June 1991

Last month, Roald Hoffmann, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize in chemistry, added two more laurels to his already lengthy curriculum vitae when he accepted honorary degrees from the universities of Central Florida and Arizona. Top United States research institutions giving honorary degrees to scientists this spring include: University of Arizona, Tucson: Roald Hoffmann, John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science, Cornell University, winner of 1981 Nobel Prize in chemistry; Julius B. Richmon

Philadelphia's reputation for brotherly love suffers after Carlo Croce decides to remove himself and his staff from Fels Institute Cell lines have died. At least one grant deadline will be missed. Scientists speak with bitterness and resentment about their colleagues, and an entire university's commitment to science is being called into question. Things are far from business as usual at Temple University's Fels Institute in Philadelphia, where earlier this year institute director Carlo Croce an

The recessionary economy makes finding work tough for both new graduates and experienced researchers Summertime, and the sidewalks are steaming--tempers short, and the work day long. It's the time of year when people are considering whether they should start looking for a new job. If they begin the search now, they can at least look forward to a new place to work when the cool weather comes. Summer is also the season for new science graduates to make a decision as to whether they should continu

Revelations of the school's squandeing of funds have overwhelmed those who until now had managed to avert arbitrary caps WASHINGTON--The political fallout from Stanford University's questionable use of overhead charges for its federally funded research projects appears likely to achieve what a decade of pressure from the White House could not do: place a cap on how much universities can spend on the administrative portion of their indirect costs. Welcome news for scientists is that such a ca

Observers question whether the institute will find a chief who can match Thier's record of progress in establishing IoM's credibility WASHINGTON--Samuel Thier's decision last month to leave the Institute of Medicine (IoM) after six years as president for a university presidency represents a significant loss to the organization that has only recently become an important voice in health care policy debates, say institute members and others who are familiar with this affiliate of the National Aca

1991 HONOREES REFLECT ON THE CUSTOM Below, scientists who received honorary degrees at graduation ceremonies this spring give their thoughts on the tradition. Roald Hoffmann, John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science at Cornell University, who received honorary degrees from the universities of Arizona and Central Florida last month: "One of the most memorable honorary degrees I received was from Yale University in 1980. Two times--when I had applied to college, and later, wh

Geophysicist Receive Filmakers Award for Video On Earthquakes in Holyland UCSF'S Leonard Hayflick Awarded 1991 Sandoz Prize for Gerotological Research Judith Rodin John D. Minna Daniel F. Veber Frederick A. Murphy Esther M. Cromwell Alfred S. McLaren Amos Nur, Wayne Loel Professor of Earth Sciences and chairman of the geophysics department at Stanford University, and Chris MacAskill, a former student of Nur's who is currently manager of developer partnerships at NeXT Inc., Redwood Cit

Volume 5, #13The Scientist June 24, 1991 Close Up Ask Samuel Thier why he wanted to become president of Brandeis University, and he'll point to the obvious reasons--among them the high quality of its faculty, the opportunity to lead a respected research university, and the chance to return to the Boston area, where he trained and taught. With academia under attack from many quarters, Thier says he relishes the chance to show the public that universities are still vital to the co

The Powers Behind The Throne Maybe Yes, Maybe No Comings And Goings At AAU Educational Food For Thought Rep. George Brown (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, has decided to take another look at the health of federally funded research. And this time he's created a task force of the folks who do most of the work on Capitol Hill--congressional aides. Five years ago, members from the same committee issued a 22-volume report on the topic that sunk quic

Editor's Note: During the last two months, academic institutions throughout the United States celebrated, with traditional pomp and circumstance, the graduation of the class of 1991. Those graduates who have chosen to pursue science careers are coming into the field at what may well be the most exciting time to do so--when new developments in such disciplines as molecular biology and neuroscience make possible investigations that were unthinkable a mere decade ago, and crises like AIDS and the

In this issue, we pay special attention to the thousands of young men and women across the United States who have just received their degrees in science and are about to step into the next phase of developing their careers. The Scientist congratulates all of them and wishes them well. For those who elect to persist in their scientific pursuits, the road ahead, judging from a number of indicators, is likely to be bumpy; their path toward intellectual, creative, and professional fulfillment isn'

I read Arielle Emmett's opinion piece [The Scientist, March 18, 1991, page 11] and agree that some individuals in various fields of science are arrogant. I understand Emmett's point of view regarding the harm these individuals may do while influencing young adults' choice in educational direction. My advice to any young adult exploring career options would be to pay attention to what the professor is saying. Analyze that message in your own way. If it makes sense for you, then heed it; if not,

Two messages come across loud and clear from the interview with former-congressman-turned-lobbyist Doug Walgren [The Scientist, April 1, 1991, page 1]. The first is, I will be your friend and support your cause, whatever it is, if you send money and help me get re-elected. The second is, Don't send information or confuse me with facts; everything I need or want to know is in the newspaper. These messages may merely confirm what many think about the way Congress operates, but they also may indica

Charles Turner labels as "misleading" Melissa Goldman's claim that leading cosmetic companies have stopped using animals in toxicity testing [The Scientist, May 13, 1991, page 12]. Turner states that under Food and Drug Administration regulations, such companies won't be able to introduce innovative new products unless the product labels contain a dire warning. Cosmetic companies are under no such restriction given the FDA's limited and flexible regulations of cosmetic safety. Companies must as

The University of Chicago laboratories of the prolific Richard J. Miller, a 41-year-old British neuropharmacology professor, is a study in cultural contrasts. Animated discussions of neurotransmitters are punctuated with dry British humor; and while classical music permeates Miller's office, rock 'n' roll is king in the labs, where he has attracted many scientists from his native country. In Miller's labs, which are part of the department of pharmacology and physiological sciences, playful, ba

P. Cohen, C.F.B. Holmes, Y. Tsukitani, "Okadaic acid: a new probe for the study of cellular regulation, Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 15:98-102,1990 Philip Cohen (MRC Protein Phosphorylation Group, University of Dundee, Scotland): "Okadaic acid is a complex fatty acid polyketal, produced by marine microorganisms, that accumulates in the digestive glands of shellfish and marine sponges. It is the cause of diarrhetic seafood poisoning and is also a potent tumor promoter. "In 1987, Akira Takai

J.J. Goedert, C.M. Kessler, L.M. Aledort, R.J. Biggar, et al., "A prospective study of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection and the development of AIDS in subjects with hemophilia," New England Journal of Medicine, 321:1141-48, 1989. James J. Goedert (Viral Epidemiology Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.): "This paper summarizes the substantial contributions of a multidisciplinary team that has worked together for five or more years. The goal of our team has been a bet

K. Kamaras, S.L. Herr, C.D. Porter, N. Tache, D.B. Tanner, "In a clean high-Tc superconductor you do not see the gap," Physical Review Letters, 64:84-87, 1990. Katalin Kamaras (University of Florida, Gainesville; now at the Institute for Solid State Physics, Budapest, Hungary): "This paper reported one of the first few measurements of perfect (100 percent) infrared reflectivity in a high-temperature superconductor (see also Physical Review Letters, 61:1313-16, 1988; Europhysics Letters, 8:679-

A.D. Friedman, W.H. Landschulz, S.L. McKnight, "CCAAT/enhancer binding protein activates the promoter of the serum albumin gene in cultured hepatoma cells," Genes & Development, 3: 1314-22, 1989. Alan D. Friedman (Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore): "CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) is perhaps best known as the prototypical basic region-leucine zipper DNA-binding protein (Science, 243:1681-88, 1989). This paper, however, represents part of the earliest efforts of the McKnight labo

D.P. Lane, S. Benchimol, "p53: Oncogene or anti-oncogene?" Genes & Development, 4:1-8, 1990. David Lane (Cancer Research Campaign Laboratories, University of Dundee, Scotland): "Cancer is a multistep process involving genetic damage to several separate genes. In the majority of human cancers, including all the major types (breast, lung, colon), damage to the p53 gene occurs. This seems now to be the most common molecular change in human cancer. The mutations are very subtle, usually changing j

KIDNEY DISEASE STUDY CENTERS SOUGHT The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases within the National Institutes of Health invites qualified institutions to become research centers for the study of kidney and urologic disorders. While clinical treatment of kidney disorders has improved in recent times, scientists still have little insight into the basic physiological mechanisms of these diseases. These new study centers are intended to attract fresh investigators to the

In the article "Physicists Play A Hands-On Role In Super Facilities Construction" (The Scientist, May 27, 1991, page 1), the section devoted to Advanced Light Source director David Moncton incorrectly states that Moncton conducted his doctoral research at Brookhaven National Laboratory's National Synchrotron Light Source. The research was actually performed on the lab's High Flux Beam Reactor, and Moncton's comments refer to that facility.