Microbial Ecology

Lost in Microbial Space

Caroline Ash, John Foley, and Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 23 May 2008: 1027.
Summary »|   PDF »|  

News

The Inner Lives of Sponges

Gretchen Vogel
Science 23 May 2008: 1028-1030.
Summary: Symbiotic ties, bioactive compounds, and mysterious distributions of bacteria characterize these ancient invertebrates. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Confusing Kinships

John Bohannon
Science 23 May 2008: 1031-1033.
Summary: Understanding microbial evolution and ecology rests on a solid classification system, but coming up with one is difficult. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Reviews

The Microbial Engines That Drive Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles

Paul G. Falkowski, Tom Fenchel, and Edward F. Delong
Science 23 May 2008: 1034-1039.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Microbial Biogeography: From Taxonomy to Traits

Jessica L. Green, Brendan J. M. Bohannan, and Rachel J. Whitaker
Science 23 May 2008: 1039-1043.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Microbial Ecology of Ocean Biogeochemistry: A Community Perspective

Suzanne L. Strom
Science 23 May 2008: 1043-1045.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 23 May 2008: 981.
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Editorial:
Microbes in the Energy Grid

James Tiedje and Timothy Donohue
Science 23 May 2008: 985.
Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 23 May 2008: 987.
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Science Podcast

Science 23 May 2008: 1096.
Summary »|   Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

NEW PRODUCTS

Science 23 May 2008: 1096.
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News of the Week

SICHUAN DISASTER: Landslides, Flooding Pose Threats as Experts Survey Quake's Impact

Richard Stone
Science 23 May 2008: 996-997.
Summary: Landslides unleashed by the rupture on 12 May of a more than 200-kilometer section of the Longmenshan fault in Sichuan, China, followed by powerful aftershocks, dammed parts of nine rivers, creating 24 new lakes; experts are worried about another catastrophe. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

U.S. AGRICULTURE: Farm Bill Gives Agriculture Research a Higher Profile in the Department

Constance Holden
Science 23 May 2008: 998.
Summary: Spending on basic agricultural research in the United States could grow significantly thanks to a massive farm bill that Congress approved overwhelmingly last week. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

RESEARCH FUNDING: Australia's New Science Budget Gets a Mixed Review

Cheryl Jones
Science 23 May 2008: 998.
Summary: Two of Australia's science agencies are shedding jobs and trimming programs to comply with a new national budget that's both praised and criticized by research leaders. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GLOBAL WARMING: Hurricanes Won't Go Wild, According to Climate Models

Richard A. Kerr
Science 23 May 2008: 999.
Summary: Two new model studies project a modest increase or even a decrease in the frequency and intensity of Atlantic tropical cyclones. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CLIMATE CHANGE: Polar Bear Listing Opens Door to New Lawsuits

Dan Charles
Science 23 May 2008: 1000-1001.
Summary: The Bush Administration's decision last week to list the polar bear as a threatened species is about to spark a new round of litigation over greenhouse gas emissions. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Threat to the World's Plants

Dan Charles
Science 23 May 2008: 1000.
Summary: A day after polar bears made headlines last week (see p. 1000), the world's leading botanical gardens issued a call to remember threatened plants, too. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MICROBIOLOGY: Bacteria Are Picky About Their Homes on Human Skin

Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 23 May 2008: 1001.
Summary: In anticipation of a $115 million, 5-year effort by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, researchers are conducting a census of some of the trillions of bacteria that live within and upon human skin. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceScope

Science 23 May 2008: 999.
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Random Samples

Science 23 May 2008: 993.
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Newsmakers

Science 23 May 2008: 995.
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News Focus

ENGINEERING: A New Great Lake--or Dead Sea?

Richard Stone
Science 23 May 2008: 1002-1005.
Summary: Turkmenistan intends to create a huge lake in the desert by filling a natural depression with drainage water. Critics say it's a bad idea that could even spark a war. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

ENGINEERING: The End of an Intellectual Dark Age?

Richard Stone
Science 23 May 2008: 1004-1005.
Summary: This autumn, 80 top university graduates will begin postgraduate studies in Turkmenistan--the country's first crop of postgrads since 1997. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

COMMUNITY ECOLOGY: All That Makes Fungus Gardens Grow

Elsa Youngsteadt
Science 23 May 2008: 1006-1007.
Summary: The discovery of a parasitic yeast draws attention to the ways that pathogens can stabilize ant agriculture and other symbiotic networks. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ASTROPHYSICS: GLAST Mission Prepares to Explore the Extremes of Cosmic Violence

Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
Science 23 May 2008: 1008-1009.
Summary: NASA's new gamma ray observatory will probe the most energetic radiation ever studied, the product of cataclysmic events deep in space. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 Free Access to Landsat Imagery

Curtis E. Woodcock, Richard Allen, Martha Anderson, Alan Belward, Robert Bindschadler, Warren Cohen, Feng Gao, Samuel N. Goward, Dennis Helder, Eileen Helmer, Rama Nemani, Lazaros Oreopoulos, Joh Schott, Prasad S. Thenkabail, Eric F. Vermote, James Vogelmann, Michael A. Wulder, and Randolph Wynne
Science 23 May 2008: 1011.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Why Rowe-Clark Doesn't Teach by the Book

Rachel Kramer and Vanessa Galarza
Science 23 May 2008: 1011-1012.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Science Education: Should Facts Come First?

Shesen Guo;, Scott Freeman, Janessa Lawhorn, and Alex Zheng
Science 23 May 2008: 1012.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 A Victory for PETA

Cynthia R. Spiess
Science 23 May 2008: 1012.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books et al.

INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY: What Systems Biology Is (Not, Yet)

Corey J. Cain, Debra A. Conte, Marcos E. García-Ojeda, Liza Gómez Daglio, Larry Johnson, Eric H. Lau, Jennifer O. Manilay, Julie Baker Phillips, Nabora Soledad Rogers, Nabora Soledad Stolberg, Holly F. Swift, and Michael N. Dawson
Science 23 May 2008: 1013-1014.
Summary: Students and faculty from an interdisciplinary graduate class on systems biology review two books that offer a variety of perspectives on the field. Alon provides an analytical approach, whereas Boogerd et al. focus on philosophical aspects. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BROWSINGS

Science 23 May 2008: 1013.
Summary: Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EVOLUTION: Hard Facts About Soft Animals

Matthias Glaubrecht
Science 23 May 2008: 1014-1015.
Summary: The contributors combine data from anatomy, ecology, paleontology, and genomics to provide a summary of what we do and do not know about the evolutionary relationships of molluscs. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 23 May 2008: 1015.
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Policy Forum

PUBLIC HEALTH: Public-Private Partnerships and Scientific Imperialism

T. J. Tucker and M. W. Makgoba
Science 23 May 2008: 1016-1017.
Summary: Developed industrial nations are not taking their research and development colleagues of the developing world as equal partners in fighting infectious disease. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Perspectives

ENGINEERING: Wi-Fi-Fo-Fum

Robert Morrow
Science 23 May 2008: 1018-1019.
Summary: A guide to what actually happens when you connect your laptop with Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BIOCHEMISTRY: SNO Removal

Arne Holmgren
Science 23 May 2008: 1019-1020.
Summary: Reduced thioredoxin denitrosylates caspase-3, a key protein involved in cell death. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

OCEAN SCIENCE: Marine Calcifiers in a High-CO₂ Ocean

Victoria J. Fabry
Science 23 May 2008: 1020-1022.
Published online 17 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1157130] (in Science Express Perspectives)
Summary: New results show that the response of marine organisms to ocean acidification varies both within and between species. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MATERIALS SCIENCE: Stronger, Tougher Steels

J. W. Morris Jr.
Science 23 May 2008: 1022-1023.
Summary: Insights into the microstructure and brittle failure of steels is leading to a new generation of structural steels. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: Slicing and Dicing for Small RNAs

James A. Birchler and Harsh H. Kavi
Science 23 May 2008: 1023-1024.
Published online 8 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1159018] (in Science Express Perspectives)
Summary: A new type of small RNA and mode of gene regulation is discovered in fly and mammals. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

RETROSPECTIVE: Edward N. Lorenz (1917-2008)

Kerry Emanuel
Science 23 May 2008: 1025.
Summary: A pioneer of chaos theory had a remarkable ability to distill complex systems to their physical essence. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Brevia

Extending the Sub-Sea-Floor Biosphere

Erwan G. Roussel, Marie-Anne Cambon Bonavita, Joël Querellou, Barry A. Cragg, Gordon Webster, Daniel Prieur, and R. John Parkes
Science 23 May 2008: 1046.
Prokaryotic cells and DNA from Archaea are present at depths greater than 1 kilometer in sediments below the ocean floor, where temperatures range up to 100° Celsius. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Articles

Virus Population Dynamics and Acquired Virus Resistance in Natural Microbial Communities

Anders F. Andersson and Jillian F. Banfield
Science 23 May 2008: 1047-1050.
Fragments of viral genes found within Archaea and Bacteria genomes are part of an antiviral defense system and can be used to identify and track the viruses themselves. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Regulated Protein Denitrosylation by Cytosolic and Mitochondrial Thioredoxins

Moran Benhar, Michael T. Forrester, Douglas T. Hess, and Jonathan S. Stamler
Science 23 May 2008: 1050-1054.
Thioredoxins—known to be antioxidants—also remove nitrosyl groups from a protease to activate it and may also function in this way in other cellular regulatory systems. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Structural Diversity of Sodium

Eugene Gregoryanz, Lars F. Lundegaard, Malcolm I. McMahon, Christophe Guillaume, Richard J. Nelmes, and Mohamed Mezouar
Science 23 May 2008: 1054-1057.
Single-crystal diffraction data reveal that many crystalline phases of sodium, some quite complex, occur near its unusual minimum melting temperature at very high pressure. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Inverse Temperature Dependence of Toughness in an Ultrafine Grain-Structure Steel

Yuuji Kimura, Tadanobu Inoue, Fuxing Yin, and Kaneaki Tsuzaki
Science 23 May 2008: 1057-1060.
A network of fine, fibrous grains formed at high temperatures substantially improves the strength and ductility of a low-alloy steel at low temperatures, where it is typically brittle. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Dislocation-Driven Nanowire Growth and Eshelby Twist

Matthew J. Bierman, Y. K. Albert Lau, Alexander V. Kvit, Andrew L. Schmitt, and Song Jin
Science 23 May 2008: 1060-1063.
Published online 1 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1157131] (in Science Express Reports)
A screw dislocation drives the growth of a nanowire pine tree, in which branches regularly extend from the trunk in a spiral, confirming Eshelby’s theory of dislocations. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Detection of Silica-Rich Deposits on Mars

S. W. Squyres, R. E. Arvidson, S. Ruff, R. Gellert, R. V. Morris, D. W. Ming, L. Crumpler, J. D. Farmer, D. J. Des Marais, A. Yen, S. M. McLennan, W. Calvin, J. F. Bell, III, B. C. Clark, A. Wang, T. J. McCoy, M. E. Schmidt, and P. A. de Souza, Jr.
Science 23 May 2008: 1063-1067.
The rover Spirit has found opaline silica-rich soil and rocks on Mars, providing further evidence for extensive local mineralization by hydrothermal fluids at low pH. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Formation of Box Canyon, Idaho, by Megaflood: Implications for Seepage Erosion on Earth and Mars

Michael P. Lamb, William E. Dietrich, Sarah M. Aciego, Donald J. DePaolo, and Michael Manga
Science 23 May 2008: 1067-1070.
A classic amphitheater-shaped canyon in Idaho, similar to features seen on Mars, formed in a glacial megaflood, not through groundwater seepage at its head as was thought. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Anticorrelated Seismic Velocity Anomalies from Post-Perovskite in the Lowermost Mantle

Alexander R. Hutko, Thorne Lay, Justin Revenaugh, and Edward J. Garnero
Science 23 May 2008: 1070-1074.
Analysis of 10,000 seismic waves passing through the deep mantle shows that a velocity jump 300 kilometers above the core is caused by a phase change in a major mantle mineral. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Materials »|  

Differential Rescue of Light- and Food-Entrainable Circadian Rhythms

Patrick M. Fuller, Jun Lu, and Clifford B. Saper
Science 23 May 2008: 1074-1077.
When hungry, rodents may optimize their chances of finding food by engaging a food-entrained circadian clock in the brain that takes over from the light-driven clock. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Endogenous siRNAs Derived from Transposons and mRNAs in Drosophila Somatic Cells

Megha Ghildiyal, Hervé Seitz, Michael D. Horwich, Chengjian Li, Tingting Du, Soohyun Lee, Jia Xu, Ellen L.W. Kittler, Maria L. Zapp, Zhiping Weng, and Phillip D. Zamore
Science 23 May 2008: 1077-1081.
Published online 10 April 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1157396] (in Science Express Reports)
Endogenous small interfering RNAs transcribed from both transposons and messenger RNAs are found in somatic cells of flies and may act to silence “selfish” genetic elements. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Resource Partitioning and Sympatric Differentiation Among Closely Related Bacterioplankton

Dana E. Hunt, Lawrence A. David, Dirk Gevers, Sarah P. Preheim, Eric J. Alm, and Martin F. Polz
Science 23 May 2008: 1081-1085.
A model of a marine plankton population reveals that ecologically distinct subgroups undergo sympatric speciation fast enough to overcome horizontal gene flow. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

A Polymorphism Within the G6PC2 Gene Is Associated with Fasting Plasma Glucose Levels

Nabila Bouatia-Naji, Ghislain Rocheleau, Leentje Van Lommel, Katleen Lemaire, Frans Schuit, Christine Cavalcanti-Proença, Marion Marchand, Anna-Liisa Hartikainen, Ulla Sovio, Franck De Graeve, Johan Rung, Martine Vaxillaire, Jean Tichet, Michel Marre, Beverley Balkau, Jacques Weill, Paul Elliott, Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, David Meyre, Constantin Polychronakos, Christian Dina, Robert Sladek, and Philippe Froguel
Science 23 May 2008: 1085-1088.
Published online 1 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1156849] (in Science Express Reports)
Variation in a gene for a protein in the pancreas may help explain why people have different levels of fasting blood glucose, a factor that affects disease risk. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Serine Protease TMPRSS6 Is Required to Sense Iron Deficiency

Xin Du, Ellen She, Terri Gelbart, Jaroslav Truksa, Pauline Lee, Yu Xia, Kevin Khovananth, Suzanne Mudd, Navjiwan Mann, Eva Marie Y. Moresco, Ernest Beutler, and Bruce Beutler
Science 23 May 2008: 1088-1092.
Published online 1 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1157121] (in Science Express Reports)
A cell-surface enzyme that cleaves proteins is unexpectedly necessary for sensing when iron levels are low and thereby triggering compensatory absorption of iron from food. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Right and the Good: Distributive Justice and Neural Encoding of Equity and Efficiency

Ming Hsu, Cédric Anen, and Steven R. Quartz
Science 23 May 2008: 1092-1095.
Published online 8 May 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1153651] (in Science Express Reports)
A brain region linked to emotion-processing systems is activated as humans weigh fairness to an individual against benefit for a group. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Technical Comments

Comment on "Brain IRS2 Signaling Coordinates Life Span and Nutrient Homeostasis"

Colin Selman, Steven Lingard, David Gems, Linda Partridge, and Dominic J. Withers
Science 23 May 2008: 1012.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Response to Comment on "Brain IRS2 Signaling Coordinates Life Span and Nutrient Homeostasis"

Akiko Taguchi and Morris F. White
Science 23 May 2008: 1012.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|