From the Editor

In October each year, Nobel Prizes are doled out. My excitement this time came not only from the numbers--5 out of 13 names on the list of the 2009 Nobel Laureates are women, the largest number ever to receive these most prestigious awards in a single year in the history, but also from the broad scope of the awarded contributions, ranging from protecting and deciphering DNA to international diplomacy and to optical fibers.