Monkey transplant
A baby monkey has developed from an egg produced in transplanted ovarian tissue, raising hopes for women who risk becoming infertile during cancer treatment. A team led by David Lee of the University of Oregon in Eugene removed ovaries from seven rhesus monkeys, then transplanted slices into other organs, such as the kidney. The slices continued to produce eggs, which were fertilised through IVF and implanted in two surrogate mothers, one of whom gave birth last year.
Chemistry Nobel
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By solving the mystery of how our cells admit water and salts, two Americans earned this year鈥檚 Nobel prize in chemistry. Peter Agre of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, discovered 鈥渁quaporins鈥� 鈥� channels that span cell membranes and only allow water to pass. Roderick MacKinnon of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Rockefeller University in New York discovered how ion channels work, explaining their vital role in a multitude of processes from the transmission of nerve impulses to muscle contraction.
Heat shock
At least 35,000 people died as a result of the heatwave that scorched Europe in August, says the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental think tank in Washington DC. In France alone, some 14,800 died from heat-related causes. The EPI warns that climate change will bring even more devastating heatwaves.
Space money
From Monday, 20 October, you can bid for money that astronauts carried into space. The European Space Agency () will accept the highest bids for thee sets of banknotes and 15 sets of coins that flew on the International Space Station last year. The cash raised will fund a space education programme. The minimum donation is 鈧�5000, for which you might get coins worth 鈧�3.88, if you鈥檙e lucky.