Molecular cell biology. A powerhouse rises in reborn Dresden

Two years in the making, a new Max Planck Institute is about to open its doors to scores of talented scientists--many from rival Heidelberg. Next month, the Max Planck Society's Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics will open its glassy new headquarters in Dresden.     

Conservation biology. Combined insults spell trouble for rainforests

Scientists are now saying that a combination of interacting factors--including forest fragmentation, logging, and El Ni?o-driven drought--has altered the fire regimes of tropical forests and is changing regional climates and reconfiguring the landscape. These interactions are synergistic, they say--that is, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The concept provides a new paradigm for understanding the dynamics of fragmented rainforests and for approaching their conservation.     

Conservation biology. When protecting one species hurts another

Biologists studying whether providing habitat for one wide-ranging species would protect another--the so-called umbrella effect--have found limited overlap between prime grizzly habitat and that of threatened fish, and grizzly conservation programs here may even be hurting the fish. Researchers are now grappling with how best to conserve habitat for multiple species.