John Maddox 1925-2009

In memory of a transformative editor of Nature.

John Maddox, who died on 12 April, was editor of Nature during 1966–73 and 1980–95. He transformed the journal from a collegially amateurish publication into one that was challenging and professional in its assessment of science and in its journalistic reportage.

Reductionism is almost a dirty word, especially in biology, but after thirty years of DNA, it is high time that biologists paid attention to the question of what constitutes an explanation.

Attempts to calculate the properties of real materials from those of their constituents have never been outstandingly successful. New, but still empirical, techniques may help.

Science and technology are parts of a seamless spectrum, but there is a good reason to believe that the literature of engineering does a disservice to the professional community it purports to serve.

A new calculation of the polymorphs of silica appears to have broken new ground in deriving crystal structure from chemical composition. But X-ray crystallographers need not worry — yet.

From this issue of Nature, the past several weeks' correspondence on the Benveniste affair will be closed. The editor o/Nature here discusses some of the issues that have arisen.

The immediate future for science is bright, but the future may be clouded by poor public education and by too much competitiveness — the gist of a talk at Los Alamos on Tuesday.

Journals are bound to be concerned with and by the published products of scientific misconduct, but there must be doubts about their ability to keep a diverse profession's conscience.

Knees are intricate heavy-duty joints that are now, like many other parts of the body, partially replaceable. A knee surgeons' handbook now published shows what lies ahead.

Nature will give up monitoring the coverage of AIDS by the Sunday Times in the hope that the wind has changed.

John Maddox steps down as editor of Nature from this issue, to be replaced by Dr Philip Campbell.