Black-Hole Puzzle Nets $3-Million Prize

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Black-Hole Puzzle Nets $3-Million Prize SEVEN DAYS The news in brief ENERGY EU clean energy The European Commission on 30 November proposed a sweeping set of measures to improve overall energy efficiency in the European Union by 30% by 2030. The Clean Energy for All Europeans package includes new standards for energy- friendly building and energy KELLY SULLIVAN/GETTY FOR BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE BREAKTHROUGH FOR SULLIVAN/GETTY KELLY labelling of consumer goods. The commission hopes that the proposed policies and incentives will mobilize up to €177 billion (US$188 billion) in public and private investment in energy-efficient construction, transport and manufacturing. The package updates a binding 2012 EU directive that commits the Black-hole puzzle nets $3-million prize bloc to a 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020. The discovery of a physics puzzle known as the ribosomal RNA to protein synthesis. The maths black-hole firewall paradox has bagged three award went to US-based Jean Bourgain for work POLICY string theorists — Andrew Strominger, Joseph on the geometry of multidimensional spaces Polchinski and Cumrun Vafa (pictured, left to and on solving partial differential equations. A Gag clause dropped right) — one of the US$3-million Breakthrough special prize was awarded to the 1,015 people The UK government has Prizes, the most lucrative awards in science. working on the LIGO project, which last year abandoned restrictions on The annual prizes, together worth $25 million, made the first detection of gravitational waves. government funding that honour achievements in fundamental physics, A glitzy awards ceremony took place at NASA’s critics said would have life sciences and mathematics. US molecular Ames Research Center in Mountain View, amounted to a ‘gagging clause’ biologist Harry Noller won one of five life- California, on 4 December. See go.nature. on academics. Proposals to sciences prizes, for revealing the centrality of com/2gxims3 for more. prevent government money from being used for broadly defined lobbying activities people’s DNA. Scientists PUBLISHING called for no major changes but were unveiled in February. advising the UK Human suggested a few tweaks, such as But they were put on hold Fertilisation and Embryology arXiv upgrade to the site’s search functions. after scientists protested that Authority (HFEA) said The popular open-access activities such as giving expert on 30 November that physics repository arXiv is EVENTS evidence to parliament would mitochondrial-replacement beginning the first phase of be included. On 2 December, therapy — which aims to a three-year overhaul. With LIGO goes again the government finalized its erase diseases transmitted the help of a US$445,000 LIGO, the Laser Interferometer grant standards and confirmed by the DNA found in grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Gravitational-wave that scientific advice and cellular structures called Foundation in New York City, Observatory has resumed its publicizing research results mitochondria — is ready announced on 29 November, search for gravitational waves, would not be restricted. for limited clinical testing. the repository’s owners starting its second science Science advocates have Britain legalized such therapy will start planning a ‘next- run on 30 November after welcomed the news. in 2015, but the HFEA had generation arXiv’, to be known upgrades to make the system asked for more research as arXiv-NG — a more flexible more sensitive. In September UK fertility step before allowing clinical trials. service that can accommodate 2015, LIGO made the first The United Kingdom is If it gives the go-ahead when new features. In June, the site’s direct detection of gravitational closer to becoming the first it meets on 15 December, the leaders revealed the results waves, from a collision country to explicitly permit first procedures, approved of a massive user survey, between distant black holes. the birth of children from on a patient-by-patient basis, which it is using to guide its The upgrades should make embryos that contain three could occur early next year. modernization. Most users detections of the phenomenon 174 | NATURE | VOL 540 | 8 DECEMBER©2016 M2016ac millan Publishers Li mited, part of Spri nger Nature. All ri ghts reserved. SEVEN DAYS THIS WEEK prize, and biologist Susan Forsburg at the University of Southern California, Los COMING UP XINHUA/EYEVINE Angeles, received the prize for mid-career achievement. 12–16 DECEMBER Each receives US$10,000. The The American awards honour outstanding Geophysical Union’s scientific mentors in a different Fall Meeting, the largest country or region each year. See Earth and space-science page 305 for more. meeting in the world, takes place in San PEOPLE Francisco, California. fallmeeting.agu.org Prize cash donated A Kenya-based malaria 16 DECEMBER more frequent. LIGO has of US president-elect Donald researcher who won a SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket twin detectors in Hanford, Trump. They urge the US$1‑million development returns to flight after Washington, and Livingston, administration to create a prize will donate the money to a failure in September, Louisiana (pictured). strong culture of science and African science. Kevin Marsh to launch satellites recognize that diversity makes at the University of Oxford, for communications New element names science stronger; to ensure that UK, won the inaugural Kuwait- company Iridium from Four new element names environmental laws retain a sponsored Al-Sumait Prize for California. — nihonium (element 113), strong scientific foundation; individuals or institutions who go.nature.com/2gl2tey moscovium (115), tennessine and to provide adequate advance economic, social and (117) and oganesson (118) resources for scientists to human-resources development — were confirmed by the do their jobs. The scientific in Africa on 22 November. secured the €436 million International Union of Pure community stands ready “to He is a senior adviser to the (US$464 million) it needs for and Applied Chemistry hold accountable any who African Academy of Sciences the mission at a meeting in (IUPAC) on 28 November. might seek to undermine” the and led the renowned Kenya Switzerland on 2 December. The names, outlined in June by role of science in policymaking, Medical Research Institute in European government IUPAC, were proposed by the says the letter. Nairobi from 1989 to 2014. ministers agreed to provide the labs credited with discovering Marsh will donate $400,000 to cash despite rising costs and the elements — in Russia, the AWARDS the academy to create a fund the failure of the agency’s Mars United States and Japan. Yuri to support young scientists, lander Schiaparelli in October. Oganessian becomes only the Mentoring prize and the remaining $600,000 ExoMars 2020 will be a joint second living person to have an This year’s Nature Awards for to Oxford’s African science mission with Russia. See page element named after them. Mentoring in Science have programmes. 177 for more. been given to two mentors Dear Mr Trump from the US west coast. Julie FUNDING EU defence fund More than 2,300 scientists, Overbaugh, an HIV researcher The European Commission including 22 Nobel laureates, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Europe to Mars plans to launch a fund from all 50 US states published Research Center in Seattle, Europe is set to land its first dedicated to defence research, an open letter on 30 November Washington, was awarded rover on Mars in 2021, after it announced on 30 November. to the incoming government the lifetime-achievement the European Space Agency The research programme will cover technologies such as electronics, encrypted software and robotics and will be run TREND WATCH LATE HIV DIAGNOSES PEVALENT IN EUOPE under a broader European Nearly half (47%) of HIV-positive people in the European Union Defence Fund. It will have an and European Economic Area are diagnosed late. The infection Nearly 1 in 7 people with HIV in rate in 2015 was 6.3 per 100,000, similar to recent years. expected budget of €90 million Europe do not know they have (US$97 million) over three Early-stage diagnosis Late-stage diagnosis it, estimates a report from the years from 2017 and will be Mode of European Centre for Disease transmission: separate from the European SOURCE: EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR SOURCE: EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR Prevention and Control. Delayed Union’s Horizon 2020 research Sex between men DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL diagnoses mean that some may programme. Classified calls not benefit from treatment and will be open only to European may spread the virus. The data Heterosexual sex Union member states and suggest that people contracting Norway. If the scheme is HIV through injecting drugs or successful, the Commission heterosexual sex are likely to be Injecting drugs hopes to increase the diagnosed later than those who programme’s budget to around acquire it through sex between €500 million a year from 2021. men (see chart). The average 0 25 50 75 100 Proportion of diagnoses (%) time from infection to diagnosis Late stage indicated by CD4 cell count of <350 cells mm–3; early stage, ≥350. NATURE.COM is almost four years. For daily news updates see: www.nature.com/news ©2016 Mac millan Publishers Li mited, part of Spri nger Nature. All8ri gDECEMBERhts reserved. 2016 | VOL 540 | NATURE | 175 .
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