MESSENGER

Mercury, Up-Close Again

Brooks Hanson
Science 4 July 2008: 58.
Summary »|   PDF »|  

Reports

Return to Mercury: A Global Perspective on MESSENGER's First Mercury Flyby

Sean C. Solomon, Ralph L. McNutt, Jr., Thomas R. Watters, David J. Lawrence, William C. Feldman, James W. Head, Stamatios M. Krimigis, Scott L. Murchie, Roger J. Phillips, James A. Slavin, and Maria T. Zuber
Science 4 July 2008: 59-62.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Spectroscopic Observations of Mercury's Surface Reflectance During MESSENGER's First Mercury Flyby

William E. McClintock, Noam R. Izenberg, Gregory M. Holsclaw, David T. Blewett, Deborah L. Domingue, James W. Head, III, Jörn Helbert, Timothy J. McCoy, Scott L. Murchie, Mark S. Robinson, Sean C. Solomon, Ann L. Sprague, and Faith Vilas
Science 4 July 2008: 62-65.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Reflectance and Color Variations on Mercury: Regolith Processes and Compositional Heterogeneity

Mark S. Robinson, Scott L. Murchie, David T. Blewett, Deborah L. Domingue, S. Edward Hawkins, III, James W. Head, Gregory M. Holsclaw, William E. McClintock, Timothy J. McCoy, Ralph L. McNutt, Jr., Louise M. Prockter, Sean C. Solomon, and Thomas R. Watters
Science 4 July 2008: 66-69.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Volcanism on Mercury: Evidence from the First MESSENGER Flyby

James W. Head, Scott L. Murchie, Louise M. Prockter, Mark S. Robinson, Sean C. Solomon, Robert G. Strom, Clark R. Chapman, Thomas R. Watters, William E. McClintock, David T. Blewett, and Jeffrey J. Gillis-Davis
Science 4 July 2008: 69-72.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Geology of the Caloris Basin, Mercury: A View from MESSENGER

Scott L. Murchie, Thomas R. Watters, Mark S. Robinson, James W. Head, Robert G. Strom, Clark R. Chapman, Sean C. Solomon, William E. McClintock, Louise M. Prockter, Deborah L. Domingue, and David T. Blewett
Science 4 July 2008: 73-76.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Laser Altimeter Observations from MESSENGER's First Mercury Flyby

Maria T. Zuber, David E. Smith, Sean C. Solomon, Roger J. Phillips, Stanton J. Peale, James W. Head, III, Steven A. Hauck, II, Ralph L. McNutt, Jr., Jürgen Oberst, Gregory A. Neumann, Frank G. Lemoine, Xiaoli Sun, Olivier Barnouin-Jha, and John K. Harmon
Science 4 July 2008: 77-79.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Mercury Cratering Record Viewed from MESSENGER's First Flyby

Robert G. Strom, Clark R. Chapman, William J. Merline, Sean C. Solomon, and James W. Head, III
Science 4 July 2008: 79-81.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Structure of Mercury's Magnetic Field from MESSENGER's First Flyby

Brian J. Anderson, Mario H. Acuña, Haje Korth, Michael E. Purucker, Catherine L. Johnson, James A. Slavin, Sean C. Solomon, and Ralph L. McNutt, Jr.
Science 4 July 2008: 82-85.
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Mercury's Magnetosphere After MESSENGER's First Flyby

James A. Slavin, Mario H. Acuña, Brian J. Anderson, Daniel N. Baker, Mehdi Benna, George Gloeckler, Robert E. Gold, George C. Ho, Rosemary M. Killen, Haje Korth, Stamatios M. Krimigis, Ralph L. McNutt, Jr., Larry R. Nittler, Jim M. Raines, David Schriver, Sean C. Solomon, Richard D. Starr, Pavel Trávnícek, and Thomas H. Zurbuchen
Science 4 July 2008: 85-89.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MESSENGER Observations of the Composition of Mercury's Ionized Exosphere and Plasma Environment

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, Jim M. Raines, George Gloeckler, Stamatios M. Krimigis, James A. Slavin, Patrick L. Koehn, Rosemary M. Killen, Ann L. Sprague, Ralph L. McNutt, Jr., and Sean C. Solomon
Science 4 July 2008: 90-92.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Mercury's Exosphere: Observations During MESSENGER's First Mercury Flyby

William E. McClintock, E. Todd Bradley, Ronald J. Vervack, Jr., Rosemary M. Killen, Ann L. Sprague, Noam R. Izenberg, and Sean C. Solomon
Science 4 July 2008: 92-94.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

This Week in Science

Editor summaries of this week's papers.
Science 4 July 2008: 12.
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Editorial:
Reviewing Peer Review

Bruce Alberts, Brooks Hanson, and Katrina L. Kelner
Science 4 July 2008: 15.
Summary »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Editors' Choice

Highlights of the recent literature.
Science 4 July 2008: 16.
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Science Podcast

Science 4 July 2008: 144.
Summary: In the Science Podcast for 4 July: hear about possible clues to sudden infant death syndrome, first Mercury flyby in 33 years, preserving Iraqi antiquities, and more. Full Text »|   Transcript »|  

NEW PRODUCTS

Science 4 July 2008: 144.
Summary »|   PDF »|  

News of the Week

FLORIDA: Big Land Purchase Triggers Review of Plans to Restore Everglades

Erik Stokstad
Science 4 July 2008: 22.
Summary: An $11 billion plan to restore the Everglades will likely get an overhaul after a major land deal last week by the state of Florida. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

CLIMATE CHANGE: California Emissions Plan to Explore Use of Offsets

Eli Kintisch
Science 4 July 2008: 23.
Summary: Measuring the costs and benefits of projects intended to offset the emission of greenhouse gases is one of many thorny issues that the state of California must tackle as it begins drafting a cap-and-trade system of carbon credits. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PALEONTOLOGY: Life's Innovations Let It Diversify, at Least Up to a Point

Richard A. Kerr
Science 4 July 2008: 24-25.
Summary: On page 97 of this week's issue of Science, paleontologists present a renalaysis of the total diversity of marine invertebrates over the past 400 million years. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EVOLUTION: Where Have All Thoreau's Flowers Gone?

Elizabeth Pennisi
Science 4 July 2008: 24-25.
Summary: By retracing Henry David Thoreau's footsteps during his famous stay at Walden Pond, researchers have detected a disturbing pattern in the fate of scores of plant species as the New England climate has changed since Thoreau's time, one that they described last week at the Evolution 2008 meeting. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

GENOMICS: Billion-Dollar Cancer Mapping Project Steps Forward

Jocelyn Kaiser
Science 4 July 2008: 26-27.
Summary: Leaders of an ambitious effort to find all common mutations in human cancers delivered their first results to a U.S. government panel last week along with a plain message: Their $100 million pilot is paying off. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

MARINE BIOLOGY: Panel to Take Closer Look at Scientific Whaling

Dennis Normile
Science 4 July 2008: 26.
Summary: Is Japan's research whaling, which claims about 1000 whales a year, scientific investigation or disguised commercial whaling? A new review process endorsed by the International Whaling Commission last week at its 60th annual meeting hopes to get closer to the answer. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

APPLIED PHYSICS: Tiny Transistor Gets a Good Sorting Out

Robert F. Service
Science 4 July 2008: 27.
Summary: On page 101 of this week's issue of Science, researchers report separating and patterning semiconducting tubes in a single step to form the heart of a transistor that turned off and on much more efficiently than previous transistors made with bunches of nanotubes. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

ScienceScope

Science 4 July 2008: 25.
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Random Samples

Science 4 July 2008: 19.
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Newsmakers

Science 4 July 2008: 21.
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News Focus

ARCHAEOLOGY: Preserving Iraq's Battered Heritage

Andrew Lawler
Science 4 July 2008: 28-30.
Summary: Archaeologists have feared for Iraq's unique archaeological treasures since war began 5 years ago. Now, despite continued unrest, a team returning from southern Iraq bears surprisingly good news. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Podcast Interview »|  

ARCHAEOLOGY: On Iraq's Front Lines

Andrew Lawler
Science 4 July 2008: 29.
Summary: Abdel-Amir Hamdani, director of antiquities in the Nasiriyeh region of southern Iraq, spent 3 months in jail for opposing plans to build a dozen brick factories on top of an important archaeological site. Hamdani's tribulations reflect the precarious state of Iraq's archaeological heritage 5 years after the war began (see main text). Full Text »|   PDF »|  

EPILEPSY: When Death Strikes Without Warning

Jennifer Couzin
Science 4 July 2008: 31-33.
Summary: After years of neglect, a devastating effect of epilepsy, sudden death, is drawing new scrutiny. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

PARTICLE PHYSICS: Competing Teams Plot Two Different Paths to a New Particle Smasher

Adrian Cho
Science 4 July 2008: 34-35.
Summary: To make a new collider, physicists in Japan plan to push an existing machine to its limits. Others in Italy hope to cobble one together from old parts and a bright idea. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Letters

 Painful Publishing

Martin Raff, Alexander Johnson, and Peter Walter
Science 4 July 2008: 36.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 The Enemy Within

Victor L. Roggli
Science 4 July 2008: 36.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 The Limits of Water Pumps

Lixin Wang and Paolo D'Odorico
Science 4 July 2008: 36-37.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Omissions in GLAST Story

Giovanni F. Bignami, T. Maccacaro, R. Petronzio, and M. Tavani
Science 4 July 2008: 37.
Full Text »|   PDF »|  

 Frogs on a Plane

Jane Rigg
Science 4 July 2008: 37.
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Books et al.

YOUTH NONFICTION: Inspiring Experiences in Science

Susan Kovats
Science 4 July 2008: 39-40.
Summary: Three books from the Women's Adventures in Science series present the experiences and research of a wildlife biologist, a robot designer, and a biomechanist to encourage young readers' interests. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

HISTORICAL FICTION: Newton's Ghosts

Jan Golinski
Science 4 July 2008: 40-41.
Summary: Alchemy, Isaac Newton, and suspicious deaths in 17th- and 20th-century Cambridge are among the ingredients of this historical novel. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCE COMMUNITY: First Adventures in Science

Barbara Jasny
Science 4 July 2008: 41.
Summary: In these essays, MIT students (former and current) and mentors describe the crucial roles particular objects played in sparking their choice of science as a vocation. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SCIENCE FICTION: Cities Not Built to Last

Guy Riddihough
Science 4 July 2008: 42-43.
Summary: Despite its shortcomings, Arthur C. Clarke's first novel conveys his "sweeping vistas, grand ideas, and ultimately optimistic view of humankind's future in the cosmos." Full Text »|   PDF »|  

BROWSINGS

Science 4 July 2008: 42-43.
Summary: Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Books Received

Science 4 July 2008: 43.
Summary »|  

Policy Forum

SCIENCE AND GOVERNMENT: An Earth Systems Science Agency

Mark Schaefer, D. James Baker, John H. Gibbons, Charles G. Groat, Donald Kennedy, Charles F. Kennel, and David Rejeski
Science 4 July 2008: 44-45.
Summary: Addressing serious environmental and economic challenges in the United States will require organizational changes at the federal level. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Perspectives

NEUROSCIENCE: The Scale of Experience

Michael E. Hasselmo
Science 4 July 2008: 46-47.
Summary: Specific cells in the hippocampus allow the rat brain to track spatial location at different scales. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

SOCIOLOGY: Indirect Social Influence

Jerker Denrell
Science 4 July 2008: 47-48.
Summary: To what extent are our decision-making and learning processes influenced indirectly by others? Full Text »|   PDF »|  

NEUROSCIENCE: Transient Dynamics for Neural Processing

Misha Rabinovich, Ramon Huerta, and Gilles Laurent
Science 4 July 2008: 48-50.
Summary: A computational view of how perception and cognition can be modeled as dynamic patterns of transient activity within neural networks. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

MATERIALS SCIENCE: A Unique Platform for Materials Design

Timothy P. Lodge
Science 4 July 2008: 50-51.
Summary: By combining ionic liquids with block polymers, a virtually unlimited range of composite materials can be prepared. Full Text »|   PDF »|  

OCEANS: Carbon Emissions and Acidification

Richard E. Zeebe, James C. Zachos, Ken Caldeira, and Toby Tyrrell
Science 4 July 2008: 51-52.
Summary: Avoiding environmental damage from ocean acidification requires reductions in carbon dioxide emissions regardless of climate change. Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Review

Neuronal Diversity and Temporal Dynamics: The Unity of Hippocampal Circuit Operations

Thomas Klausberger and Peter Somogyi
Science 4 July 2008: 53-57.
Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Brevia

Reduced Responses to Selection After Species Range Expansion

Benoit Pujol and John R. Pannell
Science 4 July 2008: 96.
An annual spurge with a geographical range that expanded after the Ice Age shows decreased response to selection at the edges of its new range, as predicted by theory. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Research Article

Phanerozoic Trends in the Global Diversity of Marine Invertebrates

John Alroy, Martin Aberhan, David J. Bottjer, Michael Foote, Franz T. Fürsich, Peter J. Harries, Austin J. W. Hendy, Steven M. Holland, Linda C. Ivany, Wolfgang Kiessling, Matthew A. Kosnik, Charles R. Marshall, Alistair J. McGowan, Arnold I. Miller, Thomas D. Olszewski, Mark E. Patzkowsky, Shanan E. Peters, Loïc Villier, Peter J. Wagner, Nicole Bonuso, Philip S. Borkow, Benjamin Brenneis, Matthew E. Clapham, Leigh M. Fall, Chad A. Ferguson, Victoria L. Hanson, Andrew Z. Krug, Karen M. Layou, Erin H. Leckey, Sabine Nürnberg, Catherine M. Powers, Jocelyn A. Sessa, Carl Simpson, Adam Tomasovych, and Christy C. Visaggi
Science 4 July 2008: 97-100.
A compilation of more than 3 million specimens of fossil marine invertebrates shows that their diversity increased more in the Jurassic and less since then than an earlier study implied. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Reports

Self-Sorted, Aligned Nanotube Networks for Thin-Film Transistors

Melburne C. LeMieux, Mark Roberts, Soumendra Barman, Yong Wan Jin, Jong Min Kim, and Zhenan Bao
Science 4 July 2008: 101-104.
Treating silicon substrates with a silane layer allows them to absorb spin-coated, semiconducting carbon nanotubes, yielding aligned and densely packed nanotube films. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Relativistic Spin Precession in the Double Pulsar

Rene P. Breton, Victoria M. Kaspi, Michael Kramer, Maura A. McLaughlin, Maxim Lyutikov, Scott M. Ransom, Ingrid H. Stairs, Robert D. Ferdman, Fernando Camilo, and Andrea Possenti
Science 4 July 2008: 104-107.
Four years of data track the spin precession of a pulsar orbiting a second pulsar, providing a positive test of general relativity in a strong gravitational field. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Characterization of Step-Edge Barriers in Organic Thin-Film Growth

Gregor Hlawacek, Peter Puschnig, Paul Frank, Adolf Winkler, Claudia Ambrosch-Draxl, and Christian Teichert
Science 4 July 2008: 108-111.
In contrast to the growth of inorganic films, bending of a rod-shaped organic molecule at step edges and its anisotropy leads to a change from growth of layers to terraced mounds. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Large and Rapid Melt-Induced Velocity Changes in the Ablation Zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet

R. S. W. van de Wal, W. Boot, M. R. van den Broeke, C. J. P. P. Smeets, C. H. Reijmer, J. J. A. Donker, and J. Oerlemans
Science 4 July 2008: 111-113.
Measurements of ice velocity across western Greenland show that the ice sheet responds within days to excess meltwater, although annual flow has slowed a bit over 17 years. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|  

Mg/Al Ordering in Layered Double Hydroxides Revealed by Multinuclear NMR Spectroscopy

Paul J. Sideris, Ulla Gro Nielsen, Zhehong Gan, and Clare P. Grey
Science 4 July 2008: 113-117.
Rapid sample spinning during nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveals a highly ordered cation distribution in layered materials. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Autophagy Is Essential for Preimplantation Development of Mouse Embryos

Satoshi Tsukamoto, Akiko Kuma, Mirei Murakami, Chieko Kishi, Akitsugu Yamamoto, and Noboru Mizushima
Science 4 July 2008: 117-120.
As fertilized mouse eggs develop into embryos and maternal proteins are eliminated, the degradative process of autophagy is required for proper growth. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Phylogenetic Signal in the Eukaryotic Tree of Life

Michael J. Sanderson
Science 4 July 2008: 121-123.
A survey of sequences in GenBank, which represent about 10 percent of described species, shows that the patchy distribution of data is insufficient to build a eukaryotic tree of life. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Accelerated Human Population Growth at Protected Area Edges

George Wittemyer, Paul Elsen, William T. Bean, A. Coleman O. Burton, and Justin S. Brashares
Science 4 July 2008: 123-126.
Contrary to expectations, human populations living near protected areas in 45 countries in Africa and Latin America are increasing nearly twice as fast as other rural ones. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Robust, Tunable Biological Oscillations from Interlinked Positive and Negative Feedback Loops

Tony Yu-Chen Tsai, Yoon Sup Choi, Wenzhe Ma, Joseph R. Pomerening, Chao Tang, and James E. Ferrell, Jr.
Science 4 July 2008: 126-129.
Analysis of known and theoretical oscillatory circuits in cells shows that those with both negative and positive feedback are more robust and allow frequency control independent of amplitude. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Sporadic Autonomic Dysregulation and Death Associated with Excessive Serotonin Autoinhibition

Enrica Audero, Elisabetta Coppi, Boris Mlinar, Tiziana Rossetti, Antonio Caprioli, Mumna Al Banchaabouchi, Renato Corradetti, and Cornelius Gross
Science 4 July 2008: 130-133.
In young mice, expression of higher than normal levels of a type of serotonin receptor causes sporadic death with features reminiscent of sudden infant death syndrome. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  Podcast Interview »|  

Myosin I Can Act As a Molecular Force Sensor

Joseph M. Laakso, John H. Lewis, Henry Shuman, and E. Michael Ostap
Science 4 July 2008: 133-136.
Myosin I, a motor protein that plays a role in hearing, is a sensitive tension sensor, reacting to small loads (less than 2 picoNewtons) by binding for much longer times to actin. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

The Spread of Ras Activity Triggered by Activation of a Single Dendritic Spine

Christopher D. Harvey, Ryohei Yasuda, Haining Zhong, and Karel Svoboda
Science 4 July 2008: 136-140.
Published online 12 June 2008 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1159675] (in Science Express Reports)
When strengthened, individual synapses on dendritic spines contain an activated small regulatory protein that spreads to nearby spines, possibly altering their sensitivity. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|  

Finite Scale of Spatial Representation in the Hippocampus

Kirsten Brun Kjelstrup, Trygve Solstad, Vegard Heimly Brun, Torkel Hafting, Stefan Leutgeb, Menno P. Witter, Edvard I. Moser, and May-Britt Moser
Science 4 July 2008: 140-143.
The rat hippocampus provides a representation of the animal's entire spatial environment, coding distances up to 1 meter away in the dorsal region and up to 15 meters at the ventral tip. Abstract »|   Full Text »|   PDF »|   Supporting Online Material »|