Online Editorials Archive

Cocaine Addiction Leaves its Mark on Chromatin

So far, there is no proven effective pharmacological treatment of cocaine addiction. US neuroscientists now provide evidence that chromatin modifications and chromatin modifying enzymes might be useful potential drug targets to deal with cocaine dependence. more

Flightless Biological Myths

One solution to the loss of biodiversity on Earth might be the creation of new life forms, at least on paper. Historically, mankind has invented all sorts of mythical creatures, but could these animals really have lived? A distinguished biology professor has now analysed the biology behind the myths. Jeremy Garwood reports on his findings. more

You Are What You Eat!

Star date 4315.5. After a long day at work you finally come home and all you can think of is a juicy mammoth steak. You go to your incubator (home edition) that the guys from the company installed in your apartment last week and take out the freshly grown muscle tissue. Yummy, you think, now let’s peel some potatoes… Wishful thinking? This might not be science fiction for too much longer. more

From Origins to Extinction (4) – What if the Biosphere Collapses Taking Mankind with it?

Ongoing extinctions of other animal and plant species may not excite much interest in ordinary citizens, but what about their own extinction? Could mankind so completely unbalance the planetary biosphere as to threaten its own survival? In this final report, Jeremy Garwood presents research defining the limits to viable life on earth as we know it, and the risk that Homo sapiens may become extinct for lack of future vision. more

From Origins to Extinction (3) – Species as Economic Collateral Damage

How do you decide what to save when you know it needs saving? Is it economic folly to try to prevent further extinctions? Even when consensus agrees that species are doomed without direct intervention, the scientific debate on preventing extinction is caught up in thorny questions of ‘economic reality’. Just how many species can you save with limited financial resources? By Jeremy Garwood. more

Santa Claus at Risk

Santa Claus definitely needs supernatural powers to cope with the massive efforts of Christmas. That’s at least the conclusion of Krister Svahn, information officer of Gothenburg University, after conducting a survey among the university’s researchers. more

You Stink! Genetic Origins of Underarm Body Odor Exposed.

A German-Swiss research collaboration between a huge cosmetics company and one of the world’s foremost ‘creators of tastes and scents’ has finally pinned down the gene responsible for that heady mix of sweet and savoury aromas oozing out of some human armpits (Don’t look at me! – I’ve just had a shower). Jeremy Garwood reports on the unexpectedly complex world of smelly underarms and the global earwax connection. more

Positively Negative

A new "-ome" is around. Besides the well-established "genome", "transcriptome" or "metabolome", the “negatome” now comes as a sort of antagonist to the “interactome” -- it lists pairs of proteins or domains that, with high probability, do NOT physically interact with each other. Kathleen Gransalke reports. more

Not a Simple Life

Hooray for systems biology! A joint effort between research groups from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona brought us a little closer to understanding the minimal genetic requirements for sustaining life. more

From Origins to Extinction (2) - Endangered Species to Save and Where to Save Them?

In this second article, Jeremy Garwood looks at who determines which living species most need saving and where they are most in danger of extinction. more

Happy Birthday, "Origins"!

Exactly 150 years ago, on 24th November 1859, Darwin’s The Origin of Species was published. Until today, many regard it as one of the most influential books of all time. However, why do scientists celebrate it to such an extent to-date? more

From Origins to Extinction - A Brief History of Extinction (1)

Celebrated for his revolutionary insight into the origins of species, Charles Darwin was also well aware that living species could entirely disappear “one after another, first from one spot, then from another, and finally from the world”. In this first report, Jeremy Garwood presents a short history on the scientific discovery of extinction and its possible causes. more

Research Letter from... a “Melodic” Maternity Ward

Babies cry like mum, but when? Apparently, they learn the typical melody patterns of their mother tongue already in the womb. A report by our corresponding author, Horst Lautsprecher. more

Evolution Revisited!

After the human genome project came to a successful conclusion, a new colossal sequencing project strives to get to the very heart of vertebrate evolution. more

Italian Justice

How can behavioural genetics save you from doing time? Based on gene expression analysis, an Italian court came to an interesting decision… more

Nobody Is Alone

You're not alone! 100 Billion microbes colonise your body. So, do you think: Yuck! Or do you find your microbiota fascinating? more

Mobile Researchers Pay the Bill

Nearly ten years ago, the European Commission suggested the creation of a European Research Area (ERA) to facilitate the free movement of researchers, knowledge and technology across Europe. So far, international mobility in Europe still comes at high costs. more

Ig Nobels 2009

On October 1st, it was time again to show the world that science can indeed be fun or, in the words of the organisers, the scientific humour magazine Annals of Improbable Research, “Research that first makes you laugh then makes you think”. Kathleen Gransalke reports. more

Chemistry Nobel for Ribosome Researchers

Puzzling out the three-dimensional structure of the ribosome and the mechanistic details of the translation of genetic information into protein chains is an edifying example of excellent research. That’s one reason why Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath (see photo, from left) will now receive the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. more

Nobel award for Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak

The news from Stockholm wasn’t too surprising: For their work on telomeres and telomerase Blackburn, Greider and Szostak (see photo, from left to right) are awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Karin Hollricher reports. more

Publish All Your Results!

Are you ever frustrated when looking through your lab notebooks at all those experimental results that never got published? Well, fear not, with the creation of a new series of research journals, a solution may be at hand. Welcome, reports Jeremy Garwood, to ‘The All Results Journals’, open access publications intended to capture perfectly valid experimental results that never quite made it to print. more

Data Not Shown

Sharing experimental raw data with colleagues obviously doesn’t come as easy as it should do. In a recent small study only one out of ten requests led to success, although the authors had had to promise to share their data in order to get the respective papers published. Ralf Neumann reports. more

Chick sex starts with a Z not a W

Another great mystery in the world of sex has finally been resolved with the identification by an Australian group of the gene that determines whether chicken embryos turn into cockerels or hens. And yes, sex in chickens starts with a Z, not a W, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

A Musical Approach to Darwin

There are many ways to study the theory of evolution by natural selection. Bettina Dupont explored two more entertaining examples. more

Visualising Molecular Machines outside the Textbook

Textbooks provide their content in a static and two-dimensional form. As such, they are limited to conveying impressions of complex molecular actions within cells. We could do more by developing the potential of computer animated teaching videos, says Bettina Dupont. more

Incredible Stories

Which experiences and qualities shape successful scientists? Our four biographies show that people are different and so are their experiences and struggles. By Bettina Dupont. more

New EMBO Head

For the first time EMBO, the European Molecular Biology Organization, will be managed by a woman: from January 2010 developmental biologist Maria Leptin will be the new director of the organization. more

Observations of The Owl -- Why Not Grow Bigger?

Remember King Kong, the XXXL gorilla that fell tragically in love with a blonde beauty in a handful of cinema movies? Or the ants in the 1954 movie 'Them!' that, after an atomic test, mutated into giant man-eating monsters? more

SNPs for Nothing, Risks for Free

News from the personal genome front: TruGenetics offers their SNPs for free to the first 10,000 customers. Don't believe it? It's true! Other personal genome companies are also offering new and cheaper services, reports Karin Hollricher. more

Wine's Metabolic Geography

A group of wine-loving European researchers with a very large mass spectrometer have succeeded in tracing the geographical origins of the oak barrels used to age a rather good Burgundy red. After genomics (see Lab Times 3-2009: 26-31), wine apparently has also entered the world of metabolomics, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Lies about Lie Detectors

The growing market for "scientifically valid" means of detecting when you're telling a lie has become lucrative. But how valid is the science behind the detection of spoken lies? Two Swedish scientists have denounced the pseudo-science behind the gadgetry and are currently facing a legal battle for their honesty, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Fraud Case Rocks Field of Post-operative Pain Management

A US anaesthesiology researcher, Scott Reuben, has been accused of falsifying data in numerous publications over the past twelve years. Unfortunately these discredited publications have had a worldwide influence on therapeutic guidelines for postoperative pain management, reveals Bettina Dupont. more

Cloning to resurrect

For the first time, an extinct animal has been cloned from frozen tissue by scientists in Spain. Although this cloned wild mountain goat died shortly after birth, Bettina Dupont asks: Are we on the way to some kind of Jurassic Park? more

Sarkozy's scientific faux-pas

France's universities and researchers have been on national strike ever since President Nicolas Sarkozy heavily attacked scientists and researchers in a speech two months ago. Jeremy Garwood reports. more

What's up, Doc?

How do PhD students get their title? How do they work and what do they think? These are some of the questions being posed by the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers. Every graduate is invited to reveal more about his/her intimate working conditions in an online survey, reports Melanie Estrella. more

Homemade Molecular Biology Labs aim to create Synthetic Life.

Inspired by the enormous success of all those US amateur electronic engineers and computer programmers, whose hobby room tinkering led to the personal computer revolution, groups of biological hobbyists in their home-based laboratories have now decided to generate a new synthetic life revolution, employing modular biological components. Jeremy Garwood reports. more

Celebrate Darwin - collect snails

Thousands of media editors are today celebrating Charles Darwins' Birthday with thousands of articles. Of course, Lab Times itself has also looked for an interesting topic to mark Darwin's 200th anniversary. And we've found one: You can observe Evolution on your own doorstep by simply collecting common garden snails, reports Melanie Estrella. more

Leiden University fires evolutionary biologists

Darwin wouldn't be amused. Evolutionary biologists across the world are celebrating the double anniversary of their great mastermind and are enjoying the raised attention in their field. At the same time, however, nine evolutionary biologists at Leiden University are facing a completely different kind of attention - the kind you only experience in a bad dream: they have been fired! more

Eating to Extinction

Frogs are more popular than one might expect. Not only do they make wonderful, decorative rainforest motifs for calendars and books, but they also turn up as edible titbits in many countries. In fact, warn scientists, these hopping amphibians now end up on dishes so often that they currently face a fair chance of vanishing from the Earth's surface forever. more

Teachers' Little Helpers Go Genomic

Why do undergraduates waste their time solving theoretical problems? Faced with surging tidal waves of unsorted metagenomic DNA sequences, a French university lecturer has come up with the bright idea of getting his students to work directly on real science problems, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

A Millionaire's Death

A German pharma tycoon has thrown himself in front of a train obscuring the future of his commercial empire, including 5,400 Ratiopharm employees in Germany and 24 other countries who are now shivering (and not just from the current cold wave!). more

Final Patent Decisions with a Large Impact in Europe (1)

The European Patent Office has made its final, far-reaching decisions on patents concerning the generation of human embryonic stem cell lines and diagnostic testing for the breast cancer gene, BRCA1, reports Bettina Dupont. more

The Science of Giving

Christmas is the occasion for giving par excellence, but what does 'giving' actually imply? Scientists, social scientists, economists and philosophers continue to grapple with the human qualities of altruism, sharing and selfless giving. Jeremy Garwood reports on searches for an evolutionary rationale to such behaviour.. more

Happy feet: Scientists in Motion

Can you dance interactions within a hemoglobin molecule, or demonstrate the role of Vitamin D for the function of beta-cells in a ballet? Well, some can, as scientists participating in the recent "Dance your PhD" contest showed! Melanie Estrella witnesses this cutting-edge presentation of scientific data. more

Lean times ahead for Anti-Obesity "cures" ?

Professor M.E. Lean is concerned with.... obesity! In fact, with anti-obesity foods and diet supplements. He says that more must be done to prevent unscrupulous sellers of "quack” medicines and "health foods” from exploiting the adipose-rich. Jeremy Garwood reports. more

Volcanic Spark Soup Richer Than First Described

50 years ago, Miller and Urey demonstrated that 'sparking' mixtures of simple inorganic chemicals was sufficient to generate some of the basic building blocks of life. A new analysis of their material shows that they considerably underestimated the range of biomolecules successfully synthesised in their original experiments, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Obesity is more than genes and food

It seems that every other day scientists are coming up with new results that address the big question - just why do we get fat and then fatter? The latest answer:- Mothers to be must lose their own fat before getting pregnant. Melanie Estrella reports. more

Human-Animal Hybrid Embryo Research Legalised

Faced with heavy lobbying by the British biomedical science community, the UK's House of Commons has approved a far-reaching law extending the permittable limits for research on human embryos, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Monkeys in Bremen

For eleven years, the German neuroscientist, Andreas Kreiter, has been conducting primate research at the University of Bremen's Centre of Cognitive Science and all this time a quarrel has been raging about his work in the Hanseatic city. Bremen's State Senator for Health has now stopped Kreiter's "ethically unjustified" work. more

The Genetics of Marriage - it's all in the Voles!

Single gene variations are now claimed to be indicative of the tendency for men to have stable martial relations. No doubt future disintegrating couples will be able to shrug off their lack of staying power because "it's a problem with my genes" but why, asks Jeremy Garwood, did these researchers look at just a single gene? more

Nobel Fairy Dust Fluoresces Green!

Yes, not even the chemists have been able to escape from the unending flow of Powerpoint presentations showing fluorescently-tagged proteins doing their thing. This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and its derivatives, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Viruses this year!

"They gave it to who...?" Yes, it's that time of the year again, the moment when the Nobel Prize committee chooses a theme to honour. And for 2008, the Nobel Prize for Medicine has gone to viruses, with a two-way split between HIV and the papilloma virus, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Spitting Parties - the Fashionable Approach to Genetic Risk?

Rich and famous socialites have found a new gimmick to liven up their cocktail parties - spitting! Welcome to the glamorous end of the DNA testing market, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Research letter from the Evolving Flies of Switzerland

New evolutionary insight: 'get smart and die young' or 'live long and stay dumb' It was once argued that just as the existence of a watch necessitates belief in an intelligent watchmaker, so the complexity of living organisms is evidence for the existence of a divine creator. In response, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins described evolutionary processes as being analogous to a blind watchmaker. By our corresponding author, Johannes Swatch more

Vote now!

Since 1977 Nikon has been organising the Small World Competition for the best microscopic images. Now, the company is inviting the public to rate their own favourites among this year's top entries. more

Research letter from:... Germany's Magnetic Heartland

Historically, iron and steel have been the materials upon which Germany's industrial success was built. Much of its metal still comes from the Ruhr cities of Duisburg and Essen where, less famously, lies the University of Duisburg-Essen. The local influence of molten iron seems to have produced a tendency to see the world in decidedly magnetic terms - especially when considering innocently grazing cows and deer. By our corresponding author, Friedrich Eisenfrei more

The Right Perspective

The mission of the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) is to provide both the European and the international science and business communities with an open platform for debate and communication. It is a very rewarding conference to attend, particularly in the early stage of your scientific career. A personal review of the latest ESOF in Barcelona by Giuliana Deflorio. more

The Right Perspective

The mission of the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) is to provide both the European and the international science and business communities with an open platform for debate and communication. It is a very rewarding conference to attend, particularly in the early stage of your scientific career. A personal review of the latest ESOF in Barcelona by Giuliana Deflorio. more

Ten Years of "Green Chemistry"

Many of the worst aspects of modern industrial pollution result from the unforeseen toxicity of chemicals generated in huge quantities by the chemical industry for use as starting materials, finished products or hard-to-dispose-of deadly waste. The consequences for environmental and human health of this chemical revolution are still being uncovered. However, reports Jeremy Garwood, a growing trend in research chemistry is actively seeking to tackle the problem at its source. more

150 Years of Natural Selection

In 2009 the world will celebrate "Darwin year", the bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of his famous book On the Origin of Species (for many the pivotal work on the theory of evolution by natural selection). Some, however, have started the celebrations early, marking "150 Years of Natural Selection" in an effort to boost the profile of the "forgotten" co-discoverer of natural selection, Alfred Russell Wallace. more

The flies' extraordinary view

Developmental biologists have reported new insights into ectopic eyes. They equipped fruit flies with additional eyes on legs, antennae and wings - the extra eyes are capable of vision. more

Eugenics: German geneticits plead guilty

At the Congress of Genetics in Berlin, the German Society of Human Genetics presented a statement on the foundation of the "Eugenics" programme set up by the Nazis during the German Third Reich. Karin Hollricher reports. more

More than 2,300 scientists, including six Nobel Prize winners, are attending the 20th Congress of Genetics - ICG 2008 - in Berlin

This week, more than 2,300 people are expected to trail into the huge International Congress Centre that is reminiscent of a damaged aircraft carrier. Over 800 scientists are from Germany alone. However, the organisers had optimistically anticipated more - especially from North America. Is their absence indicative of the high dollar-euro exchange rate? Karin Hollricher reports more

Look out for Aliens beneath the waves!

An army of marine species, alien to UK coastal waters, have hitchhiked around the globe thanks to activities such as aquaculture, recreational boating and shipping. The 'Marine Aliens' consortium is now appealing for help from the British public to hunt down and identify these invaders, reports Jeremy Garwood. more

Genome Sequencing - On Special Offer.

Kick-started by the Human Genome Project, sequencing methods have rapidly evolved, becoming faster and less expensive. In the latest announcement by Swedish scientists, a new approach has been presented that aims for $1000 genomes. Melanie Estrella reports. more

The 'Virtual Human'

Once the human genome has been deciphered, Systems Biologists will reach out to 'map' humans as a whole. Within the next 30 years they plan to create a virtual functioning model of a human. Melanie Estrella reports on their ambitious enterprise. more

Ullrich's Third Deal

The Japanese pharma trust Daiichi Sankyo has taken over a small German drug developer. At least one prominent researcher will be delighted. more

Unicellular giants

How does one of the world's largest bacteria, Epulopiscium, attain its relatively enormous size? Melanie Estrella reports that scientists may have unravelled a possible explanation. more

Who is actually being paid by industry?

Are mobiles a danger for your health? A recent study by Schwarz et al presents evidence that electromagnetic fields from mobiles leads to DNA breakage in human fibroblasts. Biologist Alexander Lerchl however finds serious faults in this study. By Siegfried Bär. more

Thinking better with a little help?

Faster, further, higher - better! With limitless ambitions, athletes are often tempted to give Nature a helping hand in the form of drugs. But some scientists have also succumbed to the temptation, reports Melanie Estrella. more

The Cow-Man Medley

Human-cow hybrid embryos, claimed to be the latest breakthrough in stem cell research, are fuelling further moral, political and scientific debate. reports Melanie Estrella. more

The Lab Times team says "Hi" from Analytica in Munich - 2nd Update

Have a look at our web diary of the Analytica in Munich and meet some of the editors of Lab Times and Lab Times online. more

Open Access - an Update

Since 2002, the OA movement has been gaining momentum every day - a reaction to increasing pressure from scientists, governments and funding agencies. A short review of the last year by Karin Hollricher. more

Creationists go Open Access - Questions to match Pre-Ordained Answers.

Fundamentalist Christian support for 'Creation Science' is currently enjoying a mini-boom with the recent opening of Answers in Genesis' 'Creation Museum' in Kentucky (over 250,000 visitors in 2007!) and now "Praise the Lord, a technical publication to go with it", the online, Open Access, Answers Research Journal (ARJ). However, as Jeremy Garwood reports, since this journal already knows the 'answers', perhaps a better alternative title might read: "Find the right questions to fit the answers". more

Creation goes online

"The Encyclopedia of Life" (EOL) is an ambitious project that aims to catalogue all living creatures on the world wide web. Melanie Estrella sneaks a first glimpse at this database of biodiversity and assesses its chances of becoming a virtual blockbuster.more

Plagiarism Pandemic

Well, who hasn't done it? Who's never copied a best friend's beautiful unicorn in kindergarden or "borrowed" a classroom neighbour's math homework? What for children is a venial sin, is for scientists an unpardonable offence called plagiarism. In science, as the number of published articles continues to rise so does the instance of theft, as reported by Melanie Estrella. more

Beautiful mutants; Blue-eyed cognation

"Gentlemen prefer blondes" and this desirable hair colour is often complemented by sparkling blue eyes. Danish scientists have now discovered that blue eye colour evolved due to a single mutation, uniting all blue-eyed individuals as members of a global family. By Melanie Estrella more

Raw, medium, well done, or cloned?

(February 1st 2008) Start the day with a bowl of cereal soaked in cloned cow's milk then dine upon a cloned cow's steak. This could soon become reality in the USA, following the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) decision to allow the sale of cloned animal products. However, reports Melanie Estrella, Europe remains sceptical. more

One clone is not enough

(January 22nd 2008) Last week the scientific press was animated by another stem cell research report. US-scientists announced their cloning of human blastocytes from adult fibroblasts. Appraisals of this feat ranged from 'important first step' to 'spectacular breakthrough'. However, is one clone enough? asks Karin Hollricher. more

Darwin's Dust discloses microbial hitchhikers

(January 18th 2008) Lying on racks in the cellars of natural history museums, many treasures await rediscovery. One of them - hermetically sealed old dust - has recently been dusted off. Karin Hollricher more

Pants down, funds up

(January 15th 2008) Parallel Dimension: Nude doctors and clothed patients shown on a 2008 calendar of Italian physicians, nurses and caretakers of the Pascale Foundation, a cancer research institute in Naples. By posing naked except for striped boxers, dotted pants, sexy stockings and masks, the Italian doctors want to call attention to the desperate funding situation in their country, reports Melanie Estrella. more

Watson's black shares - a PR-gag?

(January 9th 2008) James Watson is one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century. Watson is not only well known for his groundbreaking discovery of the quintessence of life, the structure of the DNA molecule, but the 79 year old Nobel laureate also has an affinity for provocative statements, his latest claim being that blacks are less intelligent than whites. Irony of fate: An analysis has now revealed that 16 percent of Watson's genome very likely stem from a black ancestor of African descent. Melanie Estrella reports. more

Earthwake (2): Science in News, Current Affairs, and General Programming

(December 17th 2007) In the concluding part of this meeting report, we will consider other forms that science can take on television and media, including the question of space science propaganda. By Jeremy Garwood. more

Beautiful or Ugly?

(December 13th 2007) Usually, colourful fMRI images captivate headline makers. Therefore it's especially astounding that a neuro-art paper reporting on how humans perceive beautiful art didn't find its way into the press. Lab Times did not overlook this paper. By Karin Hollricher more

Spring forward, Fall back

(December 3rd 2007) Hopping back and forth between many time zones across the planet for holidays or business, tens of thousands of people have become accustomed to dealing with jet lags of several hours. It's not a big deal. That makes us wonder why some start whining when the clocks are altered by a single hour for Daylight Saving Time. Melanie Estrella has a look at adjusting the daily routine to new rhythms. more

Earthwake: Science Across Television

(November 28th 2007) Have you ever wondered about the transmission of “science” through television? Or the reach of television as an educator of the massed television audiences across the European continent? Why is science on television anyway, and how do programme-makers choose what science is shown, and what format it should take? A workshop report in four parts by Jeremy Garwood. more

Human embryos no longer required ?

(November 23rd 2007) Two research groups reported that they have reprogrammed human somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells showing almost all features of embryonic stem cells. The public press, scientists and many politicians are celebrating these new findings as a breakthrough in the long search for an answer to ethical problems posed by the use of human embryonic stem cells. Is this the first step in reprogramming the whole stem cell research? more

Dressing up for Seasonal Death

(November 16th 2007) Just like lifestyle journalists, science writers have their seasonal themes, too. Instead of stories about celebrities on summer vacation or how-to's on christmas decoration however, we deliver news on tick-borne encephalitis or the science behind leaves turning red and yellow in autumn. Fall foliage has been a particularly fruitful topic in the last years as it has everything a seasonal research theme should have: emotional appeal, a high profile and conflicting theories with new findings every year. An overview from Brynja Adam-Radmanic. more

Place evidence at the centre

(November 5th 2007) When science meets media the outcome is generally uncertain. Press coverage of scientific issues ranges from serious reports, delving deep into details, to stories on absolute nonsense. When it comes to advertisements, however, misinformation and offensive, dodgy claims are on the agenda. Brynja Adam-Radmanic reports on how a group of scientists in Great Britain is making a stand. more

Young European talent - facts and figures

(October 9th 2007) Grants for young scientists from the European Research Council were snapped up “like hot cakes” according to statistical information based on the first round of applications. Karin Hollricher takes a deeper look at the facts and figures. more

"The Lone Genome"

(September 18th 2007) Scientists in the United States have published a genomic fingerprint of social isolation. They argue that feelings of social isolation are linked to alterations in the immune system activity. A closer look at the "first systematic analysis of genome-wide transcriptional alterations as a potential mechanism of social-epidemiological influences on human health", from Karin Hollricher. more

The reason why

(August 19th 2007) A recent survey by two US psychologists revealed 237 separate motives why people have sex. Susanne Dorn takes a closer look. more

Who was Dr. Craemer?

(August, 10th 2007) The German concentration camp doctors who murdered hundreds of people for the sake of science are regarded as Nazi monsters and cranks which worked apart from serious science. One of those doctors was Sigmund Rascher. He killed probably more than one hundred people. Rascher was a strange person and an incompetent scientist. A compre-hensive biography of his bizarre life and death has recently been published. But was Rascher really isolated from and despised by established German scientists? Siegfried Baer probes further. more

Paper Heroes

(July 16th 2007) "Observations of the Owl" - The Owl reports how a faculty was confronted with a potential case of multiple honorary authorship! more

Just a dream -
National interests impede the establishment of a European University

(July 10th 2007) Of course, it will still be called the "European Institute of Technology" (EIT), an analogy to the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). But be nobody's fool, what the EU member states recently agreed is far from bearing affinity to the MIT. Instead of a university for the European research elite, which European Commission President José Manuel Barroso had dreamed of establishing, the EIT will become yet another network of national research units, as Brynja Adam-Radmanic reports.more

Canine mutation creates strong tail wind

(June 13th 2007) Faster, higher, stronger - the Olympic motto incites athletes to train hard to achieve top performances. However, a driving ambition does not necessarily make a winner; this needs, above all, natural skill and talent. This can be conferred by genes and mutations. US-scientists found a new gene that controls speed and muscle mass of racing dogs, the middle-distance runners amongst animal athletes. After all, pace isn't achieved by magic, reports Susanne Dorn. more

Music in the genes...laah-lah-laah-lah-lah....

(June 4th 2007) Do DNA and protein sequences sing unsung songs? That seems to be a slightly far-fetched idea. Yet, some researchers are converting those sequences into melodies. The newest contribution was created by Rie Takahashi and Jeffrey Miller. Is it the same old song or a new chart breaker? A query from Anja Possart. more

C₂₂H₃₀N₆O₄S - a Wonder Pill!?!

(June 1st 2007) Sildenafil is well on the way to becoming a blockbuster. It is not only used to overcome erectile dysfunction but since the beginning of this year, it has also been used as a therapy for pulmonary hypertension. Now Argentinean scientists have reported that it also helps golden hamsters to recover from jet lag! The most serious side effect observed was - wait for it ... calls to Karin Hollricher! more

From YouTube to DnaTube

(May 30th 2007) You may search for - and even find - science videos amongst the Google junk between girls going wild and communiqués of Islamic fundamentalists. Some science clips went astray within the YouTube videos that run the gamut from being hilarious to absolute trash. Just recently, three sites were launched sharing only science videos. Karin Hollricher reports. more

Carrot and stick

(May 15th 2007) Peer review can be a painstaking process. Authors are on tenterhooks waiting for the evaluations of their papers; referees tend to hold-off on reading the papers. So the process can easily become a long - sometimes too long - drawn out haul. How can one give referees a hand? Blacklist the lazy or unreliable ones? Reimburse sedulity? Anja Possart reports. more

Blast Past the Bottleneck - Brute Force or Irresistible Attraction?

(May 4th 2007) Metagenomics is the tantalising shortcut for microbiology. Skip pure culture, skip describing species and go straight to the genomic diversity of bacterial life out there. Craig Venter is one of the many modern adventurers responding to this call. He is certainly the individual with the broadest approach and the fattest purse in the game. However, public research funding and chemical companies are also hot on his heels in the race to spend an obscene amount of money on metagenomics, reports Brynja Adam-Radmanic. more

Scientists Bone-Up on Bones - the Oldest Protein Ever to be Sequenced

(Apr 30th 2007) Tyrannosaurus rex, a formidable and gruesome dinosaur, responsible for firing man's imagination ever since its discovery. A myriad of stories have evolved about this giant carnivore, most of them full of blood and gore. Scientists have recently added a new one, less terrifying but in no way less shocking. Annette Hupfer more

Whither Farming: Biodynamic, Organic or Science?

(Apr 24th 2007) Organic and biodynamic farming are currently on the rise across Europe. The underlying concepts, however, are hardly based on scientific data but rather on ideological belief, as Scottish plant biologist Anthony Trewavas comments on our previous editorial "Occultists conquer Kassel University". more

Heads up, Mr. Watson!

(Apr 16th 2007) Scientists argue that we need whole genome sequencing. But do we really need to know who supplied his DNA for that job? If you say "yes" - then who should be the first person to have their individual genome sequence published? There's no better choice than James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA structure. Karin Hollricher more

Foundation Professorship - Nothing but Nonsense?

(Apr 8th 2007) In the 19th and the first third of the 20th century, Germany and Austria were not only the pacemakers of science but also prolific producers of ideologies and occult thinking systems. The Germans not only had Koch, Einstein, Planck and Behring but also Hahnemann, Marx, Freud, Reich, Hitler and Steiner. German pseudoscience was as successfully exported as German pharmaceutical products. After the Second World War Germany's leadership in science faded and so did the German production of new pseudoscientific systems. However, the old ones lingered on and increased in strength following the breakdown of moral and common sense in 1968. Astonishingly, there are currently six British universities, which offer BSc degrees in homeopathy. Siegfried Bär more

Who's afraid of Impact Factors?

(Apr 2nd 2007) In 2008 British academia faces another Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). Scientists and institutions fear the panels and suspect them of using flawed measures such as a journal's Impact Factors to evaluate the work of individuals. Clinicians especially claim medicine has been severely damaged by the way government has assessed research quality and allocated funding in the last twenty years. Brynja Aadam-Radmanic. more

Sport is healthy!

(Mar 2nd 2007) Exercise strengthens muscles, trains brains and enhances libido. But there's much more than that to sport! Training can even reduce severe effects of defective genes on the vascular system in mice. Housing conditions can affect the differences observed between knockout and wild-type mice, warns a new report in PloS One. Karin Hollricher. more

Scientists - such an unpredictable bunch!

(Feb 26th 2007) Not every good scientist is a good peer reviewer, too. That's why editors would like to be able to predict reviewer performance, before recruiting a new researcher for their journal. But what qualities in a scientist's CV raise an editor's hopes of a good review standard? Seniority? Academic rank? Training in critical appraisal? A new study shows that none of the criteria are of any use for picking the right person for the job! Brynja Aadam-Radmanic.more

Petition for Public Access
Open up!

(Feb 23rd 2007) The open access movement argues that Publicly-funded research should be made publicly accessible. Sounds logical, doesn't it? Yes, says a last year's study of the European Commission. By signing an Internet petition for guaranteed public access you can now urge decision-makers to eventually put this awareness into action, reports Brynja Aadam-Radmanic. more

Occultists conquer Kassel University

(Feb 1st 2007) The German University of Kassel awarded two foundation professorships to apparent proponents of anthroposophical pseudoscience. One of them even claims that natural spirits like elves and kobolds truly exist. Siegfried Bär reports, assisted by Winfried Koeppelle more

Dispute on cancer drug: US licenser bugs German biotech company

(Dec 18th 2006) GPC Biotech is well on the way to earning hundreds of millions of dollars with a new cancer drug. However, a letter from America has challenged everything; the small biotech company has to resist drastic claims "made in bad faith, [being] completely baseless and without merit". more

Smile, you're on video!

(11.12.2006) Trying to learn experimental procedures by following the instructions of the "Materials and Method" part of a paper can be quite an adventure. Written instructions, that seem so clear to the author, can easily be misunderstood by others. The video how-to's, published by the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), a new online journal, come as an answer to this problem. more

The Roots of Genomic Individuality

(30.11.2006) It came as a surprise: The genomes of two individuals differ remarkably in regions made up of certain DNA segments in variable copy numbers. more

Phoenix - reborn from junk DNA

(27.11.2006) Thierry Heidmann's team at the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif near Paris brought back a viral fossil that infected our ancestors millions of years ago. Once again this raised fears of a pandemic straight out of the Petri dish. But "Phoenix" is far from being a killer. Brynja Adam-Radmanic took a closer look. more

Identify Yourself!

(15.11.2006) We all possess a multitude of ID cards, PINs and passwords for most aspects of our lives. Nevertheless, Matthew E. Falagas thinks there is still one missing: an Unique Author Identification Number (UAIN) for scientists. more

Ode to the Poplar

(10.11.2006) The first complete DNA sequence of a tree, Populus trichocarpa, has been released. Known to laymen as Black Cottonwood or poplar, this forest tree is not only of interest for plant researchers but also ecologically and commercially valuable. The knowledge of its DNA sequence fulfils many a scientist's dream. more

Should industry hug academics more?

(09.11.2006) Interview with Günter Stock. We need more public-private partnerships, demands Günter Stock, President of the Berlin Brandenburgische Academy of Sciences (Germany), former member of the management board of Schering AG. Isn't funding research rather the duty of a government, asks LabTimes reporter Karin Hollricher. more

Time for Nobels

(06.10.2006) This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded for work showing how cells essentially produce RNA transcripts of genes. How cells degrade transcripts again by the regulatory process of RNA interference is simultaneously honoured by the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. more

Knockout mice library starts

(05.10.2006) Watch the corks fly! A global research initiative aimed at generating a comprehensive and public collection of knockout mice has gained support. Does a dream come true, asks Rafael Flores. more

Good Ome(n)s?

(02.10.2006) A short note to keep you updated on the latest biological "-omes". more

Thrashing in the Net

(25.09.2006) "Observations of the Owl" - The Owl reports a true story indicating that research networks sometimes trample on talent rather than create synergy. more

Glivec is Fraught with Problems

(02.08.2006) Glivec has been a ray of hope for cancer patients as well as a fat and juicy cash cow for its distributor Novartis. Now recent findings indicate that the award-winning anti cancer drug has multiple hidden drawbacks. Should patients be worried? more

Merging Bioinformatics and medical informatics in Europe

(08.08.2006) A report from inside the INFOBIOMED network of excellence. A European Research Area - ERA - that's what European politicians dream of. But how can a European research area be integrated and strengthened? The INFOBIOMED Network of Excellence presents innovative approaches.more

Sweden: New law cuts ground from under young scientists' feet

(25.07.2006) Being a young enthusiastic scientist is not an easy path to tread. Not only does one have to hope for best results but one also has to deal with absurd laws and rules regulating working conditions. Swedish researchers are currently coping with new rules limiting temporary employment. more

Nature thrives on diversity ...

... so does science!! Swiss scientists are now raising the alarm. Whilst new species are being discovered and described daily, taxonomists are specifying those creatures which are endangered in the Switzerland. The Swiss Academy of Sciences has called for better funding. more

Men are better navigators - but why?

Evolutionary hypotheses to explain differences - sometimes hard to swallow, as Brynja Adam-Radmanic experienced. When it comes to navigation my husband and I are typical examples of our gender. He always finds the way back to the hotel in foreign cities. I admit a task that isn't that easy for me but until now I thought why be concerned about it. There's nothing to be ashamed of, we share this sex difference with a lot of our mammalian cousinship. more

Precarious working conditions provoke fury

Facing the prospect of no income, no social security and no jobs, young Spanish PhD students have had enough. The Federación de Jóvenes Investigadores (FJI), a nationwide organisation of young Spanish researchers, demonstrated in Madrid on May 20th to demand better working conditions. more

Systems biology? Just do it!

Systems biology is booming but its proponents are struggling to come up with a concise definition of the discipline. Do they really need one? more

How to be elite without being elitist

A comment on the quarrels over an Austrian Elite-Universtiy by Barry Dickson, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna. The bold vision of Zeilinger and co to establish an Elite-Uni in Austria is now dead. Political will alone will not suffice to create a leading international scientific research institute out in the woods. more

Multi-Culti Science

"Observations of the Owl" - The Owl reports a true story indicating that funding decisions are not always based on pure quality only. more

Patchwork regulations

Karin Hollricher comments on the principles of stem cell research recently set up by experts of the so-called Hinxton Group. more