Editorials

AIDS at Christmas time p1051

The end of 2005 was supposed to mark the achievement of a critical goal in the treatment of HIV in poor countries. The goal hasn't been met, but it is now within sight.

doi:10.1038/4381051a

Full Text | PDF (115K)

A poor assessment p1051

Given Japan's strong scientific record, the country has a badly flawed research evaluation system.

doi:10.1038/4381051b

Full Text | PDF (131K)

A recipe for trouble p1052

A prestigious research agency should have thought twice before attaching its name to a diet book.

doi:10.1038/4381052a

Full Text | PDF (100K)

Research Highlights

Research highlights p1054

doi:10.1038/4381054a

Full Text | PDF (285K)

News

Korean scandal will have global fallout p1056

The possibility that Woo Suk Hwang's cloning experiments were faked threatens to undermine confidence in stem-cell research.

Erika Check and David Cyranoski

doi:10.1038/4381056a

Full Text | PDF (752K)

Where now for stem-cell cloners? p1058

Researchers assess their field after Woo Suk Hwang's revelations.

Erika Check

doi:10.1038/4381058a

Full Text | PDF (304K)

Dogged by doubts p1059

Questions raised over cloned puppy

David Cyranoski

doi:10.1038/4381059a

Full Text | PDF (151K)

India makes waves over tsunami warning system p1060

Will data to be shared be sufficient?

K. S. Jayaraman

doi:10.1038/4381060a

Full Text | PDF (999K)

Diet book attacked for its high-protein advice p1060

Critics question links with meat industry.

Carina Dennis

doi:10.1038/4381060b

Full Text | PDF (999K)

Sidelines p1061

doi:10.1038/4381061a

Full Text | PDF (2,146K)

The heat was on in 2005 p1062

Year is among the warmest ever recorded.

Robert Henson

doi:10.1038/4381062a

Full Text | PDF (537K)

News in brief p1063

doi:10.1038/4381063a

Full Text | PDF (276K)

2005 Gallery

First glimpse... p1064

Emma Marris

doi:10.1038/4381064a

Full Text | PDF (1,383K)

News Features

Alcohol and science: The party gene p1068

In the first of three Features looking at aspects of alcohol, Siëlle Gramser discovers how yeast first opened the floodgates of intoxication.

doi:10.1038/4381068a

Full Text | PDF (251K)

Alcohol and science: Saving the agave p1070

A decade ago, the tequila industry was pummelled by plant diseases. Rex Dalton meets the scientists working to keep the blue agave diverse enough to survive.

doi:10.1038/4381070a

Full Text | PDF (454K)

See also: Editor's summary

Alcohol and science: The grapes of rock p1073

Winemakers in the United States are increasingly calling on the services of geologists to help refine their products. Alexandra Witze meets the scientists who are treading a path to the past.

doi:10.1038/4381073a

Full Text | PDF (826K)

See also: Editor's summary

Business

Merck opts for shake-up to clear drug pipeline p1076

The failure of the painkiller Vioxx and a lack of new products leaves the world's third-largest drug company in the lurch. Emma Marris reports.

doi:10.1038/4381076a

Full Text | PDF (1,067K)

In brief p1077

doi:10.1038/4381077a

Full Text | PDF (239K)

Market Watch p1077

Quirin Schiermeier

doi:10.1038/4381077b

Full Text | PDF (239K)

Correspondence

For quiet students, finding a voice is the first step towards taking a stand p1078

Peter Cheung

doi:10.1038/4381078a

Full Text | PDF (104K)

Animal culture is real but needs to be clearly defined p1078

Andrew Whiten

doi:10.1038/4381078b

Full Text | PDF (104K)

Women's efforts are more than a drop in the ocean p1078

Daniel Conley

doi:10.1038/4381078c

Full Text | PDF (104K)

Network aims to make maths count in Africa p1078

John Ball

doi:10.1038/4381078d

Full Text | PDF (104K)

Commentary

Barriers to progress in systems biology p1079

For the past half-century, biologists have been uncovering details of countless molecular events. Linking these data to dynamic models requires new software and data standards, argue Marvin Cassman and his colleagues.

doi:10.1038/4381079a

Full Text | PDF (122K)

See also: Editor's summary

Books and Arts

Pulling the strings p1081

Mathematics holds the key to a unified theory of the Universe.

Michael Atiyah reviews Hiding in the Mirror: The Mysterious Allure of Extra Dimensions, from Plato to String Theory and Beyond by Lawrence M. Krauss

doi:10.1038/4381081a

Full Text | PDF (6,444K)

Bitesize breakthroughs p1082

Graham Farmelo reviews The Discoveries: Great Breakthroughs in 20th Century Science Including the Original Papers by Alan Lightman

doi:10.1038/4381082a

Full Text | PDF (6,125K)

A Titan of physics p1083

Owen Gingerich reviews Huygens: The Man Behind the Principle

doi:10.1038/4381083a

Full Text | PDF (3,397K)

Science in Culture p1084

A nativity scene painted by Hugo van der Goes bears a medical message.

Martin Kemp reviews

doi:10.1038/4381084a

Full Text | PDF (344K)

Essays

Unravelling string theory p1085

String theory may provide the best clues yet about how to obtain a unified theory that describes all the laws of nature, but do we even understand what string theory is?

Edward Witten

doi:10.1038/4381085a

Full Text | PDF (247K)

The death of a star p1086

When Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar asked in his twenties, 'What happens to a massive star when it runs out of fuel?' he had little idea that it would take a generation of astronomers to find the answer.

Freeman Dyson

doi:10.1038/4381086a

Full Text | PDF (154K)

News and Views

Mars: The flow and ebb of water p1087

Information is pouring in about Mars. These are thrilling times for those who are proposing — and challenging — ideas about the chemical evolution of the planet and its potential for having harboured life.

Mark A. Bullock

doi:10.1038/4381087a

Full Text | PDF (463K)

Physics: Philately will get you everywhere p1089

Richard Webb

doi:10.1038/4381089a

Full Text | PDF (478K)

Molecular biology: Antagonizing the neighbours p1090

Nucleosomes bundle up the DNA in a cell's nucleus, wrapping it around a complex of histone proteins. Studies of histone modifications and the proteins that bind to them reveal a mechanism that may control this packing.

Joel C. Eissenberg and Sarah C. R. Elgin

doi:10.1038/4381090a

Full Text | PDF (226K)

Atmospheric physics: Reflections on aerosol cooling p1091

By changing the composition of Earth's atmosphere, human activity has both a warming and a cooling effect on the planet. According to new calculations, that latter influence is large, but it is likely to be declining.

Jim Coakley

doi:10.1038/4381091a

Full Text | PDF (153K)

See also: Editor's summary

50 & 100 years ago p1092

doi:10.1038/4381092a

Full Text | PDF (134K)

Genomics: Multiple moulds p1092

Three species of Aspergillus fungi are the latest organisms to have their genome sequenced. Comparison of the genomes sheds light on, among other things, what endows them with pathogenic or beneficial features.

André Goffeau

doi:10.1038/4381092b

Full Text | PDF (209K)

See also: Editor's summary

Obituary: Richard E. Smalley (1943–2005) p1094

Chemist and champion of nanotechnology.

Robert F. Curl

doi:10.1038/4381094a

Full Text | PDF (182K)

Brief Communications

Circadian organization in reindeer p1095

These Arctic animals abandon their daily rhythms when it is dark all day or light all night.

Bob E. H. van Oort, Nicholas J. C. Tyler, Menno P. Gerkema, Lars Folkow, Arnoldus Schytte Blix and Karl-Arne Stokkan

doi:10.1038/4381095a

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (629K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

World Year of Physics: A direct test of E=mc² p1096

Simon Rainville, James K. Thompson, Edmund G. Myers, John M. Brown, Maynard S. Dewey, Ernest G. Kessler, Jr, Richard D. Deslattes, Hans G. Börner, Michael Jentschel, Paolo Mutti and David E. Pritchard

doi:10.1038/4381096a

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (253K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

Chemical communication: Chirality in elephant pheromones p1097

David R. Greenwood, Dan Comeskey, Martin B. Hunt and L. Elizabeth L. Rasmussen

doi:10.1038/4381097a

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (332K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

Brief Communications Arising

Meteorology: Are there trends in hurricane destruction? pE11

Roger A. Pielke, Jr

doi:10.1038/nature04426

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (86K)

Meteorology: Hurricanes and global warming pE11

Christopher W. Landsea

doi:10.1038/nature04477

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (183K)

Meteorology: Emanuel replies pE13

Kerry Emanuel

doi:10.1038/nature04427

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (89K)

Review

An Asian perspective on early human dispersal from Africa p1099

Robin Dennell and Wil Roebroeks

doi:10.1038/nature04259

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (192K)

See also: Editor's summary

Articles

Sequencing of Aspergillus nidulans and comparative analysis with A. fumigatus and A. oryzae p1105

James E. Galagan, Sarah E. Calvo, Christina Cuomo, Li-Jun Ma, Jennifer R. Wortman, Serafim Batzoglou, Su-In Lee, Meray Batürkmen, Christina C. Spevak, John Clutterbuck, Vladimir Kapitonov, Jerzy Jurka, Claudio Scazzocchio, Mark Farman, Jonathan Butler, Seth Purcell, Steve Harris, Gerhard H. Braus, Oliver Draht, Silke Busch, Christophe D'Enfert, Christiane Bouchier, Gustavo H. Goldman, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Sam Griffiths-Jones, John H. Doonan, Jaehyuk Yu, Kay Vienken, Arnab Pain, Michael Freitag, Eric U. Selker, David B. Archer, Miguel Á. Peñalva, Berl R. Oakley, Michelle Momany, Toshihiro Tanaka, Toshitaka Kumagai, Kiyoshi Asai, Masayuki Machida, William C. Nierman, David W. Denning, Mark Caddick, Michael Hynes, Mathieu Paoletti, Reinhard Fischer, Bruce Miller, Paul Dyer, Matthew S. Sachs, Stephen A. Osmani and Bruce W. Birren

doi:10.1038/nature04341

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,316K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

Regulation of HP1–chromatin binding by histone H3 methylation and phosphorylation p1116

Wolfgang Fischle, Boo Shan Tseng, Holger L. Dormann, Beatrix M. Ueberheide, Benjamin A. Garcia, Jeffrey Shabanowitz, Donald F. Hunt, Hironori Funabiki and C. David Allis

doi:10.1038/nature04219

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (878K) | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Eissenberg & Elgin

Impact origin of sediments at the Opportunity landing site on Mars p1123

L. Paul Knauth, Donald M. Burt and Kenneth H. Wohletz

doi:10.1038/nature04383

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (530K)

See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Bullock

Letters

A volcanic environment for bedrock diagenesis at Meridiani Planum on Mars p1129

Thomas M. McCollom and Brian M. Hynek

doi:10.1038/nature04390

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (173K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Bullock

Light echoes from ancient supernovae in the Large Magellanic Cloud p1132

Armin Rest, Nicholas B. Suntzeff, Knut Olsen, Jose Luis Prieto, R. Chris Smith, Douglas L. Welch, Andrew Becker, Marcel Bergmann, Alejandro Clocchiatti, Kem Cook, Arti Garg, Mark Huber, Gajus Miknaitis, Dante Minniti, Sergei Nikolaev and Christopher Stubbs

doi:10.1038/nature04365

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (274K)

See also: Editor's summary

Extremely slow Drude relaxation of correlated electrons p1135

Marc Scheffler, Martin Dressel, Martin Jourdan and Hermann Adrian

doi:10.1038/nature04232

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (231K)

Global estimate of aerosol direct radiative forcing from satellite measurements p1138

Nicolas Bellouin, Olivier Boucher, Jim Haywood and M. Shekar Reddy

doi:10.1038/nature04348

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (312K)

See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Coakley

Anisotropy of Earth's D" layer and stacking faults in the MgSiO₃ post-perovskite phase p1142

Artem R. Oganov, Roman Martoák, Alessandro Laio, Paolo Raiteri and Michele Parrinello

doi:10.1038/nature04439

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (206K) | Supplementary information

The pelvic fin and girdle of Panderichthys and the origin of tetrapod locomotion p1145

Catherine A. Boisvert

doi:10.1038/nature04119

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (310K)

See also: Editor's summary

Dance reveals symmetry especially in young men p1148

William M. Brown, Lee Cronk, Keith Grochow, Amy Jacobson, C. Karen Liu, Zoran Popovi and Robert Trivers

doi:10.1038/nature04344

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (183K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

Genomic sequence of the pathogenic and allergenic filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus p1151

William C. Nierman, Arnab Pain, Michael J. Anderson, Jennifer R. Wortman, H. Stanley Kim, Javier Arroyo, Matthew Berriman, Keietsu Abe, David B. Archer, Clara Bermejo, Joan Bennett, Paul Bowyer, Dan Chen, Matthew Collins, Richard Coulsen, Robert Davies, Paul S. Dyer, Mark Farman, Nadia Fedorova, Natalie Fedorova, Tamara V. Feldblyum, Reinhard Fischer, Nigel Fosker, Audrey Fraser, Jose L. García, Maria J. García, Arlette Goble, Gustavo H. Goldman, Katsuya Gomi, Sam Griffith-Jones, Ryan Gwilliam, Brian Haas, Hubertus Haas, David Harris, H. Horiuchi, Jiaqi Huang, Sean Humphray, Javier Jiménez, Nancy Keller, Hoda Khouri, Katsuhiko Kitamoto, Tetsuo Kobayashi, Sven Konzack, Resham Kulkarni, Toshitaka Kumagai, Anne Lafton, Jean-Paul Latgé, Weixi Li, Angela Lord, Charles Lu, William H. Majoros, Gregory S. May, Bruce L. Miller, Yasmin Mohamoud, Maria Molina, Michel Monod, Isabelle Mouyna, Stephanie Mulligan, Lee Murphy, Susan O'Neil, Ian Paulsen, Miguel A. Peñalva, Mihaela Pertea, Claire Price, Bethan L. Pritchard, Michael A. Quail, Ester Rabbinowitsch, Neil Rawlins, Marie-Adele Rajandream, Utz Reichard, Hubert Renauld, Geoffrey D. Robson, Santiago Rodriguez de Córdoba, Jose M. Rodríguez-Peña, Catherine M. Ronning, Simon Rutter, Steven L. Salzberg, Miguel Sanchez, Juan C. Sánchez-Ferrero, David Saunders, Kathy Seeger, Rob Squares, Steven Squares, Michio Takeuchi, Fredj Tekaia, Geoffrey Turner, Carlos R. Vazquez de Aldana, Janice Weidman, Owen White, John Woodward, Jae-Hyuk Yu, Claire Fraser, James E. Galagan, Kiyoshi Asai, Masayuki Machida, Neil Hall, Bart Barrell and David W. Denning

doi:10.1038/nature04332

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,169K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

Genome sequencing and analysis of Aspergillus oryzae p1157

Masayuki Machida, Kiyoshi Asai, Motoaki Sano, Toshihiro Tanaka, Toshitaka Kumagai, Goro Terai, Ken-Ichi Kusumoto, Toshihide Arima, Osamu Akita, Yutaka Kashiwagi, Keietsu Abe, Katsuya Gomi, Hiroyuki Horiuchi, Katsuhiko Kitamoto, Tetsuo Kobayashi, Michio Takeuchi, David W. Denning, James E. Galagan, William C. Nierman, Jiujiang Yu, David B. Archer, Joan W. Bennett, Deepak Bhatnagar, Thomas E. Cleveland, Natalie D. Fedorova, Osamu Gotoh, Hiroshi Horikawa, Akira Hosoyama, Masayuki Ichinomiya, Rie Igarashi, Kazuhiro Iwashita, Praveen Rao Juvvadi, Masashi Kato, Yumiko Kato, Taishin Kin, Akira Kokubun, Hiroshi Maeda, Noriko Maeyama, Jun-ichi Maruyama, Hideki Nagasaki, Tasuku Nakajima, Ken Oda, Kinya Okada, Ian Paulsen, Kazutoshi Sakamoto, Toshihiko Sawano, Mikio Takahashi, Kumiko Takase, Yasunobu Terabayashi, Jennifer R. Wortman, Osamu Yamada, Youhei Yamagata, Hideharu Anazawa, Yoji Hata, Yoshinao Koide, Takashi Komori, Yasuji Koyama, Toshitaka Minetoki, Sivasundaram Suharnan, Akimitsu Tanaka, Katsumi Isono, Satoru Kuhara, Naotake Ogasawara and Hisashi Kikuchi

doi:10.1038/nature04300

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (292K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

NMDA receptors are expressed in oligodendrocytes and activated in ischaemia p1162

Ragnhildur Káradóttir, Pauline Cavelier, Linda H. Bergersen and David Attwell

doi:10.1038/nature04302

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,009K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

NMDA receptors are expressed in developing oligodendrocyte processes and mediate injury p1167

Michael G. Salter and Robert Fern

doi:10.1038/nature04301

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (539K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

WUSCHEL controls meristem function by direct regulation of cytokinin-inducible response regulators p1172

Andrea Leibfried, Jennifer P. C. To, Wolfgang Busch, Sandra Stehling, Andreas Kehle, Monika Demar, Joseph J. Kieber and Jan U. Lohmann

doi:10.1038/nature04270

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (304K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

Histone H3 serine 10 phosphorylation by Aurora B causes HP1 dissociation from heterochromatin p1176

Toru Hirota, Jesse J. Lipp, Ban-Hock Toh and Jan-Michael Peters

doi:10.1038/nature04254

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (468K) | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Eissenberg & Elgin

Double chromodomains cooperate to recognize the methylated histone H3 tail p1181

John F. Flanagan, Li-Zhi Mi, Maksymilian Chruszcz, Marcin Cymborowski, Katrina L. Clines, Youngchang Kim, Wladek Minor, Fraydoon Rastinejad and Sepideh Khorasanizadeh

doi:10.1038/nature04290

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (501K) | Supplementary information

See also: News and Views by Eissenberg & Elgin

Naturejobs

Meeting pay-offs p1187

Ways to help justify conference travel.

Paul Smaglik

doi:10.1038/nj7071-1187a

Full Text | PDF (141K)

Futures

The Quantum before Christmas p1190

In search of the sanity clause.

Henry Gee

doi:10.1038/4381190a

Full Text | PDF (343K)