Contents
Vol 335, Issue 6070
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast
The show includes the gender breakdown in academic faculty, identifying mutations that give rise to disease, budgeting for science in the United States, 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, the World Bank is fretting over urban flooding in Asia, a synthetic biology report is being ignored, and the inaugural flight of Europe's new Vega rocket went off without a hitch.
- Newsmakers
This week's Newsmakers are Ed Weiler, who says the Obama Administration's attacks on a Mars mission led to his resignation as head of NASA's science mission last September; Scottish microbiologist Anne Glover, who took office as the first European Chief Scientific Advisor; and Barbara Cannon, the first non-Swedish president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- Random Sample
A 93-kilogram meteorite recovered from musician Sting's Lake House estate in the United Kingdom's rural Wiltshire may shed some light on ice-age Britain. Lonely Chinese researchers isolated by shyness and long lab hours now have an online dating service designed just for them. And this week's numbers quantify meters of Antarctic ice drilled, the percentage of fresh water used agriculturally, and the amount donated to launch two postdoctoral fellowships in developmental health.
Findings
News & Analysis
- Science Spared Brunt of Ax in Budget Request
While legislators are demanding big cuts in federal spending, President Barack Obama sent Congress a clear message in the 2013 budget he submitted this week: Don't cut research.
- Hard Times for OSTP
The Office of Science and Technology Policy is facing its own tough budget choices this year as it tries to coordinate research activities across the government.
- Does Forewarned = Forearmed With Lab-Made Avian Influenza Strains?
The debate over whether journals should publish the full details of how two labs engineered the deadly avian influenza strain H5N1 so that it spreads more easily among ferrets, and presumably humans, shows that knowledge cuts both ways.
- Dead Reckoning the Lethality of Bird Flu
On 2 February at the New York Academy of Sciences, Michael Osterholm and Peter Palese, both prominent influenza researchers, debated just how deadly the avian virus known as H5N1 is to humans.
- Marriage Decision Highlights Same-Sex Studies
The legal jousting over California's Proposition 8 has helped highlight a growing body of research on the psychological and socioeconomic aspects of same-sex relationships.
- A Tiny Window Opens Into Lake Vostok, While a Vast Continent Awaits
On 8 February, the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute announced that a team of its engineers and scientists had drilled through nearly 4 kilometers of Antarctic ice to Lake Vostok.
News Focus
- Uncovering Civilization's Roots
What sparked the first cities? Digs in Kuwait and Syria are reshaping how archaeologists see the first stirrings of urban life.
Letters
Books et al.
- Learning Ecological Ethics from Plato
The books by Ophuls and Lane offer two perspectives on how Plato might help us develop an ecologically sustainable society.
- Science and the Ontology of Belief
Engaging both the history of philosophy and the development of science, Matson focuses on how we differentiate sense and nonsense.
- Books Received
A listing of books received at Science during the week ending 10 February 2012.
Policy Forum
- H5N1 Debates: Hung Up on the Wrong Questions
Information related to influenza transmissibility should be published in its entirety.
- Life Sciences at a Crossroads: Respiratory Transmissible H5N1
Release of details of recent research on affecting influenza transmissibility poses far more risk than any good that might occur.
- The Obligation to Prevent the Next Dual-Use Controversy
The recent debates over H5N1 experiments highlight current shortcomings in oversight of potential dual-use research.
Perspectives
- A Cold Editor Makes the Adaptation
Adaptation to cold temperature is mediated by RNA editing of a potassium channel in octopus neurons.
- Gene Losses in the Human Genome
A comprehensive survey of the human genome reveals variations that disrupt protein-coding genes.
- Adding Aliphatic C–H Bond Oxidations to Synthesis
Oxidations of aliphatic C–H bonds, known since the 1800s, have only recently been considered for use in organic synthesis.
- Contemplating the First Plantae
What characterized the first photosynthetic eukaryotes?
- Mountains, Weathering, and Climate
Changes in the lithium isotope composition of seawater over the past 70 million years elucidate the links between weathering and climate.
- James F. Crow (1916–2012)
A population geneticist is remembered by colleagues for his generosity, clarity, and influence in the field, as well as in policy matters involving genetics.
Review
Research Articles
- Lithium Isotope History of Cenozoic Seawater: Changes in Silicate Weathering and Reverse Weathering
Historical changes in the lithium isotope ratio in seawater imply episodes of tectonic uplift and carbon dioxide drawdown.
- A Systematic Survey of Loss-of-Function Variants in Human Protein-Coding Genes
Validation of predicted nonfunctional alleles in the human genome affects the medical interpretation of genomic analyses.
Reports
- Unraveling the Spin Polarization of the ν = 5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall State
Nuclear magnetic resonance shows that an exotic state of matter may have the properties necessary for error-free quantum computing.
- A Logic-Gated Nanorobot for Targeted Transport of Molecular Payloads
Cargoes stored in folded DNA origami are released when aptamers in the structure bind target protein molecules.
- Supported Iron Nanoparticles as Catalysts for Sustainable Production of Lower Olefins
A class of iron catalysts selectively transforms gasified biomass into the building blocks of common plastics.
- Plate Motions and Stresses from Global Dynamic Models
Geodynamic modeling predicts where the mantle drives or resists the motion of overlying tectonic plates.
- Cyanophora paradoxa Genome Elucidates Origin of Photosynthesis in Algae and Plants
An ancient algal genome suggests a unique origin of the plastid in the ancestor to plants, algae, and glaucophytes.
- RNA Editing Underlies Temperature Adaptation in K+ Channels from Polar Octopuses
Octopus potassium channels function efficiently at different temperatures due to RNA editing and not genetic differences.
- Crystal Structure of a Lipid G Protein–Coupled Receptor
A channel in a lipid-dependent G protein–coupled receptor allows a ligand to access its binding site from within the plasma membrane.
- Epithelial Nitration by a Peroxidase/NOX5 System Mediates Mosquito Antiplasmodial Immunity
Expression of nitric oxide synthase followed by peroxidase activity makes Plasmodium visible to the insect’s complement system.
- Structural Basis of TLR5-Flagellin Recognition and Signaling
Bacterially derived flagellin binds to an innate immune receptor to form a tail-to-tail heterodimeric signaling complex.
- Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention in Science and Engineering by Gender
Individual assistant professors hired since 1990 at 14 U.S. universities were tracked from time of hire to time of departure.
Technical Comments
