experiment, a 35-year-old unidentified male, was HIV positive. Such an omission cannot have been unintentional. How does one specifically delineate the effects of drugs upon the immune system while conveniently ignoring the fact that

Pragmatic Necessity Date: December 7, 1992 In the Profession section of this issue, Liane Reif-Lehrer explores a subject whose importance cannot be overstated. She declares that, as scientists, we have an ethical duty to the research community. The "Golden Rule" she discusses involves mentoring and other forms of support as a means of repaying our debts to the world of science in which we have thrived. I agree that this is a valuable way for us to express our gratitude to the community that e

U.S. Remains Murky Date: December 7, 1992 It's the worst of times, but in some ways it's also the best of times for fusion researchers. On the upside is a complex, four- party agreement that was signed in July, commiting the world fusion community to a collaborative effort to design the next- generation fusion experiment. The United States is joining Japan, Europe, and Russia to design the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The bad news is that the agreement is only to

D.A. Neumann, J.R.D. Copley, R.L. Cappelletti, W.A. Kamitakahara, et al., "Coherent quasielastic neutron scattering study of the rotational dynamics of C60 in the orientationally disordered phase," Physical Review Letters, 67:3808, 1991. Dan Neumann (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.): "One of the most compelling features of the molecule C60 is its beautiful symmetric structure. On first reflection, however, there is an apparent paradox, since the molecular sha

R. Glynne, S. H. Powis, S. Beck, A. Kelly, L-A. Kerr, J. Trowsdale, "A proteasome-related gene between the two ABC transporter loci in the class II region of the human MHC," Nature, 353:357-360, 1991. Richard Glynne (Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, England): "The mechanism by which the body's immune system recognizes and kills virally infected cells but passes over healthy cells has intrigued immunologists for many years. An important breakthrough came when Alain Townsend at the John R

B.F. Luisi, W.X. Xu,Z. Otwinowski, L.P. Freedman, et al., "Crystallographic analysis of the interaction of the glucocorticoid receptor with DNA," Nature, 352:497, 1991. Ben Luisi (Medical Research Council, Glasgow, U.K.): "The glucocorticoid receptor is activated by its steroid ligand to migrate to the nucleus, where it associates with specific DNA sites and modulates expression of target genes. A small domain in the protein directs the DNA target specificity, and my colleagues and I have det

Date: December 7, 1992 More and more, the technological line that distinguishes printers from plotters is blurring. And this convergence in functionality- -enhanced by advances in both hardware and software--is good news for scientists. Hardware has advanced to the point that, in most situations, there is no longer a need for separate output devices for handling text and graphics. While there are still a few drawbacks to this one-device-does-all output approach, especially when both large-si

Date: December 7, 1992 I am sometimes asked, in the course of my proposal-writing workshops, "Why would someone want to serve as a grant reviewer? It's hard work for only a small honorarium." I answer that it's a way for senior scientists to pay back the scientific community for what it's done for them. Alan Schoenfeld, a professor of education and mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, thinks similar dynamics in family life provide a good analogy. "Children do not repay thei

Date: December 7, 1992 Median salaries for most geology faculty rose sharply in the 1991-92 academic year, according to a recently released survey by the Alexandria, Va.-based American geological Institute (AGI). These results are surprising to some geology professors, who contend that salaries have been dampened by the recession. An AGI official acknowledges that the survey may not give a totally accurate picture of faculty pay. A separate AGI study of starting salaries for new graduates sh

Date: December 7, 1992 After 22 years in the French molecular biology community, Edward N. Brody is returning to the United States. Though originally from Chicago, Brody has spent four years as research director in the Centre de Genetique Moleculaire at the French National Research Council and 18 years as a research director at the Institut de Biologie Physico-chimique. He has now taken a position as chairman of the department of biological sciences at the State University of New York at Buff

Achievements In Opto-Electronics Date: December 7, 1992 William Newsome, an associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford University, became the eighth recipient of the Golden Brain Award, presented annually by the Berkeley, Calif.-based Minerva Foundation. The award, a seven-inch, gold-plated sculpture of a human brain, was presented at an October 23 ceremony and honors influential basic research on the structure and function of vision and the brain. The Minerva Foundation was established

Stamp Of Approval Starring Roles For Women Scientists Sold! To The Fittest Bidder Gone Fishin' Cosmic Collaboration Mice At Risk Although it isn't receiving as much publicity as the Elvis Presley stamp to be issued January 1, a stamp honoring a noted African American scientist will be available next month. Percy Lavon Julian, who pioneered the chemical synthesis of drugs, is to be featured on a 29-cent stamp as part of the U.S. Postal Service's commemorative Black Heritage Series. Julia