Notebook

HERE WE GO AGAIN: More breast cancer genes are likely, says Duke's Futreal. A recent report in Nature Genetics (C. Phelan et al., 13:120-2, 1996) suggests that mutations in BRCA2, the second breast cancer susceptibility gene identified, may not be involved in as many cases of inherited breast cancer as first thought, but it may play a role in some pancreatic cancers. At the same time, the work implies that a third breast cancer gene-and perhaps more-may lurk in human DNA. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C., studied 49 families with inherited breast cancers unlikely to have mutations in the BRCA1 gene, the initial breast cancer susceptibility gene uncovered in 1994. Together, BRCA1 and BRCA2 are thought to be responsible for about 90 percent of the 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers that run in families. Yet the team found BRCA2 mutations in only eight families. Four of those eight families also had members with pancreatic cancers at young ages, suggesting a link. "It was somewhat surprising," says molecular geneticist Andrew Futreal, an assistant professor of surgery, genetics, and gynecologic oncology at Duke University, who led the research. "By identifying BRCA1 and BRCA2, we thought we would've nailed the lid on hereditary breast cancer. This [finding] suggests that the proportion of breast cancer attributable to BRCA2 may have been overestimated. It leaves open the possibility for other breast cancer genes that haven't been identified-there could be BRCA3 through BRCA10." DOWN BUT NOT OUT: Charles Sanders may run for office again. Charles Sanders wanted to add U.S. senator to an already impressive résumé‚ that includes cardiologist, professor, and pharmaceutical executive (T.W. Durso, The Scientist, April 15, 1996, page 1). But North Carolina Democrats had other ideas, selecting former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt in the state's May 7 primary election by a vote of 52 percent to 42 percent. Gantt's victory sets up a general-election rematch against incumbent Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, the winner in their first contest six years ago. Sanders, a political newcomer, tells The Scientist that despite his loss, scientists are solid candidates for office: "The fact is that people respond to the message of research and development. The real problem with this election is that people are just turned off by politics," As for the future, Sanders is "contemplating" his next step. "This is the first time I've ever been unemployed, and I'm kind of enjoying it," he states with a chuckle. "I'm not going to rush anything." He claims that running for office was one of the most "interesting" experiences he ever had: "I worked harder than I ever have in my life, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility [of running again]." More than 5,000 members of the American Chemical Society (ACS) signed an April 29 open letter to President Clinton and Congress urging more budgetary support for science and technology. The two-paragraph letter reads in part: "Under current projections for a seven-year balanced budget, funding for federally supported science and technology will decrease by approximately one-third. Such a large decrease in support threatens future discoveries that can help protect our citizens from disease and pollution, provide for a robust national economy, and improve the quality of our lives." Among the signatories were all 16 ACS member Nobel laureates in chemistry, including 1995 Nobelists F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina; signatures were obtained from chemists in each of the 50 states. The text of the letter was given to every member of Congress; a copy including the 5,000 signatures was delivered to Clinton as well as to resigning Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.), House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.). "This was just one mechanism we had to show Congress that, when they discuss the 1997 budget, there is a constituency out there with real names and real addresses," says Susan Turner, head of ACS's department of government relations and science policy. She adds that this constituency is composed of "a variety of people-not just professors at universities, but a much broader group," noting that industry researchers who signed the letter work not only at chemical companies but also at pharmaceutical, automotive, and other firms. Turner says that ACS has not received a formal response to the letter. A newly formed organization aims to serve as a resource for information about the patent process. The nascent National Association of Patent Practitioners (NAPP) is open to inventors and individuals who want to learn more about the patent process as well as to patent lawyers or agents, unlike groups such as the American Intellectual Property Law Association, which is limited to attorneys (see Profession, page 15). NAPP's mission statement declares that its goals are to promote "professional networking and idea exchange"; distribute information on patenting and new technologies; "create [a] collective, nationwide voice to respond to proposed changes in the patent statutes . . . and [United States Patent and Trademark Office] operations"; and "support enrichment of the relationship between inventors and patent practitioners." Membership benefits include a quarterly newsletter, seminars on patent practice and new technologies, a mentorship program for those preparing for the patent bar exam, and access to a national referral service. The executive director is Darla K. Davis. For information, contact the National Association of Patent Practitioners, 435-2 Oriana Rd., Box 215, Newport News, Va. 23608; (800) 216-9588. Fax: (804) 874-6278. E-mail: napp96@aol.com. TYLER TRIO: Prize recipients, from left, are Willi Dansgaard, Claude Lorius, and Hans Oeschger. Earlier this month, the 1996 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement was awarded to three investigators whose work takes them, literally, to the ends of the Earth. Three climatologists-Willi Dansgaard, a professor, emeritus, of geophysics at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Claude Lorius, chairman of the French Institute of Polar Research and Technology, Grenoble; and Hans Oeschger, a professor, emeritus, of physics at the University of Bern, Switzerland-were honored for their work recording global climate change in ancient polar ice cores. They shared the $150,000 cash prize and were each presented a gold medallion at a ceremony in Los Angeles on May 3. "The work of these three scientists has quite literally revolutionized our understanding about the Earth's past climate," remarks Stephen Schneider, a professor of biology at Stanford University. Schneider was among numerous scientists who wrote letters in support of the three recipients. Dansgaard, 73, was the first to use trace isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen to map a time line of global change reaching back 150,000 years. Lorius, 63, and Oeschger, 68, pioneered the use of atmospheric gases like carbon dioxide and methane trapped in ice cores to track past changes in global temperature. The Tyler Prize, administered by the University of Southern California, was established by the late John and Alice Tyler to recognize significant achievements in environmental science and protection. John Tyler was founder and CEO of the Farmers Insurance Group, Los Angeles. Patients with Parkinson's disease soon may have a new therapy from the most unlikely of sources. The proposed therapy involves implanting Sertoli cells from pig testes into the human brain. The cells release immunosuppressants and growth factors that promote tissue regeneration and facilitate transplantation (D. Bellgrau et al., Nature, 377:630-2, 1995; P.R. Sanberg et al., Abstracts of the Proceedings of the American Society for Neural Transplantation, 2:41, 1995). In animal studies, rat Sertoli cells transplanted into lesioned rat brains promoted regeneration of the rodent's damaged cells. Flemington, N.J.-based Theracell Inc., a subsidiary of Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif., has licensed the technology for using Sertoli cells for neurological applications from codevelopers at the University of South Florida-neuroscientist Paul Sanberg and reproductive physiologist Don Cameron. Researchers at Theracell plan to use the technology to develop therapies for Parkinson's patients, says CEO and president Richard Allen. "The research is a real attention-getter at meetings," he remarks. "At first people are puzzled by the relationship between Sertoli cells and neuroscience, but this is quickly followed by attempts at sophomoric humor connecting the brain and male reproductive system." But, as he is quick to point out, implications of the research are no laughing matter. The therapy could also help people suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and other brain disorders, as well as in xenotransplantation surgery. The group is one to two years away from human clinical trials using porcine Sertoli cells. GOING APE: Students play virtual gorillas in a new zoo exhibit. Middle-school students recently got a taste of what it's like to be an adolescent in a gorilla family. In what's billed as the world's first virtual reality gorilla exhibit at Zoo Atlanta, children were launched into a real gorilla habitat modeled after the family of the zoo's most famous resident gorilla, Willie B. "The goal was to step up the experience with the great apes," explains Kyle Burks, a Georgia Institute of Technology psychology graduate student and zoo research associate. "To understand their behavior, why not see what it's like to be one?" The project, which was officially unveiled to the students on May 15, is a collaborative effort between Zoo Atlanta gorilla behavioralists and Georgia Tech computer and architecture specialists. To re-create the gorilla's world, the researchers used photographs, videos, contour maps, architectural blueprints, and design layouts. At the same time, other researchers used videos and information on gorilla social habits to create virtual animals that simulate real movement and general behaviors. "The kids have been studying gorilla behavior and coming to the zoo regularly," explains Larry Hodges, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's College of Computing. "Now we're going to give them a gorilla identity. In virtual reality we have a male silverback, a dominant gorilla, and a female that they can interact with. We have series of behaviors that we have modeled. Eventually we're going to have a program that reacts more intelligently," with a broader range of more complex, subtle behaviors.

Notebook

The Scientist Staff

May 29, 1996

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