Duo bids to create climate of change at nuclear-weapons lab

Washington

Two anti-nuclear organizations have announced their intention to bid together for management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

If selected, the consortium members say, they would redirect the nuclear-weapons research facility away from weapons activity and towards the study of climate change, alternative energy sources, and the environmental clean-up of the surrounding land. The proposal is a long shot, they admit, but they hope the move will influence the final selection.

Los Alamos — one of the nation's three nuclear-weapons labs — has been managed by the University of California for more than 60 years. But a string of recent security lapses has led the US Department of Energy, which oversees the lab, to open the contract to competition (see Nature 423, 104; 2003 10.1038/423104a).

The new bidders are made up of Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment, a watchdog group based in Livermore, California, and Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based body that advocates nuclear disarmament.

Blooming rare: botanic gardens are home to endangered plants such as the titan arum. Credit: ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW

The terms of the competition are expected to be finalized next month, and bidders will probably have to announce their intentions soon after. Several partnerships between universities and private companies are thought likely to compete.

Botanic gardens provide safe haven for rare plants

London

More than 9,000 of the world's endangered plant species are being cultivated successfully in botanic gardens, according to a survey by UK charity Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

The results of the two-year study, released on 18 January, show that about a quarter of the world's known endangered plants have found refuge in the 500 gardens surveyed. Some 34,000 plant species are known to be endangered, but up to 100,000 plants are thought to be under serious threat of extinction from habitat destruction and global climate change. The gardens provide a seed bank of endangered plants, but conservationists say this is no replacement for healthy wild stocks.

Japan warms to joint climate study with UK

Tokyo

Britain and Japan last week initiated a five-year collaboration to study climate change using Japan's Earth Simulator, one of the world's most powerful supercomputers. Japan has been criticized in the past for not releasing computer time for international use.

Six scientists from the NCASCentre for Global Atmospheric Modelling in Reading and the Met Office's Hadley Centre will be stationed in Yokohama to use the computer. They plan to run their climate models with a much better resolution than is currently possible. This will allow them to take into account smaller-scale phenomena, such as wind or water eddies, which can affect the climate. They also hope to develop a model that incorporates chemical and biological processes and their effects on climate.

Gender bias unveiled as big problem in Indian science

New Delhi

Sexual harassment and gender discrimination are top-priority problems for female scientists in India, according to a study funded by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA). The report, conducted by a nine-member panel of independent scientists (seven of them women), concludes that male-centred policies are key obstacles for female scientists.

Women seldom get awards or fellowships, it points out. No woman in the past five years has received a Bhatnagar award, India's top science prize, of which ten were awarded to young scientists this year. In 50 years, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has not appointed a woman as director of any of its 42 labs. INSA has never had a female president in its 70-year history, and all its top officials except one have been male.

INSA is setting up a committee to decide how to implement the recommendations, which include the creation of a central grievance agency, more support through facilities such as crèches, and the inclusion of more women in decision-making bodies.

Brain donation scheme probed in consent row

Washington

The collection of about 100 human brains in Maine for a prominent research institution in Maryland is under investigation, after questions were raised about whether proper consent was given for the donations.

A federal attorney is now interviewing families to decide whether there were any legal violations when these brains were collected, between 1999 and 2003, for the Stanley Medical Research Institute in Bethesda. Several families have come forward to say they did not give permission for the entire brain to be used in research, and the institute has settled one lawsuit with regard to such a claim.

The institute, which focuses on mental diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, provides tissue samples and funds to laboratories for research. It says that it followed all appropriate laws in securing the organs. The brains were collected for Stanley by an embalmer in Maine.

Huygens keeps half an eye on Titan's weather

Munich

Credit: ESA/NASA/JPL/UNIV.ARIZONA

Scientists analysing pictures sent back from Saturn's moon Titan have received only half the number of photos they were hoping for from Huygens, the European Space Agency (ESA) probe that landed on Titan on 14 January. About 350 snaps taken by the probe were not received because ESA controllers neglected to send a computer command telling the right hardware to switch on.

Despite this, photos from Huygens (right), along with other data, have provided clues to the moon's weather cycle. The probe's landing kicked up some methane gas from the ground, which is made largely of water ice and organic molecules. This provides evidence of recent methane rain, scientists say, which probably also helped to carve the river channels seen on the surface. The mission also found signs of volcanic activity: elements detected at the surface suggest that the volcanoes spew out water and ammonia, rather than lava.