Science news

• [This Week in Science] Unrelated memories get blurred together

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Peter Stern
  
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• [This Week in Science] The platform for building new chromatin

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] Pulling macromolecules apart

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Valda Vinson
  
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• [This Week in Science] Looking for lost flavor in tomatoes

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Pamela J. Hines
  
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• [This Week in Science] How to remove unnecessary enzymes

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Stella M. Hurtley
  
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• [This Week in Science] ERK prepares the brain for sleep

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Leslie K. Ferrarelli
  
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• [This Week in Science] Emergent attitudes toward brilliance

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Pamela J. Hines
  
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• [This Week in Science] Decoupling charge and heat transport

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Jelena Stajic
  
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• [This Week in Science] A salty route to an all-nitrogen ring

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Jake Yeston
  
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• [This Week in Science] A rare ability to enhance dengue virus disease

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Caroline Ash
  
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• [This Week in Science] A new way to build bone

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Katrina L. Kelner
  
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• [Technical Response] Response to Comment on “Mycorrhizal association as a primary control of the CO2 fertilization effect”

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Norby et al. center their critique on the design of the data set and the response variable used. We address these criticisms and reinforce the conclusion that plants that associate with ectomycorrhizal fungi exhibit larger biomass and growth responses to elevated CO2 compared with plants that associate with arbuscular mycorrhizae.
  Authors: César Terrer, Sara Vicca, Bruce A. Hungate, Richard P. Phillips, Peter B. Reich, Oskar Franklin, Benjamin D. Stocker, Joshua B. Fisher, I. Colin Prentice
  
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• [Technical Comment] Comment on “Mycorrhizal association as a primary control of the CO2 fertilization effect”

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Terrer et al. (Reports, 1 July 2016, p. 72) used meta-analysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment experiments as evidence of an interaction between mycorrhizal symbiosis and soil nitrogen availability. We challenge their database and biomass as the response metric and, hence, their recommendation that incorporation of mycorrhizae in models will improve predictions of terrestrial ecosystem responses to increasing atmospheric CO2.
  Authors: R. J. Norby, M. G. De Kauwe, A. P. Walker, C. Werner, S. Z
  
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• [Research Article] An N-end rule pathway that recognizes proline and destroys gluconeogenic enzymes

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Cells synthesize glucose if deprived of it, and destroy gluconeogenic enzymes upon return to glucose-replete conditions. We found that the Gid4 subunit of the ubiquitin ligase GID in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae targeted the gluconeogenic enzymes Fbp1, Icl1, and Mdh2 for degradation. Gid4 recognized the N-terminal proline (Pro) residue and the ~5-residue-long adjacent sequence motifs. Pck1, the fourth gluconeogenic enzyme, contains Pro at position 2; Gid4 directly or indirectly recognized
  
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• [Report] Two- and three-body contacts in the unitary Bose gas

  26-01-2017 22:51
  In many-body systems governed by pairwise contact interactions, a wide range of observables is linked by a single parameter, the two-body contact, which quantifies two-particle correlations. This profound insight has transformed our understanding of strongly interacting Fermi gases. Using Ramsey interferometry, we studied coherent evolution of the resonantly interacting Bose gas, and we show here that it cannot be explained by only pairwise correlations. Our experiments reveal the crucial role o
  
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• [Report] RPA binds histone H3-H4 and functions in DNA replication–coupled nucleosome assembly

  26-01-2017 22:51
  DNA replication–coupled nucleosome assembly is essential to maintain genome integrity and retain epigenetic information. Multiple involved histone chaperones have been identified, but how nucleosome assembly is coupled to DNA replication remains elusive. Here we show that replication protein A (RPA), an essential replisome component that binds single-stranded DNA, has a role in replication-coupled nucleosome assembly. RPA directly binds free H3-H4. Assays using a synthetic sequence that mimics
  
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• [Report] Control of meiotic pairing and recombination by chromosomally tethered 26S proteasome

  26-01-2017 22:51
  During meiosis, paired homologous chromosomes (homologs) become linked via the synaptonemal complex (SC) and crossovers. Crossovers mediate homolog segregation and arise from self-inflicted double-strand breaks (DSBs). Here, we identified a role for the proteasome, the multisubunit protease that degrades proteins in the nucleus and cytoplasm, in homolog juxtaposition and crossing over. Without proteasome function, homologs failed to pair and instead remained associated with nonhomologous chromos
  
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• [Report] Anomalously low electronic thermal conductivity in metallic vanadium dioxide

  26-01-2017 22:51
  In electrically conductive solids, the Wiedemann-Franz law requires the electronic contribution to thermal conductivity to be proportional to electrical conductivity. Violations of the Wiedemann-Franz law are typically an indication of unconventional quasiparticle dynamics, such as inelastic scattering, or hydrodynamic collective motion of charge carriers, typically pronounced only at cryogenic temperatures. We report an order-of-magnitude breakdown of the Wiedemann-Franz law at high temperature
  
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• [Report] Airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy to map forest trait diversity and guide conservation

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Functional biogeography may bridge a gap between field-based biodiversity information and satellite-based Earth system studies, thereby supporting conservation plans to protect more species and their contributions to ecosystem functioning. We used airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy with environmental modeling to derive large-scale, multivariate forest canopy functional trait maps of the Peruvian Andes-to-Amazon biodiversity hotspot. Seven mapped canopy traits revealed functional variatio
  
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• [Report] A chemical genetic roadmap to improved tomato flavor

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Modern commercial tomato varieties are substantially less flavorful than heirloom varieties. To understand and ultimately correct this deficiency, we quantified flavor-associated chemicals in 398 modern, heirloom, and wild accessions. A subset of these accessions was evaluated in consumer panels, identifying the chemicals that made the most important contributions to flavor and consumer liking. We found that modern commercial varieties contain significantly lower amounts of many of these importa
  
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• [Policy Forum] Challenges in researching terrorism from the field

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Despite intense efforts by intelligence agencies and countless conferences, articles, and books, fundamental aspects of terrorism remain unclear: What identifies terrorists before they act; how do they radicalize; what motivates their violence; when do they act; what countermeasures are most effective? These efforts to find answers have fallen short in part because of flaws in program design, despite commitment and courage from many people involved. We propose an alternative design, driven by th
  
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• [Perspective] When degradation spurs segregation

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Each cell entering the meiotic divisions that ultimately generate eggs and sperm initiates a complex series of events that bring homologous chromosomes together to ensure their correct subsequent segregation. Anomalies in this process result in changes to chromosome number that are detrimental to life. Central to meiosis in most organisms is the exchange of DNA sequences between homologous chromosomes. These recombination events begin with the formation of programmed breaks in the DNA and can be
  
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• [Perspective] Seeing the forest through the trees

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Recognizing the importance of biodiversity to human well-being, most nations have committed to the Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the pressures on biodiversity are increasing, and its status is declining globally (1), raising concerns that national plans and targets are not ambitious enough (2) and showing that new solutions are needed (3). Recognition of synergies among different targets and goals (4) has brought f
  
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• [Perspective] Polynitrogen chemistry enters the ring

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Polynitrogens have the potential for ultrahigh-performing explosives or propellants because singly or doubly bonded polynitrogens can decompose to triply bonded dinitrogen (N2) with an extraordinarily large energy release. The large energy content and relatively low activation energy toward decomposition makes the synthesis of a stable polynitrogen allotrope an extraordinary challenge. Many elements exist in different forms (allotropes)—for example, carbon can exist as graphite, diamond, bucky
  
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• [Perspective] Cracking the problem of ice nucleation

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Ice-nucleating particles in Earth's atmosphere have a profound impact on cloud properties. Among the plethora of particle types in the atmosphere, certain feldspars associated with desert dust have been identified as very important ice-nucleating particles (1). As Kiselev et al. (2) show on page 367 of this issue, specific crystallographic features, which only appear in small patches in cracks or other imperfections, may be responsible for feldspar's capacity to nucleate ice (see the image). The
  
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• [Letter] Words alone will not protect pollinators

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Authors: David Inouye, Samuel Droege, Jonathan Mawdsley
  
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• [Letter] Academia's failure to retain data scientists

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Authors: Francisco Rodríguez-Sánchez, Ben Marwick, Ed Lazowska, Jake VanderPlas
  
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• [Letter] A moonlit trek

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Victor Ingurgio
  
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• [In Depth] The Trump era: 10 questions

  26-01-2017 22:51
  When presidents talk about science, they are usually thinking of one or more of three things: funding, people, and policies. Donald Trump did not mention science in his inaugural address, which is normal for a president. Trump's closest reference to science was his comment that "we stand ready … to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the Earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries, and technologies of tomorrow." He also repeated his campaign slogan
  
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• [In Depth] Regulators drop controversial biospecimen consent proposal

  26-01-2017 22:51
  U.S. biomedical researchers have fought off a feared rule change that would have made it more difficult and expensive to study anonymous blood and tissue samples taken from patients. Proposed in 2015, the controversial change was dropped 2 days before former President Barack Obama left office, when federal officials released a long-awaited update to the so-called Common Rule that protects human participants in studies. The update also hands scientists a second victory, by blunting a 2014 law tha
  
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• [In Depth] Metallic hydrogen created in diamond vise

  26-01-2017 22:51
  In 1935 a pair of physicists predicted that if the pressure of hydrogen were raised to about 25 times that of atmospheric pressure, it would turn into a solid metal. Experimentalists ever since have tried and failed to spot this transition, even after raising the pressure of hydrogen to millions of times atmospheric pressure. Now, the transition to solid metallic hydrogen may have been reached. Physicists in the United States say that by crushing a tiny amount of hydrogen between the tips of two
  
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• [In Depth] Japanese military entices academics to break taboo

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Shortly after the end of World War II, the Science Council of Japan (SCJ) adopted a statement proclaiming that the country's scientists "will never pursue scientific research for the purpose of war." In keeping with that sentiment, Japan's university professors have largely avoided conducting any military research on campus. For the last 2 years, however, Japan's Ministry of Defense has had a small program providing grants to university researchers to work on dual-use technologies. Fun
  
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• [In Depth] Can dark matter vanquish controversial rival theory?

  26-01-2017 22:51
  A long-smoldering feud over the existence of mysterious dark matter is heating up. For decades, a few scientists have argued that dark matter—the stuff thought to make up 85% of the matter in the universe—cannot explain a universal pattern in the motions of spiral galaxies such as our own Milky Way but that a theory called modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) can. Now, a leading theorist argues that dark matter can explain this pattern after all. Since the 1970s, astronomers have known that th
  
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• [In Depth] Brazil's ‘doomsday’ scenario

  26-01-2017 22:51
  A budget crisis has cut off all public funding for thousands of scientists in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, which includes Rio, Brazil's second biggest city. The state's science agency, FAPERJ, is bankrupt. It has fallen $150 million behind on grant payments, and over 2 years has been unable to fund 3670 research projects, raising the risk of a massive brain drain. There is little FAPERJ can do but watch the trainwreck unfold. The agency by law had been entitled to 2% of state tax reven
  
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• [In Depth] Big studies clash over fetal growth rates

  26-01-2017 22:51
  A paper published this week is set to ignite a major scientific fight over what could seem like a minor issue: Given optimal circumstances, do unborn babies around the world grow at the same rate, or do they follow different growth trajectories in different countries? Three years ago, a large project called INTERGROWTH-21st claimed that the differences between countries are negligible. But the new study, published in PLOS Medicine, found marked differences in growth rates, even if the babies' mo
  
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• [Feature] The polluted brain

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Some of the health risks of inhaling fine and ultrafine pollutant particles are well-established, such as asthma, lung cancer, and, most recently, heart disease. But a growing body of evidence suggests that such exposure can also harm the brain, accelerating cognitive aging, and may even increase risk of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The link between air pollution and dementia remains controversial—even its proponents warn that more research is needed to confirm a causal con
  
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• [Feature] Out of bounds

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Tensions between a graduate student and a prominent biomedical researcher at Harvard University have produced a series of extraordinary events, including an involuntary psychiatric evaluation of the student and a court order against the scientist ordering him to stay 30.5 meters away from the student and have no contact. The student says the forced evaluation occurred because he had filed a scientific misconduct complaint against the researcher, and that it constituted retaliation. A state judge
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Repacking rhodium

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Phil Szuromi
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Pushing the limits of functional genomics

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: L. Bryan Ray
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Mega-earthquake supercycle

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Brent Grocholski
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Lord of the incomplete rings

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Stella M. Hurtley
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Inducing activity in flat optics

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Ian S. Osborne
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Claustro-cortical connectivity

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Peter Stern
  
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• [Editors' Choice] Biosynthesis of lipidsfor flavor

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Pamela J. Hines
  
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• [Editorial] Looking inward at gender issues

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Optimizing participation of different groups in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) fields requires a better understanding of how any disparities arise. With regard to gender disparities, several aspects have been analyzed—from looking at degrees awarded in STEM fields to career progression to grant support. Scholarly publishing is not immune to gender imbalance in authorship. We sought to learn how Science is doing on this front.
  Author: Jeremy Berg
  
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• [Business Office Feature] Webinar | What automation can do for you: The benefits and pitfalls of automating your microscopy research

  26-01-2017 22:51
  In the life sciences, experimental reproducibility and repeatability are essential for ensuring that the results obtained are real and trustworthy. This often involves running an experiment multiple times under identical conditions. When repeating experiments, variation introduced through human error, environmental changes, or technical fluctuations can negatively impact the data and cause the generation of spurious results. For example, when imaging cells, slight shifts in temperature, CO2 leve
  
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• [Book Review] Podcast

  26-01-2017 22:51
  This week on the Science podcast, Jennifer Golbeck digs into the science of de-extinction with biologist Helen Pilcher and recommends a clinician's compassionate tale of psychosomatic disorders.
  Author: Myrna Perez Sheldon
  
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• [Book Review] Darwin's American ascendancy

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Randall Fuller's lively new volume, The Book That Changed America, draws readers into the political and intellectual foment of antebellum America on the cusp of war. In just under 300 pages, he unfolds the story of how On the Origin of Species debuted in the United States on the eve of the Civil War and was read by a country torn apart by slavery and divided over whether the American union could (or should) survive the conflict. Moving deftly amid a diversity of familiar American figures, inc
  
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• [Book Review] Back to the future

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Last year's adoption of the Paris Agreement signaled widespread political will to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by midcentury while aiming to keep the rise in global average temperatures to well below 2°C above preindustrial levels. More than 100 nations ratified it, and the mood was optimistic as countries reconvened this year to talk implementation. That is, until the U.S. election put climate change denialism back on the table. As political momentum slows, perhaps there is no bette
  
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• [Association Affairs] AAAS urges Trump team to value science and its benefits

  26-01-2017 22:51
  Author: Michaela Jarvis
  
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