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Fighting For Their Lives, by Betsy Morris, page 48
The passage of Proposition 71—California's bold but beleaguered initiative to spend $3 billion on stem-cell research, the study of how life develops from a single cell—was meant to open the doors to a scientific endeavor as exciting and promising, many believe, as the sequencing of the genome. But as the issue swept through the state legislature, it pitted economic development leaders and scientists against an odd but potent army of pro-lifers and anti-tax groups. "There is no better place than here, at the edge of the San Andreas fault, to observe the forces of free-market capitalism coming head-to-head with the forces of evangelical Christianity," says FORTUNE senior writer Betsy Morris in her wide-ranging look at the stem-cell controversy. "This is likely to be just the beginning. If the 20th century was the Age of Physics, say both scientists and venture capitalists, the 21st will be the Age of Biology."

The FORTUNE 40: The Best Stocks to Buy Now, by David Stires, page 24
FORTUNE's annual portfolio of top picks has been given an overhaul. The original methodology identified stocks with strong year-ahead appeal, but not all of them were solid long-term holdings, with the result that each year's list had a different batch of stocks. So the methodology has been altered, allowing the list to have appeal well beyond the next 12 months. To pick the stocks, FORTUNE studied the strategies of some of the world's greatest investors and market scholars, and selected five whose techniques could be replicated using professional-caliber stock screens. The mix of approaches led to a well-rounded portfolio with domestic and foreign stocks, small and large.

Q&A with Majority Leader Bill Frist, by Rik Kirkland, page 55
The Senator Surgeon Explains Himself and why his surprise move was based purely on science and conviction. On why he changed his position: "What's different is the fact that those anticipated 78 cell lines proved to be only 22. And, of those 22, probably less than 50% are sufficiently stable to be used for research purposes today. I've talked to the ten major scientists in this field and talked as well to scientists who don't want to use embryonic cells. Almost everybody says that at this point in time, the number and quality of cell lines that are federally supported is insufficient in terms of allowing the science to progress. But I continue to insist upon having an ethical construct to derive those new cell lines."

Sex, Lies, and Videogames, by Bethany McLean, page 66
The videogame industry has mushroomed into a $10-billion-a-year business in the U.S., so perhaps it's not surprising that some people are up in arms about what appear to be unseemly values in some of the hottest-selling games. But the dirty little secret about the games business isn't just unsavory sex scenes—its unsavory business practices. Take Two, maker of the popular "Grand Theft Auto," is a case in point, says senior writer Bethany McLean. A not-so-small publicly traded company—its market capitalization is almost $2 billion—it has a history of financial improprieties, hefty stock sales, and revolving-door management. "How, in an era when investors are supposedly obsessed with corporate governance, are this firm's troubles so easily overlooked?," asks McLean. "The lesson of Take Two, it turns out, is not what you would expect."

Marked Down, by Ellen Florian Kratz, page 103
Saks Inc. has been racked by scandal over the past several months, as allegations of improper collection of "markdown money"—the funds that department stores deduct from vendors' payments when goods don't sell briskly enough—have prompted investigations by the SEC, federal prosecutors, and the company's own board, as well as lawsuits from purportedly shortchanged vendors. And yet this is only the latest of CEO Brad Martin's troubles. Under his leadership the company's stock has dropped more than 20%, while competitors like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom have enjoyed strong returns. Ellen Florian Kratz looks at how a once-enviable retail swan got into this ugly mess.

DEPARTMENTS
In FIRST: Dependency Paradox How conservation could actually make us even more reliant on foreign oil. What's in Fashion This Fall? Scarcity The latest marketing ploy in the big stores: Create a craze by limiting supply. Ed Zander: Brilliant or Lucky? Motorola goes from the sickliest to the hottest under its new CEO. Al Gore Battles Old Cable Demons The ex-Veep must mend fences with cable to propel his TV network. Gruff, Tough, and Outta the God Pod A portrait of Exxon Mobil's Lee Raymond, the last of the old-time Big Oil CEOs. Question Authority SABMiller's Graham Mackay on what's hopping in the beer business. This Just In Terence Bradford is a Citigroup banker by day—and a hip-hop performer by night. You Do What? Get the dirt on baseballs. In COLUMNISTS: Street Life Gumming up DreamWorks Politics Blowing up the union to save it. Value Driven Socking it to free trade. In INVESTING: Hang on to the Homebuilders Housing stocks still sport reasonable valuations—and there's plenty of growth yet to come in the sector. Update: FORTUNE's Fastest-Growing Companies. In BUSINESS LIFE: Business Life American Airlines' $1.1 billion terminal. Gadgets Let (cordless) freedom ring. Careers Piercing the bamboo ceiling.

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