Contents
Vol 325, Issue 5947
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast
The show includes the link between public opinion and international terrorism, locust wing aerodynamics, companion-animal sterilization, and more.
Products & Materials
- New Products
A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.
News of the Week
- China First to Vaccinate Against Novel H1N1 Virus
Earlier this week, China was first off the blocks to launch a mass vaccination campaign against the novel H1N1 virus.
- Laskers Honor Five Scientists and a Mayor
Five biomedical researchers and the billionaire mayor of New York City have been selected for the 2009 Lasker Awards.
- Researcher, Two Universities Sued Over Validity of Prostate Cancer Test
A Johns Hopkins University researcher whose reports of a potential new blood test for diagnosing prostate cancer generated excitement—but also skepticism—is now being sued by his industry sponsor for scientific fraud.
- DuPont Scientist Accused of Stealing Company's Trade Secrets
A Chinese-born scientist, one of the leading researchers in the field of next-generation display technologies, has been fired by DuPont, which alleges he attempted to steal company secrets.
- From the Science Policy Blog
ScienceInsider this week reported on how the investigation into the death last week of Yale pharmacology graduate student Annie Le has affected research at the building where she worked and the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to devise new controls on agricultural runoff, air pollution, and sewage to protect the Chesapeake Bay, among other stories.
- Paper Retracted Following Genome Data Breach
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has retracted a paper based on embargoed data deposited in dbGaP, the National Institutes of Health's database of genotypes and phenotypes.
- PNAS Nixes Special Privileges for (Most) Papers
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences will discontinue an option for submitting papers that often put prestigious scientists in an awkward fix with colleagues and, at its worst, editors admit, allowed some scientists to subvert peer review and shoehorn dubious papers into print.
- Revisions to AP Courses Expected to Have Domino Effect
In July, the College Board unveiled the first piece of a major revision of the science syllabi for the Advanced Placement (AP) program, a suite of high school courses intended to mirror introductory college courses that students can receive college credit for passing.
- A Boost for Vaccine Development
This week, Merck and the U.K. biomedical charity Wellcome Trust established a nonprofit vaccine development institute to be based in India.
- From Science's Online Daily News Site
Highlights from ScienceNOW this week include a way to forest the desert, a solution to the mystery of the disfigured skulls in the Chilean desert, birth control for stars, and brain scans for schizophrenia.
Random Samples
News Focus
- A Cure for Euthanasia?
A nonsurgical sterilant could reduce the global population of homeless dogs and cats, but there hasn't been money to develop one—until now.
- Scrambling to Read the Meaning Of the Sky's Most Ancient Flare
This spring, a seemingly routine gamma ray burst triggered a worldwide race to catch a glimpse of the early universe.
Letters
Books et al.
- Ecology Emerging
Exploring the work in museums, zoos, botanic gardens, and secondary schools in late-19th-century Germany, Nyhart shows that the popular nature studies played a crucial role in the development of ecology.
- Many Reflections on Birds
Mynott offers an eclectic philosophical exploration of our multifaceted experience with birds.
- Books Received
A listing of books received at Science during the week ended 11 September 2009.
Policy Forum
- Biodiversity Conservation and the Millennium Development Goals
Any near-term gains in reducing extreme poverty will be maintained only if environmental sustainability is also achieved.
- Tracking Progress Toward the 2010 Biodiversity Target and Beyond
Biodiversity indicators used by policy-makers are underdeveloped and underinvested.
Perspectives
- Expanding Functionality Within the Looking-Glass Universe
Although once thought to be largely irrelevant in the biological world, new and unexpected functions for d-amino acids continue to emerge.
- Seeing the Big Picture on Microbe Distribution
The distribution patterns of marine microbes are shaped by dispersal on a global scale.
- Itinerant Ferromagnetism with Ultracold Atoms
Cold lithium atoms undergoing strong repulsions can be driven into a state that is an analog of ferromagnetic ordering.
- How River Beds Move
Insights into sediment transport at river beds can come from experiments in granular physics.
- The Super of Superradiance
Cooperative single-photon emission from an atom ensemble will provide insights into quantum electrodynamics and applications in quantum communication.
Brevia
- Macroevolution of Complex Retroviruses
A sloth foamy virus sequence indicates that mammals have been infected since the Cretaceous.
Reports
- Gold Helix Photonic Metamaterial as Broadband Circular Polarizer
A three-dimensional array of gold nano-helices can polarize light over a wide range of wavelengths.
- Control of Spin Precession in a Spin-Injected Field Effect Transistor
A field-effect transistor in which the spin current is controlled by a gate voltage is demonstrated.
- Memory Metamaterials
A tunable metamaterial is demonstrated that can remember its switched state.
- Itinerant Ferromagnetism in a Fermi Gas of Ultracold Atoms
Ferromagnetic ordering forms spontaneously in an ensemble of ultracold fermionic atoms.
- An Anomalous Basaltic Meteorite from the Innermost Main Belt
This meteorite’s composition and orbital properties are such that it cannot be traced to the parent asteroid.
- Evidence for Obliquity Forcing of Glacial Termination II
Marine records suggest that the early onset of the penultimate deglaciation was due to changes in Earth’s obliquity.
- Cellular Basis of Itch Sensation
Itch, but not pain sensation, is abolished by selective ablation of a small subpopulation of spinal neurons.
- Attitudes and Action: Public Opinion and the Occurrence of International Terrorism
Public opinion toward a country is associated with the occurrence of terrorism against that country.
- Highly Variable Spread Rates in Replicated Biological Invasions: Fundamental Limits to Predictability
Replicated invasions in laboratory microcosms demonstrate inherent unpredictability due to randomness in biological processes.
- Controls on Diatom Biogeography in the Ocean
Fossil records show that the dispersal of diatoms from ocean plankton has not been constrained by geographical barriers.
- A Constant Flux of Diverse Thermophilic Bacteria into the Cold Arctic Seabed
Spore-forming bacteria adapted to the hot subsurface biosphere are continually deposited in polar marine sediments.
- Three-Dimensional Structural View of the Central Metabolic Network of Thermotoga maritima
Protein structure and biochemical data generate a three-dimensional view of the metabolic network of a bacterial cell.
- Details of Insect Wing Design and Deformation Enhance Aerodynamic Function and Flight Efficiency
Measurements of locust wing kinematics validate a fluid dynamics model of the aerodynamic effects of wing deformation.
- D-Amino Acids Govern Stationary Phase Cell Wall Remodeling in Bacteria
Bacteria produce D-amino acids to regulate their cell wall composition, structure, amount, and strength.
- Glucose Deprivation Contributes to the Development of KRAS Pathway Mutations in Tumor Cells
Glucose deprivation can drive the acquisition of certain oncogenic mutations in human cancer cells.
Technical Comments
From the AAAS Office of Publishing and Member Services
