Contents
08 January 2021
Vol 371, Issue 6525
Vol 371, Issue 6525
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
- Viral evolution may herald new pandemic phase
Scientists worry about another "very, very bad" wave, argue for stricter control measures.
- Dosing debates, transparency issues roil vaccine rollouts
U.K. decision to delay booster shots sparks concerns.
- Brexit deal secures U.K. access to research funds
Horizon Europe program will be open to U.K. researchers.
- Dismay greets end of U.S. effort to curb devastating forest pest
States, tribes oppose federal move to end quarantines and rely on tiny parasitic wasps to fight invasive beetle.
- U.S. law sets stage for boost to artificial intelligence research
Congress authorizes ramp up in AI spending and backs planning for a national cloud computing resource.
- Decoy toxin harnessed to fight botulism
In animal studies, miniature antibodies work within nerves to reverse paralysis.
- Gene therapy beats premature-aging syndrome in mice
CRISPR-inspired base editor to be tried on progeria patients.
- Will warming make animals darker—or lighter?
Long-standing belief that higher temperatures favor darker variants comes under fire.
Feature
- The hole truth
Now that black holes can be studied directly, scientists wonder whether they really are the strange beasts Albert Einstein's theory predicts.
- Alternatives to black holes are scarce and strange
General relativity doesn't leave lots of wiggle room for new ideas, theorists say.
Working Life
Letters
Books et al.
- Play breeds better thinkers
Children need unstructured exploration and time to tackle problems that interest them
- Probed, pierced, and revered
Earth's mantle acts as a metaphor for the planet's unknowns, for its beauty, and for its fragility
Policy Forum
- Coevolution of policy and science during the pandemic
Recent, high-quality science is being heard, but unevenly
Perspectives
- SARS-CoV-2 spillover events
Spillover from mink to humans highlights SARS-CoV-2 transmission routes from animals
- How mice feel each other's pain or fear
Distinct neuronal pathways mediate empathy with different affective states
- Between a hydrogen and a covalent bond
The bonds in aqueous FHF− are neither simple hydrogen nor covalent bonds
- Multikingdom diffusion barrier control
Plant microbiomes modulate selective nutrient uptake by regulating diffusion barriers
- COVID-19 testing: One size does not fit all
To control the pandemic, testing should be considered a public health tool
Research Articles
- Coordination between microbiota and root endodermis supports plant mineral nutrient homeostasis
Genes that control root endodermal function in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana contribute to the plant root microbiome assembly.
- Recapitulation of HIV-1 Env-antibody coevolution in macaques leading to neutralization breadth
HIV antibody coevolution in rhesus macaques mirrors similar processes in the development of human broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies.
- Tubulin glycylation controls axonemal dynein activity, flagellar beat, and male fertility
Loss of tubulin glycylation affects male fertility, owing to sperm motility defects, and perturbs axonemal dynein conformations.
- Mechanism of spliceosome remodeling by the ATPase/helicase Prp2 and its coactivator Spp2
A cryo-EM study of the yeast spliceosome reveals how RNA helicase Prp2 ensures the unidirectionality of pre-mRNA translocation towards its 3′ end.
- A noninflammatory mRNA vaccine for treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Antigen-specific tolerance is induced in multiple sclerosis by an mRNA vaccine strategy.
- Anterior cingulate inputs to nucleus accumbens control the social transfer of pain and analgesia
In mice, distinct neuronal circuits are involved in empathy for companion animals who are observed to be experiencing pain or pain relief versus fear.
- Crossover from hydrogen to chemical bonding
The short hydrogen bond of the [F-H-F]– anion in aqueous solution is characterized using 2D infrared spectroscopy.
Review
Reports
- Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites experienced fluid flow within the past million years
Uranium-series isotopes indicate that carbonaceous chondrite meteorites experienced liquid flow within the past million years.
- Lithium pollution of a white dwarf records the accretion of an extrasolar planetesimal
A white dwarf with pollution by lithium and potassium from accreted rocky bodies records the ancient Galactic abundance.
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on mink farms between humans and mink and back to humans
Genetic evidence indicates that SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurred from humans to mink as well as from mink to humans on farms in the Netherlands.
- Microbial sulfate reduction and organic sulfur formation in sinking marine particles
Cryptic sulfur cycling may enhance organic carbon preservation in sediments below marine oxygen–deficient zones.
- Pre–T cell receptors topologically sample self-ligands during thymocyte β-selection
A dynamic preTCR binding orientation fosters major histocompatibility complex recognition and thymocyte development.
- A ubiquitous tire rubber–derived chemical induces acute mortality in coho salmon
A toxic transformation product of a tire rubber antioxidant explains mortality in salmon exposed to urban stormwater.
- A broadly protective antibody that targets the flavivirus NS1 protein
Broadly protective antibodies that target the flavivirus NS1 protein are structurally and functionally characterized.
- Structural basis for antibody inhibition of flavivirus NS1–triggered endothelial dysfunction
Broadly protective antibodies that target the flavivirus NS1 protein are structurally and functionally characterized.
Technical Comments
About The Cover
COVER A mouse sperm lacking glycylation swims in circles. Glycylation is a posttranslational modification of tubulin that is predominately found in cilia and flagella, where it contributes to coordinating axonemal dynein motors that power the flagellar beating. Lack of glycylation causes an abnormal flagellar beat and results in circular instead of straight sperm swimming. This in turn severely affects male fertility. See page eabd4914.
llustration: C. Bickel/Science
