In order for a sample to be analyzed by mass spectrometry, it must be vaporized and ionized. That's a tall order for high molecular weight, nonvolatile substances - the kind commonly encountered in biological systems. Our cover illustrates schematically one effective way to volatilize such samples: Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization or MALDI. Beginning on page 1288, Muddiman, Bakhtiar, Hofstadler, and Smith describe the applications of this relatively new technique in which a laser pulse knocks tiny chunks of material from the surface of a solid matrix. Because most of the laser energy is absorbed by the matrix molecules, the molecules of interest can be vaporized without being destroyed and then analyzed by a mass spectrometer. Both MALDI and its complementary technique, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, are particularly useful in biochemistry.

In addition to the MALDI paper, biochemists will be interested in several other papers in this issue. Jones describes an upper-level undergraduate experiment on protein folding in our Concepts in Biochemistry feature (page 1306). Two of the illustrations from her paper are on this page. Pétursson discusses the use of protecting groups in syntheses involving carbohydrates beginning on page 1297; some of these reactions may be involved in the biotechnology of the future. Qualitative analysis of carbohydrates provides an interesting experiment for students who plan majors in agriculture, medicine, and other biology-related fields. On page 1304 Malherbe and Meyer describe such an experiment. Many biological molecules exhibit interesting acid-base behaviors, and these effects can affect the rate of absorption of drugs, for example. Using Ciprofloxacin as an example, Hernàndez-Borrell and Montero (page 1311) describe an experiment in which potentiometry and spectrophotometry are combined to obtain the concentrations of protonated, deprotonated, and two zwitterion forms of a molecule. Addison deals with bioinorganic chemistry on page 1354, describing how electron-counting rules can be used to predict whether metal-NO bonds are linear or bent.

Next year is the 75th year of the Journal of Chemical Education. This Journal began publication in 1924 under the editorship of Neil Gordon, and in 1998 we will celebrate all year long (page 1276). Part of that celebration will be associated with initiation of JCE Online+ (page 1273) and JCE CD (page 1272 and 1376A). Beginning in our 75th year, all editorial content of this Journal will be available via an online subscription. It will also be collected annually on a CD that will be available several weeks after the December issue is published. Please join us in these new electronic media. We hope you will find them useful and look forward to your comments.

Education standards and national examinations have garnered extensive media coverage during the past few months. The ACS Committee on Professional Training has for many years set standards for programs that grant bachelors degrees in chemistry. Recently CPT surveyed the status of graduate programs, with the results reported by Mohrig on page 1260. A preliminary analysis of these data was part of the ACS Presidential Event "Graduate Education in Chemistry-Are Changes Needed?" at the Orlando ACS meeting last fall. Community colleges are major players in higher education, and on page 1264, Smith, a senior policy consultant in the U.S. Department of Education, gives a federal perspective on colleges that enroll a sizable fraction of first- and second-year students. Russell (page 1268) describes a symposium at the recent ACS meeting in Las Vegas devoted to systemic change in undergraduate chemistry education, and Robinson (page 1265) summarizes a paper from the Journal of Research in Science Teaching that indicates that biology teachers are also dealing with issues of how students can be helped to restructure their conceptual models about nature.

The many factual and conceptual errors quoted from news media by Toby (page 1285) are strong indicators that better conceptualization and deeper understanding are certainly needed - as is healthy skepticism, on the part of students who leave our courses, about things read, seen, and heard. To help strengthen these skills, Lopéz-Garriga and co-workers use Science on Wheels to bring chemistry to students and teachers in grades 7-12 (page 1346).

On a historical note, Craig reports that Charles Martin Hall's discovery of the electrochemical process for extracting aluminum from its ore was designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the ACS on September 17 of this year (page 1269).