Contents
28 February 2020
Vol 367, Issue 6481
Vol 367, Issue 6481
Contents
This Week in Science
Editorial
Editors' Choice
In Brief
In Depth
- Strategies shift as coronavirus pandemic looms
The virus seems unstoppable, but mitigating its speed and impact is possible.
- Preprints bring ‘firehose’ of outbreak data
COVID-19 has upended the ways researchers share findings and collaborate.
- Satellite megaconstellations menace giant survey telescope
Darkening the orbiters could limit damaging light trails in wide-field images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
- Safety benefits of ‘biased’ opioids scrutinized
Mouse studies challenge premise of efforts to reduce painkillers' fatal side effect.
- Cheap balloon-borne telescopes aim to rival space observatories
Stable pointing system enables SuperBIT to deliver images almost as sharp as those from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Feature
- The arrival of strangers
New evidence points to a clash between two ancient Mesoamerican cultures, Teotihuacan and the Maya.
Working Life
Letters
Books et al.
- Out of sight
A historian investigates the Cold War competition to create an invisible aircraft
- When life meets research
The personal and professional collide in a scientist's story of early human development
Policy Forum
- Recalibrating global data center energy-use estimates
Growth in energy use has slowed owing to efficiency gains that smart policies can help maintain in the near term
Perspectives
- Splitting speech and music
Brain asymmetries for words and melodies of songs depend on opposite acoustic cues
- Knocking out barriers to engineered cell activity
CRISPR-Cas9 gene-edited T cells show safety and long-term engraftment in humans
- Maternal microbial molecules affect offspring health
Intestinal molecules during pregnancy in mice may protect offspring from metabolic disease
- Cobalt in lithium-ion batteries
Replacements are sought for cobalt, a costly element used in lithium-ion battery cathodes
- A deep dive into the abyss
The flyby of the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth provides quick and tantalizing observations
- Artificial intelligence in cancer therapy
Artificial intelligence can optimize cancer drug discovery, development, and administration
Association Affairs
- AAAS President Claire Fraser begins a year-long term
Fraser offers AAAS a career driven by curiosity, collaboration, and discovery
Research Articles
- Color, composition, and thermal environment of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth
The Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth (2014 MU69) has a cold, red surface with evidence of methanol ice and unidentified organic molecules.
- The geology and geophysics of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth
Stereo images of Arrokoth (2014 MU69) are used to map its geological units and date its surface using impact craters.
- The solar nebula origin of (486958) Arrokoth, a primordial contact binary in the Kuiper Belt
Simulations show that Arrokoth (2014 MU69) formed by the gentle inspiral of a binary system in the early Solar System.
- CRISPR-engineered T cells in patients with refractory cancer
Multiply gene-edited human immunological T cells demonstrate safety and prolonged persistence in three patients.
- Maternal gut microbiota in pregnancy influences offspring metabolic phenotype in mice
The mother’s gut microbiota during pregnancy tunes energy homeostasis and sympathetic nervous system development in offspring.
- Pectin homogalacturonan nanofilament expansion drives morphogenesis in plant epidermal cells
Methylation of crystalline aligned pectin drives changes in plant cell wall shape.
- Structure of the secretory immunoglobulin A core
Cryo–electron microscopy structures of secretory antibody multimers uncover similar organizational mechanisms.
Reports
- Structural insights into immunoglobulin M
Cryo–electron microscopy structures of secretory antibody multimers uncover similar organizational mechanisms.
- Ultrafast control of vortex microlasers
Ultrafast vortex lasers with highly directional output and single-mode operation have been realized.
- Aminoalkyl radicals as halogen-atom transfer agents for activation of alkyl and aryl halides
Amines conveniently oxidized by light-activated dyes can cleave carbon-iodine bonds to produce alkyl radicals.
- Hidden fluid mechanics: Learning velocity and pressure fields from flow visualizations
A machine learning approach exploiting the knowledge of Navier-Stokes equations can extract detailed fluid flow information.
- Kinetic pathways of ionic transport in fast-charging lithium titanate
Operando electron energy-loss spectroscopy aided by ab initio simulations reveals how Li+ migrates in a fast-charging anode.
- Ecologically diverse clades dominate the oceans via extinction resistance
Analysis of thousands of living and fossil marine animals suggests that resistance to extinction has led to high taxonomic richness.
- Polymerization in the actin ATPase clan regulates hexokinase activity in yeast
Yeast glucokinase activity is limited by its polymerization, which is critical for cell viability during glucose refeeding.
- Distinct sensitivity to spectrotemporal modulation supports brain asymmetry for speech and melody
A human brain imaging study reveals that low-level acoustical cues support hemispheric lateralization of speech and music perception.
About The Cover
COVER CRISPR-Cas9 technology acts as molecular scissors to edit DNA. Genetically modified T cells are revolutionizing cancer therapy but do not successfully treat all patients. Researchers used CRISPR to cut out sections of DNA on three genes in T cells from patients with advanced cancer. This pioneering therapeutic application of genome editing paves the way for next-generation cell-based therapies for human disease. See pages 976 and eaba7365.
Illustration: V. Altounian/Science
