July 2003

As my intrepid colleague Sam Jaffe reports in this issue (Rebuilding Iraqi Science), Iraqi science is on its knees. Following two-and-a-half decades of a brutal dictatorship, it's been pummeled by sanctions, halted in its tracks by war, and ransacked in the postwar chaos. We probably can add to this list a deep malaise, which appears to be affecting the entire country as it awaits reconstruction. While reading his report, several questions struck me: Just how worthwhile would it be to reconst

Ned Shaw If the 20th century will be remembered for outer space exploration and the human genome, the 21st century, I believe, will be known as the "Brain Century." Although voluminous literature has appeared about the brain and its attribute, the infinite mind, our knowledge is still infinitesimal. From the knowledge to date and forthcoming, I foresee that we will, within this century, begin to learn how our frontal cortex, through focused thought, can treat physiological disorders. This woul

Dumbocracy Examples of public "demagoguery" that you quote in your editorial1 are quite conspicuous. Unfortunately, your appeal to "our most eminent researchers" to "lead the debates on the scientific merits of stem cells" in existing situations will only make things worse; that is, decisions less rational and public confidence more abused. The problem is that "our most eminent researchers" are mostly a thoroughly corrupt crowd, who put their personal financial interests, including gains in

Arbitrarily Meaningful No need to feel guilty about dropping the ball on "Xerox."1 The term is indeed arbitrary and meaningless in the only meaningful way possible; that is, legally with respect to trademarks. Xerox is not a term commonly used, either now (but for Xerox's use of it) or in classical times. While "xerography" may technically mean "dry writing," Xerox is no less fanciful than whatever would be the term for thin film, as derived by combining words that never have been used in t

Mixing Science and Politics This article1 seemed to be a well-researched and written update on the action by some European scientists. I understand that the purpose of the article was not to air the motives of those people, but the question begs itself, and intended or not, the message it sends is that the boycotters have high moral ground, that the conflict and bloodshed and suffering in the area are all Israel's doing. Paragraph after paragraph, those activities are examined as perhaps h

Click for larger version (20K) A remarkable 88% of the 361 readers of The Scientist who responded to our survey prepare a meal at home once every week or more. More than half, 57%, bustle about in the kitchen nearly every day. And these scientists are not just boiling an egg or opening a bag of lettuce; 79% declare that those who eat their meals consider them good, excellent, or outstanding chefs. As would be expected from an international group of scientists, readers enjoy cooking in more

Foundations | The Holy Grail of Immunology Click for larger version (27K) In 1983, Tak Mak's lab cloned the beta chain of the T-cell receptor, helping to accomplish what the immunology community had been anticipating for 20-plus years. But the T-cell receptor's structure was believed to be heterodimeric, and no one had deciphered what the other piece looked like. In 1984, Mak sketched his thoughts on its shape for a student, Pamela Ohashi, who then made antibodies to peptides, using the a

First Person | Tom Cech Courtesy of Paul Fetters, HHMI Tom Cech, 55, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, understands that luck has graced his life. He skipped the "What-should-I-do-with-my-life" angst, knowing since grade school that he wanted to be a scientist. And when he mixed ammonia and bleach in his own little lab in his parents' basement, no life or property was lost. He met his lifelong partner, Carol, in an organic chemistry class at Grinnell College in Iowa. After

So They Say "Passion, falling in love, and standing up for justice are all perfectly compatible with Asperger syndrome. What most people with AS find difficult is casual chatting--they can't do small talk." --Cambridge University researcher Simon Baron Cohen discussing his theory that Albert Einstein had AS, a form of autism. From New Scientist "It's almost as if someone drew a sharp line between old-world primates--including people--and other animals, saying, 'I'll let you clone cattle,

Science Seen | Aboriginal Anatomy Image: Corbis  Medical students have used anatomy textbooks to cram for exams for hundreds of years. No, make that thousands. Archaeologists believe that this aboriginal rock painting in Australia is more than 8,000 years old. It's a near-complete diagram of the human circulatory and skeletal networks. function sendData() { document.frm.pathName.value = location.pathname; result = false if (document.frm.score[0].checked) result = true; if (docu

5-Prime | Whisper Down the Vine: Plant Communication What is chemical communication in plants? Plants rely on chemical signals to communicate with each other and themselves. Some of these chemicals are volatile (known as volatile organic compounds--VOCs) and can be released from leaves, fruits, and flowers. VOCs play various roles in plant development, survival, and gene expression. What sends and receives these signals? Three main types of plant-to-plant signaling are known: interspecifi

Data derived from the Science Watch/Hot Papers database and 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. P. Jordan et al., "Three-dimensional structure of cyanobacterial photosystem I at 2.5 angstrom resolution," Nature, 411:909-17, 2001. (cited in 176 papers) A. Zouni et al., "Crystal structure of photosystem II from Synechococcus elongatus at 3.8 angstrom resolution," Nature, 409:739-43, 2001.

PATENT WATCH | RNA Interference without the Interferon The red-hot field of RNA interference (RNAi) could benefit from patents issued jointly to Queensland, Australia-based Benitec, and the State of Queensland (US patent 6,573,099, issued June 3, 2003, and UK patent 2353282, granted May 3, 2003). The patents describe a method Benitec calls "DNA-directed RNA interference" (ddRNAi) to differentiate it from typical double-stranded small interfering RNA (siRNA). Using this method, a DNA constru

Courtesy of Invitrogen Scientists studying a protein's function frequently start with the gene that encodes it. "You want to know what a protein does at the biochemical, cellular, physiological, and organismal levels," says Marc Vidal, assistant professor of genetics at Harvard University and research associate at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "To do that, you need to express this protein under many different conditions using the region of the gene that encodes it, and that's the open read

Courtesy of Gyros Uppsala, Sweden-based Gyros will expand its line of Gyrolab™ microlaboratories on compact disc to include two new products, one to detect phosphorylated proteins and one for protein quantification. The Gyrolab MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization) IMAC™ (immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography) captures phosphorylated peptides and prepares samples prior to MALDI mass spectrometry. Gyrolab Bioaffy™ is designed for protein quantification an

One of the challenges of proteomics is sample size. Researchers need to fractionate complex protein mixtures into their component parts for subsequent analysis, but the miniscule quantities and volumes involved preclude standard large-scale chromatography. Three years ago Agilent Technologies, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., introduced its 1100 series capillary LC system, featuring tiny tubes that could pump nanoliter volumes through columns with high accuracy. Now the company is following

TIP TROVE | Traveling on a Light Budget Courtesy of NIH Traveling on a budget isn't much different for researchers than when they were students. For trips of a relatively short duration, going by train instead of plane offers benefits such as less time required to check in, and more room for paperwork while en route. Sharing a hotel room with a peer can result in significant savings. Although many now use the Web for travel arrangements, consider soliciting recommendations from a travel age

Courtesy of Moffa Photography Researchers have until August 1st to make their views known on a proposed policy for sharing genetically modified mice and mutant strains bred for research. The policy applies to both knockout and transgenic mice, inbred and mutant strains, as well as associated data and tools, such as DNA vectors and embryonic stem cells. Early reviews of the National Institutes of Health's draft statement from professional organizations were positive, perhaps because the agency

Courtesy of Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Early Indications: As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to work in James L. McGaugh's lab at the University of Oregon under the sponsorship of a National Science Foundation undergraduate research program. Once I realized that universities would actually pay people to do this, my course was set. How I Got Here: I did graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles, which, in 1964, was a Mecca for interdisciplinary neurosc

Courtesy of James Sherifi To secure funding and succeed, a business enterprise requires a novel, patented technology that appeals to a broad market, a sound and professional business plan, and a strong scientific and commercial management team. Each of these elements is vital, related to the others, and mutually supportive. Yet businesses often place greater emphasis on the technology and its development than on the quality of the core management, particularly the CEO. Scientists and business

Ignorance and commercial interest make a combustible mixture, with enlightenment often a victim of the fumes. Views tend to polarize and become unduly influenced by those best able to manipulate the media, irrespective of the argument's merits. The result can be an alarming disparity between public opinion and the true state of the science. No doubt, this syndrome has adversely affected debate over big issues such as genetic modification of plants and global warming. The question is, what's