News of the Week how to talk to both sides and will look for commonsense ways to go forward/ 7 Krupp says. And the Wild life Federation's Hair says, "Reilly will not only ensure that the na tion's environmental laws work, but he brings a valuable global perspec tive to the post." David Hanson
Mouse models for AIDS study developed Despite impressive gains in under standing acquired immune deficien cy syndrome (AIDS) and the hu man immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes it, research on AIDS has been hampered by the lack of suitable animal models. Only two animal species—humans and chim panzees—are susceptible to HIV infection and, apparently, only humans develop disease as a result of the infection. In the past few weeks, however, significant steps in d e v e l o p i n g mouse models for studying AIDS have been reported by researchers at the National Institute for Allergy & Infectious Diseases and at Stanford University. At NIAID, Malcolm A. Martin, John M. Leonard, David S. Pezen, and colleagues created what are known as transgenic mice, mice that contain intact copies of HIV proviral DNA [Science, 242,1665 (1988)]. The transgenic mice are created by mi croinjection of viral DNA copies into single-celled mouse embryos, which are then implanted in females. Of the 64 microinjected ova carried to term, 12 carried full-length HIV provi n c e s in their chromosomal DNA. All of these "founder" animals were healthy throughout their lives. When mated with nontransgenic males, one of the founder mice— designated No. 13—produced off spring, 45% of which developed a fatal syndrome with symptoms that resembled some symptoms associ ated with human AIDS. In particular, skin abnormalities and pulmonary lesions in the mice appear similar to unexplained problems suffered by AIDS patients. Infectious HIV particles were recovered from these animals. 8
January 2, 1989 C&EN
The offspring of two other found er animals showed increased mor tality rates but not the characteris tic disease syndrome, and virus could not be isolated from them. All but three of the transgenic mice were inadvertently destroyed in an accident in early December when the power to the laboratory was cut off during routine mainte nance. The accident has set back the research about six months, Pezen says. At Stanford, Joseph M. McCune and coworkers injected HIV into mice with human fetal thymic or lymph node implants [Science, 242, 1684 (1988)]. The chimeric mice, which were first described earlier this year in a report from McCune's group, produce a transient wave of human Τ and Β lymphocytes and antibodies, producing an immuno logical environment similar to that experienced by HIV in humans. Viral replication spread through the human lymphoid organs in the chimeric mice injected with HIV, the Stanford researchers say. This will allow them to study the prog ress of an HIV infection at both the cellular and molecular levels. The two murine models are com plementary. The NIAID mice do not produce the CD4 Τ lymphocytes sus ceptible to HIV infection, so the direct effects of viral proteins and particles can be studied in the ab sence of continued reinfection of i m m u n e cells. By contrast, t h e Stanford mice contain the human tissues that appear to be most sus ceptible to HIV infection, so the process of infection and initiation of disease can be followed in them. Rudy Baum
Hiring of graduates torise8% in 1989 Large U.S. firms will increase their hiring of new college graduates 8% in 1989, according to Northwestern University's latest "Lindquist-Endicott Report." The report, an annual survey of hiring trends in major business and industrial companies, also estimates that starting salaries will rise an average 4.6%. "Corporate personnel executives
are confident that the economy will remain s t r o n g , " N o r t h w e s t e r n ' s placement director Victor R. Lindquist says, "despite concerns by socalled experts about the volatile stock market, the deficit, the trade imbalance, megamergers, and in creased competitiveness in t h e marketplace." Demand for engineers is up sharp ly for the second year in a row, the report notes. Hiring of B.S. engi neers is projected to rise 12% from the number actually hired in 1988. Engineers will continue to command the highest starting salaries, aver aging $30,600. However, that amount represents only a 2.5% increase from 1988. Projected employment of bache lor-level chemical engineers by com panies responding to the survey will rise about 32%. Starting salaries for new chemical engineers at those companies will average $32,604, up 3.5% from last year. Overall, the supply of engineers is tightening up again, Lindquist notes. One third of the survey re spondents reported difficulty in fill ing engineering positions. Demand for bachelor-level grad uates in nonengineering fields will grow 7% overall, but with big dif ferences among the various disci plines. The increases are particular ly large for chemists (up 37% from last year's actual hires) and math/ statistics grads (up 22%). In actual numbers, however, these two groups account for only about 3% of the total demand. Starting salary increases for nonengineer bachelors will range from 2.1% (business administration) to 8.8% (sales-marketing). Average sal aries will range from $24,324 (liber al arts graduates) to $28,488 (chem ists). Actual salaries can depart sig nificantly from the averages. For chemists, for example, they will vary from a low of $21,120 to a high of $32,544. At the master's degree level, the reporting firms' hiring plans call for a 14% increase from 1988. De mand for engineers will be up 15% from last year, and their average starting salaries will rise 2.9% to $35,532. Demand for nonengineer masters will grow 13%. Ward Worthy
