July 1997

The recent public apology by President Clinton on behalf of the United States government to survivors of the Tuskegee syphilis experiments was intended to close the door on one of the most scandalous instances of officially sanctioned scientific misconduct in the annals of biomedical research. Yet, while the apology may bring closure to the particular incident, it stands as a stark reminder of the history that has led many minorities to distrust supposedly objective scientific research. Betraye

There is a challenge that faces the entire scientific community. From the farmland of Northern Wisconsin to the business district of San Francisco, a blanket covering the untapped potential for medical research advocacy needs to be removed. The opportunity to strengthen the call for doubling the United States' commitment to medical research looms larger than ever. It is time for the scientific community to elevate its advocacy, with a unified voice, to a volume not yet heard by local, state, an

The Scientist Date: July 21, 1997 THE SCIENTIST® The Newspaper for the Life Sciences Professional (609)-786-7207 For Fast Service "THE SCIENTIST offers the kind of in-depth, well-researched articles on topical problems in science and science policy to which other journals often don't give enough time or space." Gerald Holton Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Professor of History of Science Harvard University Physicist and science historian Gerald Holton has pioneered the historical

In the article "To Effectively Discuss Evolution, First Define 'Theory'" in the May 12 issue of The Scientist (R. Lewis, page 13), it was stated that the term "theory of evolution" should be replaced by "principle of evolution." Is this suggestion justified? A theory is a plausible hypothesis that is supported by a considerable amount of evidence, while a principle is a scientific law that has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Is evolution law or theory? To determine this, one must define e

As one of the evolutionary biologists quoted in a recent article (R. Lewis, The Scientist, May 12, 1997, page 13), I must challenge Michael Behe's response (M. Behe, The Scientist, June 9, 1997, page 10) that scientists should confess to being "substantially in the dark" about the cause of evolution. Teaching evolution is already hard enough without feigning ignorance about a fundamental principle of life. Behe criticizes Lewis for "conflating different concepts under the single term of 'evolu

For the record: The National Science Foundation CAREER awardee quoted in your article [S. Benowitz, The Scientist, May 26, 1997, page 13] does not seem to be aware that researchers who hold CAREER awards may apply for a second NSF grant as long as it is not on the same topic. This is to avoid overlap in funding. Also, holding an NSF grant on another topic does not preclude application for a CAREER award. Of course, it's possible to be a CAREER awardee only once! Margaret A. Cavanaugh NSF CAREE

Transgenic mice have become the stock-in-trade of basic biomedical research since their creation in the early 1980s. The techniques used to insert human genes into non-human species that were refined in rodents are now being applied to a menagerie of other mammals. These chimeric goats, pigs, sheep, cows, and rabbits are essentially living bioreactors: When a gene inserted into their DNA is specifically activated in mammary gland cells, the desired human protein is secreted into the animal's mi

"There's a fine tradition of passing the bad apple around, but that doesn't do anybody any good." -- Toxicologist Resha Putzrath One of the constants of a scientist's professional life is the annual tradition of writing letters of recommendation as students and colleagues seek fellowships, jobs, and advancement to tenure. But the act of writing or requesting such a letter may not be so simple. Letter-writers must make their missives honest yet sufficiently enthusiastic that they help rather tha

Almost everything you need for PCR with MBP's EasyStartTM Tubes Comparison of PCR reactions uing MBP's EasyStartTM Tubes and control reactions made from frozen stock solutions. Each 50 micoliter reaction contained 200 ng mouse genomic DNA and primers for the single copy c-fos gene, which produces a 707 base pair product. The reaction pairs wsere run on agarose gels with a molecular weight marker. The reactions on th left were run with Amplitaq Gold (Perkin Elmer) and on the right with Boehring

Process of proteins flowing through channels of Continuous Bed. Loading-whether it's a computer program, the station wagon in preparation for a big vacation, or an ion exchange purification, nobody likes to wait. "The faster you can load the column without losing any resolution, the better off you're going to be. In all I've done, [sample loading] has always been the limiting step," says Anthony David Couvillon, lab manager in the division of signal transduction at Beth Israel Deaconess Medic

LabConsumer recently invited a local representative of the Rainin Instrument Company to our office, giving our staff the opportunity to test drive Rainin's unique ShaftGard 10 ml FinePoint pipette tips. These tips allow for full immersion into 0.5 to 2.0 ml microcentrifuge and PCR tubes and are manufactured with several features designed to reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination and ensure repeatability. ShaftGard tips are compatible with Pipetman P-2 and P-10 pipettes, as well as Rainin

There's bad news for faculty members in the American Association of University Professors' recently released annual report on academic salaries. While average salaries in 1996-97 rose 3 percent, the rate of inflation was slightly higher at 3.3 percent. The net result was a 0.3 percent decrease in faculty members' real wages. Report author Linda Bell, an associate professor of economics at Haverford College in suburban Philadelphia, tells The Scientist that last year's "moderate" 3.3 percent inc