Contents
Vol 335, Issue 6073
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast
The show includes magnetic anomalies on the Moon, nuclear fuel in a reactor accident, light adaptations in the deep sea, 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, a study of lung cancer risks from diesel fumes has finally been released, a panel has blasted safety lapses by Japan's nuclear industry, and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is now 4 years old.
- Random Sample
Two cable TV shows highlighting a little-known subculture—amateur treasure-hunting—"promote and glorify the looting and destruction of archaeological sites," the Society for American Archaeology says.
- Newsmakers
This week's Newsmakers are controversial bioethicist Glenn McGee, who resigned last week from a Texas company that banks adult stem cells for use in medical treatments, and cell biologists Howard Green of Harvard Medical School and Elaine Fuchs of the Rockefeller University, winners of the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
Findings
News & Analysis
- Surprising Twist in Debate Over Lab-Made H5N1
A researcher who created one of the H5N1 mutants believed to be capable of triggering an influenza pandemic and a leading U.S. health official are offering clarifications and "new data" to better gauge the risk it presents.
- A Bumper Year for Chinese Science
In a draft budget, China has earmarked 32.45 billion yuan ($5.14 billion) for basic research in 2012—up 26% from last year's appropriation.
- Reviewer's Déjà Vu, French Science Sleuthing Uncover Plagiarized Papers
An investigation by a French ecologist into papers authored by Serge Valentin Pangou, director of the Study and Research Group on Biological Diversity in the Republic of the Congo, concluded that at least nine contained material plagiarized from other researchers' work.
- Report on Future of Fusion Research Says U.S. Should Hedge Its Bets
The United States should fund a national program of research into inertial fusion energy, but it's too early to pick a winning technology, according to an interim report released this week.
- Last Hurrah: Final Tevatron Data Show Hints of Higgs Boson
This week, scientists working with an atom smasher called the Tevatron, which shut down in September 2011, reported that, having analyzed all the data they'll ever get, they see hints of the Higgs boson.
News Focus
- Light in the Deep
From fish to squid, marine creatures have evolved sophisticated ways to make, use, and perceive light, inspiring researchers interested in optics and animal ecology and behavior.
- Extraordinary Eyes
The mantis shrimp's compound eyes, which are on stalks, are part of a complex visual system. They constantly scan back and forth, taking in the scene and building up an image line by line.
- One Year After the Devastation, Tohoku Designs Its Renewal
Taking stock of the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, experts are planning communities that should be more resilient the next time disaster strikes.
- Radioactive Limbo
While the tsunami-ravaged Tohoku region plans its recovery (see main text), contaminated areas around the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are a no-man's land that may remain deserted for decades.
- Nuclear Ambivalence No More?
The crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that riveted the world last spring has had a potent effect on the industry's future.
- The Next Big(ger) Thing
Physicists, chemists, and materials scientists are looking to build on the success of nanoscale science by unraveling the mysteries at the mesoscale.
Letters
Books et al.
- The Economic Logic of U.S. Science
Examining university science as an economic enterprise, Stephan explores what it costs, who pays for it, and who benefits.
- Pictures of Remembering
Winter traces scientific and cultural aspects of our understanding of memory through the 20th century.
Policy Forum
- Surveillance of Animal Influenza for Pandemic Preparedness
How might we prepare to cope better with future pandemics, particularly ones with greater severity?
Perspectives
- Youth Culture in the Adult Brain
Differences in information processing between older and newly born neurons are observed in the mammalian hippocampus.
- Moonstruck Magnetism
Do magnetic anomalies on the Moon indicate the remains of a giant asteroid impact?
- Experimenting with Politics
Social scientists are turning increasingly to experiments to explain important political behaviors.
- Swell Approaches for Changing Polymer Shapes
Patterning of cross-linked regions in polymer gel sheets with ultraviolet light creates unequal stresses and drives their buckling into complex three-dimensional shapes.
- The Human Factor
Marine sediments suggest that climate was not the sole driver of the African rainforest crisis 3000 years ago.
- Embryonic Clutch Control
A molecular clutch couples actin-based contractions to changes in cell shape that drive morphogenesis.
- Roy J. Britten (1919–2012)
A molecular biologist founded fundamental concepts in DNA sequence organization and gene expression that underlie modern genomics and genome evolution.
Reviews
Brevia
- Fluorescence Imaging of Cellular Metabolites with RNA
Cellular metabolites are detected within living cells by fluorescent RNA-based ligand-binding sensors.
Research Article
- Lin28b Reprograms Adult Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Progenitors to Mediate Fetal-Like Lymphopoiesis
The RNA binding protein Lin28 drives fetal modes of immune cell development.
Reports
- Designing Responsive Buckled Surfaces by Halftone Gel Lithography
Halftone lithography can pattern two-dimensional swellable gels to produce complex three-dimensional shapes.
- Coking- and Sintering-Resistant Palladium Catalysts Achieved Through Atomic Layer Deposition
Uniform oxide coating on palladium nanoparticles prevents carbon accumulation and particle growth during chemical reactions.
- Isolated Metal Atom Geometries as a Strategy for Selective Heterogeneous Hydrogenations
Palladium atoms adsorbed on a copper surface activate hydrogen adsorption for subsequent hydrogenation reactions.
- An Impactor Origin for Lunar Magnetic Anomalies
Most lunar magnetic anomalies can be attributed to magnetic materials in the projectile that formed the largest lunar basin.
- Reconstruction of Microraptor and the Evolution of Iridescent Plumage
Iridescence in the feathers of a feathered dinosaur suggests an early role for feathers in ornamental display and signaling.
- Intensifying Weathering and Land Use in Iron Age Central Africa
Savannas abruptly replaced rainforests around 3000 years ago on account of both climate and human land-use changes.
- A Bruce Effect in Wild Geladas
Long-term field studies show female monkeys improve their fitness by terminating their pregnancies when a new male becomes dominant.
- Molecular Determinants of Scouting Behavior in Honey Bees
The molecular underpinnings of novelty-seeking in honey bees are similar to those of vertebrates.
- Atomic View of a Toxic Amyloid Small Oligomer
Cylindrin from the amyloid-forming protein αB crystallin represents an amyloid oligomer.
- Triggering a Cell Shape Change by Exploiting Preexisting Actomyosin Contractions
Morphogenesis in developing worms and flies harnesses ongoing cortical motility.
- Nucleosomes Suppress Spontaneous Mutations Base-Specifically in Eukaryotes
The placement of nucleosomes, which help to package DNA, affects mutation accumulation across eukaryotic lineages.
- Unique Processing During a Period of High Excitation/Inhibition Balance in Adult-Born Neurons
A specific set of functional properties can be attributed to immature granule cells developing in the hippocampus.
Technical Comments
