February 1992

WASHINGTON--The National Science Foundation violated several federal procurement laws in an attempt to replace the National Academy of Sciences as the contractor for its prestigious graduate fellowship program, according to a report issued by the agency's inspector general, Linda Sundro. These actions include a breach of confidentiality in the bidding process, conflict of interest by a staffer, and a failure to follow normal procedures in reviewing the bids of potential contractors. The resul

Researchers hold mixed opinions, with some advocating a streamlined approach that credits only germane contributors Geophysicist Marcia McNutt routinely reads a stack of journals ranging from the Journal of Geophysical research to Science and Nature. When she reads a paper in any of these publications, she usually feels safe making a few assumptions about the authors listed on the paper. "I usually assume the first author is the person who actually did the research," says McNutt, a professo

Increasing fears about carcinogens and other poisons will fuel further growth in the already booming field, experts say The science of toxicology has come a long way in a relatively short time. Back in 1961, when a fledgling society of researchers devoted to the study of poisons and their effect on the human body was well-formed enough to merit holding an annual meeting, the group had 161 members. Next week, as the Society of Toxicology (SOT) convenes its 31st annual meeting, its membership

Ruling On Lab Rodents Could Reduce Oversight Of All Animal Sites WASHINGTON--Animal rights activists are pleased about a federal judge's ruling last month that the United States Department of Agriculture acted in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner in excluding rats, mice, and birds from its interpretation of a federal law meant to protect research animals. But the judge's favorable decision in their suit could result in less-frequent inspections of research facilities housing these and othe

Engineers may be quaking over the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's announcement last month that it may cut 5,000 space shuttle-related jobs over the next five years. But space science researchers are viewing the move as nonthreatening, or even as a boon. In a January 6 speech broadcast to NASA employees, Robert Crippen, the new director of the Kennedy Space Center and a former shuttle astronaut, said that if Congress cuts the agency's budget it will be the space shuttle program

The National Academy of Sciences has operated NSF's graduate fellowship program since 1952. But it has never had to compete for the contract, now worth close to $2 million annually. That's because of the academy's own rule that prohibits it from doing any work for the government if it first must submit a bid and be chosen over several competitors. "We can't compete," says Frank Press, academy president. "If an agency accepts other bids, then we can't do the work. The rule stems from our 1863

French Program Funds Cognitive Science Studies The Fondation Fyssen in Paris is offering grants of up to three years to support young scientists who plan to enter research careers in fields related to cognitive science. The grants program is intended to foster the organization's goal of increasing knowledge of the biological and cultural nature and development of cognitive mechanisms in humans and animals. The maximum available grant support is 95,000 FF (approximately $18,000

A gaseous byproduct of decaying uranium and radium, radon itself decays when it enters the atmosphere, forming a series of "daughter" particles. Two of them, polonium 218 and polonium 214, are alpha emitters, meaning that, when inhaled in high concentrations, they emit alpha particles, known to initiate cancers in the bronchial epithelia. Radon concentrations are traditionally expressed in picocuries (pCi) per liter, whereby 1 pCi represents the amount of material needed to produce 2.2 radioa

KEY PUBLICATIONS IN THE RADON DEBATE Author: TOM ABATE * Comparative Dosimetry of Radon in Mines and Homes (Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1991). A National Research Council committee offers the most recent look at epidemiological considerations of radon exposure. * Radon and Its Decay Products in Indoor Air (New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1988). Edited by Department of Energy scientists William Nazaroff and Tony James, this 12-chapter edition is a primer in radon issue

Linda K. Olson, an associate professor of clinical radiology and associate chief of the department of radiology at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, has received the 1991 Marie Curie Award from the Reston, Va.-based American Association of Women Radiologists. The annual award recognizes contributions to radiology in service or research. Olson, a medical student adviser at UC-San Diego, was cited for her dedication to teaching and her clinical skills. She also directs a

A.H. Sinclair, P. Berta, M.S. Palmer, J.R. Hawkins, et al., "A gene from the human sex-determining region encodes a protein with homology to a conserved DNA-binding motif," Nature, 346:240-44, 1990 Andrew Sinclair (Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London): "Throughout history people have wondered what determines the sex of an individual. In short, how do you get a boy or girl? "Several theories were proposed by the ancient Greeks: Democritus believed the u

H. von Boehmer, P. Kisielow, "Self-nonself discrimination by T cells," Science, 248:1369-73, 1990. Harald von Boehmer (Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland): "Despite 100 years of debate and speculation, the principles and mechanism of the self-nonself discrimination process by the immune system until recently have been obscure. Experimental analyses were hindered by the tremendous diversity of immunologic cells and receptor molecules. By creating T cell receptor transgenic mice--mice w

R.E. Arvidson, R.E. Grimm, R.J. Phillips, G.G. Schaber, E.M. Shoemaker, "On the nature and rate of resurfacing of Venus," Geophysical Research Letters, 17:1385-88, 1990. Raymond E. Arvidson (Washington University, St. Louis): "The size-frequency distribution, abundance, and locations of impact craters provide key pieces of information for understanding how planets are resurfaced. "Based on the average size frequency distribution, we know that volcanism and tectonism have removed Venusian cra

D.E. Williams, J. Eisenman, A. Baird, C. Rauch, et al., "Identification of a ligand for the c-kit proto-oncogene," Cell, 63:167-74, 1990. N.G. Copeland, D.J. Gilbert, B.C. Cho, P.J. Donovan, et al., "Mast cell growth factor maps near the steel locus on mouse chromosome 10 and is deleted in a number of steel alleles," Cell, 63:175-83, 1990. D.M. Anderson, S.D. Lyman, A. Baird, J.M. Wignall, et al., "Molecular cloning of mast cell growth factor, a hematopoietin that is active in both membrane

The American Philosophical Society's General Research Grant Program is designed to help scholars fund research projects in areas not currently receiving substantial corporate or government support. The society, the nation's oldest academic association, began providing funds for individual research projects in 1933. The program, for example, has supported work on an instrument to measure the depth of the polar ice cap as well as research on the inheritance patterns in ciliate protozoa. The maxi

Arms Control Agency Funds Students This year the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency will award up to three Hubert H. Humphrey Doctoral Fellowships in Arms Control and Disarmament. Named for the late Minnesota senator and vice president, who supported the agency's goals throughout his career, the one-year fellowships support advanced graduate students as they conduct dissertation research in fields relevant to arms control. Eligible applicants come from a range of academic disc

Elliott B. Grossbard has been named vice president of medical and regulatory affairs at California Biotechnology Inc. (Cal Bio) of Mountain View, Calif. His duties will include guiding products through the final stages of development and regulatory approval. Grossbard, 43, joins Cal Bio from HemaGen/PFC of San Francisco, where he had been vice president of medical affairs since 1990. From 1982 to 1990, he held a variety of positions at Genentech Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif. Grossbard re

David A. Shirley, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, has been appointed senior vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at Penn State University. His appointment becomes effective March 1. Shirley, 58, has had a joint appointment at UC-Berkeley and at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) since 1959, and has been a full professor at UC-Berkeley since 1967. From 1980 to 1989, he was the director of LBL. Shirley received his B.S. from the Un