SCIENCE sciencemag.orgPHOTO: © THE FLORIDA AQUARIUM
reduced cardiovascular illnesses in nearly
7000 Iranians, says a study in the
24 August issue of The Lancet. These
diseases are the world’s top killer.
Polypills could benefit the many patients
worldwide who have trouble sticking to
a regimen of multiple heart pills. But
some experts argue that physicians should
first screen patients for risk factors for
these diseases because the medications in
polypills can cause side effects.United States targets Huawei R&D
NATIONAL SECURITY | The U.S.
Department of Commerce last week barred
several research centers run by Chinese
communications powerhouse Huawei
Technologies from receiving U.S. prod-
ucts and software. The ban, prompted by
national security concerns, will not take
effect for 90 days. At least five China-based
research centers as well as facilities in
Milan, Italy, and Martlesham, U.K., will be
affected, but how the ban might hinder
Huawei’s research activities is unclear.
Huawei has 14 research centers worldwide
and is investing 120 billion Chinese yuan
($16.8 billion) this year in R&D in telecom-
munications, networking technologies,Eggs rise in the water column from a pillar coral
in a lab at the Florida Aquarium.MARINE BIOLOGYCaribbean coral bred in lab
S
cientists for the first time have
induced Caribbean coral to spawn
in a laboratory, which could help
conserve near-extinct species and
pave the way for large-scale coral
production in labs to replenish damaged
reefs. The procreation, which started
on 17 August at the Florida Aquarium’s
research center in Apollo Beach, capped
a 2-year effort to trick pillar coral
(Dendrogyra cylindrus) into releas-
ing a blizzard of eggs and sperm. Pillar
coral has dwindled to just 115 colonies
in the Florida Keys, partly because of
stony coral tissue loss disease, which is
ravaging Caribbean reefs. Over months,
researchers used lighting and heating
systems to mimic changes in the sun,
moon, and water temperature that in the
wild act as coral spawning triggers. The
success with the Atlantic Ocean species
comes 3 years after researchers learned
to trigger spawning by some captive
Pacific Ocean corals.electronics, artificial intelligence, and
other fields, putting it among the world’s
top corporate R&D spenders.More Ebola vaccine ordered
INFECTIOUS DISEASE | The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
announced last week it would give phar-
maceutical company Merck $23 million to
manufacture more doses of its experimental
Ebola vaccine to help control the continuing
outbreak in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. Public health officials worry the
supply might run low if the outbreak wors-
ens or spreads to other areas.Chile eyes harassment rules
#METOO | Chile’s Senate approved a bill
on 20 August that requires state-supported
colleges and universities to create com-
prehensive protocols to respond to sexual
harassment or risk losing accreditation
and funding. A 2017 study found that at
least 39% of Chilean students and 41% of
academics reported encountering un-
solicited attention of a sexual nature.
Chile’s laws protect employees of universi-
ties and other research institutes againstsexual harassment, but students, post-
doctoral scholars, and some others are left
to fall through the cracks, says biochemist
Adriana Bastías, president of the Chilean
Network of Women Researchers. The
bill will now move to Chile’s Chamber
of Deputies. Its supporters hope it will
become law as early as next year.MIT apologizes for Epstein gifts
PHILANTHROPY | A history of ties to
Jeffrey Epstein, the jailed sex offender and
hedge fund manager who killed himself
earlier this month, caused upheaval at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in Cambridge and its interdisciplin-
ary Media Lab last week. MIT President
Rafael Reif said the school would donate
$800,000— the amount Epstein is believed
to have given the lab and MIT engineer-
ing professor Seth Lloyd—to help victims
of sex abuse. Reif also offered a “profound
and humble apology” for enhancing
Epstein’s reputation. Lloyd, who visited
Epstein in prison after his 2008 conviction,
asked Epstein’s victims to forgive him for
“protecting a powerful abuser.” Media Lab
Director Joi Ito also apologized, and Ethan
Zuckerman, head of the lab’s center for civic30 AUGUST 2019 • VOL 365 ISSUE 6456 845
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