Seven days: 1420 February 2014

Research | Policy | Events | Business | Trend watch | Number crunch | Coming up

Stem-cell inquiry An investigation has been launched into last months groundbreaking reports that simply squeezing cells or bathing them in acid can reprogram them into an embryonic state. The RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, said on 14February that it was looking into alleged irregularities in the work of biologist HarukoObokata, who works at the centre and who led the studies, which were published in Nature. The inquiry follows some failed attempts to replicate the results and allegations about problems with images in the papers. Nature is also investigating. See go.nature.com/6cagqv for more.

Neutrino study An experiment run by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, has detected neutrinos beamed from an unprecedented distance of 800 kilometres, according to a report released on 11February. The further that the subatomic particles travel, the more researchers can learn about them. The NuMI Off-Axis Electron Neutrino Appearance (NOvA) experiment also hopes to shed light on why the Universe has more matter than antimatter.

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Politicians vow to get tough on poaching A major political meeting in London has agreed to ramp up the fight against illegal wildlife trafficking, in the face of a huge rise in poaching. Countries including Kenya, Gabon, Tanzania, the United States, China, Germany and the United Kingdom agreed on 13February to treat activities linked to poaching as a serious crime a technical definition meriting tough penalties for criminals among other measures. On 11February, the United States also announced a domestic ban on selling African elephant ivory. More than 20,000 elephants and 1,000rhinoceroses were poached in the past year in Africa. See go.nature.com/qjupqc for more.

GM maize Europe may allow farmers to grow a genetically modified (GM) variety of maize (corn) after a proposal to approve the crop did not receive enough opposition to be quashed at a meeting of European Union member states on 11 February. Of 28countries, 19 voted against the move, but their weighted contributions did not add up to a decisive majority. The European Commission is now legally required to approve the variety, which has been declared safe by the European Food Safety Authority in Parma, Italy. The crop, Pioneer1507, produces a pesticide and would become the third GM crop to be approved in the European Union. See go.nature.com/hez8v5 for more.

Open access The publisher of Science is to launch its first open-access journal in early 2015. The nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced the online-only journal, to be called Science Advances, on 12February. Fees for publishing papers would be within industry norms, said AAAS executive publisher and chief executive Alan Leshner. The London-based Royal Society has also announced a multidisciplinary open-access journal: on 18 February it revealed that Royal Society Open Science will launch in Autumn 2014 to complement the societys existing open-access content. See go.nature.com/mtlcdd for more.

EUSwiss row European UnionSwiss research is under strain after a Swiss vote in favour of immigration quotas led the European Commission to suspend talks on the nations participation in Europes 80-billion (US$110-billion) Horizon 2020 research programme. Switzerland might be refused its associate partner status in the programme, thus limiting scientists ability to use European Research Council grants at Swiss institutes or to lead European Union-funded research consortia. See pages 265 and 277 for more.

Irrigation call Global yields of maize (corn) could rise by 67% by 2050 if farmers in the developing world stopped tilling their soil and began irrigating their fields, says a study from the International Food Policy Research Institute in WashingtonDC. The report, published on 12 February (see go.nature.com/annqmt), assessed technologies that could most benefit food production in the global south. Increased funding for agricultural research also came high on the list of recommendations.

Disease control The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense announced on 13February that they will team up with 26countries, as well as agencies including the World Health Organization, over the next five years to improve global disease detection and control. They established a Global Health Security Agenda that calls for countries to increase immunizations and share data. US President Barack Obama will ask for an extra US$45million for the programme in his budget request next month.

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Seven days: 1420 February 2014