NEUROSCIENCE: Gene Referees Sex Differences in Fruit Fly Fighting
Fighting like a girl or fighting like a boy is hardwired into fruit fly neurons, according to a study in the December Nature Neuroscience. The female or male version of a single gene regulates the sex-specific fighting patterns. Reported by (clockwise from left) Oulu (Lulu) Wang, Steven Nilsen, Alo Basu, and Edward Kravitz with other colleagues, the research required staging and analyzing hundreds of fruit fly fights. The findings advance the understanding of the molecular circuitry underlying behavior.

INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE: Symposium Animates Origins of Life Initiative
Two years ago, a consortium of Harvard scientists proposed that the time was ripe to study the origins of life in the universe from a scientific perspective. Drawing together students of the infinite—astronomers and planetary scientists—and the infinitesimal—chemists and molecular biologists—would create the kind of synergy needed to answer the unsolved questions of how life began, they said. The result is the Origins of Life Initiative, which held its inaugural symposium on Nov. 8. Among the initiative leaders who spoke at the event was Jack Szostak.

PUBLIC HEALTH: Researchers Urge Greater Protection of Developing Brain from Environmental Chemicals
Over the past few decades, studies have revealed that exposure to lead, mercury, and alcohol can harm the developing brain of fetuses, infants, and children. But what if these are not isolated cases? Philippe Grandjean (pictured) along with co-author Philip Landrigan, suggest that a large roster of chemicals may be causing a “silent pandemic” of brain disorders during fetal and childhood development. In a provocative review published online Nov. 8 in The Lancet, they argue for more rigorous testing and stricter regulation of chemicals that could potentially harm brain development.