Nature Newssimple changes to farming practices in China have slashed the amount of methane released from rice fields,
Nature Newsinternational experts have called for urgent changes to the way water is used in farming throughout Asia.
Nature Newswith a strangely naked face covered in skin flaps and a wide, foreshortened skull, the head of the rarely seen, fruit-eating,
Nature Newsmysteriously, Earth has much less carbon in its rocks than would be expected from the amounts of carbon available in the planet-forming regions of our Galaxy.
Nature Newsresearchers have created transgenic maize plants that fight off pests by emitting a chemical to attract insect-killing nematode worms. 1the method,
Nature Newsdeveloping countries could see large drops in crop yields by 2050 if climate change is unchecked left, according to a US report,
Nature Newspolicy Events Research Business The week ahead News maker Number crunch Policy Merkel wins:
and genetically modified crops (see Nature 461,456-457; 2009). ) Merkel is expected also to review the country's plans to phase out its nuclear power stations over the next decade.
Nature News<newline>The business of biofuels</newline>This year was supposed to be a big year for Bluefire Ethanol.
Nature Newsus agricultural research is getting a makeover. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) opens its doors on 1 Â October, with plant biotechnologist Roger Beachy at its helm.
Nature Newsa review committee in Sacramento, California, begins on 24 september to assess the science behind methyl iodide a pesticide that has been approved for agricultural use by the US Environmental protection agency (EPA),
did not respond to press queries from Nature. The California DPR now awaits the conclusion of the independent panel
Nature Newscanadian researchers have decoded the DNA of the tree-killing fungus found in the mouths of mountain pine beetles,
What really happens in nature is confined not to one species but is happening at the intersection
Nature News The business of biofuels The promise of green gold is fading from Jatropha curcas,
Biodiesel from his institute's jatropha project (see Nature 449,652-655; 2007) has been used in test cars belonging to the project
Nature Newsthe Obama administration released new automobile standards on Tuesday, proposing regulations that would curb greenhouse-gas emissions and ratchet up fuel-efficiency standards beginning in 2012.
Nature Newsthe blight that caused the infamous Irish potato famine of the 1840s has yielded its genetic secrets.
Nature Newspolicy Events Funding Research Business The week ahead Number crunch News maker Policy Spaceflight review:
-I rocket in favour of commercial space flights, had already been aired in public meetings (see Nature 460,791;
came in response to a damning review of the ERC published in July (see Nature 460,557;
See go. nature. com/Eh8n43 for more. Nuclear vision: Germany's new coalition government will extend the lifespan of the nation's nuclear power plants which last year produced around 23%of the country's electricity needs beyond 2022.
See go. nature. com/APMPTB for more. GM protests: Environmental groups are protesting after the Mexican government's 15 october approval of the first permits to plant experimental genetically modified (GM) maize (corn.
But researchers say that past landrace contaminations from illegal GM maize planting (see Nature 456,149;
The week ahead 29 october â oe1 November Philadelphia hosts the 47th Annual Meeting of the Infectious diseases Society of America. go. nature. com/ykfvnw 29 â oe30 October
A European council summit meeting in Brussels may firm up European promises to finance climate-change action in developing countries. go. nature. com/1kwxls 2 november The European space agency is scheduled to launch its Soil Moisture
and Ocean Salinity satellite. go. nature. com/shq161 2 â oe6 November Nairobi, Kenya, hosts the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria's fifth Pan-African Malaria Conference. www. mimalaria. org/pamc 2 â oe6 November The United nations Framework
Spain. go. nature. com/Qss4jx Number crunch 57%of Americans think there is solid evidence the Earth is warming,
Nature Newsstiff opposition from activists has persuaded the Indian government to put off commercial release of the country's first genetically modified (GM) food crop,
Nature Newsargentina, often perceived as a vast fertile territory, is losing its native forests. Nearly 40%of animal and plant species in the country's arid and semiarid ecosystems are in danger from habitat loss,
Nature Newspolicy Facilities Events Business Research Awards The week ahead Sound bites Number crunch Policy Climate law:
See go. nature. com/RWJADJ for more. Frozen grants: A ¥270-billion (US$3-billion) funding programme in Japan has been put on hold because of a wholesale budget freeze by the country's new government.
See go. nature. com/yvlwt3 for more. Facilities Dam settlement: After a bitter and lengthy controversy over water management, four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California will be removed to restore salmon runs.
See go. nature. com/qkxbhd for more. Business Firing frenzy: Sequenom, a biotechnology firm in San diego, California, has cleared out its top executives after an internal investigation found lax oversight of faulty research.
and could not be relied on (see Nature 459,23; 2009). ) Last week the company fired chief executive Harry Stylli and Elizabeth Dragon, senior vice-president of research and development.
See go. nature. com/VYZOWL for more. Presidential visit: US President Barack Obama visited the National institutes of health in Bethesda, Maryland, on 30 september (pictured.
The chemistry prize was yet to be awarded as Nature went to press. See page 706 and www. nature. com/news for more.
The week ahead 9 october NASA's Lunar crater Remote Observation and Sensing Satellite will crash into a crater near the Moon's south pole,
and industrial representatives converge on Brussels to discuss the region's space programme. www. spaceconference. eu 15-25 october Canada's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical physics (see Nature 461,
tells Nature how he feels about trying to ensure that the agency won't suffer financially
See go. nature. com/h15ch6 for the full interview. Number crunch 12,000%The potential rise in India's nuclear capacity, from 3. 8 gigawatts today to 470 gigawatts by 2050
Nature Newsafter months of back-door talks with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Democrats in the US Senate released a cap-and-trade climate bill on Wednesday.
Nature takes a closer look. What's in the bill? Based in large part on the version passed by the House of representatives in June,
Nature Newsliving like a pig could be good for you. Research has shown how dirty piglets obtain'friendly'bacteria that help them to develop healthy immune systems later in life.
Nature Newsmany strategies for reining in greenhouse gases come with substantial health benefits, according to a new study.
Nature Newsmexico doesn't have an adequate system to monitor or protect natural maize (corn) varieties from transgenes,
Nature Newsplant biologists have something special to be thankful for this US Thanksgiving day. The genome of maize (corn) a staple crop first introduced by Native americans to the European settlers centuries ago has finally been sequenced.
Nature Newspolicy Funding Events Research Awards Business watch The week ahead News maker Sound bites Policy DNA bar codes:
The two-gene identifier beat a pair of other proposals put forward by the 52-member plant working group of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life in July (see go. nature. com/nztuhw.
had asked the APS to adopt a statement that climate change is a natural phenomenon. After a review, the society's council decided to retain its current statement.
which released its own code of conduct earlier this month (see Nature doi: 10.1038/news. 2009.1065; 2009).
See go. nature. com/bcusi6 for more. Funding Cash squeeze: The board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the major funding channel for controlling these diseases, last week approved US$2. 4 billion in extra funding over two years.
See go. nature. com/odk7he for more. Carbon cutters: Brazil has pledged to reduce its projected carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 by 36-39%below business-as usual levels, increasing pressure on other countries less than a month before the United nations climate summit in Copenhagen.
scientists and politicians will release findings on the public-health effects of policies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. go. nature. com/4vfwwo 25-27 november Planetary scientists will discuss observations
and health-insurance coverage on the basis of genetic information. go. nature. com/Vlym5n News maker Lee Myung-bakthe president of South korea is backing a plan to increase total R&d spending
See go. nature. com/K3gytx for more. Sound bites I couldn't find a professional job in my chosen field
Nature Newsa controversial herbicide-spraying programme to tackle cocaine production in Colombia has few adverse environmental impacts.
Nature Newsfor someone who had emerged just from a 40-month trial, Byeong-Chun Lee seemed remarkably energetic.
Nature Newsplanting trees, which can significantly help to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, nevertheless comes with potentially damaging side effects.
Nature Newsa notorious pair of man-eating lions that teamed up to terrorize Kenyan labour camps more than 100 years ago did not have the same taste for human flesh,
Nature Newsthe mysterious Peruvian culture that preceded the Incas had a significant hand in its own catastrophic collapse,
Nature Newsbuilding on an existing pledge to slash deforestation rates in the Amazon, Brazil is considering a commitment to substantially reduce cumulative greenhouse-gas emissions over the next decade.
Details were under discussion as Nature went to press, but such a commitment would represent the most significant step yet by a developing country going into December's United nations climate summit in Copenhagen.
Brazil created the Amazon Fund last year as an alternative mechanism that would allow donor countries to help pay for the country's ongoing programme to curb deforestation (see Nature 460,936-937;
As Nature went to press, Lula had scheduled a 3 november cabinet meeting to discuss the issue.
 See also www. nature. com/roadtocopenhagen
Whatever happened to...Nature News Liberia's caterpillar plague Panic struck Liberia in early 2009, after a plague of caterpillars struck villages around the country, munching trees
and leaves and polluting water supplies. By late January, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the country's president, had declared a state of emergency
Nature Newshumans may have been baking bread 105,000 years ago, says a researcher who has discovered evidence of ground seeds from sorghum grass on stone tools in a Mozambique cave.
Nature Newschalk up another piece of dire news for the Arctic in a globally warmed future.
Nature Newswhatever agreement emerges from the climate meeting in Copenhagen, many expect that it will include a mechanism allowing rich nations to offset their emissions by paying poorer countries to protect their forests
Nature Geosci. 2, 737-738; 2009). ) The latest assessments, presented at Copenhagen, harness data from multiple satellites as well as thousands of ground plots,
offsetting some of the reductions in deforestation that Brazil aims to achieve in the coming decade (see Nature doi:
) Â See also www. nature. com/roadtocopenhagen
News briefing: 10 december 2009: Nature Newspolicy Business Market watch Events Research The week ahead Number crunch Sound bites Policy Stem-cell lines:
On 2 december, the US National institutes of health (NIH) approved 13 human embryonic stem-cell lines for use by US government-funded researchers the first lines to be given the green light
said that the target was worked out in concert with other developing countries (see Nature 462,550; 2009).
See go. nature. com/ayfwdf for more. Unhealthy air: Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are dangerous to human health,
when the exclusion was added by politicians to a text agreed by a committee of scientific experts (see Nature 460,19;
See go. nature. com/Ttu9tm for more. Events Space tourism's new era: Enthusiastic space tourists got their first public viewing of the commercial passenger vehicle Spaceshiptwo (pictured,
See go. nature. com/upkuly for more. Climate security breach: Three weeks after the theft of e-mails from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, unsuccessful hacking was reported at the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis
See go. nature. com/Ooyxwx for more. Tuberculosis funds: Tuberculosis research has seen funding jump in each of the past few years,
and Afghanistan to gain cultural understanding (see Nature 455,583-588; 2008). ) In a report presented by the American Anthropological Association at its annual meeting on 3 december,
which will recommend ways to manage ship-borne tourism to Antarctica. go. nature. com/cujgwi 10 december This year's Nobel science laureates receive their awards in Stockholm,
Sweden. go. nature. com/PUFASN 11 december NASA's orbiting infrared telescope, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer, is scheduled to launch. http://wise. ssl. berkeley. edu 14-18 december The American Geophysical Union meets in San francisco,
Nature Newswhat does it take to wipe a scourge off the face of the Earth? A massive global push to hunt down
Nature Newsstrike one planet from the list of 400-odd found around stars in other solar systems:
Nature Newsamazon nations will be the early winners in a future market for forest carbon credits,
Nature Newsastronomers have watched the violent death of what was probably the most massive star ever detected.
This week in Nature Gal-Yam and his colleagues report that the explosion was probably that of a supermassive star, at least two hundred times the mass of the Sun1.
Nature Newsrinderpest, the world's most devastating cattle disease, will be declared eradicated within 18 months, according to world health bodies.
Nature Newsliving like a pig could be good for you, according to research showing that dirty piglets pick up'friendly'bacteria that help them to develop robust immune systems later in life.
Nature Newsin a bid to overcome the drawbacks of existing biofuels, researchers have engineered a bacterium that can convert a form of raw plant biomass directly into clean, road-ready diesel.
In this week's Nature, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the biotech firm LS9 of South San francisco, California, among others describe a potential solution:
Nature Newshaving passed climate legislation in the House of representatives last June, Democrats in the US Congress were hoping to push climate legislation through the Senate this spring.
Nature takes a look at the resolution and the longer-term prospects for global-warming legislation.
Nature Newspandas are endangered increasingly in the wild, and the sighting of one with extremely rare brown-and-white fur is now raising fears that the species may be suffering from inbreeding.
In November 2009, a staff member at the Foping Nature Reserve in China's Qinling Mountains one of the panda's last remaining strongholds spotted a panda with the unusual colouring.
which was published online in Nature last month3, also revealed little sign of inbreeding, says Jun Wang of the Beijing Genomics Institute in Shenzhen, China.
Nature Newsbiological oceanographer Andrew Pershing wants carbon credits for whale conservation. That's because whales, he says,
Nature Newspolicy Business Research Events People Business watch The week ahead Number crunch Sound bites Policy Stem-cell lines:
See go. nature. com/vmucio for more. Avandia risks: Drug-maker Glaxosmithkline (GSK) was aware of cardiac risks associated with its diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) years before they became public
Cosan (see Nature 463, 592; 2010. Nuclear guarantees: The US Department of energy on 16 february issued an US$8. 3-billion loan guarantee for a pair of nuclear power plants in Georgia,
who resigned last month (see Nature 463,407; 2010). ) Climate chief resigns: Yvo de Boer (pictured), executive secretary of the United nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, unexpectedly announced his resignation on 18 february after almost four years leading climate negotiations.
on the fifth anniversary of the treaty's entry into force. go. nature. com/RMWXIO 1-5 march The 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference takes place at the Woodlands,
Chandrayaan-1 and Chang'e-1. go. nature. com/QIBPPZ 3-5 march The International Emissions Trading Association joins with various United nations agencies to host the second Africa Carbon Forum
The meeting aims to boost lowcarbon projects in Africa under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. go. nature. com/Nz7bzt Number crunch 523 Number of authors on two
See go. nature. com/Ajykoj for more on the conference.
China takes stock of environment: Nature Newschina has completed its first ever pollution census. The 4-billion yuan (US$585-million) project took 570,000 people two years to complete.
It tracked pollution from industry, agriculture, urban waste, landfills and incinerators. The broad survey will provide the basis for setting environmental protection targets in the next five-year plan of economic initiatives that begins in 2011,
Nature Newschinese farmers'rampant use of fertilizers could soon endanger the nation's ability to feed itself.
Nature Newsindia's government has refused to allow commercial cultivation of what would have been the country's first genetically modified (GM) food crop.
he Nature. This year we are putting maximum emphasis on research in agricultural and environmental biotechnology.
Nature Newspolicy Business People Events Awards Research Business watch The week ahead Number crunch Sound bites Policy Climate service:
ipierian of San francisco, was awarded Britain's first patent for ips cell reprogramming (see Nature 463,592-593;
Andrew Wakefield for unethical conduct (see Nature 463,593; 2010). ) Pika not protected: The US Fish and Wildlife Service has denied endangered-species protection to the American pika (Ochotona princeps.
and by HP, Intel and Yahoo already offer some scientists access to their services (see Nature 449,963;
and Technology. go. nature. com/YWJQIN 12 february NASA holds a public'state of the agency'meeting,
presenting its current and proposed programmes. go. nature. com/Ddnjf6 13-17 february The American Physical Society meets in WASHINGTON DC. go. nature. com/OTUIVJ Number crunch $2. 4
Nature Newsthe burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil releases carbon dioxide that alters the balance of carbon isotopes naturally found in the environment an effect that is now being found in food,
Nature Newsfinancial donors to a global network of 15 agricultural research centres want changes to the way the influential group plans to reshape its research programme.
But Wadsworth told Nature that funding hikes will depend on the reforms, and on the centres achieving their research targets.
he told Nature. Rather, he suggests, the proposals should be more specific: for example, research on how to increase the productivity of stress-tolerant rice in Asia,
Nature Newsbe very careful. The warning, from Robert Socolow, a climate researcher at Princeton university in New jersey, came at the end of a meeting last week that aimed to thrash out guidelines for the nascent field of geoengineering.
and decades to sort out any number of smaller impacts (see Nature 463, 426-427; 2010).
Nature Newsbon appã tit! A team of European researchers has decoded the genome of the delectable PÃ rigord black truffle.
Nature Newsscientists in New zealand whose work with genetically modified (GM) animals had been threatened by A high Court ruling have been given a reprieve.
Much of the argument centred on the generic nature of the documents and whether they contain enough information to evaluate risks and benefits.
Nature Newscreating and strengthening protected areas and indigenous lands is one of the most effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, according to a new paper.
Nature Newstop elephant scientists are up in arms over the prospect of elephant-poaching hot spots in Africa being allowed to sell off their ivory stockpiles.
Nature Newsa study of sexually scrambled chickens suggests that sex in birds is determined in a radically different way from that in mammals.
The work appears in today's Nature and may trigger a rethink of the evolution of sex determination1.
Nature Newsthe brilliant career of a diminutive weed may have hit a snag. Arabidopsis thaliana has been the darling of plant biologists for some 30 years because of its small genome and rapid growth,
which is funded partially by 2010 project funds (see Nature 462,258-259; 2009). ) People seem to feel,'Oh,
Nature Newsthe European commission last week approved Amflora a genetically modified (GM) potato developed by German chemical company BASF.
less than 100,000 hectares of those were in the agricultural powerhouse that is the EU. Nature looks at the reasons why so few GM CROPS have been approved in Europe,
Nature Newsoxygen isotopes in clamshells may provide the most detailed record yet of global climate change,
Nature Newsthe chief veterinary officer of The netherlands has defended the country's decision to cull thousands of goats in an effort to control an unprecedented outbreak of Q fever.
Christianne Bruschke told Nature after a meeting in Breda a city near the heart of the outbreak.
Nature Newsscientists say they have caught the first pieces of interstellar dust the fundamental building blocks of the Sun, Earth and the rest of the Solar system.
Nature Newsa bacterial protein used in a common pesticide kills intestinal parasitic roundworms in mice and may become a treatment option for humans,
Nature Newstree-ring data from more than 300 sites in Asia have allowed scientists to piece together a year-by-year history of the region's monsoon rains as far back as 1300 AD.
what nature can throw at us. That's a big deal, he adds. The monsoon study is also valuable to historians.
Nature Newspolicy Business Business watch Research Events The week ahead Number crunch Sound bites Policy Fusion first:
The news came two weeks after a court ruling went in Singh's favour (see go. nature. com/EQFFG3), overturning a previous decision on Singh's April 2008 article.
See go. nature. com/ov7qku for more. Climatologists cleared: An inquiry has upheld the integrity of research by the'climategate'scientists at the University of East Anglia, UK.
See go. nature. com/XNGGKB for more. Arctic-impact study: The US Department of the interior has requested a scientific review of the possible ecological impact of drilling for oil and gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in the Arctic.
will replace the ageing Toxic Substances Control Act (see Nature 463,599; 2010). ) Business watch Genetically engineered crops offer significant environmental and economic advantages over non-transgenic varieties,
See go. nature. com/ddcpba for more. Research A microbial world Estimates for the number of microbial species in the world's oceans have jumped massively.
See go. nature. com/Pnstez for more. Data torrents: Scientists at the University of California, Davis, last week unveiled Biotorrents, a website that enables people to share scientific data,
See go. nature. com/ubozh8 for more. Network failure: A 55-year-old clinical-trials network needs a major overhaul, according to a report by the Institute of Medicine, the WASHINGTON DC-based health arm of the National Academies.
See go. nature. com/Ftvahs for more. Events Volcano delays: The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajã kull,
See Nature's online special for a retrospective slideshow and stories from our archive. www. nature. com/hubble 24-28 april About 13,000 scientists are expected at Experimental Biology 2010 in Anaheim, California.
The conference includes lectures and posters from fields such as anatomy, biochemistry and pharmacology. go. nature. com/Errfze 27-29 april The Cambridge Healthtech Institute's Drug Discovery Chemistry conference is held in San diego, California,
with programmes on antibacterial drug development and protein-protein interactions as drug targets. www. drugdiscoverychemistry. com 28-29 april A symposium hosted by the Zoological Society of London examines the link between the conservation of biodiversity
and reductions in poverty. go. nature. com/jr2rlc Number crunch 4%The proportion of global anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions emitted by dairy cows,
US President Barack Obama tells Florida's Kennedy space center on 15 april that sending astronauts to the Moon is so last century (see go. nature. com/zwdf2w for more.
Nature Newsmarion Guillou is the chief executive of France's National Institute for Agricultural Research, Europe's largest agricultural-research agency.
Nature Newspolicy Business Research Events People Business watch The week ahead Sound bites News maker Policy Fossil-fuel drilling:
because spinning turbine blades can confuse air-defence radar (see Nature 451,746; 2008). ) But under an agreement announced on 31 march,
See detailsstemcellclini. html>go. nature. com/Zrahkc for more. Synchrotrons and ships: The UK government has approved an earmarked £97. 4 million (US$148 million) to expand the country's Diamond synchrotron in Harwell, Oxfordshire;
The effects of the recession have prompted Arizona State university in Tempe to withdraw from a much-heralded medical school partnership designed to boost biotechnology research in Phoenix (see Nature 446,971-972;
See go. nature. com/Zhgm3a for more. Wind reliability: Linking offshore wind farms together with an undersea cable down the US east coast could produce a reliable supply of grid electricity,
The start-up comes nearly 18 months after a major accident sidelined the LHC for more than a year (see Nature 463,1008-1009;
See go. nature. com/EQFFG3 for more. The week ahead 12 april In London, the Royal Institution of Great britain faces a showdown meeting:
Kenya. go. nature. com/HV9GSH 14-18 april Two annual meetings will see debate on a federal rule that allows Native american tribes to reclaim ancient bones found near their lands (see Nature 464,
The American Association of Physical Anthropologists meets in Albuquerque, New mexico. go. nature. com/7hmvfjand the Society for American Archaeology meets in St louis,
Missouri. go. nature. com/Qdkt9n Sound bites Scientific controversies must be settled by the methods of science rather than by the methods of litigation.
Nature Newsa fight has broken out over attempts to drag'Ardi'-the oldest hominid skeleton found-out of the woods where her discoverers say she lived.
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