This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 22 May 2009: 983.
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Editorial:
Epidemic Science in Real Time

Harvey V. Fineberg and Mary Elizabeth Wilson
Science 22 May 2009: 987.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 22 May 2009: 989.
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Science Podcast

Science 22 May 2009: 1092.
The show includes a microRNA that controls blood vessel growth, a neutron star transitioning into a radio pulsar, detecting scientific plagiarism, and more. Summary »|   Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

New Products

Science 22 May 2009: 1092.
A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

News of the Week

Swine Flu Outbreak
Past Pandemics Provide Mixed Clues to H1N1's Next Moves

Jon Cohen
Science 22 May 2009: 996-997.
Influenza researchers trying to predict where the swine flu outbreak is headed are looking to the past for clues about the seasonality and geography of pandemic flu, the relationship between the new virus and existing ones, and the behavior of this new H1N1's parent viruses in swine. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

China
Appearances Can Deceive, Even With Standard Reagents

Hao Xin
Science 22 May 2009: 997.
Many scientists are discovering to their dismay that a cottage industry of faux biochemical reagents has sprung up to take advantage of China's hefty increases in R&D funding. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Planetary Science
Mars Rover Trapped in Sand, But What Can End a Mission?

Richard A. Kerr
Science 22 May 2009: 998.
The crisis with the Spirit rover, which has become mired in a dry martian version of quicksand, raises a perennial question: When, if ever, should a NASA mission in its declining years be put out of its misery? Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Newsmaker Interview
NASA Asks Augustine to Point the Way

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 22 May 2009: 999.
This month, Norman Augustine, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, agreed to lead a 90-day review of NASA's human space flight program. Augustine shared his thoughts with Science on a number of issues that the panel is likely to tackle. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceNOW.org
From Science's Online Daily News Site

Science 22 May 2009: 999.
Highlights from Science's online daily news site, ScienceNOW, this week include plants that have survived Chernobyl, designer antibodies and AIDS, putting photons to work, and sparrows that have changed their tune. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Biotechnology
Lawsuit Challenges Legal Basis For Patenting Human Genes

Eliot Marshall
Science 22 May 2009: 1000-1001.
Patents have been awarded on human genes for decades, but until last week, no one had directly challenged the underlying idea that genes can be owned in a U.S. court. Now, a challenge has begun. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Data Sharing
Group Calls for Rapid Release of More Genomics Data

Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 22 May 2009: 1000-1001.
In 1996, at a meeting in Bermuda, researchers participating in the Human Genome Project agreed to release DNA sequence data daily into a public database. Now pressure is mounting to extend the Bermuda Principles to a broad range of publicly funded projects that go beyond sequencing. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceInsider
From the Science Policy Blog

Science 22 May 2009: 1001.
In addition to following the world of science policy, ScienceInsider continues to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of the H1N1 outbreak as public health officials and scientists around the world take steps to stop the virus. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Public Health
Scourge of Tobacco and Trans Fats Chosen for CDC

Robert Koenig
Science 22 May 2009: 1003.
New York City health commissioner Thomas Frieden has been appointed by President Barack Obama to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Random Samples

Science 22 May 2009: 995.
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News Focus

Scientific Publishing
Plagiarism Sleuths

Jennifer Couzin-Frankel and Jackie Grom
Science 22 May 2009: 1004-1007.
A Texas group is trolling through publications worldwide hunting for signs of duplicated material. The thousands of articles they've flagged online raise questions about standards in publishing—and about the group's own tactics. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

Scientific Publishing
Repetition Is Not Duplication

Jennifer Couzin-Frankel
Science 22 May 2009: 1006.
In response to concerns about updated reviews of clinical research being flagged in Déjà vu, the plagiarism database's operators created a special category for legitimate duplications—but they refuse to remove the papers entirely. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

The 2010 Census
America's Uncounted Millions

Constance Holden
Science 22 May 2009: 1008-1009.
It is getting increasingly difficult to count a mobile population, but an "adjustment" based on postcensus sampling is politically unacceptable. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

China
An Unprecedented Dilemma: One University, Two Political Systems

Richard Stone
Science 22 May 2009: 1011.
The University of Macau's plans for a new campus in mainland China pose a challenge to preserving academic freedom in the former colony. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Plant Biology
Stressed Out Over a Stress Hormone

Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 22 May 2009: 1012-1013.
The hormone ABA lets plants handle rough times and holds promise for making drought-resistant crops, if only researchers could nail down its molecular partners. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 Robot Inventors: Patently Impossible?

Robert W. Stevenson, Joseph F. Murphy, and Thomas J. Clare
Science 22 May 2009: 1014.
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 Painless Deprivation

William Vaughan, Jr.
Science 22 May 2009: 1014.
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 Shared Ownership of Biological Resources

Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan and Prathapan Divakaran
Science 22 May 2009: 1014-1015.
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 Biological Invasions: Benefits versus Risks

Rodolphe E. Gozlan and Adrian C. Newton
Science 22 May 2009: 1015.
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 Response

Philip E. Hulme, Wolfgang Nentwig, Petr Pysek, and Montserrat Vilà
Science 22 May 2009: 1015-1016.
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 NASA Must Be Held to Account

David N. Clark
Science 22 May 2009: 1016.
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Books et al.

Ecology and Evolution
Problems Well Worth Pondering

Hanna Kokko
Science 22 May 2009: 1017-1018.
Sherratt and Wilkinson offer thought-provoking answers to questions about aging, sex, cooperation, species, tropical diversity, chaos, our green world, the blue sea, when humans started to change the world, and possible ends to Earth's biosphere. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Bioethics
Reflections from the Silver Screen

Jeremy Sugarman
Science 22 May 2009: 1018.
The contributors explore how popular films have dealt with basic bioethical concerns such as birth, abortion, genetic selection, personhood, quality of life, aging, and death. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 22 May 2009: 1018.
A listing of books received at Science during the week ended 15 May 2009. Summary »|  

Policy Forum

Energy
Driving on Biomass

John Ohlrogge, Doug Allen, Bill Berguson, Dean DellaPenna, Yair Shachar-Hill, and Sten Stymne
Science 22 May 2009: 1019-1020.
Burning biomass to produce electricity for battery-driven vehicles can power more travel and displace more petroleum than converting it to ethanol or other fermentation products. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Perspectives

Biochemistry
A Glucose-to-Gene Link

Jeffrey C. Rathmell and Christopher B. Newgard
Science 22 May 2009: 1021-1022.
A regulatory loop links glucose metabolism to chromatin alterations and the controlled expression of metabolic genes. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Physics
A Sound (and Light) Way to Measure Confined Electrons

Steven H. Simon
Science 22 May 2009: 1022-1023.
A technique that uses the wavelength of sound and the energy of light can probe the elusive properties of electrons in quantum Hall states. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Epidemiology
Phone Infections

Shlomo Havlin
Science 22 May 2009: 1023-1024.
Is a mobile phone virus epidemic on the horizon? Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Agriculture
The Rubber Juggernaut

Alan D. Ziegler, Jefferson M. Fox, and Jianchu Xu
Science 22 May 2009: 1024-1025.
The demise of swidden cultivation in Southeast Asia may have devastating environmental consequences. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Geophysics
Deep Tremors and Slow Quakes

Gregory C. Beroza and Satoshi Ide
Science 22 May 2009: 1025-1026.
Detection and monitoring of slow earthquakes may provide a better understanding of ordinary earthquakes. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Geophysics
Earth Vibrations

Peter D. Bromirski
Science 22 May 2009: 1026-1027.
Seismic "noise" can be used to monitor climate change effects, locate storms, and elucidate the structure of Earth's crust. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Retrospective
John Maddox (1925–2009)

Nicholas Wade
Science 22 May 2009: 1028.
An unorthodox editor with a love of ideas enlivened science and single-handedly shook up the world of scientific publishing. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Review

Understanding the Warburg Effect: The Metabolic Requirements of Cell Proliferation

Matthew G. Vander Heiden, Lewis C. Cantley, and Craig B. Thompson
Science 22 May 2009: 1029-1033.
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Brevia

The SOS Response Controls Integron Recombination

Émilie Guerin, Guillaume Cambray, Neus Sanchez-Alberola, Susana Campoy, Ivan Erill, Sandra Da Re, Bruno Gonzalez-Zorn, Jordi Barbé, Marie-Cécile Ploy, and Didier Mazel
Science 22 May 2009: 1034.
Bacteria can mobilize antibiotic resistance under stressful conditions. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Article

The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans

Sarah A. Tishkoff, Floyd A. Reed, Françoise R. Friedlaender, Christopher Ehret, Alessia Ranciaro, Alain Froment, Jibril B. Hirbo, Agnes A. Awomoyi, Jean-Marie Bodo, Ogobara Doumbo, Muntaser Ibrahim, Abdalla T. Juma, Maritha J. Kotze, Godfrey Lema, Jason H. Moore, Holly Mortensen, Thomas B. Nyambo, Sabah A. Omar, Kweli Powell, Gideon S. Pretorius, Michael W. Smith, Mahamadou A. Thera, Charles Wambebe, James L. Weber, and Scott M. Williams
Science 22 May 2009: 1035-1044.
Published online 30 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1172257] (in Science Express Research Articles)
A genetic study illuminates population history, as well as the relationships among and the origin of major language families. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Reports

Dispersion of the Excitations of Fractional Quantum Hall States

Igor V. Kukushkin, Jurgen H. Smet, Vito W. Scarola, Vladimir Umansky, and Klaus von Klitzing
Science 22 May 2009: 1044-1047.
Published online 30 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1171472] (in Science Express Reports)
The dispersion of excitations in a buried two-dimensional electron system can now be probed. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Real-Time Infrared Detection of Cyanide Flip on Silver-Alumina NO_x Removal Catalyst

Frédéric Thibault-Starzyk, Etienne Seguin, Sébastien Thomas, Marco Daturi, Heike Arnolds, and David A. King
Science 22 May 2009: 1048-1051.
Rapid initiation of a catalytic reaction through laser heating enables the spectroscopic detection of a key intermediate. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Fabricating Genetically Engineered High-Power Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Multiple Virus Genes

Yun Jung Lee, Hyunjung Yi, Woo-Jae Kim, Kisuk Kang, Dong Soo Yun, Michael S. Strano, Gerbrand Ceder, and Angela M. Belcher
Science 22 May 2009: 1051-1055.
Published online 2 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1171541] (in Science Express Reports)
A genetically modified virus is used to form an efficient cathodic battery material. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Greater Transportation Energy and GHG Offsets from Bioelectricity Than Ethanol

J. E. Campbell, D. B. Lobell, and C. B. Field
Science 22 May 2009: 1055-1057.
Published online 7 May 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1168885] (in Science Express Reports)
Electric vehicles powered by electricity made from biofuels are more efficient than vehicles fueled by bioethanol. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Exploration of Victoria Crater by the Mars Rover Opportunity

S. W. Squyres, A. H. Knoll, R. E. Arvidson, J. W. Ashley, J. F. Bell, III, W. M. Calvin, P. R. Christensen, B. C. Clark, B. A. Cohen, P. A. de Souza, Jr., L. Edgar, W. H. Farrand, I. Fleischer, R. Gellert, M. P. Golombek, J. Grant, J. Grotzinger, A. Hayes, K. E. Herkenhoff, J. R. Johnson, B. Jolliff, G. Klingelhöfer, A. Knudson, R. Li, T. J. McCoy, S. M. McLennan, D. W. Ming, D. W. Mittlefehldt, R. V. Morris, J. W. Rice, Jr., C. Schröder, R. J. Sullivan, A. Yen, and R. A. Yingst
Science 22 May 2009: 1058-1061.
Water-induced alteration processes once acted on sedimentary rocks across a plain near the equator of Mars. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Bone Assemblages Track Animal Community Structure over 40 Years in an African Savanna Ecosystem

David Western and Anna K. Behrensmeyer
Science 22 May 2009: 1061-1064.
Species abundances in African mammal bone assemblages show promise for reconstructing modern and ancient community structures. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Regulators of PP2C Phosphatase Activity Function as Abscisic Acid Sensors

Yue Ma, Izabela Szostkiewicz, Arthur Korte, Danièle Moes, Yi Yang, Alexander Christmann, and Erwin Grill
Science 22 May 2009: 1064-1068.
Published online 30 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1172408] (in Science Express Reports)
Links between two ancient multimember protein families signal responses to the plant hormone abscisic acid. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Abscisic Acid Inhibits Type 2C Protein Phosphatases via the PYR/PYL Family of START Proteins

Sang-Youl Park, Pauline Fung, Noriyuki Nishimura, Davin R. Jensen, Hiroaki Fujii, Yang Zhao, Shelley Lumba, Julia Santiago, Americo Rodrigues, Tsz-fung F. Chow, Simon E. Alfred, Dario Bonetta, Ruth Finkelstein, Nicholas J. Provart, Darrell Desveaux, Pedro L. Rodriguez, Peter McCourt, Jian-Kang Zhu, Julian I. Schroeder, Brian F. Volkman, and Sean R. Cutler
Science 22 May 2009: 1068-1071.
Published online 30 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1173041] (in Science Express Reports)
Links between two ancient multimember protein families signal responses to the plant hormone abscisic acid. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Understanding the Spreading Patterns of Mobile Phone Viruses

Pu Wang, Marta C. González, César A. Hidalgo, and Albert-László Barabási
Science 22 May 2009: 1071-1076.
Published online 2 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1167053] (in Science Express Reports)
Current mobile phone usage prevents major mobile virus outbreaks, but conditions could arise leading to a phone epidemic. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

ATP-Citrate Lyase Links Cellular Metabolism to Histone Acetylation

Kathryn E. Wellen, Georgia Hatzivassiliou, Uma M. Sachdeva, Thi V. Bui, Justin R. Cross, and Craig B. Thompson
Science 22 May 2009: 1076-1080.
Histone acetylation and gene expression in mammals are modulated by glycolytic metabolism. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Phasic Firing in Dopaminergic Neurons Is Sufficient for Behavioral Conditioning

Hsing-Chen Tsai, Feng Zhang, Antoine Adamantidis, Garret D. Stuber, Antonello Bonci, Luis de Lecea, and Karl Deisseroth
Science 22 May 2009: 1080-1084.
Published online 23 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1168878] (in Science Express Reports)
High-frequency pulses in deep brain cells release dopamine and cause reward-related behavior in mice. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Human K-Complex Represents an Isolated Cortical Down-State

Sydney S. Cash, Eric Halgren, Nima Dehghani, Andrea O. Rossetti, Thomas Thesen, ChunMao Wang, Orrin Devinsky, Ruben Kuzniecky, Werner Doyle, Joseph R. Madsen, Edward Bromfield, Loránd Eross, Péter Halász, George Karmos, Richárd Csercsa, Lucia Wittner, and István Ulbert
Science 22 May 2009: 1084-1087.
A characteristic electroencephalogram pattern seen during sleep is accompanied by a steep decline in neural activity. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Crystal Structure of the Nuclear Export Receptor CRM1 in Complex with Snurportin1 and RanGTP

Thomas Monecke, Thomas Güttler, Piotr Neumann, Achim Dickmanns, Dirk Görlich, and Ralf Ficner
Science 22 May 2009: 1087-1091.
Published online 23 April 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1173388] (in Science Express Reports)
The structure of an exportin complex shows how nuclear transport complexes differentially recognize cargo. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Technical Comments

Comment on "Functional Traits and Niche-Based Tree Community Assembly in an Amazonian Forest"

Jeffrey K. Lake and Annette Ostling
Science 22 May 2009: 1015.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Response to Comment on "Functional Traits and Niche-Based Tree Community Assembly in an Amazonian Forest"

Nathan J. B. Kraft and David D. Ackerly
Science 22 May 2009: 1015.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|