Contents
Vol 343, Issue 6177
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Podcasts
- Science Podcast: 21 March Show
On this week's show: human odor discrimination pegged at one trillion odors and a roundup from our daily news site.
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, the European Parliament approves tighter data privacy rules, a report from U.K. scientists criticizes the European Union's approval process for genetically modified crops, and more.
- Random Sample
When an intern at the Hunterian Museum of the University of Glasgow in Scotland discovered a slide of the Blarney Stone in the museum collection, geologists there put its mythical origins to the test.
- Newsmakers
The U.S. Senate has confirmed astrophysicist France Córdova, formerly chair of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, as the new director of the National Science Foundation.
Findings
News & Analysis
- First Wrinkles in Spacetime Confirm Cosmic Inflation
Signs of gravitational waves shaking the newborn universe bolster the mind-boggling theory of cosmic inflation and electrify scientists the world over.
- Hints of Detente Between NSF and Republicans
Congressional Republicans and the National Science Foundation appear to be creeping toward common ground in their yearlong fight over how the agency manages its $7 billion research portfolio.
- Dueling Visions for Agency
The Democratic alternative to the Republican bill would encourage the National Science Foundation to support more of the same high-quality research it now funds.
- Irreproducibility Dogs New Reprogramming Method
As scientists around the world attempt to reproduce a new way to make stem cells—so far without success—Science has learned that several co-authors on the feted papers have not yet made the cells either.
- U.S. and Mexico Unleash a Flood Into Colorado Delta
Hoping for a boost to native vegetation, scientists will study the effects of an experimental flood of the Colorado River delta on trees, soil salinity, and ground water.
News Focus
- A War Within a War
Fighting a major polio outbreak in the midst of Syria's bitter civil war is a test of commitment—and diplomacy.
- The Vigilante
When the ENCODE Project declared that there is no such thing as junk DNA, Dan Graur counterattacked. But does he go too far?
Letters
Books et al.
- To Connect More Equitably
Research on the ways people learn and share information about health and science, Southwell argues, suggests that systematic reliance on social networks will increase inequity.
- Wonders from Cambridge Collections
Juxtaposing objects from eight Cambridge University museums, the exhibition illustrates links among art, science, and exploration.
Policy Forum
- Carbon Market Lessons and Global Policy Outlook
Ongoing work on linking markets and mixing policies builds on successes and failures in pricing and trading carbon.
Perspectives
- Testing the Limits of Accretion
Observations reveal a greater influence of rapidly accreting black holes on their host galaxy than expected.
- Nanoframe Catalysts
Nanoframe electrocatalysts containing only small amounts of precious metal show very high activities.
- Unlocking Ancient Protein Palimpsests
High-resolution, high-throughput mass spectrometry studies of ancient protein samples provide insights into protein function in the distant past.
- RIPK3 Takes Another Deadly Turn
Blocking an enzyme involved in necroptosis may prove toxic by promoting another form of cell death.
- Epstein-Barr Virus Turns 50
Fifty years after the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus and its association with cancer, a vaccine or therapy for the virus remains elusive.
- Flow of Control in Networks
A simple framework allows the classification of complex networks based on the flow of control.
- Counting the Ways to Decode Dynamic Signals
The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum decodes an oscillatory signal to measure time.
Review
Research Article
- Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling of a GATA Transcription Factor Functions as a Development Timer
The link between chemoattractant gradients, developmental signals, and gene expression in social amoebae is elucidated.
Reports
- Super-Eddington Mechanical Power of an Accreting Black Hole in M83
A stellar-mass black hole shocks its surroundings with kinetic energy in excess of its predicted radiative output.
- Large-Amplitude Spin Dynamics Driven by a THz Pulse in Resonance with an Electromagnon
The electric field of an electromagnetic pulse exerts ultrafast control on the spin dynamics of the multiferroic TbMnO3.
- Angular Fluctuations of a Multicomponent Order Describe the Pseudogap of YBa2Cu3O6+x
A model reproduces the temperature dependence of charge-order fluctuations in a cuprate superconductor.
- Highly Crystalline Multimetallic Nanoframes with Three-Dimensional Electrocatalytic Surfaces
Highly active electrocatalysts are created by eroding away all but the edges of platinum-nickel nanocrystals.
- The Source Crater of Martian Shergottite Meteorites
Martian meteorites originated from the 3- to 5-million-year-old Mojave impact crater.
- Iron Fertilization of the Subantarctic Ocean During the Last Ice Age
Nitrogen isotopes in foraminifera show the role of iron fertilization on atmospheric carbon dioxide during the last ice age.
- From Parasitism to Mutualism: Unexpected Interactions Between a Cuckoo and Its Host
The carrion crow Corvus corone corone can benefit from parasitism by the great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius.
- β-Catenin Activation Regulates Tissue Growth Non–Cell Autonomously in the Hair Stem Cell Niche
Signals generated by mouse hair follicle stem cells generate new hair growth.
- Activity of Protein Kinase RIPK3 Determines Whether Cells Die by Necroptosis or Apoptosis
A particular protein kinase functions at a critical control point that determines whether—and how—cells die.
- Highly Multiplexed Subcellular RNA Sequencing in Situ
Reads of cellular RNA transcripts demonstrate spatial expression differences during simulated wound healing.
- Structure of the Mitochondrial Translocator Protein in Complex with a Diagnostic Ligand
A ligand stabilizes a mammalian mitochondrial cholesterol transporter, allowing high-resolution structural analysis.
- Epistasis and Allele Specificity in the Emergence of a Stable Polymorphism in Escherichia coli
The emergence of a stable polymorphism in bacteria involved a multistep process including three specific mutations.
- Humans Can Discriminate More than 1 Trillion Olfactory Stimuli
The number of different odor mixtures people can distinguish is several orders of magnitude larger than anticipated.
- Control Profiles of Complex Networks
The control profile is a network statistic that may prove useful in approaching the control of complex networks.
- Fossilized Nuclei and Chromosomes Reveal 180 Million Years of Genomic Stasis in Royal Ferns
Fern fossils provide evidence that nuclear shape, size, and chromosomal content have changed little since the Jurassic.