This Week in Science: Mar 9, 2007

This news article checks into a draft report from the National Science Foundation's oversight team, which recommends that the funding agency take on higher-risk research.

A paper from MIT researchers reports on a new microfluidic process that allows for parallel fluorescent detection and rapid scanning of DNA oligomers.

Another paper, this one from Steven Henikoff's lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, investigates homeotic gene clusters by looking at histone replacement. One goal of the project was to better understand cis-regulatory domains.

Scientists led by a team at Imperial College London contribute a paper on cellular checkpoints with a study that delved into whether these checkpoints are responsible for ensuring the completion of DNA replication before mitosis occurs.