Nature (vol. 433, No. 7021, 6 January 2005)

Vol 433 No 7021 pp1-90 Editorials News News Feature Correspondence Books and Arts Essay News and Views Brief Communications Brief Communications Arising Articles Letters to Nature Naturejobs 06 January 2005 Editorials A divided world 1 The lack of preparation for last month's tsunami illustrates shocking disparities in how science is applied in different regions of the world. The global response to the disaster offers a glimmer of hope that these disparities will be addressed. News Inadequate warning system left Asia at the mercy of tsunami 3 Scientists and governments were caught unprepared. Triple slip of tectonic plates caused seafloor surge 3 Biggest quake in 40 years redraws the map. Tsunamis: a long-term threat 4 Other regions around the globe are at higher risk. India pledges to fund alert system in wake of disaster 5 Government reacts with $29 million pledge for future warnings. news in brief 6 News Feature 2005: Year of Physics: So, what's your theory? 8 A theorist of errors 9 Growing up on Einstein Street in Haifa, Israel, Dorit Aharonov was perhaps destined to study physics. But she pursued other interests before finally settling on quantum computation. Haim Watzman reports. In search of hidden dimensions 10 So far, string theory has defied experiments, but Nima Arkani-Hamed thinks he has found a way to put the idea to the test. Geoff Brumfiel finds out how. Can electrons do the splits? 11 The electronic behaviour of some forms of matter doesn't match theory. Geoff Brumfiel meets Senthil Todadri, a man who wants to change our view of how electrons behave. The long-distance thinker 12 Martin Bojowald is on a journey back in time to see what happened during the Big Bang. Quirin Schiermeier tags along for the ride. Correspondence Destructive fires are not just Indonesia's problem 13 Logging, urban expansion and lawlessness fan the flames throughout Borneo. Fighting future fires with fairne