Peer Reviewed

The influenza virus that killed about 50 million people worldwide around 90 years ago is also lethal in nonhuman primates, a study in this week's Nature reports. The results confirm that it was the virulence, associated with the virus itself, that made it so efficient in claiming young adult lives.

An unexpected link has been spotted between the Asian monsoon and a recently discovered oscillating pattern of sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean. Other newsworthy papers from Nature include Health studies - new for old and Magnetic make-over

Amongst the recommendations are on sharing of information and examples of best practise, investment in mapping and forecasting, protection of cultural and natural heritage, strategic and life-line infrastructure endangered by natural disasters, restraint in producing unvalidated maps and higher priority for early warning systems.

Nature Publishing Group (NPG), publisher of the world's most influential science journals, today announced the launch of Nature Education, a new venture to develop innovative educational resources and tools for science students and their professors.

A study on the memory of a group of Filipinos shows that a deeper level of processing, or semantic processing, in a person’s memory has a significant effect on explicit memory or the intentional recollection of past events or experiences.

There are three great powers in the modern world: the power of nation-states, of the international economy and of working people on whom all states, armies and corporations, ultimately depend. Many of the most important events in the modern world take place at the intersection where these three forces collide.

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature and the Nature Research Journals that will be published online on 14 January 2007. Sizing up stem cells, Maintaining immune regulation, and Getting things into cells with the aid of small molecules.

A comparative study of fine and coarse ambient aerosol samples between an industrial and commercial site and a less polluted site shows the significant effect of industrialization and commercialization on air quality in Metro Manila.

The accurate forecast of a cyclone’s track and intensity is of great importance to lessen the damage it may cause. Not all countries are financially capable to use global circulation models (GCM) in forecasting. Thus, an economical solution for improving the resolution of cyclone forecast is to nest a regional climate model within a global model.

Holograms have so far been considered as a contraption of the future. However, many studies today have made holography a reality. A potential holographic light source is the hydrogen Raman Shifter, a multi-wavelength pulsed coherent light source that is both compact and inexpensive.

Scientists wishing to store spent nuclear fuels inside specially designed ceramics may need to think again. The synthetic materials may not be as durable as was previously thought. Researchers use a new approach to determine nitrogen fixation rates in the world's oceans - with surprising results.

Toluene, a commonly abused toxic compound, is shown to stimulate dopamine release in specific regions of the rat brain known as drug reward pathways, according to research published online in Neuropsychopharmacology this week.

The Piala Seri Endon was conceived to discover and to provide a platform for support, recognition and encouragement of Malaysia’s batik-making talent. It is an annual event that is open only to Malaysians over 18 years of age, and is part of the Malaysia Batik - Crafted for the World movement.

The book of Andrew Kydd is about the role of trust and mistrust in international relations and the Cold War. Its basic assumption is that when states can trust each other, they can live at peace, provided that they are security seekers, uninterested in expansion for its own sake.

In a preliminary field survey to assess bat diversity and ecology in Malaysia, a team of Malaysian and US scientists found a total of 259 specimens representing at least 46 species with an additional 13 individuals yet to be identified to species level.

Astrophysics: Dark matter mapped, Cancer: Enzyme double act evades drug therapy – Nature, A new source of stem cells – Nature Biotechnology, Population-specific differences in gene expression – Nature Genetics

To commemorate the 17th Jailed Journalists Support Day, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Reporters Without Borders Canada invited two Afghan journalists to tour five Canadian cities to speak about freedom of the press and the role of women in Afghanistan.

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature include Palaeoclimate: Tropical connections and Planetary science: Lakes on Titan after all

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature Research Journals include New breast cancer susceptibility gene identified, Evidence for a stem cell origin of cancer, Genetic risk factor for Crohn disease found and Tolerating the gut

jNETworm is a multi-platform application that continuously monitor and pinpoint sources of worms in a LAN, jNetworm is developed using Java and Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP) Technologies and thus it does not depend on any specific platform.

If properly exploited with the modern tools of science, the developing countries can increase their foreign exchange considerably from exports of products from medicinal plants and can also provide modern healthcare to the entire section of the vast rural population of these countries.

About 90 percent of Iraqis feel that the situation in the country was better ahead of the US-led invasion than it is today, according to a poll conducted by the Iraq Centre for Research and Strategic Studies (ICRSS).

Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is delighted to announce the launch of Nature Photonics, a new research journal dedicated to the best photonics research from academia and industry. Nature Photonics is NPG’s first research journal to have its core editorial base in the Asia-Pacific region.

Tokyo University of Science has once again been awarded the the long-term credit rating of "AA- / Outlook Stable" for 2006 by the US rating company Standard & Poor's (S&P).

Papers of interest from Nature Publishing Group’s new research journal Nature Photonics, including: Caged light, Optical buffer on a silicon chip, Blue microdisk lasers hit room temperature, Optical devices lose their sensitive side and Follow the light.

Summaries of newsworthy papers published online in Nature and the Nature Research Journals on 24 December 2006. Including: New genetic cause of an immunodeficiency syndrome found and New streptococcal virulence factors.

Summaries of newsworthy papers published in Nature on 21 December 2006. Including: Fortnightly tidal oscillations in Antarctic ice stream flow, Starve the tumour, sabotage the blood supply, Gamma-ray burst defies classification, Parasite conundrum solved?, Progeria mutation sheds light on normal ageing, Female meerkats get their claws out ...

Recognizing the huge advances in experimental treatments for spinal cord injury, four papers to be published online this week in the journal Spinal Cord address the need for a principled set of guidelines for clinical trials in patients with spinal damage.

During the 28th NAST Annual Scientific Meeting last July 13, 2006, 23 scientists of the University of the Philippines received awards for their outstanding performance and contribution to science and technology.

The Avestro experiment has discovered that a wireless client can still successfully receive and play audio clips such as music, interviews and dialogues sent by the RTP server. There is no significant difference in audio quality among the wireless and the wired connections.