News in a nutshell
| 29 November, 2010 | Adie Chan |
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ASCB caught up in fraud scheme
The American Society for Cell Biology was surprised to find out earlier this fall that con artists were using the ASCB name on fake checks to pay unsuspecting individuals caught up in a personal shopping scam. When one individual who received a fraudulent check became suspicious and contacted the ASCB, the society quickly alerted the bank as well as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies. “Our primary concern was to protect our society, our members and anyone innocently caught up in the scam,” Joan Goldberg, executive director of the ASCB, told The Scientist, “though I wish we could warn everybody about the dangers of identity theft.”
The society doesn’t know the details of the shopping scheme, such as how the scammers were making money off the victims, but no money was lost by the ASCB, said Goldberg. (With reporting by Megan Scudellari)
Telomerase reverses aging
Wikimedia commons, Zzubnik
Telomerase can reverse premature aging in mice, a new study published this week in Nature reports. The condition, which is associated with missing telomerase, can be thwarted by the replacement of the enzyme, according to the results, which may hold implications for other early aging diseases as well as the normal aging process.
Important RIPs
Australian microbiologist and a key player in the eradication of smallpox, Frank Fenner, died last week at the age of 95 in Canberra. He is also noted for his work on the myxoma virus to help suppress Australian wild rabbit populations in the middle of the 20th century, according to The Telegraph. Over the course of his career, Fenner published hundreds of papers and 22 books, and received many awards and honors, such as being elected a fellow of the Royal Society, receiving the Albert Einstein World Award for Science in 2000, and the (Australian) Prime Minister’s Science Prize in 2002.
Just one week earlier, biophysicist Britton Chance, who researched chemical reactions in the cells and tissues of the body, and showed how an enzyme interacts with its substrate to induce change, died in Philadelphia at age 97, according to The New York Times. Armed with his background in mechanics, electronics and optics, he invented many useful and biomedically relevant apparatuses, and helped develop diagnostic tools for the detection diseases such as breast cancer. An avid sailor, Chance named his sailing yachts Complex I and Complex II, after the components of the electron transport chain, and won the gold medal in the Olympics 3-man, 5.5-meter yacht race. (Click here to read a profile of Chance in our 2005 supplement about science in the Philadelphia region).
Who’s on top in 2010
FiercePharma is counting down to the new year with an intriguing look back at 2010. Check out the top 10 pharma heists, top 10 women in biotech, top 10 Phase III failures, top counterfeit drugs, and the biggest R&D spenders of 2010.
Stem cell spray
University of Utah surgeons and doctors are testing a new stem cell treatment for severe burns, but it doesn’t involve surgery — it comes in a topical spray. The solution, which consists of one’s own stem cells, is derived from platelets and progenitor cells, according to Deseret News.
Related articles:
Telomere researchers win Nobel
[5th October 2009]
Britton Chance
[January 2008]
Help women stay in science
[27th September 2007]
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This “Stem cell spray” sounds like good old Platelet-rich-plasma, used already for a long time…
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Ethical issues in Sciences constitute a key factor. Someone who commits fraud, no matter the nature of it, I strongly believe, should not only be suffering moral rejection but also Research Institutions as well, must consider if their doors could remain open for a second opportunity. Faith is betrayed otherwise. I like to read not only to learn but with the piece of mind that what I hold in front of my eyes, is the truth and only the truth, a product of a descent effort.
In response to the 2 other comments at this time.
1. To Iwona Grad. The stem cell spray provides a building layer to repair the dermis and epidermis where otherwise skin grafts would be required. I have actually wondered for some time if such an approach was feasible but considered that in order to get proper growth one would need to add layered hormones as well in order to get the proper layer formation. Apparently however cell-cell interaction is enough to generate the new skin over the damaged area. For severe burn victims if this spray works as well as one would hope it would revolutionize burn treatment and remove the problems associated with grafting.
2. In response to Dr. Peña (though really a doctor that doesn’t capitalize their own name?). Although I would agree with your general statement, that the ethics in science is an important issue, and the degree of research misconduct we sometimes see is staggering. I am personally re-doing some research that a post-doc in our lab had ‘altered’ the data of because he didn’t like the results. Very glad that we caught it before publication. However, the fraud in the above article has nothing at all to do with the sciences other than that it involved the unwanted use of the ASCB name. The check fraud though tragic for the victims, does not reflect badly upon ASCB, nor upon the scientific community as a whole.
Cheers!
How did the thieves acquired the materials to enable them to write checks?