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Although much of Russia struggles to survive, other former Soviet countries are building new research systems with varying success. A critical need is to avoid western domination of their programmes.
The international effort to halt ozone depletion through legislated reductions in the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) has been a success, according to leading climate researchers who met near Buenos Aires last month.
Opponents of xenotransplantation research have begun a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), demanding that more information be made public about experiments in which humans receive transplants of animal tissue.
Joint research projects between Israeli and Arab scientists are continuing despite the current confrontation, but at a reduced level, scientists in the region say.
Changes in the extent and thickness of sea ice could alter ocean circulation and so disrupt the climate. Jon Copley considers one of the big unknowns in the global warming debate.
Variation in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is usually taken to be the main cause of climate change on geological timescales. The apparent exceptions to the link threaten to undermine that view.
The most thorough analysis yet of the divergence of sequences in human mitochondrial DNA has been carried out. The results support the view that modern humans originated in Africa.
Tiny crystals that interact strongly with certain frequencies of light can be used to make semiconductor lasers. They can now be stimulated electrically, and thus be integrated with conventional electronic devices.
For two centuries, a natural experiment has been showing how increasing atmospheric CO2 affects plants. Laboratory work provides pointers as to how they will respond in the future.
The origin of the 'EM-1 signature' evident in certain basalt rocks is a long-standing puzzle. Comparison of data from Pitcairn Island and Sardinia may shed some light on the enigma.
The mammalian protein that triggers an innate immune response to bacterial DNA has been identified. This discovery may help in understanding and improving DNA-based vaccines.
Quantum theory is 100 years old and still going strong. Combininggeneral relativity with quantum mechanics is the last hurdle to be overcomein the 'quantum revolution'.