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In the midst of the stampede to theInternet by the general public, a growingnumber of research scientists areworking on computer networkapplications likely to profoundlyaffect the way science is con-ducted in the coming years.Bruce R. Schatz, one of thenew breed of cyberscientistsand the author of a recentarticle about the Internet,writes: "The revolution of the Net is justbeginning."

Among the scientific network activitiesare two promising "virtual laboratories,"cyberspaces where scientists from remotelocations meet to conduct research, discussdata, and reach conclusions. TheseInternet tools, called collaboratories andBioMOOs, are made possible by intercon-nected computer networks.

In 1993, referring to the concept ofcollaboratories, a National ResearchCouncil report noted that tying togethercomputing and networking technologyoutside computer science was not new.What was new, the report said, was "theidea that various tools and technologiescan be integrated to provide an environ-ment that enables scientists to make moreefficient use of scientific resources wherev-er they are located."

In fact, the Internet's early purpose inthe 1960s was to link a U.S. DefenseDepartment network called the AdvancedResearch Projects Agency Network(ARPAnet) with a variety of other radioand satellite networks. In the 1980s,Ethernet local area networks were devel-oped to allow computers at a single site toconnect to a time-sharing computer site.These capabilities were expanded toinclude access to the ARPAnet. In the late1980s, the National Science Foundationcreated five supercomputer centers atmajor universities to provide resources forscholarly research. Because researchers notlocated at these universities needed to tapthese resources, the Internet was futherdeveloped, and these five centers currently

the Intern(

act as the hubs for the Internet. Thus,

the development of networking toolsthat make the collaboratory and theBioMOO possible is the logical extension

of these early and continuing efforts.

Collaboratories

The mention of a collaboratory, a "centerwithout walls," was first made in 1989.That initial computer network collabora-tion led to the creation of TCP/IP, a set ofdata communications protocols that serve as

the critical foundation of the Internet.Through advances in computer networktechnology, accelerated by the productiveuse of the Internet among scientists,researchers, and engineers, this vision of 21stcentury science conducted in a laboratorywithout physical limits is nearing reality.

One example of a collaboratory is theEnvironmental and Molecular SciencesLaboratory (EMSL) program at the PacificNorthwest Laboratory (PNL) in Richland,Washington. This project will bringtogether nearly 250 experts from many sci-entific disciplines to help solve the nation'senvironmental problems. The site of thecollaboratory will contain advanced equip-ment allowing scientists to performresearch and development activities on

contaminated soils and groundwater; waste

analysis, processing, and storage; andhuman and ecological health effects. Thedata gathered in the EMSL will then beshared electronically with national andinternational scientific communities.

One of the leaders in the virtual laborato-ry movement is Richard T. Kouzes, a nudearphysicist in the Computer and InformationSciences Program at the PNL who spear-headed the EMSL. For Kouzes, a collabora-tory is a "meta-laboratory that spans multiplegeographical areas with collaborators inter-

acting via electronic means."A collaboratoryserves a fourfold purpose: it

allows close ties amongscientists in a specificresearch area, it encour-ages collaborationsamong scientists indifferent areas, itspeeds the evolutionand distribution ofbasic knowledge, andit reduces the timebetween discovery andpractical use.

Kouzes says that a collaboratory couldsuccessfully address the problem of how tointegrate the roles of specializedresearchers from many fields at remotesites while avoiding unnecessary duplica-tion and unguided efforts.

In a paper he prepared with colleagues,Kouzes outlined the key elements in devel-oping a collaboratory. Beyond the obviousissues of the cost and acquisition of com-puter and communications technology arepsychosocial issues as well as the educationof users and potential users. "The majorityof scientists in the United States are isolat-ed," says Kouzes. "The collaboratory rep-resents an opportunity to remove that iso-lation and replace it with a teamworkapproach to problem solving."

A number of ongoing collaborations inseveral different scientific communities areusing this teamwork approach. For exam-ple, molecular biologists are pooling theirknowledge of gene sequences and genemaps into large databases which can beaccessed by scientists all over the world.Likewise, space physicists and oceanogra-phers are compiling information on cli-mate to be used by a broad range ofresearchers.

To connect to a collaboratory, a re-searcher requires Internet connectivity,which can be purchased at comparativelyminimal cost. Many institutions, includ-ing universities and government laborato-ries, enjoy high-speed connections whichallow the movement of audio and video as

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well as text data to occur almost sponta-neously with commands for their retrieval.

Access to the site where Kouzes keepshis information, for example, occurs byconnecting to a World Wide Web server, apopular process for distributing informa-tion over the Internet. Using a graphicsuser interface browser called Mosaic (theyalso carry names like Netscape, Cello,WinWeb, Tapestry, and BookLink), aresearcher can view graphics, hear sounds,see movies, and read text.

When the first, or home, page of thecollaboratory appears, titled "Collaboratoryfor Environmental and Molecular Science,"a picture of Borromean rings, three sym-metric, interlocking rings, appears in theupper left corner of the computer screen.The rings symbolize the collaboratory con-cept: removing one destroys the synergismof the whole, representing the symbioticnature of collaborative work.

The text consists of a menu of choiceslinking the user to other data items, suchas text files or graphics. The items are cate-gorized as collaboratory developments,other places of interest, collaboratoryimages, PNL collaboratory collaborations,and PNL collaboratory team. Most of theteam names are linked to documentswhich provide professional and personalinformation, including pictures.

Other examples of collaboratories canbe found at SandiaNational Laboratories,the Dendrome, whichhouses research onmolecular genetics offorest trees, and theUpper AtmosphericResearch Collabor-atory, a joint ventureof researchers in upperatmospheric and spacephysics, computer sci-ence, and behavioralscience.

BioMOOsThe BioMOO, a vir-tual biology centerthat originated at theWeizmann Instituteof Science in Israel,represents a differentapproach to scientificcollaboration. Lessresource intensive,BioMOOs originallyrelied on communica-tions using a specifictype of Internet con-nection called telnet

user dimensions) and MOOs (multipleuser dimensions, object oriented).Basically, MOO is a computer programthat allows numerous users to connectsimultaneously and interact personally andwith the program.

The BioMOO was developed byGustavo Glusman, a graduate student atthe Weizmann Institute. BioMOO wasopened to the scientific community inNovember 1993 as virtual meeting placeand has now attracted over 700 registeredmembers worldwide. According to theWeizmann Institute, a growing number ofbiologists from four continents regularlyvisit the site to meet colleagues. Among thesubjects of their real-time discussions arenew ways of fighting disease and hunger,protecting the environment, and harness-ing alternative sources of energy.According to the BioMOO FAQ (fre-quently asked questions, an electronicallyaccessible document containing a series ofbasic Q&As for the new user), BioMOO isnow connected to the Globewide NetworkAcademy and allows biologists to meet col-leagues and brainstorm, hold colloquia andconferences over the Internet, and explorethe serious side of this new medium.

Users access the BioMOO via theInternet by making a telnet connection tobioinfo.weizmann.ac.il 8888 (URL:tel-net://bioinfo.weizmann.ac.il:8888/). Upon

entering the system, you must registereither as a guest or with your name and apassword, given at your initial visit. Onceinside, the emphasis is on exploring byissuing commands; for example, "help"returns an index of topics.

Once inside you can wander, pausingto view the BioMOO 24-hour PosterSession. This represents a new addition tothe original BioMOO, with the conversa-tional MOO now tied to a World WideWeb server-a Web-MOO link-thatallows the presentation of high-resolutionstill images, movies, and sounds. AlthoughPoster Session is currently somewhat awk-ward and limited to those with the neces-sary equipment, it signals the direction thatthis technology is moving.

On the web server at the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, where images foruse in BioMOO can be housed, is theimage of a biologist attaching images toBioMOO objects in order to present a full-color slide presentation to colleagues atremote locations. As the document notes,"You can give a seminar with pictures,build a microscope with color slides, showpeople what your office in BioMOO lookslike, and more."

The sophisticated program is surpris-ingly user friendly. To see the room you arein, type the word "look." To receive infor-mation about the objects around you, type

and a program basedon MUDs (multiple

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"look" and the name of the object, such astable. To get more details, you would type"examine." To learn the identity of othersconnected, you would type "who." Finally,to leave the system, you type "@quit."

Researchers are rapidly adaptingBioMOO as a tool for their own specificstudies. For example, researchers can sendgene sequence data to major sequence data-bases to search for matches; a colony of vir-tual mice is being developed that can beanesthetized, dissected, and inspected; andelectronic poster sessions with workingmodels on topics such as gene transcription,DNA replication, and other cell functionsare being developed. Glusman's latest pro-ject is the establishment of the GNA-Lab, aMOO dedicated to the development of thetools needed to create a virtual campus forthe Globewide Network Academy.

The FutureConsidering how novel the notion of col-laboratory is and how fast people can learnthe technology (Glusman started exploringthe Internet for the first time in March1993) the range of possible uses of theInternet among researchers seems endless.However, there are a number of issues thatdemand attention, which Kouzes is quick tocite. For example, there is the need to edu-cate users on how to navigate the Internet,whose loose structure remains a majorstumbling block. There are also the psy-

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But researchers are also innovators.Kouzes mentions an example where cam-eras were mounted in the coffee rooms attwo remote sites. Researchers sitting ateither site could converse using the moni-tor and sound system. They even held aChristmas party simultaneously, viewing itacross the television screen.

What collaboratories and BioMOOsmake clear, even at their present stage ofdevelopment, echoes the words of WalterGilbert, when he encouraged his colleaguesin 1991 to learn computer technology:"We must hook our individual computersinto the worldwide network that gives usaccess to daily changes in the database andalso makes immediate our communica-tions with each other."

John S. Makulowich

John S. Makulowich is a freelance journalist inNorth Potomac, Maryland.

Learning Disabilities Association of America Preconference symposiumTwin Towers, Orlando, FL

Thyroid Function and Learning Disabilities March 1,1995The prudence of the practice of monitoring maternal thyroid status dur-ing pregnancy was confirmed again recently at the National Institutesof Health. Outcome in cases of gross maternal/fetal thyroid malfunc-tion are well known. Co-sponsors are the American College ofObstetrics and Gynecology, the American Thyroid Association and theNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This symposium ~ 'will focus on less obvious maternal thyroid dysfunction and subtlerlearning and behavior outcomes. State-of-the-art data on resistance tothyroid hormone, as implicated in ADHD, and on environmental neuro-toxins known to affect the developing endocrine system will be fea-tured on posters.X

Topics will include:Thyroid hormones and the brain: an intricate relationshipEstimated prevalence of thyroid deficiency during pregnancyMonitoring thyroxine replacement therapyRole of maternal and fetal thyroid; hormones in fetal neuronal

development ',Lessons from long term effects of L-thyroxine therapy for 4 4

congenital hypothyroidism

For information contact:Jean Petersen, LIDA Office .44 4

4156 Library PlacePittsburgh, PA 15234

(412) 341-1515

150 Environmental Health Perspectives