Contents
Vol 359, Issue 6373
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
Products & Materials
- New Products
A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.
In Brief
In Depth
- Newborn exoplanet eyed for moons and rings
Dedicated microsatellite joins telescopes watching for rare transit of β Pictoris b.
- ‘Liquid biopsy’ for cancer promises early detection
Combining DNA and protein markers brings researchers closer to a universal cancer screening test.
- Tamed immune reaction aids pregnancy
Evolutionary studies show how dialing back inflammation allows embryo implantation.
- Tensions flare over electric fishing in European waters
European Parliament calls for total ban of a techniquethat saves fuel and reduces damage to marine life
- Rochester roiled by fallout from sexual harassment case
Report supports university's handling of explosive charges involving linguist T. Florian Jaeger, but president bows out.
- Are algorithms good judges?
People are as good as machines in predicting rearrest.
Feature
- The believer
How a Mormon lawyer transformed Mesoamerican archaeology—and ended up losing his faith.
Working Life
Letters
Books et al.
- Quarks, culture, combogenesis
A multidisciplinary tour of cosmic history charts the “grand sequence” of existence
- Enrico Fermi, flaws and all
A revealing biography falls short when it comes to the famous physicist's problematic treatment of women
Policy Forum
- Assessing nature's contributions to people
Recognizing culture, and diverse sources of knowledge, can improve assessments
Perspectives
- The art of manufacturing molecules
Additively manufactured monolithic reactors allow on-demand synthesis of drug molecules
- Quantum liquids get thin
A mix of two bosonic particles develops attractive forces to create a quantum liquid
- A bacterial coat that is not pure cotton
Biofilms formed by E. coli and Salmonella contain a new form of modified cellulose
- Taking down defenses to improve vaccines
A new approach to generating influenza virus vaccines could improve responses
- Remote control of nanoscale devices
A DNA nanodevice can be manipulated with an applied electric field
- Ben Barres (1954–2017)
A passionate neuroscientist and advocate of equal opportunity in the sciences
Association Affairs
Review
Research Articles
- Membrane protein insertion through a mitochondrial β-barrel gate
The mechanism by which mitochondrial outer membrane proteins are inserted is elucidated.
- Genome-wide identification of interferon-sensitive mutations enables influenza vaccine design
High-throughput genomics can be used to retune attenuated viruses to optimize vaccine development.
- A self-assembled nanoscale robotic arm controlled by electric fields
An electrically driven DNA origami arm can exert piconewton forces and transport fluorophores and nanoparticles.
Reports
- Quantum liquid droplets in a mixture of Bose-Einstein condensates
Tuning interatomic interactions in two ultracold gases of potassium atoms creates quantum liquid droplets.
- Hydraulic fracturing volume is associated with induced earthquake productivity in the Duvernay play
Induced seismicity from hydrofracturing in Canada is related to the well fluid injection volumes.
- Chiromagnetic nanoparticles and gels
Chiral amino acid ligands create lattice distortions that boost the chiroptical activity of cobalt oxide nanoparticles.
- Digitization of multistep organic synthesis in reactionware for on-demand pharmaceuticals
A blueprint for chemical synthesis in plasticware offers an alternative to capital-intensive reactors for low-volume targets.
- A global atlas of the dominant bacteria found in soil
Relatively few soil bacterial taxa dominate terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, with predictable distributions and ecology.
- Improving refugee integration through data-driven algorithmic assignment
A machine learning–based algorithm for assigning refugees can improve their employment prospects over current approaches.
- Dicer uses distinct modules for recognizing dsRNA termini
Structures of a Drosophila Dicer protein reveal two distinct mechanisms recognizing and cleaving double-stranded RNA substrates.
- Phosphoethanolamine cellulose: A naturally produced chemically modified cellulose
Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy identifies naturally produced, chemically modified cellulose crucial for bacterial biofilm architecture.
- Structural mechanisms of centromeric nucleosome recognition by the kinetochore protein CENP-N
Cryo–electron microscopy reveals mechanisms of centromeric nucleosome recognition and initial assembly steps of the kinetochore complex.
- Multiplexed gene synthesis in emulsions for exploring protein functional landscapes
A gene synthesis method, DropSynth, allows for the synthesis and characterization of thousands of pooled genes.
About The Cover

COVER Artistic rendering of a long chain of self-assembled DNA platforms bearing multiple rotor arms. The motion of the arms between docking stations (yellow) defined on the plates can be precisely directed by externally applied electric fields. Such systems could form the basis for computer-controlled nanorobotic assembly lines in which the arms cooperate in the synthesis of nanoscale structures. See pages 279 and 296.
Illustration: C. Bickel/Science; Data: E. Kopperger and F. C. Simmel/Technical University of Munich