October 1994

Seven natural scientists and, for the first time ever, a sociologist are cited by U.S. president for their contributions For the first time since the National Medal of Science--the United States' highest scientific honor--was initially presented by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, a sociologist has been selected as one of the recipients. Robert K. Merton, University Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, New York City, and sev

"Novelty has a very high premium [now]," according to James Powell, director of the department of pharmacology in the Lawrenceville, N.J.-based laboratories of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., headquartered in New York City. "For a [new] drug to be truly successful and be accepted for health coverage, it needs to fulfill an imminent medical need, or provide a new approach to improve an existing therapy." Powell, who has been in the indust

Sidebar:Active and Recently Completed NIH ELSI Research Projects With passage of time and increasing political relevance, HGP branch's influence is on the rise among decision-makers Beginning this year, the component of the United States human genome initiative that has been sponsoring studies of the ethical, legal, and social implications of the massive genome effort's ground-breaking research will be reporting the first hard resul

"Novelty has a very high premium [now]," according to James Powell, director of the department of pharmacology in the Lawrenceville, N.J.-based laboratories of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., headquartered in New York City. "For a [new] drug to be truly successful and be accepted for health coverage, it needs to fulfill an imminent medical need, or provide a new approach to improve an existing therapy." Powell, who has been in the indust

Sidebar:Active and Recently Completed NIH ELSI Research Projects With passage of time and increasing political relevance, HGP branch's influence is on the rise among decision-makers Beginning this year, the component of the United States human genome initiative that has been sponsoring studies of the ethical, legal, and social implications of the massive genome effort's ground-breaking research will be reporting the first hard resul

Seven natural scientists and, for the first time ever, a sociologist are cited by U.S. president for their contributions For the first time since the National Medal of Science--the United States' highest scientific honor--was initially presented by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, a sociologist has been selected as one of the recipients. Robert K. Merton, University Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, New York City, and sev

And the investment has paid off--as evidenced by, among other things, HHMI researchers' prolific and influential publication record: Last year, for example, nearly one- quarter of the 200 most cited biomedical publications by U.S. scientists were authored by HHMI-affiliated investigators (see story on page 14). But despite the institute'S imposing presence and glowing achievements, some researchers and agency officials contend that

And the investment has paid off--as evidenced by, among other things, HHMI researchers' prolific and influential publication record: Last year, for example, nearly one- quarter of the 200 most cited biomedical publications by U.S. scientists were authored by HHMI-affiliated investigators (see story on page 14). But despite the institute'S imposing presence and glowing achievements, some researchers and agency officials contend that

Back To:Genome Project Ethics Office Is Achieving New Prominence In National Policy Debates Principal Investigator: David Asch Institution: University of Pennsylvania Project Title: How Much Information About the Risk of Cystic Fibrosis Do Couples Want? (two awards) Project Period: 9/30/91 to 8/31/95 Project Title: Prescriptive Decision Modeling for Cystic Fibrosis Screening Project Period: 9/30/91 to 8/31/94 Principal Investigator:

Back To:Genome Project Ethics Office Is Achieving New Prominence In National Policy Debates Principal Investigator: David Asch Institution: University of Pennsylvania Project Title: How Much Information About the Risk of Cystic Fibrosis Do Couples Want? (two awards) Project Period: 9/30/91 to 8/31/95 Project Title: Prescriptive Decision Modeling for Cystic Fibrosis Screening Project Period: 9/30/91 to 8/31/94 Principal Investigator:

Kathleen G. Morgan, a professor of physiology in medicine at Harvard Medical School's cardiovascular division at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, has been named the new director of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI), effective Jan. 1, 1995. BBRI is an independent, nonprofit institute whose mission is to learn more about the natural world through basic biological research. The 25-year-old organization has about 20 principa

Kathleen G. Morgan, a professor of physiology in medicine at Harvard Medical School's cardiovascular division at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, has been named the new director of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI), effective Jan. 1, 1995. BBRI is an independent, nonprofit institute whose mission is to learn more about the natural world through basic biological research. The 25-year-old organization has about 20 principa

Six interdisciplinary teams of AIDS investigators received initial awards totaling more than $6 million last month in the launch of a novel effort sponsored by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The money represents the first of four years of funding the scientists will receive through the new Strategic Program for Innovative Research on AIDS Treatment (SPIRAT). SPIRAT will sup

Six interdisciplinary teams of AIDS investigators received initial awards totaling more than $6 million last month in the launch of a novel effort sponsored by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The money represents the first of four years of funding the scientists will receive through the new Strategic Program for Innovative Research on AIDS Treatment (SPIRAT). SPIRAT will sup

PP.10 Date:October 3, 1994 Chief Executive Officer New York Academy of Sciences New York City "I rely upon THE SCIENTIST's lively reporting of hot scientific trends and complex issues raised by the changing R&D environment. THE SCIENTIST covers unconventional angles that shorter reports in daily newspapers and science weeklies don't reveal." As head of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), Rodney Nichols dedicates his time to

PP.10 Date:October 3, 1994 Chief Executive Officer New York Academy of Sciences New York City "I rely upon THE SCIENTIST's lively reporting of hot scientific trends and complex issues raised by the changing R&D environment. THE SCIENTIST covers unconventional angles that shorter reports in daily newspapers and science weeklies don't reveal." As head of the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), Rodney Nichols dedicates his time to

But even if conditions prove constraining in the short run, a long-run view of American science should provide some cause for hope. However, finding a path out of the predicament in which the basic research community currently finds itself will not be easy, nor will the results be inevitable. Rather, it is likely to depend on decisions being made right now by university leaders. It also may depend to a great extent on the influence

But even if conditions prove constraining in the short run, a long-run view of American science should provide some cause for hope. However, finding a path out of the predicament in which the basic research community currently finds itself will not be easy, nor will the results be inevitable. Rather, it is likely to depend on decisions being made right now by university leaders. It also may depend to a great extent on the influence

Intellectual Freedom For the past decade or so, as many people are aware, my research has focused on assessing racial differences as manifested in brain size and intelligence. Startling and, I have come to understand, alarming to many people is my challenge to the prevailing view that if all people were treated the same, most race differences would disappear. I have found, for example, that Asians and Africans average at opposite

Intellectual Freedom For the past decade or so, as many people are aware, my research has focused on assessing racial differences as manifested in brain size and intelligence. Startling and, I have come to understand, alarming to many people is my challenge to the prevailing view that if all people were treated the same, most race differences would disappear. I have found, for example, that Asians and Africans average at opposite

The Scientist [page 1]. There is a great need to build bridges between the two cultures so we can understand each other's goals, methodologies, and expectations. I am pleased to inform your readers that this need was recognized some years ago in the graduate division of biochemistry at Rush University in Chicago. As a result, we initiated a course, "Science and the Law," as an elective for our graduate (Ph.D.) students. It is now a

The Scientist, July 11, 1994, page 13), "revealing a reviewer's identity is a good way to dilute or eliminate valuable and often valid criticism." Yet if you, as a reviewer, are confident in your opinion, then why should you hide your name? Could it be that anonymous peer review (APR) is grounded in fear of looking foolish in case you (the reviewer) turn to be wrong? But to face the risk of being wrong is an inherent part of the vo

The Scientist [page 1]. There is a great need to build bridges between the two cultures so we can understand each other's goals, methodologies, and expectations. I am pleased to inform your readers that this need was recognized some years ago in the graduate division of biochemistry at Rush University in Chicago. As a result, we initiated a course, "Science and the Law," as an elective for our graduate (Ph.D.) students. It is now a

The Scientist, July 11, 1994, page 13), "revealing a reviewer's identity is a good way to dilute or eliminate valuable and often valid criticism." Yet if you, as a reviewer, are confident in your opinion, then why should you hide your name? Could it be that anonymous peer review (APR) is grounded in fear of looking foolish in case you (the reviewer) turn to be wrong? But to face the risk of being wrong is an inherent part of the vo

Reprinted From: Science Watch, May 1994 The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports more than 250 investigators and their staffs at 63 United States universities and medical centers, has become a leader in biomedical research in the last decade. In an effort to assess the impact that Hughes investigators have had compared to other researchers in the biomedical community, the newsletter Science Watch compiled data on the insti

Reprinted From: Science Watch, May 1994 The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports more than 250 investigators and their staffs at 63 United States universities and medical centers, has become a leader in biomedical research in the last decade. In an effort to assess the impact that Hughes investigators have had compared to other researchers in the biomedical community, the newsletter Science Watch compiled data on the insti

Nashua, NH Advanced Visual Systems Waltham, MA Aldus Consumer Division San Diego, CA Analogic Corp. Wakefield, MA Ambis Inc. San Diego, CA Amtec Engineering Inc. Bellevue, WA Applied Biosystems Foster City, CA BioCAD Corp. Mountain View, CA Bio-Rad Laboratories Hercules, CA BIOSYM Technologies Inc. San Diego, CA B/T Scientific Technologies La Costa, CA Cognex Corp. Needham, MA CoHort Software Minneapolis, MN Compix Inc

Nashua, NH Advanced Visual Systems Waltham, MA Aldus Consumer Division San Diego, CA Analogic Corp. Wakefield, MA Ambis Inc. San Diego, CA Amtec Engineering Inc. Bellevue, WA Applied Biosystems Foster City, CA BioCAD Corp. Mountain View, CA Bio-Rad Laboratories Hercules, CA BIOSYM Technologies Inc. San Diego, CA B/T Scientific Technologies La Costa, CA Cognex Corp. Needham, MA CoHort Software Minneapolis, MN Compix Inc

H. Yssel, R.D.W. Malefyt,M-G. Roncarolo, J.S. Abrams, R. Lahesmaa, H. Spits, J.E. de Vries, "IL-10 is produced by subsets of human CD4+ T-cell clones and peripheral blood T cells," Journal of Immunology, 149:2378-84, 1992. Jan E. de Vries (DNAX Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.): "This paper characterizes the production of the cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) by human T lymphocytes and T-cell clones. "Following antigenic stimul

R.J. Cotter, "Time-of-Flight mass-spectrometry for the structural analysis of biological molecules," Analytical Chemistry, 64:1027-39, 1992. Robert J. Cotter (Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore): "As mass spectrometry continues to play an increasing role in the solution of structural biology problems, the time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzer is receiving particul

R.P. Bissonnette, F. Escheverri, A. Mahboubi, D.R. Green, "Apoptotic cell-death induced by c-myc is inhibited by bcl-2,S Nature, 359:552-54, 1992. Douglas Green (La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California): "A fundamental paradox of multicellular life is that while cell proliferation is necessary for development, it is also one of the most potentially dangerous challenges to the integrity of the individual. That is,

H. Yssel, R.D.W. Malefyt,M-G. Roncarolo, J.S. Abrams, R. Lahesmaa, H. Spits, J.E. de Vries, "IL-10 is produced by subsets of human CD4+ T-cell clones and peripheral blood T cells," Journal of Immunology, 149:2378-84, 1992. Jan E. de Vries (DNAX Research Institute, Palo Alto, Calif.): "This paper characterizes the production of the cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) by human T lymphocytes and T-cell clones. "Following antigenic stimul

R.J. Cotter, "Time-of-Flight mass-spectrometry for the structural analysis of biological molecules," Analytical Chemistry, 64:1027-39, 1992. Robert J. Cotter (Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore): "As mass spectrometry continues to play an increasing role in the solution of structural biology problems, the time-of-flight (TOF) mass analyzer is receiving particul

R.P. Bissonnette, F. Escheverri, A. Mahboubi, D.R. Green, "Apoptotic cell-death induced by c-myc is inhibited by bcl-2,S Nature, 359:552-54, 1992. Douglas Green (La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, California): "A fundamental paradox of multicellular life is that while cell proliferation is necessary for development, it is also one of the most potentially dangerous challenges to the integrity of the individual. That is,

PP.22 Date:October 3, 1994 Molecular Bio-Products' Turbo Assay System is a membrane and manifold system for a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative assays. The system provides a format for colorimetric and radiometric assays and is said to reduce total assay time to as little as 15 minutes. The disposable 8-well assay strips ensure no cross-talk between samples. The incorporated membrane has a high protein binding capacity a

PP.22 Date:October 3, 1994 Molecular Bio-Products' Turbo Assay System is a membrane and manifold system for a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative assays. The system provides a format for colorimetric and radiometric assays and is said to reduce total assay time to as little as 15 minutes. The disposable 8-well assay strips ensure no cross-talk between samples. The incorporated membrane has a high protein binding capacity a