March 2005

had a rare opportunity.

I'm concerned about the state of science teaching.

The way Detlev Ganten, head of Berlin's Charite University Medical Center, tells the story, he was enjoying dinner in early March at the British Embassy in Berlin with a small group of scientists, when the topic of conversation turned to Germany's lack of a National Academy of Sciences.

If you're a scientist with some spare time to work on extracurricular projects, there's a company that wants to reward you with as much as $100,000.

This time last year, the British research community was fuming over a piece of draft legislation that was, in the general view, a potential disaster for science.

This past year President Bush announced a plan for space exploration that includes preparing for a human mission to Mars.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK:© AAASNF-κB is held inactive in the cytoplasm by three IκB isoforms. Cell stimulation activates the kinase IKK which leads to phosphorylation and degradation of IκB. This frees NF-κB to enter the nucleus and activate genes including IκBα. IκBβ and -ε are synthesized at a steady rate, allowing for complex temporal control including negative feedback. (From A. Hoffmann et al., Science, 298:1241–5, 2002.)The transcription fac

according to Dutch and German researchers led by Johannes Hackstein of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

Researchers have moved a step forward in understanding how calorie restriction is linked to lifespan extension in mammals.

These papers were selected from multiple disciplines from the Faculty of 1000, a Web-based literature awareness tool http://www.facultyof1000.com.S. Cabantous et al., "Protein tagging and detection with engineered self-assembling fragments of green fluorescent protein," Nat Biotechnol, 23:102–7, Jan. 5, 2005.A split [green fluorescent] protein-tagging and detection system was developed that can be easily used in high-throughput screens to obtain soluble, well-folded (recombinant) proteins.

A group that represents senior scientists and others at the National Institutes of Health is proposing less restrictive regulations concerning the ownership of stock in drug and biotech companies, and the ability to consult with universities and academic institutions.

In a move to enhance US economic competitiveness, the State Department in February extended the period for visa security clearances for non-US citizens working in "sensitive areas," such as chemistry, pharmacology, and engineering.

made history in 1995 when it became the first free-living organism to have its genome completely sequenced.

Cells are coated with carbohydrates, as are many of the proteins and lipids contained within cells.

In the mid-1990s, toxicologist Raymond Biagini was looking for a faster way to evaluate pest-control workers for exposure to pesticides.

Methylation at regulatory regions, especially promoters, correlates with transcriptional activity: Sequences near silent genes generally are methylated, whereas those near active regions are not.

A new nanotech-enabled drug recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration promises to make life a little easier for patients with breast cancer.

Microrobots and other miniature machines all have the same problem: Where do you plug them in?

Since the New York City life science technology-consulting firm Intrasphere Technologies opened an office in India, Samuel Goldman, cofounder and chief technology officer, says he works fairly bizarre hours, scheduling 6:00 A.M. meetings on a "regular basis."

Kenneth Giacin couldn't be more excited about California's Proposition 71.

A problem that has seemed intractable for decades may finally be cracking: How to create affordable drug therapies for people who don't offer pharmaceutical companies a commercial market?

If you ask Detlev Ganten whether he would like to see Berlin develop into a global life science center in coming years, he will say "no."

Premieres on PBS, April 17.