This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 9 May 2008: 713.
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Editorial:
AIDS and the Next 25 Years

Alan Bernstein
Science 9 May 2008: 717.
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Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 9 May 2008: 718.
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Science Podcast

Science 9 May 2008: 815.
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NEW PRODUCTS

Science 9 May 2008: 815.
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News of the Week

U.S. SCIENCE POLICY: Going From RAGS to Riches Is Proving to Be Very Difficult

Jeffrey Mervis
Science 9 May 2008: 728-729.
A parade of speakers last week gave the U.S. government failing grades for not heeding the recommendations in Rising Above the Gathering Storm calling for bigger research budgets, more undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, changes in immigration policy, and an improved environment for innovation. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ARCHAEOLOGY: Ancient Algae Suggest Sea Route for First Americans

Michael Balter
Science 9 May 2008: 729.
A paper on page 784 of this week's issue of Science provides some support for the hypothesis that the first Americans took the coastal route from Asia rather than traveling inland. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GENOMICS: Genome Speaks to Transitional Nature of Monotremes

Elizabeth Finkel
Science 9 May 2008: 730.
An analysis of the platypus genome reveals how its DNA is an amalgam of mammalian and reptilian features. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EVOLUTION IN THE SCHOOLS: States Push Academic Freedom Bills

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Science 9 May 2008: 731.
Politicians in five U.S. states are pushing bills to enable educators to teach alternatives to evolution by protecting their "right" to discuss with students the idea of intelligent design. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Chinese Province Crafts Pioneering Law to Thwart Biopiracy

Richard Stone
Science 9 May 2008: 732-733.
Officials in southern China's Guizhou Province are hoping to head off future attempts at "biopiracy"--the plunder of natural resources--by enshrining the protection of indigenous knowledge into law. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceScope

Science 9 May 2008: 731.
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Random Samples

Science 9 May 2008: 725.
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Newsmakers

Science 9 May 2008: 727.
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News Focus

NEUROBIOLOGY: The Roots of Morality

Greg Miller
Science 9 May 2008: 734-737.
Neurobiologists, philosophers, psychologists, and legal scholars are probing the nature of human morality using a variety of experimental techniques, including one reported online this week in Science, and moral challenges. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PLANETARY SCIENCE: To Touch the Water of Mars and Search for Life's Abode

Richard A. Kerr
Science 9 May 2008: 738-739.
The Phoenix lander will soon arrive at Mars to perform the first analyses of martian water and to probe the rocky polar soil as a habitat for life; it has been a struggle. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Talk Nerdy to Me

Karen Heyman
Science 9 May 2008: 740-741.
A surprise hit, the new TV comedy The Big Bang Theory plumbs science for laughs, thanks to aid from physicist David Saltzberg and friend. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Video Clips »|  

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: Into the Wild: Reintroduced Animals Face Daunting Odds

Virginia Morell
Science 9 May 2008: 742-743.
Researchers in the emerging field of wildlife reintroduction battle hawks, habitat loss, and poachers to give animals a second chance. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 Lost in Transliteration

Lixin Wang
Science 9 May 2008: 745.
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 Evolution and Faith: Empathy Is Misplaced

Craig W. Stevens
Science 9 May 2008: 745.
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 Evolution and Faith: Empathy Is Crucial

Andrew Whipple
Science 9 May 2008: 745-746.
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 Data Discrepancies in Solar-Climate Link

Raymond T. Pierrehumbert
Science 9 May 2008: 746.
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 Living Up to Ancient Civilizations

Geoffrey P. Glasby
Science 9 May 2008: 746.
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 Corrections and Clarifications

Science 9 May 2008: 746.
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Books et al.

HISTORY OF SCIENCE: Protesting Scientists

Audra J. Wolfe
Science 9 May 2008: 747.
The author examines the postwar growth of scientists' activism against the bonds that linked U.S. science to the military and governmental power. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

TECHNOLOGY: Designers and Builders

Thomas P. Hughes
Science 9 May 2008: 748.
Rather than a continuous narrative or theoretical analysis, this profusely illustrated exploration of the relations between architects and engineers offers six extended essays on topics ranging from the impact of military construction and organization to training in the two professions. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 9 May 2008: 748.
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Policy Forum

PUBLIC HEALTH: Reassessing HIV Prevention

Malcolm Potts, Daniel T. Halperin, Douglas Kirby, Ann Swidler, Elliot Marseille, Jeffrey D. Klausner, Norman Hearst, Richard G. Wamai, James G. Kahn, and Julia Walsh
Science 9 May 2008: 749-750.
The largest investments in AIDS prevention targeted to the general population are being made in interventions where the evidence for large-scale impact is uncertain. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Perspectives

PHYSICS: Designer Atomic Nuclei

Bradley M. Sherrill
Science 9 May 2008: 751-752.
New isotopes with unusual decay modes or number of neutrons are having impacts in areas ranging from astrophysics to medicine. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ECOLOGY: How the Sahara Became Dry

Jonathan A. Holmes
Science 9 May 2008: 752-753.
A continuous lake record elucidates how Saharan climate changed gradually from humid to today's desert conditions. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

AIDS/HIV: A STEP into Darkness or Light?

John P. Moore, P. J. Klasse, Matthew J. Dolan, and Sunil K. Ahuja
Science 9 May 2008: 753-755.
The recent failure of a vector-based HIV vaccine may be explained by individual subjects' immune capacity and genetics. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOCHEMISTRY: Tinkering with Acellular Division

Joe Lutkenhaus
Science 9 May 2008: 755-756.
Self organization of proteins involved in bacterial cell division is demonstrated in vitro. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MATERIALS SCIENCE: High-Frequency Chip Connections

Todd J. Spencer, Tyler Osborn, and Paul A. Kohl
Science 9 May 2008: 756-757.
Advanced interconnects will be required to keep pace with the increasing speed of future microelectronics. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOGEOCHEMISTRY: News About Nitrogen

M. Claire Horner-Devine and Adam C. Martiny
Science 9 May 2008: 757-758.
Discoveries of microbial pathways, players, and population dynamics challenge conventional models of the nitrogen cycle. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Review

Toward an AIDS Vaccine

Bruce D. Walker and Dennis R. Burton
Science 9 May 2008: 760-764.
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Research Article

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

S. Kröpelin, D. Verschuren, A.-M. Lézine, H. Eggermont, C. Cocquyt, P. Francus, J.-P. Cazet, M. Fagot, B. Rumes, J. M. Russell, F. Darius, D. J. Conley, M. Schuster, H. von Suchodoletz, and D. R. Engstrom
Science 9 May 2008: 765-768.
A climate record from lake sediments in Chad shows that the Sahara changed gradually from a tropical ecosystem to a desert, not abruptly as implied by Atlantic dust layers. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Controlled Phase Shifts with a Single Quantum Dot

Ilya Fushman, Dirk Englund, Andrei Faraon, Nick Stoltz, Pierre Petroff, and Jelena Vuckovic
Science 9 May 2008: 769-772.
A single quantum dot coupled to a photonic crystal can be used to shift the phase of light by up to π/4 radians at the single photon level, as needed for quantum logic operations. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Conditional Dynamics of Interacting Quantum Dots

Lucio Robledo, Jeroen Elzerman, Gregor Jundt, Mete Atatüre, Alexander Högele, Stefan Fält, and Atac Imamoglu
Science 9 May 2008: 772-775.
Controlled coherent manipulation is realized in a pair of self-assembled quantum dots: The optical response of one depends on the state of the other. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Subnanometer Motion of Cargoes Driven by Thermal Gradients Along Carbon Nanotubes

Amelia Barreiro, Riccardo Rurali, Eduardo R. Hernández, Joel Moser, Thomas Pichler, László Forró, and Adrian Bachtold
Science 9 May 2008: 775-778.
Published online 10 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1155559] (in Science Express Reports)
A segment of the outer shell of a multiwall carbon nanotube can move back and forth in response to a thermal gradient created by electrical current passing through the nanotube. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Fracture Propagation to the Base of the Greenland Ice Sheet During Supraglacial Lake Drainage

Sarah B. Das, Ian Joughin, Mark D. Behn, Ian M. Howat, Matt A. King, Dan Lizarralde, and Maya P. Bhatia
Science 9 May 2008: 778-781.
Published online 17 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1153360] (in Science Express Reports)
A large lake on the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet drained out through and along the base of the Ice Sheet within 2 hours, revealing an efficient basal hydrological system. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Seasonal Speedup Along the Western Flank of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Ian Joughin, Sarah B. Das, Matt A. King, Ben E. Smith, Ian M. Howat, and Twila Moon
Science 9 May 2008: 781-783.
Published online 17 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1153288] (in Science Express Reports)
Measurements of ice motion from Greenland show that summer meltwater accelerates ice sheet flow by 50 to 100% overall but has less effect in the faster outlet glaciers. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Monte Verde: Seaweed, Food, Medicine, and the Peopling of South America

Tom D. Dillehay, C. Ramírez, M. Pino, M. B. Collins, J. Rossen, and J. D. Pino-Navarro
Science 9 May 2008: 784-786.
Carbon-14 dates on seaweed brought to Monte Verde, Chile, show that the site was used 14,000 years ago and that the earliest New World people consumed marine resources. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America

M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Dennis L. Jenkins, Anders Götherstrom, Nuria Naveran, Juan J. Sanchez, Michael Hofreiter, Philip Francis Thomsen, Jonas Binladen, Thomas F. G. Higham, Robert M. Yohe, II, Robert Parr, Linda Scott Cummings, and Eske Willerslev
Science 9 May 2008: 786-789.
Published online 3 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1154116] (in Science Express Reports)
Fossil human feces from an Oregon cave predate the Clovis culture by about 1000 years, and DNA from the feces marks the presence of Native Americans in North America. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Spatial Regulators for Bacterial Cell Division Self-Organize into Surface Waves in Vitro

Martin Loose, Elisabeth Fischer-Friedrich, Jonas Ries, Karsten Kruse, and Petra Schwille
Science 9 May 2008: 789-792.
Two proteins that define the plane of cell division self-organize into waves and spirals on a flat membrane, suggesting that these patterns underlie their function in vivo. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reconstitution of Contractile FtsZ Rings in Liposomes

Masaki Osawa, David E. Anderson, and Harold P. Erickson
Science 9 May 2008: 792-794.
Published online 17 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1154520] (in Science Express Reports)
A tubulin homolog from prokaryotes can, without other proteins, assemble into rings around liposomes and constrict, suggesting a primordial cell division mechanism. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Architecture of a Charge-Transfer State Regulating Light Harvesting in a Plant Antenna Protein

Tae Kyu Ahn, Thomas J. Avenson, Matteo Ballottari, Yuan-Chung Cheng, Krishna K. Niyogi, Roberto Bassi, and Graham R. Fleming
Science 9 May 2008: 794-797.
To protect itself from oxidative damage in bright light, photosystem II operates a tunable shunt that directs excess energy to a yellow accessory pigment that is abundant in corn. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Phosphorylation of Retinoblastoma Protein by Viral Protein with Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Function

Adam J. Hume, Jonathan S. Finkel, Jeremy P. Kamil, Donald M. Coen, Michael R. Culbertson, and Robert F. Kalejta
Science 9 May 2008: 797-799.
A human cytomegalovirus protein takes control of the host cell cycle by mimicking a cell cycle kinase that phosphorylates and inactivates a tumor suppressor. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity in Response to Climate Change in a Wild Bird Population

Anne Charmantier, Robin H. McCleery, Lionel R. Cole, Chris Perrins, Loeske E. B. Kruuk, and Ben C. Sheldon
Science 9 May 2008: 800-803.
A 47-year study of great tits in Britain shows that the ability of individual birds to shift their breeding date has enabled the species to thrive as climate has changed. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Temperature Sensing by an Olfactory Neuron in a Circuit Controlling Behavior of C. elegans

Atsushi Kuhara, Masatoshi Okumura, Tsubasa Kimata, Yoshinori Tanizawa, Ryo Takano, Koutarou D. Kimura, Hitoshi Inada, Kunihiro Matsumoto, and Ikue Mori
Science 9 May 2008: 803-807.
Published online 10 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1148922] (in Science Express Reports)
An olfactory neuron in Caenorhabditis elegans also senses the ambient temperature and is necessary for worms’ propensity to seek out the temperature at which they were raised. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Discovery of a Cytokine and Its Receptor by Functional Screening of the Extracellular Proteome

Haishan Lin, Ernestine Lee, Kevin Hestir, Cindy Leo, Minmei Huang, Elizabeth Bosch, Robert Halenbeck, Ge Wu, Aileen Zhou, Dirk Behrens, Diane Hollenbaugh, Thomas Linnemann, Minmin Qin, Justin Wong, Keting Chu, Stephen K. Doberstein, and Lewis T. Williams
Science 9 May 2008: 807-811.
A systematic, functional screen of extracellular proteins in yeast identified a previously unknown receptor-ligand pair: the cytokine interleukin-34 and its receptor. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Regulation of the Cellular Heat Shock Response in Caenorhabditis elegans by Thermosensory Neurons

Veena Prahlad, Tyler Cornelius, and Richard I. Morimoto
Science 9 May 2008: 811-814.
Activation of a heat-sensitive sensory neuron in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans unexpectedly triggers a heat-shock response throughout the animal. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Technical Comments

Comment on "Absence of Cooling in New Zealand and the Adjacent Ocean During the Younger Dryas Chronozone"

Patrick J. Applegate, Thomas V. Lowell, and Richard B. Alley
Science 9 May 2008: 746.
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Response to Comment on "Absence of Cooling in New Zealand and the Adjacent Ocean During the Younger Dryas Chronozone"

Timothy T. Barrows, Scott J. Lehman, L. Keith Fifield, and Patrick De Deckker
Science 9 May 2008: 746.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|