Contents
Vol 336, Issue 6088
Special Issue
H5N1
Introduction to Special Issue
Policy Forum
Perspectives
Reports
- Airborne Transmission of Influenza A/H5N1 Virus Between Ferrets
Avian flu can acquire the capacity for airborne transmission between mammals without recombination in an intermediate host.
- The Potential for Respiratory Droplet–Transmissible A/H5N1 Influenza Virus to Evolve in a Mammalian Host
Some natural influenza viruses need only three amino acid substitutions to acquire airborne transmissibility between mammals.
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast
The show includes biosecurity and scientific publishing, influence on a social network, Curiosity's martian arrival, 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, North Carolina voted to require that predictions of future sea level rise be based on linear rates of increase, a U.K. panel backed open access to research publications, Australia will create the world's largest network of marine reserves, Bahrain has sentenced 20 medics accused of fomenting revolution, a Senate panel has given NIH a $100 million boost for 2013, and an NRC committee has found that fracking is triggering earthquakes.
- Random Sample
The United States is back at the top of the supercomputing list. A cleanup of the archives of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency yielded hand-typed correspondence between JTA's founder, Jacob Landau, and Albert Einstein. And this week's numbers quantify the weight of the world's adult human population, funding needed by U.S. research universities to remain the best in the world, and the cash award for the Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize.
- Newsmakers
This week's Newsmakers are MIT neurobiologist Edward Boyden, who received the inaugural A. F. Harvey Engineering Research Prize, and Matthias Mann of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, who has won the 2012 Körber European Science Prize.
Findings
News & Analysis
- Young Researchers Deserve More Support, Reviews Say
Two new reports say that doctoral students need better mentoring in order for research universities to produce the right mix of skilled workers the nation needs.
- Action Urged to Curb Racial Bias in NIH Grants
To counter a racial tilt in the funding of basic research grants, the National Institutes of Health should launch a "continuous" review and take remedial steps against bias, a working group says.
- Panel Says More Money, Fewer Rules Are Best Ways to Stay Ahead of Pack
A new report repeats what the U.S. higher education establishment has said for years: Research universities are powerful engines of innovation for the U.S. economy.
- NASA's New X-ray Satellite Packs Compact Power
A new space telescope launched by NASA last week called NuSTAR could help astronomers determine what happens to matter swirling around a black hole and answer a host of other questions.
- Second Bacterium Theory Stirs Haiti's Cholera Controversy
A just-published study is set to reignite the politically sensitive debate about the origins of the cholera epidemic that has killed some 7000 people in Haiti and sickened another half-million since 2010.
- Public at Last, H5N1 Study Offers Insight Into Virus's Possible Path to Pandemic
This week, a paper describing how a few mutations might give the H5N1 avian influenza virus the potential to touch off a human flu pandemic appears after more than 8 months of international debate.
- For Young Scientists, A Wild Ride
The experimental work on the two controversial H5N1 studies known as the Kawaoka and Fouchier papers was done by younger researchers who have remained invisible during the past 8 months.
- How Much Longer Will Moratorium Last?
No one is sure when the landmark self-imposed moratorium on certain experiments on the H5N1 avian influenza virus agreed to by influenza researchers earlier this year will be lifted.
News Focus
- Hang On! Curiosity Is Plunging Onto Mars
The performance this August of a brand-new system for landing on Mars means life or death for NASA's next rover mission, but future Mars exploration hangs on a perfect touchdown as well.
- Could a Whiff of Methane Revive The Exploration of Mars?
The controversy over claimed detections of martian methane—a possible product of life on Mars—could be settled come August once the Curiosity rover arrives at the Red Planet.
Letters
Books et al.
- The Eternal Silence of Neuronal Spaces
Writing for nonspecialists, Koch blends autobiography, philosophical reflections, and discussions of the neurobiology of consciousness.
- Facilitating “A-ha!” Moments
Blending scientific findings with stories about creative breakthroughs, Lehrer discusses a range of factors that might help spark our imaginations.
Education Forum
- Engaging Teachers, Scientists, and Multimedia to Promote Learning
BioInteractive focuses on scientists and their research, while engaging with teachers to improve educational materials and practice.
Perspectives
- Entangling Superconductivity and Antiferromagnetism
Common features found in two families of materials may help explain the mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.
- A Unifying Role for Prions in Neurodegenerative Diseases
A profound change in thinking about the etiologies of many neurodegenerative diseases has far-reaching implications for developing therapeutics.
- Genetic Events That Shape the Cancer Epigenome
Mutations in chromatin-related genes in human tumors support a role for epigenetic mechanisms in driving cancer.
- Primed to Remember
With the potential to mimic the human brain, phase-change memories are operating faster, while imaging provides further insight into the switching mechanism.
- Biotic Multipliers of Climate Change
A focus on species interactions may improve predictions of the effects of climate change on ecosystems.
- Carbon from Tropical Deforestation
Estimates of carbon emissions from tropical deforestation differ widely.
- Wnt Regulates TERT—Putting the Horse Before the Cart
A cell signaling pathway that controls self-renewal also regulates telomerase activity.
Research Article
- Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Regulates Telomerase in Stem Cells and Cancer Cells
A molecular link exists between two key regulators of the “undifferentiated” state of proliferative cells.
Reports
- A Sharp Peak of the Zero-Temperature Penetration Depth at Optimal Composition in BaFe2(As1–xPx)2
A quantum critical point may be lurking inside the superconducting dome of a pnictide series.
- Electromechanical Properties of Graphene Drumheads
Mechanical straining of suspended graphene films leads to confinement of charge carriers into quantum dots.
- Electrical Wind Force–Driven and Dislocation-Templated Amorphization in Phase-Change Nanowires
The transition from crystalline to amorphous states in a phase-change material may not require a melting process.
- Breaking the Speed Limits of Phase-Change Memory
A constant applied voltage causes preordering and accelerates phase changes in Ge2Sb2Te5, leading to faster switching.
- Roton-Type Mode Softening in a Quantum Gas with Cavity-Mediated Long-Range Interactions
Low-energy excitations of the type present in superfluid helium are observed in a cold gas of rubidium atoms.
- Baseline Map of Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in Tropical Regions
Tropical deforestation and degradation across three continents led to ~0.8 petagrams of yearly carbon emissions from 2000 to 2005.
- Endophytic Insect-Parasitic Fungi Translocate Nitrogen Directly from Insects to Plants
A fungal plant symbiont also consumes insects in surrounding soil and transfers animal nitrogen to the plant’s roots.
- The Dorsal Aorta Initiates a Molecular Cascade That Instructs Sympatho-Adrenal Specification
Morphogenic proteins provided by the dorsal aorta control early and late processes in neurovascular development.
- Membrane Fusion Intermediates via Directional and Full Assembly of the SNARE Complex
During vesicle membrane fusion, straining of lipids at the edges of an extended contact zone may initiate fusion.
- The Fission Yeast FANCM Ortholog Directs Non-Crossover Recombination During Meiosis
A homolog of a human Fanconi anemia complementation group protein is involved in controlling crossing over during meiosis.
- FANCM Limits Meiotic Crossovers
A homolog of a human Fanconi anemia complementation group protein is involved in controlling crossing over during meiosis.
- Septin-Mediated Plant Cell Invasion by the Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae
A plant pathogen mechanically ruptures cell walls in rice leaves to enter the plant cells and initiate infection.
- The lac Repressor Displays Facilitated Diffusion in Living Cells
The lac repressor slides along DNA in living cells, frequently passing its operator before binding.
Technical Comments
From the AAAS Office of Publishing and Member Services
