Contents
Vol 341, Issue 6141
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast: 5 July Show
Listen to stories on ultrahigh magnetoresistance at room temperature, the roots of plant domestication, and bird brains in the PET scanner.
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 Health Organization has called for starting HIV treatment earlier; the world's first clinical trials for induced pluripotent stem cells are nearing approval; Tyrannosaurus rex is coming to Washington, D.C.; and more.
- Random Sample
President Barack Obama promised in a climate change speech to limit carbon emissions, a road that the country is already headed down.
- Newsmakers
Diederik Stapel, the former Tilburg University professor who fabricated dozens of research studies, has reached a settlement with Dutch prosecutors to do 120 hours of community service.
Findings
News & Analysis
- NIH to Phase Out Most Chimp Research
An era of biomedical research has come to an end as NIH retires most chimpanzees and phases out all but a few biomedical studies.
- New Law Would Dilute and Diminish Science Academy
Last week, Russia's science minister unveiled a draft law that would merge the Russian Academy of Sciences with two other science academies, strip it of control of its extensive real estate holdings, and abolish any distinction between full-fledged academicians and members of a lower rank.
- Budget Malaise May Hit DOE's One Big Growth Area
The Department of Energy office that funds bread-and-butter research with the closest ties to energy and runs the department's big user facilities is facing a budget crunch after years of steady growth.
- China's Exquisite Look at Earth's Rocky Husk Wins Raves
China's Cabinet is now weighing plans for a 15-year, $6.5 billion effort to peel away the secrets of our planet's crust and uppermost mantle, together known as the lithosphere.
- At Long Last, Europe's Mega R&D Program Comes Into Focus
Last week, leaders of the European Union agreed on a budget and rules for the next continent-wide R&D program, Horizon 2020, slated to get €70.2 billion from 2014 to 2020.
News Focus
- Into the Minds of Birds
A new brain-scanning method offers a window into the brains of birds, which have emerged as the surprising stars of many animal cognition studies
- Solution to Vaccine Mystery Starts to Crystallize
For 80 years, people have received injections of alum as part of vaccines, but only recently have researchers begun to explain how the compound helps stimulate immunity
Letters
Books et al.
- Being Modern in Revolutionary Russia
Banerjee explores links among science, technology, science popularization, and modernization in early-20th-century Russia.
- Can Oompa-Loompas Save Us from Perebor?
Using stories and examples, Fortnow surveys the P versus NP problem and discusses how computer scientists deal with hard problems.
Policy Forum
- Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: Premises and Policies
Clearer understanding is needed of the premises underlying SI and how it relates to food-system priorities.
Perspectives
- Seabirds—Individuals in Colonies
Seabirds from nearby colonies forage in different locations rather than directly competing for food.
- Spectroscopy Beyond the Single-Particle Limit
Ultrafast x-ray diffraction studies reveal the lattice vibrations of single gold nanoparticles.
- Fueling Function Over Expansion in T Cells
Cellular metabolism plays an active role in regulating immune cell function.
- The Roots of Cultivation in Southwestern Asia
Evidence of early cultivation of crops in the Zagros Mountains of Iran helps to elucidate where and when humans first started to cultivate wild cereals.
- Radio Bursts, Origin Unknown
Observations of radio bursts that appear to originate from outside the Milky Way may suggest the existence of a large and exotic source population.
- Making Macrophages Eat Cancer
Antibody-based therapies to treat cancer may get a boost from an adjuvant that prevents cancer cells from escaping engulfment by macrophages.
Research Articles
- The Long-Term Stability of the Human Gut Microbiota
Low-error sequencing data suggest that initial microbial colonizers of infant guts could persist over the life span of an individual.
- Bringing Ecosystem Services into Economic Decision-Making: Land Use in the United Kingdom
The value of using land for recreation and wildlife, not just for agriculture, can usefully factor into planning decisions.
Review
Reports
- Signatures of Cool Gas Fueling a Star-Forming Galaxy at Redshift 2.3
Observations of gas near a star-forming galaxy reveal kinematic signatures expected from gas inflowing onto the galaxy.
- A Population of Fast Radio Bursts at Cosmological Distances
Radio telescope data revealed four short, extragalactic, nonrepeating bursts of radio emission whose source is unknown.
- Ultrafast Three-Dimensional Imaging of Lattice Dynamics in Individual Gold Nanocrystals
An x-ray free-electron laser is used to probe the elastic modes of a gold nanocrystal.
- Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Superfluid 3He-A
The asymmetric deflection of impurities beneath the surface of helium-3 reveals the handedness of the superfluid A phase.
- Crystal Structure Determination of the Nonclassical 2-Norbornyl Cation
A long-standing debate about the structural symmetry of a positively charged hydrocarbon is settled by x-ray diffraction.
- Emergence of Agriculture in the Foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iran
An archaeobotanical assemblage spans the transition period from foraging to farming in the Near East.
- Space Partitioning Without Territoriality in Gannets
Gannets establish foraging territory boundaries in colonies through local competition and information exchange.
- MiR-200b and miR-429 Function in Mouse Ovulation and Are Essential for Female Fertility
MicroRNAs regulate hormone synthesis in the pituitary and the production of oocytes.
- A Secreted Disulfide Catalyst Controls Extracellular Matrix Composition and Function
Laminin incorporation is promoted by a secreted enzyme, which is important for cell adhesion and migration.
- Structure of the Repulsive Guidance Molecule (RGM)–Neogenin Signaling Hub
A complex of a guidance molecule and its receptor reveals how signals cross the membrane.
- Inhibition of RNA Helicase Brr2 by the C-Terminal Tail of the Spliceosomal Protein Prp8
Regulating an RNA helicase in the eukaryotic splicing reaction involves intermittent blockade of the catalytic tunnel.
- Monitoring Drug Target Engagement in Cells and Tissues Using the Cellular Thermal Shift Assay
A method to monitor drug binding to proteins in cells may help in target validation and drug optimization.
- Engineered SIRPα Variants as Immunotherapeutic Adjuvants to Anticancer Antibodies
CD47 antagonists augment the effectiveness of antibody-mediated tumor immunotherapy in mice.
