Volume 439 Number 7073 pp117-242 In this issue (12 January 2006) Also this week • Editor's Summary • Authors • Editorials • Nature Podcast • Research Highlights • Books and Arts • News • News and Views • News Features • Obituary • Brief Communications • Business • Articles • Correspondence • Letters • Naturejobs • Futures Editorials Ethics and fraud p117 The trajectory of the Hwang scandal highlights the shortness of the path between unethical behaviour and outright misconduct. Three cheers for peers p118 Thanks are due to researchers who act as referees, as editors resolve their often contradictory advice. Research Highlights Research highlights p120 News Verdict: Hwang's human stem cells were all fakes p122 Korean scientist did not clone a human embryo but did clone a dog. David Cyranoski French research chief quits over reforms p122 Plans for restructured agency prompt resignation. Declan Butler Yes, but will it jump? p124 Experts divided on whether H5N1 bird flu will gain ability to spread between people. Declan Butler Sidelines p126 DNA tests put death penalty under fire p126 Campaigners hope re-examination of evidence will undermine capital punishment. Emma Marris Bird lovers keep sharp eye on owls p127 Visitors from Europe ruffle conservationists' feathers. Jim Giles Methane finding baffles scientists p128 Plant production of greenhouse gas throws up questions for climate models. Quirin Schiermeier News in brief p129 Correction p129 News Features Origins of DNA: Base invaders p130 Could viruses have invented DNA as a way to sneak into cells? John Whitfield investigates. Space exploration: A shot in the dark? p132 Japan's mission to collect a sample from a distant asteroid looks to have ended in failure. Ichiko Fuyuno investigates how the setback will affect Japan's struggling space programme. Prion disease: The shape of things to come p134 A number of fatal brain diseases are linked to misfolded proteins, an effect researchers are mimicking in the lab. But as they generate new versions of these malformed molecules, could they be creating a monster? Roxanne Khamsi finds out. I Business All systems go p136 Industrial chemists are borrowing techniques from drug researchers to track down materials with desirable properties. Andrea Chipman reports. In brief p137 Market Watch p137 Correspondence Neuroscience gears up for duel on the issue of brain versus deity p138 Kenneth S. Kosik Testing is necessary on animals as well as in vitro p138 Andrew Huxley Animal-rights extremists lose public support p138 P. Browne Why should child care be seen as a women's issue? p138 Maria José Hötzel Books and Arts In the grey zone p139 If behaviour arises from interactions between genes and the environment, in what sense is it hardwired? Erik Parens reviews Hardwired Behavior: What Neuroscience Reveals about Morality by Laurence R. Tancredi The monster that is medicine p140 W F Bynum reviews Dr Golem: How to Think about Medicine by Harry Colins and Trevor Pinch A little judgement p141 Harry Collins reviews Nano-Hype: The Truth Behind the Nanotechnology Buzz by David M. Berube Science in culture: A bigger picture of apes p142 The recent King Kong film highlights how our perceptions of gorillas have changed. Janet Browne News and Views Extinctions: A message from the frogs p143 The harlequin frogs of tropical America are at the sharp end of climate change. About two-thirds of their species have died out, and altered patterns of infection because of changes in temperature seem to be the cause. Andrew R. Blaustein and Andy Dobson Space Physics: Breaking through the lines p144 Magnetic field lines are known to reorganize themselves in plasmas, converting magnetic to particle energy. Evidence harvested from the solar wind implies that the scale of the effect is larger than was thought. Götz Paschmann Medicine: Politic stem cells p145 Research on embryonic stem cells holds huge promise for understanding and treating disease. Many people oppose such research on religious and ethical grounds, but two new methods may bypass some of these objections. Irving L. Weissman 50 & 100 years ago p147 Global change: A green source of surprise p148 Living terrestrial vegetation emits large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. This unexpected finding, if confirmed, will have an impact on both greenhouse-gas accounting and research into sources of methane. David C. Lowe Behaviour: Smells, brains and hormones p149 Contrary to the traditional view, the main olfactory pathway can mediate responses to pheromones as well as to common odours. Recent studies show that pheromone-activated hormonal systems extend widely within the brain. Gordon M. Shepherd Obituary Lawrence C. Katz (1956–2005) p152 Neuroscientist who helped to make sense of sense. Carla J. Shatz Brief Communications Teaching in tandem-running ants p153 Tapping into the dialogue between leader and follower reveals an unexpected social skill. Nigel R. Franks and Tom Richardson II Articles Hit-and-run planetary collisions p155 Erik Asphaug, Craig B. Agnor and Quentin Williams Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming p161 J. Alan Pounds, Martín R. Bustamante, Luis A. Coloma, Jamie A. Consuegra, Michael P. L. Fogden, Pru N. Foster, Enrique La Marca, Karen L. Masters, Andrés Merino-Viteri, Robert Puschendorf, Santiago R. Ron, G. Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa, Christopher J. Still and Bruce E. Young A quantitative protein interaction network for the ErbB receptors using protein microarrays p168 Richard B. Jones, Andrew Gordus, Jordan A. Krall and Gavin MacBeath Letters A magnetic reconnection X-line extending more than 390 Earth radii in the solar wind p175 T. D. Phan, J. T. Gosling, M. S. Davis, R. M. Skoug, M. Øieroset, R. P. Lin, R. P. Lepping, D. J. McComas, C. W. Smith, H. Reme and A. Balogh A semiconductor source of triggered entangled photon pairs p179 R. M. Stevenson, R. J. Young, P. Atkinson, K. Cooper, D. A. Ritchie and A. J. Shields Ultrafast superheating and melting of bulk ice p183 H. Iglev, M. Schmeisser, K. Simeonidis, A. Thaller and A. Laubereau Methane emissions from terrestrial plants under aerobic conditions p187 Frank Keppler, John T. G. Hamilton, Marc Bra and Thomas Röckmann Stability of hydrous melt at the base of the Earth's upper mantle p192 Tatsuya Sakamaki, Akio Suzuki and Eiji Ohtani A Cretaceous symmetrodont therian with some monotreme-like postcranial features p195 Gang Li and Zhe-Xi Luo Outbred embryos rescue inbred half-siblings in mixed-paternity broods of live-bearing females p201 Jeanne A. Zeh and David W. Zeh Specificity in Toll-like receptor signalling through distinct effector functions of TRAF3 and TRAF6 p204 Hans Häcker, Vanessa Redecke, Blagoy Blagoev, Irina Kratchmarova, Li-Chung Hsu, Gang G. Wang, Mark P. Kamps, Eyal Raz, Hermann Wagner, Georg Häcker, Matthias Mann and Michael Karin Critical role of TRAF3 in the Toll-like receptor-dependent and -independent antiviral response p208 Gagik Oganesyan, Supriya K. Saha, Beichu Guo, Jeannie Q. He, Arash Shahangian, Brian Zarnegar, Andrea Perry and Genhong Cheng Generation of nuclear transfer-derived pluripotent ES cells from cloned Cdx2-deficient blastocysts p212 Alexander Meissner and Rudolf Jaenisch Embryonic and extraembryonic stem cell lines derived from single mouse blastomeres p216 Young Chung, Irina Klimanskaya, Sandy Becker, Joel Marh, Shi-Jiang Lu, Julie Johnson, Lorraine Meisner and Robert Lanza Planar cell polarity signalling couples cell division and morphogenesis during neurulation p220 Brian Ciruna, Andreas Jenny, Diana Lee, Marek Mlodzik and Alexander F. Schier A single amino acid governs enhanced activity of DinB DNA polymerases on damaged templates p225 Daniel F. Jarosz, Veronica G. Godoy, James C. Delaney, John M. Essigmann and Graham C. Walker Palindromic assembly of the giant muscle protein titin in the sarcomeric Z-disk p229 Peijian Zou, Nikos Pinotsis, Stephan Lange, Young-Hwa Song, Alexander Popov, Irene Mavridis, Olga M. Mayans, Mathias Gautel and Matthias Wilmanns Structure of the Sec13/31 COPII coat cage p234 Scott M. Stagg, Cemal Gürkan, Douglas M. Fowler, Paul LaPointe, Ted R. Foss, Clinton S. Potter, Bridget Carragher and William E. Balch Naturejobs Prospect The best-laid plans p239 Planning should take into account the unexpected. III Paul Smaglik Career Views Miodrag Stojkovic, deputy director of regenerative medicine, Prince Felipe Research Centre, Valencia, Spain p240 Leading stem-cell biologist heads across Europe. Siëlle Gramser Mentors & Protégés p240 Physics student praises mentor for good career guidance. Timothy Stoltzfus-Dueck Alumnus Journal: Writing up p240 Finishing a thesis can be worrisome and wonderful. Sidney Omelon Futures Printcrime p242 Copy this story. Cory Doctorow IV 12.1 Editorials MH 10/1/06 3:01 PM Page 117 www.nature.com/nature Vol 439 |Issue no. 7073 |12 January 2005 Ethics and fraud The trajectory of the Hwang scandal highlights the shortness of the path between unethical behaviour and outright misconduct. T he fall of Woo Suk Hwang represents perhaps the highest- every conceivable source — including from junior researchers inside profile case in the sorry history of research misconduct. The the laboratory itself, where allegations of coercion have been made. sheer Shakespearian drama of the Korean cell biologist’s In the end, a result was claimed and the paper published in the eclipse, surrounded by fawning courtiers and plotting groups of complete absence of genuine scientific evidence to support it. acolytes and enemies and in full view of the television cameras, has This will surely leave some people asking: if this single cell in the left few researchers of any discipline, anywhere in the world, body of science was so malignant, how fares the rest? This is an unaware of its circumstances. awkward question and one that many in the community will seek But what really makes the Hwang case special is the importance to evade by referring to the fact that it happened in South Korea of the impugned results (W. S. Hwang et al.Science303,1669–1674; and couldn’t happen here (wherever ‘here’ happens to be). And 2004 and 308,1777–1783; 2005). The claimed cloning of human it is true that standards of oversight at many laboratories would, embryos placed Hwang at the forefront of stem-cell research, at least in theory, make this “This will surely leave perhaps the most acclaimed and contentious sphere of modern kind of scenario improbable. people asking: if this science. It is also the first major misconduct case to occur during the However, research — not least modern era of carefully patented biology, in which scientists may in the dynamic and fiercely com- single cell in the body of aspire not just to fame, but to fortune as well. petitive field of reproductive science was so malignant, All of this raises some general questions about ethics and fraud biology — is increasingly con- how fares the rest?” that researchers had perhaps hoped were put to bed a long time ago. ducted through international Many of these questions were last publicly addressed in the long and collaborations. These often involve working with colleagues in painful aftermath of the Baltimore case, in which a junior researcher, countries, including China and South Korea, where mechanisms for Thereza Imanishi-Kari, was accused of fraud in the laboratory of one supervising ethics and investigating misconduct are at relatively of the United States’ leading microbiologists. early stages of development. David Baltimore was eventually vindicated and is today president It therefore falls to scientists who take research ethics seriously of the California Institute of Technology. But when the allegations to confront the question head on, and to determine what steps were made, the National Institutes of Health opened an Office of should be taken to redouble our efforts to secure standards in both Scientific Integrity, which was later downgraded but continues to the ethics and conduct of research. support fraud investigations at US universities while seeking to get academics to teach their students about ethics and misconduct. Hand in hand This system, imperfect as it may be, A first step is to acknowledge that sound ethics and good research “The US system for is still more advanced than that of practice go hand in hand. The international stem-cell community dealing with fraud, many other nations. Elsewhere in showed some reluctance to distance itself from Hwang when serious imperfect as it may be, the world, cases of fraud have high- questions were raised in this journal in May 2004 about the manner is still more advanced lighted considerable shortcomings in which eggs had been obtained for his experiments (see Nature than that of many in the mechanisms for responding 429,3; 2004). to misconduct. As soon as his main US collaborator, Gerald Schatten of the Uni- other nations.” Another celebrated fraud case versity of Pittsburgh, announced in November that he was bailing involved Jan Hendrik Schön, a physicist at Bell Laboratories in out of his collaboration with Hwang (see Nature438,262–263; 2005), MurrayHill, New Jersey, who was found guilty in 2002 of fabricating people began to speculate that Schatten must know there was a prob- results in a massive and influential string of papers on superconduc- lem with the result of the seminal 2004 paper. After all, they inferred, tivity. However, the general view of the Schön case, outside the dis- no one would leave a wildly successful research group over ethical cipline directly involved at least, has been that no innocent civilians transgressions. Or would they? were hurt, and the fraud was unearthed and duly punished. There The leadership of the scientific community has long argued for a is almost a nagging sympathy for how such a smart young man solid line to be drawn between ethical transgressions — not inform- could be so stupid. ing patients of their rights, sexually harassing staff, coercing junior The scope of the Hwang scandal tends to leave these and other colleagues, that sort of thing — and actual research misconduct, recent misconduct cases in the shade, however. Although the full which refers to the fabrication, falsification or plagiarism of scien- facts of the case remain unknown, its multidimensional outline is tific evidence. already clear. Barely a stone was left unturned in his lab’s attempts to In the wake of the Baltimore scandal, a congressionally mandated secure a positive result. Egg donors were energetically sought from commission chaired by Kenneth Ryan called for a broader definition 117 © 2006 Nature PublishingGroup ©2006 Nature Publishing Group 12.1 Editorials MH 10/1/06 3:01 PM Page 118 EDITORIALS NATURE|Vol 439|12 January 2005 of research misconduct that would embrace some forms of malfea- as well that special investigative procedures are retained exclusively sance beyond fabrication, falsification and plagiarism. His definition for the investigation of the latter. Furthermore, the question of what didn’t cover bioethics, but it did class any breach of research regula- constitutes an ethical transgression may vary between societies tions as misconduct. that elect to impose different rules, whereas scientific fraud knows Ryan’s proposal was roundly condemned in the community, no borders. which fought a lengthy and successful battle to derail it. Researchers In view of the pattern of behaviour that led up to Hwang’s dis- feared that the extension of misconduct investigations to embrace all grace, however, no one should argue ever again that despotism, kinds of professional laxity would lead to endless, fruitless investi- abuse of junior colleagues, promiscuous authorship on scientific gation and, in particular, elicit groundless allegations from junior papers or undisclosed payment of research subjects can be tolerated laboratory malcontents. on the grounds of eccentricity or genius. Research ethics matter It is certainly true that there’s a distinction between personal mis- immensely to the health of the scientific enterprise. Anyone who behaviour in the lab and outright scientific fraud, and it is perhaps thinks differently should seek employment in another sphere. ■ Three cheers for peers a paper, but also pointed out limitations in the value of the finding. The editor concluded that the paper lacked the significance that would justify inclusion in the journal. Thanks are due to researchers who act as referees, On many other occasions, however, the editors’ discretion in as editors resolve their often contradictory advice. making a decision results in a paper’s publication. In one such case, referees criticized a molecular-biology paper for a lack of mecha- T here is nothing like a high-profile fraud case to encourage nistic insight and expressed reservations about the appropriateness journals to reflect on whether the standards and procedures of some of the techniques the authors used. But the editors felt they follow in selecting work for publication are thorough and that the therapeutic implications of the paper merited publication appropriate. Misconduct creates a negative perception of journals’ and, after resolving the technical issues raised by the referees, scientific peer-review processes, and the Hwang fraud saga has pushed ahead with publication of what turned out to be a highly already fuelled some misconceptions about how the combination of cited development. referees and journal editors actually works. Another paper concerned the innovative application of chemistry Peer review remains by far the best available system for scientific to an environmental problem. But before publication, the editor quality control, however, and is an ultimately inspiring one at that. orchestrated considerable iteration between referees from quite Natureis hugely grateful for the advice it receives from about 6,000 disparate backgrounds to ensure that a common understanding of referees each year — typically two or three referees per paper. Most the paper and its reliability had been established. of their reports contain exactly what we need: a statement of what In another case, efforts to obtain review of a paper in genetics the referee considers the central message of the paper; an assessment led to seven refusals to review, one damning review and only one of its significance; and a critique of technical or interpretational positive review. In this case, the editor identified an experiment weaknesses, either in the work itself or in its presentation. that would improve the paper and suggested it, yielding interesting Between them, these elements add up to a verdict on the work’s results that were then published and well received. credibility and robustness. The system, it should be noted, is reliant Only in a minority of cases does every referee agree on whether on trust that what is written in the paper is actually true: it is not or not to publish a paper. The above examples illustrate just a designed to detect the tiny minority of papers that are fraudulent. few ways in which such differ- “Only in a minority of The lives of editors and editorial boards of all journals are made ences arise and demonstrate why cases does every referee interesting by the fact that, in many cases, the referees disagree on journals would lose the respect the verdict. And authors tend to be mightily upset if their papers of their authors and readers if agree on whether or not are rejected when one or more reviewers are positive. Why, they they were to act robotically on to publish a paper.” demand to know, should the view of a negative reviewer be allowed the referees’ advice. Moreover, to dominate the editors’ selection decision? Nature often makes referees aware of what the others are To shed some light on how these decisions are reached, it is worth recommending, which can sometimes provide useful feedback to reflecting on some case studies of how and why referees differ in their the selection process. view of papers submitted to Natureand the Natureresearch journals. We would never claim that Nature’s decision-making process is In one case, an exciting result relied on two techniques and a perfect. Its imperfections — along with those of every other journal theoretical interpretation. The theoretical referee was very positive — are among the multifarious reasons why over-reliance on journal because the work validated an interesting idea. A specialist in one publications as a measure of researchers’ performance is dangerous. of the techniques was positive because he could find no flaw in its Naturehas also dished out its fair share of historically embarrassing application. But the third referee uncovered a technical shortcoming rejections (see Nature425,645; 2003). We can only work to ensure in the second technique, and the paper was rejected after the editor that what we publish will do justice to the diversity of expertise assessed the significance of the shortcoming. that is brought to bear on its selection, and, above all, stand the In another case, one of the referees recommended publication of test of time. ■ 118 © 2006 Nature PublishingGroup ©2006 Nature Publishing Group 12. 1 Research highlights MH 9/1/06 11:44 AM Page 120 Vol 439|12 January 2006 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS The ultimate parasite D R AI D. L Cell123,1351–1360 (2005) A cramped colony of sea squirts can use a single stem cell to take over the reproductive function of a neighbouring colony, researchers at Stanford University in California have found. When two colonies of genetically dissimilar sea squirts (Botryllus schlosseri, pictured) come into contact, they repel each other. But compatible colonies fuse, with their vascular networks joining to form a single circulatory system. Diana Laird and her colleagues discovered that, in fused systems, blood-borne stem cells from one colony can give rise in the other to gametes, the units of sexual reproduction, or polyps, for asexual reproduction. The results suggest that genetically ‘fit’ invading stem cells can outcompete native stem cells — showing how evolutionary pressures can come to bear on stem cells. ARCHAEOLOGY waters of the Bahamas archipelago. between the lead and silicon reversed the Written history Peter Mumby of the University of Exeter, trend, so that odd-numbered layers were the UK, and his international team had been more stable. Sciencedoi:10.1126/science.1121745 (2006) worried that more grouper would mean fewer The earliest-known example of writing from of their prey — parrotfishes (Scaridae) — CANCER BIOLOGY the Mayan civilization, which flourished which graze on algae that otherwise smothers Bad influence in Central America from 1,000 years BC, the coral. Fortunately, though, the fishing-free has emerged from the ruins of a temple at area also saved large species of parrotfish from J. Clin. Invest.116,261–270 (2006) San Bartolo in Guatemala. the net. These big fish can escape the grouper A chaperone protein that normally ‘nannies’ A fragment of wall painted with a column and are naturally the busiest grazers. The other proteins in times of stress could also of ten hieroglyphs (illustrated, scuba-diving scientists found twice as contribute to breast cancer, say researchers CE right) was recovered from deep much grazing and four times less in the United States. Vincent Cryns of N CIE within a pyramid-shaped algae inside the reserves. It’s a happy Northwestern University in Chicago S structure at the site. Radiocarbon ending for the coral, says Mumby. and his team studied a protein known as dating of burnt wood found in (cid:1)B-crystallin, which stops damaged proteins portions of the structure built NANOMATERIALS from clumping together and helps others to earlier, later and at the same time A rather odd film refold correctly. It was present at high levels as the section where the writing in cells from an aggressive type of breast was found put its age between Phys. Rev. Lett.95,266101 (2005) cancer — the basal-like subtype. 200 and 300 years BC, report In electronic devices shrunk to the The team thinks that the protein switches William Saturno of the nanoscale, changing the thickness on a signalling system that involves the University of New Hampshire of a metallic film by just one atom enzyme MAPK kinase. They showed that in Durham and his colleagues. can have profound effects. Some of adding extra (cid:1)B-crystallin to human breast The find suggests that the these effects can be fine-tuned, as cells made them develop abnormalities typical Maya evolved writing systems illustrated by Tai-Chang Chiang and of the cancer, and that blocking the identified around the same time as other his colleagues from the University of signalling pathway prevented these changes. Meso-American civilizations. Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in a neat set of experiments. NEUROSCIENCE MARINE ECOLOGY They studied how the electronic Seeing is believing Fishing prohibited energy levels, and hence the overall stability, of a lead film on a silicon Neuron49,81–94 (2006) Science311,98–101 (2006) substrate varied with its thickness. Bipolar cells in the retina, which enhance Counter-intuitively, no-fishing Films made from an even number the contrast of visual input, have curious zones designed to save large of atomic layers were normally properties. In one subpopulation, for Caribbean fish such as the more stable than films with an example, the neurotransmitter GABA has Nassau grouper (Epinephelus odd-numbered thickness. But the opposite effects on the membrane charge at striatus) also benefit threatened authors found that introducing a the cell’s two ends. It depolarizes the input corals, reveals a survey of the single layer of indium atoms end while hyperpolarizing the end that 120 © 2006 Nature PublishingGroup ©2006 Nature Publishing Group 12. 1 Research highlights MH 9/1/06 11:44 AM Page 121 NATURE|Vol 439|12 January 2006 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS N/SSL AI R D. B stretches towards the retina’s output layer. Mexico, and his colleagues present an Thomas Euler and Thomas Kuner of independent test of controversial data the Max Planck Institute for Medical suggesting the fine-structure constant, Research in Heidelberg, Germany, (cid:1), has changed over the past 8.5 billion and their colleagues confirm the long- years. The team analysed absorption standing hypothesis that the opposing and emission lines from hydroxyl and responses are enabled by a gradient in the hydrogen atoms in radio observations. concentration of chloride ions running They conclude that the fractional down the cell’s length. To show this, they change in (cid:1)over the past 6.5 billion engineered mice to express Clomeleon, years was less than 6.7(cid:2)10(cid:3)6. a chloride-sensitive fluorescent protein. Although this new limit does not rule out the change in (cid:1)claimed from MOLECULAR BIOLOGY observations of quasars, the data used Copyeditor stops press are less prone to systematic errors. A precise test of the original study’s Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. doi:10.1038/nsmb1041 (2005) polymer resin and light-emitting dye, conclusions will be possible with the A class of enzyme thought to be no more concocted by James Gregory of Purdue improved sensitivity of the next generation than the cell’s back-room copyediting desk in University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and his of radio telescopes. fact has a key role in controlling gene activity, co-workers, generates an image of a sound say researchers. wave bouncing off a thin, porous film of the PLANETARY SCIENCE The enzymes, called ADARs, edit RNA by mixture applied to a surface. The brightness Martian lights altering specific RNA bases. This editing of the dye emission depends on the partial changes the function of several mammalian pressure of oxygen in the surrounding air, Geophys. Res. Lett. doi:10.1029/2005GL024782 genes, but mysteriously, its main target is the and so is a measure of air pressure. (2006) large number of RNAs that do not code Pressure-sensitive paints have been Aurorae regularly flicker on and off at Mars, a for proteins. Now Kazuko Nishikura of the developed over the past several years for study suggests. Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and her aeronautical studies, but have only recently After the recent report of the first known colleagues have an explanation. been proposed as acoustic sensors. Gregory martian aurora (Nature435,790–794; 2005), They studied non-coding RNAs called and his team show that their paint is sensitive David Brain of the University of California, microRNAs that switch off, or silence, target enough to map the changing shape of a sound Berkeley, and his colleagues delved into past genes. They found that ADARs alter the field over an area of about 22(cid:2)17 centimetres. data from the Mars Global Surveyor satellite. processing of particular microRNAs and In six years’ worth of data, they uncovered suppress their expression. This shows that ASTRONOMY some 13,000 energetic electron-collision RNA editing and RNA interference interact. The constant question events linked to hundreds of auroral flashes. The aurorae occur when electrons SMART MATERIALS Phys. Rev. Lett. 95,261301 (2005) accelerate along magnetic field lines that Paint that listens Astronomers are suggesting a way to tighten connect the solar wind to localized magnetic the noose around claims that a fundamental fields in the martian crust (pictured above). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119,251–261 (2006) constant of physics has changed over the Many of the most energetic aurorae took It looks like paint, and can be sprayed like lifetime of the Universe. place during solar storms, suggesting that paint. But it’s actually a microphone. Nissim Kanekar of the National Radio electrons are most readily accelerated during The mixture of ceramic nanoparticles, Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New those times. JOURNAL CLUB glacial geomorphology But how to quantify the magnitude distribution of helium-isotope ratios manuscripts founded in geophysics and timing of the alteration? within single mineral grains. Kurt Cuffey and rich with conceptual insight David Shuster of the California They apply their technique to University of California, (B. Hallet J. Glaciol.23,39–50; Institute of Technology in samples from the walls of a glacial Berkeley, USA 1979; J. Oerlemans Z. Gletsch. Pasadena and his colleagues valley in British Columbia, Canada. Glazial. 20,107–126; 1984). recently proposed a remarkable It reveals that the rocks underwent A method for dating the carving With my passion for the new source of information rapid cooling 1.8 million years ago, of landscapes by ice or water aesthetics of glacially sculpted (D. Shuster et al. Science310, suggesting the valley was deeply captivates a glaciologist. terrain, it was thrilling to see great 1668–1670; 2005). and rapidly scoured at that time. As an undergraduate, I authored a science applied to the subject. Yet Erosion of a land surface cools If the method withstands manuscript on the shapes of glacial equally striking was the weakness the underlying rocks, in turn scrutiny, studies of active valleys, and successfully had it of the discipline’s empirical side — restricting the mobility of helium processes, such as my own rejected by two minor journals. a problem that persists. produced in situby radioactive investigations of how glaciers erode The silver lining of that cloud Dramatic, characteristic decay. Shuster et al. say they can the cores of mountain belts, will was the ensuing dialogue with wise landforms prove that glaciation reconstruct detailed cooling finally be complemented by precise geologists, who introduced me to has profoundly altered landscapes. histories from the spatial dating of landform evolution. 121 © 2006 Nature PublishingGroup ©2006 Nature Publishing Group 12.1 News 122-123 MH 10/1/06 2:53 PM Page 122 Vol 439|12 January 2006 NEWS Verdict: Hwang’s human stem cells were all fakes SEOUL have used only 242 eggs for the 2004 study and The results are in. The university committee 185 for the 2005 study. looking into scientific misconduct in the labo- The findings are a huge setback for thera- ratory of South Korean cloner Woo Suk Hwang peutic cloning — the idea that cloned embryos announced on 10 January that his 2004 claim could be used as a source of patient-matched to have cloned a human embryo was fake. But stem cells to replace damaged tissues in a his Afghan hound Snuppy is a real clone. range of diseases. Even using numbers of The announcement finally human eggs of which other AP N Y.-J./ ccoionnfsir mofs Htwhea nggr’sa vwesotr ks uwspitih- rHewseaanrgch’s etresa mca nw oans luyn darbelaem to, H A humans. There are two papers derive such stem cells, and in which Hwang’s group the field is now left with no claimed to clone human cells evidence that it is possible in — a 2004 article that describes humans at all (see Nature, the first cloned embryo and 438,1056–1059; 2005). derivation of a stem-cell line The committee did find from it (W.S.Hwang et al. Sci- that Hwang succeeded in ence 303, 1669–1674; 2004), cloning human embryos to and a 2005 article that claims the blastocyst stage, from the establishment of eleven which stem cells can be lines, insists Kevin Eggan, a researcher in the ‘patient-specific’ stem-cell lines derived. But the success rate field at Harvard University, Massachusetts. But (W. S. Hwang et al. Science At least Snuppy has been was just 10%, and they were no one will venture a guess as to when it might 308,1777–1783; 2005). Both confirmed as a clone. “in poor condition”. The only be accomplished. “There are many unknowns,” have turned out to be complete other group to have some says Eggan. “We don’t know how many eggs and deliberate fakes. success, Alison Murdoch’s team at the Univer- will be needed and we don’t know how many “Such an act is nothing other than deception sity of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, has cloned women will step forward to contribute.” of the scientific community and the public just a single blastocyst (M. Stojkovic et al. Ethical transgressions in the way Hwang at large,” concludes Myung Hee Chung of Reprod. BioMed. Online11,226–231; 2005). got his eggs — he seems to have coerced Seoul National University (SNU), who headed It is possible to create embryonic stem-cell junior researchers into donating — have stim- the committee. With the 2005 paper already discredited in the panel’s interim report (see Nature439,8; French research chief quits over reforms 2005), Chung’s statement focused on the 2004 paper. DNA fingerprinting tests carried out by three laboratories found that the genetic mate- PARIS director-general carries them chemistry, humanities, and rial of the supposedly cloned human cell line, Bernard Meunier, president of through, but in practice the maths and physics — and two NT-1, did not match that of the donor. Nor did France’s basic-research agency, latter holds the reins of power. ‘cross-cutting’ departments it match any of the stem-cell lines from the in the CNRS, resigned on The reforms came into force — engineering and the vitrofertilization (IVF) embryos of MizMedi 5January. The move brings on 1 January. They are meant to environment, and sustainable Hospital, which were the source for the faked to a head simmering internal encourage multidisciplinarity, development. data in the 2005 paper. tensions over the future of the wealth creation, the Meunier, a chemist, regards Further investigation revealed that mito- 26,000-member body. development of labs outside Larrouturou’s reforms as chondrial DNA from the cell line matched one The CNRS has declined to Paris, and tighter links with unnecessary management of the egg donors, but the DNA inside the cells’ comment on the resignation, French universities. The interference that he believes nuclei varied at several locations. The com- apart from issuing a short structural reforms are due to be will weaken science at the mittee concluded that the line was derived by statement by Meunier. In it, he completed later this year by a agency. He thinks that the new parthenogenesis — where the single set of makes public his disagreement ‘strategic plan’ that will lay out configuration of departments chromosomes in an egg develop as if it were over the reform plans of the future policies in more detail. would complicate rather than fertilized. The images and data in the paper agency’s director-general, As a result of the reform, the simplify matters, with that showed perfect matches were fabricated. mathematician Bernard CNRS’s eight existing laboratories often belonging The committee also found that Hwang Larrouturou. In principle, the departments have been to several different worked with a staggering number of eggs — president defines the general regrouped into four broad departments at once, and 2,061 from 129 women — despite claiming to goals of CNRS policy and the departments — life sciences, he questions how the cross- 122 © 2006 Nature PublishingGroup ©2006 Nature Publishing Group 12.1 News 122-123 MH 10/1/06 2:53 PM Page 123 NATURE|Vol 439|12 January 2006 NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: HWANG All our news on the scandal, complete with a timeline and a guide to who’s who. www.nature.com/news/ specials/hwang Even when admitting faked data, Hwang to confirm whether the cow was a clone KI OS has maintained that his human cloning tech- because Hwang did not cooperate with them. N A niques are valid. But most experts say they The committee, which issued a 50-page YR C merely involve tweaks to previously known report covering the investigation, stopped D. methods, such as squeezing the nucleus out short of accusing Hwang or other individuals of cells rather than sucking them out with a on the team of deliberate fabrication. It needle. “Besides some slight adjustments, deferred to national prosecutors who will now there was really nothing new,” says Teruhiko look into legal aspects of the case and the pos- Wakayama of the Center for Developmental sibility of fraud. Hwang received huge funding Biology in Kobe, Japan, who created the first from the Korean government for his work, mouse clones in 1998. including an annual stipend of US$3 million, Many experts conclude that Hwang’s great- which he started receiving this year as the est achievement was Snuppy, the country’s “supreme scientist”. “Hwang merely first cloned dog (B. C. Lee et al. The Chung committee did Nature436,641; 2005). The SNU tweaked previously report, however, that Hwang investigators verified Snuppy’s was lying when he said in known methods. identity as a clone by proving that November that he did not know There was really he had the same nuclear DNA as about egg donations by his lab the skin-cell donor and the same nothing new.” members. “Hwang accompa- mitochondrial DNA as the egg nied the student to the hospital donor — a conclusion that was confirmed on himself,” the report says. Hwang later circulated 10January by Nature’s own investigation. a form asking for voluntary egg donation and Dog ovulation produces very immature collected signatures from female technicians. eggs, so culturing them is difficult, even for While the committee delivered its report, a basic IVF, says Wakayama. “If it’s real, this is small group of supporters at the university their greatest accomplishment,” he says. The entrance held up signs demanding that Hwang SNU committee also noted that Hwang — be given a chance to prove himself. “We’ll put Myung Hee Chung announces that claims in two originally trained as a veterinarian— showed the smile back on your face,” read the slogan Sciencepapers were deliberately fabricated. greatest skill when it came to cloning animals, on a familiar billboard calling Hwang the notably pigs and cows. “Pride of Korea”. ulated an international debate over how eggs As Nature went to press, however, the Chung does not agree. Hwang’s team, he should be obtained. Eggan expects to gain Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, which says, “cannot represent science in Korea”. But approval this spring to begin human stem-cell originally accused Hwang of faking his data, he ends on a hopeful, if defensive, note. “We cloning research, and he says his group will was about to air a television programme ques- are certain that this learning experience will be follow the US National Academies’ guidelines. tioning Hwang’s claim to have cloned a cow — a stepping stone for better execution and man- These stipulate that egg donors should receive the work that first shot him to fame in South agement of scientific research.” ■ no payment. Korea. The SNU committee said it was unable David Cyranoski cutting departments would work. believes Meunier intended to due to be voted on by the National UE Q The reforms also create five provoke a crisis, gambling that this Assembly next month. This would HÈ regional CNRS boards, and Meunier would force the government to create a national Agency for OT OT argues that this would add an remove Larrouturou and appoint a Research Evaluation, responsible for H unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, new management team. looking at all research agencies, labs RS P N C and hand excessive power to the The upset comes just as the and scientists, a job currently done Y/ K regions, weakening scientific research agency’s dominant role in by the CNRS national committee. NS DI imperatives from central French science is in question. The As Naturewent to press, the BE management. “He feels that it risks CNRS funds its own labs, but French government was tipped to C. LE creating five little CNRSs,” says research will increasingly be driven appoint as Meunier’s successor Jacques Fossey, a chemist who is Bernard Meunier has resigned over by competitive grant proposals Catherine Bréchignac, a physicist head of the research union SNCS changes to France’s research agency. administered by the National and president-elect of the and a member of the CNRS board Research Agency, a body set up Paris-based International Council of directors. agency needs. He adds that he last year with an initial budget of for Science. Bréchignac was In his resignation statement, hopes his resignation will lead to a €350million (US$423 million), director-general of the CNRS Meunier slams the reforms as “an new team that is “more adapted to which will rise to €1.5 billion by 2010. from 1997 to 2000, and earned a excessively administrative network” the actions the CNRS needs to take The CNRS’s power would be reputation as a staunch defender and not the “simple and dynamic to assure its place in French and further reduced by a long-awaited of the agency’s autonomy. ■ mode of functioning” that the European research”. Fossey research and innovation reform bill, Declan Butler 123 © 2006 Nature PublishingGroup ©2006 Nature Publishing Group