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<jats:p>Two years ago, researchers made the controversial announcement that human influence was warming the world, on the basis of a geographic “fingerprint” that tied the observed warming to increased greenhouse gases. But some climatologists now raise the possibility that natural changes in the North Atlantic may be responsible for part of the fingerprint instead</jats:p>

<jats:p>The North Atlantic is known for decade-long swings in its winds and weather; the most recent turnabout sent brutal chill to northern Europe this winter. Now researchers may have spotted an oceanic driver—changes in the temperatures of various currents—that may be propelling these atmospheric mood swings and could one day yield long-term predictions of European weather</jats:p>

<jats:p>There may be a magic bullet after all, at least when it comes to the flu. Scientists announced last week that they have developed a new compound that may ward off the flu by halting the spread of influenza viruses in the mucous membranes of the nose and lungs. Public health experts caution, however, that even if the new compound, which so far has been tested only in animals, proves to be safe and effective, it shouldn't eclipse current vaccination programs.</jats:p>

<jats:p> Plant biologists have had little success in breeding commercial varieties of nematode-resistant crops. But researchers from three European labs report in this issue ( <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" page="832" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="275" xlink:href="10.1126/science.275.5301.832" xlink:type="simple">p 832</jats:related-article> ) that they have identified the first gene for nematode resistance, which bears some resemblance to previously discovered resistance genes for bacteria and other pathogens. The finding may allow researchers to genetically engineer the trait into plants. </jats:p>

<jats:p> <jats:bold>TORONTO</jats:bold> —Astronomers, like householders, have never cared much for dust. But cosmic dust is gaining new respect, as astronomers study the interplay of dust and light in interstellar space. At an American Astronomical Society meeting here last month, that was the theme of presentations ranging from how dust in the Milky Way creates a giant Polaroid filter for starlight to how gravitational “magnifying glasses” in clusters of stars could be burning away dust. </jats:p>

<jats:p> <jats:bold>SAN DIEGO</jats:bold> —The mathematics community paid tribute at a meeting here last month to one of its legendary figures: Paul Erdös, who died last September. Erdös is considered the most prolific mathematician ever, yet he had no permanent home and no formal job after 1954—only a vast succession of collaborators and a gift for problems that opened productive new areas of research. </jats:p>