A group is actively supporting legislation to require seat belts on only newly manufactured school buses. However, misinformation is being circulated to oppose the installation of seat belts in school buses. If the industry continues to block the installation of seat belts, punitive legislation may be passed. (MLF)

A program to provide research training experience at the Mayo Medical School for third-year students is described. Surveys of student attitudes have shown positive feelings concerning their research accomplishments and the value of the time they spent doing the research. (Author/MLW)

Discusses possible reasons why the death rate from heart disease is falling. Three phenomena that are considered partly responsible are: (1) early diagnostic technology; (2) the existence of new tools for treating the disease; and (3) public awareness of risk factors. A prescription for a healthy heart is provided. (BC)

Highlights the background, career, and major accomplishments of Robert Allan Weinberg, professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His accomplishments and research interests focus on oncogenes, genes capable of causing cancer. The discovery of these genes has revealed the central mechanism of cancer. (Author/JN)

A line of biomedical devices based on aerospace expertise leads a sampling of spinoffs in the field of medicine. These include a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-developed computer program used by the Centers for Disease Control, medical products research, crawling aid, portable medical system, and human tissue stimulator.…

Discusses unpaid postdoctoral researchers, especially those in biology and medicine, addressing reasons why they work without pay, how they receive funding, efforts to help them, their impacts on the field, and personal concerns. (DC)

Three aspects of clinical research career decision-making were explored: the timing of the decision to enter a research career, the relationship between research success and the timing of the decision, and the impact of two disincentives to enter research careers. (Author/MLW)

The presentation of the Abraham Flexner Award for Distinguished Service to Medical Education to Sherman M. Mellinkoff and the AAMC Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences to J. Michael Bishop is described. (MLW)

Federal regulations governing research on human subjects issued by the Department of Health and Human Services are discussed, along with their potential impact on the academic freedom of faculty researchers. Recommendations to universities are presented. (MLW)

The decline in numbers of physician-scientists is seen as having broad implications not only for the quality of clinical research but also for the quality of the clinical education future medical students will receive. Recommendations are based on a survey of research opportunities presently offered by schools. (Author/MLW)

Examines the lack of support for the training and employment of clinical investigators to capitalize on the knowledge gleaned from decades of basic scientific research. Argues that this dilemma can be addressed by carefully defining and marshalling a coalition of institutions to support increased funding for clinical investigations. (MDM)

Describes the EurekaSeek bibliometric technique for automated linked-literature analysis. EurekaSeek uses medical subject headings instead of text analysis in a fully automated search process, thereby eliminating the reliance on expert input during the process of linking literatures. In this paper, EurekaSeek is tested by retroactively examining…

Reports presented at the Sixth International Conference on Aids are summarized including efforts to develop a vaccine, expansion of the epidemic into new areas, the high rate of infection among Romanian children, the crisis in Africa, and evidence of relapsing behaviors among homosexual men in the United States. (MLW)

Investigates relationship between ankle sprains and participation time in competitive orienteering. Examined 15,474 competitors in races in the Swedish O-ringen 5-day event in 1987. Injuries requiring medical attention were analyzed, showing 137 (23.9 percent) ankle sprains. Injury incidence was 8.4/10,000 hours. Incidence of ankle sprains was…

Current policies concerning popular dissemination of research results are critiqued, and the formal induction of the press into the scientific process is discussed. Repercussions of a "New England Journal of Medicine" article on the effects of oat bran and low-fiber wheat on health are used to illustrate the issues. (TJH)