On the Record

‘We're uplifted. But they told us there were going to be free drinks, and there aren't any.’

A member of staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency reacts after the organization wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

‘My discoveries are 40 years old, and I am an old man.’

Chemist Yves Chauvin describes why he felt ‘embarrassment, not joy’ on winning the Nobel prize.

Source: Nature, Der Spiegel

Scorecard

Adult stem cells

The Catholic Church in South Korea has found a way to avoid controversy over embryonic stem-cell research. It is planning to spend US$10 million on adult stem-cell studies.

Bird flu

A San Diego entrepreneur may ruffle feathers with a line of avian flu-themed clothing. Among the offerings: a 'Bird Flu Tour' T-shirt and baseball caps sporting the logo 'Pandemic Fever — Catch It!'

Overhyped

Abstinence-only education US health officials in the Bush administration say avoiding sex is good, but Representative Henry Waxman (Democrat, California) isn't convinced by their reasoning. Last week, Waxman charged that the National Abstinence Clearinghouse — the main group set up to evaluate abstinencepromoting programmes — is scientifically unsound. He cited several of the group's official statements, including:

’Sex therapists consider masturbation the first stage of sexual addiction for sex addicts.’ ’Pictures of external genitalia in any form, whether diseased or healthy, can be detrimental to the health of young men and women's minds.’

The clearinghouse's stated goal is to ‘promote the appreciation for and practice of sexual abstinence’.