Signaling news
Here we present recent news items specially selected from Nature, Nature Medicine and Nature Biotechnology.
May 2003
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News | News in brief | News Features
News
Virus detectives seek source of SARS in China's wild animals
Researchers investigating the source of SARS have turned their attention to the wild-animal markets of southern China.
Nature (29 May 2003)
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BSE case rattles Canadian officials
The life and times of a cow from the Canadian province of Alberta are currently the subject of intense scrutiny, as officials struggle to understand how it became infected with BSE.
Nature (29 May 2003)
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Legal row looms for gene-map firm
A leading company in the International HapMap Project, a collaboration aiming to map genetic variation in the human genome, is embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle.
Nature (29 May 2003)
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Biologists moot daunting plan to track viruses
Three US researchers have proposed an ambitious project to sequence the genetic code of every virus known to infect humans. They plan to use the information in a database to track new and emerging viral infections.
Nature (29 May 2003)
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Animal studies hint at staying power of SARS
Studies of viruses that infect farmyard and domestic animals indicate just how difficult SARS will be to tackle, scientists at a New York Academy of Sciences meeting heard last weekend.
Nature (22 May 2003)
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Brazilian brain experts plan research village
Three expatriate Brazilian neuroscientists have launched a bid to build a research centre in the northern coastal city of Natal in Brazil. The institute will focus on neuroscience, and will include a mental-health clinic and a school for underprivileged children.
Nature (22 May 2003)
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Copied citations give impact factors a boost
Scientific papers that are not widely read and that lack any great influence can end up being classed as high-impact, claim researchers in California.
Nature (22 May 2003)
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Researchers divided over ethics of a ban on cloning
The German government last week began a push for an international ban on all types of human cloning.
Nature (22 May 2003)
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Biologists take tentative steps towards bespoke cancer drugs
Japanese biologists are vying with each other to identify patients who are likely to develop side-effects from a highly promising cancer therapy.
Nature (15 May 2003)
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Medical council pins hopes on public advocate of science
Leading neuroscientist Colin Blakemore has been chosen to run Britain's main biomedical research agency, the Medical Research Council (MRC).
Nature (15 May 2003)
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Low embryo count fuels US stem-cell debate
Only about 275 of the roughly 400,000 frozen embryos currently stored in the United States are likely to be of any use in stem-cell research, according to the first comprehensive inventory of the embryos.
Nature (15 May 2003)
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US Army joins hunt for SARS drug
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and the US Army have joined forces in a systematic screening programme to find drug candidates to combat SARS.
Nature (8 May 2003)
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US fails to quantify threat of West Nile virus
Public-health authorities in North America are gearing up for the return and probable spread of West Nile virus, which last year claimed the lives of more than 200 people.
Nature (8 May 2003)
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Geneticists question fees for use of patented 'junk' DNA
Most geneticists have never heard of Malcolm Simons. But they could get to hear about him pretty soon when they're asked to pay for use of non-coding DNA — sometimes known as 'junk' DNA — on which the New Zealand immunologist has won wide-ranging global patents.
Nature (8 May 2003)
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Dying cells dragged screaming under the microscope
An eerie high-pitched song fills the air in a physics laboratory in Los Angeles. It is the scream of a yeast cell as it withers in a pool of alcohol, and it just may proclaim a useful new technique for cell biologists.
Nature (8 May 2003)
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AIDS researchers seek criteria for vaccines
Scientists have been seeking an AIDS vaccine for two decades now, with precious few signs of success. But while their search has focused primarily on a vaccine that would prevent the disease, some vaccine researchers have been looking for ways to augment existing drug treatments for AIDS.
Nature (8 May 2003)
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Apartment complex holds clues to pandemic potential of SARS
A 33-floor apartment block in the bustling Kowloon district of Hong Kong could provide clues to the true risk posed by SARS, epidemiologists say.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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Biologists seek to head off future sources of infection
Researchers at the Beijing Genomics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have mounted a wide-ranging search of domestic and wild animals, in a hunt for coronaviruses similar to that which is thought to cause SARS.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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Critics slam treatment for SARS as ineffective and perhaps dangerous
Health authorities in Hong Kong are coming under intense criticism over their use of an antiviral drug combined with anti-inflammatory steroids to treat patients with SARS.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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Commission lays foundations for rise in research spending
The European Commission says that it will allow "small and temporary" budget deficits to be run up by member states that are trying to boost spending on research.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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French researchers demand radical overhaul of funding
Major reforms to decentralize France's research system were backed by most speakers at a high-level meeting on 28 April.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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Arizona institute names leader
Arizona State University has hired a scientific heavyweight to head an ambitious, multidisciplinary research centre being built on its Tempe campus.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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SARS epidemic unmasks age-old quarantine conundrum
Governments across the world have been struggling to find ways to defend against SARS and many have invoked long-dormant quarantine laws.
Nature Medicine (May 2003)
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French follow US lead... in cancer research, at least
The French government has launched a new national plan to boost clinical, basic and epidemiologic cancer research.
Nature Medicine (May 2003)
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New wave of AIDS rocks Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands have been relatively unscathed by HIV/AIDS, but infection rates have risen steeply in recent years, tripling in some countries.
Nature Medicine (May 2003)
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Ozone exposure throws monkey wrench into infant lungs
The lungs of asthmatic infants undergo irreversible structural changes when they breathe in polluted air.
Nature Medicine (May 2003)
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Slashed state budgets strangle ailing US research
While US scientists bemoan proposed cuts in federal research funding, more bad news is on the way.
Nature Medicine (May 2003)
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UK launches tumor bank to match maligned Biobank
British cancer researchers welcome plans to pool the UK's small cancer databases into a virtual tumor bank, even as the Medical Research Council, which will fund part of the project, is smarting from criticism about the UK Biobank database.
Nature Medicine (May 2003)
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US FDA approves new class of HIV therapeutics
Fuzeon (enfuvirtide), the first in a new class of HIV drugs called 'fusion' or 'entry inhibitors' received final FDA approval in March, making it the first commercially produced synthetic peptide drug.
Nature Biotechnology (May 2003)
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News in brief
Setback forces rethink for cell signalling alliance
| Bill promises genetic privacy for US citizens
| Flame rekindled for Alzheimer's vaccine
| Australian reform will see universities put squeeze on students
| Approval for stem cells pre-empts parliament
| Discontent grows as cancer institute remains rudderless
| US acts to keep SARS sequence public
| Cancer body gets tough on conflicts
| Asian airports use thermal imaging to hunt down SARS
| Raelian cloners 'have two staff and no lab'
| ACT wins patent dispute
| OGS falls to hostile takeover
| Novartis invests in Idenix
| EP bans stem cell research
| BB acquires RiboTargets
| Agbiotech coming to Africa?
| Fast-track animal drug bill could apply to transgenics
News Features
Scientific literacy: Clear as mud
It's not surprising that some academic papers seem to swim before our eyes — the scientific literature has become steadily less accessible over the past half-century.
Nature (22 May 2003)
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Spinal injuries: In search of a miracle
Paralysed patients are looking to scientists working on spinal-cord regeneration to help them walk again. Is this pressure causing too much faith to be placed in preliminary, inconclusive results?
Nature (8 May 2003)
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SARS testing: First past the post
From the moment the mysterious illness known as SARS was declared a global threat to health, virologists were racing to develop a diagnostic test.
Nature (8 May 2003)
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Cell nanotechnology: The tiny toolkit
Can we probe the workings of cells without destroying them? Yes, says an influential and interdisciplinary group of US researchers — the answer lies in nanotechnology.
Nature (1 May 2003)
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