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in Nature
by
David Goldston, 1 May 2008
While demonstration projects (also known as feasibility studies) are often hailed for the employment their large budgets bring communities, Goldston calls them some of the most "questionable activities in energy research and development." He points to the recent example of FutureGen, a project intended to further research into climate technology and hydrogen initiatives, but was canceled when the coal industry refused to pay the required 50 percent of the price tag. The author intelligently points out that such projects "are often driven more by politics than by science," ultimately leading to their failure.
Posted 10:14, 8 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Brian Willett
and edited by Brijit.
in Nature
by
Phillip Ball, 1 May 2008
Matter and energy as two sides of the same coin, light that is both a particle and a wave, atoms that can be in two places at once -- quantum physics is inherently weird. But why is so little of that weirdness visible in the everyday world? The question isn't just academic, Ball writes; figuring out the transition between classical and quantum mechanics will be crucial for the next generation of information technology, such as ultra-secure data encoding and quantum computing. Ball's natural gift for explaining complex science and interviews with scientists searching for evidence of objects in two places at once makes this a fascinating and educational read.
Posted 10:04, 8 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Laura White
and edited by Brijit.
in Nature
by
Erika Check Hayden, 1 May 2008
Thanks to California voters and philanthropists, the state now boasts one of the most audacious research programs in the world. While six states passed initiatives to fund work on human embryonic stem-cell lines following President Bush's ban on federal funding for such research in 2001, at $3 billion, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is the heavyweight of the lot. Hayden provides a comprehensive review of the history and promise of California's stem cell research initiative and the institutes it has spawned, as well as recent conflict-of-interest controversies over appropriation of funds.
Posted 9:49, 6 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Laura White
and edited by Brijit.
in Nature
by
Geoff Brumfiel, 24 April 2008
Women are underrepresented in physics to begin with, making up only 10 percent of faculty in the US, but Sherry Towers says that gender discrimination is part of the status quo. Towers asserts that female postdoctoral students do more of the work in particle physics labs but get to deliver a disproportionately low number of conference presentations, which is seen as a reward to beginning scientists. Brumfiel is careful to admit that both sides of the argument accuse the other of massaging statistics to support their claims, but even many male researchers admit to a gender bias in their field.
Posted 3:54, 30 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.
The editors argue in favor of a Human Proteome Project, which would catalog proteins in the same way that the Human Genome Project mapped genes. The authors acknowledge the difficulties in getting government financing for the project: it will be complex and expensive, some protein experiments have been difficult to reproduce, and the project's ultimate benefits are unclear. In comparison to genes, proteins are unexciting; however, the possibilities inherent in tracking the relationship between proteins and diseases (and, the article implies, developing cures) are irresistible. This sharp editorial reminds readers that scientific research is always a gamble, but success comes with amazing dividends.
Posted 10:45, 30 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Paula Jolin
and edited by Brijit.
Subjects/Tags:
The interest in superconductors seems to be making a comeback with the discovery of a new class of high-temperature superconductors at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Although superconductors have immense potential with loss-free electrical transmission and magnetic levitation, past research focused on copper oxides had not met our expectations. Researchers already see much more in the offering with this new iron base compound as it opens up possibilities to learn more about these complex solid-state compounds and is a suitable replacement for the earlier copper oxide based superconductors. Nature's summary of the topic is brief but quite dense.
Posted 10:16, 30 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Haynes George
and edited by Brijit.
Subjects/Tags:
Scientists might soon be able to create sperm and eggs entirely in a Petri dish. This would sidestep the familiar stem-cell ethical questions, but it raises its own set of ethical implications. In Britain, an update of the 1990 Human Fertilization and Embryology Act is working its way through Parliament; the current bill would allow research on the cells, but not permit them to be used in fertility treatment. Nature's deliberate and thorough walk-through of the potential benefits and moral issues raised by such technology provides an uncomfortable parallel to how infrequently such questions are discussed in the United States.
Posted 9:46, 30 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Laura White
and edited by Brijit.
in Nature
by
Meredith Wadman, 24 April 2008
Wadman speaks with Dora Akunyili, the head of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, reveals the struggles faced by Nigeria and other African nations on the issue of imported pharmaceuticals. While the short interview doesn't touch on black-market drug trafficking, her thoughts provide some intriguing insight into the legal trade of global pharmaceuticals, as well as a bit of effective managerial philosophy.
Posted 4:35, 29 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Brian Swanson
and edited by Brijit.
in Nature
by
Allison Abbott, 24 April 2008
A law in Switzerland stipulates that no genetic testing can be grant-funded if it offends the dignity of its subjects. The law is relatively clear when it comes to primate research or other animal experimentation, but how do we consider the "dignity" of a corn field? Some suggestions include that the subject not lose its independence -- in other words, being able to reproduce -- but researchers point to hybridization to produce sterile plants and seedless fruit as a long-standing industry standard. An impending legal quagmire may hamper research and drive research out of the European country, Abbott points out in this interesting piece.
Posted 5:23, 28 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.
in Nature
by
Declan Butler, 24 April 2008
In order to avoid stigmatizing certain geographical areas, a number of strains of the H5N1 avian flu virus are being renamed. Strains that once bore monikers such as "Fujian-like" or "Qinghai-like" in reference to the area they were first observed in, are now being referred to by less obvious but more logical names that imply the virus's genetics, such as Clade 2.2. Butler, who laments the inaccurate and sometimes nonexistent recording of geographical location for the spread of the disease, writes a curious article about the intersection of political correctness and science.
Posted 5:05, 28 April 2008
This abstract was written by
Jonathan Gallaway
and edited by Brijit.