Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
A hundred years after scientists first linked histamine molecules to allergies, the study of histamine pathways is in the midst of a revival, thanks in part to the discovery of a new type of receptor. This fourth known histamine receptor now provides an attractive drug target for seasonal allergies, asthma and possibly even cancer. Erica Westly traces the histamine reaction.
On 26 October 1910, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York (now Rockefeller University) admitted the country's first research participant in a hospital dedicated completely to clinical studies. Emeritus professor Jules Hirsch, a metabolism researcher who joined Rockefeller in 1954, spoke with Roxanne Palmer about the clinical center's impact on biomedical research and education.
Over the past eight years, the state of Florida has invested close to a billion dollars to attract renowned research organizations to open up shop within its borders. But even with the arrival of several heavyweights, including the Scripps Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute, some continue to question whether the investment was worthwhile. Christopher Mims reports.
Patient advocates are often dismissed by the scientific establishment for focusing too much on cures and treatments at the expense of basic research. But advocates help create a biomedical research enterprise that is more attuned to the needs and preferences of the public—the very people who ultimately support and are meant to benefit from the enterprise. As such, scientists and government officials would be wise to heed patient advocates' advice.