SUMMARY A method is described for isolating intracellular hyphae (IH, i.e. infection vesicles and primary hyphae) of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magn.) Briosi & Cav. from infected leaves‐of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). 1H were recovered from homogenates of infected leaves after filtration through a 45 μm nylon mesh and isopyenic centrifugation on Percoll. 1H were then affinity‐purified by immunomagnetic separation using Dynabeads coated with monoclonal antibody UB25, specific for IH surface glycoproteins. The method yielded 7 × 104 IH g‐1 f. wt leaf tissue, with 27% purity and 62% viability, as judged by staining with fluorescein diacetate. The Viability of isolated IH was confirmed by their ability to grow in nutrient medium and by the normal ultrastructure of their cytoplasm. The host plasma membrane and matrix layer which surround IH in planta were absent from isolated IH. Staining with lectins. Calcofluor and aniline blue showed that the walls of IH contain N‐acetylgalactosamine. α‐linked mannose residues and β‐linked polysaccharides, including‐chitin and β‐1,3‐glucans. Potential uses of the isolated IH are discussed.

The British pharmaceutical com-panyGlaxorecentlyrecruitedSirMarkRichmond, the former chairman of Britain's Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) to direct its research. The appointment raised eyebrows among those who thought he would return quietly to academic life. But Richmond is quick to point out that Glaxo faces remarkably similar challenges to those he confronted at the SERC. The company spends more than £800 million (US$1.2 billion) a year on research and development (R&D), more than any other British company. But like drug companies worldwide, this high level of spending on research is coming increasingly under the scrutiny of investors. Glaxo's current task is to focus its research on areas most likely to provide a basic understanding of the biological processes Sykes: clear message. on which its future prosperity depends. Richmond has joined Glaxo just as Sir Richard Sykes, the company's former research director who became chief executive officer last year, has launched a "back to basics" campaign to prepare Glaxo for the future. One of Sykes's first actions has been to reinforce Glaxo's image as a researchdriven company with a pipeline of innovative products, distancing himself from reports that the company was planning to diversifY into generic and over-the-counter drugs. At a time when patents on some ofGlaxo' s most profitable drugs are due to expire, Sykes sees this image as helping to inspire confidence among investors. "If we stick to what we are good at, there must be a customer base out there which is enormous and growing," says Sykes. "I firmly believe we are back on track." Sykes' renewed emphasis on science is more than just window-dressing. He has, for example, separated management responsibility for research and for development. Some have interpreted this as a means of protecting the company's science base, given the prospect that institutional investors may seek cuts in R&D spending. But Sykes says his goal is "to send a clear message that medical research is very critical to the future of this organization". He adds: "These activities are so different that no one person can take care of both." Sykes also confirms his desire to incorporate recent advances in molecular and cell biology into the base of Glaxo' s R&D strat-402

Japan placates fishermen after launch delay Tokyo. Japan's ambitions to become a major player in commercial space activities received a boost last Saturday (18 March) with the successful launch of two large payloads by its new H-Il rocket. The launch, which had been delayed several weeks because of technical problems, will heIp to restore confidence in the H-Il, which was dented by the failure of its second mission last August (Nature, 371, 92: 1995). The rocket successfully placed a geostationary weather satellite in transfer orbit. It also released a reusable orbital platform, the Space Flyer Unit (SFU), which has been designed to carry out various scientific experiments before being recaptured by the US space shuttle in November. The SFU, which cost ¥41.8 billion (nearly US$0.5 billion) to develop, is a huge joint mission involving three different government organizations, and thus represents a rare example of collaboration in research between different arms of the government.

US science education reforms 'still lack proper evaluation' Washington. Ten years ago, a national report found that the United States was in danger of losing its competitive edge over other nations if action was not taken to improve its educational policy. A new report has found that although the government has made some headway in strengthening its role in science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) education, much remains to be done. The report, published last week under the title The Federal Investment in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education: Where Now? What Next? warns that the nearly 300 federally funded core programmes in these fields continue to be burdened by a lack of coordination, evaluation and accountability. "Unfortunately, much of what was called for in that earlier report remains unfinished", says Karl S. Pister, chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-chair of the new report's IS-member panel. The panel was convened by the committee on education and human resources (recently renamed the committee on education and training) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, or FCCSET. Federal government spending in the area of evaluation was found to be woefully inadequate: funding for this activity constitutes less than one-half of one per cent (or US$8 million) of the US$2.2 billion spent as a whole by the 13 federal agencies that operate core SMET educational programmes. Only one in five programmes has been fully evaluated; almost half have been neither evaluated nor monitored. Given the present climate of fiscal belt-tightening, the federal government can no longer afford the luxury of "investing in programmes that don't work", says Mary Budd Rowe, a professor of science education at Stanford University, and co-chair of the panel. Although much of what is contained in the report is not new, one of its main recommendations is that federal agencies with programmes in SMET education should view and manage those programmes much like any "portfolio of investments". As such, the panel says agencies should place greater emphasis on coupling an assessment of educational needs to the unique capabilities of the various agencies. Furthermore, the panel says that programmes must be evaluated more rigorously and the information "marketed" more aggressively so that teachers, students and researchers are kept abreast of new research findings and are better informed about the availability of new educational materials.

Plans by the British government to privatize AEA Technology, the science and engineering division of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), took the next step forward last week with the publication of the Atomic Energy Authority Bill. No decisions have been taken on the precise form that the privatization will take. "The bill deliberately leaves a number of options open so that we can make decisions nearer the time of sale," says Richard Page, the parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department of Trade and Industry. In welcoming the bill, Sir Anthony Cleaver, the chief executive of AEA Technology said it will give the company freedom to expand its commercial activities. But the move is being disputed by labour unions representing UKAEA staff, because they say it will lead to further cuts in research and technical staff that have already dramatically reduced the scientific capabilities of what has been Britain's main nuclear research and development organization since 1954. Last year, the UKAEA, was formerly split into two as part of a long-promised privatization strategy. The UKAEA Government Division, will remain a government authority for nuclear facilities. The other, AEA