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First news of the British Government's new policy for supporting science suggest that some of the proposed changes may be beneficial. But the new policy must be judged in the round, which is not yet possible.
A series of experiments with genetically engineered chromatophores from purple bacteria suggests an unexpected coupling between molecular vibrations and the electron transfer at the heart of photosynthesis.
Making only the assumption that you are a random intelligent observer, limits for the total longevity of our species of 0.2 million to 8 million years can be derived at the 95% confidence level. Further consideration indicates that we are unlikely to colonize the Galaxy, and that we are likely to have a higher population than the median for intelligent species.
A computerized database, called TBASE, has been developed to organize and make available information on transgenic animals and targeted mutations by using resources at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The database is available through the JHU Computational Biology Gopher Server. To ensure that all interested users have access, several mechanisms will be installed to accommodate varying levels of telecommunication network connectivity.
Making a splash this week — a new fluorescence electrophoresis system for carbohydrate profiling and analysis, transcription kits for capped RNA and a computer-controlled electrophoresis system.
