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RESEARCH

Drifting science An experiment that set two researchers adrift on an ice floe in the Arctic for a year ended in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago on 22 August. Geophysicist Yngve Kristofferson of the University of Bergen, Norway, and Audun Tholfsen, a scientist in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, had drifted 2,200 kilometres from their starting point above the underwater Lomonosov Ridge, gathering seismic-reflection measurements and core samples to probe the ridge’s geology. The pair had a hovercraft to gather data and rebuild their camp, which was twice destroyed by shifting ice. The ice-drift station, known as FRAM, also collected oceanographic and atmospheric measurements along the way.

PEOPLE

‘Mr Palmyra’ killed Khaled al-Asaad, the Syrian archaeologist in charge of the ancient Roman site of Palmyra, was executed by Islamist militants on 18 August. Al-Asaad, who had worked at the site for more than 40 years, had been held captive for about a month and was killed, in part, because he would not reveal the location of hidden antiquities, according to news reports. On 23 August, Islamist terrorist group ISIS blew up the almost 2,000-year-old Baalshamin temple in Palmyra. Irina Bokova, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, deplored the killing and described the temple’s destruction as “a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity”. See page 387 for more.

Credit: JAXA

FACILITIES

Supplies soar to space The six astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) received much-needed supplies on 24 August, when the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency docked its uncrewed ship Kounotori 5 to the ISS orbiting outpost. Kounotori 5 (‘white stork’ in Japanese) launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center on 19 August, carrying food, water and other provisions for the ISS astronauts, who were running short after three high-profile rocket failures in the past year. Also on the cargo carrier were a Japanese cosmic-ray telescope, a Brazilian nanosatellite and 14 Earth-imaging satellites designed by Planet Labs in San Francisco, California.

New Scripps centre The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, will establish a new centre for climate-change research, thanks to a US$5-million philanthropic donation announced on 24 August. The money was pledged by Carol Dean and Richard Hertzberg, who is president of ENPEX, an energy company involved in both fossil fuels and renewables. The institute, to be called the Center for Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation, will focus on research into coping with the current and future effects of climate change, such as coastal flooding and extreme weather events.

POLICY

Methane curbs The US Environmental Protection Agency on 18 August proposed regulations to reduce emissions of methane and smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the oil and gas industry. The regulations would be the first to directly restrict methane emissions, and build on a 2012 rule that sought to curb VOCs from hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract natural gas. Combined, the two regulations could reduce the oil and gas sector’s methane emissions by up to 30% by 2025, compared with 2012 levels. They are part of a larger effort by the White House to reduce national methane emissions by 40–45% by 2025. See go.nature.com/o6uzlj for more.

Solar power boost US President Barack Obama has announced plans to promote and develop solar technology. The plans, laid out at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 24 August, include making it easier for homeowners to borrow money for energy upgrades, and US$24 million to fund research seeking to improve the efficiency of solar power. Obama criticized opponents of his energy polices for “wanting to protect an outdated status quo”. The announcement comes on the heels of the Clean Power Plan, which aims for 20% of US electricity generation to come from renewables — excluding hydropower — by 2030.

Stem-cell guidelines China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission delivered long-awaited guidelines on the use of stem cells in China’s clinics on 21 August. State media say that the measures will rein in the “wild” use of stem cells. The guidelines outline requirements for small-scale clinical studies using stem cells, including the use of clinical-grade cells, and forbid charging people in the study for the treatment. The studies will be restricted to authorized hospitals. Some researchers are embracing the measures as they offer an easy path to clinical studies of stem cells; previously, it was unclear what constituted a legal study. But scientists also say that the guidelines lack enforceable rules to prevent rogue clinics from using unapproved stem-cell therapies.

Female libido drug The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first drug for boosting female sexual desire on 18 August. The drug, Sprout Pharmaceuticals’ flibanserin, acts on serotonin receptors in the brain and will be marketed as Addyi. The approval process has been arduous and controversial — many experts have questioned flibanserin’s efficacy even as advocacy organizations pushed for the drug’s approval. The FDA had twice rejected flibanserin because of safety and efficacy concerns. On 20 August, Canadian drug firm Valeant bought Sprout, of Raleigh, North Carolina, for US$1 billion. See page 387 for more.

Credit: Andrew Walmsley/naturepl.com (top); Stephen Belcher/Minden Pictures/Corbis (bottom)

EVENTS

Bird blast blunder Some of New Zealand’s rarest birds have been killed in an apparent conservation cull gone wrong. On 21 August, the New Zealand Department of Conservation halted an organized cull of the common pūkeko (Porphyrio porphyrio, pictured, top) on Motutapu Island after four endangered takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri, pictured, bottom) — which resemble pūkeko — were found dead with shotgun wounds. Twenty-one of the country’s 300 takahē lived on the island before the cull, which enlisted the help of local deerstalkers. The president of the New Zealand Deerstalkers’ Association apologized to the country, accepting that an investigation into the shooting will place blame on an association member.

MERS resurgence Saudi Arabia is facing a significant outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), as an estimated 1.3 million people prepare to travel to the country for the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj. As of 24 August, 62 people were receiving treatment for MERS, and 25 people had died since the start of the month. The coronavirus has claimed 492 lives since arriving in the country in 2012. Saudi officials are considering banning the traditional sacrifice of camels during the Hajj, owing to suspicions that the animals transmit the virus to humans.

Defamation suit A Massachusetts court has thrown out defamation charges brought by a researcher against the publisher of Diabetes. Mário Saad sued the American Diabetes Association in February for publishing ‘expressions of concern’ about four papers that appeared in the journal between 1997 and 2011, arguing that the statements had damaged his reputation. But on 18 August the court concluded that the expressions were opinion, and not defamatory. The same court had previously dismissed Saad’s request to prevent the journal from printing the statements or retracting the papers. See go.nature.com/v9ymae for more.

BUSINESS

Goat welfare A judge at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) began hearing complaints against one of the world’s largest antibody manufacturers on 18 August. California company Santa Cruz Biotechnology has come under fire from the USDA, which has lodged three complaints about the company’s treatment of animals — the most that any single company has received. The complaints allege that Santa Cruz Biotechnology hid a facility with 800 goats from the regulators and mistreated sick animals. The hearing was suspended on 21 August.

Credit: Source: BirdLife InternationaL

TREND WATCH

Each year in the Mediterranean region, 25 million birds are killed illegally, according to a 21 August report by BirdLife International (see go.nature.com/rqkafx). Egypt, Italy and Syria are the worst countries for illegal bird slaughter. The biggest hotspot is Famagusta in Cyprus, with an annual average of 689,000 killings. The review warns that 40 migratory songbird species — including the European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) — are declining in numbers, and that illegal killing is at “extraordinary and unsustainable levels”.

COMING UP

1–4 September The European Society for Translational Medicine gathers in Vienna, Austria, for its third annual congress. go.nature.com/hone5z

1–5 September Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York hosts a meeting of world leaders in eukaryotic DNA replication and genome maintenance. go.nature.com/lkhp7m

2–9 September Scientists in Barcelona, Spain, hop aboard the first Cosmo Cruise, a cosmology conference and Mediterranean cruise combined. go.nature.com/c2crla