The Scientist articles from May 2005

The Scientist archives from May 2005

How to fix drug ads.(Editorial)
May 23, 2005... If you've ever had doubts about the power of advertising, take a look at a recent study appearing in the Journal of American Medical Association. (1) Richard Kravitz, from the University of California, Davis, and colleagues found that when...

Prohibiting conflicts of interest at the NIH: banning every financial interest is neither efficient nor helpful.(Opinion)(National Institutes of Health)
May 23, 2005... AS scientists at the National Institutes of Health, we share the belief of director Elias Zerhouni and others, including Congress and the US public, that any financial conflict of interest at the agency is unacceptable and should be...

The most important thing in science is ...(Notebook)
May 23, 2005... If you could teach the world one thing about science, what would it be? If you're John Sulston, cowinner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, the answer is: "Evolution, as truth, insofar as we can comprehend it at the moment; as...

Evolution meets Judaism.(Notebook)
May 23, 2005... It's been hard to miss the recent antagonism between elements in the religious and scientific communities over issues such as evolution and the ethics of embryonic stem cell research. The public acrimony over those issues has often arisen...

A scientific EU--US love-fest.(Notebook)
May 23, 2005... A touch of acrimony is infused into many diplomatic relationships between the United States and European nations. But if the events of recent months are any indication, European scientists are envious of their American counterparts. One...

Dust clearing on the long-term potentiation debate: convergence emerges on LTP mechanisms--well, almost.(NEUROPHYSIOLOGY)(Cover Story)
May 23, 2005... Three decades and 6,000 papers since the term was first coined, scientists are still debating the mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP). (1) Defined in 1973 as an increase in synaptic strength following experimentally induced...

The patch clamp goes planar: new configuration makes electrophysiology's classic tool easier, and ready for high-throughput work.(NEUROPHYSIOLOGY)
May 23, 2005... The story goes like this: At a 1976 Biophysical Society meeting, Erwin Neher presented the technique that would win a Nobel Prize for him and Bert Sakmann. The room was packed with scientists anxious to hear his talk. But Neher, never a...

Turning back the tuberculosis tide: creative treatment approaches fast becoming a necessity.(RESEARCH)
May 23, 2005... An ancient scourge, tuberculosis has made a comeback in recent years. According to a recent World Health Organization report, tuberculosis (TB) incidence increased by one percent in 2003. (1) Though one-third of the world's population carries...

Hot on tolerance's trail: the hunt for human Foxp3.(Hot Papers)
May 23, 2005... Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and Crohn disease seem clinically diverse, but they arise from a common problem: poor discrimination between self and nonself. The search for specific markers identifying the cells underlying tolerance,...

S.G. Tringe et al., "Comaparative metagenomics of microbial communities".(Interdisciplinary Research)(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... S.G. Tringe et al., "Comparative metagenomics of microbial communities," Science, 308: 554-7, April 22, 2005. This important paper provides the first comparative analysis of both phylogenetic and functional diversity of entire microbial...

T. Marquardt et al., "Coexpressed EphA receptors and ephrin-A ligands mediate opposing actions on growth cone navigation from district membrane domains".(Interdisciplinary Research)
May 23, 2005... T. Marquardt et al., "Coexpressed EphA receptors and ephrin-A ligands mediate opposing actions on growth cone navigation from distinct membrane domains," Cell, 121: 127-39, April 8, 2005. In this paper, the authors present a mechanism...

T. Hessa et al., "Recognition of transmembrane helices by the endoplamic reticulum translocon".(Interdisciplinary Research)(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... T. Hessa et al., "Recognition of transmembrane helices by the endoplasmic reticulum translocon," Nature, 433: 377-81, Jan. 27, 2005. Hessa and colleagues show here that membrane insertion is determined by direct protein-lipid...

Signs of selection in genes.(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... In the estimated 5 million years since humans and chimpanzees began diverging, they've acquired major anatomical and cognitive differences. Nevertheless, some of the strongest evidence for positive selection since divergence appears to be for...

Planarians enter the genomic era.(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... Researchers at the University of Utah are among the first to use large-scale genetics to study the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, which contains a genome thought to contain insight into adult stem cell pluripotency and tissue regeneration....

Meets its market: lab-on-a-chip companies gain momentum by a process of constant evolution.(MICROFLUIDICS)
May 23, 2005... It's been a busy year for the microfluidics industry. Many lab-on-a-chip manufacturers are exploring new applications such as clinical diagnostics and biodefense. Other companies are expanding and refining their current niches, moving closer...

What's next for bioinformatics? As new paradigms evolve, model organism databases could be on the way out.(Vision)
May 23, 2005... I slipped into bioinformatics through the back door. In 1992, while completing my pathology residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, I became frustrated with my inability to combine my love of biological research with my hobby of...

Self-help for in vivo imaging: new method instructs cells to produce their own MRI contrast agents.(Tools & Tech)(magnetic resonance imaging)
May 23, 2005... Visualizing gene expression in living animals, at high spatial resolution and in real time, has been a longheld goal in molecular research. Now, a new platform technology, based on a well-known tool with a clever twist, is enabling molecular...

Sound and vision: micro-ultrasound provides real-time, high-resolution imaging of small animals.(Tools & Tech)(VisualSonics, Vevo 770)
May 23, 2005... The same technology that reveals to expectant parents the sex of their developing fetus is now being used for noninvasive, real-time imaging of small, live animals such as mice, rats, chick embryos, and zebrafish. Toronto-based VisualSonics'...

Advancing SPR: Biacore presents new flagship instrument.(Tools & Tech)(Brief Article)
May 23, 2005... Since their introduction as a life science tool 15 years ago, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) systems have offered highly sensitive, label-free, real-time detection of molecular interactions. Neuchatel, Switzerland-based Biacore, which...

Patient empowerment or Pandora's box? Can Big Pharma regain consumer confidence with new, more candid drug ads?(BioBusiness)
May 23, 2005... This spring, Johnson & Johnson began airing new ads for its birth control patch, and viewers may have noticed that the message was significantly more sobering than in past ads. In the television spot, an enthusiastic young woman wants to get...

When the protesters are shareholders: from animal rights to religion, groups are trying to force corporate change via the shareholder vote.(BioBusiness)
May 23, 2005... This year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed shareholders' resolutions with Merck, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Schering-Plough, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Abbott in an attempt to get the firms to stop using five...

Intellectual property and the challenge of China: all eyes are watching as Viagra patent case winds its way through the Chinese legal system.(BioBusiness)
May 23, 2005... In July 2004, 12 drug manufacturers in China successfully challenged Pfizer's Viagra patent, in effect gaining the ability to make sildenafil citrate-containing drugs with impunity. A month later, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) bowed out from a...

Sweetening the pot for scientists: China seems to be boosting funds for investigator-driven science, although some say changes are not happening fast enough.(BioBusiness)
May 23, 2005... Zhang Zhihong, a biophysicist at Fudan University in China, receives millions in grants from China's state-run science institutions for his research into the biochemistry of cell membranes and type 2 diabetes. Zhang, like many of his peers in...

Suit filed against German GM law.(Update)(by Sachsen-Anhalt)
May 23, 2005... One of Germany's 16 states, Sachsen-Anhalt, filed a lawsuit in April against a national regulation governing genetically modified (GM) crops. The suit, which was filed in the country's highest court, argues that the law discriminates against...

Supreme Court case may affect research tool makers.(Update)
May 23, 2005... A US Supreme Court case is dividing the life sciences industry, essentially pitting drug developers against the research tool industry. The court, which is expected to rule on the case by the summer, recently heard arguments from both sides...

Assay Designs' human total [P27.sup.Kip1] Elisa.
May 23, 2005... Assay Designs' human p27Kip1 TiterZyme[R] immunoassay kit provides quantitative measurement of p27 in cell lysates, p27 is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor whose concentration decreases in many types of cancers. This protein can now be...

An automated method to monitor cell behavior.
May 23, 2005... ECIS[TM] Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing is a powerful new method to study cell behavior in tissue culture. The approach provides real time, quantitative measurements of: * Cell Morphology * Endothelial Cell...

Neuron-glial cell marker kit.
May 23, 2005... Chemicon's Neuron-Glial Cell Marker kit (Catalog Number NS130) allows For the characterization and quantification of the three major classes oFCNS cell types in any cell culture preparation. Included in the sampler kit are antibodies that...

Design oligos for microarrays.
May 23, 2005... Design efficient, specific oligos For SNP genotyping and expression microarrays. Start with a list of sequences or the whole genome sequence to study entire organisms effortlessly. Array Designer automatically interprets BLAST results to...

Discover biomarkers.
May 23, 2005... The new BIOiTRAQ(TM) systems are the ideal MS-based solutions For key phases of biomarker research. Powerful workflows can accomplish discovery, identification, and quantitation within a single experiment. Systems suit varying research needs...

Pefachrome[R] peptide substrates.
May 23, 2005... The PeFachrome[R] Series of chromogenic and fluorogenic peptide substrates From Pentapharm are highly selective For enzymes involved in Hemostasis. Included are substrates For t-PA, Thrombin, Plasmin, and Factor Xa. Substrates are available...

Gilson pipetting aid--rapid & safe pipetting.
May 23, 2005... Gilson Pipetting Aid is a device that fits to glass (or plastic) measuring-pipettes, pipettes. Glass pipettes are often used to transfer dangerous liquids or hazardous samples. Gilson Pipetting Aid is specially designed For use in research...

Pipetman[R] ultra--advanced pipetting at your fingertips.
May 23, 2005... Pipetman Ultra is a fully adjustable, air-displacement pipette with a patented multifunctional electronic display. It is the latest member of the Pipetman[R] family, sharing many of the same characteristics: robustness, accuracy and...

New pipette for problem liquids.
May 23, 2005... Designed to the highest standards, Microman[R] is intended For pipetting problem liquids such as viscous, dense, volatile or radio labeled compounds. Microman uses capillary-piston and has no air-to-liquid interface for a contamination-free...

Gilson Pipetman[R] ultra starter kit.
May 23, 2005... Get off to an ultra accurate start with Gilson's new Starter Kit, which includes three Pipetman[R] Ultra pipettes, two corresponding certified quality Diamonds Tip racks to cover an entire volume range From 2 [micro] L to 1000 [micro] L, plus...

Gilson's new electronic repetitive pipette.
May 23, 2005... Gilson Repetman[R] is an ergonomically designed, battery-operated, repetitive pipette with automatic syringe size identification of Gilson positive-displacement Repet-Tips. It allows continuous volume adjustment from 1 [micro] L to 50 ml...

Gilson's new ultra- flat magnetic stirrer.
May 23, 2005... LabStir is a brand new Gilson product that provides laboratories with an ultra-fiat stirrer for better quality mixing, thanks to its alternating stirring mode. LabStir can accommodate containers up to 9 cm (3.54 in.) in diameter and volumes...

Banking on biology: Kathleen Sayce has a master's degree in botany. What's she doing working in finance?(Closing Bell)
May 23, 2005... If you were a small business owner looking for a loan, you'd expect financial and perhaps accounting advice from your banker. But if you're a specialty dried-fruit producer in Oregon seeking funding, you might end up with a lesson about...

The Pope and science.(Editorial)
May 9, 2005... As we write, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has just been formally installed as Pope Benedictus XVI. If his past pronouncements on science are any indicator, he is unlikely to liberalize the position of the Catholic Church on the subject. For...

Sharing stem cell information: how California's researchers will turn an underfunded operation into a $3 billion jewel.(Opinion)
May 9, 2005... Like many fellow California human embryonic stem cell researchers, I am looking forward to taking full advantage of the remarkable opportunity that the state's voters have offered us in the form of $3 billion in funding over the next 10...

New genome project, new controversy.(Notebook)
May 9, 2005... This month, National Geographic and IBM launched the Genographic Project, an ambitious attempt to trace human migration out of Africa during the last 50,000 to 60,000 years. The project, led by geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells,...

Need a paper? Fake it.(Notebook)
May 9, 2005... For untenured professors, the pressure to publish is intense. But it's unlikely any professor would be desperate enough to use a tool that a trio of Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate students recently dreamed up. Fed up with...

Use stem cells, get sued.(Notebook)(cardiac stem cell transplant)
May 9, 2005... When Dimitri Bonnville of Almont, Michigan, was shot in the chest with a nail gun by a construction coworker two years ago, the then 16-year-old eventually wound up at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where James Robbins, a trauma...

Gene therapy ... under the microscope again: some investors show new interest in gene therapy, despite the latest scare.(Cover Story)
May 9, 2005... Since 1998, when 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger died in a clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania, the news on gene therapy hasn't gotten much better. In a recent trial, three children developed leukemia almost certainly brought on by...

Cancer gene therapy at the crossroads: challenges abound--will blockbusters ensue?(Vision)
May 9, 2005... Scientists have established that gene therapy can cause cancer. (1) But after more than a decade of clinical experience, formal evidence is mounting that gene therapy can cure cancer as well. The allure has attracted sufficient attention to...

Insertional mutagenesis from a viral vector: findings demonstrate the possibility and the reality.(Hot Papers)
May 9, 2005... Integrated viral sequences can dysregulate genes. Thus, the specter of insertional oncogenesis had loomed in the background of every gene therapy trial that used an integrating viral vector. "The original calculations were that the risk would...

Autophagy & longevity: how keeping house may keep one young.(Research)
May 9, 2005... During autophagy--literally "self-eating"--cells deliver cytoplasmic constituents, including whole organelles, to the lysosome for degradation. This crucial recycling process kicks in during gross developmental changes and times of nutrient...

Taking the lid off the molecular garbage pail: the proteasome asserts its role as a key player in cell biology.(Research)
May 9, 2005... At its discovery in the 1980S, the proteasome was relegated to the essential but unglamorous role of cellular garbage pail--a last resting place for worn-out, misfolded, or otherwise unwanted proteins. But researchers soon uncovered a host of...

Wound repair in mouse and fly linked.
May 9, 2005... The same family of transcription factors directs the epidermal wound repair in mice and flies, according to two research teams. Their findings might clarify the pathways that initiate outer barrier repair in a range of organisms. William...

New model of leukocyte arrest.
May 9, 2005... Researchers at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science report that lymphocytes rolling on high endothelial venules stop abruptly in response to chemokines presented by endothelial cells. (1) Their findings suggest that chemokines stop...

Proof for prions?(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Protein aggregates generated in a test tube were found to infect wild-type hamsters with a disease much like scrapie. Such a demonstration has, in the past, been called the gold standard of "proof" that infectious protein particles, or...

Machining the body: rapid prototyping techniques promise better design and fabrication of tissue-engineering scaffolds.(Technology)
May 9, 2005... Two years ago, cell biologist Vladimir Mironov of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, created a buzz in the tissue-engineering world by predicting that in the not-so-distant future, scientists would be able to print whole...

Kinase screening services probe signaling pathways: new service industry helps drug companies and academics measure the specificity of protein kinase inhibitors.(Technology)
May 9, 2005... Kinases, the enzymes that catalyze phosphorylation events, have been implicated in hundreds of different diseases, including cancer, inflammatory diseases, and neurological disorders. Compounds that control their activity, therefore, hold...

Quantum dots get smaller: researchers are slimming down the diminutive dots to improve efficacy.(Technology)
May 9, 2005... For all the hype about nanotechnology, sometimes small isn't quite small enough. Quantum dots enable imaging advances in fields from oncology to neuroscience, yet at a whopping dozen nanometers or more, sometimes they're just too big....

One fusion protein, many labels: promega and covalys create multifunctional tagging systems.(Tools & Tech)
May 9, 2005... Have you ever needed a red fluorescent version of a protein, but only green was available? Promega (www.promega.com) of Madison, Wis., and Swiss company Covalys Biosciences (www.covalys.com), have developed methods to tag proteins with a wide...

Living microscopy: ibidi releases disposable slides for live-cell imaging.(Tools & Tech)
May 9, 2005... Munich-based ibidi (Integrated BioDiagnostics, www.ibidi.de) has developed a line of disposable plastic perfusion slides, called g-Slides, that enable both culturing and high-resolution microscopy of live cells. Cells immobilized in a channel...

Brighter X-rays on the benchtop: screen smaller crystals faster with new X-ray generation system.(Tools & Tech)
May 9, 2005... The power of a synchrotron facility can now be found in a laboratory X-ray source. The new Microstar-H X-ray generation system, from Bruker-AXS (www.bruker-axs.com) of Madison, Wis., produces X-rays that are as intense as those from...

Well spotted: microarrayer module enables printing of microwell-based arrays.(Tools & Tech)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Genomic Solutions (www.genomicsolutions.com) of Huntingdon, UK, recently released a new late Arraying module compatible with its BioRobotics MicroGrid II and GeneMachines OmniGrid Accent contact printers. Company spokesperson Jeremy...

Taking a new look at an ancient tradition: a handful of companies are mining traditional Chinese medicine for Western-style drugs. Why aren't more?(BioBusiness)
May 9, 2005... In March, Geron Corporation of Menlo Park, Calif., teamed up with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's (HKUST) Biotechnology Research Corporation to find new drugs that would activate telomerase and, it is hoped, result in a...

Institutional review boards in crisis: the watchdogs of research have had a massive increase in responsibility, but lack the support to do their job.(BioBusiness)
May 9, 2005... The pressure is building on Institutional Review Boards. Those venerable groups are charged with protecting patients in clinical trials, largely by providing ethical oversight and making sure informed consent guidelines are followed. However,...

Reinventing R&D at Roche: which research strategies deliver innovation and build a better pipeline?(Vision)
May 9, 2005... Much has been written about a perceived lack of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, as it relates to productivity. While some of the criticism may be justified, much is not. Clearly, you can question the investments that companies made...

Man behaving oddly: Andrew Murray went from lecturing in drag to watching yeast mutate.(Reverse Transcript)
May 9, 2005... AS a young scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, Andrew Murray once attended an opera wearing a red rubber dress. "It was spectacular," recalls Tim Mitchison, then a colleague at the same institution. "I'll bet he can...