East-to-west human dispersal into Europe 1.4 million years ago.

Stone tools stratified in alluvium and loess at Korolevo, western Ukraine, have been studied by several research groups1-3 since the discovery of the site in the 1970s. Although Korolevo's importance to the European Palaeolithic is widely acknowledged, age constraints on the lowermost lithic artefacts have yet to be determined conclusively. Here, using two methods of burial dating with cosmogenic nuclides4,5, we report ages of 1.42 ± 0.10 million years and 1.42 ± 0.28 million years for the sedimentary unit that contains Mode-1-type lithic artefacts. Korolevo represents, to our knowledge, the earliest securely dated hominin presence in Europe, and bridges the spatial and temporal gap between the Caucasus (around 1.85-1.78 million years ago)6 and southwestern Europe (around 1.2-1.1 million years ago)7,8. Our findings advance the hypothesis that Europe was colonized from the east, and our analysis of habitat suitability9 suggests that early hominins exploited warm interglacial periods to disperse into higher latitudes and relatively continental sites-such as Korolevo-well before the Middle Pleistocene Transition.

Atypical characteristics of the beta-adrenoceptor mediating cyclic AMP generation and lipolysis in the rat adipocyte.

The characteristics of the rat epidydimal adipocyte beta-adrenoceptor have been examined using lipolysis and cyclic AMP accumulation in adipocytes as well as adenylate cyclase activity in fat cell membranes. The pA2 values corrected for binding to bovine serum albumin of the selective antagonists betaxolol (beta 1-selective) and ICI 118.551 (beta 2-selective) against noradrenaline or fenoterol-stimulated lipolysis were indicative of an atypical beta-adrenoceptor associated with the lipolytic response. Antagonism of isoprenaline-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in whole cells and adenylate cyclase activity in membranes yielded pA2 values to betaxolol, ICI 118.551 and (-)-propranolol, which suggested that the atypical beta-adrenoceptor was coupled to adenylate cyclase. Comparisons of the Ki values obtained in binding studies using [125I]-cyanopindolol with pA2 values obtained in adenylate cyclase experiments suggest that the typical beta 1-receptor identified with radioligand binding studies is not the only receptor site mediating stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity and lipolysis.

Fatal ectopic thymoma.

We present the case of a patient who died of thymoma-induced immunological dysfunction. The neoplasm was unsuspected antemortem because of its location adjacent to the right hemidiaphragm. This appears to be the most caudad ectopic position yet encountered for a thymoma.

Inner gorges cut by subglacial meltwater during Fennoscandian ice sheet decay.

The century-long debate over the origins of inner gorges that were repeatedly covered by Quaternary glaciers hinges upon whether the gorges are fluvial forms eroded by subaerial rivers, or subglacial forms cut beneath ice. Here we apply cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating to seven inner gorges along ~500 km of the former Fennoscandian ice sheet margin in combination with a new deglaciation map. We show that the timing of exposure matches the advent of ice-free conditions, strongly suggesting that gorges were cut by channelized subglacial meltwater while simultaneously being shielded from cosmic rays by overlying ice. Given the exceptional hydraulic efficiency required for meltwater channels to erode bedrock and evacuate debris, we deduce that inner gorges are the product of ice sheets undergoing intense surface melting. The lack of postglacial river erosion in our seven gorges implicates subglacial meltwater as a key driver of valley deepening on the Baltic Shield over multiple glacial cycles.

The International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens (ICPEMC): the first seven years.

Careful, independent scientific reviews of issues of importance in mutagenesis and carcinogenesis evaluations have been made over the past seven years by a group of leading members of several environmental mutagen societies. The International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens (ICPEMC) supports five main committees concerned with general principles and has published working papers and reports on an unbiased scientific basis. The work and goals of the Commission are described and future plans outlined.