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A paper in today's New England Journal of Medicine reports that treating Parkinson's disease patients by transplanting fetal cells into their brains produced severe side effects in some cases. NPR's Joe Palca looks at what this means for further research.

In the second part of our series on the oil century, NPR's John Burnett reports on the environmental legacy of oil and gas production. For every barrel of oil and gas produced, some 50 barrels of salt water or brine are created. The salinity fouls the well and the land around it. A lot of big oil companies have sold their leases to smaller independent companies and many of them have decided not to take care of their wells, leaving a large number of orphan wells leaking brine. In Texas, both the government and the oil industry are in favor of plugging up these polluting wells. The state plugs 1300-1500 wells a year. The activists in this case are not environmentalists, but land-owners.

The cost of AIDS drugs keeps going down in the countries hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. Yesterday, the giant pharmeceutical company Merck announced that it would lower prices for three important AIDS drugs, and just after that, two other companies that make generic AIDS drugs offered to sell their versions to the government of South Africa. There's a price war going on. NPR's Brenda Wilson in Johannesburg talks with host Robert Siegel about the issue.

Robert Siegel and Linda Wertheimer read selections from this week's letters from listeners.

Writer DAGOBERTO GILB. His first book of short stories –The Magic of Blood— was published in 1993. Since then hes written a novel, –The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuna.— His new book is a collection of stories about women, –Woodcuts of Women.—

Secretary of State Colin Powell voiced concern today about North Korea's "huge army" and told Senators the United States might try to negotiate a reduction in the size of that army. Powell's testimony came as some senators began to question whether the newly installed Bush administration is being as tough as it promised to be on North Korea and Iraq.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Belgrade on reaction to NATO's decision today to allow Yugoslav forces into a buffer zone along the Serbian border with Macedonia. The allies agreed to let Yugoslav forces into what was a demilitarized zone to oust ethnic Albanian rebels sheltering there. Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica welcomed the move. But he blasted NATO for allowing the ethnic Albanian militants to operate in the region and allowing the security situation in the region to deteriorate. The rebels have been staging attacks inside Serbia proper, and recently, in the neighboring country of Macedonia.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem that Ariel Sharon took office as Israel's prime minister today. Security forces were deployed around the country to guard against bomb attacks during the annual Jewish holiday of Purim. The holiday is normally the most festive on Israel's calender, but the mood this year is somber.

The professionals who design and build the nation's infrastructure say vital systems are decaying. The American Society of Civil Engineers reports that, in report card terms, U.S. bridges, roads and schools get a grade of D-plus. The group says the country should start fixing the problems, with an investment of $1.3 trillion dollars over five years. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Robert Siegel talks with Arthur Peacocke, an Englishman who won this year's Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Peacocke is a theologian and a scientist.