NON-LETHALS REPORT
Non-lethal weapons are a good idea, but still need considerable work, says a new report from the US National Academy of Sciences. Promising areas include chemical agents to calm and disperse crowds, laser and microwave arms, and barriers to protect ships. But effectiveness may be compromised by low investment, a lack of ideas, and perceived treaty constraints on the use of chemical agents.
SCIENCE RETRACTION
Advertisement
Colleagues of disgraced scientist Hendrik Sch枚n have withdrawn eight papers from the journal Science, in the aftermath of the scandal at Lucent Technologies鈥� Bell Labs in New Jersey. Sch枚n鈥檚 dazzling career at the labs came to an abrupt end when an investigation found him guilty of 鈥渋ntentionally or recklessly鈥� fabricating data (New 杏吧原创, 5 October, p 4). His coauthors, who were cleared of misconduct, say they feel obligated to the scientific community to retract their papers (Science, vol 298, p 961).
CRASH INQUIRY
Two aviation giants are blaming each other for the crash of American Airlines flight 587 in New York last November. The tail of the Airbus A300-600 was ripped off after the rudder was forced repeatedly backwards and forwards. At the public hearing into the fatal crash, Airbus said it had told American Airlines its procedures for rudder training were flawed. But the airline maintains there was no formal warning that too much movement could make the rudder detach.