May 1996

Ever since college biology class, when she first prepared DNA from a cell, Anne Marie Skalka has been fascinated by its structure and function. Her main interest is in how cells maintain the structure of their genes and how they alter it to influence gene function. She recently has been working on viral systems, specifically the HIV retroviral system. Skalka has been trying to discover ways to develop therapies for HIV. She has been working with an enzyme of the virus called integrase. Integra

21st-Century R&D In March, the president released a fiscal year 1997 budget that in many ways presages the upcoming elections. At a time when most other domestic discretionary budgets face steep cuts, science and technology funding would increase-for the fourth consecutive year under President Clinton. The reasons why he asked again for increases in basic research, in key technology programs, and in science and technology linked with education, environment, and health speak eloquently about

From Speaking Out On Behalf Of Science At the end of 1995, the United States Congress enacted a new lobbying law, replacing a hodgepodge of vague disclosure requirements adopted over the previous 40 years. The intent of the new law is to provide the public with an accurate listing of the people and organizations involved in lobbying and a general accounting of funds expended on such activities. As research institutions consider their responsibilities under the new law, faculty and administrato

Science is like a professional sport. Both are played by young people and managed by older people no longer capable of playing. In sport the inability of older people to play is so obvious that they do not expect or try to do so. Someone entering pro sports knows that his or her high-paying career will be short. A few will stay on as managers or lower-status, non-playing auxiliaries, but most will leave the sport entirely. Scientists are now being involuntarily retired at about the same age as

I would like to respond to your article in the April 15 issue on scientists and physicians in Congress [T.W. Durso, page 1]. I do not disagree with the contention that we do need more scientists in Congress who can explain the workings of scientific research and the need for it to other members of Congress and educate them. However, these individuals, as other members, vote on a whole variety of issues that arise during the course of their tenure. Thus, it is not enough to list their credentia

Brian Everill (The Scientist, April 1, 1996, page 13) errs twice in his reply to my letter of Feb. 5, 1996 [page 13] on cooperation between scientists and bioethicists. First, by extracting a clause and a phrase from my letter, then combining them in inverse order, he creates a pseudoquotation. What I actually wrote was " . . . just as bioethicists must learn the scientific facts about a subject before venturing ethical pronouncements on that subject, scientists ought to learn something about e

New Research Approaches Increasing interest in the innervation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has led to the emergence of neurogastroenterology, a field that weds classic anatomy and physiology with contemporary neuroscience. The field has roots reaching back to Pavlov's dogs. Today, however, like other biomedical sciences, its researchers take a more molecular approach, tracking the neurons of the gut and the neurotransmitters and neuropeptides that they release. LANDMARK FINDING: Micha

Standard Deviations? Perhaps you dream of someday defending your groundbreaking thesis on the formulation of high-temperature superconductors while reclining in a frothing hot tub. Or maybe you picture yourself as a high-powered principal investigator who runs a lab with military precision and wears a tie, keeping it firmly knotted even after the last grad student has called it a night. MIGRANT: Rob Elia has seen science on both coasts. Of course, when you're looking to settle down to a life

Modeling A Virtual Reality Researchers who work with biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids often design and perform experiments on "invisible" substances. Unlike organismal or cell biologists, who can view specimens through microscopes, scientists who investigate properties of macromolecules can't see the material they study. But how do molecular biologists who investigate DNA, for example, routinely make inferences based on a three-dimensional structure that has never really been see

The past several weeks have been busy ones for the genomics crowd. Genome scientists from around the world can now lay claim to having determined the entire genetic blueprint for five free-living species, including brewer's yeast, the most complex creature tackled thus far. Late last month, scientists from a European-led consortium of more than 70 international labs released the yeast sequence. The genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the first organism with a distinct nucleus, or eukaryote, t