In the yard he shook his head, dismissing his fruitless efforts.

NEWYORKER: The Woman of the House

Now, after years of fruitless efforts to deal with taxanes' shortcomings, Bristol-Myers (nyse: BMY - news - people ) and rival Aventis (nyse: AVE - news - people ) (which produces another taxane called docetaxal, under the name Taxotere) each have promising new variations.

FORBES: Taxol's Next Stand

Quarantined populations have been established but efforts to find a cure have been depressingly fruitless.

BBC: Watching Australia's wildlife

Efforts to ward off the slide would be a joke and fruitless.

FORBES: How to Trade QE3

Past efforts to reform Bulgaria's creaky justice system have been largely fruitless.

ECONOMIST: Bulgaria tackles corruption

Efforts by foreign countries to coax the rivals to return to peace talks have been fruitless.

ECONOMIST: Sri Lanka at war