This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 18 September 2009: 1471.
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Editorial:
Biodiversity Policy Challenges

Harold Mooney and Georgina Mace
Science 18 September 2009: 1474.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 18 September 2009: 1475.
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Science Podcast

Science 18 September 2009: 1566.
The show includes the link between public opinion and international terrorism, locust wing aerodynamics, companion-animal sterilization, and more. Summary »|   Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

New Products

Science 18 September 2009: 1566.
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
China First to Vaccinate Against Novel H1N1 Virus

Richard Stone
Science 18 September 2009: 1482-1483.
Earlier this week, China was first off the blocks to launch a mass vaccination campaign against the novel H1N1 virus. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Research Awards
Laskers Honor Five Scientists and a Mayor

Michael Torrice
Science 18 September 2009: 1483.
Five biomedical researchers and the billionaire mayor of New York City have been selected for the 2009 Lasker Awards. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Biotechnology
Researcher, Two Universities Sued Over Validity of Prostate Cancer Test

Jocelyn Kaiser
Science 18 September 2009: 1484.
A Johns Hopkins University researcher whose reports of a potential new blood test for diagnosing prostate cancer generated excitement—but also skepticism—is now being sued by his industry sponsor for scientific fraud. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Materials Science
DuPont Scientist Accused of Stealing Company's Trade Secrets

Robert F. Service
Science 18 September 2009: 1485.
A Chinese-born scientist, one of the leading researchers in the field of next-generation display technologies, has been fired by DuPont, which alleges he attempted to steal company secrets. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceInsider
From the Science Policy Blog

Science 18 September 2009: 1485.
ScienceInsider this week reported on how the investigation into the death last week of Yale pharmacology graduate student Annie Le has affected research at the building where she worked and the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to devise new controls on agricultural runoff, air pollution, and sewage to protect the Chesapeake Bay, among other stories. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Scientific Publishing
Paper Retracted Following Genome Data Breach

Constance Holden
Science 18 September 2009: 1486-1487.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has retracted a paper based on embargoed data deposited in dbGaP, the National Institutes of Health's database of genotypes and phenotypes. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Scientific Publishing
PNAS Nixes Special Privileges for (Most) Papers

Sam Kean
Science 18 September 2009: 1486-1487.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences will discontinue an option for submitting papers that often put prestigious scientists in an awkward fix with colleagues and, at its worst, editors admit, allowed some scientists to subvert peer review and shoehorn dubious papers into print. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

U.S. Science Education
Revisions to AP Courses Expected to Have Domino Effect

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 18 September 2009: 1488-1489.
In July, the College Board unveiled the first piece of a major revision of the science syllabi for the Advanced Placement (AP) program, a suite of high school courses intended to mirror introductory college courses that students can receive college credit for passing. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Low-Income Countries
A Boost for Vaccine Development

John Travis
Science 18 September 2009: 1489.
This week, Merck and the U.K. biomedical charity Wellcome Trust established a nonprofit vaccine development institute to be based in India. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceNOW.org
From Science's Online Daily News Site

Science 18 September 2009: 1489.
Highlights from ScienceNOW this week include a way to forest the desert, a solution to the mystery of the disfigured skulls in the Chilean desert, birth control for stars, and brain scans for schizophrenia. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Random Samples

Science 18 September 2009: 1481.
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News Focus

A Cure for Euthanasia?

David Grimm
Science 18 September 2009: 1490-1493.
A nonsurgical sterilant could reduce the global population of homeless dogs and cats, but there hasn't been money to develop one—until now. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

Astronomy
Scrambling to Read the Meaning Of the Sky's Most Ancient Flare

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Science 18 September 2009: 1494-1495.
This spring, a seemingly routine gamma ray burst triggered a worldwide race to catch a glimpse of the early universe. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 Tenure: Where to Draw the Line

Lester K. Su
Science 18 September 2009: 1496.
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 Tenure: Expiration Time

Kenneth R. Gordon
Science 18 September 2009: 1496.
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 Tenure: Incentivize Faculty

Sadredin Cyrus Moosavi
Science 18 September 2009: 1496-1497.
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 Response—Tenure

Dan Clawson
Science 18 September 2009: 1497-1498.
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 Increase Grants, Too

Michael J. Castellano and Kevin E. Mueller
Science 18 September 2009: 1498.
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 Stable Funding Is Key

Robert J. Butera
Science 18 September 2009: 1499.
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Books et al.

History of Science
Ecology Emerging

Matthias Glaubrecht
Science 18 September 2009: 1500-1501.
Exploring the work in museums, zoos, botanic gardens, and secondary schools in late-19th-century Germany, Nyhart shows that the popular nature studies played a crucial role in the development of ecology. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Natural History
Many Reflections on Birds

Devorah Bennu
Science 18 September 2009: 1501.
Mynott offers an eclectic philosophical exploration of our multifaceted experience with birds. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 18 September 2009: 1501.
A listing of books received at Science during the week ended 11 September 2009. Summary »|  

Policy Forum

Ecology
Biodiversity Conservation and the Millennium Development Goals

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jonathan E. M. Baillie, William J. Sutherland, Paul R. Armsworth, Neville Ash, John Beddington, Tim M. Blackburn, Ben Collen, Barry Gardiner, Kevin J. Gaston, H. Charles J. Godfray, Rhys E. Green, Paul H. Harvey, Brett House, Sandra Knapp, Noëlle F. Kümpel, David W. Macdonald, Georgina M. Mace, James Mallet, Adam Matthews, Robert M. May, Owen Petchey, Andy Purvis, Dilys Roe, Kamran Safi, Kerry Turner, Matt Walpole, Robert Watson, and Kate E. Jones
Science 18 September 2009: 1502-1503.
Any near-term gains in reducing extreme poverty will be maintained only if environmental sustainability is also achieved. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Ecology
Tracking Progress Toward the 2010 Biodiversity Target and Beyond

Matt Walpole, Rosamunde E. A. Almond, Charles Besançon, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, Geneviève M. Carr, Ben Collen, Linda Collette, Nick C. Davidson, Ehsan Dulloo, Asghar M. Fazel, James N. Galloway, Michael Gill, Tessa Goverse, Marc Hockings, Danna J. Leaman, David H. W. Morgan, Carmen Revenga, Carrie J. Rickwood, Frederik Schutyser, Sarah Simons, Alison J. Stattersfield, Tristan D. Tyrrell, Jean-Christophe Vié, and Mark Zimsky
Science 18 September 2009: 1503-1504.
Biodiversity indicators used by policy-makers are underdeveloped and underinvested. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Perspectives

Cell Biology
Expanding Functionality Within the Looking-Glass Universe

Steven R. Blanke
Science 18 September 2009: 1505-1506.
Although once thought to be largely irrelevant in the biological world, new and unexpected functions for D-amino acids continue to emerge. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Ecology
Seeing the Big Picture on Microbe Distribution

David J. Patterson
Science 18 September 2009: 1506-1507.
The distribution patterns of marine microbes are shaped by dispersal on a global scale. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Physics
Itinerant Ferromagnetism with Ultracold Atoms

Wilhelm Zwerger
Science 18 September 2009: 1507-1509.
Cold lithium atoms undergoing strong repulsions can be driven into a state that is an analog of ferromagnetic ordering. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Geophysics
How River Beds Move

Philippe Frey and Michael Church
Science 18 September 2009: 1509-1510.
Insights into sediment transport at river beds can come from experiments in granular physics. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Physics
The Super of Superradiance

Marlan O. Scully and Anatoly A. Svidzinsky
Science 18 September 2009: 1510-1511.
Cooperative single-photon emission from an atom ensemble will provide insights into quantum electrodynamics and applications in quantum communication. Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Brevia

Macroevolution of Complex Retroviruses

Aris Katzourakis, Robert J. Gifford, Michael Tristem, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, and Oliver G. Pybus
Science 18 September 2009: 1512.
A sloth foamy virus sequence indicates that mammals have been infected since the Cretaceous. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Gold Helix Photonic Metamaterial as Broadband Circular Polarizer

Justyna K. Gansel, Michael Thiel, Michael S. Rill, Manuel Decker, Klaus Bade, Volker Saile, Georg von Freymann, Stefan Linden, and Martin Wegener
Science 18 September 2009: 1513-1515.
Published online 20 August 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1177031] (in Science Express Reports)
A three-dimensional array of gold nano-helices can polarize light over a wide range of wavelengths. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Control of Spin Precession in a Spin-Injected Field Effect Transistor

Hyun Cheol Koo, Jae Hyun Kwon, Jonghwa Eom, Joonyeon Chang, Suk Hee Han, and Mark Johnson
Science 18 September 2009: 1515-1518.
A field-effect transistor in which the spin current is controlled by a gate voltage is demonstrated. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Memory Metamaterials

T. Driscoll, Hyun-Tak Kim, Byung-Gyu Chae, Bong-Jun Kim, Yong-Wook Lee, N. Marie Jokerst, S. Palit, D. R. Smith, M. Di Ventra, and D. N. Basov
Science 18 September 2009: 1518-1521.
Published online 20 August 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1176580] (in Science Express Reports)
A tunable metamaterial is demonstrated that can remember its switched state. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Itinerant Ferromagnetism in a Fermi Gas of Ultracold Atoms

Gyu-Boong Jo, Ye-Ryoung Lee, Jae-Hoon Choi, Caleb A. Christensen, Tony H. Kim, Joseph H. Thywissen, David E. Pritchard, and Wolfgang Ketterle
Science 18 September 2009: 1521-1524.
Ferromagnetic ordering forms spontaneously in an ensemble of ultracold fermionic atoms. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

An Anomalous Basaltic Meteorite from the Innermost Main Belt

Philip A. Bland, Pavel Spurny, Martin C. Towner, Alex W. R. Bevan, Andrew T. Singleton, William F. Bottke, Jr., Richard C. Greenwood, Steven R. Chesley, Lukas Shrbeny, Jiri Borovicka, Zdenek Ceplecha, Terence P. McClafferty, David Vaughan, Gretchen K. Benedix, Geoff Deacon, Kieren T. Howard, Ian A. Franchi, and Robert M. Hough
Science 18 September 2009: 1525-1527.
This meteorite’s composition and orbital properties are such that it cannot be traced to the parent asteroid. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Evidence for Obliquity Forcing of Glacial Termination II

R. N. Drysdale, J. C. Hellstrom, G. Zanchetta, A. E. Fallick, M. F. Sánchez Goñi, I. Couchoud, J. McDonald, R. Maas, G. Lohmann, and I. Isola
Science 18 September 2009: 1527-1531.
Published online 13 August 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1170371] (in Science Express Reports)
Marine records suggest that the early onset of the penultimate deglaciation was due to changes in Earth’s obliquity. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Cellular Basis of Itch Sensation

Yan-Gang Sun, Zhong-Qiu Zhao, Xiu-Li Meng, Jun Yin, Xian-Yu Liu, and Zhou-Feng Chen
Science 18 September 2009: 1531-1534.
Published online 6 August 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1174868] (in Science Express Reports)
Itch, but not pain sensation, is abolished by selective ablation of a small subpopulation of spinal neurons. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Attitudes and Action: Public Opinion and the Occurrence of International Terrorism

Alan B. Krueger and Jitka Malecková
Science 18 September 2009: 1534-1536.
Public opinion toward a country is associated with the occurrence of terrorism against that country. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Highly Variable Spread Rates in Replicated Biological Invasions: Fundamental Limits to Predictability

Brett A. Melbourne and Alan Hastings
Science 18 September 2009: 1536-1539.
Replicated invasions in laboratory microcosms demonstrate inherent unpredictability due to randomness in biological processes. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Controls on Diatom Biogeography in the Ocean

Pedro Cermeño and Paul G. Falkowski
Science 18 September 2009: 1539-1541.
Fossil records show that the dispersal of diatoms from ocean plankton has not been constrained by geographical barriers. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Constant Flux of Diverse Thermophilic Bacteria into the Cold Arctic Seabed

Casey Hubert, Alexander Loy, Maren Nickel, Carol Arnosti, Christian Baranyi, Volker Brüchert, Timothy Ferdelman, Kai Finster, Flemming Mønsted Christensen, Júlia Rosa de Rezende, Verona Vandieken, and Bo Barker Jørgensen
Science 18 September 2009: 1541-1544.
Spore-forming bacteria adapted to the hot subsurface biosphere are continually deposited in polar marine sediments. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Three-Dimensional Structural View of the Central Metabolic Network of Thermotoga maritima

Ying Zhang, Ines Thiele, Dana Weekes, Zhanwen Li, Lukasz Jaroszewski, Krzysztof Ginalski, Ashley M. Deacon, John Wooley, Scott A. Lesley, Ian A. Wilson, Bernhard Palsson, Andrei Osterman, and Adam Godzik
Science 18 September 2009: 1544-1549.
Protein structure and biochemical data generate a three-dimensional view of the metabolic network of a bacterial cell. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Details of Insect Wing Design and Deformation Enhance Aerodynamic Function and Flight Efficiency

John Young, Simon M. Walker, Richard J. Bomphrey, Graham K. Taylor, and Adrian L. R. Thomas
Science 18 September 2009: 1549-1552.
Measurements of locust wing kinematics validate a fluid dynamics model of the aerodynamic effects of wing deformation. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

D-Amino Acids Govern Stationary Phase Cell Wall Remodeling in Bacteria

Hubert Lam, Dong-Chan Oh, Felipe Cava, Constantin N. Takacs, Jon Clardy, Miguel A. de Pedro, and Matthew K. Waldor
Science 18 September 2009: 1552-1555.
Bacteria produce D-amino acids to regulate their cell wall composition, structure, amount, and strength. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Glucose Deprivation Contributes to the Development of KRAS Pathway Mutations in Tumor Cells

Jihye Yun, Carlo Rago, Ian Cheong, Ray Pagliarini, Philipp Angenendt, Harith Rajagopalan, Kerstin Schmidt, James K. V. Willson, Sandy Markowitz, Shibin Zhou, Luis A. Diaz, Jr, Victor E. Velculescu, Christoph Lengauer, Kenneth W. Kinzler, Bert Vogelstein, and Nickolas Papadopoulos
Science 18 September 2009: 1555-1559.
Published online 6 August 2009 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1174229] (in Science Express Reports)
Glucose deprivation can drive the acquisition of certain oncogenic mutations in human cancer cells. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Technical Comments

Comment on "The Dynamic Control of Kiss-and-Run and Vesicular Reuse Probed with Single Nanoparticles"

Björn Granseth, Benjamin Odermatt, Stephen J. Royle, and Leon Lagnado
Science 18 September 2009: 1499.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Response to Comment on "The Dynamic Control of Kiss-And-Run and Vesicular Reuse Probed with Single Nanoparticles"

Qi Zhang, Yulong Li, and Richard W. Tsien
Science 18 September 2009: 1499.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|