Contents
Vol 326, Issue 5958
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast
The show includes a microRNA target for treating hepatitis C, the combined effects of nitrogen and CO2 on plant diversity, the future of evolution, 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
- International Centers and Donors Warily Eye Sweeping Changes
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research is facing what could be the biggest shakeup in its 38-year history as its delegates are about to vote to convert CGIAR from a voluntary association into a legal entity with power over a trust fund so it can enforce systemwide priorities.
- Stolen E-mails Turn Up Heat on Climate Change Rhetoric
The theft and unauthorized release last month of 1000 private e-mail messages from the servers of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom has raised thorny questions about the proper behavior of researchers who feel under siege for their science. How willing should they be to share their raw data with their staunchest critics?
- Sea-Floor Study Gives Plumes From the Deep Mantle a Boost
On page 1388 of this week's issue of Science, eight researchers offer the most detailed seismic imaging yet as evidence for a so-called mantle plume beneath the world's most iconic hot spot, the island of Hawaii. The quality of the data and the apparent Hawaiian plume's resemblance to theorists' expectations have won some cautious support for the work.
- European Union Selects Unknown For Top Science Post
Two women have been tapped to head the European Union's efforts on science and climate over the next 5 years, one virtually unknown to scientists and science policymakers and the other almost an international celebrity.
- From the Science Policy Blog
ScienceInsider reported this week on President Barack Obama's anticipated announcement of a U.S. commitment to a 17% cut in greenhouse gas emissions relative to 2005 by 2020 and the new chair of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, Amy Gutmann, among other stories.
- Web Site Matches U.S. Scientists With Teachers Looking for Help
A new, interactive Web site designed to match scientists and classroom teachers from across the United States in projects aimed at improving learning, nationallabday.org, is one element in a White House initiative to encourage private-private partnerships in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education.
- Stem Cell Center to Rise in Biology Hub
Construction began in Bangalore last month on the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, a $50 million center to be built alongside an existing biology powerhouse and a planned $12 million technology center that will seek to commercialize the biocluster's findings.
- From Science's Online Daily News Site
ScienceNOW reported this week that corals act like sunscreen, the Milky Way grew by swallowing other galaxies, Americans are wasting more food, and Titan's lakes go south for the winter, among other stories.
Random Samples
News Focus
- On the Origin of Tomorrow
What is the future of evolution? In the final essay in Science's series in honor of the Year of Darwin, Carl Zimmer explores the subject of human-driven evolution.
- Could They All Be Prion Diseases?
Recent studies have renewed interest in the idea that many neurodegenerative diseases may involve prionlike mechanisms.
- Acting Like a Prion Isn't Always Bad
If misfolded proteins are so dangerous, why hasn't evolution selected against them? One possibility is that it hasn't had to: Many of the diseases caused by protein misfolding strike late in life, after the reproductive years are over. It's also possible that this type of protein folding isn't always bad.
- Can Science Keep Alaska's Bering Sea Pollock Fishery Healthy?
The pollock fishery in the chill waters of the eastern Bering Sea is said to be the best managed in the world. But a surprising decline in numbers has scientists worried.
- Seeking a Shortcut to the High-Energy Frontier
An accelerator that smashes exotic particles called muons promises more bang from a smaller accelerator—if physicists can actually build it.
Letters
Books et al.
- Researchers Writing for the Public
Bowler argues that despite the professionalization of their disciplines, through the middle of the 20th century British scientists remained very active in writing about their work for general readers.
- Science Goes Hollywood
Our reviewers spread out over New York to survey the 46 short and 4 feature films that were shown at this year's Imagine Science Film Festival.
- Books Received
A listing of books received at Science during the week ended 27 November 2009.
Essays on Science and Society
- The Molecular Basis of Size Differences
Regulation of morphogen signaling controls tissue size.
Policy Forum
- The End of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon
Government commitments and market transitions lay the foundation for an effort to save the forest and reduce carbon emission.
Perspectives
- Nascent Proteins Caught in the Act
Cryo–electron microscopy structures visualize two types of nascent polypeptide chains that affect either protein translocation across membranes or regulation of bacterial gene expression.
- Biodiversity Under Global Change
A long-term experiment into plant community responses to elevated carbon dioxide and nitrogen yields surprising results.
- Nailing Down Nickel for Electrocatalysis
A nickel compound bound to carbon nanotubes catalyzes a key reaction for hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers, the interconversion of protons and hydrogen in water.
- How Plant Cells Go to Sleep for a Long, Long Time
Crystal structures reveal the conformational change elicited when the plant hormone abscisic acid binds to its receptor.
- Quantum Nonlocality: How Does Nature Do It?
Measurements of correlations between spatially separated systems provide insights into the conceptual foundations of quantum physics.
- Paul C. Zamecnik (1912–2009)
A biochemist's determination and brilliance unlocked the mystery of protein synthesis and created a new field of drug development.
Review
Brevia
- Harnessing Carbon Payments to Protect Biodiversity
A model shows that REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) can be extended to biodiversity conservation.
Research Articles
- Structure of Monomeric Yeast and Mammalian Sec61 Complexes Interacting with the Translating Ribosome
A single copy of a protein-conducting channel molecule provides a conduit for polypeptide translocation across membranes.
- Structural Mechanism of Abscisic Acid Binding and Signaling by Dimeric PYR1
The plant hormone responsible for drought tolerance signals by inducing conformational changes in its dimeric protein receptor.
Reports
- A Population of Compact Elliptical Galaxies Detected with the Virtual Observatory
A sample of elliptical systems provides evidence that disruption of galaxies plays an important role in their evolution.
- On the Elusive Twelfth Vibrational State of Beryllium Dimer
Theoretical calculations support a previous spectroscopic assignment of the highest vibrational level of the beryllium dimer.
- From Hydrogenases to Noble Metal–Free Catalytic Nanomaterials for H2 Production and Uptake
A nickel electrocatalyst supported on carbon nanotubes shows promising activity for proton-hydrogen interconversion in water.
- Mantle Shear-Wave Velocity Structure Beneath the Hawaiian Hot Spot
Extensive seismological data support a mantle plume origin for the Hawaiian volcanic hot spot.
- Tracking the Variable North Atlantic Sink for Atmospheric CO2
Data from instrumented commercial ships reveal substantial interannual variations of carbon dioxide flux between the ocean and the air.
- Coupling of CO2 and Ice Sheet Stability Over Major Climate Transitions of the Last 20 Million Years
Changes in global sea level and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were similar during the past 20 million years.
- Indirect Emissions from Biofuels: How Important?
Land-use changes associated with biofuel production are predicted to increase greenhouse gas emissions.
- Elevated CO2 Reduces Losses of Plant Diversity Caused by Nitrogen Deposition
In a 10-year field experiment, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide halved nitrogen-induced reductions in grassland plant species richness.
- The Insect Neuropeptide PTTH Activates Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Torso to Initiate Metamorphosis
The receptor of the Drosophila brain hormone that initiates metamorphosis is identified.
- Planarian Hh Signaling Regulates Regeneration Polarity and Links Hh Pathway Evolution to Cilia
Analysis of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in planaria suggests an ancestral association of this signaling pathway and cilia function.
- Promoting Interest and Performance in High School Science Classes
Spotlighting curriculum relevance improves high school outcomes.
- Structural Insight into Nascent Polypeptide Chain–Mediated Translational Stalling
Individual polypeptide nascent chains can adopt distinct conformations within the ribosome exit tunnel.
- A Crystal Structure of the Bifunctional Antibiotic Simocyclinone D8, Bound to DNA Gyrase
The molecular mechanism is revealed by which an antibiotic prevents DNA binding by a bacterial DNA gyrase.
- GABAergic Hub Neurons Orchestrate Synchrony in Developing Hippocampal Networks
A model for the topology of brain networks incorporates a morpho-functional description of neuronal hubs.
- Deletion of Atoh1 Disrupts Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in the Developing Cerebellum and Prevents Medulloblastoma
A transcription factor regulates signaling in the developing mouse cerebellum and also influences cancer formation.
