January 1995

Among the growing number of collaborations being established between researchers from the United States and those of former communist countries, investigators from a variety of disciplines are calling a burgeoning relationship with one nation the scientific opportunity of a lifetime. They are referring to Mongolia, a country that until two years ago was virtually untrodden by Western scientists. After its peaceful, democratic "revolution" of 1992, Mongolia opened its borders and its economy to

Many detect a new openness to finding a synergy between the realms of laboratory research and theology From the days of Galileo, the public perception that scientific tenets are antithetical to religious doctrine has been a strong one. Yet many researchers who hold strong religious beliefs maintain that science and religion are not incompatible. The view that most scientists are atheists, while perhaps closer to urban legend than demonstrable fact, remains a popular one. A Wall Street Journ

Land-grant college officials fear their institutions may be among hardest hit if proposed policy is enacted Agricultural scientists and research administrators, already beset by budget cuts and the effects of political turmoil in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), warn of a much more formidable threat to their support looming on the horizon. Particularly affected, according to these observers, would be land-grant colleges. The "Contract with America," if enacted by the new, R

Industry observers maintain that capital is available for companies that have the right formula for success With almost-daily headlines chronicling funding and scientific setbacks to the biotechnology industry, the challenges for scientist- entrepreneurs contemplating making a go of their idea seem daunting, even insurmountable. Yet biotech analysts, officials, researchers, and other observers insist that, despite the depressed financial climate in the industry and investor wariness, capital

The digital library--an eagerly anticipated but as yet ill- defined and largely unrealized concept--took an important step toward actualization this past fall with the launching of a new collaborative federal research effort, according to government officials, project investigators, and librarians. Institution: Carnegie Mellon University Funding: $4.8 million Research Focus: Digital video library incorporating math and science materials Major Partners: Bell Atlantic Network Services Digital

Table of Contents An Improbable Debut Strange Bedfellows SRO Silvery Science Those Cards And Letters Keep Coming The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)--a new journal published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum and developed by the same brilliant, but twisted, minds who originated the Ig Nobel Prizes for dubious scientific achievements--issued its first volume on December 14. The debut was commemorated at a ceremony highlighted by (questionable) pomp (Marilyn Vos Savant,

FRANCES K. CONLEY Professor of neurosurgery,Stanford University School of Medicine, California, and Chief of the section of neurosurgery, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, California "THE SCIENTIST serves the scientific community by providing an easy method for tracking who's doing what in research. It is an amazing tool." Frances Conley holds the distinction of being the first female, tenured full professor of neurosurgery in the United States. A fellow of the American College of Surgeons, she is

According to a respected 1991 poll on religion by the Graduate School of the City University of New York, more than 86 percent of Americans profess to be Christian, and only 7.5 percent claimed "no religion" (A.L. Goldman, New York Times, April 10, 1991, page A1). The percentage of believers is higher in the United States than in any other developed country. Whether the percentage of scientists who are also believers is equally high is undetermined; I know of no reliable polls dealing with the

This letter provides specific information concerning the way the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) conceived its meeting ("convocation") on scientific misconduct, 7 June 1994 (Franklin Hoke, "Meeting On Science Conduct Seen As A Noble Attempt That Fell Short," The Scientist, 25 July 1994, page 1). I tried to make this meeting more relevant by proposing that specific documentation concerning specific examples be distributed at this meeting. I was following a recommendation made in the report b

 Yogi Berra's classic line, "It's deja vu all over again," came to mind as I read a story on the United States Patent Office fiasco regarding the Compton's New Media case (S. Chartrand, "At the Patent Office, a digital dawn," New York Times, Nov. 12, 1994, page 39). To recap: In August 1993 the Patent Office awarded Compton's, a San Diego-based CD-ROM publisher, exclusive rights on a basic search and retrieval software feature in its interactive CD-ROM products. This would have allowed C

different things to different people. To the biomedical scientist it could include the crucial basic investigations that lead to a life- and cost-saving vaccine. By contrast, to a hospital's staff ethicist it could entail devising a policy of informed consent for experimental medical treatments. Health-care research, according to many experts, covers the spectrum from fundamental research projects like those in cell biology to such applied questions as how to lower costs yet maintain high-qua

Selective microzapping_dubbed laser ablation, a highly accurate technique of micromanipulation that enables researchers to burn off or cut through cellular material without destroying surrounding tissue_offers exciting possibilities as a research tool. However, its benefits have been somewhat compromised because most conventional laser- ablation systems operate at fixed wavelengths, and use open- beam configurations that require great care in maintaining alignment. Often a system must be perfe

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