September 2000

Consider a scenario for the year 2002: Using commercially available software, bioprospector "Craig Collins" spends a day scavenging the Human Genome Project (HGP) database for the alternatively spliced genes prized by Wall Street. He enters the sequences of several candidate genes into a software package that prints out the likely functions of their protein products. One protein looks like it could be pharmaceutical paydirt, so he isolates the corresponding cDNA, inserts it into a vector, then

Infection" is usually associated with an oozing sore, a bout with the flu, or an outbreak in some exotic place. But infectious organisms lie behind many chronic illnesses too, and an increasingly molecular approach to diagnosis is clarifying some of these relationships. An invited panel discussed "The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases" at the second International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, held in Atlanta July 16-19. Chronic diseases take a huge toll. "In the [United St

Graphic: Cathleen Heard This week, as the United Nations convenes its Millennium Summit in New York, delegates will consider how to help developing countries obtain better access to medical information on the Internet. The discussion is prompted by Secretary General Kofi Annan, who in his April Millennium Report proposed a Health InterNetwork and a volunteer U.N. Information Technology Service. The first proposal would establish thousands of online sites in hospitals and clinics to provide acce

Scrambler, Fidget, Stargazer, and other mouse strains that mimic human neurological diseases, may have to move over. They are about to get plenty of company in their home in Bar Harbor, Maine. The Jackson Laboratory is planning to use its largest grant ever--$16.3 million from the National Institutes of Health--to develop and support more strains of mimicking mice. With a new building under construction, Jackson is expected to increase by 16 percent the number of mice it can maintain. At present

The Scientist - Harmony in the Lab The Scientist 14[17]:19, Sep. 4, 2000 NEWS Harmony in the Lab Kinzler-Vogelstein group is single-minded in goal of beating cancer By Eugene Russo Photo:©Marty Katz Bert Vogelstein (bearded, third from upper left) and Ken Kinzler (center, directly in front of Vogelstein), surrounded by therir labmates. Asked why his laboratory has had a string of successes in the last decade, making it one of the most recognizable onc

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for discerning odors that is far more sensitive than the human nose and has numerous potential applications in the workplace as well as the home. Ten to 100 times more sensitive than the human nose for many compounds, the artificial nose works by visualizing odors; it is simple, fast, and inexpensive. The technique, termed "smell-seeing" by its inventors, uses an array of vapor-sensitive dyes known as metalloporphyrins that cha

I almost choked on my tofu dog reading "Gene Transfer in Space."1 The article suggests that because soybean gene transfers performed on the ground have "an average success rate of 1:1,000," it is "obvious" that we should spend time, money, and effort pursuing more efficient gene transfers in space. Soybean seedling transformation would have to be--here it comes--astronomically less efficient to ever justify such an expensive solution. According to the Office of Management and Budget, nine

Dave Amber1 reviewed the public's risks in genetic DNA testing and the potential need for federal oversight to ensure the accuracy and predictability of these tests to avoid erroneous preventive surgical and medical care. The added user cost to the public for this Food and Drug Administration surveillance is yet to be determined. DNA testing has become more complicated than expected in that the variations of genetic mutations are numerous. A negative DNA test for a known hereditary cancer syndro

For this article, Steve Bunk interviewed Ronald A. DePinho, professor of genetics, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. J. Pomerantz, N. Schreiber-Agus, N.J. Liégeois, A. Silverman, L. Alland, L. Chin, J. Potes, K. Chen, I. Orlow, H-W. Lee, C. Cordon-Cardo, R.A. DePinho, "The INK4a tumor suppressor gene product, p19ARF,

For this article, Steve Bunk interviewed Karl O. Stetter, director, Institute of Microbiology, University of Regensburg, Germany, and Jay M. Short, chief executive officer, Diversa Corp., San Diego. Data from the Web of Science (ISI, Philadelphia) show that Hot Papers are cited 50 to 100 times more often than the average paper of the same type and age. G. Deckert, P.V. Warren, T. Gaasterland, W.G. Young, A.L. Lenox, D.E. Graham, R. Overbeek, M.A. Snead, M. Keller, M. Aujay, R. Huber, R.A. Feld

Human Arrays Human Arrays (continued) A 20th century scientist may have spent an entire career studying the function of a single protein, never imagining that one day it would be possible to study every human gene at once. This capability comes in the form of a microarray, a surface collection of immobilized genes that can be simultaneously examined with specialized equipment.1 Many current applications of arrays, also known as biochips, can be used in functional genomics as scientists seek ch

Reverse Transcriptases Commonly Used for RT-PCR Reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR)--a method for assessing gene expression, detecting low copy number mRNA transcripts, and generating complementary DNAs (cDNAs) for cloning--converts an RNA template to its DNA counterpart with a reverse transcriptase enzyme. The cDNA is then amplified by PCR. Although the technique appears relatively painless, researchers using RT-PCR may encounter several pitfalls. For instance, reverse transcribing long mRNA te

Ever since the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which allows universities, federally funded research labs, and small businesses to own and patent inventions discovered in federally funded research programs, the profession of commercializing research has been growing and changing. Technology transfer managers help shepherd an idea conceived by scientists in academia or government research centers to commercialization in the private sector. They deal with evaluating discoveries for commercial potential, pat

Tools of the Trade As knowledge advances regarding deadly diseases and subsequent treatments, many scientists are relying on the tools and techniques being developed by biotechnology companies to achieve research goals. One genomic information company, Incyte Genomics of Palo Alto, Calif., recently launched Incyte.com, a genomics Web site with proprietary human gene as well as public domain sequence information. The company is focused on the discovery and analysis of genes as they are expressed