In light of new data on neutron distributions from experiments with
antiprotonic atoms [ Trzcinska {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 082501
(2001)], we reexamine the role of nuclear-structure uncertainties in the
interpretation of measurements of parity violation in atoms using chains of
isotopes of the same element. With these new nuclear data, we find an
improvement in the sensitivity of isotopic chain measurements to ``new
physics'' beyond the standard model. We compare possible constraints on ``new
physics'' with the most accurate to date single-isotope probe of parity
violation in the Cs atom. We conclude that presently isotopic chain experiments
employing atoms with nuclear charges Z < 50 may result in more accurate tests
of the weak interaction.Comment: 6 pages, 1 fig., submitted to Phys. Rev.
