News Notes

President George W. Bush announced his intention to nominate physicist John H. Marburger director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, following concerns from members of the scientific community that the president had diluted the power of the position by waiting so long to fill it (M. Anderson, B. Maher, "White House help wanted list worries scientists," The Scientist, [15]13:34, June 25, 2001). Marburger directed the Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) since 1998, after he served both as a professor and a president of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. During his presidency from 1980 to 1994, the university opened a teaching hospital and boosted its federally sponsored research program. Marburger oversaw a collaborative proteomics study at BNL and expanded the lab's technology transference and collaboration with industrial partners. Senate hearings to confirm the nomination are not expected until September, according to a June 26 statement by Marburger. Ed Furtek, associate vice chancellor of science and technology policy and projects at the University of California, San Diego, had previously voiced concern that Bush would lower the status of the job, questioning whether the new director would enjoy direct contact with the president, or perform as a bureaucrat with limited Oval Office access. The president's written announcement listed the position only as "director of the Office of Science and Technology." Nevertheless, White House spokesman Jimmy Orr says the appointee would be both director of the office and assistant to the president, adding, "The president believes that [Marburger] is a very talented individual and will be of great benefit to this office as a leader."

While scientists, politicians and the public wait to hear whether President George W. Bush will allow the funding of research involving embryonic stem cells (ESCs), two congressmen have introduced legislation representing each side of this issue. In early June, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), a physician, submitted a bill that would permit federal funding for ESC research and derivation. The Stem Cell Research Act of 2001 (H.R. 2059) allows funding of these highly plastic cells as long as cell lines are obtained from donated surplus embryos produced for in-vitro fertilization procedures. The act is the House companion bill to virtually identical legislation (S. 723) introduced in April by Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Two days later, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) submitted the "Responsible Stem Cell Research Act of 2001" (HR 2096) that appropriates $30 million to NIH in FY 2002 to support "ethical stem cell research" using "qualifying human stem cells," defined in the bill as those obtained from human placentas, umbilical cord blood, or adult tissues and organs or tissues of unborn human offspring who died of natural causes, such as spontaneous abortion. The "qualifying stem cells" do not include ESCs. The bill would also create a National Stem Cell Donor Bank for NIH to acquire, store, and distribute qualifying stem cells for biomedical research and therapeutic purposes. For several months, the departments of Health and Human Services and Justice have been reviewing the Clinton-era NIH guidelines, which only regulate stem cell use. The Bush administration continues to wrestle with potential political fallout tied to any decision on the issue of stem cell use.

You're never too old to talk science. A newly formed society seeks to help retired scientists continue to collaborate, deliberate, and network even after they've left the laboratory. Called the World Institute of Retired Scientists (WIRS), the society was first proposed by Farhang Frank Sefidvash of Brazil's Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in 1999. In May of 2000, he established the institute's basic infrastructure and secured start-up funds from the Brazilian government. The WIRS, which is affiliated with the Research Centre for Global Governance, a Brazilian think tank, officially opened up to the public in early June, though plans are still very preliminary. Interested researchers from all fields are invited to apply for membership at www.rcgg.ufrgs.br/wirs/--retired scientists will be considered members, scientists planning to retire within 10 years will be associate members. Membership is free, but donations are welcome. Sefidvash, a professor of nuclear engineering, tells The Scientist via email that he hopes the WIRS will be especially useful in transferring the knowledge and experience of retired scientists in industrialized countries to scientists in developing countries. If all goes as planned, WIRS will have modules in different countries, each with three to nine scientists--though organizers have not yet gotten commitments from other countries regarding their participation. "This is the cheapest way to transfer knowledge," Sefidvash comments. "The retired scientists do not receive money for their services and the expenses are only airplane ticket and hotel accommodations." Influenced by the idea of WIRS, the National Research Council of Canada has already started providing office space and resources to retired scientists called "guest workers."