7-~------NEVVS , ------NA_T_U_RE_·_v_o_L_~_J_~__ JU_N_E_I __~3 Institute for Cancer Research Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Slimmed down but healthy Uncertain times WITH the opening last week of a new Dr Tim McElwain to its chair of medical £500,000 drug development laboratory at oncology at ICR, and the Medical for revival Sutton, in Surrey, the Institute for Cancer Research Council has increased its support Berkeley, California Research (ICR) has taken a magic step to­ for this area. ALTHOUGH the Lawrence Berkeley wards the radical restructuring initiated Weiss feels the new slimmed-down ICR, Laboratory's (LBL's) proposal to be the three years ago by its then-new director, Dr which now has a total staff of 410 com­ home for a new National Center for Ad­ Robin Weiss. pared with 470 three years ago, will main­ vanced Materials (NCAM) continues to As a result of an 18 per cent cut in fund­ tain its pre-eminent position in those areas take a beating, it remains the heart of the ing in 1977, Weiss inherited a £1 million where it is best known. New funding laboratory's hopes for holding its own in deficit which is being made good by a pro­ arrangements mean ICR now has to com­ staff and funds. For the latest of a series of gramme of staff reductions and •'retrench­ pete for research grants from a joint com­ studies of the national laboratories, soon ment". A research station at Pollards mittee of its main sources of support, the to be released by the White House Science Wood, in Buckinghamshire, will be closed Cancer Research Campaign and the Council, is expected once again to call on next year, leaving the institute's activities Medical Research Council. the laboratories to focus on a more defined concentrated at its Sutton site and at the Weiss says the new system has provided mission, more attuned to national needs-­ Chester Beatty Research Laboratories in stability which had been lacking. He points a criticism that NCAM is planned to meet. Chelsea, London. out that the Drug Development Section of The recent history of LBL leaves no The new laboratory, directed by Pro­ the institute has probably introduced more doubts why NCAM is so important for the fessor A.B. Foster, is named after the anticancer drugs than any other unit in the laboratory. While many of the other na­ Cancer Research Campaign, which made world. Two drugs in particular are causing tional laboratories were able to cushion the capital grants of £900,000 for the building excitement at present: one, known as blow of reduced base funding by having and for improvements to the laboratories CB3717, is an enzyme inhibitor which single, large projects that could not be at Chelsea. It will house ICR's Drug although only in phase I of clinical trials is abandoned, LBL's diversity left it vulner­ Development Section, which was formerly showing potential for use against cancers able. Over the past two years, LBL has lost split between Sutton and Chelsea, and of the breast and ovary and could in time 19 per cent of its staff. Ironically, the close enable closer collaboration with the Sutton become a less toxic alternative to metho­ association with the University of Califor­ branch of the Royal Marsden Hospital. trexate. The other, CBDCA, is a non-toxic nia's Berkeley campus that has made LBL ICR's Chemical Carcinogenesis Section, platinum derivative now in phase II of perhaps the most scientifically solid of the headed by Dr Peter Brookes, will move to clinical trials. The section is also continuing national laboratories (LBL director David Sutton from Pollards Wood next year and its pioneering work on antibody-toxin Shirley points with pride to the 30 National Dr Julian Peto of the Imperial Cancer conjugate therapy, using monoclonal an­ Academy of Sciences members on his staff) Research Fund's epidemiology unit in Ox­ tibodies to target the a subunit of chloram­ is also responsible for the diversity. ford will head the ICR epidemiology unit at bucil, a widely used anti tumour drug, onto NCAM, when fully operational, would Sutton from October. The animal breeding in vitro bone marrow cells. Tim Beardsley bring the staff and budget of LBL's basic centre at Pollards Wood will be run down, energy sciences division up to a full one­ and arrangements for the supply of experi­ third of the total laboratory. The mental animals have been made with the laboratory employs 4,000 people (2,500 Medical Research Council. full-time equivalents) with an operating Weiss's main innovation at ICR has been budget of $110 million. "If we get the sup­ to expand basic research in cell and mole­ port for NCAM." Shirley said in an inter­ cular biology, which was poorly repre­ view here last week, "we can at best hold sented before 1980 and is the subject of the line." The problem is that the plan for important recent developments. With NCAM has come under attack. First, newly-refurbished laboratories, the Cell materials scientists complained that the and Molecular Biology Section is studying proposal was spirited into the President's human oncogenes and tumour viruses. I 984 budget without sufficient peer review. Plans are well advanced to supplement More recently, the House of Represen­ those studies with a major new unit tatives voted to kill all appropriations for devoted to the study of human leukaemia the project. and wholly supported by the Leukaemia Shirley presses his case for NCAM not Research Fund. Dr Mel Greaves, head of only as a salvation for LBL, but also as a the membrane immunology laboratory at model of "serious" efforts to respond to the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, is ex­ the criticisms of the national laboratories' pected to direct the new unit. lack of focus and inattention to national The main casualties of Weiss's restruc­ needs. "There is a tendency to lose sight of turing have been tumour immunology, the necessary coupling between support of which will continue but on a reduced scale, research by the federal government and the and radiobiology. Fundamental research EuROPE'S £175 million attempt to create requirement that research address national in this area has been discontinued, and the conditions for the thermonuclear needs. NCAM is meant to address these many of the staff have moved with Pro­ fusion of deuterium and tritium, the Joint problems -- I was not aiming to get a piece fessor G.E. Adams to the Medical European Torus or JET, circulated its first of an existing pie, I was aiming to get a big­ Research Council's radiobiology unit at plasma (of normal hydrogen) on Saturday ger pie", he said. Harwell. The teaching role of the institute, 25July. JET, a tokomak, is pictured above He added that critics of NCAM who as part of the British Postgraduate Medical towards the end of Its five-year construc­ claim that it was not peer-reviewed "don't Federation, has been strengthened with the tion, which was completed on time and understand the process by which research is appointment of Professor G. Westbury to "within a few per cent" of costs envisaged supported". He asked a rhetorical ques­ the newly-established chair of surgery. The in 1975, the JET team says. 0 tion of those critics: "Where were you Cancer Research Campaign has appointed when we were laying off 19 per cent of our

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work force? -that, by the way, was not would be created, which, said Lee the result of peer review". And he made no Schroeder, one of the Tevalac's attempt to hide his distaste for "members developers, could be studied to learn the Koestler's last laugh of the scientific community going after "thermodynamics" of quarks. This ex­ ARTHUR Koestler and his wife Cynthia, money with all the grace of hogs going after amination of bulk effects of quarks would who committed suicide together last truffles" . complement the "microscopic", single March, must have relished the prospect The final congressional decision on quark view that a proposed electron ac­ that their bequest to establish the first chair NCAM is still up in the air. The House of celerator will offer (see Nature 2 June, in parapsychology at a British university Representatives, after manoeuvrin~ that p.368). would set a cat among the academic first took $5 million away from NCAM for The Tevalac's proponents are hoping for pigeons. By last week, when news of the a laboratory at Catholic University (see an endorsement by the Nuclear Science Ad­ £500,000 bequest became known, no Nature 26 May, p.272), voted to delete all visory Committee (NSAC) when it meets university had grasped the nettle, but dis­ funds for construction from the 1984 ap­ on July 11-16 to draw up a five-year plan cussions were in progress with several. propriations. The Senate has voted to ap­ for nuclear physics. NSAC makes Koestler's last years were marked by an propriate $3 million, and the most likely recommendations to the Department of increasing fascination with parapsycho­ outcome of the House-Senate conference Energy and the National Science Founda­ logy, leading to two books on the subject. - expected to take place this week - is tion on priorities in the field. The Tevalac He wrote in his suicide note of his "timid some compromise between the two figures. will be vying with a proposal from Los hopes of a depersonalized afterlife". Now Another large project for which LBL has Alamos National Laboratory to upgrade it is up to Dr John Beloff, senior lecturer in high hopes is the Tevalac, a proposed its LAMF accelerator (the Los Alamos psychology at the University of Edinburgh relativistic heavy-ion accelerator. LBL's Meson Facility) from 800 MeV to 16 GeV in reputation was early staked to its excellence order to study rare decay modes of certain in nuclear physics. But over the years, as particles. Brookhaven, CERN and the the forefront of basic physics has passed to Gesellschaft fUr Schwerionenforschung in particle, or high-energy, physics, LBL has West Germany are also considering con­ been left on the sidelines because it has struction of relativistic heavy-ion never had one of the large high-energy ac­ machines. celerators. LBL planners say the Tevalac would not The Tevalac would recapture for nuclear require additional staff, as savings in per­ physics a piece of the action. As conceived sonnel would be realized by combining the in a plan drawn up late last year, it would operation centres of the present Superhilac extend the Bevalac concept - LBL's and Bevalac. The total cost of the Tevalac and the executor handling the Koestler be­ Bevalac last year became the first machine is put at some $30 million in research and quest, to persuade a university to take up to accelerate uranium nuclei - to energies development expenses and $100 million in the offer. Beloff is negotiating with several of 10 GeV per nucleon at uranium. Atthese construction. Schroeder said that the most universities, including those at Edinburgh energies, the nuclear physics experiment of optimistic scenario would have construc­ and Cambridge, but admits there have colliding nuclei yields a particle-physics tion begin in fiscal year 1986 and operation been difficulties. The terms of the bequest payoff: a plasma of quarks and gluons in 1990. Stephen Budiansky make it clear that it should fund research into parapsychology itself, rather than, for Clinch River fast breeder Congress in March. And the private sector example, thefactorsaffectingbeliefinsuch will probably continue to insist that the phenomena. Koestler left no instructions government safeguard the industry's in- about how the money should be used if ear­ The final blow? vestment by promising to repay it through lly research faDs to produce evidence of Washington the sale of electricity generated by the paranormal forces, and many universities THE roller-coaster fortunes of the Clinch plant. may be reluctant to accept the bequest if it River fast breeder reactor in Tennessee hit a By cutting off money for Clinch River at is tied to this field in perpetuity. If it proves new low last week when the Senate decided the end of the year, Congress is flying in the impossible to set up a chair, the terms of the to follow the example of the House of face ofthe Reagan Administration's policy bequest allow a number of research fellow­ Representatives and exclude money for the of continuing work under the existing ships to be established instead. project from its 1984 energy and water ap­ financial arrangements. The administra- Mr I Bloomfield of the KIB Foundation, propriations bill. Jubilant opponents of tion had requested $270 million for work a charity that Koestler helped to set up to Clinch River claim that this will finally kill on the reactor in 1984. fund research beyond scientific orthodoxy, the project unless the nuclear industry of­ Just what will happen at the reactor site has pledged to put the Interest from a sum fers to pay a much bigger share of the reac­ if there is no agreement between Congress equivalent to the Koestler bequest towards tor's cost. and the industry remains unclear. Senator the research of the proposed professor of Construction of the power plant is ex­ Mark Hatfield (Republican, Oregon) said parapsychology. Together with the pected to cost $3,500 million, compared last week that the Senate's intention was to Koestler bequest, this sum would enable a with an original estimate of around $700 bring all work on the site- including basic university to set up a unit of perhaps five or million. The industry contribution to the preparation of the ground - to a complete six workers. Dr Beloff will also be seeking project has remained steady at about $250 halt. But he warned that DOE might be research funds from the Parapsychology million despite the escalating costs. Con­ able to continue work if Congress was once Foundation in New York. No firm deci­ gress is expected to renew funding for the again forced to operate under a continuing sions have been taken on what facilities programme only if the private sector is will­ resolution. would be needed for the new unit, but ing to raise its contribution to some 40 per A spokesman for DOE confirmed that Beloff is looking for the offer of a cent of the overall costs and shoulder some the legal status of Clinch River is likely to laboratory and shared secretarial services, of the financial risk entailed. be ambiguous. Technically, the project re- perhaps within an existing psychology Although the Department of Energy mains authorized and there is no specific department. Disinterested academics may (DOE) was last week considering a new language in the appropriations bill declar- be invited to advise on the provision of financing proposal from the private sector, ing it suspended. If the project were indeed equipment. Dr Beloff hopes the chair will officials said the nuclear industry was allowed to die, he added, Congress would be established by October 1984. unlikely to offer much more than the $800 have to appropriate some money in 1984 to Tim Beardsley million proposed in a plan submitted to meet close-down costs. Peter David

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