Transgenic route runs into sand
Article Abstract:
The scientific community was excited but skeptical earlier this year when an Italian research group reported success in producing transgenic mice. These special mice are valuable in genetic research and are difficult to produce. The researchers used a variation of an accepted in vitro (laboratory) fertilization technique in which DNA from a different species, when mixed with spermatozoa for fertilizing mouse eggs, is supposed to be transferred to the embryos by the spermatozoa. It was claimed that nearly a third of the emergent mice carried the foreign genes, which were also transmitted to the next generation. But several well-known researchers have failed to confirm these results. Controversy has arisen as to whether such extraordinary research results should be verified or published promptly. Many medical journals require that every research article they publish first be reviewed by several independent research groups working in the same area. Although these reviewers are often competitors of the original group, this peer review process is intended to weed out poorly executed or misleading studies. Peer reviewers often have limited time to assess the validity of the research submitted. Perhaps the most exciting studies should be subjected to the most scrutiny before they are accepted for publication.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1989
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Particle physics in slivers of mica
Article Abstract:
P.B. Price tried to look for evidence of magnetic monopoles in mica but was hindered by the technical limits of optical microscopy in 1986, when he made his studies. The existence of magnetic monopoles are required for grand unification theories in particle physics. Using greatly improved optical microscopy methods in 1995, P.B. Price has again tried to use mica to estimate a limit for the past flux of particles of weakly-interacting massive particles, which are potential components of the 'missing mass' needed to complete the gravitationally closed view of the Universe.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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Who needs a new magnetometer?
Article Abstract:
A new magnetometer has been developed that obtains quantum electronic data by measuring the variations in frequency between a magnetic field and a beam of laser light. Fabien Bretenaker and colleagues at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France invented the new device, which appears to be much more sensitive than earlier magnetometer designs. However, no practical application for the device has yet been determined. The device may illustrate the tendency of science to produce instruments to measure the effects of causes without regard for usefulness.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1992
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