This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 27 March 2009: 1644.
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Editorial:
Shovel-Ready Science?

Alice P. Gast
Science 27 March 2009: 1646.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 27 March 2009: 1647.
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Science Podcast

Science 27 March 2009: 1751.
Summary: The 27 March 2009 show includes genetic influences on cognition, visualizing HIV infection, professional science master's programs, and more. Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

NEW PRODUCTS

Science 27 March 2009: 1751.
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News of the Week

AFRICA: Madagascar's Coup Endangers Science and Scientists

John Bohannon
Science 27 March 2009: 1654-1655.
Summary: The government of Madagascar was toppled last week in a bloody military coup that is playing havoc with the research efforts, and lives, of the many scientists studying the island's rich biodiversity. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GLOBAL WARMING: Arctic Summer Sea Ice Could Vanish Soon But Not Suddenly

Richard A. Kerr
Science 27 March 2009: 1655.
Summary: After paring 23 climate models down to the best half-dozen, two researchers now say with new confidence that arctic summer ice will most likely disappear around 2037. But none of the select models predicts a tipping point--a sudden jump to an ice-free summer Arctic. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

U.S. SCIENCE: OSTP, NOAA Chiefs Finally Get a Chance to Lead

Eli Kintisch
Science 27 March 2009: 1656.
Summary: Two major players on the Obama Administration's science team donned their uniforms last week, 3 months after being nominated for their prospective positions. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ENERGY RESEARCH: Koonin Tapped at DOE, Which Lays Out New Spending

Dan Charles, Eli Kintisch, and Jeffrey Mervis
Science 27 March 2009: 1656.
Summary: A top theoretical physicist turned energy guru has been chosen as undersecretary of science at the Department of Energy (DOE), which this week announced how it would distribute $1.2 billion among its 10 national labs and to universities around the country. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

RESEARCH FUNDING: U.K. Funder Accused of 'Blacklisting' Repeatedly Unsuccessful Applicants

John Travis
Science 27 March 2009: 1657.
Summary: A fiery debate is taking place in the United Kingdom after a major funding agency announced it will ignore submissions from "repeatedly unsuccessful applicants," a policy that could exclude 5% of its previous grant applicants. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCENOW.ORG: From Science's Online Daily News site

Science 27 March 2009: 1657.
Summary: Highlights from Science's online daily news site, ScienceNOW, this week include super hard drives, more bad news for coral reefs, the worldwide appeal of happy music, and the earliest corn. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

COGNITIVE SCIENCE: Twins May Think Alike Too, MRI Brain Study Suggests

Constance Holden
Science 27 March 2009: 1658.
Summary: On page 1737, a European team uses brain imaging with twins to show that different people may use different strategies to accomplish the same mental task, and that genes influence the type of strategy used. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PHYSICS: Oddly, Too Much Weirdness Slows a Quantum Computer Down

Adrian Cho
Science 27 March 2009: 1658-1659.
Summary: Too much of the mysterious quantum connection called entanglement is bad for a quantum computer and makes it run only marginally faster than a conventional one, a new analysis shows. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH: Hughes Backs Institute at Epicenter of HIV and Resistant TB

Robert Koenig
Science 27 March 2009: 1659.
Summary: Last week, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute announced the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV, a $60 million project on the campus of the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

STATE STEM CELL INITIATIVES: CIRM Close-Hauled, Seeks Bonds to Sustain Headway

Constance Holden
Science 27 March 2009: 1660-1661.
Summary: The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)--a state initiative set up to avoid restrictions on federal stem cell research laid down in 2001 by President George W. Bush--is scaling back, rethinking its priorities, and looking at how to mesh its activities with those that will soon be funded by the National Institutes of Health. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

STATE STEM CELL INITIATIVES: Most State Stem Cell Efforts Staying Afloat

Constance Holden
Science 27 March 2009: 1660-1661.
Summary: In addition to California, several states have made serious attempts to encourage stem cell research. Although some are tightening their belts, these programs generally seem to be holding their own in this uncertain environment--at least for now. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCEINSIDER: From the Science Policy Blog

Science 27 March 2009: 1661.
Summary: Science's policy blog, ScienceInsider, reported this week on efforts to help a virologist who may have been accidentally exposed to Ebola virus, the strain on the Web site that handles federal grants caused by applications for stimulus money, and other stories. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Random Samples

Science 27 March 2009: 1651.
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Newsmakers

Science 27 March 2009: 1653.
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News Focus

SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING: Are You Ready to Become a Number?

Martin Enserink
Science 27 March 2009: 1662-1664.
Summary: Life could be a lot easier if every scientist had a unique identification number. The question is: Who should provide them? Full Text »|   PDF »|  

HYDROLOGY: California's Water Crisis: Worse to Come?

Robert F. Service
Science 27 March 2009: 1665.
Summary: Perennially contentious issues of water management in California are being brought to a head by climate change and rising earthquake risks. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SPACE SCIENCE: Can a Shotgun Wedding Help NASA And ESA Explore the Red Planet?

Andrew Lawler
Science 27 March 2009: 1666-1667.
Summary: Tight budgets are pushing the U.S. and European space agencies to consider a truly collaborative series of missions to Mars. Can they succeed, and what would it mean for science? Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PROFILE: JORGE CHAM: Piled Higher and Deeper: The Everyday Life of a Grad Student

Sara Coelho
Science 27 March 2009: 1668-1669.
Summary: Jorge Cham's comic strip, capturing the trials and tribulations of grad school, became so popular that he left the lab for a career as a cartoonist and lecturer. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 Sauropods Kept Their Heads Down

Roger S. Seymour;, P. Martin Sander, Andreas Christian, and Carole T. Gee
Science 27 March 2009: 1671-1672.
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 Specimens Versus Sequences

Guanyang Zhang; and Bruno J. Strasser
Science 27 March 2009: 1672.
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Books et al.

EXHIBITIONS: ART AND EVOLUTION: The Darwinian Eye

Harriet Ritvo
Science 27 March 2009: 1673-1674.
Summary: This exhibit explores the wide range of interplay between Darwin's ideas and the visual culture of the 19th century. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOSCIENCE: Emerging Market Organisms

Jonathan M. W. Slack
Science 27 March 2009: 1674-1675.
Summary: For each species (or group), the authors describe possible applications in lab research; summarize husbandry, genetics, and genomics; list other resources; and provide basic protocols for work with the organism. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BROWSINGS

Science 27 March 2009: 1675.
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Books Received

Science 27 March 2009: 1675.
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Education Forum

GRADUATE EDUCATION: Professional Science Master's Programs Merit Wider Support

Rita R. Colwell
Science 27 March 2009: 1676-1677.
Summary: A recent study shows the potential of an alternative career path in building a scientific work force. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

Perspectives

CELL BIOLOGY: The Art of Making an Exit

Fredric Carlsson and Eric J. Brown
Science 27 March 2009: 1678-1679.
Summary: Bacteria can pass from one cell to another through a cytoskeletal structure that prevents host cell destruction. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOCHEMISTRY: Through a Mirror, Differently

Jonathan A. Sheps
Science 27 March 2009: 1679-1680.
Summary: Crystal structures elucidate how some enzymes can bind many different molecules, including mirror-image isomers. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CHEMISTRY: Producing Transportation Fuels with Less Work

Diane Hildebrandt, David Glasser, Brendon Hausberger, Bilal Patel, and Benjamin J. Glasser
Science 27 March 2009: 1680-1681.
Summary: New reaction chemistry may reduce the energy input and carbon dioxide emissions from processes that convert coal into liquid fuels. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

VIROLOGY: Pressurized Viruses

William M. Gelbart and Charles M. Knobler
Science 27 March 2009: 1682-1683.
Summary: Many viruses depend on extremely high pressures to deliver their genomes. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

IMMUNOLOGY: Dangers In and Out

Marco E. Bianchi and Angelo A. Manfredi
Science 27 March 2009: 1683-1684.
Summary: The immune system relies on specific signaling molecules to dampen its response to injury while maintaining the capacity to fight infection. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Association Affairs

AAAS News and Notes

Science 27 March 2009: 1685-1686.
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Brevia

Queen Succession Through Asexual Reproduction in Termites

Kenji Matsuura, Edward L. Vargo, Kazutaka Kawatsu, Paul E. Labadie, Hiroko Nakano, Toshihisa Yashiro, and Kazuki Tsuji
Science 27 March 2009: 1687.
Queen termites produce their successors asexually but use normal sexual reproduction to produce other colony members. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Articles

Fermi Observations of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from GRB 080916C

The Fermi LAT and Fermi GBM Collaborations
Science 27 March 2009: 1688-1693.
Published online 19 February 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1169101] (in Science Express Research Articles)
This highly luminous gamma-ray burst had the largest apparent energy release yet measured. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Comprehensive Characterization of Genes Required for Protein Folding in the Endoplasmic Reticulum

Martin C. Jonikas, Sean R. Collins, Vladimir Denic, Eugene Oh, Erin M. Quan, Volker Schmid, Jimena Weibezahn, Blanche Schwappach, Peter Walter, Jonathan S. Weissman, and Maya Schuldiner
Science 27 March 2009: 1693-1697.
A nine-protein transmembrane is among several hundred genes found to be critical for protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Lubrication at Physiological Pressures by Polyzwitterionic Brushes

Meng Chen, Wuge H. Briscoe, Steven P. Armes, and Jacob Klein
Science 27 March 2009: 1698-1701.
Extremely low friction coefficients under high applied pressures are reported for polymeric brushes grafted to a surface. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Controlled Formation of Sharp Zigzag and Armchair Edges in Graphitic Nanoribbons

Xiaoting Jia, Mario Hofmann, Vincent Meunier, Bobby G. Sumpter, Jessica Campos-Delgado, José Manuel Romo-Herrera, Hyungbin Son, Ya-Ping Hsieh, Alfonso Reina, Jing Kong, Mauricio Terrones, and Mildred S. Dresselhaus
Science 27 March 2009: 1701-1705.
Joule heating is used to modify the defect structure along the edges of a graphene ribbon. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Graphene at the Edge: Stability and Dynamics

Çaglar Ö. Girit, Jannik C. Meyer, Rolf Erni, Marta D. Rossell, C. Kisielowski, Li Yang, Cheol-Hwan Park, M. F. Crommie, Marvin L. Cohen, Steven G. Louie, and A. Zettl
Science 27 March 2009: 1705-1708.
Atom rearrangement at the edges of a hole in a sheet of graphene is observed using transmission electron microscopy. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reversible Interactions with para-Hydrogen Enhance NMR Sensitivity by Polarization Transfer

Ralph W. Adams, Juan A. Aguilar, Kevin D. Atkinson, Michael J. Cowley, Paul I. P. Elliott, Simon B. Duckett, Gary G. R. Green, Iman G. Khazal, Joaquín López-Serrano, and David C. Williamson
Science 27 March 2009: 1708-1711.
The nuclear spin polarization of para-hydrogen can be transferred to organic molecules when both bind to a metal complex. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Increasing Hyperpolarized Spin Lifetimes Through True Singlet Eigenstates

Warren S. Warren, Elizabeth Jenista, Rosa Tamara Branca, and Xin Chen
Science 27 March 2009: 1711-1714.
Singlet states between strongly coupled spins can be used to enhance the magnetic resonance imaging of organic molecules. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Greatly Expanded Tropical Warm Pool and Weakened Hadley Circulation in the Early Pliocene

Chris M. Brierley, Alexey V. Fedorov, Zhonghui Liu, Timothy D. Herbert, Kira T. Lawrence, and Jonathan P. LaRiviere
Science 27 March 2009: 1714-1718.
Published online 26 February 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1167625] (in Science Express Reports)
The warm tropics of the Early Pliocene, about 4 million years ago, extended much farther toward the poles than they do today. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Structure of P-Glycoprotein Reveals a Molecular Basis for Poly-Specific Drug Binding

Stephen G. Aller, Jodie Yu, Andrew Ward, Yue Weng, Srinivas Chittaboina, Rupeng Zhuo, Patina M. Harrell, Yenphuong T. Trinh, Qinghai Zhang, Ina L. Urbatsch, and Geoffrey Chang
Science 27 March 2009: 1718-1722.
A membrane protein that removes toxins and drugs from cells is caught binding two drug molecules in a large internal cavity. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

CD24 and Siglec-10 Selectively Repress Tissue Damage–Induced Immune Responses

Guo-Yun Chen, Jie Tang, Pan Zheng, and Yang Liu
Science 27 March 2009: 1722-1725.
Published online 5 March 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1168988] (in Science Express Reports)
A signaling pathway involving an immune protein protects cells against the potentially fatal immune response induced by tissue damage. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Visualizing Antigen-Specific and Infected Cells in Situ Predicts Outcomes in Early Viral Infection

Qingsheng Li, Pamela J. Skinner, Sang-Jun Ha, Lijie Duan, Teresa L. Mattila, Aaron Hage, Cara White, Daniel L. Barber, Leigh O'Mara, Peter J. Southern, Cavan S. Reilly, John V. Carlis, Christopher J. Miller, Rafi Ahmed, and Ashley T. Haase
Science 27 March 2009: 1726-1729.
Mapping the rate and magnitude of early events in viral infections predicts the success or failure of immune control. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Infection by Tubercular Mycobacteria Is Spread by Nonlytic Ejection from Their Amoeba Hosts

Monica Hagedorn, Kyle H. Rohde, David G. Russell, and Thierry Soldati
Science 27 March 2009: 1729-1733.
Tubercular bacteria can slip undetected from host cell to host cell via specialized exit structures called ejectosomes. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Critical Population Density Triggers Rapid Formation of Vast Oceanic Fish Shoals

Nicholas C. Makris, Purnima Ratilal, Srinivasan Jagannathan, Zheng Gong, Mark Andrews, Ioannis Bertsatos, Olav Rune Godø, Redwood W. Nero, and J. Michael Jech
Science 27 March 2009: 1734-1737.
A shift from disordered to highly synchronized behavior is seen in hundreds of millions of Atlantic herring at a critical population density. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Genetic Contribution to Variation in Cognitive Function: An fMRI Study in Twins

Jan Willem Koten, Jr., Guilherme Wood, Peter Hagoort, Rainer Goebel, Peter Propping, Klaus Willmes, and Dorret I. Boomsma
Science 27 March 2009: 1737-1740.
Analysis of identical and fraternal twins shows genetic influence on brain activation during arithmetic and memory tasks. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Changes in Temperature Preferences and Energy Homeostasis in Dystroglycan Mutants

Ken-ichi Takeuchi, Yoshiro Nakano, Utako Kato, Mizuho Kaneda, Masako Aizu, Wakae Awano, Shigenobu Yonemura, Shigeki Kiyonaka, Yasuo Mori, Daisuke Yamamoto, and Masato Umeda
Science 27 March 2009: 1740-1743.
Mutation of a membrane protein alters mitochondrial metabolism and temperature preference in flies. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Quantitative 3D Video Microscopy of HIV Transfer Across T Cell Virological Synapses

Wolfgang Hübner, Gregory P. McNerney, Ping Chen, Benjamin M. Dale, Ronald E. Gordon, Frank Y. S. Chuang, Xiao-Dong Li, David M. Asmuth, Thomas Huser, and Benjamin K. Chen
Science 27 March 2009: 1743-1747.
HIV uses the endocytic pathway to spread through virological synapses between immune cells. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

A Transposon-Based Genetic Screen in Mice Identifies Genes Altered in Colorectal Cancer

Timothy K. Starr, Raha Allaei, Kevin A. T. Silverstein, Rodney A. Staggs, Aaron L. Sarver, Tracy L. Bergemann, Mihir Gupta, M. Gerard O'Sullivan, Ilze Matise, Adam J. Dupuy, Lara S. Collier, Scott Powers, Ann L. Oberg, Yan W. Asmann, Stephen N. Thibodeau, Lino Tessarollo, Neal G. Copeland, Nancy A. Jenkins, Robert T. Cormier, and David A. Largaespada
Science 27 March 2009: 1747-1750.
Published online 26 February 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1163040] (in Science Express Reports)
A functional screen in mice uncovers genes that are likely to drive the growth of gut-specific tumors. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|