It appeared that the enemies of the Frame Shift had lost their battle.
That's debatable, but in any case the paper, which I'm reading right now, _destroys_ the the frameshift hypothesis.
-- Frameshift: digits I and V disappear, digits II to IV assume the anatomies of digits I to III. -- Observation I: the Sonic-hedgehog-expressing "polarizing region" in hands and feet grows into digit IV. -- Observation II: in the chicken foot, that's exactly what happens, but in the chicken hand, the polarizing region does not grow into a digit at all. -- Observation III: "However, it has been suggested that bird wing digits arise in the embryo in digit positions 2, 3 and 4 because all vertebrate limbs are thought to have a 'primary axis' of cartilage condensation running through cells that give rise to digit 4 (ref. 6; Fig. 1b, red line). In addition, transient digit condensations have been reported in putative digit 1 and 5 positions^6, although it is debated whether the digit 1 condensation is a true digit primordium, and an additional posterior condensation has also been detected^7." -- Conclusions: there is no frameshift in birds (other than probably some kiwi individuals), and the primary axis* is a much weaker hypothesis than many people used to think. The authors call their model "axis-shift hypothesis".
* Or rather the idea that it continues beyond the ulnare/fibulare into the distal carpals/tarsals and the digits.
References:6: A. C. Burke & A. Feduccia (1997): Developmental patterns and the identification of homologies in the avian hand. Science 278: 666 -- 668. 7: M. C. Welten, F. J. Verbeek, A. H. Meijer & M. K. Richardson (2005): Gene expression and digit homology in the chicken embryo wing. Evolution & Development 7: 18 -- 28.