ANTI-NARCOTIC 'BOMBS' DEVELOPED BY BGU SCIENTIST

A Ben-Gurion University expert on chemical technology has been "drafted" by
anti-narcotics officials in the US Department of Agriculture to help knock
out poppy fields in Colombia. Dr. Arye Marcus, a researcher with an
international reputation in the development of herbicides and pesticides,
was called in after spraying conventional herbicides from the air failed.

The heroin poppies had been planted on a hillside, requiring the American
pilots to fly in up-and-down movements. Consequently, winds exposed other
fields to the herbicides, and sharpshooters who wanted to protect the
poppies tried to shoot down the light planes (inspired by a $ 1 million
reward for hitting each plane).

The US officials, realizing they had to change their strategy, summoned
Marcus to the Department of Agriculture's research labs in Washington,
according to a report in the July issue of Alef, Bet, Gimmel, BGU's
Hebrew-language newsletter. The Beersheba scientist presided over the
production of granules containing high concentrations of herbicides, a
technology that he developed.

The granules were packed into special tiny containers, each no bigger than
two or three millimeters in diameter. These "plant bombs" will be loaded
onto the spraying planes for use at a future date.

Marcus said he worked on the project for two years, and that trial
sprayings on fields in Hawaii were very successful. "Our technique enables
us to reduce significantly the amount of spraying, and to do it vertically
without exposing the pilots to as much danger. I have reason to believe
that the drug barons in South American will not share our happiness."

R&D SHORTCHANGED

Finance Ministry allocations for regional research and development must be
tripled, insists Science Minister Matan Vilna'i. Speaking at a recent
conference at the Neveh Ilan guest house outside Jerusalem, Vilna'i said
that the government's 30 percent reduction in investments for R&D has
directly harmed the chance for growth in the region and the integration of
excellent scientists - including immigrants and minorities - in research
that is economically, nationally, and socially important.

While his ministry is currently able to allocate only NIS 6 million a year
to this purpose, tripling that amount - with Treasury help - could secure
the link between research centers in the center and those in the periphery,
he said.

There are now eight R&D centers and three more under construction. They
deal with regional fields such as environment, agriculture, and society.
Their budgets total NIS 19 million, of which only half comes from the
government and the rest from outside investors.

Ministry director-general Nahman Shai said that the 30 percent cut brought
the centers "below the red line" and endangered their functioning.

FLOWERING GENES

There is intensive interest not just in human genes: An international team
led by the Hebrew University's Dr. Alon Samach has identified genes that
regulate the flowering of plants. This breakthrough, recently published in
Science, is significant in its potential application for control of the
flowering of plants according to desired seasons, or in increasing the
productivity of floral plants.

Samach, of the HU Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality
Sciences in Rehovot, carried out this work while working as a postdoctoral
fellow in Dr. George Coupland's group at the John Innes Center in Norwich,
UK. He collaborated with scientists from the University of California at
San Diego, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

A key element in flowering is the ability of plants to regulate the timing
of that process in accordance with the best possible environmental
conditions. Scientists around the world have made great efforts to identify
the mechanisms by which plants accomplish this, and their use of genetic
engineering techniques has given research a boost.

The research group led by Samach used the Arabidopsis plant as a model to
discover the genes involved in flowering and to understand how they are
triggered by factors such as temperature and hours of available light. This
plant's small size and its relatively low number of genes makes it
convenient to use. Arabidopsis flowers react to optimal daylight time, a
process involving a gene called Constans.

The researchers learned that Constans promotes flowering by activating four
"target genes" that set the flowering process into action. These genes
constitute the essence of the flowering response, responding to genes
involved in interpreting other environmental and internal stimuli.

The researchers also discovered that by raising the quantity of the protein
produced by one of the target genes (SOC1) in the plant, they can create a
transgenically engineered plant with accelerated flowering.

Samach said that the team's work is significant in increasing understanding
of the flowering process and in aiding efforts towards controlling and
directing flowering, a factor with important economic consequences in
agriculture.