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Volume 415 Issue 6872, 7 February 2002

Prospects

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Careers and Recruitment

  • Researchers who aspire to work in drug discovery need to adapt to constantly changing technology and be able to harness new tools both to ask and to answer pertinent scientific questions, say Paul Smaglik and Adam Smith.

    • Paul Smaglik
    • Adam Smith
    Careers and Recruitment
  • Many large drug companies are now taking advantage of the specialist skills offered by smaller biotech firms in their search for new drugs. This trend for outsourcing elements of research is forcing a careful evaluation of licensing policy, says Adam Smith.

    • Adam Smith
    Careers and Recruitment
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Opinion

  • The National Institutes of Health has been granted impressive funding increases, but its lack of a permanent director is getting beyond a joke. The sooner the Bush administration plugs this gap with an inspired leader, the better.

    Opinion
  • France's largest research agency is in need of reform — but so are the universities that host its labs.

    Opinion
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News

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News in Brief

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News Feature

  • The list of known planets outside our Solar System grows by the week. Thanks to new technologies, a host of pictures of these worlds could soon be available. Tony Reichhardt investigates.

    • Tony Reichhardt
    News Feature
  • The oceans are full of microorganisms, which are thought to cycle nutrients and mediate climate on a global scale. Despite these environmental consequences, marine microbial biodiversity remains poorly understood. Jon Copley reports.

    • Jon Copley
    News Feature
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Correspondence

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Commentary

  • The pitfalls of patents are illustrated by the case of haemochromatosis.

    • Jon F. Merz
    • Antigone G. Kriss
    • Mildred K. Cho
    Commentary
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Book Review

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Words

  • Caloric, cathode, curium and quark — coinage from the mint of science.

    • J. L. Heilbron
    Words
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Concepts

  • The term 'receptor' is generally reserved for a molecule that acts as a biological signal transducer, usually for hormones or neurotransmitters.

    • Rod Flower
    Concepts
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News & Views

  • Is lack of musical ability simply the result of failure to practise? Probably not, if new investigations are anything to go by. They show that a disorder akin to dyslexia affects the processing of pitch.

    • Thomas F. Münte
    News & Views
  • The photosynthetic activities of bacteria in the oceans are more diverse than previously thought. A full picture of the marine energy budget will require their separate contributions to be teased apart.

    • David M. Karl
    News & Views
  • An enzyme involved in one aspect of DNA repair is now shown to have another function that improves the accuracy of repair. The new findings should help to improve therapies for HIV.

    • Josef Jiricny
    News & Views
  • The 'temperature' of a granular material depends on its entropy, but is hard to measure in the laboratory. So a theory that ties temperature to grain mobility and diffusion is welcome.

    • Bob Behringer
    News & Views
  • Daedalus is looking to the structure of birds' wings to develop aircraft wings with minimal drag and optimal lift.

    • David Jones
    News & Views
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Brief Communication

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Erratum

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Article

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Letter

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Erratum

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New on the Market

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Foreword

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Introduction

    • Brian Greenwood
    • Theonest Mutabingwa
    Introduction
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Review Article

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Corporate Support

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Insight

  • Malaria is a disease of poverty. Drug-resistant parasite strains, insecticide resistance in mosquitoes, environmental changes and increased population are contributing to its resurgence. But growing international awareness and funding is leading to new control efforts. This Insight describes the latest research developments, likely future progress and the practical impact that the new knowledge will have.

    Insight
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