Quite the American theme to the selection of stories this week:

• Following the US midterm elections and the Democratic sweep of Congress, Science has a few articles considering the implications for research funding and direction, in particular on stem cell research;
• Additionally, Science also reports that the U.S. Congress has passed a measure that is expected to make it much easier to prosecute animal-rights activists who target enterprises that deal with animals. Research groups immediately hailed the measure, called the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, as a milestone in protecting science, while animal activists warned that it labels peaceful demonstrators as terrorists.
• Getting buy-in from the US will be vital for any attempts to tackle climate change. Scientific American reports a speculative talk on the possibility of the US setting up a carbon-emission trading scheme;
• UK governmental targets on climate change seem to be taking shape, as reported in this Nature article on the opening of Parliament, although the actual methods of reduction remain sketchy;
• The NY-Times has an interesting article by Barun Mitra, director of Liberty Institute, a research organization that promotes free-market economics. He discusses Chinese plans to farm tigers in an attempt to cut down on poaching of wild tigers;
• Over on the Women's Bioethics Blog, there is an article on the lifting of the Food and Drug Associaton's ban on the cosmetic use of silicone breast implants yesterday, despite evidence from various health professionals on therisks associated with silicone breast implants.