Stanford Today
Edition: July/August, 1996
Section: Science and Medicine News
WWW: Science & Medicine News

Cohen Wins Major Prize
The two inventors of genetic engineering -- Dr. Stanley N. Cohen of Stanford and Herbert Boyer of the University of California-San Francisco -- have won this year's Lemelson-MIT Prize, the world's largest award for invention, creativity and innovation. Together, Cohen and Boyer provided the cornerstone for modern biological and medical science by inventing a method of cloning genetically engineered molecules in foreign cells. Their discovery paved the way for mass production of hormones and other chemicals once made only by the human body, and made possible the multibillion-dollar biotechnology industry. Some of the products created by genetically engineered bacteria include clot-dissolving agents for heart attack victims, insulin for diabetics and growth hormone for children with growth abnormalities. Cohen is the K.T. Li Professor of Genetics at the School of Medicine. The granting of the $500,000 prize is administered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Packard Hospital Gets Scanner
A high-speed computed tomography (CT) system -- which can make a cross-sectional image of human anatomy in about 50 milliseconds and reduces the need for sedation when scanning young children -- has been installed at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. The fast scanning speed minimizes blurring in images of young patients who have trouble holding still. The scanner also will be used for research into high-speed CT applications, primarily directed toward the imaging of cardiovascular abnormalities in both children and adults.

Women MDs Earn Parity
The salaries of young female physicians have reached parity with those of their male counterparts -- as long as they work as many hours and are in the same specialties and practice settings, according to a study by School of Medicine economist Laurence Baker, assistant professor of health research and policy. But among physicians 45 and older, men still earn more, Baker found after analyzing the 1990 earnings of about 4,500 physicians from across the nation. "To some extent this is good news," he said. "When I looked at 1986 earnings, male physicians under 45 made 7 percent more than females with the same characteristics. That gap has closed. But the bad news is this applies only to young physicians." The study was published April 11, in the New England Journal of Medicine.

New Clinical Center Approved
Physicians who treat patients will team up with scientists who investigate basic biomedical questions in a new campus research center devoted to devising innovative strategies against cancer, immune disorders and genetic diseases. The Center for Clinical Sciences Research (CCSR) received approval from the Board of Trustees and is scheduled to open in three years. It will house a diverse group of clinical investigators and basic scientists who will collaborate on new medical therapies. For example, researchers who study bone marrow and stem cells might team up with scientists involved in genetic engineering to devise new cancer interventions. Or researchers in molecular immunology may bring their insights to new treatment, or even prevention, of diseases as diverse as juvenile-onset diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, or AIDS.

Genetic Code Deciphered
An international consortium of scientists, including Stanford's Ronald Davis and David Botstein, has spelled out the entire genetic code of baker's yeast. The scientific feat marks the first time researchers have fully deciphered DNA in an organism so closely related to human cells. Yeast and human cells share many of the same genes and have structural similarities as well, such as the nucleus that holds the chromosomes. Stanford researchers sequenced one of yeast's 16 chromosomes and parts of two others. Davis, director of Stanford's yeast sequencing effort and professor of biochemistry, said that "yeast is a very good experimental platform for launching studies that will teach us more about humans." Because of yeast's similarity to human cells and its relative simplicity, researchers have used it for more than two decades to help decipher basic biological mechanisms. These studies have provided clues about the function of individual human genes involved in medical problems such as cancer, neurological diseases and skeletal disorders, Davis said. ST