March 1996

But Caution Author: Steven Benowitz The human genome has become extremely big business. IN DEVELOPMENT: Myriad CEO Peter Meldrum sees increasing industry-academia ties in genetics Taking the lead from the Human Genome Project, an ambitious $3 billion, 15-year federal effort aimed at analyzing the entire human genetic heritage, industry has begun treading cautiously into the relatively uncharted waters of genetic testing. Several companies, often along with academic collaborators, have begun

A Last Resort Those alleging misconduct agree with administrators that the optimal way to settle cases is through institutions, not the press. (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 1 & 4, March 18, 1996) Scientists do not agree on what misconduct is. They do not agree on how much of it occurs. Nor do they agree on what should be done about it. Yet scientists and research administrators largely do concur that it would be better for all concerned-and for science itself-if the press never got involved i

Concerns (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 1 & 8-9, March 18, 1996) The deluge of gene discovery has inspired hundreds of industry and academic research programs to develop tests for disease genes (see accompanying story). Meanwhile, basic scientists are seeking to explain how those genes work. Both sides have been expressing concern over looming disease gene issues. Open to question, for example, is how much researchers actually know about the cellular explanation for any disease gene's effect,

By Eric Albert Email: ealbert@world.std.com ACROSS 1 Sequence giving protein formation info 3 Disease detection procedure 10 ___________ mosaic virus 11 Element discoverd by Klaproth in 1789 12 Common experimental subject 13 Z equivalent 14 Protein and fat store in one of 28 Across 15 Big name in AIDS research 17 Nonprotein enzyme helper 20 Monera members 22 It articulates with the femur and talus 25 Uncombined chemically 27 Structure formed in the cell during mitosis 28 They develop in 6 Dow

By Eric Albert Email: ealbert@world.std.com ACROSS 1 Sequence giving protein formation info 3 Disease detection procedure 10 ___________ mosaic virus 11 Element discoverd by Klaproth in 1789 12 Common experimental subject 13 Z equivalent 14 Protein and fat store in one of 28 Across 15 Big name in AIDS research 17 Nonprotein enzyme helper 20 Monera members 22 It articulates with the femur and talus 25 Uncombined chemically 27 Structure formed in the cell during mitosis 28 They develop in 6 Dow

Politics, Science (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 3 & 5, March 18, 1996) SIDEBAR : PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE OF ADVISERS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY President Bill Clinton has expressed a strong interest in science and the environment. He has cited investments in these areas as critical if the United States is to remain the world's most advanced nation as a new millennium dawns. CONVENING WITH CLINTON: PCAST members have meet with President Bill Clinton only once, last July. At the meeting, from le

What Are You Waiting For? (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 10, March 18, 1996) It is my experience that clinicians and scientists explain their reluctance to become personally involved in advocacy for medical research on the basis of one or more of the following rationalizations: "My efforts won't make any difference." "I don't know how." "I don't have time, and besides, it's not seemly to do so." Rarely do I hear that advocacy isn't necessary, least of all in these times of unprecedented threat

(The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 11, March 18, 1996) One of my beloved grandmothers arrived in the United States as a penniless child. When I was a boy and showed her a good report card, she used to ask me with a smile: "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" I didn't know enough then to explain that some people are out of the cash economy, and that some productive assets are not priced by markets in a way that reflects their value to people. In other forms, her question has taken on larger

Editor's Note: An article in the May 15, 1995, issue of The Scientist (B. Goodman, "AAAS Gives Dissident Group A Chance To Challenge Physics Theory," page 3) discussed the activities of a group known as the Natural Philosophy Alliance (NPA), many of whose more than 80 members challenge Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity. In the ensuing months, The Scientist has received several letters in response to the article from members of NPA, who will be convening on June 2-6 in Flagstaff, A

We object strenuously to the one-sided report of the dissident physics movement that you printed on May 15, 1995 [B. Goodman, The Scientist, page 3]. Our papers were read in absentia at the San Francisco meeting you discuss, one of us attended a still much larger meeting of dissidents in Russia in 1994, and we frequently exchange ideas with dissidents in the United States and other countries. We find not the slightest doubt that Einstein's special relativity and the Big Bang theory are full of

As former editor of a physics education journal and coauthor of two relativity texts, I have had a lot of contact with what your article [B. Goodman, The Scientist, May 15, 1995, page 3] calls "dissident" scientists, many of whom attack special relativity. In my experience, most are extremely intelligent and inventive. Their arguments are ingenious, and any errors are often difficult to find. Still, there are two characteristics that I have found in many dissidents with whom I have communicated

Most of us in the Natural Philosophy Alliance who attended our Norman, Okla., meeting in late May, which you discussed in your May 15 issue [B. Goodman, The Scientist, page 3], thankful for the publicity, and admit that the writer made some effort to present a balanced discussion. Yet the result misrepresented us in several ways. First, I was the only person in our group cited, even though I urged the writer to cite others; and since I am, as he said, an unemployed academic, an impression of q

(The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 12, March 18, 1996) ------- We were pleased to see a discussion in The Scientist (B. Goodman, May 15, 1995, page 3) of the growing, worldwide concerns for the unanswered questions of special relativity. Inclusion with articles on "whistleblowing" was especially significant; though the physics dissidents have not (to our knowledge) questioned ethics, they suffer many of the same negative consequences. We were disheartened by the implications of inadequacies of que

And Pains Of Joints (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 13 & 18, March 18, 1996) SEEKING ADVICE: New NIAMS director Stephen Katz is consulting all sectors of the biomedical community to help set institutional priorities. "Chronic, common, costly, and crippling." That's how Stephen I. Katz, director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) since August, describes the diseases that the institute explores. NIAMS is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year

(The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 14, March 18, 1996) R. Shiang, L.M. Thompson, Y. Zhu, D.M. Church, T.J. Fielder, M. Bocian, S.T. Winokur, J.J. Wasmuth, "Mutations in the transmembrane domain of FGFR3 cause the most common genetic form of dwarfism, achondroplasia," Cell, 78:335-42, 1994. (Cited in more than 70 publications as of February 1996) Comments by Leslie M. Thompson and Rita Shiang, University of California, Irvine The past decade or so has seen the discovery of a number of disease gene

(The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 14, March 18, 1996) W.F. Dietrich, J.C. Miller, R.G. Steen, M. Merchant, D. Damron, R. Nahf, A. Gross, D.C. Joyce, M. Wessel, R.D. Dredge, A. Marquis, L.D. Stein, N. Goodman, D.C. Page, E. Lander, "A genetic map of the mouse with 4,006 simple sequence length polymorphisms," Nature Genetics, 7:220-45, 1994. (Cited in more than 130 publications as of February 1996) MAP-MAKER: MIT biologist Eric Lander and his coworkers developed a comprehensive map of the mouse g

Speak Out In Public Author: Robert Finn (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 15, March 18, 1996) In today's increasingly litigious society, anyone can become the target of a lawsuit. A potential libel action, for example, should not only be the concern of publishers and journalists. The threat of a libel suit is now a reality for anyone, including scientists who choose to speak out publicly-or even write letters to the editor-on controversial issues. A libel suit can come without warning when an ord

Centrifuge Revolution (The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 18-19, March 18, 1996) Increased interest by the biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries in powerful instruments capable of separating the smallest of molecules has put a new spin on an old laboratory standard-the centrifuge. Small centrifuges (microfuges) and larger tabletop instruments critical for cell separations and DNA applications can be found on benches in practically every molecular biology laboratory. The larger ultracentrifu

Table of Contents Up in Smoke Web Withdrawal? Women in Science Lauded Easy as Pi Do the Right Thing Break on Through For Deposit Only HERBAL HARM? New study warns of pot's effects Marijuana, long touted as a relatively harmless drug by those advocating its legalization, is the subject of a new study that suggests heavy users experience lapses in attention, memory, and learning skills even after the "high" wears off. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and co

(The Scientist, Vol:10, #6, p. 7, March 18, 1996) In a photo caption in the Notebook section of the March 4, 1996, issue of The Scientist (page 30), the name of the cholera-causing bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, was misspelled. The article "Dismissal Of False Claims Suit Shows Scientific Sophistication, Experts Say" (T.W. Durso, The Scientist, Feb. 19, 1996, page 3) incorrectly described the judgment in a case filed by research psychologist Carolyn Phinney against University of Michigan scientists

(The Scientist, Vol:10 #6, p.8, March 18, 1996) MARK I. GREENE, John Eckman Professor of Medical Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia "THE SCIENTIST is an eclectic sounding board. It provides me with insight into, and information about, many different scientific disciplines." Mark Greene has been at the forefront of the fast-growing field of immunobiology and receptor research for the past 15 years. At the University of Pennsylvania's Cancer Center, Greene is currently working to