This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 27 June 2008: 1691.
|Full Text »

Editorial:
Long Road to Reform in France

Edouard Brézin and Antoine Triller
Science 27 June 2008: 1695.
Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 27 June 2008: 1696.
|Full Text »

Science Podcast

Science 27 June 2008: 1790.
Summary: In the 27 June 2008 show, hear about the upward shift of plant species' optimum elevation, evolutionary history of birds, your Letters to Science, and more. Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

NEW PRODUCTS

Science 27 June 2008: 1790.
Summary »|   PDF »|  

News of the Week

ARCHAEOLOGY: Early Stonehenge Pilgrims Came From Afar, With Cattle in Tow

Michael Balter
Science 27 June 2008: 1704-1705.
Summary: Isotopic studies of teeth from six cattle found at a nearby earthen henge, coming on the heels of new dates for human remains at Stonehenge, are fueling ongoing debates about whether the 5000-year-old monument served chiefly as a "place of the dead" or whether its stones were valued for their healing properties. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

FRANCE: Despite Protest, CNRS Moves Toward Major Shakeup

Martin Enserink
Science 27 June 2008: 1705.
Summary: Researchers and science labor unions last week stopped a proposed reform of one of Europe's biggest research agencies with their bodies. But their victory may be short-lived, as France's science ministry says the makeover of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) will proceed. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

U.S. OCEAN POLICY: Proposed Rule Would Limit Fish Catch but Faces Data Gaps

Erik Stokstad
Science 27 June 2008: 1706-1707.
Summary: Environmentalists are welcoming the U.S. government's first-ever annual catch limits on fish. But experts caution that it will be difficult--and hugely expensive--for the agency to regulate the many marine species about which little is known. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

2008 U.S. BUDGET: House Gives $400 Million to Four Science Agencies

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 27 June 2008: 1706.
Summary: The $186 billion supplemental spending bill to continue funding the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan approved by the House of Representatives last week includes a welcome bump-up of $400 million for four agencies whose research budgets were flattened late last year by legislators. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

FUSION REACTOR: ITER Costs Give Partners Pause

Daniel Clery
Science 27 June 2008: 1707.
Summary: Last week, ITER scientists revealed a new cost estimate for the multibillion-dollar fusion reactor that was 30% higher than earlier calculations. Now the project's seven international partners must decide whether they can afford it. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ETHICS: Senate Inquiry on Research Conflicts Shifts to Grantees

Jocelyn Kaiser
Science 27 June 2008: 1708.
Summary: In the wake of an ongoing Senate investigation, universities are scrambling to tighten procedures to track financial conflicts of interest among their faculty members, hoping to reassure the public and stave off more stringent measures that they say could stifle cooperation with industry. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

VIROLOGY: 'Biased' Viruses Suggest New Vaccine Strategy for Polio and Other Diseases

Martin Enserink
Science 27 June 2008: 1709.
Summary: Introducing hundreds of seemingly inconsequential mutations into a poliovirus can cripple the virus enough to make it work as a live vaccine in mice, scientists report on page 1784 of this week's issue of Science. The technology might lead to safer polio vaccines and perhaps to so-called live attenuated vaccines against other diseases. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceScope

Science 27 June 2008: 1707.
|Full Text »

Random Samples

Science 27 June 2008: 1701.
|Full Text »

Newsmakers

Science 27 June 2008: 1703.
|Full Text »

News Focus

INFECTIOUS DISEASE: An Ill Wind, Bringing Meningitis

Leslie Roberts
Science 27 June 2008: 1710-1715.
Summary: Crippling epidemics of meningococcal meningitis sweep across Africa with the onset of the dry season and harsh harmattan winds. An affordable, effective vaccine in the works could change that. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Costs of Meningitis Outbreaks Are Crippling, Too

Leslie Roberts
Science 27 June 2008: 1712.
Summary: One illness in a family can exact a huge toll on household income, not only in direct costs but indirect ones as well, including loss of income and property such as cattle and crops. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Clinical Trials: Dispelling Suspicions, Building Trust in Mali

Leslie Roberts
Science 27 June 2008: 1714.
Summary: Across West Africa, suspicions of Western medicine--and in particular the fear of being used as a guinea pig in clinical trials--run high. So winning the trust of the local community to enlist participants in clinical trials and ensure that consent is truly informed is a task that can't be undertaken lightly. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EVOLUTION: Building the Tree of Life, Genome by Genome

Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 27 June 2008: 1716-1717.
Summary: Cheaper sequencing has put many more genes into the hands of researchers trying to sort out the degree of relatedness of a menagerie of organisms. Thanks to one such "phylogenomic" analysis reported on page 1763 of this week's issue of Science, bird guides may never be the same. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 The Verbosity Epidemic

Rebecca F. Grais, E. A. Ashley, and N. J. White
Science 27 June 2008: 1718.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 The Future of the CMJ

Matko Marušić and Ana Marušić
Science 27 June 2008: 1718-1719.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 The Case Against the CMJ's Editors

Nada Čikeš
Science 27 June 2008: 1719-1720.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Making Memories, Again

Nathaniel Lasry, Emmanuelle Levy, and Jacques Tremblay
Science 27 June 2008: 1720.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Don't Forget the Fungi

Susan Goldhor
Science 27 June 2008: 1720.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Corrections and Clarifications

Science 27 June 2008: 1720.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books et al.

COMMUNICATING SCIENCE: Peaks of 20th-Century Presentation

Hanne Andersen
Science 27 June 2008: 1721-1722.
Summary: These selections from writings by researchers over the past century cover such topics as what scientists study, who they are, what they think, and what they find delight in. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCE AND THE LAW: Compelling Cases for Change

C. Michael Bowers
Science 27 June 2008: 1722.
Summary: Discussing a number of high-profile cases, the author argues that current forensic practices fall far short of the field's public perceptions and potential. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 27 June 2008: 1722.
Summary »|  

Education Forum

THE EARLY YEARS: Preschool Programs Can Boost School Readiness

William T. Gormley Jr., Deborah Phillips, and Ted Gayer
Science 27 June 2008: 1723-1724.
Summary: Preschool programs in Oklahoma help children to succeed in school. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Perspectives

BIOCHEMISTRY: Metamorphic Proteins

Alexey G. Murzin
Science 27 June 2008: 1725-1726.
Summary: Proteins that can adopt more than one native folded conformation may be more common than previously thought. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CELL BIOLOGY: Arrestin' Movement in Cilia

Rajat Rohatgi and Matthew P. Scott
Science 27 June 2008: 1726-1727.
Summary: A signaling protein localizes to primary cilia through its interaction with a complex that contains a motor protein. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE: Himalaya--Carbon Sink or Source?

Jerome Gaillardet and Albert Galy
Science 27 June 2008: 1727-1728.
Summary: Chemical analysis of hot springs in the Himalaya suggest that the carbon released from mountain forming regions may warm Earth. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MATERIALS SCIENCE: The Statistical Mechanics of Strain-Hardened Metals

Anter El-Azab
Science 27 June 2008: 1729-1730.
Summary: The average distance that dislocations in crystals travel before freezing into place is a key quantity in describing how metals harden when strained. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOCHEMISTRY: Electron Relay in Proteins

J. Martin Bollinger Jr.
Science 27 June 2008: 1730-1731.
Summary: Electron transfer in proteins can be accelerated by electron relay along a chain of residues. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Association Affairs

AAAS News and Notes

Science 27 June 2008: 1732-1733.
Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Review

Quantum State Engineering and Precision Metrology Using State-Insensitive Light Traps

Jun Ye, H. J. Kimble, and Hidetoshi Katori
Science 27 June 2008: 1734-1738.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Brevia

Serotonin Modulates Behavioral Reactions to Unfairness

Molly J. Crockett, Luke Clark, Golnaz Tabibnia, Matthew D. Lieberman, and Trevor W. Robbins
Science 27 June 2008: 1739.
Published online 5 June 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1155577] (in Science Express Brevia)
Individuals with low levels of brain serotonin are less likely to accept an unfair offer of money from other players in a laboratory game. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Article

Deep Drilling into the Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure

G. S. Gohn, C. Koeberl, K. G. Miller, W. U. Reimold, J. V. Browning, C. S. Cockell, J. W. Horton, Jr., T. Kenkmann, A. A. Kulpecz, D. S. Powars, W. E. Sanford, and M. A. Voytek
Science 27 June 2008: 1740-1745.
Drill cores from the Chesapeake Bay impact crater reveal that the impact moved huge blocks of country rock, trapped salty pore water, and still affects microbial communities. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Dislocation Mean Free Paths and Strain Hardening of Crystals

B. Devincre, T. Hoc, and L. Kubin
Science 27 June 2008: 1745-1748.
Simulations of the motions of atomic dislocations in a face-centered cubic metal allow these dynamics to be related to the metal’s bulk strength and deformation. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Ordered Mesoporous Materials from Metal Nanoparticle–Block Copolymer Self-Assembly

Scott C. Warren, Lauren C. Messina, Liane S. Slaughter, Marleen Kamperman, Qin Zhou, Sol M. Gruner, Francis J. DiSalvo, and Ulrich Wiesner
Science 27 June 2008: 1748-1752.
A polymer and platinum nanoparticles stabilized with a ligand form large lamellar or inverse hexagonal structures that can be fused to create porous platinum-carbon composites. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Very-High-Energy Gamma Rays from a Distant Quasar: How Transparent Is the Universe?

The MAGIC Collaboration, J. Albert, E. Aliu, H. Anderhub, L. A. Antonelli, P. Antoranz, M. Backes, C. Baixeras, J. A. Barrio, H. Bartko, D. Bastieri, J. K. Becker, W. Bednarek, K. Berger, E. Bernardini, C. Bigongiari, A. Biland, R. K. Bock, G. Bonnoli, P. Bordas, V. Bosch-Ramon, T. Bretz, I. Britvitch, M. Camara, E. Carmona, A. Chilingarian, S. Commichau, J. L. Contreras, J. Cortina, M. T. Costado, S. Covino, V. Curtef, F. Dazzi, A. De Angelis, E. De Cea del Pozo, R. de los Reyes, B. De Lotto, M. De Maria, F. De Sabata, C. Delgado Mendez, A. Dominguez, D. Dorner, M. Doro, M. Errando, M. Fagiolini, D. Ferenc, E. Fernández, R. Firpo, M. V. Fonseca, L. Font, N. Galante, R. J. García López, M. Garczarczyk, M. Gaug, F. Goebel, M. Hayashida, A. Herrero, D. Höhne, J. Hose, C. C. Hsu, S. Huber, T. Jogler, T. M. Kneiske, D. Kranich, A. La Barbera, A. Laille, E. Leonardo, E. Lindfors, S. Lombardi, F. Longo, M. López, E. Lorenz, P. Majumdar, G. Maneva, N. Mankuzhiyil, K. Mannheim, L. Maraschi, M. Mariotti, M. Martínez, D. Mazin, M. Meucci, M. Meyer, J. M. Miranda, R. Mirzoyan, S. Mizobuchi, M. Moles, A. Moralejo, D. Nieto, K. Nilsson, J. Ninkovic, N. Otte, I. Oya, M. Panniello, R. Paoletti, J. M. Paredes, M. Pasanen, D. Pascoli, F. Pauss, R. G. Pegna, M. A. Perez-Torres, M. Persic, L. Peruzzo, A. Piccioli, F. Prada, E. Prandini, N. Puchades, A. Raymers, W. Rhode, M. Ribó, J. Rico, M. Rissi, A. Robert, S. Rügamer, A. Saggion, T. Y. Saito, M. Salvati, M. Sanchez-Conde, P. Sartori, K. Satalecka, V. Scalzotto, V. Scapin, R. Schmitt, T. Schweizer, M. Shayduk, K. Shinozaki, S. N. Shore, N. Sidro, A. Sierpowska-Bartosik, A. Sillanpää, D. Sobczynska, F. Spanier, A. Stamerra, L. S. Stark, L. Takalo, F. Tavecchio, P. Temnikov, D. Tescaro, M. Teshima, M. Tluczykont, D. F. Torres, N. Turini, H. Vankov, A. Venturini, V. Vitale, R. M. Wagner, W. Wittek, V. Zabalza, F. Zandanel, R. Zanin, and J. Zapatero
Science 27 June 2008: 1752-1754.
Observation of gamma rays from a quasar 5 billion light-years away implies that the background light in the universe is consistent with surveys of stars and galaxies. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Role of Interstitial Sites in the Ti3d Defect State in the Band Gap of Titania

Stefan Wendt, Phillip T. Sprunger, Estephania Lira, Georg K. H. Madsen, Zheshen Li, Jonas Ø. Hansen, Jesper Matthiesen, Asger Blekinge-Rasmussen, Erik Lægsgaard, Bjørk Hammer, and Flemming Besenbacher
Science 27 June 2008: 1755-1759.
Published online 5 June 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1159846] (in Science Express Reports)
Scanning tunneling microscope data and calculations show that near-surface titanium sites, not bridging oxygen vacancies, determine the useful electronic properties of TiO₂. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Tryptophan-Accelerated Electron Flow Through Proteins

Crystal Shih, Anna Katrine Museth, Malin Abrahamsson, Ana Maria Blanco-Rodriguez, Angel J. Di Bilio, Jawahar Sudhamsu, Brian R. Crane, Kate L. Ronayne, Mike Towrie, Antonín Vlcek, Jr., John H. Richards, Jay R. Winkler, and Harry B. Gray
Science 27 June 2008: 1760-1762.
A tryptophan residue placed between a donor and acceptor in a protein acts as a relay and accelerates long-distance electron transfer by more than a factor of 100. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History

Shannon J. Hackett, Rebecca T. Kimball, Sushma Reddy, Rauri C. K. Bowie, Edward L. Braun, Michael J. Braun, Jena L. Chojnowski, W. Andrew Cox, Kin-Lan Han, John Harshman, Christopher J. Huddleston, Ben D. Marks, Kathleen J. Miglia, William S. Moore, Frederick H. Sheldon, David W. Steadman, Christopher C. Witt, and Tamaki Yuri
Science 27 June 2008: 1763-1768.
Nuclear DNA sequences of 19 loci from 169 bird species lead to a revised phylogenetic tree of avian evolution, in which several well-accepted orders are not monophyletic. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

A Significant Upward Shift in Plant Species Optimum Elevation During the 20th Century

J. Lenoir, J. C. Gégout, P. A. Marquet, P. de Ruffray, and H. Brisse
Science 27 June 2008: 1768-1771.
A 100-year survey shows that the optimal elevations for growth of plant species in European temperate forests have shifted upward by about 30 meters per decade. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Polarization of the C. elegans Embryo by RhoGAP-Mediated Exclusion of PAR-6 from Cell Contacts

Dorian C. Anderson, Jason S. Gill, Ryan M. Cinalli, and Jeremy Nance
Science 27 June 2008: 1771-1774.
Exclusion of a regulatory protein from cell-cell contacts in the developing worm allows it to direct the assembly of an asymmetrical cytoskeleton in preparation for gastrulation. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

FGF-Dependent Mechanosensory Organ Patterning in Zebrafish

Alex Nechiporuk and David W. Raible
Science 27 June 2008: 1774-1777.
A fish sensory organ develops when a wave of migrating primordial cells cyclically deposits rosettes of differentiated cells under the influence of fibroblast growth factor. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

β-Arrestin–Mediated Localization of Smoothened to the Primary Cilium

Jeffrey J. Kovacs, Erin J. Whalen, Renshui Liu, Kunhong Xiao, Jihee Kim, Minyong Chen, Jiangbo Wang, Wei Chen, and Robert J. Lefkowitz
Science 27 June 2008: 1777-1781.
Published online 22 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1157983] (in Science Express Reports)
β-arrestin, which has several known roles in signaling systems, also links a key receptor to a motor protein so that the receptor can be transported to cilia for sensing environmental cues. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Both Catalytic Steps of Nuclear Pre-mRNA Splicing Are Reversible

Chi-Kang Tseng and Soo-Chen Cheng
Science 27 June 2008: 1782-1784.
The transesterification splicing reactions performed on RNA by the spliceosome protein complex in eukaryotic cells are reversible. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Virus Attenuation by Genome-Scale Changes in Codon Pair Bias

J. Robert Coleman, Dimitris Papamichail, Steven Skiena, Bruce Futcher, Eckard Wimmer, and Steffen Mueller
Science 27 June 2008: 1784-1787.
Altering the frequency of the adjacent codons in the poliovirus genome results in an attenuated virus that could form the basis of a vaccine. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Paleo-Eskimo mtDNA Genome Reveals Matrilineal Discontinuity in Greenland

M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Toomas Kivisild, Bjarne Grønnow, Pernille K. Andersen, Ene Metspalu, Maere Reidla, Erika Tamm, Erik Axelsson, Anders Götherström, Paula F. Campos, Morten Rasmussen, Mait Metspalu, Thomas F. G. Higham, Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Roger Nathan, Cees-Jan De Hoog, Anders Koch, Lone Nukaaraq Møller, Claus Andreasen, Morten Meldgaard, Richard Villems, Christian Bendixen, and Eske Willerslev
Science 27 June 2008: 1787-1789.
Published online 29 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1159750] (in Science Express Reports)
Ancient human DNA sequences from Greenland suggest that the earliest inhabitants of the far north were from a lineage distinct from extant Native Americans and Eskimos. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|