This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 16 January 2009: 307.
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Editorial:
Pondering Astronomy in 2009

Martin Rees
Science 16 January 2009: 309.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 16 January 2009: 310.
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Science Podcast

Science 16 January 2009: 405.
Summary: The 16 January 2009 show how massive stars may form, setting an agenda for personalized medicine, the culture of astronomy, and more. Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

NEW PRODUCTS

Science 16 January 2008: 405.
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News of the Week

U.S. ECONOMIC RECOVERY: Science Groups Emphasize Jobs in Push for More Research Funding

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 16 January 2009: 318-319.
Summary: As the United States struggles with its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, lobbyists for basic research are offering one more reason the federal government should boost its investment in science: Science means jobs. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EXPORT CONTROLS: Current System Hampers U.S. Innovation, Says Panel

Eli Kintisch
Science 16 January 2009: 319.
Summary: A U.S. National Academies panel has heaped scorn on current rules that control access to sensitive technical information by non-U.S. citizens as well as the release or export of certain items. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

THE TRANSITION: Can an Ecologist Push NOAA Up the Food Chain?

Erik Stokstad
Science 16 January 2009: 321.
Summary: When marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco takes the reins of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, her political bosses are likely to ask the agency to play a bigger role in studying and preparing for climate change. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SEISMOLOGY: A Human Trigger for the Great Quake of Sichuan?

Richard A. Kerr and Richard Stone
Science 16 January 2009: 322.
Summary: The first researchers have gone public with evidence that stresses from water piled behind the new Zipingpu Dam may have triggered last May's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan Province. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: Waltzing Quasars Provide Signpost to Merging Galaxies

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Science 16 January 2009: 323.
Summary: A team reported here at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society that it has found a new way of spotting galaxy mergers: by looking for the dance of death of their central black holes. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY: Do Black Holes Seed the Formation of Galaxies?

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Science 16 January 2009: 323.
Summary: The verdict from a study presented here at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society is that rather than forming after galaxies have taken shape, black holes are the seeds around which galaxies grow. The findings could lead to a better understanding of how galaxies are born. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

AVIAN INFLUENZA: Infection Study Worries Farmers, Bird Lovers

Martin Enserink
Science 16 January 2009: 324.
Summary: Dutch researchers have embarked on a study in which they deliberately infect wild swans with avian influenza to study the effects on bird migration and viral spread. The experiment has triggered consternation among poultry farmers and bird lovers, who worry that the virus could infect poultry or threaten wild birds. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

THE TRANSITION: CDC's Gerberding Makes an Early Exit

Jennifer Couzin
Science 16 January 2009: 324-325.
Summary: Julie Gerberding, the first woman to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is stepping aside after more than 6 years of a sometimes rocky tenure at the agency's helm. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EARTH OBSERVATION: Tracking CO₂'s Comings and Goings From Space

Dennis Normile
Science 16 January 2009: 325.
Summary: In the next few weeks, Japan and the United States plan to launch satellites to observe CO₂ from space. The view from on high should lead to more accurate predictions of how rising CO₂ levels might affect global temperatures and climate change. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Random Samples

Science 16 January 2009: 315.
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Newsmakers

Science 16 January 2009: 317.
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News Focus

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY: Astronomy's Greatest Hits

Tim Folger
Science 16 January 2009: 326-329.
Summary: In honor of the International Year of Astronomy, Science presents a timeline showing what we've learned in the 400 years since the invention of the telescope. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY: A Brief History of the Telescope

Larry Gonick and William Alschuler
Science 16 January 2009: 330-331.
Summary: Writer/illustrator Larry Gonick and astronomer William Alschuler present a comic strip history of the telescope as part of Science's special Focus package commemorating the International Year of Astronomy. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY: Astronomy Hits the Big Time

Adrian Cho and Daniel Clery
Science 16 January 2009: 332-335.
Summary: Four hundred years after the invention of the telescope, astronomy is flourishing. But even as the discoveries keep coming, the field is rapidly evolving toward huge telescopes, large collaborations, and--alas--bigger headaches. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

Letters

 Grants on the Run

Samithamby Jeyaseelan
Science 16 January 2009: 337.
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 Fishing for More Effective Incentives

Tony Smith, Mark Gibbs, and David Smith
Science 16 January 2009: 337-338.
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 Diverse Fisheries Require Diverse Solutions

Natalie C. Ban, Iain R. Caldwell, Thomas L. Green, Siân K. Morgan, Kerrie O'Donnell, Jennifer C. Selgrath;, John Lynham, Christopher Costello, Steven D. Gaines, R. Quentin Grafton, and Jeremy Prince
Science 16 January 2009: 338-339.
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 A Question of Ethics

Joachim Boldt, Oliver Müller;, Erik Parens, Josephine Johnston, and Jacob Moses
Science 16 January 2009: 339.
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 Corrections and Clarifications

Science 16 January 2009: 339.
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Books et al.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY: Reflections for Looking Forward

Edward J. Hackett
Science 16 January 2009: 340-341.
Summary: In this meditation on the future, Nowotny argues that science brings uncertainties and innovation subsequently allows us to cope with them. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BROWSINGS

Science 16 January 2009: 341.
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Books Received

Science 16 January 2009: 341.
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Policy Forum

MEDICINE: Racing Forward: The Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act

Sandra Soo-Jin Lee and Ashwin Mudaliar
Science 16 January 2009: 342.
Summary: A key section was eliminated from a bill supporting research and development in pharmacogenomics. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

Perspectives

OCEAN SCIENCE: Animal Function at the Heart (and Gut) of Oceanography

Brad A. Seibel and Heidi M. Dierssen
Science 16 January 2009: 343-344.
Summary: Animal physiology has a substantial impact on the marine inorganic carbon cycle, for example, through the formation of calcium carbonate "gut rocks" in bony fish. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MATERIALS SCIENCE: Beyond Biomineralization

Werner Kunz and Matthias Kellermeier
Science 16 January 2009: 344-345.
Summary: Self-assembly of purely inorganic components can also give rise to complex structures and morphologies once thought restricted to biological materials. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PALEONTOLOGY: New and Ancient Trace Makers

Stefan Bengtson and Birger Rasmussen
Science 16 January 2009: 346-347.
Summary: Trace fossils that are older than known animal fossils may have been formed by large unicellular organisms such as amoebas. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: The Structure of Change

Colin A. M. Semple and Martin S. Taylor
Science 16 January 2009: 347-348.
Summary: The organization of DNA and proteins into chromatin influences the location and rates of mutations across eukaryotic genomes. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CHEMISTRY: Excitons Surf Along Conjugated Polymer Chains

Jean-Luc Brédas and Robert Silbey
Science 16 January 2009: 348-349.
Summary: The energy carriers in an organic polymer semiconductor stay in phase when they move along a single polymer chain at room temperature. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GENETICS: Origin of Species in Overdrive

John H. Willis
Science 16 January 2009: 350-351.
Summary: The genes that cause the sterility of hybrids between species should reveal the molecular genetic and evolutionary mechanisms that drive speciation. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Brevia

Programmed Assembly of DNA-Coated Nanowire Devices

Thomas J. Morrow, Mingwei Li, Jaekyun Kim, Theresa S. Mayer, and Christine D. Keating
Science 16 January 2009: 352.
Electric fields help direct metal nanowires coated with different DNA sequences into specific positions on a substrate. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Dust Formation in a Galaxy with Primitive Abundances

G. C. Sloan, M. Matsuura, A. A. Zijlstra, E. Lagadec, M. A. T. Groenewegen, P. R. Wood, C. Szyszka, J. Bernard-Salas, and J. Th. van Loon
Science 16 January 2009: 353-355.
A carbon star lacking many heavy elements produces abundant dust, perhaps explaining the origin of dust in the early universe. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Early Lunar Magnetism

Ian Garrick-Bethell, Benjamin P. Weiss, David L. Shuster, and Jennifer Buz
Science 16 January 2009: 356-359.
Remnant magnetism in minerals in an unshocked Apollo sample implies that the Moon had a molten core 4.2 billion years ago. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Contribution of Fish to the Marine Inorganic Carbon Cycle

R. W. Wilson, F. J. Millero, J. R. Taylor, P. J. Walsh, V. Christensen, S. Jennings, and M. Grosell
Science 16 January 2009: 359-362.
Fish excrete large amounts of calcium carbonate and thus influence the carbon cycle in the ocean. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Morphogenesis of Self-Assembled Nanocrystalline Materials of Barium Carbonate and Silica

Juan Manuel García-Ruiz, Emilio Melero-García, and Stephen T. Hyde
Science 16 January 2009: 362-365.
The growth of inorganic crystals in a chemically coupled system produces curved morphologies like those found in biology. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Broadband Ground-Plane Cloak

R. Liu, C. Ji, J. J. Mock, J. Y. Chin, T. J. Cui, and D. R. Smith
Science 16 January 2009: 366-369.
An automated design process arranges thousands of metamaterial components to cloak an object on a metal surface. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Coherent Intrachain Energy Migration in a Conjugated Polymer at Room Temperature

Elisabetta Collini and Gregory D. Scholes
Science 16 January 2009: 369-373.
Extended conformations of polymers in solution foster rapid energy transport along individual chains, but not between chains. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Mouse Speciation Gene Encodes a Meiotic Histone H3 Methyltransferase

Ondrej Mihola, Zdenek Trachtulec, Cestmir Vlcek, John C. Schimenti, and Jiri Forejt
Science 16 January 2009: 373-375.
Published online 11 December 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1163601] (in Science Express Reports)
A gene responsible for sterility in the offspring of two mouse species, and therefore important in speciation, regulates gene expression via methylation in chromation. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Single Gene Causes Both Male Sterility and Segregation Distortion in Drosophila Hybrids

Nitin Phadnis and H. Allen Orr
Science 16 January 2009: 376-379.
Published online 11 December 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1163934] (in Science Express Reports)
A Drosophila gene that causes sterility in the offspring of two species and may be important for speciation causes increased transmission of itself to progeny. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Dynamics and Time Scale of Ongoing Genomic Erosion in Symbiotic Bacteria

Nancy A. Moran, Heather J. McLaughlin, and Rotem Sorek
Science 16 January 2009: 379-382.
Comparisons of strains of obligate symbionts reveal stepwise evolutionary changes leading to gene inactivation and DNA loss. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Polymorphism in npr-1 Is a Behavioral Determinant of Pathogen Susceptibility in C. elegans

Kirthi C. Reddy, Erik C. Andersen, Leonid Kruglyak, and Dennis H. Kim
Science 16 January 2009: 382-384.
Mutations in neuropeptide receptors prevent nematode worms from swimming away to avoid bacterial pathogens. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Structure of Rat Liver Vault at 3.5 Angstrom Resolution

Hideaki Tanaka, Koji Kato, Eiki Yamashita, Tomoyuki Sumizawa, Yong Zhou, Min Yao, Kenji Iwasaki, Masato Yoshimura, and Tomitake Tsukihara
Science 16 January 2009: 384-388.
The large, ribonucleotide proteins involved in resisting infection have domains that bind to lipid-raft regions of the cell membrane. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Draxin, a Repulsive Guidance Protein for Spinal Cord and Forebrain Commissures

Shahidul M. Islam, Yohei Shinmyo, Tatsuya Okafuji, Yuhong Su, Iftekhar Bin Naser, Giasuddin Ahmed, Sanbing Zhang, Sandy Chen, Kunimasa Ohta, Hiroshi Kiyonari, Takaya Abe, Satomi Tanaka, Ryuichi Nishinakamura, Toshio Terashima, Toshio Kitamura, and Hideaki Tanaka
Science 16 January 2009: 388-393.
A protein cue guides the formation of bundles of nerve fibers that connect the cerebral hemispheres. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Recombination of Retrotransposon and Exogenous RNA Virus Results in Nonretroviral cDNA Integration

Markus B. Geuking, Jacqueline Weber, Marie Dewannieux, Elieser Gorelik, Thierry Heidmann, Hans Hengartner, Rolf M. Zinkernagel, and Lars Hangartner
Science 16 January 2009: 393-396.
With the help of an endogenous retrovirus, RNA virus sequence can be incorporated into mouse chromosomes. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Molecular Mechanisms of HipA-Mediated Multidrug Tolerance and Its Neutralization by HipB

Maria A. Schumacher, Kevin M. Piro, Weijun Xu, Sonja Hansen, Kim Lewis, and Richard G. Brennan
Science 16 January 2009: 396-401.
A persistence factor similar to a eukaryotic kinase regulates bacterial dormancy and contributes to antibiotic resistance in E. coli. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Chromatin-Associated Periodicity in Genetic Variation Downstream of Transcriptional Start Sites

Shin Sasaki, Cecilia C. Mello, Atsuko Shimada, Yoichiro Nakatani, Shin-ichi Hashimoto, Masako Ogawa, Kouji Matsushima, Sam Guoping Gu, Masahiro Kasahara, Budrul Ahsan, Atsushi Sasaki, Taro Saito, Yutaka Suzuki, Sumio Sugano, Yuji Kohara, Hiroyuki Takeda, Andrew Fire, and Shinichi Morishita
Science 16 January 2009: 401-404.
Published online 11 December 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1163183] (in Science Express Reports)
The periodic wrapping of DNA around nucleosomes in chromatin determines a periodic variation in mutation type and frequency around transcription start sites in a fish. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|