CALL FOR DISCUSSION: MOLECULAR-REPERTOIRES/bionet.molecules.repertoires

[BIOSCI Administrator]

We have received a proposal below for a new newsgroup,

MOLECULAR-REPERTOIRES/bionet.molecules.repertoires

Discussion on the following proposal will now be open through 3 August
on BIOFORUM/bionet.general (*not* on BIONEWS/bionet.announce).  For
those who are not on the BIOFORUM/bionet.general newsgroup currently,
either read bionet.general on USENET or contact one of the following
biosci addresses to sign up by e-mail:

Subscription Address                 Location
--------------------                 --------
biosci at daresbury.ac.uk               Europe, Africa, and Central Asia
biosci at net.bio.net                   Americas and the Pacific Rim

One warning, however: BIOFORUM/bionet.general is a "chatty" newsgroup
and many other items will be discussed there besides this newsgroup
proposal.  USENET news access is definitely better than e-mail if you
want to monitor only this discussion.

Discussion Guidelines
---------------------
Please do not post one-line messages saying things like "I am in favor
of such a newsgroup".  We will collect votes later.  The discussion
period is an opportunity for anyone to bring up reservations about the
proposed charter below and to propose modifications prior to the vote.
If the charter is perfect as is, then there is no need for anyone to
say anything!!!

The newsgroup discussion leader may submit a revised proposal in light
of the discussion, and the new charter would be included in the call
for votes which will go out on 4 August (Newsgroup Discussion leaders -
please note this deadline - if no revisions are received before the
deadline, the original charter will be voted on.).

Please be aware that only one vote is counted per e-mail address, so
it is necessary to have your own account in order to vote.  Multiple
votes from the same address are not accepted.  If you are interested
in the following newsgroup, but do not have an e-mail address of your
own, please obtain one from your computer center before the call for
votes is issued.

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Proposal to establish MOLECULAR-REPERTOIRES/bionet.molecules.repertoires

Proposed USENET name:       	bionet.molecular.repertoires
			 
Proposed mailing list name:	molreps at net.bio.net
                                molreps at daresbury.ac.uk

Proposed discussion leader:	Andrew Wallace
                                wallace at irbm.it

Proposed newsgroup charter:

Molecular-Repertoires is to serve as a forum for all those who are
interested in the generation and use of large collections of molecules for
basic research and drug discovery. The interdisciplinary nature of this
rapidly-growing new research frontier raises the need for a means by which
investigators can communicate rapidly and easily across the boundaries
which normally define more discipline-specific areas of research. There is
currently no existing or proposed bionet newsgroup which acts as a specific
forum for scientists whose investigative efforts involve:

--Libraries of biological macromolecules (phage libraries, peptides,
  proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, etc.).

--Organic chemical combinatorial libraries (benzodiazepines, etc.).

--Development and adaptation of chemical reactions on solid-phase.

--Novel methods to analyse and generate molecular diversity.

--Screening of repertoires to identify molecules of interest.

--Techniques which make use of combinatorial methods in isolating specific
  ligands.


The newsgroup will have a different role from the other newsgroups on
biological molecules (bionet.proteins, bionet.glycosci,
methods-reagents, bionet.molecules.peptides, etc.) since it will
concentrate on the combinatorial chemical and biological aspects of such
molecules without being restricted to discussion of any particular
molecular type, hence the use of the term molecular repertoires or
"molreps" to avoid bias.

Formation of the newsgroup would provide:

--A forum for discussion of new ideas and recent developments in the
  various disciplines impinging on the field.

--A source of information for new participants.

--A bulletin board for announcements of meetings, funding sources and job
  opportunities, both for positions available and for persons seeking
  employment.

--A means of initiating collaboration among participants.

--Announcement of availability of novel reagents and other materials.

--A repository of practical advice and other information, including
  advances in relevant methodology.

--Identification of equipment and instrumentation for execution of 
  combinatorial chemistry.

All those with an interest in this exciting new field are encouraged to
participate in this newsgroup.  The newsgroup will be unmoderated.
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