This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 28 November 2008: 1299.
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Editorial:
Scientists and Human Rights

Leonard Rubenstein and Mona Younis
Science 28 November 2008: 1303.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 28 November 2008: 1304.
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Science Podcast

Science 28 November 2008: 1400.
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NEW PRODUCTS

Science 28 November 2008: 1400.
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News of the Week

TAINTED MILK SCANDAL: Chinese Probe Unmasks High-Tech Adulteration With Melamine

Hao Xin and Richard Stone
Science 28 November 2008: 1310-1311.
Summary: A weeks-long investigation into China's tainted milk scandal has left scientists astonished by the technical sophistication of those who used melamine to adulterate food products. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

FRANCE: Will French Science Swallow Zerhouni's Strong Medicine?

Martin Enserink
Science 28 November 2008: 1312.
Summary: In a surprisingly blunt report released on 13 November, a high-wattage international committee, led by former U.S. National Institutes of Health director Elias Zerhouni, proposes a massive overhaul of French life sciences research that would create a single, strong funding agency and likely spell the death of several existing institutes. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ASTRONOMY: Giant Scope Heads Europe's Wish List

Daniel Clery
Science 28 November 2008: 1313.
Summary: European astronomers have asked policymakers to green-light a 42-meter-wide giant telescope that they promise will keep them at the forefront of world astronomy. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

HUMAN GENETICS: Interest Rises in DNA Copy Number Variations--Along With Questions

Jennifer Couzin
Science 28 November 2008: 1314.
Summary: At the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics last week, the hot topic was duplicated or missing blocks of DNA, known as copy number variations--the study of which, like any emerging field, is plagued by uncertainty. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Science Goes Hollywood: NAS Links With Entertainment Industry

Jon Cohen
Science 28 November 2008: 1315.
Summary: The National Academy of Sciences has launched a collaboration called the Science & Entertainment Exchange that it hopes will "be a service to all of Hollywood" by connecting scientific authorities to the people who produce, write, direct, and animate films and TV shows. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceScope

Science 28 November 2008: 1313.
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Random Samples

Science 28 November 2008: 1307.
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Newsmakers

Science 28 November 2008: 1309.
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News Focus

ECOLOGY: Canada's Experimental Lakes

Erik Stokstad
Science 28 November 2008: 1316-1319.
Summary: In remote Ontario, a network of lakes is dedicated to bold ecological manipulations. Research there has helped explain algal blooms and acid rain. As the unique outdoor lab turns 40, some wonder whether it is past its prime. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

ECOLOGY: Contaminating a Lake to Save Others

Erik Stokstad
Science 28 November 2008: 1319.
Summary: Over the past 9 years, some 15 principal investigators from eight institutions have joined forces at a remote experimental station in Canada (see main text) to tease apart how mercury in air pollution cycles through the environment. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PROFILE: ADAM RIESS: A Universe Past the Braking Point

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Science 28 November 2008: 1320-1321.
Summary: A decade after racing to tell the world about "dark energy," an acclaimed astrophysicist pushes to streamline the search for Type Ia supernovae--celestial milestones that may help explain space's ever-accelerating expansion. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CRYPTOGRAPHY: University Hackers Test the Right to Expose Security Concerns

Adrian Cho
Science 28 November 2008: 1322-1323.
Summary: When students in the Netherlands picked apart the world's most common smart card system, were they torpedoing its manufacturer or protecting the public's right to know? Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 The Price of Exploration

James. B. Garvin
Science 28 November 2008: 1324.
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 Research Funding: Less Should Be More

Rui Sousa
Science 28 November 2008: 1324-1325.
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 Cell Phone and DNA Story Overlooked Studies

Vini G. Khurana; and Gretchen Vogel
Science 28 November 2008: 1325.
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 Flaunting the Feminine Side of Research Studies

Phyllis Greenberger
Science 28 November 2008: 1325-1326.
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 Corrections and Clarifications

Science 28 November 2008: 1326.
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Books et al.

EVOLUTION: All for One and One for All

James H. Hunt
Science 28 November 2008: 1327.
Summary: Summarizing the past couple of decades of research on the ecology and evolution of social insects—with their tightly knit colonies, altruistic cooperation, complex communication, and division of labor—Hölldobler and Wilson argue that these "superorganisms" represent a basic stage of biological organization, between the organism and the species. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ENERGY: Promising the Sun

Frank N. von Hippel
Science 28 November 2008: 1328.
Summary: Focusing on scientists who have attempted to harness fusion to generate power, Seife sketches the history of fusion research over the past six decades. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 28 November 2008: 1328.
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Education Forum

THE PIPELINE: Scientific Teaching in Practice

Sarah Miller, Christine Pfund, Christine Maidl Pribbenow, and Jo Handelsman
Science 28 November 2008: 1329-1330.
Summary: A new generation of university scientists is learning to teach using a scientific teaching approach. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

ASSESSMENT: Global Sex Differences in Test Score Variability

Stephen Machin and Tuomas Pekkarinen
Science 28 November 2008: 1331-1332.
Summary: International testing results show greater variance in boys' scores than in girls' scores. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Perspectives

CHEMISTRY: A Tamed Reactive Intermediate

Joseph B. Lambert
Science 28 November 2008: 1333-1334.
Summary: The highly reactive germanium dication is isolated by trapping it in a molecular cage. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PHYSICS: Reflections on a Wall of Light

P.-M. Binder
Science 28 November 2008: 1334-1335.
Summary: Single-photon cooling of atoms offers a rare view of a real-life Maxwell's demon. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ASTRONOMY: Exoplanets--Seeing Is Believing

Mark S. Marley
Science 28 November 2008: 1335-1337.
Published online 13 November 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1167569] (in Science Express Perspectives)
Summary: Direct observations have been made of the infrared and optical signatures of planets orbiting distant stars. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MICROBIOLOGY: An Antibiotic Mimics Immunity

Carl Nathan
Science 28 November 2008: 1337-1338.
Summary: Certain compounds generate reactive nitrogen intermediates in bacteria, contributing to their antimicrobial effect. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GEOCHEMISTRY: Carbon in Charge

Rob L. Evans
Science 28 November 2008: 1338-1340.
Summary: Laboratory data suggest that enhanced conductivity in the deep mantle can be caused by extremely small amounts of carbon-rich melt. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOCHEMISTRY: Controlled Chaos

Vladimir N. Uversky and A. Keith Dunker
Science 28 November 2008: 1340-1341.
Summary: The availability and abundance of intrinsically disordered proteins inside a cell is under tight control. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Association Affairs

AAAS News and Notes

Science 28 November 2008: 1342-1343.
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Brevia

A Simple Law for Ice-Shelf Calving

Richard B. Alley, Huw J. Horgan, Ian Joughin, Kurt M. Cuffey, Todd K. Dupont, Byron R. Parizek, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, and Jeremy Bassis
Science 28 November 2008: 1344.
An empirical model of iceberg production as an ice shelf that buttresses a glacier spread may help to predict glacial flow and sea level rise as Earth's climate warms. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Articles

Optical Images of an Exosolar Planet 25 Light-Years from Earth

Paul Kalas, James R. Graham, Eugene Chiang, Michael P. Fitzgerald, Mark Clampin, Edwin S. Kite, Karl Stapelfeldt, Christian Marois, and John Krist
Science 28 November 2008: 1345-1348.
Published online 13 November 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1166609] (in Science Express Research Articles)
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal a Jupiter-sized planet, perhaps with a surrounding dust disk, orbiting about 115 astronomical units from a nearby main sequence star. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Direct Imaging of Multiple Planets Orbiting the Star HR 8799

Christian Marois, Bruce Macintosh, Travis Barman, B. Zuckerman, Inseok Song, Jennifer Patience, David Lafrenière, and René Doyon
Science 28 November 2008: 1348-1352.
Published online 13 November 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1166585] (in Science Express Research Articles)
Infrared images from the Keck and Gemini telescopes reveal three giant planets orbiting counterclockwise around a young star, in a scaled-up version of our solar system. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Detection of GTP-Tubulin Conformation in Vivo Reveals a Role for GTP Remnants in Microtubule Rescues

Ariane Dimitrov, Mélanie Quesnoit, Sandrine Moutel, Isabelle Cantaloube, Christian Poüs, and Franck Perez
Science 28 November 2008: 1353-1356.
Published online 16 October 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1165401] (in Science Express Research Articles)
GTP-bound tubulin is found at microtubule ends in living cells and also within microtubules, where it may promote repolymerization and avert microtubule collapse. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Resolving Vacuum Fluctuations in an Electrical Circuit by Measuring the Lamb Shift

A. Fragner, M. Göppl, J. M. Fink, M. Baur, R. Bianchetti, P. J. Leek, A. Blais, and A. Wallraff
Science 28 November 2008: 1357-1360.
A solid-state qubit in an electrical circuit connected to a vacuum field shows a shift in its transition energy level, a classic quantum effect typically seen in isolated atoms. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

A Cryptand-Encapsulated Germanium(II) Dication

Paul A. Rupar, Viktor N. Staroverov, and Kim M. Baines
Science 28 November 2008: 1360-1363.
A cage-like molecule typically used to sequester hard metal cations such as Ca²⁺ in solution proves capable of capturing the softer, elusive free germanium ion Ge²⁺. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Carbonatite Melts and Electrical Conductivity in the Asthenosphere

Fabrice Gaillard, Mohammed Malki, Giada Iacono-Marziano, Michel Pichavant, and Bruno Scaillet
Science 28 November 2008: 1363-1365.
The electrical conductivity of molten carbonates is higher than that of silicate minerals; thus, minor amounts of carbonate melt could explain electrical signals of Earth's mantle. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Tight Regulation of Unstructured Proteins: From Transcript Synthesis to Protein Degradation

Jörg Gsponer, Matthias E. Futschik, Sarah A. Teichmann, and M. Madan Babu
Science 28 November 2008: 1365-1368.
Yeast proteins with unstructured regions tend to be highly regulated, consistent with the idea that these regions may mediate critical regulatory protein-protein interactions. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Structural Evidence for Common Ancestry of the Nuclear Pore Complex and Vesicle Coats

Stephen G. Brohawn, Nina C. Leksa, Eric D. Spear, Kanagalaghatta R. Rajashankar, and Thomas U. Schwartz
Science 28 November 2008: 1369-1373.
Published online 30 October 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1165886] (in Science Express Reports)
The protein complex that controls entry and exit from the cell nucleus shares a structural element with vesicle coat proteins, suggesting that it is built around a lattice-like scaffold. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Widespread Threat of Calcium Decline in Fresh Waters

Adam Jeziorski, Norman D. Yan, Andrew M. Paterson, Anna M. DeSellas, Michael A. Turner, Dean S. Jeffries, Bill Keller, Russ C. Weeber, Don K. McNicol, Michelle E. Palmer, Kyle McIver, Kristina Arseneau, Brian K. Ginn, Brian F. Cumming, and John P. Smol
Science 28 November 2008: 1374-1377.
As calcium levels decline in Canadian lakes, populations of a keystone prey crustacean are being depleted, with likely consequences for freshwater food webs. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Genomic Analysis of the Clonal Origins of Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Charles G. Mullighan, Letha A. Phillips, Xiaoping Su, Jing Ma, Christopher B. Miller, Sheila A. Shurtleff, and James R. Downing
Science 28 November 2008: 1377-1380.
The cells responsible for relapse of a particular type of leukemia are often not the same cells that gave rise to the original disease. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

A Genetic Framework for the Control of Cell Division and Differentiation in the Root Meristem

Raffaele Dello Ioio, Kinu Nakamura, Laila Moubayidin, Serena Perilli, Masatoshi Taniguchi, Miyo T. Morita, Takashi Aoyama, Paolo Costantino, and Sabrina Sabatini
Science 28 November 2008: 1380-1384.
The number of stem cells in plant roots is controlled by an auxin-cytokine feedback loop in which a particular gene integrates signals from both hormones. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Chromosome Alignment and Transvection Are Antagonized by Condensin II

Tom A. Hartl, Helen F. Smith, and Giovanni Bosco
Science 28 November 2008: 1384-1387.
A Drosophila protein required for dissolution of homologous chromosome bundles independently prevents long-distance effects of one allele on the transcription of its homolog. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

An Epigenetic Role for Maternally Inherited piRNAs in Transposon Silencing

Julius Brennecke, Colin D. Malone, Alexei A. Aravin, Ravi Sachidanandam, Alexander Stark, and Gregory J. Hannon
Science 28 November 2008: 1387-1392.
In Drosophila, small RNAs derived from transposons are inherited from the mother and directly inhibit activation of these potentially detrimental transposons in offspring. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

PA-824 Kills Nonreplicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Intracellular NO Release

Ramandeep Singh, Ujjini Manjunatha, Helena I. M. Boshoff, Young Hwan Ha, Pornwaratt Niyomrattanakit, Richard Ledwidge, Cynthia S. Dowd, Ill Young Lee, Pilho Kim, Liang Zhang, Sunhee Kang, Thomas H. Keller, Jan Jiricek, and Clifton E. Barry, 3rd
Science 28 November 2008: 1392-1395.
An unusual drug candidate for resistant tuberculosis generates nitrous acid and thus acts as an intracellular nitric oxide donor, augmenting the innate immune system. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Absence of the SRC-2 Coactivator Results in a Glycogenopathy Resembling Von Gierke's Disease

Atul R. Chopra, Jean-Francois Louet, Pradip Saha, Jie An, Franco DeMayo, Jianming Xu, Brian York, Saul Karpen, Milton Finegold, David Moore, Lawrence Chan, Christopher B. Newgard, and Bert W. O'Malley
Science 28 November 2008: 1395-1399.
In mice, a coactivator binds to a nuclear orphan receptor and regulates glucose-6-phosphatase transcription and thus glucose homeostasis. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Technical Comments

Comment on "Climate-Driven Ecosystem Succession in the Sahara: The Past 6000 Years"

Victor Brovkin and Martin Claussen
Science 28 November 2008: 1326.
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Response to Comment on "Climate-Driven Ecosystem Succession in the Sahara: The Past 6000 Years"

S. Kröpelin, D. Verschuren, and A.-M. Lézine
Science 28 November 2008: 1326.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|