Stop That!

Synthetic biology is making strides in fields ranging from cancer research to biofuels, but not everyone is excited about its prospects. A group of 111 watchdog and other organizations are calling for a moratorium on synthetic biology research until there is more oversight and governmental regulation, reports ScienceInsider's Elizabeth Pennisi. The group released a report with specific recommendations for "managing new biological techniques for building and remaking organisms for research and commercial uses," she adds. The report calls synthetic biology "an extreme form of genetic engineering" and warns that current regulations are inadequate. Further, the group wants a ban on the use of synthetic biology to manipulate the human genome.

However, critics of the report like the Biotechnology Industry Organization's Brent Erickson, say that while the rules currently in place to regulate synthetic biology may need an upgrade, there are many safeguards in place, Pennisi adds. "[With] the shrillness of its tone and its lack of objectivity, I don't think it's really helpful to policy-makers and the public," Erickson tells Pennisi.

Daily Scan's sister publication, GenomeWeb Daily News, has more on the proposed moratorium here.

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Stop That!

The Societal Impacts of Synthetic Biology

Online Survey Seeks Public Input into Prioritizing Action

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) March 15, 2012

The online survey asks respondents to rate a number of actions that could address ELSI issues, such as ensuring long-term effects of synthetic biology are benign, tracking public and private investment in the field, or labeling products that include synthetic biology in their manufacture. By prioritizing these potential actions, resources can be better focused on areas of public concern. The results of this anonymous survey will be analyzed and compiled into a report, which will be released in mid- to late-May 2012.

To take the survey, please visit: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dERxQ1F5b1RKX3hDTC0xVnRRaWk3Q2c6MA

This survey builds on a workshop held Nov. 8-9, 2010, at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. The workshop culminated in a July 2011 report, Issues Arising from Synthetic Biology: What Lies Ahead?, which identified potential challenges and pressing research needs. More information and a link to the report can be found here: http://www.synbioproject.org/events/archive/what_lies_ahead/

The workshop was sponsored by the Wilson Center, the Department of Energy, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Following the workshop, an online survey was conducted to gather further input about which ELSI issues should be considered in the context of synthetic biology. The list of priorities in the new survey integrates the workshop-generated ideas with the post-workshop online input.

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Synthetic Biology Project

The Synthetic Biology Project is an initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Project aims to foster informed public and policy discourse concerning the advancement of synthetic biology. For more information, visit: http://www.synbioproject.org

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

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The Societal Impacts of Synthetic Biology

ISCB Calls for Member Input on Bioinformatics Curriculum

The International Society for Computational Biology is asking its members to weigh in on a draft consensus curriculum for bioinformatics education.

In particular, members of ISCB's education committee are looking for ideas to increase the visibility of their efforts and involve a broader cross section of the computational biology community. The group is also seeking input on the draft curriculum and suggestions for refining it.

The recommendations included in the draft which is available here are based on responses to a survey of ISCB members conducted last spring.

Topics included in the draft curriculum had at least 10 votes among the 41 respondents to the survey. These topics fit into two broad areas: computation, mathematics, and statistics; and biology and chemistry.

Topics included under computation, mathematics, and statistics include: programming/scripting/software engineering, which had 36 votes; statistics/probability with 31 votes; databases with 24 votes; algorithm design/data structures/computation theory with 20 votes; and machine learning, which had 13 votes.

Topics under biology and chemistry include: cellular and molecular biology with 21 votes; genomics with 12 votes; basic biology with 11 votes; and evolutionary biology and genetics with 10 votes each.

In order to refine these guidelines, the committee has established three subcommittees that are responsible for summarizing curricula from existing bioinformatics programs; surveying directors of bioinformatics core facilities and biological researchers to identify the skills needed for people they hire; and reviewing bioinformatics career opportunities, the manuscript states.

Members interested in participating in ISCB's curriculum development efforts are encouraged to contact the chairs of the education committee and specify which of the three subcommittees they would like to participate in.

Comments on the curriculum blog are also welcome, ISCB said.

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ISCB Calls for Member Input on Bioinformatics Curriculum

Biology professor Kevin Militello awarded $387,768 for second round of research

Kevin Militello, associate professor of biology, has been awarded a renewal of the Academic Research Enhancement Award grant for his project Cytosine DNA Methylation and Transcriptional Repression in African Trypanosomes.

The $387,768 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will provide for supplies, data, travel, a part-time research technician and stipends for student researchers over the summer.

In the first round of research, Militellos lab found a modified DNA base in Trypanosoma brucei, a parasite that carries the African sleeping sickness.

Theres been a lot of interest over the past couple years in new bases Its like a language, he said, comparing finding the new bases to finding new letters in the alphabet. Were trying to figure out what it is.

Even though its modified, its considered a new base, said senior Sarah Cantatore, a biology student researching with Militello. In biology, a small change makes a big difference.

In this round of research, Militello said that he hopes to determine which organisms have the new bases, which genes have them and what their function is.

Usually the modified base inactivates the gene, said Cantatore. No ones been able to create a vaccine against the sleeping sickness because the organism has a protein coat that rapidly changes the modified base may be involved in controlling the genes responsible for the protein coat.

According to Militello, he routinely has three to seven students in the lab.

Their data has gone into published articles even in the grant submission, he said.

With money tight, Militello said that this grant is important for student growth. There are close to 900 biology students at Geneseo and not enough research positions for everyone.

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Biology professor Kevin Militello awarded $387,768 for second round of research

A Call to Ban Synthetic Biology

More than 100 environmental policy organizations call for greater oversight and regulation of synthetic biology.

By Edyta Zielinska | March 15, 2012

On Tuesday (March 12), the environmental activist organization Friends of the Earth called for a moratorium on the release of synthetic biology organisms or products into the environment. The call came from a report put together by 111 environmental organizations from around the world.

In 2010 the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethics found that synthetic biology was still in its infancy and therefore posed few risks. While the Commission did release a list of 18 recommendations for the development and oversight of the field, many have yet to be completed, despite a 2012 deadline for some of the recommendations. Friends of the Earth, which calls synthetic biology extreme genetic engineering, prepared its report in response to the assertion that little or no government regulation was needed for this type of research.

A spokesperson for the Presidential Commission told ScienceInsider that it welcomes the new input from Friends of the Earth. But Brent Erickson from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) told ScienceInsider that the environmental organizations report lacked objectivity and a clear understanding of synthetic biology. Its not like we dont have experience in dealing with those organisms, he said. There are a lot of safeguards in place.

In response, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, which has been tracking the governments progress on the Commissions recommendations, put out a call for public input, launching a survey that addresses the ethical, legal, and social implications of synthetic biology.

By Jef Akst

The FDA considers making some drugs for diabetes, asthma, and other ailments available over the counter.

By Sabrina Richards

Researchers succeed in magnetizing yeast cells, providing insight into how magnetism could be genetically induced in other organisms.

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A Call to Ban Synthetic Biology

Biology researcher on verge of major breakthrough in drug creation process

Public release date: 14-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Steven Lenhert lenhert@bio.fsu.edu 850-645-9401 Florida State University

New technology being developed at Florida State University could significantly decrease the cost of drug discovery, potentially leading to increased access to high-quality health care and cancer patients receiving personalized chemotherapy treatments.

The details, which are spelled out in a recent publication of the journal Biomaterials, outline the work of Steven Lenhert, a Florida State biology assistant professor and principal investigator on the research effort.

"Right now, cancer patients receive chemotherapy treatments that are based on the accumulated knowledge of what has worked best for people with similar cancers," Lenhert said. "This is the case because hospitals don't have the technology to test thousands of different chemotherapy mixtures on the tumor cells of an individual patient. This technology could give them access to that capability, making the treatments truly personalized and much more effective."

The key to Lenhert's invention is miniaturizing the first phase of a process used by pharmaceutical companies to discover new drugs. Right now, these companies use large, specialized laboratories to test hundreds of thousands of compounds on different cell cultures in a process known as high throughput screening. The equipment and manpower cost is substantial, even though only a tiny fraction of the compounds will ever make it to the next phase of testing.

Lenhert's technology miniaturizes that process by printing all of the compounds on a single glass surface and testing them on cells using an innovative technique involving liposome microarrays, which are basically collections of drug-containing oil drops on a surface. If fully employed in the pharmaceutical industry, this technology would make the cost of this expensive process a thousand times cheaper, creating the potential for personalized cancer treatments, lower-cost medicine and more affordable, higher-quality health care options.

"In looking at the first phase of the drug-discovery process, it struck me how, in this age of extreme miniaturization, we are still using rooms full of robots and equipment to test drug compounds," Lenhert said. "It reminded me of the early days of computers where you needed huge, room-spanning pieces of hardware to do the most mundane tasks. I said, 'There has to be a better way.'"

Lenhert's nanotechnology has been demonstrated as a proof of concept on a small scale with cells commonly grown in university laboratories. His research group is now working on scaling their technology up to the high levels needed to achieve medically relevant benefits. For personalized medicine applications, the "lab on a chip" technology could then be applied to cells obtained from patients through biopsies so doctors can determine which drugs will work on a particular patient. Depending on funding, Lenhert expects that the technology could be made commercially available after two years of development.

"We have taken an important first step in making liposome microarray technology viable for the pharmaceutical and medical industries," said Aubrey Kusi-Appiah, a graduate student in Lenhert's research group and first author on the published work. "We have established that it can be done."

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Biology researcher on verge of major breakthrough in drug creation process

NGOs call for international regulation of synthetic biology

Synthetic biology could boost the effectiveness of artemisinin

Flickr/Gates Foundation

More than 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called for greater international oversight of the emerging science of synthetic biology including a moratorium on the release and commercial use of synthetic organisms and their products until the potential risks are fully understood.

Synthetic biology is a broad term covering new approaches to the development of biological functions and systems that are not normally found in nature, including the design and modification of living organisms at the genetic level.

There are high hopes that the field might generate cheaper, more effective drugs, including a synthetic version of the malaria drug artemisinin, biological computers, and innovative ways of disposing of hazardous waste.

But critics are concerned about the potential risks for human health and the environment.

At a meeting in Washington D.C. hosted by Friends of the Earth (12 March) a global coalition of environmental, social, scientific and indigenous and human rights groups including several from Africa, Asia, and Latin American jointly endorsed a framework they said should guide the research and commercialisation of synthetic biology technologies.

The Principles for the Oversight of Synthetic Biology is the "first document from civil society that outlines how synthetic biology should be regulated", according to Eric Hoffman, genetic technology policy campaigner at Friends of the Earth in the United States.

Applying the precautionary principle would mean a moratorium on the release or commercial use of synthetic organisms, cells and genomes, until regulatory bodies have considered the risks and a total ban on any attempt to change the human genome, the document said.

"Any alterations to the human genome through synthetic biology particularly inheritable genetic changes are too risky and fraught with ethical concerns," it stated.

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NGOs call for international regulation of synthetic biology

Coalition Wants Moratorium on 'Extreme' Synthetic Bio Businesses

By Matt Jones

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) An international advocacy coalition today called for a moratorium on the development of new synthetic organisms for commercial use while new international regulations for governing the synthetic biology sector are created to protect the environment and people from unknown perils.

The coalition said today that synbio represents "extreme genetic engineering." It said there currently is little or no governance over synthetic organisms, and private companies cannot be trusted to self-regulate and protect people and the environment from risk and harm.

"We are calling for a global moratorium on the release and commercial use of synthetic organisms until we have established a public interest research agenda, examined alternatives, developed the proper regulations, and put into place rigorous biosafety measures," Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, said in a statement today.

"Self-regulation of the synthetic biology industry simply won't work," added Andy Kimbrell, executive director of the International Center for Technology Assessment. "Current laws and regulations around biotechnology are outdated and inadequate to deal with the novel risks posed by synthetic biology technologies and their products."

Friends of the Earth and over 100 international groups focused on environmental, bioscience, food safety, human and consumer rights issues, and religion, said in a report published today that although the synbio market had a value of more than $1.6 billion in 2011 and could hit $10.8 billion by 2016, there has been "little or no governance of the industry or assessment of the novel risks posed by synthetic organisms."

In a conference call today unveiling the report, Jaydee Hanson, policy director at the International Center for Technology Assessment, said that the first creation of a synthetic genome and its implantation into a microbe by the J. Craig Venter Institute in 2010 "should have been a wake-up call for governments around the world, but little new oversight resulted."

"The ability to synthesize DNA and create synthetic organisms and products is far outpacing our understanding of how these novel products work in the real world. Even engineering simple organisms could have major ecological and health effects," Hanson said.

In its report, "The Principles for the Oversight of Synthetic Biology," the consortium calls for governments to take specific steps to account for a range of possible effects caused by synthetic organisms.

It calls for a moratorium on the release and commercial use of synthetic organisms, cells, or genomes, until a government research agenda has been established to study the public's interest. The moratorium also would hold while alternative approaches are considered and risk assessments are made, and international oversight and security mechanisms are developed.

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Coalition Wants Moratorium on 'Extreme' Synthetic Bio Businesses

Textbook breaks new ground in experimental biology

(PR NewsChannel) / March 13, 2012 / BEIJING

"New Experimental Biology" by Winpen Hann

In New Experimental Biology: Deep Structure Studies II (ISBN 1467987182), scientist Winpen Hann maps a new path for biology, pushing it beyond its current focus on molecular data and genome mapping. His book is a timely introduction to Deep Structure Theory, which introduces new concepts to explain how species physically transform themselves through evolutionary adaptation. The biology textbook reviews four decades of select experiments, which open up possibilities for new insights into brain science, genomics, artificial intelligence and chronic diseases.

The book works from the assumption that many experimental methods of modern-day biology have been pushed to their limit. New Experimental Biology looks at different paths for research that can reinvigorate the field. For instance, studies in molecular biology, biochemistry and structural biology have yielded vast universes of data.

Yet for biologists of all stripes, the question still remains of what to do with this mountain of knowledge. What theory and methods can effectively integrate the vast amounts of data and information yielded by a global community of scientists? Hanns book offers a promising answer through the experimental methods of Deep Structure Theory, which promise to reconcile biologys cell and molecular-level knowledge with an organisms behavior, movement and physiology.

Intended for scientists, professors, researchers and anyone else who wants to keep abreast of cutting-edge developments in science, New Experimental Biology is a textbook that proposes a new view of scientific research that is equally concerned with micro- and macro processes. It is a new, comprehensive vision of biology which seeks to systematize knowledge of an organisms genetic activity with the ecology in which it must ultimately thrive and reproduce.

New Experimental Biology: Deep Structure Studies II is available for sale online at Amazon.com and other channels.

About the Author: Winpen Hann is director of the Brain and Ecology Deep Structure Lab and Deep Structure Bio-science Research Co., Ltd. He is also director of the original Brain and Ecology Comparative Group. His interests include ecology, evolutionary biology and economics. Hanns other books include New Experimental Biology and The Deep Structure of Life, which he authored in his native language, Chinese.

MEDIA CONTACT Winpen Hann E-mail: Winpen@brainecology.netPhone: 0086 + 13 + 02003-9389 Website: http://www.brainecology.net

REVIEW COPIES AND INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE

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Textbook breaks new ground in experimental biology

Biology professor talks about plant galls at Nature Center

Dr. Carol Mapes, professor of biology at Kutztown University, came to the Lehigh Gap Nature Center on Feb. 26 to talk about her favorite subject, plant galls.

It was the second in a series of nature talks to be held.

A hand-out included the names of 97 galls, each of which may have several subdivisions, but many galls have never been named, said Mapes. The study of galls is termed cecidology

Some galls can be damaging to farm crops such as the cedar apple gall that looks like an orange flower. It can cause rust spots on fruit and consequently cedar and apple trees should never be planted in close proximity.

Fungal galls damage cherries, peaches and plums. Damage at the roots and stems flows to the leaves and even damages other galls.

Many galls are native and are plant specific. However, most do not damage plants. They are difficult to control.

A round ball that forms near the top of a goldenrod plant is the goldenrod ball gall which provides a source of food for developing larvae. Some people collect the larvae as bait for fishing.

A larva makes a tunnel out of the ball for the fly to use in spring because the fly does not have any chewing parts. Woodpeckers will eat the larva.

Mapes said goldenrod is an invasive plant in Hungary where there are no galls to help keep it under control.

The cynipid wasp galls grow mostly on oaks and there are those that are specific to different types of oaks. The wasps come out of the gall in the springtime and enter an acorn.

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Biology professor talks about plant galls at Nature Center

Alissa McCaffrey Selected For Biology Honorary Society at St. Lawrence University

Josephine A. Thompson, 73, a resident of State Route 104 West, Oswego Town, passed away Monday March 12, 2012, at home, surrounded by her loving family.

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Area students ages 8 through 15 will have the opportunity to audition for a part in a very special childrens musical to be presented during Harborfest 2012. The production this year is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

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The Preschoolers at Phoenix Head Start Program had a special visitor on March 1. Cat in the Hat (aka Jackie Christian, center assistant) came to Discovery Day Care and celebrated Dr. Seuss birthday with the children.

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What are you doing to cut my taxes? Its a question I hear at almost every stop I make, whether a community meeting, at the front door of one of the thousands of constituents I meet every year, or even while shopping for groceries for my family.

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Attendees can meet members of the Oz Roller Girls, see roller derby demonstrations, hear about the fitness benefits of participating and ask questions about the sport or the league. The 7 p.m. event, free and open to the public, will take place in the OzZone, the former Real Deals store, in Oswegos Midtown Plaza.

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Alissa McCaffrey Selected For Biology Honorary Society at St. Lawrence University

BioMAP® Profiling Provides Insights into Toxicity of Nanomaterials, Failed Drugs and Environmental Chemicals

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Assessments of the biological activity of various nanomaterials and chemicals in the context of primary human cell biology were presented today at the annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology by scientists from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and BioSeek, LLC. The presented findings further demonstrate the value of BioMAP human primary cell assay systems for both identifying critical bioactivities and potentially adverse effects of drugs, new materials and other compounds in a high-throughput format.

Through our work with EPA, BioMAP is yielding a rich harvest of biological information on a wide variety of environmental and other chemicals and their potential effects on human health, said Ellen Berg, Ph.D., General Manager of BioSeek. In addition to helping meet the goals of the ToxCast Program, which are aimed at developing high-throughput screening methods capable of predicting chemical toxicities, this information is continuing to enrich our BioMAP database. We view that resource as an increasingly valuable tool that can be mined to better understand the activities and potential safety of our pharmaceutical partners compounds in the context of human biology, prior to undertaking costly human clinical trials.

In an oral presentation by EPA, various nanomaterials with varying cores and their ion and micro counterparts were tested for cytotoxicity in various cell types, for transcription factor activation in HepG2cells, and for protein bioactive profiling in eight BioMAP human primary cell systems at concentrations equivalent to human exposures of 24 hours to 45 years. Analysis showed that nanomaterial cores are critical to bioactivities and their effects are often similar to those of related ions. Comparing test results on nanomaterials to reference profiles of other compounds in the BioMAP database suggested further molecular targets and pathways affected by the tested nanomaterials that werent directly measured by the assays performed.

A poster presented by EPA and BioSeek collaborators discussed the biological profiling of the ToxCast Phase II Chemical Library in BioSeeks primary human cell co-culture systems. The Phase II library contains 1060 unique compounds including failed pharmaceuticals donated by industry partners, reference compounds known to be endocrine disrupters, carcinogens or reproductive/developmental toxicants, and other widely used chemicals, food and cosmetic additives, and proposed alternatives to current industrially used chemicals The chemicals were tested in a panel of BioMAP co-culture systems and classified based on their ability to cause overt cytotoxicity in various cells types and on their bioactivity profiles when compared to reference compounds.

About BioMAP

BioSeeks proprietary BioMAP technology platform bridges the gap between in vitro and in vivo testing to connect primary human cell-based assay data to clinically relevant results. Compounds tested in BioMAP Assay Systems generate biological activity profiles that are compared to those of thousands of well-characterized agents in our proprietary BioMAP database, using a variety of predictive computational analyses. BioMAP Assay Systems are physiologically relevant and concurrently provide multifactorial readouts relevant to compound efficacy and safety. Thus, a compounds detected activities effectively preview in vivo results and forecast potential clinical outcomes. The BioMAP technology platform is consistently reproducible within and between assays, is high throughput, and supports drug discovery programs from library screening to lead optimization and candidate selection. For more information on BioMAP, please visit our website at http://www.bioseekinc.com.

About the US EPA ToxCastTMProgram

The U.S. EPA ToxCastTM Program is developing approaches to predict chemical toxicity using data from high-throughput and high content in vitro assays. The goal of ToxCastTM is to develop and verify "toxicity signatures," which are algorithms using in vitro and in silico data to predict in vivo toxicities. Phase I of ToxCastTM has produced data from >300 chemicals, ~500 in vitro assays and ~100 in vivo endpoints, providing a powerful dataset for evaluating the applicability of various analytic approaches for predicting the potential for an adverse response. The initial results from Phase I of the ToxCastTM program were presented on May 14-15, 2009 at the First ToxCastTM Data Analysis Summit held in Research Triangle Park, NC. Phase II of the ToxCastTM program will expand on and verify the ability of this approach to predict potential human toxicity. In Phase III, ToxCastTM will expand the list to thousands of environmental chemicals, delivering an affordable, science-based system for decision-makers to prioritize chemicals for more detailed toxicological evaluations.

About BioSeek

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BioMAP® Profiling Provides Insights into Toxicity of Nanomaterials, Failed Drugs and Environmental Chemicals

Molecular biology program grants stipends for summer research

While many University students are still waiting for their summer plans to solidify, most rising seniors in the Department of Molecular Biology already know exactly where they will be for June, July and August: on campus.

Each summer, the molecular biology department offers a nine-week program for students with a lab-based thesis, giving them a chance to conduct a good portion of their research before the start of senior year.

The program is not mandatory but is open to all rising seniors who are completing a lab-based thesis. However, the participation rate is very high because the majority of students in the department do lab-based theses, which require a lot of time in the lab.

Elena Chiarchiaro, manager of student services for the molecular biology department, said that it is very rare for students who have a lab-based thesis to choose not to participate. They feel that its almost necessary, Chiarchiaro said.

Experimental research develops a certain momentum, Mark Rose, the director of undergraduate studies and a representative for the department, said. Once you set up, you can collect data routinely over time and that takes less effort, but sometimes it takes a lot of time to get started. So the opportunity to be here over the summer can help develop the momentum that sustains students over the fall semester.

Even though the molecular biology department and the Program in Quantitative and Computational Biology organize the summer research program, it is open to a number of other students as well. Students majoring in departments such as chemistry, physics, and psychology who are conducting thesis research in biology labs can participate, as can freshmen and sophomores considering majoring in molecular biology and students from outside the University.

However, non-University students and potential majors must apply for spots. Students from other schools are housed in the dormitories and are reimbursed for travel expenses, but University students must provide their own housing and transportation. All participants receive a $4,000 stipend.

The program is supported by grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and several other organizations, such as the Genentech Foundation and the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research.

We have the funds to pay our students a large enough stipend to get by. Its like they have a job, Chiarchiaro said.

By encouraging students from other schools to apply, Rose said, the department hopes to bring in underrepresented minorities as well as students from small colleges who might not otherwise have access to research facilities like those of the University.

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Molecular biology program grants stipends for summer research