鈥淚f I hadn鈥檛 left the room, I would have either blacked out or thrown up.鈥�
The reaction of MIT biologist Nancy Hopkins to a speech by Harvard president Lawrence Summers, in which he suggested that women have less 鈥渋nnate ability鈥� than men in science and maths (BBC news online, 18 January)
鈥淥verweight, over budget and still on the ground.鈥�
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Reuters on the hype surrounding Tuesday鈥檚 launch ceremony for the double-decker Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet, which has yet to fly (18 January)
鈥淏ehind the glamour and glitz of the launch ceremony is the reality for residents. This plane will be one of the noisiest beasts in the sky.鈥�
John Stewart of the Heathrow Airport Campaign on Aircraft Noise in London, claiming the A380 will only just comply with noise limits set to come into force in 2006 (, 18 January)
鈥淢aybe they prefer uncertainty, so that they can avoid taking action.鈥�
Kevin Trenberth of the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, after Congress cut funding for a network of 110 long-term climate observation stations (Science, vol 307, p 188)
鈥淒uping innocent users into believing that they may be helping the tsunami disaster aid efforts shows hackers stooping to a new low.鈥�
Web security expert Graham Cluley warns of a virus-laden email with the subject line 鈥淭sunami donation! Please help!鈥� (, 17 January)