This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 16 June 2006: 1569.
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Editorial:
A Welcome New Look

Donald Kennedy
Science 16 June 2006: 1573.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 16 June 2006: 1574.
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NetWatch

Best of the Web in science.
Science 16 June 2006: 1577.
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NEW PRODUCTS

Science 16 June 2006: 1677.
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News of the Week

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: Climate Sensors Dropped From U.S. Weather Satellite Package

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 16 June 2006: 1580.
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INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Polio Experts Strive to Understand a Puzzling Outbreak

Leslie Roberts
Science 16 June 2006: 1581.
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REPRODUCTION: Bone Marrow Fails to Produce Oocytes

Gretchen Vogel
Science 16 June 2006: 1583.
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GENETICS: U.S. Hospital Launches Large Biobank of Children's DNA

Jocelyn Kaiser
Science 16 June 2006: 1584-1585.
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STEM CELL RESEARCH: Harvard Cloners Get OK to Proceed With Caution

Constance Holden
Science 16 June 2006: 1584.
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U.S. 2007 BUDGET: NIH Gets Off to a Slow Start

Jocelyn Kaiser
Science 16 June 2006: 1585.
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AGRICULTURE: A Kinder, Gentler Jeremy Rifkin Endorses Biotech, or Does He?

Erik Stokstad
Science 16 June 2006: 1586-1587.
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PALEONTOLOGY: Fossil Embryos Hint at Early Start for Complex Development

Katherine Unger
Science 16 June 2006: 1587.
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ScienceScope

Science 16 June 2006: 1583.
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Random Samples

Science 16 June 2006: 1579.
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Newsmakers

Science 16 June 2006: 1595.
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News Focus

PLANETARY SCIENCE: In Search of the Red Planet's Sweet Spot

Richard A. Kerr
Science 16 June 2006: 1588-1590.
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ORNITHOLOGY: Vulture Research Soars as the Scavengers' Numbers Decline

Robert Koenig
Science 16 June 2006: 1591-1592.
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MATERIALS SCIENCE: Inorganic Electronics Begin to Flex Their Muscle

Robert F. Service
Science 16 June 2006: 1593-1594.
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Letters

This Week's Letters

Science 16 June 2006: 1597.
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 Veterinary Virologists Share Avian Flu Data

Ilaria Capua, Ian Brown, Michael Johnson, Dennis Senne, and David Swayne
Science 16 June 2006: 1597.
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 Investigating a Second Thymus in Mice

J. F. A. P. Miller; and H.-R. Rodewald
Science 16 June 2006: 1597-1598.
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 BDNF in Anxiety and Depression

Allan V. Kalueff, Damira F. Avgustinovich, Natalia N. Kudryavtseva, Dennis L. Murphy;, Olivier Berton, Vaishnav Krishnan, and Eric J. Nestler
Science 16 June 2006: 1598-1599.
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 Stardust Mission Results: Hot in Cold

Kurt Liffman
Science 16 June 2006: 1599.
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 Show Me the Dog

Fritz Kleinhans
Science 16 June 2006: 1600.
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 Corrections and Clarifications

Science 16 June 2006: 1600.
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Books et al.

BIOGRAPHY: Best and Brightest of His Generation

Ellis L. Yochelson
Science 16 June 2006: 1601.
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Books Received

Science 16 June 2006: 1601.
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Policy Forum

SCIENCE COMMUNITY: Scientific Diasporas

Béatrice Séguin, Peter A. Singer, and Abdallah S. Daar
Science 16 June 2006: 1602-1603.
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Perspectives

NEUROSCIENCE: Neurons Find Strength Through Synchrony in the Brain

Jose-Manuel Alonso
Science 16 June 2006: 1604-1605.
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GEOCHEMISTRY: Enhanced: The Pathway of Carbon in Nature

John M. Hayes
Science 16 June 2006: 1605-1606.
Published online 11 May 2006 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1128966] (in Science Express Perspectives)
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IMMUNOLOGY: Discriminating Microbe from Self Suffers a Double Toll

Christopher C. Goodnow
Science 16 June 2006: 1606-1608.
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ANTHROPOLOGY: Autonomous Cultivation Before Domestication

Ehud Weiss, Mordechai E. Kislev, and Anat Hartmann
Science 12 June 2006: 1608-1610.
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ASTRONOMY: A Key Molecular Ion in the Universe and in the Laboratory

T. R. Geballe and T. Oka
Science 16 June 2006: 1610-1612.
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CLIMATE CHANGE: Permafrost and the Global Carbon Budget

Sergey A. Zimov, Edward A. G. Schuur, and F. Stuart Chapin III
Science 16 June 2006: 1612-1613.
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Review

Positive Natural Selection in the Human Lineage

P. C. Sabeti, S. F. Schaffner, B. Fry, J. Lohmueller, P. Varilly, O. Shamovsky, A. Palma, T. S. Mikkelsen, D. Altshuler, and E. S. Lander
Science 16 June 2006: 1614-1620.
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Brevia

The Age of the Taklimakan Desert

Jimin Sun and Tungsheng Liu
Science 16 June 2006: 1621.
The appearance of windblown sediment dates the formation of the Taklimakan Desert of central Asia, the second-largest shifting-sand desert, to 5.3 million years ago. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Articles

Cortex Is Driven by Weak but Synchronously Active Thalamocortical Synapses

Randy M. Bruno and Bert Sakmann
Science 16 June 2006: 1622-1627.
Electrical recordings from cortical neurons in living rodents show that the numerous sensory inputs to these cells are individually weak but very effective because they act synchronously. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Biomarker Evidence for a Major Preservation Pathway of Sedimentary Organic Carbon

Y. Hebting, P. Schaeffer, A. Behrens, P. Adam, G. Schmitt, P. Schneckenburger, S. M. Bernasconi, and P. Albrecht
Science 16 June 2006: 1627-1631.
Published online 11 May 2006 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1126372] (in Science Express Research Articles)
Laboratory and field studies show that reduced carbon is preserved in rocks and oil via inorganic reactions involving sulfur species, not bacterial processing as had been thought. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Measurement of Forces Inside a Three-Dimensional Pile of Frictionless Droplets

J. Zhou, S. Long, Q. Wang, and A. D. Dinsmore
Science 16 June 2006: 1631-1633.
Chains of about 10 droplets within droplet piles shorten and rotate as the pile is deformed, providing an explanation for organized flow in granular piles. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Bidirectional Counting of Single Electrons

Toshimasa Fujisawa, Toshiaki Hayashi, Ritsuya Tomita, and Yoshiro Hirayama
Science 16 June 2006: 1634-1636.
A device made from two coupled quantum dots can detect both the forward and reverse flow of single electrons and thus function as a sensitive ammeter. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Role of * Excited States in the Photodissociation of Heteroaromatic Molecules

M. N. R. Ashfold, B. Cronin, A. L. Devine, R. N. Dixon, and M. G. D. Nix
Science 16 June 2006: 1637-1640.
Three common aromatic biomolecules that absorb ultraviolet light can dissipate energy by breaking their N–H or O–H bonds without activating their vibrational modes. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

A Nearly Modern Amphibious Bird from the Early Cretaceous of Northwestern China

Hai-lu You, Matthew C. Lamanna, Jerald D. Harris, Luis M. Chiappe, Jingmai O'Connor, Shu-an Ji, Jun-chang Lü, Chong-xi Yuan, Da-qing Li, Xing Zhang, Kenneth J. Lacovara, Peter Dodson, and Qiang Ji
Science 16 June 2006: 1640-1643.
A well-preserved bird from about 120 million years ago has webbed feet and other adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle and may be a predecessor of modern birds. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Phosphatized Polar Lobe-Forming Embryos from the Precambrian of Southwest China

Jun-Yuan Chen, David J. Bottjer, Eric H. Davidson, Stephen Q. Dornbos, Xiang Gao, Yong-Hua Yang, Chia-Wei Li, Gang Li, Xiu-Qiang Wang, Ding-Chang Xian, Hung-Jen Wu, Yeu-Kuang Hwu, and Paul Tafforeau
Science 16 June 2006: 1644-1646.
Fossilized embryos dating to 580 million years ago reveal polar lobes, implying that this specialization of early cell division emerged in some of the earliest animals. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Element Partitioning: The Role of Melt Structure and Composition

M. W. Schmidt, J. A. D. Connolly, D. Günther, and M. Bogaerts
Science 16 June 2006: 1646-1650.
Experiments in a giant centrifuge housing a high pressure—high temperature press reveal how the composition of melts in the earth affects trace-element partitioning. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

p53 Regulates Mitochondrial Respiration

Satoaki Matoba, Ju-Gyeong Kang, Willmar D. Patino, Andrew Wragg, Manfred Boehm, Oksana Gavrilova, Paula J. Hurley, Fred Bunz, and Paul M. Hwang
Science 16 June 2006: 1650-1653.
Published online 25 May 2006 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1126863] (in Science Express Reports)
Cancer cells can survive in low-oxygen conditions because a defect in a common tumor suppressor inhibits mitochondrial respiration, allowing glycolysis to take place. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Xist RNA Gene Evolved in Eutherians by Pseudogenization of a Protein-Coding Gene

Laurent Duret, Corinne Chureau, Sylvie Samain, Jean Weissenbach, and Philip Avner
Science 16 June 2006: 1653-1655.
A noncoding RNA that silences extra copies of sex chromosomes evolved from a gene that lost its protein-coding function after the eutherian-marsupial divergence. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Neuronal Pathway from the Liver Modulates Energy Expenditure and Systemic Insulin Sensitivity

Kenji Uno, Hideki Katagiri, Tetsuya Yamada, Yasushi Ishigaki, Takehide Ogihara, Junta Imai, Yutaka Hasegawa, Junhong Gao, Keizo Kaneko, Hiroko Iwasaki, Hisamitsu Ishihara, Hironobu Sasano, Kouichi Inukai, Hiroyuki Mizuguchi, Tomoichiro Asano, Masakazu Shiota, Masamitsu Nakazato, and Yoshitomo Oka
Science 16 June 2006: 1656-1659.
A neuronal pathway that exchanges metabolic signals between liver and peripheral fat helps to coordinate energy balance in mammals. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Synaptic Amplifier of Inflammatory Pain in the Spinal Dorsal Horn

Hiroshi Ikeda, Johanna Stark, Harald Fischer, Matthias Wagner, Ruth Drdla, Tino Jäger, and Jürgen Sandkühler
Science 16 June 2006: 1659-1662.
Chronic inflammatory pain results from long-term potentiation at spinal cord synapses, which can be triggered by irregular, low-frequency input such as occurs after an injury. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Food-Caching Western Scrub-Jays Keep Track of Who Was Watching When

Joanna M. Dally, Nathan J. Emery, and Nicola S. Clayton
Science 16 June 2006: 1662-1665.
Published online 18 May 2006 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1126539] (in Science Express Reports)
Western scrub-jays remember which birds watched them hide food and use this knowledge to minimize the risk that one of these observers might pilfer their caches. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Regulation of B Cell Tolerance by the Lupus Susceptibility Gene Ly108

Kirthi Raman Kumar, Liunan Li, Mei Yan, Madhavi Bhaskarabhatla, Angela B. Mobley, Charles Nguyen, Jill M. Mooney, John D. Schatzle, Edward K. Wakeland, and Chandra Mohan
Science 16 June 2006: 1665-1669.
Mice with a genetic variant of a protein that helps eliminate cells making self-reactive antibodies are more likely to suffer from an autoimmune disease. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Autoreactive B Cell Responses to RNA-Related Antigens Due to TLR7 Gene Duplication

Prapaporn Pisitkun, Jonathan A. Deane, Michael J. Difilippantonio, Tatyana Tarasenko, Anne B. Satterthwaite, and Silvia Bolland
Science 16 June 2006: 1669-1672.
Published online 18 May 2006 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1124978] (in Science Express Reports)
Genetic duplication of an innate immune receptor on the Y chromosome makes male mice more susceptible to the development of a lupus-like autoimmune disorder. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Extrafollicular Activation of Lymph Node B Cells by Antigen-Bearing Dendritic Cells

Hai Qi, Jackson G. Egen, Alex Y. C. Huang, and Ronald N. Germain
Science 16 June 2006: 1672-1676.
Images of living tissue show that antibody-producing cells moving from the blood to the lymph node are unexpectedly activated by specialized antigen - presenting cells. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|