Yale Neurobiologists Find That Life Revolves Around Their Profession

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--Patricia Goldman-Rakic, sitting in her office at Yale University, is talking to a visitor about the problems and pleasures of being married to another scientist when her department chairman knocks on her door and enters. He explains that he's normally more polite but that, since she is his wife, he takes certain liberties. They smile, then he gets down to the business at hand--copy for an advertisement for a new journal, Cerebral Cortex, of which they are coeditors. She skims

Written byElizabeth Pennisi

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She skims the copy, corrects his spelling, and nods her approval. He departs, apologizing for the interruption. As he leaves, she offers an explanation for why, despite feeling that their professional responsibilities are stealing time away from their marriage, they agreed to take on this new publication, which debuts early next year. "Right now, to follow this field [the study of the cerebral cortex], you have to read 25 journals and you pick up one [article] here and there," she says. "There's a field, but it's fragmented. This will help coalesce things."

The project, and their interaction, typify how these two neurobiologists live their lives. Because they are peers with similar goals, they are often willing to put science first in order to make the greatest possible impact on their field.

Life for this two-scientist couple is the story of two researchers who play leading roles in their discipline. The ...

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