September 1995

The pressures of practicing science in the 1990s are taking their toll on researchers in the United States and throughout the world. Some of the evidence is clear: rising unemployment and underemployment, as well as ferocious competition for rapidly dwindling resources. Other signs, scientists say, are less obvious --increased research misconduct, sexual discrimination, disrupted family and personal lives, and the creation of "serial postdocs" with less and less of a chance of ever obtaining a

The biotechnology industry has shown signs recently of recovering from the doldrums of the past year, which encompassed a wave of consolidations, layoffs, and a critical cash crunch. However, as some indications arise that biotech as a whole is starting to regain investor confidence, industry analysts say that the agricultural biotech sector seems to be lagging. Ag biotech observers, including scientists in both business and academia, agree that the industry's growth has been hampered by regul

if (n == null) The Scientist - Growth In Untenured Academic Science Jobs Seen Hurting Careers The Scientist 9[18]:1, Sep. 18, 1995 News Growth In Untenured Academic Science Jobs Seen Hurting Careers By Franklin Hoke The proportion of poorly paid, temporary jobs in academic science is growing, while the share of full-time, tenured positions is declining, according to researchers and observers of university employment practices. The chance that a new Ph.D.

Despite well-publicized, lucrative licensing deals, most university technology experts find that patenting and licensing inventions is a process laden with potential pitfalls. While universities claim that the investment is generally worthwhile for a number of reasons, the challenge, many specialists say, is choosing the right project and matching it with the right industry at the right time. Patents often languish, investments frequently sour. The fact is, for every income-earning patent, mil

On The Decline Author: Neeraja Sankaran The time-honored tradition of visiting professorships -- invitations extended to faculty taking sabbaticals from their own institutions to teach and do research here -- will once again be in evidence as schools reopen in the fall. As throngs of students return to their classrooms and laboratories, they may find that certain familiar faces are missing or replaced by new ones, or that there are new names and courses listed in the fall directories. The pra

The plight of America's women in science has been considered by some to be one of the most pressing issues of our times. Even though it may be true that textbooks no longer categorically depict only boys as doctors and professors while depicting girls as nurses and technicians, many hurdles remain for a woman with aspirations for a career, in scientific research. Through the years, I have heard many speak in favor of women's rights. However, I have witnessed few, if any, significant allocatio

I read with interest the article in the Hot Papers column on K.C. Nicolaou's paper titled "Total synthesis of taxol" (The Scientist, May 29, 1995, page 14). The account is very helpful in bringing readers' attention to one of the most impressive achievements of chemists in recent years. It is, however, misleading in two aspects. First, the article failed to point out the actual research team that accomplished the first total synthesis of taxol. Second, it didn't mention the fact that two resea

I enjoyed a recent article in The Scientist (K.Y. Kreeger, "Dramatic Growth In DNA-Based Forensics Doesn't Translate Into Job Opportunities," April 17, 1995, page 1). That article listed nine forensic organizations, but left out the name and address of the largest and fastest-growing forensic association in the world: the American College of Forensic Examiners and its two boards, the American Board of Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Forensic Medicine. We are the new kids on the bl

if (n == null) The Scientist - Beyond the Fruit Fly The Scientist 9[18]:13, Sep. 18, 1995 Research Beyond the Fruit Fly By Karen Young Kreeger Of all the animal species described thus far by scientists, insects account for nearly five-sixths. Nearly 1 million are already identified, with taxonomists estimating another 1 million to go. Despite their ubiquity on Earth, the study of insects has only recently been married to the explosion of molecular biologic

Entomological Society of America (ESA) 9301 Annapolis Road, Lanham, Md.20706 (301)731-4535. Fax:(301)731-4538 E-Mail: mem@entsoc.org 8000 members Harry Bradley, executive director Eldon Ortman, president Journals: Journal of Medical Entomology Journal of Economic Entomology Journal of Environmental Entomology Annals of the ESA Genetics Society of America 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814 E-mail: soc@genetics.faseb.org 6000 members Elaine Strass, executive director Judith G. Hall,

J.-F. Zhang, A.D. Randall, P.T. Ellinor, W.A. Horne, W.A. Sather, T. Tanabe, T.L. Schwarz, R.W. Tsien, "Distinctive pharmacology and kinetics of cloned neuronal Ca2+ channels and their possible counterparts in mammalian CNS neurons," Neuropharmacology, 32:1075-88, 1993. (Cited in more than 80 publications through August 1995) Comments by Richard W. Tsien, Ji-Fang Zhang, and Patrick T. Ellinor, Stanford University Medical Center According to Richard Tsien, a professor of molecular and cellular

A. Noda, Y. Ning, S.F. Venable, O.M. Pereira-Smith, J.R. Smith, "Cloning of senescent cell-derived inhibitors of DNA synthesis using an expression screen," Experimental Cell Research, 211:90-8, 1994. (Cited in nearly 150 publications through August 1995) Comments by James R. Smith, Baylor College of Medicine The major finding described in this paper, says James R. Smith, a professor in the division of molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine and codirector of the Roy M. and Phyllis Gou

Precarious Task Author: Ricki Lewis In the days of TV's June Cleaver -- stay-at-home-mom extraordinaire -- the idea of the female parent spending hours each day lecturing undergraduates or directing laboratory research bordered on absurd. Women were rare among the ranks of academic scientists, and those who were also mothers rarer still. Today women are prominent players in the academic life sciences, and many are mothers, too. Like their counterparts in industry (R. Lewis, The Scientist, Jan.

ACROSS 1 A,C, G, T or U 3 Darwin topic 9 Thallophyte 10 What an algometer measures 11 What a fraction represents 13 Digestive ________ 14 Nerve servicing the index finger 17 Having two similar complements of chromosomes 19 Example of 21 Across 21 It helps form a solution 23 Arrays of ordered light waves 24 Do genetic surgery 26 AIDS researcher 30 Reef material 31 Disease-causing organism 32 1934 chemistry Nobelist Harold 33 Epinatal discipline 34 Amount of anything in relation to units of some

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, a winner of the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics whose theories about the evolution of stars led to the concept of black holes, died of heart failure on August 21 at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He was 84 years old. STELLAR: Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar "In a sense, Chandra's [death] comes as an end of an era," comments his friend and colleague Eugene Parker, who is currently the S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, at the University of Chicago, whe

To Baltimore Biotech Firm Author: FRANKLIN HOKE After a long career with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), biomedical engineer Stephen L. Gordon, 51, has become vice president for advanced technology development at Osiris Therapeutics Inc., a Baltimore-based biotechnology company. Gordon was chief of the musculoskeletal diseases branch for more than 17 years, and, just prior to his move, served as acting director for the institute's extramural re

if (n == null) The Scientist - The Immune Response The Scientist 9[18]:18, Sep. 18, 1995 Tools The Immune Response By Holly Ahern Imagine that you've just cloned a gene for a bacterial enzyme with unique structural properties and you want to find out more about it. What natural role does the enzyme play, you wonder, and do organisms other than bacteria produce it? To answer these questions, you could screen countless genomic libraries for clones bearing si

Cal Takes The Field For ALSPrized Pizza The Digital MerckThe Whole Kit And Kaboodle Immortal GenesIndia Joins MacArthur Leaders Extraordinary ExpeditionsTourette Training Grants On September 6, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. broke the consecutive-games-played record of 2,130 set by Lou Gehrig, the New York Yankees first-baseman who died in 1941 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- now known as Lou Gehrig's disease. To honor Gehrig, 260 one-time, $5,000 seats were sold along

Date: September 18, 1995, pp.8 EVA ENGVALL, Professor and Chair of Developmental Biology Stockhold University and Senior Staff Scientist La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, California As an immunochemist and cell biologist, Eva Engvall has led scientific advances that touch people's lives daily. Her thesis work on the development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) provided the foundation for numerous assays now used in clinics as well as in home pregnancy tests. Today, Engvall's l