July 2001

Prion disorders riddle the mammalian brain with plaque and holes, the precise pattern and resulting symptoms--dementia, extreme fatigue, or loss of balance--depending on whether one is human, bovine, or ovine. The agent of such a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) is an infectious form of prion protein, called PrP scrapie (PrPSc), named after the long-known sheep illness. In bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and its human version, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vC

The cry of "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" marks the newborn child's first and most basic label of personal identity. But researchers' understanding of sex is undergoing profound and surprising changes due to new insights gained from sociology, biology, and medicine. The differences between females and males, once believed black and white--or pink and blue--now appear like a blurred rainbow of confusion. Researchers are learning, for example, that the Y chromosome has degenerated over the centurie

Ask a woman if her period affects her body beyond the reproductive system and she'll probably answer with a resounding yes. This seemingly basic question is now being asked by numerous investigators in various areas of women's health research. From the timing of mammograms to the mind-altering effects of drugs, researchers are now learning that the hormonal swings during a woman's menstrual cycle affect more than just reproduction, like metabolism rates and pain. A woman's menstrual cycle starts

Understanding how bacteria resist antibiotics lies at the crux of staying ahead in the resistance game. A research group at the New York State Health Department's Wadsworth Center in Albany offers a vivid view of how a bacterial protein called Tet (0) shoves aside the antibiotic tetracycline. (C.M.T. Spahn et al., "Localization of the ribosomal protection protein Tet (0) on the ribosome and the mechanisms of tetracycline resistance." Molecular Cell, 7[5]:1037-45, May 2001.) To be an effective dr

Regarding "California Steamin',"1 California politicians wrote an incoherent power regulation, regulators refused to license new power generators and lines for its transmission. The losses to the citizens, lowly humans, are being treated as inconveniences and explained away as unintended consequences of a "green" policy that had only the good of the planet in mind. Surely, of any body of thinkers, scientists are the most aware of "unintended consequences"; they plan meticulously to exclude them

While Eliezer Geisler1 most likely appreciates "many weaknesses of the peer review process," his overly optimistic mantra that the "subjective assessment of quality by a group of selected knowledgeable people in a given scientific field remains the only operational control process designed to differentiate between poor and good science" is, unfortunately, not free from circular logic. Not going into a detailed discussion here,2 I will just indicate the main problem. If, as it stays now, peer re

For this article, Leslie Pray interviewed Isa Mushahwar, consultant and retired distinguished research fellow and director of the Virus Discovery Group, Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. I.K. Mushahwar et al. J.C. Erker, A.S. Muerhoff, T.P Leary, J.N. Simons, L.G. Birkenmeyer, M.L. Chalmers, T.J. Pilot-Matias, S.M. Dexai, "Molecular

For this article, Leslie Pray interviewed Hartmut "Hudel" Luecke, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, University of California, Irvine. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. H. Luecke B. Schobert, H.T. Richter, J.P. Cartailler, J.K. Lanyi, "Structure of bacteriorhodopsin at 1.55 Å resolution," Journal of Molecular Biology, 291[4]:899-911, 1999. (Cited in 105

Editor's Note: This is the third installment of a 4 part series on regional hot spots for life sciences employment. The final installment focusing on Research Triangle, N.C. will appear in the October 29 issue. When starting his biotech firm, Psychiatric Genomics, Inc., in Massachusetts last year, Michael Palfreyman found the life sciences business environment a little cramped. "In Boston, real estate prices are through the roof," he says. "There's no good access to incubator space and there's c

A 42-year-old woman came to the office of Louisville neuropsychologist Martine RoBards in 1999. Once the "star" of her workplace, a railroad mechanic shop, the woman now suffered insomnia, depression, anxiety, and memory loss. She had trouble organizing her thoughts and reciting her own history. The woman reported eight years of chronic exposure to mixed organic solvents used to clean engine parts. RoBards, who describes herself as a medical Nancy Drew, with help from a neurologist, made a diagn

Marty Griffin and his colleagues at Accurate Polymers Ltd. near Chicago say they have invented a better bead. Their 1-micron bead, used for purifying antibodies, has a high binding capacity, and because it is not a bacterial protein, Griffin says users can sidestep problems associated with bacterial product ligands. The inventors have worked for at least three years to refine this tiny item; now they want to take it to market. For most small companies and inventors, the product never makes it t

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will run a new national network of genetics researchers who work with microarrays, financed with a $409,000 five-year grant from the National Science Foundation. Seventeen institutions will be involved in this network that coordinates research on the use of microarray technology for gene expression. Paul Allison, professor of biostatistics in the School of Public Health at UAB, and project leader, says the network is designed to bring together resear