January 2000

Peruse the aisles of any supermarket, and the message that cholesterol causes heart disease rings loud and clear. But soon attention will likely shift to another culprit: homocysteine. This amino acid is usually scant in the blood. But when slightly elevated, it may set the stage for the atherosclerosis that is so tightly linked to cholesterol. Controlling homocysteine level is a simple matter of taking more vitamins--folic acid in particular. Donald Jacobsen "In the future, a homocysteine

Last November, after several hours of tough debate, the Massachusetts Medical Society's House of Delegates voted down a proposal that would give future editors of the society's New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) complete control over the use and marketing of the prestigious journal's logo. Instead, in a concession to supporters of the journal's editors, the group agreed to set up a committee comprising deans of medical schools and schools of public health to arbitrate disputes between futur

Is it research misconduct if a scientist lies about her results at a departmental seminar but never publishes the results? Is it research misconduct if a scientist, in discussing research with a competitor at another institution, suggests performing an experiment he knows to be a waste of time, thus delaying and hindering his competitor? Is it research misconduct if a scientist agrees to be a coauthor of a colleague's paper to which he has made no substantive contributions? If

The emergence of biology-based commercial enterprises is not only fostering difficulties between the private and public sectors regarding access to research resources; it may even affect the way basic science is conducted. A letter report issued recently by the National Research Council (NRC) identifies the most pressing issues of this multifaceted problem and recommends how to begin solving it. The report, by a 26-member life sciences commission, derives from an NRC conference held in early 199

Life science researchers planning future projects that involve contact with people via the Internet can benefit from a new report based on experiences of sociologists, psychologists, and others. The World Wide Web can be a virtual candy store for research into numerous topics. However, online researchers are discovering that the brave new world of research on the Web challenges them to define more specific frameworks for answering ethical questions of consent and privacy in cyberspace stud

Genetically modified (GM) crops, and foods derived from them, continue to ignite controversy and spur jockeying by trade groups and businesses. At its January convention in Houston, the American Farm Bureau Federation, which represents the interests of farmers, released results of a survey last summer on attitudes toward biotechnology and food. Biotechnology was supported by 57 percent of the 1,002 respondents if it improved taste, 65 percent if it improved nutritional value, 69 percent if it in

In 1990 Susumu Tonegawa, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, decided that he'd like to make something of a career change. Tonegawa, who won for his findings on the mechanism of antibody diversity and antigen recognition, chose to move away from his vocation as an immunologist and pursue a longtime fascination with neuroscience. He sought, in effect, to shift the focus of his entire lab. Nine years later, the conversion is complete: Tonegawa recently sent out his last

Mouse Modelers' Marriage To unite the efforts of scientists working to develop mouse models of human cancers, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently formed a consortium of 19 top-tier groups of cancer investigators hailing from more than 30 institutions. Driven by NCI funds, $4.5 million for the first six months and a total commitment of $15 million, it's an experimental arrangement that could become a model for future programs. The consortium will establish a repository for mouse models,

Prostate cancer can be detected early, thanks to digital rectal exams and serum measurements of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Although the role of PSA in cancer is poorly understood, high PSA levels are usually interpreted as bad news about cancer progression. But now scientists at EntreMed, a biotechnology company in Rockville, Md., offer a more optimistic interpretation--one that may explain some paradoxical observations about PSA and cancer. Tumor-secreted proteins called tumor angio

Thank you for the story "What's right about scientific writing" by Gross and Harmon.1 They've done a great job. The story presented in a conventional scientific paper does not follow the historical sequence of how ideas developed while the experimental work proceeded. But that does not matter; it is more important that the paper aids the reader in understanding the ideas being presented. However, I regret that these authors did not deal with some associated problems of the science paper. I

As a university public relations professional, I was interested in Susan Fitzpatrick's Opinion article, "What Makes Science News Newsworthy?"1 I disagree, however, with her conclusion that scientists (and, by implication, PR people) should be more discriminating in which studies they pitch to the media. University PR people are generally very aware of what the media needs and wants in terms of news. More often than not we gently advise faculty that their studies may not be appropriate for

The Opinion by Alan G. Gross and Joseph E. Harmon1 was an excellent article. In general, I find that natural scientists write more clearly and concisely than most other professionals. Their subject matter and their highly critical audience demand clear thinking, which is the beginning (although not the whole) of clear writing. Also, as the authors imply, the present standard formats for scientific papers have become established by a kind of natural selection, because they serve their purpose we

The Hot Papers article1 of Dec. 6 on the failure of various combinations of antibiotics to eradicate latent HIV gives the false impression that AIDS researchers were not aware of this possibility. ("Scientists are still grappling with the questions raised by this sobering discovery.") Doctors learn at medical school the fundamental rule that antibiotics should be given for short periods in adequate doses to destroy all pathogens and prevent the emergence of resistant strains. As soon as it was

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Strip Ease Labnet's EZ-8 strip tubes and rotor Labnet's new EZ-8 strip tube combines eight standard 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tubes into a handy strip for easy handling. Compatible with standard multichannel pipettes, the EZ-8 strip tube also has an attached hinged cap that seals all eight tubes in one step. Quick transfer of samples to a microcentrifuge is achieved using EZ-8 strip tubes in combination with a specially designed rotor that accommodates four strip tubes (32 samples) and fits a varie

How can we learn from the exciting times of post-World War II, when American experimental biology was revolutionized and propelled to the forefront of world science, and now, of biotechnology? Part of the answer could be in establishing an electronic journal of the type proposed by former National Institutes of Health director Harold Varmus, one that is not edited or refereed. The unique feature of this journal would be that it is particularly aimed at having retired scientists as authors. Bef