December 1993

'Concerned Scientists' organization fosters a coalition determined to promote awareness of global perils In an unusual alliance, a group of prominent scientists has teamed up with several major religious denominations to address what they see as urgent environmental problems. The group aims to educate Americans about such global concerns as deteriorating marine life, loss of important species, and food shortages. It is being led by Henry Kendall, a physics professor at the Massachusetts Ins

As more researchers flock to the popular field, observers fear a widening gap between supply and demand When scientists convene in New Orleans next week for the 33rd annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), nine symposia, 20 minisymposia, and countless informal gatherings are sure to focus on the recent achievements and continuing progress in this exciting and rapidly expanding scientific field. There is likely to be little excitement in the air, however, concerning the

Despite impressive lab achievements, the big news this year has sprung from the corridors of power in Washington Scientists, policy experts, administrators, and observers of the research community appear satisfied that 1993 has been a strong year in terms of research advances. They cite, for example, bold steps taken this year in gene therapies and a continuing frenzy of research on the 60-atom molecules of carbon known as buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs. Overall, they feel, researchers

The Charles A. Dana Foundation presented its annual Charles A. Dana Awards for Pioneering Achievements in Health and Education at a dinner ceremony last month at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. This year, the New York-based foun- dation's health awards honored seven scientists and educators who won or shared four awards--two in health and two in education. Three neuroscientists who made significant breakthroughs in brain research and applied their findings to clinical disorders won health aw

It was encouraging, in any event, that three scientists made reference, even though obliquely, to the ban's being based on moral or political, not on scientific, grounds. It would have been more encouraging if they had stated flatly that imposition of the ban was neither a moral nor a political issue, but a religious issue. It is a serious threat to freedom when, in a country whose constitution requires separation of church and state, funding for a valuable component of medical research can be

I am sure many of your readers join me in disagreeing with the accusations made by Marjorie Anchel in her Sept. 20, 1993, letter to The Scientist [page 12]. To say that "laboratories are exempt from the anti-cruelty laws" is to ignore the fact that the biomedical research industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States. The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) sets standards for the humane treatment of laboratory animals. This act has specific requirements for housing, feed

Microbiologist Stanley Barban introduces fifth-graders to the "invisible world of microorganisms" by swabbing a child's hand before and after washing, then growing the removed bacteria under glass for later study. He and the class also visit a laboratory at the National Institutes of Health. Meanwhile, electrical engineer Harold Sharlin uses wires, sockets, and light bulbs to demonstrate principles of electricity to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders. Then he takes the eager pupils on tours of

Awards, Presented By City Of Philadelphia To Honor Pioneering Work Carlo M. Croce, director of the Thomas Jefferson University Cancer Institute and Cancer Center in Philadelphia, and Richard E. Smalley, Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry at Rice University in Houston, have received the 1993 John Scott Awards, presented by the Board of City Trusts of the city of Philadelphia on November 19. The award is given annually for inventions that "contribute to the comfort, welfare, and ha