BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Specials | Washington 2000

New World. New science. The 2000 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) was held in Washington DC. This is BBC News Online's record of the biggest science festival in the world.

Day six - Tuesday, 22 February

Cities make their own weather
The heat island effect around cities not only generates pollution and sends cooling costs soaring, it can create thunderstorms too.
Hunting the best herbs
Once, herbs were picked under a full moon, now technology can choose the perfect moment.

Day five - Monday, 21 February

Landmine clearance breakthrough
A new landmine detection system, which claims rapid and 100% accurate detection, is announced by the US military.
Albright marries science and diplomacy
The US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, believes science and technology must play an "integral role" in world affairs.
Stagnant ponds become fuel pumps
Petrol stations could be replaced by stagnant ponds if a breakthrough in hydrogen fuel technology fulfils its potential.
Tasios Melis - Algae could provide us with an efficient and renewable fuel in the future

Nicotine therapy helps Parkinson's
New trials have shown that nicotine may be effective in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Tourette's syndrome.
Testing deaf babies helps speech
Spotting hearing difficulties in very young babies may substantially boost their vocabularies later in life, new research has shown.
New approach to slow cancer
Trials in the United States are under way to explore whether drugs might slow the rate at which cancer-causing mutations arise in DNA.

Dr John Cosgrove has investigated the surgical history of US presidents
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright - Plenary lecture: Foreign policy depends on good science
Dr Benny Peiser, John Moores University, UK - Asteroid strikes are far more common that some researchers will admit

Day four - Sunday, 20 February

Date set for desert Earth
The Earth is entering the final 10% of its lifespan, according to a US meteorologist.
New England forests may vanish
The forests of New England, famous for their glorious autumn displays, may virtually disappear in the next century as a result of climate change.
Encryption for all
All students in the information age should learn the benefits of encryption in the school computer science curriculum, experts say.
Plants blamed for elephant disorder
Toxic plants may be the cause of a mystery disease striking African elephants.
Smaller is better
Scientists are dreaming of a day when making a new computer display will be as easy as feeding plastic film through an inkjet-style printer.
Tree bark could fight Aids
Scientists have found two products in tree bark that may prove effective in the treatment of Aids patients.

Robert Kirshner, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard - Plenary lecture: The Accelerating Universe
Pallab Ghosh investigates the new generation of computer voice-recognition and voice-generation systems

Day three - Saturday, 19 February

Oldest flute sounds again
After 50,000 years of silence, the music of a prehistoric flute has been heard once again.
Hear the flute play

New era for US hurricanes
The US National Weather Service will use a new model this June to predict the intensity of hurricanes.
"We're back to the storm intensities of the 1940s and 50s" - Florida University climatologist Dr James Elsner

Iceland's experience of setting up a central genetic database for all citizens - Helen Briggs reports

'And here's today's space weather forecast...'
Space weather forecasters are developing better early warning systems for power companies and satellite operators.
National grid gets space protection
The world's first space weather prediction system for national electrical power grids has been installed in England and Wales.
Space storm warnings on your wristwatch
Space weather experts say people will soon wear devices warning of impending strikes from solar storms.
The science of baseball
Top sports stars are truly remarkable human beings, according to the measurements of a baseball payer's reactions.

Humans and whales could have had a common musical ancestor
Mars Polar Lander scientists talk of their guilt at losing the mission

Day two - Friday, 18 February

Fruit fly gene success
Scientists are ready to publish the fruit fly genome, which will help them study human disease.
The BBC's Sue Nelson: "Fruit flies are studied by thousands of scientists around the world"

The forests of Mars
The key to future space travel lies in biotechnology, not propulsion technology, say experts who have suggested GM trees could grow their own greenhouses on Mars.
Cyber-terrorists wield weapons of mass disruption
Terrorists are not just exploring weapons of mass destruction but also weapons of mass disruption, said the director of the Global Organised Crime Project on Friday.
The BBC's Pallab Ghosh: Secrecy surrounds a new US unit set up to fight cyber crime

First Down Syndrome mouse created
Scientists have created a mouse with Down Syndrome, and claim it has already revealed unknown features of the human version of the disorder.
Warmth 'will kill millions'
Death by global warming could become a reality in the very near future, some ecologists have warned.
Chocolate is good for you
Preliminary research shows that chocolate could be good for your heart.
Love and work don't mix
Working for the same employer as your partner hits hard on your home life unless you have children, says a US academic.

Mamphela Ramphele, V Chan, University of Cape Town - Plenary lecture: Challenges facing Africa
Who needs dentures when we can grow replacement teeth in the lab?
The science of Toy Story: Pixar's Tony DeRose says real movie actors are no longer necessary

Day one - Thursday, 17 February

Fighting the 'new cholesterol'
A bowl of cereal could be excellent protection from heart disease if clinical trials successfully implicate a rogue amino acid dubbed as the "new cholesterol".
Science steps into a new age
More than 5,000 delegates head for Washington DC and the start of the AAAS meeting.

US Surgeon General, David Satcher - Plenary lecture: The science of good health.
GM and green go together - Matt McGrath reports from Georgia.
Louis Friedman, Planetary Society: What really happened to the Mars Polar Lander?

You can also read reports from last year's AAAS meeting in Anaheim, and from the British Association's annual conference in Sheffield.