News of the Week mittee of the Society Committee on Education of the American Chemical Society, says, "I think NSF's idea of trying to do something catalytic here makes a lot of sense. By the time students get to college, they may not have taken the courses they need to be candidates for science courses or careers. A concerted effort like this has an opportunity of perhaps turning that around." ACS Education Division director Sylvia A. Ware notes that scientific associations could help states formulate their reform plans. University of Texas, Austin, chemistry professor Joseph J. Lagowski, editor of the Journal of Chemical Education, says NSF's strategy "appears sound," but he questions if states have been given enough time to formulate plans and appropriate matching funds before this year's deadlines—July 9 for preliminary proposals and Oct. 15 for formal proposals. Stu Borman
Study shows no obvious global wanning in '80s Analysis of 10 years' worth of global temperature data collected by satellite suggests that Earth did not experience an obvious warming trend in the 1980s. The satellite data record is still too short to support any conclusions about global warming caused by greenhouse gases, however. But climate researchers say such measurements are vital tools for understanding and monitoring future changes in global climate. Global temperature measurements are important not only for detecting climate change but also for evaluating computer climate models. Several research groups have suggested Earth has warmed about 0.5 °C on average over the past century based on their analyses of thermometer records. Such temperature measurements are spotty, however, because limited data exist for the vast expanse covered by oceans. And many of the land measurements have been collected in cities where buildings and asphalt tend to trap heat. Only instruments on satellites offer truly global coverage. Use of passive microwave radiometry from sat6
April 2, 1990 C&EN
ellites to collect atmospheric temperature data is described by Roy W. Spencer of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration's Marshall Space Flight Center, and John R. Christy of the University of Alabama's Johnson Research Center in Science [247, 1558 (1990)]. They find that, although there were large variations in temperature over periods ranging from weeks to years, between 1979 and 1988 the cold and warm years seem to just about balance each other out—1980, 1983, 1987, and 1988 were warmer than the 10-year average, while 1984, 1985, and 1986 were cooler.
That conclusion in no way contradicts the claim based on surface thermometer measurements that Earth has warmed since the turn of the century, says James Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and author of one of the earlier studies of temperature records. "There has never been any claim that there's been any upward trend in the '80s," he tells C&EN. A satellite record starting in 1979 won't be able to say much about how the world works, he adds. "But it's an important tool that will become more useful in the future." Pamela Zurer
Two biotech companies quit trade association Charging blatant favoritism toward certain member companies, Cetus and Genetics Institute have resigned from the Industrial Biotechnology Association. Robert A. Fildes, Cetus chief executive officer and president, and Gabriel Schmergel, Genetics Institute president and chief executive officer, expressed their anger and dismay with what they see as the manipulation of the trade group's activities to represent the interests of only a few companies. At the center of the issue is IBA's recently adopted position on two legislative matters—its opposition to any changes in the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 and its support of proposed patent legislation, known as the "Boucher Bill" or H.R. 3957. Although representatives from Cetus and Genetics Institute were absent, board members at a February meeting reached a unanimous decision on both issues. According to the two companies, this position reflects the interests of Genentech and Amgen, rather than the overall interests of IBA's 108 members or the long-term competitive interests of the biotechnology industry. By granting a seven-year marketing monopoly, the Orphan Drug Act is designed as an incentive to companies to develop products for diseases affecting 200,000 or fewer people. Cetus and Genetics Institute favor reforms in the act, although they both have orphan drugs under development. Even with limited markets, or-
phan drugs can be highly profitable. Examples are Genentech's human growth hormone, which had sales of $123 million in 1989, and Amgen's erythropoietin (EPO), with 1989 sales of nearly $100 million. Genetics Institute and Amgen are locked in a protracted patent dispute over EPO. The proposed patent legislation, which would extend protection to production processes based on genetically engineered microorganisms, is backed by IBA to help the U.S. maintain its competitive stance in biotechnology. Fildes describes it as unnecessary, protectionist, and, by virtue of the uncertainties it would produce, destabilizing to the industry. In disagreeing with IBA's position on both issues, he considers it inappropriate for the association to actively promote views of a portion of the membership as the position of the entire organization. IBA has always made special efforts to represent the interests of all its member companies, and did so in this instance, responds Richard G. Godown, IBA president. This is accomplished through the election of a 20-member board to represent the opinions of the membership and to formulate the association's position on such issues. Because of this process, and the number of independent and motivated members, Godown believes it impossible for a few companies to have control of the organization. Ann Thayer
