Opinion

Declaration for AIDS sufferers p1

A declaration about HIV as the cause of AIDS should be accepted and thus bring an end to a tragic debate in South Africa.

doi:10.1038/35017702

Full Text | PDF (46K)

Los Alamos deserves better p1

The US Congress has turned the Los Alamos National Laboratory into a political pawn. The damage done will take a long time to rectify. Despite their mistakes, the national defence laboratories need far greater support from their country's leaders.

doi:10.1038/35017746

Full Text | PDF (46K)

News

African scientists join colleagues in affirming HIV's role in AIDS... p3

Michael Cherry

doi:10.1038/35017704

Full Text | PDF (118K)

...but advisory panel remains divided p3

Michael Cherry

doi:10.1038/35017707

Full Text | PDF (118K)

Royal Society warns on hormone disrupters p4

Natasha Loder

doi:10.1038/35017709

Full Text | PDF (103K)

Study compares chimps and people p4

Robert Triendl

doi:10.1038/35017711

Full Text | PDF (103K)

NIH urged to cap profits made on publicly funded research p5

Colin Macilwain

doi:10.1038/35017714

Full Text | PDF (154K)

Indian space agency sets its sight on a mission to the Moon p5

K. S. Jayaraman

doi:10.1038/35017717

Full Text | PDF (154K)

Good news for German genome research... p6

Alison Abbott

doi:10.1038/35017720

Full Text | PDF (123K)

...but proposed panel may hamper Italian gene researchers p6

Alison Abbott

doi:10.1038/35017723

Full Text | PDF (123K)

Self-policing backed for research on humans p7

Colin Macilwain

doi:10.1038/35017725

Full Text | PDF (84K)

Austrian physics meeting passes without boycott p7

Quirin Schiermeier

doi:10.1038/35017728

Full Text | PDF (84K)

New law threatens to undermine genetics in New Zealand p8

Peter Pockley

doi:10.1038/35017730

Full Text | PDF (173K)

Galileo set for suicide flight p8

Heather McCabe

doi:10.1038/35017732

Full Text | PDF (173K)

Astronomers fight to save telescope p8

Rex Dalton

doi:10.1038/35017735

Full Text | PDF (173K)

News in brief p9

doi:10.1038/35017737

Full Text | PDF (98K)

News Feature

Will souped up salmon sink or swim? p10

A company in Massachusetts is seeking permission to market salmon genetically modified to grow faster than normal. Tony Reichhardt explores the potential ecological risks, should the fish escape from salmon farms.

Tony Reichhardt

doi:10.1038/35017657

Full Text | PDF (680K)

Correspondence

How can we build a 'knowledge economy' if research is handcuffed? p13

Jack A. Heinemann

doi:10.1038/35017740

Full Text | PDF (51K)

Climate-change analysis has been changing too p13

John B. Robinson and Stewart J. Cohen

doi:10.1038/35017742

Full Text | PDF (51K)

Unrealistic promises on AIDS fuel scepticism p13

Dan Dorritie

doi:10.1038/35017744

Full Text | PDF (51K)

Commentary

The Durban Declaration p15

HIV causes AIDS. Curbing the spread of this virus must remain the first step towards eliminating this devastating disease.

doi:10.1038/35017662

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (337K) | Supplementary information

Book Reviews

A call for a chlorine sunset p17

The hazards of organochlorines require that they be eliminated.

Terry Collins reviews Pandora's Poison: On Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy by Joe Thornton

doi:10.1038/35017622

Full Text | PDF (241K)

Sexual trade-offs p18

A. H. Harcourt reviews Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm Competition and Sexual Conflict by Tim Birkhead

doi:10.1038/35017625

Full Text | PDF (224K)

Mate now, meal later p19

doi:10.1038/35017628

Full Text | PDF (134K)

Misplaced nostalgia for a bygone era? p19

Daniel S. Greenberg reviews Between Politics and Science: Assuring the Productivity and Integrity of Research by David H. Guston

doi:10.1038/35017631

Full Text | PDF (134K)

Turning the key to an adolescent talent p20

John L. Casti reviews In Code: A Mathematical Journey by Sarah Flannery and David Flannery

doi:10.1038/35017633

Full Text | PDF (92K)

Just follow the instructions p20

doi:10.1038/35017635

Full Text | PDF (92K)

Millennium Essay

Epistemology engines p21

An antique optical device has powered several centuries of scientific thought.

Don Ihde

doi:10.1038/35017666

Full Text | PDF (220K)

Futures

The abdication of Pope Mary III p23

...or, Galileo's revenge...

Robert J. Sawyer

doi:10.1038/35017698

Full Text | PDF (120K)

News and Views

Schrödinger's cat is now fat p25

Schrödinger's dead-and-alive cat was a thought experiment applying the physics of electrons and atoms to our macroscopic world. New experiments with superconductors narrow the gap between theoretical ideas and reality.

Gianni Blatter

doi:10.1038/35017670

Full Text | PDF (119K)

Signal transduction: A cellular rescue team p26

A protein called glycogen synthase kinase-3 is already known to participate in early embryonic development and cell-fate determination. Now it seems that the protein is also involved in a cell's decision to live or die.

Joel L. Pomerantz and David Baltimore

doi:10.1038/35017673

Full Text | PDF (570K)

100 and 50 years ago p27

doi:10.1038/35017676

Full Text | PDF (106K)

Theoretical physics: Why trapped atoms are attractive p29

Bose-Einstein condensates - ultracold atoms that share the same quantum state - were first created in 1995. Since then, techniques have improved to the extent that theorists now dream of using condensates to model physical systems such as black holes and galaxy clusters.

James Anglin

doi:10.1038/35017678

Full Text | PDF (533K)

Plant biology: An unbearable beating by light? p30

Concern over depletion of the ozone layer in part centres on the possible consequences of more ultraviolet radiation reaching Earth's surface. One such outcome may be increased mutation rates in some species of plants, but the research concerned will need to be followed up with more detailed studies.

Anne B. Britt

doi:10.1038/35017681

Full Text | PDF (142K)

Aquatic ecology: Phosphorus, the staff of life p31

Studies of lakes in North America reveal that concentrations of phosphate, an essential nutrient for aquatic microorganisms, are 100-1,000 times lower than estimated with conventional techniques. Among the implications are the possible need to rethink nutrient dynamics in both freshwater and marine ecosystems..

David M. Karl

doi:10.1038/35017683

Full Text | PDF (154K)

Molecular nanostructures: Growth in the fast lane p31

A new technique for growing nanostructures on a silicon surface combines accuracy and speed. The end product is a straight line of organic molecules, which may one day be used as molecular wires.

Vincent Dusastre

doi:10.1038/35017686

Full Text | PDF (154K)

Population biology: Parasites take control p33

Parasites can it seems stabilize and regulate populations of their hosts, but it has proved tough to find evidence of the process in natural conditions. An example now comes from analysis of a finch population in the United States, which has become infected by a bacterium causing eye disease.

Richard D. Gregory and Peter J. Hudson

doi:10.1038/35017688

Full Text | PDF (111K)

Daedalus: Green smelters p34

Putting plants to work for 'bioremediation' of contaminated land is this week's scheme. Certain plants can tolerate - and accumulate - high concentrations of metals. With some nifty genetic engineering, Daedalus reckons the process can be geared up not only for environmental purposes but for metal production as well.

David Jones

doi:10.1038/35017692

Full Text | PDF (88K)

Brief Communications

Detection of preinvasive cancer cells p35

Early-warning changes in precancerous epithelial cells can now be spotted in situ.

V. Backman, M. B. Wallace, L. T. Perelman, J. T. Arendt, R. Gurjar, M. G. Müller, Q. Zhang, G. Zonios, E. Kline, T. McGillican, S. Shapshay, T. Valdez, K. Badizadegan, J. M. Crawford, M. Fitzmaurice, S. Kabani, H. S. Levin, M. Seiler, R. R. Dasari, I. Itzkan, J. Van Dam and M. S. Feld

doi:10.1038/35017638

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (133K)

Enzymology: Degradation of plant cell walls by a nematode p36

Herman Popeijus, Hein Overmars, John Jones, Vivian Blok, Aska Goverse, Johannes Helder, Arjen Schots, Jaap Bakker and Geert Smant

doi:10.1038/35017641

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (132K)

Bacterial metabolism: Phosphite oxidation by sulphate reduction p37

Bernhard Schink and Michael Friedrich

doi:10.1038/35017644

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (212K)

Progress

Inspiration for optimization from social insect behaviour p39

E. Bonabeau, M. Dorigo and G. Theraulaz

doi:10.1038/35017500

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (148K)

Letters to Nature

Quantum superposition of distinct macroscopic states p43

Jonathan R. Friedman, Vijay Patel, W. Chen, S. K. Tolpygo and J. E. Lukens

doi:10.1038/35017505

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (234K)

See also: News and Views by Blatter

Generation and detection of phase-coherent current-driven magnons in magnetic multilayers p46

M. Tsoi, A. G. M. Jansen, J. Bass, W.-C. Chiang, V. Tsoi and P. Wyder

doi:10.1038/35017512

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (255K)

Self-directed growth of molecular nanostructures on silicon p48

G. P. Lopinski, D. D. M. Wayner and R. A. Wolkow

doi:10.1038/35017519

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (227K)

See also: News and Views by Karl

Direct measurement of hole transport dynamics in DNA p51

Frederick D. Lewis, Xiaoyang Liu, Jianqin Liu, Scott E. Miller, Ryan T. Hayes and Michael R. Wasielewski

doi:10.1038/35017524

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (178K)

Phosphate concentrations in lakes p54

Jeff J. Hudson, William D. Taylor and David W. Schindler

doi:10.1038/35017531

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (117K)

See also: News and Views by Dusastre

The sedimentary structure of linear sand dunes p56

C. S. Bristow, S. D. Bailey and N. Lancaster

doi:10.1038/35017536

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (251K)

The formation of plagioclase chains during convective transfer in basaltic magma p59

Anthony R. Philpotts and Loretta D. Dickson

doi:10.1038/35017542

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (179K)

Valuation of consumption and sale of forest goods from a Central American rain forest p62

Ricardo Godoy, David Wilkie, Han Overman, Adoni Cubas, Glenda Cubas, Josefien Demmer, Kendra McSweeney and Nicholas Brokaw

doi:10.1038/35017647

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (96K)

Parallel evolution of virulence in pathogenic Escherichia coli p64

Sean D. Reid, Corinne J. Herbelin, Alyssa C. Bumbaugh, Robert K. Selander and Thomas S. Whittam

doi:10.1038/35017546

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (180K)

Negative genetic correlation between male sexual attractiveness and survival p67

Robert Brooks

doi:10.1038/35017552

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (146K)

Identification of receptors for neuromedin U and its role in feeding p70

Andrew D. Howard, Ruiping Wang, Sheng-Shung Pong, Theodore N. Mellin, Alison Strack, Xiao-Ming Guan, Zhizhen Zeng, David L. Williams, Jr, Scott D. Feighner, Christian N. Nunes, Beth Murphy, Judith N. Stair, Hong Yu, Qingping Jiang, Michelle K. Clements, Carina P. Tan, Karen K. McKee, Donna L. Hreniuk, Terrence P. McDonald, Kevin R. Lynch, Jilly F. Evans, Christopher P. Austin, C. Thomas Caskey, Lex H. T. Van der Ploeg and Qingyun Liu

doi:10.1038/35017610

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (399K)

Initiation of neural induction by FGF signalling before gastrulation p74

Andrea Streit, Alyson J. Berliner, Costis Papanayotou, Andrés Sirulnik and Claudio D. Stern

doi:10.1038/35017617

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (374K)

Point mutation in an AMPA receptor gene rescues lethality in mice deficient in the RNA-editing enzyme ADAR2 p78

Miyoko Higuchi, Stefan Maas, Frank N. Single, Jochen Hartner, Andrei Rozov, Nail Burnashev, Dirk Feldmeyer, Rolf Sprengel and Peter H. Seeburg

doi:10.1038/35017558

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (254K)

Therapeutic haemoglobin synthesis in -thalassaemic mice expressing lentivirus-encoded human -globin p82

Chad May, Stefano Rivella, John Callegari, Glenn Heller, Karen M. L. Gaensler, Lucio Luzzatto and Michel Sadelain

doi:10.1038/35017565

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (291K) | Supplementary information

Requirement for glycogen synthase kinase-3 in cell survival and NF-B activation p86

Klaus P. Hoeflich, Juan Luo, Elizabeth A. Rubie, Ming-Sound Tsao, Ou Jin and James R. Woodgett

doi:10.1038/35017574

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (352K)

See also: News and Views by Pomerantz & Baltimore

Two yeast forkhead genes regulate the cell cycle and pseudohyphal growth p90

Gefeng Zhu, Paul T. Spellman, Tom Volpe, Patrick O. Brown, David Botstein, Trisha N. Davis and Bruce Futcher

doi:10.1038/35017581

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (346K) | Supplementary information

Forkhead-like transcription factors recruit Ndd1 to the chromatin of G2/M-specific promoters p94

Manfred Koranda, Alexander Schleiffer, Lukas Endler and Gustav Ammerer

doi:10.1038/35017589

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (241K)

Elevated UV-B radiation reduces genome stability in plants p98

Gerhard Ries, Werner Heller, Holger Puchta, Heinrich Sandermann, Harald K. Seidlitz and Barbara Hohn

doi:10.1038/35017595

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (247K) | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Britt

Structure of the dimerized hormone-binding domain of a guanylyl- cyclase-coupled receptor p101

Focco van den Akker, Xiaolun Zhang, Masaru Miyagi, Xuewen Huo, Kunio S. Misono and Vivien C. Yee

doi:10.1038/35017602

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (220K)

New on the Market

Reagents for the agents p105

RNA and DNA preparation, and forensic tests as used by the FBI.

doi:10.1038/35017665

Full Text | PDF (100K)

Careers and Recruitment

Laying a firm foundation for interdisciplinary research endeavours p107

US universities and institutes are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to research, says Diane Gershon.

Diane Gershon

doi:10.1038/35017694

Full Text | PDF (228K)