Science ... in a Hurry

A pair of papers focus on siRNAs. In the one from Andy Fire's lab, scientists looked at the secondary response of synthesizing small antisense RNAs that takes place during RNA interference in everybody's favorite nematode. In another RNAi publication, Titia Sijen and crew also take a swing at this process.

A paper from the clan at TIGR offers up the draft genome sequence of Trichomonas vaginalis, a sexually transmitted pathogen that dwells in the urogenital tract in men and women. The genome weighs in at 160 megabases - larger than the other known pathogens of this type.

Steve Quake and Sebastian Maerkl report in on a microfluidic platform that measures low-affinity interactions. They also look at the binding energy for several transcription factors.

Finally, in a letter to Science, Allan Mazur from Syracuse University responds to studies showing that Americans are less likely than peers in other industrialized countries to believe in evolution. He writes that belief in evolution among Americans correlates to people who hold more politically liberal views. (Surprise.)