“To attend a Karajan performance with his orchestra was to see an entire orchestra playing with the passion of a solo musician. The musicians moved as one, the tips of the string players' bows rising and falling with the miraculous exactitude. Technically, the musicians were close to perfection. In later years Karajan conducted with his eyes closed. Since a conductor's eyes are his foremost means of communicating with his musicians—more important than the beating of time—it was as if Karajan wanted to show how completely his orchestra was in his thrall.” (

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Chlamydia trachomatis remains an important infectious agent for ophthalmologists since it is responsible for conjunctivitis and trachoma (the most common preventable cause of blindness worldwide). Now scientists at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Rocky Mountain Laboratories have found a gene in chlamydia that produces a toxin responsible for an array of chronic illnesses. The investigators have concluded that C trachomatis produces a toxin that collapses protein scaffolding inside cells. This raises hope for the development of new treatments such as anti-toxin vaccines. (

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The number of authors cited for scientific papers seems to be increasing. The question is often asked if all of those credited really substantially contributed to the work. Richard Horton, …