This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 21 March 2008: 1585.
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Editorial:
Considering Science Education

Bruce Alberts
Science 21 March 2008: 1589.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 21 March 2008: 1590.
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Science Podcast

Science 21 March 2008: 1689.
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NEW PRODUCTS

Science 21 March 2008: 1689.
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News of the Week

DNA DATA: Proposal to 'Wikify' GenBank Meets Stiff Resistance

Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 21 March 2008: 1598-1599.
In a letter in this week's issue of Science, a group of mycologists urges GenBank to allow researchers who discover inaccuracies in the database to append corrections. GenBank, however, says such a fix would cause more problems than it solves. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ANTHROPOLOGY: Millennium Ancestor Gets Its Walking Papers

Ann Gibbons
Science 21 March 2008: 1599-1601.
An analysis on page 1662 of this week's issue of Science concludes that 6-million-year-old Orrorin tugenensis was indeed an early ancestor of humans. But it challenges a controversial proposal that Orrorin gave rise to our genus, Homo, directly. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PEER REVIEW: Pfizer Denied Access to Journals' Files

Jocelyn Kaiser
Science 21 March 2008: 1601.
A federal judge in Chicago last week denied a company's efforts to obtain confidential peer-review documents about arthritis drugs it manufactured. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

AIR-QUALITY STANDARDS: EPA Adjusts a Smog Standard to White House Preference

Erik Stokstad
Science 21 March 2008: 1602-1603.
Scientists and environmental groups were outraged last week when the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to discard advice from a scientific advisory committee when he set a major air-quality standard for soot. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOMEDICAL PATENTS: Wisconsin Stem Cell Patents Upheld

Constance Holden
Science 21 March 2008: 1602-1603.
Although recent rulings have affirmed the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation's patents on primate and human embryonic stem cells, there is a widespread feeling among scientists that challenges to WARF's patents and continuing public pressure have had a desirable effect. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ECOLOGY: Showdown Looms Over a Biological Treasure Trove

Richard Stone
Science 21 March 2008: 1604.
In impoverished Yunnan Province in southwestern China, a confrontation is brewing between economic growth and habitat preservation--and authorities are sending mixed signals about their intentions. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

U.S. MATH EDUCATION: Expert Panel Lays Out the Path to Algebra--and Why It Matters

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 21 March 2008: 1605.
Last week, the U.S. National Math Advisory Panel submitted its report to Education Secretary Margaret Spellings on the importance of preparing students for algebra and its role as a gateway course for later success in high school, college, and the workplace. Science interviews the chair of the presidentially appointed panel, Larry Faulkner. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceScope

Science 21 March 2008: 1601.
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Random Samples

Science 21 March 2008: 1595.
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Newsmakers

Science 21 March 2008: 1597.
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News Focus

RINDERPEST: Driven to Extinction

Dennis Normile
Science 21 March 2008: 1606-1609.
Rinderpest, an animal disease that devastated cattle and other animals--and their human keepers--across Eurasia and Africa for millennia, may join smallpox as the only viral diseases to have been eradicated. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY: Protein Structure Initiative: Phase 3 or Phase Out

Robert F. Service
Science 21 March 2008: 1610-1613.
The production-line approach to finding protein structures is rapidly filling up databases. But is it the data researchers want, and is it worth the cost? Full Text »|   PDF »|  

STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY: Researchers Hone Their Homology Tools

Robert F. Service
Science 21 March 2008: 1612.
How well do homology models, which use solved structures as templates for computer models of the three-dimensional shapes of closely related proteins, work? Not well enough, according to members of a review panel that issued a mixed report card on the Protein Structure Initiative in December. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

This Week's Letters

Science 21 March 2008: 1615.
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 Open Letter to Senator Rita Levi-Montalcini

Rita Clementi, Leonardo Bargigli, Silvia Sabbioni;, and Rita Levi-Montalcini
Science 21 March 2008: 1615.
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 Preserving Accuracy in GenBank

M. I. Bidartondo
Science 21 March 2008: 1616.
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 Malaria Eradication in India: A Failure?

Timothy D. Baker
Science 21 March 2008: 1616.
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Books et al.

PALEONTOLOGY: Rise and Demise of Ghostly Animals

Shuhai Xiao
Science 21 March 2008: 1618-1619.
The strange organisms of the Ediacaran are the topic of two recent titles, a monograph that will most interest paleontologists and evolutionary biologists and an account that will reward the general public. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

NEUROSCIENCE: The Female Equally with the Male I Sing

Evan Balaban
Science 21 March 2008: 1619-1620.
Offering a comprehensive introduction for researchers, students, and clinicians, the contributors cover background and methodology, sex differences in neurobiology and behavior, and sex differences in the neurobiology of disease. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 21 March 2008: 1620.
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Education Forum

THE PIPELINE: Igniting Girls' Interest in Science

Sheryl A. Tucker, Deborah L. Hanuscin, and Constance J. Bearnes
Science 21 March 2008: 1621-1622.
A partnership between university and Girl Scouts engaged young girls' interests in chemistry. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Perspectives

NEUROSCIENCE: Detailed Differences

Stefan Leutgeb
Science 21 March 2008: 1623-1624.
Brain imaging shows that, as in other animals, the human hippocampus has regions that help us keep our memories from becoming jumbled. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY: Rethinking Ozone Production

Paul O. Wennberg and Donald Dabdub
Science 21 March 2008: 1624-1625.
Laboratory data suggest that atmospheric models are missing a source of hydroxyl, which plays a central role in tropospheric ozone production. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MATERIALS SCIENCE: Who Wins the Nonvolatile Memory Race?

G. I. Meijer
Science 21 March 2008: 1625-1626.
New memory concepts may lead to computer systems that do not require a lengthy start-up process when turned on. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

NEUROSCIENCE: A Protoplasmic Kiss to Remember

Martin Korte
Science 21 March 2008: 1627-1628.
During establishment of long-term memory, protein synthesis, regulated by neurotrophins, affects the morphology of synaptic structures. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GEOCHEMISTRY: Are Volcanic Gases Serial Killers?

Bruno Scaillet
Science 21 March 2008: 1628-1629.
Environmental consequences of ancient eruptions can be estimated by analysis of glass inclusions trapped in minerals present in lava flows. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PLANETARY SCIENCE: Titan's Hidden Ocean

Christophe Sotin and Gabriel Tobie
Science 21 March 2008: 1629-1630.
Data from the Cassini-Huygens mission indicate that an ocean may exist beneath the solid surface of Saturn's moon Titan. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Reviews

Nanominerals, Mineral Nanoparticles, and Earth Systems

Michael F. Hochella, Jr., Steven K. Lower, Patricia A. Maurice, R. Lee Penn, Nita Sahai, Donald L. Sparks, and Benjamin S. Twining
Science 21 March 2008: 1631-1635.
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Size-Driven Structural and Thermodynamic Complexity in Iron Oxides

Alexandra Navrotsky, Lena Mazeina, and Juraj Majzlan
Science 21 March 2008: 1635-1638.
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Brevia

Preparing and Motivating Behavior Outside of Awareness

Henk Aarts, Ruud Custers, and Hans Marien
Science 21 March 2008: 1639.
Encouraging words flashed on a screen so briefly that they are only perceived unconsciously can, nevertheless, increase the effort put into a subsequent test of strength. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Article

Pattern Separation in the Human Hippocampal CA3 and Dentate Gyrus

Arnold Bakker, C. Brock Kirwan, Michael Miller, and Craig E. L. Stark
Science 21 March 2008: 1640-1642.
High-resolution imaging of the human brain reveals that, as seen in rodents, recognition of small differences in similar memories requires a particular region of the hippocampus. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Low-Magnetic-Field Control of Electric Polarization Vector in a Helimagnet

Shintaro Ishiwata, Yasujiro Taguchi, Hiroshi Murakawa, Yoshinori Onose, and Yoshinori Tokura
Science 21 March 2008: 1643-1646.
The polarization of electrons in a complex iron oxide magnet can be manipulated using only a weak magnetic field, not a strong one as required in other systems. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Observation of Giant Diffusivity Along Dislocation Cores

Marc Legros, Gerhard Dehm, Eduard Arzt, and T. John Balk
Science 21 March 2008: 1646-1649.
Observations on the movements of silicon atoms in a thin film of aluminum show that dislocations can align and act like a channel or pipe to greatly accelerate diffusion. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Titan's Rotation Reveals an Internal Ocean and Changing Zonal Winds

Ralph D. Lorenz, Bryan W. Stiles, Randolph L. Kirk, Michael D. Allison, Paolo Persi del Marmo, Luciano Iess, Jonathan I. Lunine, Steven J. Ostro, and Scott Hensley
Science 21 March 2008: 1649-1651.
An imbalance between the orbital and rotational periods of Saturn’s moon Titan implies that momentum is exchanged with its atmosphere and that it contains an internal ocean. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Chloride-Bearing Materials in the Southern Highlands of Mars

M. M. Osterloo, V. E. Hamilton, J. L. Bandfield, T. D. Glotch, A. M. Baldridge, P. R. Christensen, L. L. Tornabene, and F. S. Anderson
Science 21 March 2008: 1651-1654.
Spectral observations from Mars Odyssey detect chloride minerals, apparently forming from the evaporation of water, across some of the oldest regions on Mars. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Sulfur and Chlorine in Late Cretaceous Deccan Magmas and Eruptive Gas Release

Stephen Self, Stephen Blake, Kirti Sharma, Mike Widdowson, and Sarah Sephton
Science 21 March 2008: 1654-1657.
Measurements on rare glass inclusions and rims in India’s Deccan flood basalts imply that these end-Cretaceous eruptions injected huge amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Atmospheric Hydroxyl Radical Production from Electronically Excited NO₂ and H₂O

Shuping Li, Jamie Matthews, and Amitabha Sinha
Science 21 March 2008: 1657-1660.
The reaction of electronically excited nitrogen dioxide with water releases large amounts of OH radicals, an important oxidant, to the troposphere. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Synchronous Aggregate Growth in an Abundant New Ediacaran Tubular Organism

Mary L. Droser and James G. Gehling
Science 21 March 2008: 1660-1662.
Tubular fossils up to 30 centimeters long dominate the fossil assemblage in the Late Precambrian of the Flinders Range, Australia, and show multiple modes of growth. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Orrorin tugenensis Femoral Morphology and the Evolution of Hominin Bipedalism

Brian G. Richmond and William L. Jungers
Science 21 March 2008: 1662-1665.
Comparison of femora from an early, ostensibly human fossil to those from apes, humans, and hominins confirms that Orrorin tugenensis was a basal bipedal hominin. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Activation of FOXO1 by Cdk1 in Cycling Cells and Postmitotic Neurons

Zengqiang Yuan, Esther B. E. Becker, Paola Merlo, Tomoko Yamada, Sara DiBacco, Yoshiyuki Konishi, Erik M. Schaefer, and Azad Bonni
Science 21 March 2008: 1665-1668.
A cell cycle–associated kinase phosphorylates the transcription factor FOXO1, which activates transcription of a regulator of mitosis. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

TDP-43 Mutations in Familial and Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Jemeen Sreedharan, Ian P. Blair, Vineeta B. Tripathi, Xun Hu, Caroline Vance, Boris Rogelj, Steven Ackerley, Jennifer C. Durnall, Kelly L. Williams, Emanuele Buratti, Francisco Baralle, Jacqueline de Belleroche, J. Douglas Mitchell, P. Nigel Leigh, Ammar Al-Chalabi, Christopher C. Miller, Garth Nicholson, and Christopher E. Shaw
Science 21 March 2008: 1668-1672.
Published online 28 February 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1154584] (in Science Express Reports)
Mutations in a gene that encodes a protein that aggregates in several neurodegenerative disorders are linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Nitric Oxide–Inducible Lactate Dehydrogenase Enables Staphylococcus aureus to Resist Innate Immunity

Anthony R. Richardson, Stephen J. Libby, and Ferric C. Fang
Science 21 March 2008: 1672-1676.
Staphylococcus aureus is a particularly successful pathogen because it responds to antimicrobial defenses of its host by producing more lactate to maintain its redox balance. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Oncogenic CARD11 Mutations in Human Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma

Georg Lenz, R. Eric Davis, Vu N. Ngo, Lloyd Lam, Thaddeus C. George, George W. Wright, Sandeep S. Dave, Hong Zhao, Weihong Xu, Andreas Rosenwald, German Ott, Hans Konrad Muller-Hermelink, Randy D. Gascoyne, Joseph M. Connors, Lisa M. Rimsza, Elias Campo, Elaine S. Jaffe, Jan Delabie, Erlend B. Smeland, Richard I. Fisher, Wing C. Chan, and Louis M. Staudt
Science 21 March 2008: 1676-1679.
Published online 6 March 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1153629] (in Science Express Reports)
One type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is caused by mutations in a scaffolding protein that inappropriately activate an inflammatory signaling pathway. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Drosophila Egg-Laying Site Selection as a System to Study Simple Decision-Making Processes

Chung-hui Yang, Priyanka Belawat, Ernst Hafen, Lily Y. Jan, and Yuh-Nung Jan
Science 21 March 2008: 1679-1683.
Experiments show how flies make complex decisions when laying eggs, choosing surfaces containing sucrose only when other options are not available. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Protein Synthesis and Neurotrophin-Dependent Structural Plasticity of Single Dendritic Spines

Jun-ichi Tanaka, Yoshihiro Horiike, Masanori Matsuzaki, Takashi Miyazaki, Graham C. R. Ellis-Davies, and Haruo Kasai
Science 21 March 2008: 1683-1687.
Published online 28 February 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1152864] (in Science Express Reports)
Pairing of stimuli in hippocampal cells induces secretion of the growth factor BDNF, causing enlargement of individual spines and strengthening of synapses. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness

Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, and Michael I. Norton
Science 21 March 2008: 1687-1688.
A survey, a study of windfall spending, and a lab experiment all indicate that spending money on others results in more happiness than does spending money on oneself. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Technical Comments

Comment on "Physical Model for the Decay and Preservation of Marine Organic Carbon"

Bernard P. Boudreau, Carol Arnosti, Bo Barker Jørgensen, and Donald E. Canfield
Science 21 March 2008: 1616.
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Response to Comment on "Physical Model for the Decay and Preservation of Marine Organic Carbon"

Daniel H. Rothman and David C. Forney
Science 21 March 2008: 1616.
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