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The first issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience was published 20 years ago, in 2000. To mark this anniversary, in this Viewpoint article we asked a selection of researchers from across the field who have authored pieces published in the journal in recent years for their thoughts on notable and interesting developments in neuroscience, and particularly in their areas of the field, over the past two decades. They also provide some thoughts on current lines of research and questions that excite them.

Though the modern study of Byzantine civilisation and history dates back to the late 19th century, the establishment of a definitive introductory textbook in the English language would be a slow process that would not culminate until the 1950’s. Due in part to the enormous chronological termini of Byzantine History, and major primary sources in at least five different languages, the number of introductory works is much smaller than in other historical disciplines. As a result, Byzantine history textbooks are still very closely welded to two initial templates established in 1892 and 1925. This article will briefly examine the initial templates laid down by the early authors of Byzantine textbooks. Following the examination of these templates, we will move chronologically through some of the main publications of the long 20th century, concluding in the present day, gauging the impact of these works through scholarly reaction and publication information.

Synthetic polymers typically show dispersity in molecular weight and potentially in chemical composition. For the analysis of the chemical-composition distribution (CCD) gradient liquid chromatography may be used. The CCD obtained using this method is often convoluted with an underlying molecular-weight distribution (MWD). In this paper we demonstrate that the influence of the MWD can be reduced using very steep gradients and that such gradients are best realized utilizing recycling gradient liquid chromatography (LC↻LC). This method allows for a more-accurate determination of the CCD and the assessment of (approximate) critical conditions (if these exist), even when high-molecular-weight standards of narrow dispersity are not readily available. The performance and usefulness of the approach is demonstrated for several polystyrene standards, and for the separation of statistical copolymers consisting of styrene/methyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate/butyl methacrylate. For the latter case, approximate critical compositions of the copolymers were calculated from the critical compositions of two homopolymers and one copolymer of known chemical composition, allowing for a determination of the CCD of unknown samples. Using this approach it is shown that the copolymers elute significantly closer to the predicted critical compositions after recycling of the gradient. This is most clear for the lowest-molecular-weight copolymer (Mw = 4.2 kDa), for which the difference between measured and predicted elution composition decreases from 7.9% without recycling to 1.4% after recycling.

GNSS offer solutions for many sectors, from road traffic, aviation, emergency-response services, civil engineering and agriculture. Due to the latest technological developments, GNSS, including Galileo, are also being integrated as an essential component of AI systems with various automation levels, such as self-driving vehicles, drones, lane keeping systems on highways etc. Despite their numerous benefits, GNSS are not risk-free. Even though it is unlikely that a loss of signal will lead to an accident caused by an AI system, this scenario cannot be totally ignored. Recent incidents revealed a series of vulnerabilities that need to be addressed before more AI systems using GNSS signals can become active participants in our societies. In this context, it becomes clear that the most pressing issue is the one related to liability: who will be liable in case an accident is caused by an AI system due to an absent or inaccurate GNSS signal at a critical point during navigation? Taking into consideration the debates concerning Galileo’s potential acceptance of liability, this paper investigates if international space law is able to prevent potential liability gaps, thus avoiding situations where incidents occur and liability cannot be attributed.

The sparsely attested Thessalian Peloria, a classic festival of inversion akin to the Roman Saturnalia, honored Zeus Pelorios and commemorated the draining of the Thessalian plain through the Tempe; Baton of Sinope, our principal source, described it as “still even now” (ca. 250-150 BCE) the most important festival of the Thessalians. The festival is distinctive for the ways in which the mythic time of foundation and the historical time of performance can be seen to mirror one another. The Peneios River regularly flooded in antiquity and periodic, devastating inundations persist into the contemporary era. Similarly, there are strong lines of continuity between the principal actors in mythical and historical time. The Thessalian king in the foundation narrative of the Peloria, to whom the wondrous knowledge of the drainage of the plain is reported, is Pelasgos, who is tied directly into mythic narratives of Thessalian descent. Such points of continuity contrast, however, with intriguing evidence of social and economic change. Theophrastos describes a program of marsh drainage in the territory of Larisa that made additional land accessible for cereal cultivation or pasture, but at a cost: a colder, less humid climate in which olives no longer grew and grapevines could freeze. Baton’s emphatic testimony about the festival’s continuing significance must be read against the backdrop of larger social developments in Thessaly ca. 250-150 BCE that herald a wider challenge to and realignment of critical status boundaries, particularly those that otherwise appear affirmed through the foundation narrative of the Peloria. 

The consistory notes of the Dutch Reformed Church (1573-1700) reveal conflicts over work between parents and children during the early modern period. Two issues that caused particular tension were the labor experience of future sons-in-law and the division of household tasks. Parents' concerns about the financial position of their future son-in-law were sincere and realistic. Skills definitely bettered the new family's chances to survive financially. Children were not expected to take care of their destitute parents nor were parents obliged to support their poverty-stricken married children. Power struggles between children and stepparents also resulted in conflicts over work. After a widowed parent remarried, children and stepparents had to redefine their roles in the new situation. The child who had assumed responsibilities when a parent died resisted a stepparent who took over those tasks. Although the cases presented may not represent everyday interactions between parents and children, they do provide insights into how work caused problems between parents and older children. © 2004 Published by Elsevier Inc.