Notebook

Photo: C. Garasi, C. Galino, N. Miller, A. Simon, J. & B. Peterson and the NMSU Visualization Center (scanning) 'WAKE-UP CALL': Comet Hale-Bopp could help illustrate the dangers of superstition, according to codiscoverer Alan Hale. He helped to discover Comet Hale-Bopp, science's biggest media darling since Dolly the cloned sheep, but astronomer Alan Hale has more earthly concerns these days. The adjunct professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University is worried about how difficult t

| 7 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
7:00
Share

Photo: C. Garasi, C. Galino, N. Miller, A. Simon, J. & B. Peterson and the NMSU Visualization Center (scanning) 'WAKE-UP CALL': Comet Hale-Bopp could help illustrate the dangers of superstition, according to codiscoverer Alan Hale. He helped to discover Comet Hale-Bopp, science's biggest media darling since Dolly the cloned sheep, but astronomer Alan Hale has more earthly concerns these days. The adjunct professor of astronomy at New Mexico State University is worried about how difficult the funding situation has made it for young scientists to launch careers, and is hoping to use his newfound fame to bring attention to the problem. Hale has circulated an E-mail message asking for "horror stories" from colleagues who have encountered heavy competition while looking for jobs, gone from one postdoctoral fellowship to another, left science altogether, and so on. He plans to share the stories with the press and government officials. "I want to ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
Image of a woman with her hands across her stomach. She has a look of discomfort on her face. There is a blown up image of her stomach next to her and it has colorful butterflies and gut bacteria all swarming within the gut.
November 2025, Issue 1

Why Do We Feel Butterflies in the Stomach?

These fluttering sensations are the brain’s reaction to certain emotions, which can be amplified or soothed by the gut’s own “bugs".

View this Issue
Olga Anczukow and Ryan Englander discuss how transcriptome splicing affects immune system function in lung cancer.

Long-Read RNA Sequencing Reveals a Regulatory Role for Splicing in Immunotherapy Responses

Pacific Biosciences logo
Research Roundtable: The Evolving World of Spatial Biology

Research Roundtable: The Evolving World of Spatial Biology

Conceptual cartoon image of gene editing technology

Exploring the State of the Art in Gene Editing Techniques

Bio-Rad
Conceptual image of a doctor holding a brain puzzle, representing Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.

Simplifying Early Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis with Blood Testing

fujirebio logo

Products

Eppendorf Logo

Research on rewiring neural circuit in fruit flies wins 2025 Eppendorf & Science Prize

Evident Logo

EVIDENT's New FLUOVIEW FV5000 Redefines the Boundaries of Confocal and Multiphoton Imaging

Evident Logo

EVIDENT Launches Sixth Annual Image of the Year Contest

10x Genomics Logo

10x Genomics Launches the Next Generation of Chromium Flex to Empower Scientists to Massively Scale Single Cell Research