A Message From The Editor Talk To Us From The Editor Welcome to Snapshots of Science and Medicine, a Web site for high school students and teachers dedicated to bringing cutting edge biomedical research into science classrooms. This site is a creation of the Office of Science Education of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. The effort is funded by the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health. Biomedical science today--both basic research and clinical application--is booming like never before. The findings pouring out of research laboratories, and the medical advances these findings create, will revolutionize medical care, and help people lead healthier, happier, lives. These advances will also have a deep impact on society as a whole, and present many difficult challenges as our social institutions adapt to this growing and powerful technology. And given how much is currently happening in biology and medicine, science students and teachers need a vehicle for bringing news and issues from the world of biomedicine into their science classrooms. We created Snapshots to be that vehicle. Right now, Snapshots has three main sections. Research in the News offers feature stories about new research findings, and how they fit into a larger scientific and social context. People Doing Science presents profiles of researchers and other professionals involved with biomedical science on the job. Stories of Discovery is our newest section. Each one tells the often surprising story of how a recent advance--a new drug, for example, or a fundamental new understanding of a scientific principle--actually came to be. Snapshots is Changing Snapshots will change dramatically in the coming months. It will be published three times during the school year, and each issue will focus on single area of research. We will add a fourth type of story, called Social Impact. This will be an interview with a nationally known bioethicist, outlining some of the social, ethical, and legal implications of the featured research. In addition, each issue will have a package of materials for teachers to help integrate smoothly Snapshots into the classroom, as well as a package of materials and activities for students. The schedule for the coming school year is: October 1, 1999 Xenotransplantation: Using Animal Parts for Human Transplants January 15, 2000 DNA Chip Technology: Biochemisty Meets the Silicon Chip April 15, 2000 Edible Vaccines: Engineering Fruit to Block Human Disease For more information, see the What's New section. To make this Web site work, we need your help. In particular, we need your feedback and suggestions for how to make the site more useful in science classrooms. So please browse around the site, use it in your classes, and, most important, write me at TaylorR1@od.nih.gov, or click on the Questions and Comment button that accompanies each story. We can't do this alone. And, again, welcome. Robert Taylor, Ph.D. Editor, Snapshots of Science & Medicine NIH Office of Science Education Talk To Us We want to hear from you. We need to know what you think of Snapshots, what you might want to see more of on the site, what works, what doesn't work, and features you would like to see added. So talk to us! We give you plenty of choices: Use our handy Questions & Comments form. E-mail Robert Taylor, the Snapshots editor, at TaylorR1@od.nih.gov. Write to Robert Taylor, the Snapshots editor, at: Office of Science Education, NIH 6100 Executive Blvd., Room 5H01 Rockville, MD 20892 Call us at 301-496-1725 Send a fax to 301-402-3034 It's your choice. But talk to us.