Seven days: 30 May5 June 2014

Research | Policy | Awards | Funding | Business | Trend watch | Coming up

Misconduct update Haruko Obokata, a stem-cell researcher at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, has agreed to retract one of her two controversial research papers, according to media reports in Japan on 28May. In the papers published in Nature in January, Obokata claimed that she had created a new type of stem cell using simple exposure to acid or physical stress. But the work was found to have included manipulated and duplicated images, and in April a RIKEN investigation found Obokata guilty of misconduct. See go.nature.com/wsfox5 for more.

Weight issues Obesity is on the rise throughout the world, researchers announced on 28May. Data from more than 19,000 individuals in 188 countries show that the prevalence of overweight and obese people rose by 27.5% for adults and by 47.1% for children between 1980 and 2013. Almost two-thirds of obese people live in developing countries. The study found no countries in which obesity rates had fallen significantly (M. Ng et al. Lancet http://doi.org/szv; 2014).

Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Cleaner power in prospect Existing US power plants will have to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 under a plan from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on 2 June. The proposal will help to steer the United States towards reducing total greenhouse-gas emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, to meet a 2009 pledge from President Barack Obama. Power plants (such as the Bruce Mansfield Plant in Pennsylvania, pictured) are the single largest source of carbon pollution in the country. Regulations exist to limit emissions of pollutants such as arsenic and mercury, but there are no national controls on carbon-emission levels. The EPA expects to finalize the plan by June 2015, after a 120-day period for public comment. See go.nature.com/gjyruv for more.

IQ on trial Some defendants with intelligence-quotient (IQ) scores of more than 70 may now escape execution on the basis of intellectual disability, after a US Supreme Court ruling on 27May. The ruling came in favour of Freddie Lee Hall, a convicted murderer in Florida who has spent 35years on death row. Federal law prohibits the execution of intellectually disabled people, defined under Florida law as an IQ of less than 70. In his latest test, Hall had an IQ of 71. The Supreme Court affirmed the position of psychiatrists that IQ tests have a ten-point margin of error. The case now returns to Floridas court for a reassessment. See go.nature.com/xiiitc for more.

EU clinical trials New rules governing clinical trials across Europe became law on 27May when they were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The rules were overhauled to simplify how trials are approved, including harmonizing application procedures across all 28member states, and include an obligation to disclose research results. They will come into force in mid-2016.

Patent clarity The US Supreme Court moved to rein in ambiguous patents in a ruling on 2June. The decision relates to a case concerning a patent on heart-rate monitors used during exercise. A lower court had ruled that the patent was valid despite being somewhat ambiguous. The Supreme Court said that the lower court should have higher standards for patent clarity. The move could have implications for patent trolls, who take advantage of ambiguous patents to sue companies for infringement. See page 7 for more.

Rights to therapy Patients do not have an automatic right to try a compassionate therapy when there is no scientific evidence that it works, according to a landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The 28May ruling referred to the case of Nivio Durisotto, who wanted his daughter, who has a degenerative brain disease, to be treated with a controversial stem-cell therapy offered by the Stamina Foundation in Brescia, Italy. Staminas president Davide Vannoni who is facing charges of fraud had encouraged patients to appeal for the right to treatment on compassionate grounds. See go.nature.com/xqdpfb for more.

GM compromise The European Union (EU) reached a compromise on the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops, in a closed-door meeting on 28May. EU member states are currently supposed to allow cultivation of any GM crop that the European Food Safety Authority deems safe for health and the environment. But some countries have refused, creating a constitutional stand-off. Now, EU member states will be allowed to opt out of growing GM crops on non-scientific grounds, such as issues relating to town and country planning. European environment ministers will vote on the proposal on 12June; it also requires parliamentary approval.

See the original post:
Seven days: 30 May5 June 2014