Table of contents
Volume 431 Number 7010 pp723-882
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Editorials
California dreaming p723
Voters in California will decide next month on an initiative that would assign $3 billion to research on human embryonic stem cells. But the proposal is less of an unalloyed blessing than it seems.
doi:10.1038/431723a
Against grade inflation p723
How to counter declining rigour in US university courses.
doi:10.1038/431723b
News
Universities fear repercussions as NIH tunes conflicts policy p725
Ethics scandal could have knock-on effects for outside labs.
Erika Check
doi:10.1038/431725a
US lacks back-up for flu vaccine shortfall p726
Potential contamination of shots leaves officials scrambling.
Helen Pearson
doi:10.1038/431726a
Californians up in arms over water assessment p726
Concerns flood in over welfare of fish.
Emma Marris
doi:10.1038/431726b
Ukraine deluged by protests over plans for Danube delta p727
Scientists call for halt to canal construction.
Quirin Schiermeier
doi:10.1038/431727a
Canada to join 'big league' with its own science academy p727
Long-awaited Canadian Academies of Science finally mandated.
David Spurgeon
doi:10.1038/431727b
Advisers rebel over choice of museum chief p728
Three board members resign in protest.
Alison Abbott
doi:10.1038/431728a
Paris collections snubbed in spending review p728
No money set aside for French natural history museum.
Sally Goodman
doi:10.1038/431728b
Chemistry Nobel for trio who revealed molecular death-tag p729
Hershko, Ciechanover and Rose scoop prize for ubiquitous molecule.
Jim Giles
doi:10.1038/431729a
'Memory of water' biologist dies after heart surgery p729
Jacques Benveniste is widely mourned.
Philip Ball
doi:10.1038/431729b
News Features
Antarctic stations: Cold comfort p734
The next generation of Antarctic research stations is now being designed and built. Quirin Schiermeier reveals the problems that architects, engineers and inhabitants must overcome in the Pole's unforgiving conditions.
doi:10.1038/431734a
Formula 1 racing: Science in the FAST LANE p736
With the rules of the game changing before every season, Formula 1 engineers often have a matter of weeks to redesign their car before it is tested on the track. Karl Ziemelis and Charles Wenz join the race to the start line.
doi:10.1038/431736a
Correspondence
Best scientific advice is to read the climate report p739
Most researchers agree on the need to back Kyoto: let politicians deal with the politics.
Georgii Alexandrov
doi:10.1038/431739a
Climate: Russians face another disappointment p739
David S. Reay
doi:10.1038/431739b
Passion and politics cloud the climate debate p739
Paul Reiter
doi:10.1038/431739c
Books and Arts
The state of the Universe p741
A bold attempt to make sense of relativity, quantum theory and cosmology.
Jeffrey Forshaw reviews The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe by Roger Penrose
doi:10.1038/431741a
Field guides and phylogenies p742
Sandra Knapp reviews Flowers of Ethiopia and Eritrea: Aloes and Other Lilies by Sebsebe Demissew, Inger Nordal and Odd E. Stabbetorp
doi:10.1038/431742a
Sculpture: Opening time p742
Juliane Mössinger
doi:10.1038/431742b
Modern museums p743
David A. Micklos reviews Creating Connections: Museums and the Public Understanding of Research
doi:10.1038/431743a
Essay
ConceptBefore the word p745
Language evolution: evolutionary vestiges may provide clues to the ultimate origins of human language.
Gary F. Marcus
doi:10.1038/431745a
News and Views
Neurodegenerative disease: Neuron protection agency p747
The results of an innovative way of tracing the life and death of neurons in culture favour one side of a debate about the protein accumulations associated with certain disorders of the nervous system.
Harry T. Orr
doi:10.1038/431747a
Nuclear Physics: Neutron halo slips p748
In neutron-rich nuclei, weakly bound neutrons form a halo surrounding a compact core. Unexpectedly, it seems that this halo does not improve the chances of the nucleus fusing with another nucleus.
David Hinde and Mahananda Dasgupta
doi:10.1038/431748a
Optical fibres: A light fabric p749
Liesbeth Venema
doi:10.1038/431749a
Circadian rythms: Sunrise and sunset in fly brains p751
Fruitflies can time their morning and evening activities to the day–night cycle. The basic circadian oscillatory mechanism is intracellular, but networks of cells, now being identified, are what make a working clock.
William J. Schwartz
doi:10.1038/431751a
Neurobiology: Accessing a transporter structure p752
Information processing in the brain requires the neurotransmitter glutamate. Hence the importance of today's publication of the structure of an archaeal relative of the transporter controlling glutamate's levels.
Michael P. Kavanaugh
doi:10.1038/431752a
100 and 50 years ago p753
doi:10.1038/431753a
Obituary: Jacques H. van Boom (1937–2004) p755
Gijs van der Marel and Hidde Ploegh
doi:10.1038/431755a
Brief Communications
Neurolinguistics: Structural plasticity in the bilingual brain p757
Proficiency in a second language and age at acquisition affect grey-matter density.
Andrea Mechelli, Jenny T. Crinion, Uta Noppeney, John O'Doherty, John Ashburner, Richard S. Frackowiak and Cathy J. Price
doi:10.1038/431757a
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (124K) | Supplementary information
Top of page
Brief Communications Arising
Mouse transcriptome: Neutral evolution of 'non-coding' complementary DNAs
Jun Wang, Jianguo Zhang, Hongkun Zheng, Jun Li, Dongyuan Liu, Heng Li, Ram Samudrala, Jun Yu and Gane Ka-Shu Wong
doi:10.1038/nature03016
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (176K)
Mouse transcriptome: Neutral evolution of 'non-coding' complementary DNAs (reply)
Yoshihide Hyashizaki
doi:10.1038/nature03017
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (41K)
insight
introductionPlasticity & neuronal computation p759
Tanguy Chouard
doi:10.1038/431759a
review article
Computational roles for dopamine in behavioural control p760
P. Read Montague, Steven E. Hyman and Jonathan D. Cohen
doi:10.1038/nature03015
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (941K)
Generalization in vision and motor control p768
Tomaso Poggio and Emilio Bizzi
doi:10.1038/nature03014
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,504K)
Neural networks and perceptual learning p775
Misha Tsodyks and Charles Gilbert
doi:10.1038/nature03013
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (309K)
Cortical rewiring and information storage p782
D. B. Chklovskii, B. W. Mel and K. Svoboda
doi:10.1038/nature03012
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (399K)
Plasticity in single neuron and circuit computations p789
Alain Destexhe and Eve Marder
doi:10.1038/nature03011
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (3,612K)
Synaptic computation p796
L. F. Abbott and Wade G. Regehr
doi:10.1038/nature03010
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (694K)
Articles
Inclusion body formation reduces levels of mutant huntingtin and the risk of neuronal death p805
Montserrat Arrasate, Siddhartha Mitra, Erik S. Schweitzer, Mark R. Segal and Steven Finkbeiner
doi:10.1038/nature02998
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (336K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Orr
Structure of a glutamate transporter homologue from Pyrococcus horikoshii p811
Dinesh Yernool, Olga Boudker, Yan Jin and Eric Gouaux
doi:10.1038/nature03018
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (810K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Kavanaugh
Letters to Nature
A fossil origin for the magnetic field in A stars and white dwarfs p819
Jonathan Braithwaite and Hendrik C. Spruit
doi:10.1038/nature02934
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (285K)
Jarosite as an indicator of water-limited chemical weathering on Mars p821
M. E. Elwood Madden, R. J. Bodnar and J. D. Rimstidt
doi:10.1038/nature02971
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (152K)
No enhancement of fusion probability by the neutron halo of 6He p823
R. Raabe, J. L. Sida, J. L. Charvet, N. Alamanos, C. Angulo, J. M. Casandjian, S. Courtin, A. Drouart, D. J. C. Durand, P. Figuera, A. Gillibert, S. Heinrich, C. Jouanne, V. Lapoux, A. Lepine-Szily, A. Musumarra, L. Nalpas, D. Pierroutsakou, M. Romoli, K. Rusek and M. Trotta
doi:10.1038/nature02984
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (193K)
See also: News and Views by Hinde & Dasgupta
Metal–insulator–semiconductor optoelectronic fibres p826
Mehmet Bayindir, Fabien Sorin, Ayman F. Abouraddy, Jeff Viens, Shandon D. Hart, John D. Joannopoulos and Yoel Fink
doi:10.1038/nature02937
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (285K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Venema
Control of ion selectivity in potassium channels by electrostatic and dynamic properties of carbonyl ligands p830
Sergei Yu. Noskov, Simon Bernèche and Benoît Roux
doi:10.1038/nature02943
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (261K) | Supplementary information
Low marine sulphate and protracted oxygenation of the Proterozoic biosphere p834
Linda C. Kah, Timothy W. Lyons and Tracy D. Frank
doi:10.1038/nature02974
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (244K) | Supplementary information
A new troodontid dinosaur from China with avian-like sleeping posture p838
Xing Xu and Mark A. Norell
doi:10.1038/nature02898
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (327K) | Supplementary information
Adaptation varies through space and time in a coevolving host–parasitoid interaction p841
Samantha E. Forde, John N. Thompson and Brendan J. M. Bohannan
doi:10.1038/nature02906
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (172K)
Hedgehog signalling controls eye degeneration in blind cavefish p844
Yoshiyuki Yamamoto, David W. Stock and William R. Jeffery
doi:10.1038/nature02864
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (279K)
A relative signalling model for the formation of a topographic neural map p847
Michaël Reber, Patrick Burrola and Greg Lemke
doi:10.1038/nature02957
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (670K) | Supplementary information
A single population of olfactory sensory neurons mediates an innate avoidance behaviour in Drosophila p854
Greg S. B. Suh, Allan M. Wong, Anne C. Hergarden, Jing W. Wang, Anne F. Simon, Seymour Benzer, Richard Axel and David J. Anderson
doi:10.1038/nature02980
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (415K) | Supplementary information
A general mechanism for perceptual decision-making in the human brain p859
H. R. Heekeren, S. Marrett, P. A. Bandettini and L. G. Ungerleider
doi:10.1038/nature02966
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,257K) | Supplementary information
Coupled oscillators control morning and evening locomotor behaviour of Drosophila p862
Dan Stoleru, Ying Peng, José Agosto and Michael Rosbash
doi:10.1038/nature02926
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (580K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Schwartz
Morning and evening peaks of activity rely on different clock neurons of the Drosophila brain p869
Brigitte Grima, Elisabeth Chélot, Ruohan Xia and François Rouyer
doi:10.1038/nature02935
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (483K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Schwartz
Role of histone H2A ubiquitination in Polycomb silencing p873
Hengbin Wang, Liangjun Wang, Hediye Erdjument-Bromage, Miguel Vidal, Paul Tempst, Richard S. Jones and Yi Zhang
doi:10.1038/nature02985
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (398K) | Supplementary information
Corrigendum: Induction of DNA methylation and gene silencing by short interfering RNAs in human cells p878
Hiroaki Kawasaki and Kazunari Taira
doi:10.1038/nature03002
Corrigendum: The lipid phosphatase SHIP2 controls insulin sensitivity p878
S. Clément, U. Krause, F. Desmedt, J.-F. Tanti, J. Behrends, X. Pesesse, T. Sasaki, J. Penninger, M. Doherty, W. Malaisse, J. E. Dumont, Y. Le Marchand-Brustel, C. Erneux, L. Hue and S. Schurmans
doi:10.1038/nature03003
Naturejobs
ProspectsKey words p879
Paul Smaglik
doi:10.1038/nj7010-879a
Careers and Recruitment
Analyse this p880
As key players on scientific teams, biostatisticians are in high demand. Kendall Powell sums up the situation.
Kendall Powell
doi:10.1038/nj7010-880a
Career View
Graduate Journal: The sound of science p882
Sidney Omelon
doi:10.1038/nj7010-882a
Bricks & Mortar p882
Eugene Russo
doi:10.1038/nj7010-882b
Movers p882
doi:10.1038/nj7010-882c