Hidden Wealth of Data in the Depths Story of an Obsession

book reviews ing or explanatory circumstances than the ocean currents, which could lead to a new ice distinguished DDR historian Hubert Laitko. age within 10–50 years, an unexpected sea- Connelly was born in 1960; Laitko was born level rise, a steady mean global temperature in 1935 and forced to retire in 1992. increase of 2 ºC or maybe nothing at all. Kristie Macrakis’s own two contribu- These uncertainties can only be overcome if tions reveal a predilection for the spectacu- interdisciplinary studies in ocean sciences lar: she notes with some disappointment, continue and the cooperation of biological in an interesting article on espionage and and physical oceanographers is reinforced. technology transfer, that real undercover The ocean’s currents can also distribute agents rarely have the fantastic adventures infectious diseases to humans who eat infect- that one associates with spying. She has ed shellfish, via pathogenic bacteria, viruses interviewed double agent Werner Stiller or toxic algal species. One wonders why these (from the Ministry of State Security — the hazards do not cause more problems in Stasi) and political celebrities such as the late coastal communities, especially in the trop- Politburo member Kurt Hager and the ics, which are by far the most vulnerable sites legendary chief of the Information Division, for health and climatic threats. Marcus Wolf. Public health problems arise most often in The authors are diverse not only in heavily urbanized coastal areas, where temperament, viewpoints and expectations, humans still tend to accumulate. This human but also in their approach to their subjects. behaviour enhances all potential hazards such Thus, a primarily sociological account of bio- as eutrophication effects, and concurrent medical research by Rainer Hohlfeld stands A multilingual toxic algal blooms. Without mitigation these next to Eckart Förtsch’s theoretical systems problems may even prove to be synergistic. presentation about science, higher education view of the sea New technologies within the framework and technology policy, based on the interac- of the Global Ocean Observing System tion of partial systems and on the structure Deep Water (Ellipsis, £16 UK/£19 (GOOS) enable us to improve our environ- and functions of apparatus. These contrasts international) by Julian Caldecott and Melanie mental observations of the oceans, which make the book readable and colourful. Salmon claims to be a celebration of the have lagged far behind those on land. In turn, The present volume can only provide a waterworld. The parasitic isopod shown above this will strongly improve the predictive first step, however, towards a more powerful is just one of many photographs in a book that capabilities of physical and biological opera- theoretical conception of the DDR’s role in is published in English with French and tional models. the larger system of science. Meanwhile it Spanish translations on each page. Furthermore, we know little as yet about challenges both east and west, despite all The book focuses on the need to protect the the extent of oceanic biodiversity. A wealth of their differences and disappointments, to sea’s fragile and inter-dependent ecosystems. It biological information still awaits us (as long continue the conversation. ■ is produced by the charity Living Earth, which as we control pollution) in the form of Petra Werner is in the Alexander von Humboldt works through hands-on education and grass- marine compounds, which may prove to be Research Group, Berlin-Brandenburgian Academy, roots action to help people to resolve local of medical and pharmaceutical use. Of Berlin, Germany environmental issues and issues concerned course, we have to start new research pro- with human development. All royalties grammes to deal with this information, but from the sale of the book will be used by there is a fascinating invisible world below Living Earth to fund marine-education the ocean surface. We’ve already reached the programmes. Moon; now it’s time to take a better look Hidden wealth of inside our oceans. ■ Franciscus Colijn and Sebastian Lippemeier are at data in the depths suited for every interested reader with a the Research and Technology Centre, Westcoast, From Monsoons to Microbes: background in natural sciences. 25761 Büsum, Germany. Understanding the Ocean’s Role in From Monsoons to Microbes ranges Human Health broadly from the ocean’s threats — natural by the Committee on the Ocean’s Role disasters, infectious diseases and toxic algal in Human Health, National Research blooms — to its possible benefits for Story of an Council humankind as a source of new medical and National Academy Press: 1999. pharmaceutical products, and of marine $34.95, £24.95, organisms which can be used as tools for bio- obsession Franciscus Colijn and chemical research. But the extent of humani- Prion Biology and Diseases Sebastian Lippemeier ty’s interactions with the oceans is immense: edited by Stanley B. Prusiner no book can cover more than a fraction of it. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: 1999. Many years ago, a good friend came out of This book makes you aware of the poten- 710 pp. $125, £??? the sea after a swim and looked disoriented. tial hazards, but also of the enormous impact Colin L. Masters Had he suffered Pfiesteria piscicida poison- the ocean has on our daily life. After all, our ing? In fact he had lost his spectacles, global climate is regulated by oceanic cur- By my count, this is the fifth time Stanley although nowadays you might pick up that rents and the little-understood interaction Prusiner has edited a multi-authored book toxic organism when you go swimming in between the ocean and the atmosphere. Cli- on the subject of his life-long obsession: the some US estuaries. But on the other hand, matic predictions depend on our knowledge prion, a proteinaceous–infectious particle the anti-cancer agent is collected from of such interactions. Recent studies have responsible for the transmissible spongi- marine organisms. These and various other documented that we do not have sufficient form encephalopathies (Creutzfeldt–Jakob aspects of humankind’s relation to the sea are insight into the regulatory mechanisms of disease (CJD) and kuru in humans; scrapie explored in this kaleidoscopic text, which is the oceans to predict potential alterations of and bovine spongiform encephalopathy

(BSE) of domesticated herbivores). Consid- cal chapters on methodologies (including very unified picture of the current state of ering that more than half of the 17 chapters insights into future therapeutic strategies), research. It is the best comprehensive are actually co-authored by Prusiner, this is antibody probes (which may prove essential overview of this field and is an ideal intro- the closest yet to a monograph from his labo- for future clinical tests) and biosafety issues. duction for anyone wishing to launch a ratory. And, it has to be admitted, the book is The latter area is now of immediate concern, career in prionology. Perhaps the major by far the most authoritative introduction since the general levels of ignorance about message would be that Prusiner achieved his and summary of the complex data that form the spread of CJD and BSE cause regulatory successes through outstanding collabora- the basis of our understanding of the molec- authorities to respond by containing the tors, most of whom are represented in the ular basis of this esoteric group of diseases. worst-case scenario, often with drastic book. ■ While the human forms of the diseases are financial implications. Colin L. Masters is in the Department of rare, their economic impact, particularly in Overall, the volume is virtually a mono- Pathology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, the United Kingdom, has been profound. graph by Prusiner, and as such presents a Victoria 3052, Australia. Moreover, their occurrence is now threaten- ing the normal operation of blood-transfu- sion services worldwide. Hence the need for Science in culture such an authoritative book. The prion field has been dogged by con- The Brain troversy, apparently the result of the long A theatre show from Forkbeard Fantasy which time it takes to generate reproducible scien- will be touring Britain from 6 December and tific data, given incubation periods that can throughout much of next year exceed 40 years. The discovery of the prion Bonnie Hurren & Robert Meech protein (designated PrPsc) in 1982 as the Making sense of The Brain, an experimental principal component of the infectious parti- performance from Forkbeard Fantasy, is like cle revolutionized and galvanized investiga- trying to make sense of the brain itself. Ronald tors. Prusiner recounts the background to C. James’s well-known photograph of a this, and takes us through the following criti- Dalmatian dog against a dappled background cal decade in which the surrogate properties reminds us just how easily the brain finds order of PrPsc (insolubility, resistance to proteoly- in a random world. In the world of Forkbeard sis, increased ȋ-sheet content, polymeriza- Fantasy, on the other hand, anarchy is created tion into amyloid fibrils) are elucidated. A effortlessly out of a high degree of order. The certain obfuscation remains over the issue of technical skill required to mount this mixed- prion rods and amyloid filaments; since the media performance is immense. Video minimal infectious unit has still not been machines, film projectors, neon lights, music, defined, and because it appears that neither an ‘intelligent’ lighting system, automated rods nor filaments are required for infectivi- smoke machines (to create a sensation of ty, this issue seems to be related to attribution smell) all work seamlessly to give the illusion of discovery. of chaos. While Prusiner and his collaborators The Brain was funded in part by an award have driven the research agenda of the mole- from the Wellcome Trust’s Science on Stage and But for all the chaos, there are themes. Smell cular basis of PrP infectivity, other indepen- Screen competition. The nine winners of this, is important in the narrative, as are bees and dent groups have complemented his efforts. the first year of the competition, each received phantom limbs. And behind all the fantasy there The nature of infectivity has been uncovered up to £36,000 (US$56,500) to develop a are important points about common largely through the application of transgen- production illuminating some aspect of medical oversimplifications made in the name of making esis to mice, including ablation studies that science. The Brain was written and directed by science entertaining. Forkbeard use ridicule as a prove beyond reasonable doubt that PrP Paul B. Davies, who has had considerable powerful weapon: how do you cure someone plays the central role in prionogenesis. success on the Edinburgh Fringe — the offbeat with a phantom limb? Answer: cut his head off. Interestingly, the recent discovery of a dupli- offshoot of Britain’s major arts festival — as well Much intelligence and wit have gone into the cated homologue of PrP may necessitate as on radio. production. Most of the ideas are well integrated some re-interpretation of these knockout “Logical thought has no vantage point from but a few seem shoehorned into place, which studies, although leaving the central which to observe its own workings,” according makes for a disjointed narrative. But then hypothesis intact. Studies in yeast by Reed to Davies in his programme notes, “but the narrative is the last thing on Forkbeard’s mind. Wickner and colleagues show that accessory imagination can propel the mind outside itself. Forkbeard acknowledge works by Richard chaperones (possibly the postulated ‘pro- … The Brain is one such acrobatic enterprise Gregory, Rita Carter, Susan Greenfield, V. S. tein X’ of mammalian prions) may facilitate and although we can’t pretend that it contains Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee, Marcel the conversion of a normal host-cell protein much real science, … modern scientific Proust and the children’s comic The Beezer. ■ into a pathogen. Many enigmas remain: knowledge about the brain is the springboard Bonnie Hurren is a freelance actor and director, c/o the topology of PrP in the cell membrane, from which we have launched it.” Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, 2 Downside Road, the mechanisms underlying nerve-cell The one cerebral moment in all the Clifton, Bristol BS8 2XF, UK. Robert Meech is in degeneration, the partial creation of de novo confusion is when Emil Toescu of Birmingham the Department of Physiology, University of infectivity in overexpressing mutant PrP in University (billed as neuroscience adviser to Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK. mice, and the failure yet to create infectivity Forkbeard Fantasy) appears on screen as a The Brain will have its final venue at the Natural in vitro. talking head to explain the neurophysiological History Museum, London, between 16 and 30 The emergence of BSE and then the threat basis of the sense of smell. He ends with a good September 2000. For performance details write to of an epidemic in humans caused by conta- joke, one of many good jokes during this 90- Forkbeard, PO Box 1241, Bristol BS99 2TG, UK. It mination of the food chain has assured the minute production. Look out for the one about is suitable for sophisticates seeking to nourish their future of intensive research of these diseases. that Dalmatian dog. inner child. The book closes with several helpful practi-