NEWS OF THE WEEK GOVERNMENT
EPA BACKS SECURITY BILL Whitman says White House wants stand-alone chemical plant legislation
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LTHOUGH THE BUSH AD-
ministration is concerned about terrorists attacking chemical plants, it opposes including provisions addressing this problem in legislation to create a Cabinet-level Homeland Security Department, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told a Senate hearing last week. Instead, she said, the Administration favors stand-alone site security legislation because it does not want enactment of the homeland security bill delayed. W h i t m a n told C & E N that such legislation could be similar to a security plan put forward by the American Chemistry Council . That plan is too narrow, however, since it covers only ACC members, or about 7% of some
15,000 facilities that are large chemical users and makers, she said. But Whitman also told C&EN that any Administration bill would recognize a member's compliance with ACC's security plan as sufficient. Whitman expressed her views at the hearing in response to questions from Sen. Jon S. Corzine (DN.J.), author of a security bill now on the Senate floor. It, too, requires chemical companies to make plants secure but also calls for risk reduction efforts. The bill is opposed by ACC and some senators (C&EN, Sept. 23, page 15).
IMAGING
Coral Color Shift Applied To Cells
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he distinct colors of the neurons luminated cells remained green. Violet shown are due to a new fluorescent light also works. protein that allows a single neuron to The red color is stable under usual aerbe uniquely delineated among a mass of obic conditions for months. Its overall inneurons, according to Atsushi Miyawaki and tensity increases with the length of expocoworkers at the Institute of Physical & Chemical Research and the Brain Science & Life Technology Research Foundation, both in Japan. The researchers isolated the protein from a stony coral and subsequently characterized and cloned it [Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 99,12651 (2002)]. They have named the protein Kaede, after the Japanese word for maple leaf. After introducing Kaede into neurons, the researchers focused ultraviolet light on just one cell for 10 seconds. Within three minutes, the region of the cell that was originally green turned red. The unil-
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C&EN
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2002
But Corzine said he still intends to offer his bill as an amendment to the homeland bill or other legislation. Although Whitman said that EPA has been working with senators on legislation, staff of Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), leader of the opposition to Corzine's bill, say they've yet to see Administration bill language. Meanwhile, the homeland security bill remains blocked on the
Senate floor over provisions that would allow the President to restrict union membership for security reasons. Senators have filed some 90 amendments that may be brought to the floor if the impasse is broken.-JEFF JOHNSON
sure to UV or violet light until all of the green chromophores are transformed. Thus multiple cells can be distinguished on the basis of the extent of color change from green to red. Miyawaki and coworkers suggest that the photoconversion of Kaede may be one of the reasons for the variety of colors found among stony coral.-MAUREEN ROUHI
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