News of the Week machine can add a nucleotide to a idizing agent converts the resulting growing DNA chain on a solid sup- phosphite to a phosphate. Bio Logicals* chemistry was deport every 30 minutes. Their scientists have constructed chains greater veloped by organic chemistry prothan 20 nucleotides long and are ex- fessor Kelvin K. Ogilvie, McGill ploring the upper limit. When ready University, Montreal, and the mafor delivery at the end of April 1981, chine was designed with assistance from Waters Associates, Milford, the machine will cost $19,500. The Vega Biochemicals machine, Mass. Genetic Instruments' chemiswhich is already available at $49,500, try was developed by organic chemis currently wedded to chemistry that istry professor Marvin Caruthers, still takes three hours to add a nu- University of Colorado, Boulder, and cleotide. Vega spokesmen say, how- the machine was designed by molecever, that their machine has flexibil- ular biologist Leroy Hood, California ity in programing, and design that can Institute of Technology, Pasadena. be adapted to any chemistry develVega Biochemicals uses a 10-ml oped in the future. glass reactionflask,formed by joining The Bio Logicals and the forth- top and bottom by a standard taper coming Genetic Instruments ma- joint. Reagents and solvents enter in chines carry out reactions by passing sequence through the fritted glass top reagents and solvents in sequence and are removed through a fritted over a solid support in a column. Solid glass bottom. Chemistry is based on supports may be functionalized silica the phosphotriester method, in which gel or controlled-pore glass. Chemis- a deprotected 5'-hydroxyl of a nutry for both is based on the phosphite cleotide already on the chain couples method. In this method, a protecting with a nucleotide whose phosphate is group such as di-p-anisylphenyl- esterified with one protecting and one Automated DNA/RNA methyl is removed from the 5'-hy- reactive leaving group. Vega's chemdroxy group of a nucleotide already istry was developed by biochemist synthesizers debut on the solid support and the hydroxyl Keiichi Itakura, City of Hope ReA new competitor has appeared in the group couples with a 3'-phosphinyl- search Institute, Duarte, Calif., and race to develop automated machines nucleoside bearing a very reactive Vega's engineers designed the ma• to synthesize deoxyribonucleic acid leaving group on phosphorus. An ox- chine. (DNA) sequences for genetic engineering. The introduction of such a machine by Bio Logicals, Toronto, Report probes chemical reproductive hazards Ont., last week has come hot on the heels of the commercial appearance Some chemicals pose a real hazard to duction for both men and women. of another such machine by Vega human reproduction, both for men And evidence derived from geoBiochemicals, Tucson, Ariz., in the and women, and the task of identi- graphical patterns, time trends, and last week of 1980. A third entrant, fying which chemicals these are and specific environmental factors suggest Genetic Instruments Co., may bring how best to protect people from them that chemicals may be involved in a machine to market at the end of is going to be incredibly difficult. other cases where the specific cause of That, in essence, is the conclusion of difficulty has not been pinpointed. 1981. Animal studies are promising and Bio Logicals spokesmen say their the just-released report of the Council on Environmental Quality, "Chemi- probably essential for pinpointing the cal Hazards to Human Reproduc- specific agents responsible for adverse effects. In an analysis of 21 chemicals tion." The report, which was prepared that affect both animals and humans, under contract by Clement Asso- there is "a reasonably close concorciates, is a comprehensive literature dance between effects reported in review of the subject, and its conclu- humans and in one or more experisions are not likely to provoke any mental animal." With one exception, surprise among workers in the field. humans were affected at doses similar But they are not intended to. It was to or smaller than those that affected prepared, according to CEQ staffers, the most sensitive test animal. Howto pull together what is known about ever, there is no consistent pattern as the reproductive hazards of chemical to which animal will be the most substances so that the council can sensitive. Thus, useful animal testing assess whether there is something it must involve studying many species to find the most sensitive—a lengthy should do about the problem. The present state of scientific and expensive process, and one likely knowledge about reproductive haz- to give many "false positives" since ards is roughly comparable to what there seem to be many agents that was known about carcinogens in the affect animals but not humans. A early 1960's, the report says. Here are really useful in-vitro prescreening test—analogous to the Ames test for some of its findings. There are clear examples of chem- carcinogenicity—has not been found Ogilvie: developed chemistry for Bio • icals interfering with normal repro- yet for reproductive hazards. Logicals' DNA synthesizer
for the fourth quarter of 83% to $80.9 million over the fourth quarter of 1979. Sales for the company rose 28.8% to $284 million from the same period in 1979. For the full year, sales at Texasgulf increased 38.1% and earnings shot up 137.8%. The company had 1980 earnings of $326 million on sales of $1.1 billion compared with 1979 earnings of $137 million on sales of $789 million. Ethyl Corp. had a good fourth quarter, but did not do so well for the full year. Fourth-quarter earnings totaled $24.7 million, an increase of 12.3% over fourth-quarter 1979. Sales were essentially flat—$432 million last quarter against $431 million the year before. But full-year earnings at Ethyl fell 8% to $89.7 million from the year before, whereas sales were increasing 5% to $1.74 billion from 1979. •
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C&ENJan. 26, 1981
