Articles in 1999

In genomic imprinting, one copy of a gene is switched off depending on whether it came from the father or mother. One explanation centres on the competing interests of the two parents. Another now brings in sex-associated differences in the offspring.

Contaminant transport in ground water is a contentious issue — especially when it comes to possible movement of radionuclides from nuclear test sites or storage facilities. Analyses carried out in Nevada now implicate colloids in the movement of plutonium from a nuclear detonation site. The case, however, has yet to be clinched, and the broader interest in this example lies in the questions it raises about identifying colloid-associated transport in general.

MUNICH

European donor countries are becoming more receptive to funding research in developing countries, believing it to be a fundamental component of economic success.

Many plants rely on herbivores to disperse their seeds. The plants present the seeds in a bright, tasty packaging, tempting herbivores to eat them. But what happens if the herbivore is then eaten by a predator? A study of fruit-eating lizards in the Canary Islands suggests that viable seeds can be ingested by the predator and taken on to new locations.

Plants have developed many mechanisms to fend off invaders, but the bugs are fighting back. In a series of reports, several groups describe how a viral protein, the helper component protease, is able to paralyse a plant defence mechanism that normally acts against viruses.

PARIS

Despite initial pessimism, the Internet promises to help spur a renaissance of science and technology in poorer countries.

washington

Leading US research universities are to set up new institutes that will enable physical and biomedical scientists to work collaboratively.

The life cycle of corals combines a dispersal, larval phase with a sedentary, adult phase. Larvae must find somewhere to settle down, and this process is termed recruitment. In the most comprehensive study yet, carried out on the Great Barrier Reef, one group has shown that recruitment rates vary substantially in various parts of the reef, and do not tally with adult abundances.

The need to place scientific knowledge at the heart of economic and social policy has underlined some of the limitations of focusing on trade liberalization. Developing countries should be a prime beneficiary.

WASHINGTON

International scientific collaboration has never been a higher priority for the United States, if public pronouncements by the leaders of the US scientific establishment are anything to go by.

How strong is the bond formed between a protein and its ligand? Individual protein-ligand pairs can be pulled apart experimentally, and the force required to do so measured using atomic force microscopy. But, according to a new study, that's not the end of the story — the strength of the bond may also depend on how hard and fast you pull.

LONDON

After five decades of helping poor countries to liberalize their economies, a new phrase has entered World Bank jargon: 'knowledge development'.