This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 31 January 2003: 621.
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Editorial:
An Epidemic of Politics

Donald Kennedy
Science 31 January 2003: 625.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 31 January 2003: 627.
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NetWatch

Best of the Web in science.
Science 31 January 2003: 635.
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 AAAS News & Notes

Science 31 January 2003: 675.

 NEW PRODUCTS

Science 31 January 2003: 726-727.

News of the Week

CLIMATE CHANGE:
A Perfect Ocean for Four Years of Globe-Girdling Drought

Richard A. Kerr
Science 31 January 2003: 636.
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U.K. UNIVERSITIES:
Tuition Scheme Sparks Worries

Gretchen Vogel
Science 31 January 2003: 637.
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SPAIN:
Research Chief a Victim of the Oil Spill?

Xavier Bosch
Science 31 January 2003: 637.
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NEUROSCIENCE:
Minor Variation in Growth-Factor Gene Impairs Human Memory

Jean Marx
Science 31 January 2003: 639-640.
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METABOLIC ENGINEERING:
Researchers Create First Autonomous Synthetic Life Form

Robert F. Service
Science 31 January 2003: 640.
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RUSSIA:
Prestigious Plant Institute in Jeopardy

Paul Webster
Science 31 January 2003: 641.
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GLOBAL HEALTH:
Bill Gates Plans a Hit List, With NIH's Help

Martin Enserink
Science 31 January 2003: 641.
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ARCHAEOLOGY:
Impending War Stokes Battle Over Fate of Iraqi Antiquities

Andrew Lawler
Science 31 January 2003: 643.
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ScienceScope

Science 31 January 2003: 639.
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Random Samples

Science 31 January 2003: 657.
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News Focus

ECOLOGY:
Conflict Over Cooperation

Ben Shouse
Science 31 January 2003: 644-646.
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NEUROSCIENCE:
Singing in the Brain

Greg Miller
Science 31 January 2003: 646-648.
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NEUROSCIENCE:
How to Please a Persnickety Female

Greg Miller
Science 31 January 2003: 648.
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SCIENCE POLICY IN JAPAN:
Researchers Feel Shut Out As Council Loses Its Clout

Dennis Normile
Science 31 January 2003: 649.
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JOINT MATHEMATICS MEETINGS:
Algorithmics = Has Trim Logic

Barry Cipra
Science 31 January 2003: 650.
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JOINT MATHEMATICS MEETINGS:
How a Scribe Learned Math, ca. 1800 B.C.

Charles Seife
Science 31 January 2003: 650-651.
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JOINT MATHEMATICS MEETINGS:
New Skating System Fails Virtual Replay

Charles Seife
Science 31 January 2003: 651.
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JOINT MATHEMATICS MEETINGS:
Diagram Masters Cry 'Venn-i, Vidi, Vici'

Barry Cipra
Science 31 January 2003: 651.
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JOSEP PIQUÉ INTERVIEW:
Spain's Science Minister Sees Future in Telecom

Xavier Bosch
Science 31 January 2003: 653.
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EVOLUTION:
Puzzling Over the Origin of Species in the Depths of the Oldest Lakes

Erica Goldman
Science 31 January 2003: 654-655.
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EVOLUTION:
A Window on Ancient Siberia

Erica Goldman
Science 31 January 2003: 655.
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Letters

This Week's Letters

Science 31 January 2003: 660.
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 Melanin, Nutrition, and the Lion's Mane

Geoffrey E. Hill, Kevin J. McGraw;, Peyton M. West, and Craig Packer
Science 31 January 2003: 660.
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 Questions of Methodology

E. J. Neiburger;, Peyton M. West, and Craig Packer
Science 31 January 2003: 660-661.
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 Cylindrical Channels from Concave Helices

C. R. Calladine, V. Pratap, V. Chandran, K. Mizuguchi, and B. F. Luisi
Science 31 January 2003: 661-662.
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 CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Science 31 January 2003: 662.
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Books et al.

ASTRONOMY:
Yes, Things Really Are Going Faster

Michael S. Turner
Science 31 January 2003: 663-664.
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EVOLUTION AND EDUCATION:
The Emperor's New Design

Kenneth R. Miller
Science 31 January 2003: 664.
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 Books Received

Science 31 January 2003: 664.

Policy Forum

PUBLIC HEALTH:
Air Pollution Concerns Not Changed by S-PLUS Flaw

Kenneth A. Colburn and Philip R. S. Johnson
Science 31 January 2003: 665-666.
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Perspectives

ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY:
How to Detect Weak Pairs

Ted A. Laurence and Shimon Weiss
Science 31 January 2003: 667-668.
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COMPUTER SCIENCE:
Rough Times Ahead

Scott Kirkpatrick
Science 31 January 2003: 668-669.
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ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE:
Deciphering the Energetics of Lightning

Philip E. Krider
Science 31 January 2003: 669-670.
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GENETICS:
Where Do Male Genes Live?

Christian Schlötterer
Science 31 January 2003: 670-671.
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STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY:
Enhanced: Complex II Is Complex Too

Lars Hederstedt
Science 31 January 2003: 671-672.
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GEOLOGY:
Resources of the Sea Floor

Peter A. Rona
Science 31 January 2003: 673-674.
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Brevia

 Long-Range Paternal Gene Flow in the Southern Elephant Seal

Anna Fabiani, A. Rus Hoelzel, Filippo Galimberti, and Monica M. C. Muelbert
Science 31 January 2003: 676.
Male elephant seals can travel across the entire Southern Ocean, homogenizing the gene pool along the way. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Suppressing Roughness of Virtual Times in Parallel Discrete-Event Simulations

G. Korniss, M. A. Novotny, H. Guclu, Z. Toroczkai, and P. A. Rikvold
Science 31 January 2003: 677-679.
Random, local synchronizations can keep large numbers of parallel computers from diverging when solving complex problems. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

A Gate-Controlled Bidirectional Spin Filter Using Quantum Coherence

J. A. Folk, R. M. Potok, C. M. Marcus, and V. Umansky
Science 31 January 2003: 679-682.
A filter that can select electrons with coherent spins has been achieved by manipulating a quantum dot. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Zero-Mode Waveguides for Single-Molecule Analysis at High Concentrations

M. J. Levene, J. Korlach, S. W. Turner, M. Foquet, H. G. Craighead, and W. W. Webb
Science 31 January 2003: 682-686.
Passing light through subwavelength holes in a metal film allows investigation of single molecules at physiological concentrations. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Nitriding Iron at Lower Temperatures

W. P. Tong, N. R. Tao, Z. B. Wang, J. Lu, and K. Lu
Science 31 January 2003: 686-688.
Bombarding an iron plate with tiny stainless steel balls produces nanocrystals that facilitate hardening of the surface at low temperatures. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Asynchronous Climate Changes in the North Atlantic and Japan During the Last Termination

Takeshi Nakagawa, Hiroyuki Kitagawa, Yoshinori Yasuda, Pavel E. Tarasov, Kotoba Nishida, Katsuya Gotanda, Yuki Sawai, and Yangtze River Civilization Program Members
Science 31 January 2003: 688-691.
During the deglaciation that occurred before the modern warm period, 15,000 to 11,000 years ago, Japan warmed before the North Atlantic region and cooled subsequently. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

The Perfect Ocean for Drought

Martin Hoerling and Arun Kumar
Science 31 January 2003: 691-694.
The severe Northern Hemisphere drought in 1998-2002 probably resulted from warm temperatures in the Pacific and Indian oceans, in turn a likely result of human activities. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Energetic Radiation Produced During Rocket-Triggered Lightning

Joseph R. Dwyer, Martin A. Uman, Hamid K. Rassoul, Maher Al-Dayeh, Lee Caraway, Jason Jerauld, Vladimir A. Rakov, Douglas M. Jordan, Keith J. Rambo, Vincent Corbin, and Brian Wright
Science 31 January 2003: 694-697.
Intense bursts of x-rays observed in rocket-triggered lightning suggest that strong electric fields accelerate electrons to relativistic energies and cause runaway breakdown of air. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Paucity of Genes on the Drosophila X Chromosome Showing Male-Biased Expression

Michael Parisi, Rachel Nuttall, Daniel Naiman, Gerard Bouffard, James Malley, Justen Andrews, Scott Eastman, and Brian Oliver
Science 31 January 2003: 697-700.
Published online 2 January 2003 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1079190] (in Science Express Reports)
The few genes selectively expressed in the X chromosome of Drosophila males are generally not conserved in its distant relative, Anopheles. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Architecture of Succinate Dehydrogenase and Reactive Oxygen Species Generation

Victoria Yankovskaya, Rob Horsefield, Susanna Törnroth, César Luna-Chavez, Hideto Miyoshi, Christophe Léger, Bernadette Byrne, Gary Cecchini, and So Iwata
Science 31 January 2003: 700-704.
One enzyme in a mitochondrial membrane complex is used for reduction, but the reverse oxidation reaction employs a different isomer, avoiding the production of harmful superoxides. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Dissecting Apicoplast Targeting in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

Bernardo J. Foth, Stuart A. Ralph, Christopher J. Tonkin, Nicole S. Struck, Martin Fraunholz, David S. Roos, Alan F. Cowman, and Geoffrey I. McFadden
Science 31 January 2003: 705-708.
Peptides that are involved in compartmentalizing proteins in the malaria parasite are identified and may provide drug targets. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

PDGFRA Activating Mutations in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Michael C. Heinrich, Christopher L. Corless, Anette Duensing, Laura McGreevey, Chang-Jie Chen, Nora Joseph, Samuel Singer, Diana J. Griffith, Andrea Haley, Ajia Town, George D. Demetri, Christopher D. M. Fletcher, and Jonathan A. Fletcher
Science 31 January 2003: 708-710.
Published online 9 January 2003 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1079666] (in Science Express Reports)
Mutations in either of two genes activate the same cellular pathways producing gastrointestinal cancer. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Spongiform Degeneration in mahoganoid Mutant Mice

Lin He, Xin-Yun Lu, Aaron F. Jolly, Adam G. Eldridge, Stanley J. Watson, Peter K. Jackson, Gregory S. Barsh, and Teresa M. Gunn
Science 31 January 2003: 710-712.
Defects in a mouse gene that controls protein breakdown cause neurodegeneration resembling that seen in such prion disorders as mad cow or Creutzfeld-Jacob disease. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Prevention of Transthyretin Amyloid Disease by Changing Protein Misfolding Energetics

Per Hammarström, R. Luke Wiseman, Evan T. Powers, and Jeffery W. Kelly
Science 31 January 2003: 713-716.
The binding of small ligands to a protein can stabilize its structure and prevent amyloid disease. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

ARGONAUTE4 Control of Locus-Specific siRNA Accumulation and DNA and Histone Methylation

Daniel Zilberman, Xiaofeng Cao, and Steven E. Jacobsen
Science 31 January 2003: 716-719.
Published online 9 January 2003 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1079695] (in Science Express Reports)
A gene in plants encodes a type of small RNA that plays a newfound role in modifying chromatin and turning off genes during development. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Modulation of Heterochromatin Protein 1 Dynamics in Primary Mammalian Cells

Richard Festenstein, Stamatis N. Pagakis, Kyoko Hiragami, Debbie Lyon, Alain Verreault, Belaid Sekkali, and Dimitris Kioussis
Science 31 January 2003: 719-721.
Heterochromatin dynamically regulates access of other molecules to DNA, rather than serving only as a static barrier. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Maintenance of Stable Heterochromatin Domains by Dynamic HP1 Binding

Thierry Cheutin, Adrian J. McNairn, Thomas Jenuwein, David M. Gilbert, Prim B. Singh, and Tom Misteli
Science 31 January 2003: 721-725.
Heterochromatin dynamically regulates access of other molecules to DNA, rather than serving only as a static barrier. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|