Contents
Vol 334, Issue 6052
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast
The show includes climate change and species distributions, pulsar gamma ray emissions, the case for 'the Anthropocene,' 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
- Around the World
In science news around the world this week, Germany returned 20 colonial-era skulls to Namibia, Canada's top court has ruled to keep an injecting drug use site open, Japan's ministry of education wants to boost overall science-related spending next year while reducing spending on nuclear-related research, the inhabitants of the Faroe Islands could become the world's first fully sequenced population, a new branch of Jackson Lab will be built in Connecticut, a House bill would boost NIH's 2012 budget by 3.3%, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands declared its waters off-limits to shark fishing and banned the import and export of shark products.
- Random Sample
Science's daily online news site ScienceNOW turns 15 this week. A 25-year struggle to sell genetically engineered "blue" roses in the United States took a big step forward last week. Right-wing Italians seem to naturally track the gaze of those in power, says a social neuroscientist. And this week's numbers quantify the air miles of the average astronomer and the thickness of snow on parts of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
- Newsmakers
This week's Newsmakers are a group of scientists who have squeezed a reproduction of the entire periodic table onto a human hair; Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz, who have won a 2011 Ig Nobel Prize for their study of beetles that mate with beer bottles; and Judy Mikovits, champion of the controversial theory that XMRV, a mouse retrovirus, had links to chronic fatigue syndrome, who was fired on 29 September.
Findings
News & Analysis
- Human Cells Cloned—Almost
Researchers have found a way to use human oocytes to reprogram adult cells, allowing them to form early embryos that can give rise to embryonic stem cells.
- Where Do Human Eggs Come From?
A steady supply of healthy human oocytes allowed one lab to set up a systematic study of human nuclear transfer, which has now brought scientists significantly closer to understanding why most attempts have so far failed.
- Sifting Medical Records to Determine Which Therapies Work Best
Joe Selby is preparing to launch PCORI, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. He met with Science last week to talk about PCORI's agenda, the tension in its mandate, and plans to involve patients in designing and reviewing research.
- Gene Therapists Celebrate a Decade of Progress
Researchers reported at a meeting last week that they may have reached a prized goal in gene therapy: lowering the risk of uncontrolled bleeding in patients with hemophilia.
- Curious Cosmic Speed-Up Nabs Nobel Prize
Three researchers will share the Nobel Prize in physics for the dramatic observation that the universe's expansion is speeding up, which has changed the conceptual landscape in cosmology, astronomy, and particle physics.
- Immunology Prize Overshadowed by Untimely Death of Awardee
This year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine honors three scientists who unraveled key details of how the immune system becomes activated. But the tragic death of one of the winners grabbed most of the attention.
News Focus
- An Epoch Debate
There's no dispute that humans are leaving their mark on the planet, but geologists and other scientists are debating whether this imprint is distinctive and enduring enough to designate a new epoch: the Anthropocene.
- A Sign of Our Times
When did the Anthropocene begin? Many human-driven planetary changes have their roots in the industrial revolution, but some think the marker should be set at 1945, when radioactive nuclei were first introduced into the environment.
Letters
Books et al.
- Picture Perfect Future Past
Taking a broad view of science fiction, Ashley delivers a sumptuously illustrated survey of themes and ideas that have repeatedly appeared in imaginings of tomorrows.
- Books Received
A listing of books received at Science during the week ending 30 September 2011.
Policy Forum
- Paleolithic Art in Peril: Policy and Science Collide at Altamira Cave
Despite evidence of damaging human impacts, cave paintings may again be threatened if visitors are allowed access.
Perspectives
- The Guts of Dietary Habits
Can dietary intervention change an individual's gut microbiome composition?
- Resilience to Blooms
Managing nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of fresh water may decrease the risk of cyanobacterial blooms, even in the face of warming temperatures.
- Neuroimmune Communication
Neurotransmitters link the nervous system to immune responses associated with inflammation and poststroke infections.
- The Genomic Basis of Local Climatic Adaptation
Studies of Arabidopsis thaliana help to identify the genomic sites associated with adaptation to local climatic conditions.
- Toward Control of Large-Scale Quantum Computing
Basic quantum computing elements are combined to improve quantum simulations and to create a quantum version of a central processing unit.
- Diamond Window into the Lower Mantle
Tiny inclusions in diamonds reveal subduction of oceanic crust to depths of at least 700 km.
Research Article
- Deep Mantle Cycling of Oceanic Crust: Evidence from Diamonds and Their Mineral Inclusions
Tiny minerals trapped inside Brazilian diamonds show that Earth’s carbon cycle extends down to the lower mantle.
Reports
- Universal Digital Quantum Simulation with Trapped Ions
A series of trapped calcium ions was used to simulate the complex dynamics of an interacting spin system.
- Implementing the Quantum von Neumann Architecture with Superconducting Circuits
A quantum version of a central processing unit was created with superconducting circuits and elements.
- Three-Dimensional Anderson Localization of Ultracold Matter
A localized and a propagating component appear when an ultracold atomic gas expands in a disordered optical potential.
- Detection of Pulsed Gamma Rays Above 100 GeV from the Crab Pulsar
This detection constrains the mechanism and emission region of gamma-ray radiation in the pulsar’s magnetosphere.
- Dispersible Exfoliated Zeolite Nanosheets and Their Application as a Selective Membrane
Thin zeolite films prepared through a polymer exfoliation method were used as selective membranes.
- A Major Constituent of Brown Algae for Use in High-Capacity Li-Ion Batteries
Alginate extracts help stabilize silicon nanoparticles used in a high-capacity lithium-silicon battery.
- A Self-Quenched Defect Glass in a Colloid-Nematic Liquid Crystal Composite
A high concentration of colloidal particles stabilizes a defect network in a liquid crystal and creates a gel-like material.
- Adaptation to Climate Across the Arabidopsis thaliana Genome
Alleles that are under selection in Arabidopsis serve as genetic markers that can be used to predict local adaptation.
- A Map of Local Adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Field experiments identify loci associated with fitness and local adaptation in Arabidopsis.
- The Shaping of Modern Human Immune Systems by Multiregional Admixture with Archaic Humans
Viral defense and embryo implantation mechanisms have been shaped by contributions from Neandertal and Denisovan genes.
- An Aboriginal Australian Genome Reveals Separate Human Dispersals into Asia
Whole-genome data indicate that early modern humans expanded into Australia 62,000 to 75,000 years ago.
- Acetylcholine-Synthesizing T Cells Relay Neural Signals in a Vagus Nerve Circuit
A neural circuit that involves a specialized population of memory T cells regulates the immune response.
- Functional Innervation of Hepatic iNKT Cells Is Immunosuppressive Following Stroke
Neurotransmitters relay immunosuppressive signals to natural killer T cells after stroke.
- Linking Long-Term Dietary Patterns with Gut Microbial Enterotypes
The basic composition of the human gut microbiome is influenced by long-term diet: high fat and protein versus high fiber.
From the AAAS Office of Publishing and Member Services
