June 1997

Sidebar: National Medal of Technology Goes To Biomedical Computing Pioneer, Four Others Two pioneering molecular biologists-including a Nobel laureate-were among nine researchers named in April to receive the 1997 National Medal of Science, the United States government's highest honor for scientific achievement. The honorees, who represent a wide range of disciplines, include an astrophysicist who helped elucidate the origin of the stars, a chemist who help lay the groundwork for understanding

Studies indicate that university bureaucracies are growing, both in absolute terms and relative to other institutional functions. Researchers have long decried this trend, reasoning that the growth of administrations can come only at the expense of research and teaching. The causes of administrative growth are complex, and drastic measures often are required to stop the ever-increasing costs. However, some institutions have had success in cutting their administrations down to size. The opinion

An editorial accompanying a JAMA thyroid drug study criticized private-sector funding of professional associations. A recent editorial in JAMA-Journal of the American Medical Association that detailed the events surrounding the suppression of a pharmaceutical study has drawn attention to the relationship between scientific professional societies and sponsorship by private companies (D. Rennie, JAMA, 277:1238-43, 1997). In its April 16 issue, the journal published a long-subdued study that show

Sidebar: New Ways To Separate Enantiomers Photo: Malboro Photo SUCCESS IN SEPARATION: Sepracor researchers found that the S-enantiomer of Prozac worked well in preventing migraine, says Dean Handley. A trend in the pharmaceutical industry toward increasing use of chiral chemistry techniques is leading to safer new drugs, while coaxing novel uses from existing blockbuster compounds. These techniques separate drugs that occur in two mirror-image molecular forms, called enantiomers. Louis Pasteur

Modified Micelles: "In order to separate chiral molecules, you need another chiral species," says Isiah Warner, chairman of the chemistry department at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Warner uses fatty spheres called micelles, which form as fatty acid tails face inward and heads face outward in solution. He links a single enantiomer of the amino acid valine to the fatty acids, creating micelles that bind certain other single enantiomers. It is an old idea with a twist, Warner says:

The inventor of the whole-body CT scanner, who also pioneered the development of automated chromosome analysis for prenatal diagnosis, is among the five recipients of the 1997 National Medal of Technology. The award, according to a statement by the United States Department of Commerce, "recognizes individuals and corporations whose leadership and innovation have made significant contributions to the nation by creating jobs, strengthening its competitive position, and advanced our standard of li

By Eric Albert Email: ealbert@world.std.com ACROSS 1 Tenth of a millimicron 10 Visual pigment protein component 11 Pressure cooker 12 Ammonia or ethanol, e.g. 14 Phenomena-detecting device 16 Place to find a stud 18 Epstein-Barr virus disease 19 Capsid, for example 21 Pierre's partner 22 Emulsifying agent 23 Pasteur object of study 26 Sheath material 27 Serve as a stimulus 30 Foraminifers superclass 32 Heart beat 33 Organisms that cause tuberculosis and leprosy DOWN 2Kind of cavity 3He seque

By Eric Albert Email: ealbert@world.std.com ACROSS 1 Tenth of a millimicron 10 Visual pigment protein component 11 Pressure cooker 12 Ammonia or ethanol, e.g. 14 Phenomena-detecting device 16 Place to find a stud 18 Epstein-Barr virus disease 19 Capsid, for example 21 Pierre's partner 22 Emulsifying agent 23 Pasteur object of study 26 Sheath material 27 Serve as a stimulus 30 Foraminifers superclass 32 Heart beat 33 Organisms that cause tuberculosis and leprosy DOWN 2Kind of cavity 3He seque

Interviewer: Thomas W. Durso Editor's Note: Bill Frist is the only United States senator ever to hold a medical degree. The Tennessee Republican was trained as a heart and lung transplant surgeon and is a former biomedical researcher at Vanderbilt University. Without any prior political experience, he ran for the Senate in 1994 and won 56 percent of the vote, defeating a three-term incumbent. In his short tenure, Frist has emerged as something of a science spokesman among politicians. With Re

When The Scientist was launched more than a decade ago, we wanted the right recipe for our publication. We discussed features that readers felt would be useful and, more significantly, could not be found here. We decided to focus on the career concerns of life sciences professionals. Our choice of direction has proved to be of value to working researchers; readers have enthusiastically communicated their satisfaction through letters and comments on our Web site. To enhance our editorial offerin

The Scientist Date: June 23, 1997 THE SCIENTIST® The Newspaper for the Life Sciences Professional (609)-786-7207 For Fast Service "THE SCIENTIST is a very important periodical to keep scientists informed on the politics of academia and scientific discoveries." Suzanne Ildstad Professor and Director Institute for Cellular Therapeutics Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia. As a surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, Suzanne Ildstad became interested in t

I'd like to add just a footnote to your story on xenotransplants (S. Benowitz, The Scientist, April 14, 1997, page 1). Public-opinion polls commissioned by Research!America earlier this year have found that between 52 percent and 61 percent of the public feel that research into xenotransplants should be continued. About 33 percent feel that the research should be stopped. The remainder responded "don't know." These polls were done in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and Alaska. Polls c

I have been telling my students for years that National Institutes of Health is somewhat of a misnomer (E. Garfield, "Should NIH Change Its Name?", The Scientist, April 28, 1997, page 9). We really have a National Institutes of Diseases (for example, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and so forth). Proposals that deal with curing diseases are much likely to be funded than proposals

Regarding the commentary by Eugene Garfield ("Should NIH Change Is Name?", The Scientist, April 28, 1997, page 9), we would like to respond that the ultimate goal of the National Institutes of Health is to improve the health of the nation. This includes far more than just medical research and involves many patient, public, and professional educational initiatives; training; and preventive health programs, epidemiologic surveys, and consensus conferences. The research funded by NIH around the co

Your article on "early-career awards" (S. Benowitz, The Scientist, May 26, 1997, page 13) is propagating a crucial bit of mis(dis)information with the statement that National Institutes of Health R29 (FIRST) awards "are judged on the strength and justification of their untested research proposals." The fact is that R29 applicants are expected to have track records and preliminary data just as the R01 applicants are. The R29s are judged by the study sections together with R01s and if, as they eu

The pace of discoveries of disease-causing genes is quickening as the Human Genome Project nears completion. Headlines frequently announce the detection of genes behind familiar ills, and what follows has become a routine: Several research groups race to map the gene, then clone and describe it, while biotech companies wait in the wings to turn the discovery into clinical tests. But gene searches for many very rare, inherited illnesses never make the news, nor are they all straightforward. Gene

Edited by: Thomas W. Durso BLOOD BROTHER: Joseph Miletich of Washington University examined whether a mutation in a blood-coagulation gene can lead to the formation of blood clots in veins and arteries. P.M. Ridker, C.H. Hennekens, K. Lindpaintner, M.J. Stampfer, P.R. Eisenberg, J.P. Miletich, "Mutation in the gene coding for coagulation factor V and the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and venous thrombosis in apparently healthy men," New England Journal of Medicine, 332:912-7, 1995. (

Edited by: Thomas W. Durso 'LEPTINOMANIA': A paper coauthored by Jose Caro, now of Lilly Research Laboratories, was the second to look at leptin. R.V. Considine, E.L. Considine, C.J. Williams, M.R. Nyce, S.A. Magosin, T.L. Bauer, E.L. Rosato, J. Colberg, J.F. Caro, "Evidence against either a premature stop codon or the absence of obese gene mRNA in human obesity," Journal of Clinical Investigation, 95:2986-8, 1995. (Cited in more than 110 publications as of April 1997) Comments by Jose F. Caro

MARKET FORCE: Harvard's Joyce Brinton says tech-transfer officers are best equipped to determine what has commercial potential. Technology-transfer professionals have a simple piece of advice for new faculty members who believe their ideas have commercial potential but who have never brought products to the market: Get help-immediately. "Call your friendly technology-transfer office if you've got a good idea," urges Joyce Brinton, director of Harvard University's Office for Technology and Trad

A low-profile child of the '60s, flow cytometry didn't capture the imagination of most researchers until the early 1980s. The decade saw the birth of the AIDS epidemic, and as attention focused on HIV, researchers needed a method to accurately and reproducibly characterize immune cells. Flow cytometry was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. COMPLETE KITS: Bio-Rad’s KINESIS reagent kits for flow cytometry assays A flow cytometer shines one or more lasers on a sample of cells in suspension

The Eppendorf Pipet Helper is designed for use with glass and plastic pipets to aid filling and dispensing. Vacuum is applied by a slide lever, reportedly eliminating hand stress caused by the conventional "squeeze bulb" apparatus. The product enables one-handed control of aspiration, dispensing, and vacuum. Features include a lightweight handle; single rocker-switch for control of aspiration and delivery; and a disposable, in-line filter. The device holds 0.1 ml to 100 ml pipets. The filter

GOOD GOING: Commerce Undersecretary for Technology Mary Good is returning to private life after serving a little more than one term. The Clinton administration lost another key technology official when Mary L. Good, Undersecretary for Technology in the Department of Commerce, stepped down on June 3 to return to private life in Little Rock, Ark. Good, who was unavailable for comment, had served in the department since the beginning of Bill Clinton's first term. She was known as a strong advocate