The journal Nature has announced that a report claiming that genetically engineered DNA had found its way into wild Mexican corn should not have been published. The announcement, unveiled online last Thursday, came with two critiques of the study and a rebuttal by its authors. Though they are not retracting the original article Nature editor Philip Campbell states that the journal has decided to make the circumstances surrounding it clear and “allow our readers to judge the science for themselves.”

Even a conventional mobile phone user demands more functions and better performance of his mobile phone in the smallest possible space. The mobile phone should also be easy to use, reliable and inexpensive. In order to meet these demands, more data and functions than before must be packed into the circuit boards of mobile phones in the future.

The researchers at the Helsinki University of Technology have met this challenge by developing a new type of production method for electronics, a so-c

Research by Dr Mark Nieuwenhuijsen published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine today (4 April) highlights an area of potential risk to pregnant women through exposure to the by-products of chlorination in swimming pools.
The following statement clarifies the potential risk:

Dr Nieuwenhuijsen, from the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at Imperial College, London says:

“There is no empirical evidence that chlorination by-products in swimming

Iron is vital for cells, because it catalyzes key enzyme reactions; it is also crucial for respiration, fixing atmospheric oxygen to hemoglobin in red blood cells. Iron deficiency can lead to severe anemia, with inadequate tissue oxygenation. An excess of iron is also toxic, as it facilitates the generation of free radicals that can attack the liver, heart and pancreas. This is the case in hereditary hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder which, in 80% of cases, is linked to a point mutation in the Hfe-

Whether it will compete for the title of a girl’s best friend remains to be seen but the element osmium can already challenge diamond in at least one respect: stiffness. According to a report published in the current issue of Physical Review Letters, osmium can withstand compression better than any known material. The results provide a potentially new lead in the search for superhard materials.
Diamond’s ability to resist scratches, dents and chipping–in short, its hardness–makes

Officials of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources went fishing last August to collect samples. They caught largemouth bass at four lakes and two fish hatcheries, but shared no smiles. The bass in all six locations, says a University of Illinois scientist, were infected with a virus they were seeking but didn’t expect to find. The virus — now confirmed in 17 states — is called the largemouth bass virus (LMBV) because only this species is dying from it. That no fish kills