The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation dished up $200 million in grants for scientists in various fields late last month, including research into malaria and tuberculosis. The foundation kicked off its spending spree in mid-July at the XIII International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, by announcing several AIDS/HIV-related grants totaling $90 million.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2000

In Europe, hooligans are prime subjects for research.

CAMBRIDGE, U.K.--One of the few burgeoning areas of violence research here and in Europe is football hooliganism. With lower homicide rates than in the United States and fewer incidences of killing sprees such as the Littleton school shooting, Europeans are less concerned about violence than Americans are--and that translates into less money for research on the topic. Moreover, some scientists argue that strict regulation of animal studies has dealt a severe blow to a once-proud European tradition of behavioral research on animal aggression.

Aggression↗

PubMed2000

Developmental biology. Why chicks aren't all thumbs.

A new study on page 438 offers some surprising insights on when and how digits assume their distinctive shapes. Scientists had thought that even before cartilage cells begin to develop into a finger or toe, they already know what shape digit to make. The new findings, however, suggest that digit identity is programmed much later in development, by chemical messengers from the surrounding tissue.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Arthritis. A gene for smooth-running joints.

A new study on page 265 of this issue suggests that a genetic defect in mice causes the joint's cartilage cells to pump insufficient amounts of pyrophosphate--a natural water softener--into the joint cleft, and this in turn leads to the formation of bony spurs that eventually stiffen the joints completely. Because humans have an almost identical gene, and disorders such as osteoarthritis also feature an abnormal outgrowth of bones, some arthritis researchers are hopeful that these new findings may point the way toward a new class of pyrophosphate-based drugs similar to the antiscaling chemicals in washing powders and toothpaste. But, as many of the researchers point out, the numerous roads that lead to human joint degradation make a single cure-all unlikely.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Scientific misconduct. Panel finds scores of suspect papers in German fraud probe.

A new report paints a darker picture of what may be the highest profile case of scientific fraud in postwar Germany. After a 2-year investigation of all 347 scientific articles co-authored by former hematologist and cancer researcher Friedhelm Herrmann, a task force jointly sponsored by Germany's main granting agency, the DFG, and the country's largest cancer charity released a report on 19 June indicating that the scope of the fraud--first uncovered 3 years ago--is far more extensive than previously thought. Although Herrmann and a co-author have left their academic posts, the new revelations could place other careers in jeopardy.

Biomedical Research↗

PubMed2000

A new way to keep immune cells in check.

To avoid being attacked by the immune system, normal cells carry proteins on their surfaces that mark them as "self." Until now, researchers have identified only one type of self marker: so-called class I major histocompatibility complex proteins. Now, on page 2051, a team reports that macrophages, the immune system's scavenger cells, recognize a different inhibitory signal--a protein called CD47. The findings also shed light on the role of CD47, a surface protein present on basically every cell type--and long a molecule in search of a function.

Animals↗

PubMed2000