June 1998

"Here's one for the book -- they call DOGS their best friend."

In the article "Bioweapons Research Proliferates" (R. Lewis, The Scientist, 12[9]:1, April 27, 1998), Zachary Selden offered a hypothetical example of ordering Ebola virus from the American Type Culture Collection. Nancy Wysocki, a representative of ATCC, informed The Scientist after the article was published that the facility does not provide Ebola virus, or any other level 4 pathogen. In preparing the article, The Scientist contacted ATCC several times, with no response. "It has been ATCC's

The Scientist has been in print for more than 11 years now--this is the 279th consecutive issue. During that time it has evolved through various stages guided by its founder and publisher, Eugene Garfield, who has brought it to its present position as a respected and established source of news and information for the life sciences professional. Recently, it was a great honor and challenge to me to assume the role of publisher. It is my primary goal and responsibility to guide The Scientist thr

In the article "Decisions, Decisions: NIH's Disease-By-Disease Allocations Draw New Fire" (B. Agnew, The Scientist, 12[7]:1, March 30, 1998), Harold Varmus (director of National Institutes of Health) seems to evade the issue of funding allocation by promoting NIH-sponsored workshops. These workshops are sure to enhance interdisciplinary research on various diseases, as well as attract the interest of new scientists. My question is: From what source will these new scientists obtain funding? P

Regarding your article on gene names (P. Smaglik, The Scientist, 12[7]:1, March 30, 1998), you make a couple of major errors in the yeast example. This does go to show the difficulty of different systems of nomenclature, but also, the information in your box on page 6 should be corrected. It's not just yeast, but fission yeast, S. pombe. Accepted nomenclature is not wee-1 (as you write), but wee1+. It does not make an abnormally small protein, but rather, the mutant causes the yeast to divide

A resounding yes to attorney Philip M. Goldman's question in the April 13, 1998 issue of The Scientist: Do Investigators Need Their Own Lawyers? (P.M. Goldman, 12[8]:9). This is especially the case for academic investigators because of the great differences among universities in their intellectual property policies regarding patents. At one extreme is the University of Wisconsin, which does not claim proprietary rights to the inventions of its faculty and, in fact, allows them to own their inve

In the last 50 years, increasing criticism of American medical education has centered on an overloaded curriculum, inadequate basic science-clinical integration, and limited commitment of the faculty to teach. Curriculum changes at a number of medical schools have not resulted in widespread reform. Our recently published study analyzed these complaints and offered suggestions for improvement. The study (J.J. Smith et al., Advances in Physiology Education, 17:S36-46, 1997) states that the inade

Before the April 17 launch of Neurolab, the 16-day space shuttle Columbia flight during which 26 studies of the nervous system would be conducted, researchers differed in opinion concerning the microneurography experiment. Either the thin needle placed in a nerve just below the knee of an astronaut would show that electrochemical signals were being transmitted normally from brain to blood vessels via the autonomic nervous system, or the nerve activity would be greater in microgravity than on Ea

STARTED A TREND: Jane Lubchenco and her husband Bruce Menge became pioneers in the fractional tenure-track concept when they accepted positions at Oregon State University. Maybe you're just entering the work force, after four, six, nine, or even more years of post-high school priming. Or maybe you've been working for a few years and you just got wind of a fantastic opportunity you'd like to pursue. If you're the neophyte, now comes the seemingly monumental task of gathering transcripts and r

Contents PATHOGENIC NECKTIES TWENTY-TWENTY VISION PROGRESS IN PARKINSON'S OLD BONES MARS ATTACKS FORECASTING CANCER FASHION CONTAGION: Roger Freeman and his pathogen-inspired silk ties, shown here with images of syphilis and herpes. PATHOGENIC NECKTIES: The late musician and artist Jerry Garcia may have some microscopic competitors in the necktie business. At the American Society for Microbiology annual meeting in Atlanta May 17-21, a company called Health Media International sold Contagious