SCIENCE American Association for the Advancement of Science Science serves its readers as a forum for the presentation and discussion of important issues related to the advance- ment of science, including the presentation of minority or con- flicting points of view, rather than by publishing only material on which a consensus has been reached. Accordingly, all ar- ticles published in Science-including editorials, news and comment, and book reviews-are signed and reflect the indi- vidual views of the authors and not official points of view adopted by the AAAS or the institutions with which the au- thors are affiliated. Publisher: William D. Carey Editor: Daniel E. Koshland, Jr. Deputy Editors: Philip H. Abelson (Engineering and Applied Sciences); John 1. Brauman (Physical Sciences); Gardner Lindzey (Social Sciences) EDITORIAL STAFF Managing Editor: Patricia A. Morgan Assstant Managing Editors: Nancy J. Hartnagel, John E. Ringle Senior Editors: Eleanore Butz, Lawrence 1. 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Mitchell Waldrop Europen Correspondent: David Dickson BUSINESS STAFF Associate Pubilsher: William M. Miller, Ill Busines Staff Supervisor: Deborah Rivera-Wienhold 'Associat Busines Supervisor: Leo Lewis Membership Recruitment: Gwendolyn Huddle Member and Subscription Records: Ann Ragland Guie to Blotechnology Products and Instruments Editor: Richard G. Sommer ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Director: Earl J. Scherago Production Manager: Donna Rivera Adversing Sales Managr: Richard L. Charles Mrwkting Manager: Herbert L. Burklund Saies: New York, NY 10036: J. Kevin Henebry, 1515 Broad- way (212-730-1050); Scotch Plains, NJ 07076: C. Richard Callis, 12 Unami Lane (201-889-4873): Chicago, IL 60611: Jack Ryan, Room 2107, 919 N. Michigan Ave. (312-337- 4973); Beverly Hills, CA 90211: Winn Nance, 111 N. La Cien- ega Blvd. (213-657-2772); San Jose, CA 95112: Bob Brind- ley, 310 S. 16 St. (408-998-4690); Dorset, VT 05251: Fred W. Dieffenbach, Kent Hill Rd. (802-867-5581). Instructions for contributors appears on page xi of the 28 March 1986 issue. Editorial correspondence, including re- quests for permission to reprint and reprint orders, should be sent to 1333 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005. Tele- phone: 202-326-6500. Advertising correspondence should be sent to Tenth Floor, 1515 Broadway, NY 10036. Telephone 212-730-1050. 13 JUNE I986 VOLUME 232 NUMBER 4756 The Biotechnology Issue P resident Kennedy once invited a large group of distinguished scientists to the White House for dinner and there remarked, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, ofhuman knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Adapting this observation to the new biotechnology industry, we might say that we are today mobilizing the most amazing collection of brains for a new technology since Louis Pasteur worked alone. The biotechnology industry has been around for a long time, starting with the herb doctors and wine-makers ofancient civilizations. For deliberate application of the problems of science to the needs of health and the economy, however, Louis Pasteur is unique. He represents in one person the combination of pure research and practical application that is the hallmark of the current biotechnology industry. In Pasteur's early studies he pursued the academic problem of optical antipodes, performing his classic work on the separation of dextro and levo tartaric acids. He also performed his seminal studies on the spontaneous generation of life, demonstrating that fermentation was the product ofliving cells and that life was necessary to create new life. His understanding of microbes and their behavior was the handle in his generation that recombinant DNA is in ours. Pasteur's genius and the smaller size of his scientific world produced a different relationship, however. Pasteur personally was involved in one major industrial application after another. He discovered the cause ofthe souring ofwine and beer, thereby providing enormous economic savings for his own country as well as England and Germany. He corrected the devastation of the silk industry by identifying the parasite preying on the silkworm. He developed the technique for attenuating viruses and protected chickens from cholera. He then studied the disease of anthrax and demonstrated the protection of sheep in one of the great experiments illustrating the scientific method. In the culminating act ofhis incredible career, Pasteur saved the life ofa young boy who had rabies by giving him ground-up tissues from organs of infected animals. The modem technology industry parallels in uncanny ways the approach of Louis Pasteur. Its hallmark is the continuously changing line between basic academic research and practical industrial applications. Basic research in academia leads to applications in industry. Questions posed by industrial problems generate new academic initiatives. To the credit of many modem biotechnology companies, they have become more permissive in allowing their scientists to publish and less secretive in regard to their procedures than the pharma- ceutical industries in the past. It is a farsighted approach, since secrets are difficult to secure and the industry itself thrives on the constant interaction with academia. This issue ofScience deals with new advances from which new medicines and industrial products may be produced. Even those who do not like broccoli will have to concede that a member of the broccoli family that goes through its life cyde in 6 weeks can provide a powerfuil research tool for plants (Williams and Hill). Vietmeyer describes some "poor people's plants" that may provide more new bases for industrial crops than the 20 species on which most modem agriculture now focuses. Parkman discusses those diseases for which bone marrow transplantation is most appropriate, a technology whose importance is accentuated vividly by the Chemobyl disaster. Arathoon and his colleagues describe the improving expertise in growing large amounts of mammalian cells, a critical requirement for such products as vaccines, interferons, and monoclonal antibodies. Blumenthal provides insight into the opportunities and hazards of university-industry relations, and Dibner discusses the growth of biotechnology in Europe. Weetall and Pitcher describe factors involved in scaling up an immobilized enzyme system. It is worth noting that Pasteur operated with an incredible freedom not given to modem researchers. His treatment of the boy bitten by a rabid dog was done without extensive field trials, which would have delayed its application for years. His studies on soured wines and diseased silkworms were not greeted with cries that he was introducing organisms into the environment. Allowing one genius unparalleled freedom is easier than attempting to control a boisterous and explosively growing technology. Pasteur's willing- ness to take risks for good cause and to tackle academic and practical problems with equal enthusiasm are standards of conduct that have aged as well as the wines he preserved. -DANIEL E. KOSHLAND, JR. 13 JUNE I986 EDITORIAL 1313 o n A p ril 5 , 2 0 2 1 h ttp ://scie n ce .scie n ce m a g .o rg / D o w n lo a d e d fro m http://science.sciencemag.org/ The biotechnology issue DE Koshland Jr DOI: 10.1126/science.3715450 (4756), 1313.232Science ARTICLE TOOLS http://science.sciencemag.org/content/232/4756/1313.citation PERMISSIONS http://www.sciencemag.org/help/reprints-and-permissions Terms of ServiceUse of this article is subject to the is a registered trademark of AAAS.ScienceScience, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005. 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