Science

Current Issue:

• This Week in Science
  Nanorobots Deliver | Supramolecular Polymers Explained | Life of Li | Driving Forces | Defective Gene Detective | Toward Quantum Computing | From Plant to Plastic | Plastid Origins | Adapting to the Cold | From NO to Complement | Flagellin Takes Its Toll | Faculty Fates | A Lipid-Sensing GPCR
• Editors' Choice
  Microbiology: Live to Divide Another Way | Cell Biology: A Collective Movement | Psychology: What Would Jesus Do? | Physics: Approaching a Supermodel | Development: Developmental Dynamics Uncaged | Chemistry: More Mercury for the Money | Engineering: Calling All Plumbers
• Findings
  Former Soviet Mathematicians Edged Out U.S. Scholars
• [Editorial] Science and Diplomacy
  Author: E. William Colglazier
  E. William Colglazier
• [News of the Week] Around the World
  In science news around the world this week, the World Bank is fretting over urban flooding in Asia, a synthetic biology report is being ignored, and the inaugural flight of Europe's new Vega rocket went off without a hitch.
• [News of the Week] Newsmakers
  This week's Newsmakers are Ed Weiler, who says the Obama Administration's attacks on a Mars mission led to his resignation as head of NASA's science mission last September; Scottish microbiologist Anne Glover, who took office as the first European Chief Scientific Advisor; and Barbara Cannon, the first non-Swedish president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• [News of the Week] Random Sample
  A 93-kilogram meteorite recovered from musician Sting's Lake House estate in the United Kingdom's rural Wiltshire may shed some light on ice-age Britain. Lonely Chinese researchers isolated by shyness and long lab hours now have an online dating service designed just for them. And this week's numbers quantify meters of Antarctic ice drilled, the percentage of fresh water used agriculturally, and the amount donated to launch two postdoctoral fellowships in developmental health.
• [News & Analysis] U.S. Budget: Science Spared Brunt of Ax in Budget Request
  While legislators are demanding big cuts in federal spending, President Barack Obama sent Congress a clear message in the 2013 budget he submitted this week: Don't cut research.Author: Jeffrey Mervis
  Jeffrey Mervis
• [News & Analysis] U.S. Budget: Hard Times for OSTP
  The Office of Science and Technology Policy is facing its own tough budget choices this year as it tries to coordinate research activities across the government.Author: Jeffrey Mervis
  Jeffrey Mervis
• [News & Analysis] Bird Flu Controversy: Does Forewarned = Forearmed With Lab-Made Avian Influenza Strains?
  The debate over whether journals should publish the full details of how two labs engineered the deadly avian influenza strain H5N1 so that it spreads more easily among ferrets, and presumably humans, shows that knowledge cuts both ways.Author: Jon Cohen
  Jon Cohen
• [News & Analysis] Bird Flu Controversy: Dead Reckoning the Lethality of Bird Flu
  On 2 February at the New York Academy of Sciences, Michael Osterholm and Peter Palese, both prominent influenza researchers, debated just how deadly the avian virus known as H5N1 is to humans.Author: Jon Cohen
  Jon Cohen
• [News & Analysis] Social Science: Marriage Decision Highlights Same-Sex Studies
  The legal jousting over California's Proposition 8 has helped highlight a growing body of research on the psychological and socioeconomic aspects of same-sex relationships.Author: David Malakoff
  David Malakoff
• [News & Analysis] Polar Science: A Tiny Window Opens Into Lake Vostok, While a Vast Continent Awaits
  On 8 February, the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute announced that a team of its engineers and scientists had drilled through nearly 4 kilometers of Antarctic ice to Lake Vostok.Author: Carolyn Gramling
  Carolyn Gramling
• [News Focus] Archaeology: Uncovering Civilization's Roots
  What sparked the first cities? Digs in Kuwait and Syria are reshaping how archaeologists see the first stirrings of urban life.Author: Andrew Lawler
  Andrew Lawler
• [Letter] Bad Advice, Not Young Scientists, Should Hit the Road
  Author: Mark S. Cohen
  Mark S. Cohen
• [Letter] Rescuing Wolves: Threat of Misinformation
  Author: L. David Mech
  L. David Mech
• [Letter] Rescuing Wolves: States Not Immune to Politics
  Author: David Johns
  David Johns
• [Letter] Rescuing Wolves: Threat of Misinformation—Response
  Authors: Jeremy T. Bruskotter, Sherry A. Enzler, Adrian Treves
  Jeremy T. Bruskotter
• [Letter] Bad Advice?
• [Correction] Corrections and Clarifications
• [Technical Comment] Comment on “A Diverse Assemblage of Late Cretaceous Dinosaur and Bird Feathers from Canadian Amber”
  Authors: Carla J. Dove, Lorian C. Straker
  Carla J. Dove
• [Technical Response] Response to Comment on “A Diverse Assemblage of Late Cretaceous Dinosaur and Bird Feathers from Canadian Amber”
  Authors: Ryan C. McKellar, Brian D. E. Chatterton, Alexander P. Wolfe, Philip J. Currie
  Ryan C. McKellar
• [Book Review] Learning Ecological Ethics from Plato
  The books by Ophuls and Lane offer two perspectives on how Plato might help us develop an ecologically sustainable society.Author: Saleem H. Ali
  Saleem H. Ali
• [Book Review] Science and the Ontology of Belief
  Engaging both the history of philosophy and the development of science, Matson focuses on how we differentiate sense and nonsense.Author: P. William Hughes
  P. William Hughes
• [Books et al.] Books Received
  A listing of books received at Science during the week ending 10 February 2012.
• [Policy Forum] Public Health and Biosecurity: H5N1 Debates: Hung Up on the Wrong Questions
  Information related to influenza transmissibility should be published in its entirety.Author: Daniel R. Perez
  Daniel R. Perez
• [Policy Forum] Public Health and Biosecurity: Life Sciences at a Crossroads: Respiratory Transmissible H5N1
  Release of details of recent research on affecting influenza transmissibility poses far more risk than any good that might occur.Authors: Michael T. Osterholm, Donald A. Henderson
  Michael T. Osterholm
• [Policy Forum] Public Health and Biosecurity: The Obligation to Prevent the Next Dual-Use Controversy
  The recent debates over H5N1 experiments highlight current shortcomings in oversight of potential dual-use research.Authors: Ruth R. Faden, Ruth A. Karron
  Ruth R. Faden
• [Perspective] Biochemistry: A Cold Editor Makes the Adaptation
  Adaptation to cold temperature is mediated by RNA editing of a potassium channel in octopus neurons.Author: Marie Öhman
  Marie Öhman
• [Perspective] Genetics: Gene Losses in the Human Genome
  A comprehensive survey of the human genome reveals variations that disrupt protein-coding genes.Author: Lluis Quintana-Murci
  Lluis Quintana-Murci
• [Perspective] Chemistry: Adding Aliphatic C–H Bond Oxidations to Synthesis
  Oxidations of aliphatic C–H bonds, known since the 1800s, have only recently been considered for use in organic synthesis.Author: M. Christina White
  M. Christina White
• [Perspective] Evolution: Contemplating the First Plantae
  What characterized the first photosynthetic eukaryotes?Author: Frederick W. Spiegel
  Frederick W. Spiegel
• [Perspective] Geochemistry: Mountains, Weathering, and Climate
  Changes in the lithium isotope composition of seawater over the past 70 million years elucidate the links between weathering and climate.Author: Adina Paytan
  Adina Paytan
• [Retrospective] Retrospective: James F. Crow (1916–2012)
  A population geneticist is remembered by colleagues for his generosity, clarity, and influence in the field, as well as in policy matters involving genetics.Authors: William Dove, Millard Susman
  William Dove
• [Review] Functional Supramolecular Polymers
  Authors: T. Aida, E. W. Meijer, S. I. Stupp
  T. Aida
• [Research Article] Lithium Isotope History of Cenozoic Seawater: Changes in Silicate Weathering and Reverse Weathering
  Historical changes in the lithium isotope ratio in seawater imply episodes of tectonic uplift and carbon dioxide drawdown.Authors: Sambuddha Misra, Philip N. Froelich
  Sambuddha Misra
• [Research Article] A Systematic Survey of Loss-of-Function Variants in Human Protein-Coding Genes
  Validation of predicted nonfunctional alleles in the human genome affects the medical interpretation of genomic analyses.Authors: Daniel G. MacArthur, Suganthi Balasubramanian, Adam Frankish, Ni Huang, James Morris, Klaudia Walter, Luke Jostins, Lukas Habegger, Joseph K. Pickrell, Stephen B. Montgomery, Cornelis A. Albers, Zhengdong D. Zhang, Donald F. Conrad, Gerton Lunter, Hancheng Zheng, Qasim Ayub, Mark A. DePristo, Eric Banks, Min Hu, Robert E. Handsaker, Jeffrey A. Rosenfeld, Menachem Fromer, Mike Jin, Xinmeng Jasmine Mu, Ekta Khurana, Kai Ye, Mike Kay, Gary Ian Saunders, Marie-Marthe Suner, Toby Hunt, If H. A. Barnes, Clara Amid, Denise R. Carvalho-Silva, Alexandra H. Bignell, Catherine Snow, Bryndis Yngvadottir, Suzannah Bumpstead, David N. Cooper, Yali Xue, Irene Gallego Romero, 1000 Genomes Project Consortium, Jun Wang, Yingrui Li, Richard A. Gibbs, Steven A. McCarroll, Emmanouil T. Dermitzakis, Jonathan K. Pritchard, Jeffrey C. Barrett, Jennifer Harrow, Matthew E. Hurles, Mark B. Gerstein, Chris Tyler-Smith
  Daniel G. MacArthur
• [Report] Unraveling the Spin Polarization of the ν = 5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall State
  Nuclear magnetic resonance shows that an exotic state of matter may have the properties necessary for error-free quantum computing.Authors: L. Tiemann, G. Gamez, N. Kumada, K. Muraki
  L. Tiemann
• [Report] A Logic-Gated Nanorobot for Targeted Transport of Molecular Payloads
  Cargoes stored in folded DNA origami are released when aptamers in the structure bind target protein molecules.Authors: Shawn M. Douglas, Ido Bachelet, George M. Church
  Shawn M. Douglas
• [Report] Supported Iron Nanoparticles as Catalysts for Sustainable Production of Lower Olefins
  A class of iron catalysts selectively transforms gasified biomass into the building blocks of common plastics.Authors: Hirsa M. Torres Galvis, Johannes H. Bitter, Chaitanya B. Khare, Matthijs Ruitenbeek, A. Iulian Dugulan, Krijn P. de Jong
  Hirsa M. Torres Galvis
• [Report] Plate Motions and Stresses from Global Dynamic Models
  Geodynamic modeling predicts where the mantle drives or resists the motion of overlying tectonic plates.Authors: Attreyee Ghosh, William E. Holt
  Attreyee Ghosh
• [Report] Cyanophora paradoxa Genome Elucidates Origin of Photosynthesis in Algae and Plants
  An ancient algal genome suggests a unique origin of the plastid in the ancestor to plants, algae, and glaucophytes.Authors: Dana C. Price, Cheong Xin Chan, Hwan Su Yoon, Eun Chan Yang, Huan Qiu, Andreas P. M. Weber, Rainer Schwacke, Jeferson Gross, Nicolas A. Blouin, Chris Lane, Adrián Reyes-Prieto, Dion G. Durnford, Jonathan A. D. Neilson, B. Franz Lang, Gertraud Burger, Jürgen M. Steiner, Wolfgang Löffelhardt, Jonathan E. Meuser, Matthew C. Posewitz, Steven Ball, Maria Cecilia Arias, Bernard Henrissat, Pedro M. Coutinho, Stefan A. Rensing, Aikaterini Symeonidi, Harshavardhan Doddapaneni, Beverley R. Green, Veeran D. Rajah, Jeffrey Boore, Debashish Bhattacharya
  Dana C. Price
• [Report] RNA Editing Underlies Temperature Adaptation in K+ Channels from Polar Octopuses
  Octopus potassium channels function efficiently at different temperatures due to RNA editing and not genetic differences.Authors: Sandra Garrett, Joshua J. C. Rosenthal
  Sandra Garrett
• [Report] Crystal Structure of a Lipid G Protein–Coupled Receptor
  A channel in a lipid-dependent G protein–coupled receptor allows a ligand to access its binding site from within the plasma membrane.Authors: Michael A. Hanson, Christopher B. Roth, Euijung Jo, Mark T. Griffith, Fiona L. Scott, Greg Reinhart, Hans Desale, Bryan Clemons, Stuart M. Cahalan, Stephan C. Schuerer, M. Germana Sanna, Gye Won Han, Peter Kuhn, Hugh Rosen, Raymond C. Stevens
  Michael A. Hanson
• [Report] Epithelial Nitration by a Peroxidase/NOX5 System Mediates Mosquito Antiplasmodial Immunity
  Expression of nitric oxide synthase followed by peroxidase activity makes Plasmodium visible to the insect’s complement system.Authors: Giselle de Almeida Oliveira, Joshua Lieberman, Carolina Barillas-Mury
  Giselle de Almeida Oliveira
• [Report] Structural Basis of TLR5-Flagellin Recognition and Signaling
  Bacterially derived flagellin binds to an innate immune receptor to form a tail-to-tail heterodimeric signaling complex.Authors: Sung-il Yoon, Oleg Kurnasov, Venkatesh Natarajan, Minsun Hong, Andrei V. Gudkov, Andrei L. Osterman, Ian A. Wilson
  Sung-il Yoon
• [Report] Survival Analysis of Faculty Retention in Science and Engineering by Gender
  Individual assistant professors hired since 1990 at 14 U.S. universities were tracked from time of hire to time of departure.Authors: Deborah Kaminski, Cheryl Geisler
  Deborah Kaminski
• New Products
  A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.
• [Podcast] Science Podcast
  The show includes the gender breakdown in academic faculty, identifying mutations that give rise to disease, budgeting for science in the United States, and more.