Court rules in favour of research on Kennewick Man

San Diego

Native Americans want to bury Kennewick Man. Credit: KRT

After some 9,300 years in the ground, and a further six in storage at a museum, the skeleton of Kennewick Man could finally be made available to researchers in a few weeks' time. A federal court ruling on 8 January seems to have cleared the way for the remains to be studied, leaving anthropologists and archaeologists hopeful of beginning work as soon as April.

Kennewick Man was found in a riverbed in Washington state in 1996. It is one of the earliest hominid specimens found in North America, but has only briefly been examined. Further research has been delayed by a long-running legal dispute between researchers and the US Department of the Interior, which argued on behalf of native American tribes that they should be allowed simply to bury the skeleton.

Judge John Jelderks said that the scientists should be allowed to examine the bones. This ruling follows an appeal by the tribes against a separate decision last year to allow the skeleton to be studied (see Nature 419, 870; 2002).

The scientists are now in discussion with government officials on precisely when the research can begin. Tribal officials still hope to block the research in the courts, but observers of the case say that further delays are unlikely.

UK wants to swap facts for issues to teach bored teens

London

The British government is considering reforms that would see many teenagers abandon traditional school lessons in physics, chemistry and biology in favour of studies of contemporary scientific issues.

The proposed changes in the national curriculum for children aged 14–16 include a greater emphasis on issues such as genetic modification, the limitations of scientific data, and discussions on media coverage of science. Lessons in conventional core science subjects would be scaled down to accommodate the changes, which are largely aimed at students who will not study science or engineering at university; supplementary courses in traditional subjects will be retained for those who intend to do so.

Some education groups have criticized the plans, which are likely to be included in a government discussion paper to be released later this month. But others argue that they are needed to address waning interest in these subjects. A parliamentary committee last year criticized science lessons as so “boring” and “overloaded with facts” that they put people off science for life (see Nature 418, 266; 2002).

Senators turn up heat on greenhouse gases

Washington

Two prominent US senators have introduced legislation that would set up a trading regime for major producers of greenhouse gases, as well as setting overall targets for US greenhouse-gas emissions.

The bill, jointly sponsored by senators Joe Lieberman (Democrat, Connecticut) and John McCain (Republican, Arizona), was introduced at a hearing of the Senate commerce committee on 7 January. Its introduction by two of President George W. Bush's main political rivals as first order of business in the new Congress is viewed as a direct challenge to what critics see as the Bush administration's inertia on the climate-change issue (see page 195).

The Lieberman–McCain bill would seek to stabilize US carbon emissions at 2000 levels by 2010, and cut them to 1990 levels by 2016. It would also accelerate climate-change research and establish a scholarship programme at the National Science Foundation for young scientists in the field. But the measure faces opposition in the Senate and probably has even less support in the House of Representatives and the Bush administration.

University of California faces wave of budget cuts

San Diego

Students heading for the University of California this autumn look set to face hefty fee increases as the university responds to a fresh cut of $300 million in its annual budget.

The university, which runs nine campuses around the state, learned the bad news when details of the proposed state budget were released by governor Gray Davis on 10 January. The proposal contained some relief — no new cuts were suggested in the university's state-funded research programme. But sharp cuts of some $80 million in the $300 million that the state spends each year on research in the university had already been announced (see Nature 421, 5; 200310.1038/421005a).

The proposed $96.4-billion state budget will now be considered by state legislators and the details finalized in the summer. In response, observers say, the university will probably introduce a range of other austerity measures, perhaps including a freeze on new appointments and restrictions on travel.

Noise protests drown out whale sonar tests

San Francisco

Trials of a new sonar intended to protect whales have been suspended, because of fears that the device itself could damage the animals. Biologists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts say their sonar could alert sea-users, such as large ships and oil-exploration companies, that whales are in the area.

The researchers wanted to test the sonar off the coast of California earlier this month. But environmentalists said it should not be used because the noise it generates, which is louder than a jet engine, could injure migrating grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus). They say the situation is not serious enough to justify the risk. On 8 January a federal court agreed, and suspended tests pending further enquiries.

Underwater sonar has been linked to whale deaths before (see Nature 415, 106; 200210.1038/415106a), but the biologists insist that their equipment is safe as it operates outside the hearing range of the whales. A final decision is expected on 17 January.

Avian botulism clips wings of Taiwanese spoonbills

Endangered: 10% of the world's black-faced spoonbills may have died of avian botulism. Credit: FANG-TSE CHAN

Taipei Conservationists and researchers in Taiwan are investigating an outbreak of avian botulism that has wiped out up to 10% of the global population of an endangered bird in the past two months.

Over 70 black-faced spoonbills, Platalea minor, at the Chiku Lagoon have succumbed to the disease. Current estimates put the worldwide population of the birds as low as 700. The birds breed on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula and spend winter in Taiwan, China and Vietnam.

Warm winter weather, which encourages the growth of the bacteria that produce the botulism toxin, is being blamed for the outbreak. Researchers from Japan and South Korea met their Taiwanese counterparts this month to discuss the problem. Some suggested attaching transmitters to 12 spoonbills at disease-control centres, to track their feeding habits, but critics say this could stop the birds flying normally. Others say the answer lies in better wetland preservation.