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142 The Next Big Beam? 155 Electron Nematic Phases Proliferate
>> Science Podcast E. Fradkin and S. A. Kivelson
>> Report p. 181
LETTERS
REVIEW
144 Editorial Expression of Concern
B. Alberts 167 CRISPR/Cas, the Immune System
Financial Conflicts of Interest of Bacteria and Archaea
Worth Knowing P. Horvath and R. Barrangou
K. B. Wray page 146
CONTENTS continued >>
COVER DEPARTMENTS
Corals such as this 150-million-year-old colony of 123 This Week in Science
Thecosmilia trichotoma (with oyster Actinostreon attached) 127 Editors’ Choice
from southern Germany formed reefs during most of the 128 Science Staff
Phanerozoic eon. These reefs harbored tremendous biodiversity 129 Random Samples
that was subsequently exported to non-reef habitats. 221 New Products
See page 196. 222 Science Careers
Photo: Antje Dittmann and Carola Radke/Museum für Naturkunde,
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www.sciencexpress.org Activation and Shear-Dependent Thrombus
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Kepler Planet-Detection Mission:
M. Elvers et al.
Introduction and First Results
W. J. Borucki et al. In the absence of PLD1, platelets do not form
stable aggregates under high shear conditions.
Initial observations confirm the existence of planets
with densities lower than those predicted for gas PERSPECTIVE: New Endogenous Regulators
giant planets. of Class I Histone Deacetylases
10.1126/science.1185402 A. Riccio
Gamma-Ray Emission from the Shell Extracellular stimuli can elicit alterations in
of Supernova Remnant W44 Revealed gene transcription through regulation of histone
by the Fermi LAT deacetylases by sphingosine-1-phosphate.
A. A. Abdo et al. PODCAST
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Cradle of Diversity
Is the biological diversity of reefs a result of
attracting species that originated elsewhere, or
are they particularly important as cradles of
evolution? Kiessling et al. (p. 196; see the
<< Niche Metamorphosis
cover) examine a large database of fossil ben- The gut epithelium is continually renewed
thic marine organisms dating back to the by cells generated from intestinal stem
Cambrian to test these questions. It seems cells. In the fruit fly Drosophila, cells of
that reefs, even in comparison to other shal- the adult gut are derived from cells set
low marine environments, were indeed impor- aside before metamorphosis. Mathur et
tant during the origination of new species, al. (p. 210) now show that an early asym-
including ones that migrate elsewhere. metric cell division in larval stages estab-
lishes a niche that encloses a proliferating
group of undifferentiated stem cells. At meta-
Nematic Electronic Order morphosis, the niche breaks down and the stem
cells are freed. Most of them differentiate into adult gut
in Iron Superconductors progenitors, but a minority takes on the task of establishing a
The properties of many high-temperature super- new, adult, stem cell niche with more liberal operating rules.
conductors vary strongly as the composition of a
doping element changes, and at sufficient
under- or overdoping, other phases with differ-
ent types of electronic ordering can form.
Chuang et al. (p. 181; see the Perspective by
Stars Going Quietly rotation rate of a small body—that causes
material to slide toward the equator. This
Fradkin and Kivelson) use scanning tunneling or with a Bang effect may have produced Steins’s distinctive
microscopy techniques to probe the electronic Stars with masses seven to ten times the mass diamond-like shape.
structure of an underdoped compound in the of the Sun, which can burn carbon in their
iron superconductor family, Ca(Fe1–xCox)2As2. cores at their end of their lives, may end up as
They observed periodic nanostructures oriented oxygen-neon core white dwarfs or explode as CRISPR Defenses
along Fe–Fe bonds that exhibit an electronic core-collapse supernovae. The defining line Prokaryotes can be infected by parasites and
ordering related to ordering seen in nematic between these two end products of stellar evo- pathogens and, like eukaryotes, have evolved
liquid crystals. lution is not well understood. Gänsicke et al. systems to protect themselves. Horvath and
(p. 188; published online 12 November) identi- Barrangou (p. 167) review a recently discov-
fied two white dwarfs whose photospheric oxy- ered prokaryotic “immune system” character-
Hidden Symmetry Revealed gen-to-carbon abundance ratio exceeds unity. ized by CRISPR—clustered regularly inter-
It is not often that an exact theory can describe Their low carbon abundance and their large spaced short palindromic repeats—found in
a many-particle quantum-mechanical system, quantity of oxygen imply that they are oxygen- most archaeal and many bacterial species.
but one of the few exceptions is the behavior neon white dwarfs that lost their hydrogen CRISPR loci harbor short sequences captured
of a string of ferromagnets—an Ising chain— envelopes. As such, they may have evolved from viruses and invasive genetic elements.
at magnetic field strengths that separate dif- from stars at the borderline between stars that These sequences are transcribed, and the RNA
ferent types of explode as supernova and stars that is cleaved into short CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) by
ordering. Its exci- form white dwarfs. one of a family of CRISPR-associated (cas) pro-
tations were pre- teins. These crRNAs direct other cas family pro-
dicted 20 years teins to homologous nucleic acid targets to
ago to be gov- Smooth Space Pebble effect their destruction. Through its ability to
erned by the sym- In September 2008, on its way to impede the spread of specific nucleic acid
metry group E8, meet comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasi- sequences, the CRISPR/Cas systems might be
CREDITS (TOP TO BOTTOM): DIVYA MATHUR; COLDEA ET AL.
one of the most menko, the Rosetta spacecraft flew exploited to block the dissemination of anti-
intriguing objects by asteroid Steins, a member of a biotic-resistance markers.
in mathematics. very rare class of asteroids that had
Now, Coldea et al. never been observed closely by
(p. 177) report direct spacecraft. Keller et al. (p. 190) Recruiting the Components
experimental confirmation of this result in a analyzed the images to generate a reconstruc-
quasi-one-dimensional Ising ferromagnet tion of the asteroid’s shape. Steins is oblate for Cell Division
CoNb2O6, which they probed by neutron scat- with an effective spherical diameter of 5.3 kilo- A complete chromosome set must be appor-
tering. Two of the eight predicted excitations meters, and it lacks small craters, which may tioned to each daughter cell during cell divi-
could be observed. Moreover, the ratio of the have been erased by surface reshaping. Indeed, sion. A number of molecular mechanisms check
two lowest excitations is in quantitative agree- Steins’s shape resembles that of a body that that chromosome pairs or homologs are cor-
ment with the so-called “golden ratio” pre- was spun-up by the YORP effect—a torque pro-
dicted by theory. duced by incident sunlight, which can alter the Continued on page 124
Anti-MicroRNA Antiviral
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs found in eukaryotes and viruses. They are critical reg-
ulators of a wide range of cellular processes. The highly conserved miRNA miR-122 is required for
infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV), a leading cause of liver disease in humans. Present HCV treat-
ment regimes can have serious side effects and are effective in only 50% of cases. In order to try to
tackle HCV infection, Lanford et al. (p. 198, published online 3 December) targeted miR-122 using a
complementary locked nucleic acid (LNA) oligonucleotide. Treatment of chimpanzees infected by HCV
with the LNA antagonist resulted in a long-term reduction of disease symptoms without the concomi-
tant appearance of resistant strains of the virus.
support that institution, both through its members serving as reviewers and panel members,
and by fighting to secure its continuation. EMBO has occasionally advised national agen-
cies on their local research institutions, always stressing the importance of free and open
structures. I look forward to working with my colleagues throughout Europe to advance both
EMBO and European science in the same spirit. The large issues before us include changes
required in the culture and organization of scientific publishing, as well as strengthening
connections with scientific institutions and scientists beyond the borders of Europe.
–Maria Leptin
10.1126/science.1185865
such as dihaloacetonitriles, may be produced. Ultimately, the quality of desalinated seawater destabilize the hydrates
should pose little threat to human health or aquatic ecosystems, thus increasing the likelihood and add methane (a
that desalination will remain a viable option for meeting our freshwater demands. — NW potent greenhouse gas) to
Wat. Res. 10.1016/j.watres.2009.11.015 (2009). the atmosphere. Substan-
tial release of this stored
methane could accelerate
CHEMISTRY the base treatment with a redox protocol asserts the rate and amount of
some degree of control over the directionality of global warming consider-
Big Steps for Little Feet
the stroll. — JSY ably above current esti-
Macroscopic robots can already walk—the trou- Nat. Chem. 10.1038/nchem.481 (2009). mates. Sadly, we still understand little about this
ble is getting them to think. At the molecular possibility. Archer et al. present initial calcula-
scale, though, channeling stochastic motion into EVOLUTION tions of the amount of methane contained in the
something resembling a series of purposeful hydrates, as well as estimates of how much
strides is still a great challenge. Von Delius et al.
Sulfate Supplier might be released in various anthropogenic
now show that carefully designed feet appended The mitochondrion was kidnapped from the global warming scenarios. Their calculations
to a small hydrocarbon chain can shuffle to and ranks of free-living bacteria, and subsequently show that humankind does have the capacity to
fro along a four-site track under proper chemical coerced in various ways by eukaryotic cells to cause large methane releases from the sea floor,
stimulation. One foot forms disulfide bonds to supply them with energy in the form of ATP syn- and correspondingly great additional warming,
two of the track sites, whereas the other forms thesized by means of aerobic respiration. Histori- and that the impact of such release is likely to
hydrazone linkages to interspersed sites. By cally, anaerobic cells were thought to lack mito- occur over millennia rather than abruptly over
introducing acids or bases that selectively favor chondria, but this prohibition has been modified the next century, making the issue a long-term
these respective reactions, the authors shift the somewhat with the discovery of intracellular danger rather than an immediate one. — HJS
chain’s position one step at a time. Replacing organelles sporting mitochondrion-like features Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106, 20596 (2009).
SENIOR EDITORIAL BOARD F. Fleming Crim, Univ. of Wisconsin Stephen Jackson, Univ. of Cambridge Edward M. Rubin, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
William Cumberland, Univ. of California, Los Angeles Steven Jacobsen, Univ. of California, Los Angeles Shimon Sakaguchi, Kyoto Univ.
John I. Brauman, Chair, Stanford Univ. Jeff L. Dangl, Univ. of North Carolina Peter Jonas, Universität Freiburg Michael J. Sanderson, Univ. of Arizona
Richard Losick, Harvard Univ. Stanislas Dehaene, Collège de France Barbara B. Kahn, Harvard Medical School Jürgen Sandkühler, Medical Univ. of Vienna
Linda Partridge, Univ. College London Edward DeLong, MIT Daniel Kahne, Harvard Univ. David W. Schindler, Univ. of Alberta
Michael S. Turner, University of Chicago Emmanouil T. Dermitzakis, Univ. of Geneva Medical School Gerard Karsenty, Columbia Univ. College of P&S Paul Schulze-Lefert, Max Planck Inst., Cologne
Robert Desimone, MIT Bernhard Keimer, Max Planck Inst., Stuttgart Christine Seidman, Harvard Medical School
Claude Desplan, New York Univ. Elizabeth A. Kellog, Univ. of Missouri, St. Louis Terrence J. Sejnowski, The Salk Institute
BOARD OF REVIEWING EDITORS Dennis Discher, Univ. of Pennsylvania Hanna Kokko, Univ. of Helsinki Richard J. Shavelson, Stanford Univ.
Adriano Aguzzi, Univ. Hospital Zürich Scott C. Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. Lee Kump, Penn State Univ. David Sibley, Washington Univ.
Takuzo Aida, Univ. of Tokyo. W. Ford Doolittle, Dalhousie Univ. Mitchell A. Lazar, Univ. of Pennsylvania Joseph Silk, Univ. of Oxford
Joanna Aizenberg, Harvard Univ. Jennifer A. Doudna, Univ. of California, Berkeley David Lazer, Harvard Univ. Montgomery Slatkin, Univ. of California, Berkeley
Sonia Altizer, Univ. of Georgia Julian Downward, Cancer Research UK Virginia Lee, Univ. of Pennsylvania Davor Solter, Inst. of Medical Biology, Singapore
David Altshuler, Broad Institute Denis Duboule, Univ. of Geneva/EPFL Lausanne Olle Lindvall, Univ. Hospital, Lund Joan Steitz, Yale Univ.
Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Univ. of California, San Francisco Christopher Dye, WHO Marcia C. Linn, Univ. of California, Berkeley Elsbeth Stern, ETH Zürich
Richard Amasino, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison Michael B. Elowitz, Calif. Inst. of Technology John Lis, Cornell Univ. Yoshiko Takahashi, Nara Inst. of Science and Technology
Angelika Amon, MIT Gerhard Ertl, Fritz-Haber-Institut, Berlin Richard Losick, Harvard Univ. Jurg Tschopp, Univ. of Lausanne
Meinrat O. Andreae, Max Planck Inst., Mainz Mark Estelle, Indiana Univ. Ke Lu, Chinese Acad. of Sciences Derek van der Kooy, Univ. of Toronto
Kristi S. Anseth, Univ. of Colorado Barry Everitt, Univ. of Cambridge Laura Machesky, CRUK Beatson Inst. for Cancer Research Bert Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins Univ.
John A. Bargh, Yale Univ. Paul G. Falkowski, Rutgers Univ. Andrew P. MacKenzie, Univ. of St Andrews Ulrich H. von Andrian, Harvard Medical School
Cornelia I. Bargmann, Rockefeller Univ. Ernst Fehr, Univ. of Zurich Raul Madariaga, École Normale Supérieure, Paris Bruce D. Walker, Harvard Medical School
Ben Barres, Stanford Medical School Tom Fenchel, Univ. of Copenhagen Anne Magurran, Univ. of St Andrews Christopher A. Walsh, Harvard Medical School
Marisa Bartolomei, Univ. of Penn. School of Med. Alain Fischer, INSERM Charles Marshall, Harvard Univ. David A. Wardle, Swedish Univ. of Agric Sciences
Scott E. Fraser, Cal Tech Martin M. Matzuk, Baylor College of Medicine Graham Warren, Max F. Perutz Laboratories
Facundo Batista, London Research Inst. Chris D. Frith, Univ. College London Virginia Miller, Washington Univ.
Ray H. Baughman, Univ. of Texas, Dallas Wulfram Gerstner, EPFL Lausanne Yasushi Miyashita, Univ. of Tokyo Colin Watts, Univ. of Dundee
Yasmine Belkaid, NIAID, NIH Charles Godfray, Univ. of Oxford Richard Morris, Univ. of Edinburgh Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Inst., Tübingen
Stephen J. Benkovic, Penn State Univ. Diane Griffin, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Edvard Moser, Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology Jonathan Weissman, Univ. of California, San Francisco
Ton Bisseling, Wageningen Univ. Public Health Sean Munro, MRC Lab. of Molecular Biology Sue Wessler, Univ. of Georgia
Mina Bissell, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Christian Haass, Ludwig Maximilians Univ. Naoto Nagaosa, Univ. of Tokyo Ellen D. Williams, Univ. of Maryland
Peer Bork, EMBL Steven Hahn, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center James Nelson, Stanford Univ. School of Med. Ian A. Wilson, The Scripps Res. Inst.
Robert W. Boyd, Univ. of Rochester Gregory J. Hannon, Cold Spring Harbor Lab. Timothy W. Nilsen, Case Western Reserve Univ. Jerry Workman, Stowers Inst. for Medical Research
Paul M. Brakefield, Leiden Univ. Niels Hansen, Technical Univ. of Denmark Helga Nowotny, European Research Advisory Board Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Harvard Univ.
Joseph A. Burns, Cornell Univ. Dennis L. Hartmann, Univ. of Washington Stuart H. Orkin, Dana-Farber Cancer Inst. John R. Yates III, The Scripps Res. Inst.
William P. Butz, Population Reference Bureau Chris Hawkesworth, Univ. of St. Andrews Elinor Ostrom, Indiana Univ. Jan Zaanen, Leiden Univ.
Mats Carlsson, Univ. of Oslo Martin Heimann, Max Planck Inst., Jena Jonathan T. Overpeck, Univ. of Arizona Huda Zoghbi, Baylor College of Medicine
Peter Carmeliet, Univ. of Leuven, VIB James A. Hendler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. P. David Pearson, Univ. of California, Berkeley Maria Zuber, MIT
Mildred Cho, Stanford Univ. Ray Hilborn, Univ. of Washington John Pendry, Imperial College
David Clapham, Children’s Hospital, Boston Michael E. Himmel, National Renewable Energy Lab. Reginald M. Penner, Univ. of California, Irvine BOOK REVIEW BOARD
David Clary, Oxford University Kei Hirose, Tokyo Inst. of Technology Simon Phillpot, Univ. of Florida John Aldrich, Duke Univ.
J. M. Claverie, CNRS, Marseille Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Univ. of Queensland Philippe Poulin, CNRS David Bloom, Harvard Univ.
Jonathan D. Cohen, Princeton Univ. Brigid L. M. Hogan, Duke Univ. Medical Center Colin Renfrew, Univ. of Cambridge Angela Creager, Princeton Univ.
Andrew Cossins, Univ. of Liverpool Ronald R. Hoy, Cornell Univ. Trevor Robbins, Univ. of Cambridge Richard Shweder, Univ. of Chicago
Robert H. Crabtree, Yale Univ. Olli Ikkala, Helsinki Univ. of Technology Barbara A. Romanowicz, Univ. of California, Berkeley Ed Wasserman, DuPont
Wolfgang Cramer, Potsdam Inst. for Climate Impact Research Meyer B. Jackson, Univ. of Wisconsin Med. School Jens Rostrup-Nielsen, Haldor Topsoe Lewis Wolpert, Univ. College London
128 8 JANUARY
Y 2010
20 VOL 327 SCIENCE
SC NCE www.sciencemag.org
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RANDOMSAMPLES
E D I T E D B Y C O N S TA N C E H O L D E N
Kinesthetic? Creative? Practical? Analytical? cludes that if a teaching technique is good, it’s month, Obama named Egyptian Nobel
Divergent? Assimilative? Accommodating? better for everyone regardless of learning style. Prize–winning physicist Ahmed Zewail—
There’s a huge industry out there on “learning The lack of hard evidence suggests that “people now at the California Institute of Technology
styles.” It’s based on the theory that people learn out there are selling tests and packages and work- in Pasadena—as the United States’s “scien-
best when taught in a manner compatible with shops without having any remote idea whether the tific envoy” to the Middle East. Science
their style. But now a team of psychologists argues methods they promote provide any real educa- spoke with Tareq Hussein, a particle physi-
that the literature offers no evidence that such tional benefits,” says Pashler. The report appeared cist and president of the Egyptian Academy
“matching” improves learning. in the December issue of Psychological Science in of Scientific Research and Technology,
The authors, headed by Harold Pashler of the the Public Interest. about the developments.
University of California, San Diego, set a rigorous Psychologist Robert Sternberg of Tufts
standard: For any experiment to be valid, it must University in Medford, Massachusetts, says the Q: Do Egyptian scientists have ideas for
randomly assign students to two different teaching paper “does not even begin to be a serious review the new U.S. funds?
conditions on a particular subject, then give them of the field. … [In] limiting themselves to random- Zewail was here 2 weeks ago to discuss the
all the same test. The theory is supported if stu- assignment studies, they ignored almost the entire ideas. One idea is to give real funding to
dents who prefer teaching style literature.” Just so, says [Jordan’s research synchrotron] SESAME. It
“A” do better than stu- Pashler—most of needs about $100 million. Another area of
dents who prefer style it is “weak.” interest is solar energy. We are talking with
Italy and Spain about building a prototype
electrical grid, linking to Europe with cables
under the Mediterranean. But an even higher
priority than energy is food security. We are
working very hard on agricultural biotech-
nology. We really need crops that are
drought-resistant, even growing when irri-
gated with salty water.
133 134
PUBLIC HEALTH But attitudes are changing with the push
for personalized medicine; many say that
U.S. Panel Favors Wider Use NNTs now deemed acceptable are too high,
with too many people taking drugs who won’t
be helped by them directly. “We should be
Of Preventive Drug Treatment able to do much better” at predicting who’s
most likely to fall ill and treating that narrower
If regulators agree, the pool of people in the centage of those treated: After less than cohort, says Eric Topol, a cardiologist and
United States eligible for cholesterol-lowering 2 years on Crestor, 142 people, or 1.6%, director of the Scripps Translational Science
drugs could soon expand dramatically to who got the drug had had a cardiac event, Institute in San Diego, California.
include as many as 6 million people whose such as a heart attack, stroke, or hospitaliza- CRP, for example, is a crude measure
cholesterol levels fall within a normal range. tion for angina, compared with 251, or 2.8%, that’s not tightly linked to inflammation of
The potential boon to drugmakers and preven- who received a placebo (Science, 14 Nov- the arteries: It can also rise in someone with
tive health care came from an advisory com- ember 2008, p. 1039). Although the number gingivitis or an inflamed joint. Cardiologists
mittee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administra- directly helped was small, last month an hope to f ind more ref ined markers. One
tion (FDA). The panel last month endorsed a FDA advisory committee voted 12 to 4 to possibility was reported on 24 December in
wider use for Crestor, a statin manufactured offer Crestor to anyone who f its the a paper in The New England Journal of
by AstraZeneca. The decision, which could JUPITER risk profile. Medicine, in which researchers discussed
affect other statins too, raises tough questions: Extrapolating JUPITER’s results to a two new genetic variants associated with
Who should get potentially risky medications wider population could be the lipoprotein Lp(a),
to cut the chance of a deadly disease? And tricky. Like other statins, Currently eligible which appear to substan-
CREDITS: (TABLE SOURCES) S. WOLOSHIN ET AL., JOURNAL OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE 22, 2 (FEBRUARY 2007); FDA; (BOTTOM, PHOTO) SHOUT/ALAMY
how many healthy people is it reasonable to Crestor can have side ef- for statins tially raise the risk of coro-
treat to avoid one heart attack? fects, including muscle 53 million nary disease.
Statins, which have been around since weakness and liver toxicity. Currently taking Whether guided by
1987, bring down cholesterol and lower the (It’s also expensive at more statins (approx.) CRP or something else,
risk of heart attack and stroke. They are than $3 a day.) And al- 18 million proposals for widespread
already taken by millions with no overt dis- though JUPITER’s results Additional group statin use are intensely
ease but with high LDL cholesterol. The could prompt a wider use of eligible for statins debated these days. Some
under JUPITER
definition of “high LDL” has been trending all statins, no one knows 6 million see the benefits as undeni-
downward in recent years, however, and sci- whether the benefits con- able. Preventive cardiolo-
entists are considering new groups for ferred in the JUPITER trial On the rise. 18 million U.S. residents gist Daniel Rader of the
whom the benef its of statins might out- would translate to other use statins, including Crestor. University of Pennsylvania
weigh the risks. cholesterol drugs. points out that even aver-
A clinical trial highlighted one of these In prevention circles, physicians often talk age-risk individuals in middle age, looking
groups in late 2008. Called JUPITER, it of the “number needed to treat” (NNT): how ahead 30 years, have a relatively high chance
enrolled 17,800 middle-aged men and many people must receive a preventive ther- of heart disease—as much as 30% or even
women whose LDL cholesterol levels were apy for one case to be avoided. The NNT in the higher. It’s not pertinent to focus solely on
healthy by current standards but who had JUPITER trial matches up favorably with NNT, he argues, which is “more of an eco-
high blood levels of a marker for inflamma- NNTs in other cohorts treated to prevent cardio- nomic issue” than a health consideration.
tion called c-reactive protein (CRP). Bene- vascular disease. JUPITER’s researchers, led Although “I don’t think I’m quite ready to
fits appeared quickly in a very modest per- by cardiologist Paul Ridker of Brigham and say that when you turn a certain age, start
Women’s Hospital in Boston, esti- your statin,” says Rader, he did just that him-
mated that treating 29 people for 5 years self when he hit 50 last year. But given that
would prevent one cardiovascular statins have side effects, many cardiologists
event. That’s somewhat more impres- are leery of modifying guidelines without
sive than the NNT for people with hard evidence.
slightly elevated cholesterol who Another reason for caution is that some
already take statins and, Ridker points past efforts to expand preventive care have not
out, for those who take blood pressure stood the test of time. For example, says
drugs to prevent heart problems. Fur- Steven Nissen, chair of cardiovascular medi-
thermore, any NNT drops over time: cine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, “millions
As a cohort sticks with statins for many of Americans [were] told to take an aspirin a
years, the number of heart attacks pre- day” to prevent heart attacks. But several
vented climbs (as does the number of years ago, an FDA advisory panel on which
Avoidable? Heart attack is something statins can prevent. people coping with drug side effects). Nissen sat “overwhelmingly” agreed that for
140 142
those at low risk, the hazards of aspirin, such for a much wider audience could result in vascular risks, says Victor Vogel, national vice
as bleeding, outweigh its benefits. “A therapy many takers. Statins are already enormously president for research at the American Cancer
became established in very low-risk individu- popular, and physicians working in prevention Society in Atlanta. In cancer, “there was a lot
als when, on further reflection, there’s evi- in other fields have been intrigued by the num- of criticism that drugs used for prevention
dence it’s the wrong thing to do,” Nissen says. ber of people who willingly take them for have to be absolutely safe,” a standard Vogel
Some cardiologists don’t want to chance a years. In breast and prostate cancer, on the considers unrealistic—and one that doesn’t
repeat with the statins, and because of that other hand, for which drugs exist that can cut apply to statins, either.
possibility, stress that any extension of statin 5-year risk of those cancers by as much as FDA hasn’t made its final determination
use be considered only for people like those in half, relatively few opt for them. “We apply a yet but usually follows its advisory commit-
JUPITER, with high CRP. different standard when it comes to cancer tees’ recommendations. It’s expected to rule
If history is any guide, approving Crestor risk reduction” than when slashing cardio- later this year. –JENNIFER COUZIN-FRANKEL
JAPAN
planning for the RIKEN Harima Institute, ing with the fiscal 2010 budget proposed by ets go down,” warns Kitazawa. With the new
which operates SPring-8. the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party just party bypassing the bureaucrats, Taira says sci-
Meanwhile, the Japan Agency for Marine- 2 days before its historic electoral defeat. In entists need to find new ways to influence pol-
Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is November, a task force set up to identify fat in icy. “Exactly how we’re going to do that, we
facing a 6% cut to its annual budget of roughly the budget recommended freezing spending don’t know yet,” he says. –DENNIS NORMILE
CHINA
ECOLOGY
CREDIT: PASCAL VERDEYROUX, EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ADVANCED ONLINE EDITION, 2010)
bats can get along detected among Europe’s Europe for a long time, and European bat
with it,” says Christian species, but researchers did species have evolved immunity, says Emma
Voigt, a bat physiolo- find anecdotal reports of Teeling of UCD, the senior author of the
gist at the Leibniz Insti- bats with white fungus that December paper. Or perhaps the fungus
tute for Zoo and Wild- no one had paid attention evolved greater virulence after arriving in
life Research (IZW) to previously. North America, a possibility that could be
in Berlin. On 12 March, Sébastien investigated with further sequencing.
White-nose syndrome Puechmaille of University Whatever the explanation, the European
was first identified in College Dublin (UCD) reports are “great news,” says Alan Hicks, a
a cave in upstate New Survivor. This French bat was not killed by spotted a mouse-eared bat mammal specialist with New York’s
York in 2006. Since fungus on its nose (arrow). (Myotis myotis) covered Department of Environmental Conserva-
then, it has spread across with fungus in a cave tion in Albany, who has charted the decline
nine states and caused unprecedented mortali- 130 kilometers northeast of Bordeaux, France. of the state’s once-massive bat colonies.
ties. Affected bats emerge from hibernation Microscopic examination of the spores and Eventually, an understanding of these dif-
too frequently and lose body fat, and many two molecular markers showed that it was ferences could help lead to the develop-
starve to death. Last year, a group led by G. destructans, the team reported online ment of a vaccine or treatments for endan-
microbiologist David Bleher t of the 29 December in Emerging Infectious Dis- gered bats, Bleher t says. Meanwhile,
U.S. Geological Survey in Madison, identi- eases. Another group, led by Gudrun researchers are beginning once again to
fied the fungus associated with the syndrome Wibbelt of IZW, has also identified the fun- survey hibernating bats in the Northeast
as Geomyces destructans, but many puzzles gus in bats from three other European coun- United States. Hicks says the signs so far
remain about the nature of the disease, such tries, none reporting bat deaths. Their results are that deaths are continuing.
as whether the bats’ immune systems were have been submitted to the same journal. –ERIK STOKSTAD
INDIA ScienceNOW.org
Fatal Fire and Tritium Poisoning Leave From Science’s
Online Daily News Site
Nuclear Labs Searching for Answers Five New Exoplanets Discovered
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA—A pair of science minister and an AEC member, “we Those hoping that the opening plenary talk
mishaps has left India’s nuclear establishment have not yet been able to exactly pinpoint what of the American Astronomical Society meet-
on edge. On 28 December, two biochemistry … caused the fire.” ing would deliver a stunning revelation
Ph.D. students burned to death in a mysteri- The fire apparently was set off by a midday probably came away disappointed. NASA’s
ous fire in the country’s main nuclear labora- explosion that shook the third floor of BARC’s Kepler mission has added five new planets
tory, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Radiation and Photochemistry Division. Fire- to a growing roster of more than 400 beyond
(BARC) in Mumbai. A month earlier, dozens fighters quickly doused the flames. They our solar system—and none of the newbies
of workers at a nuclear plant in Kaiga were recovered from an analytical chemistry lab— is remotely hospitable to life. But there’s
exposed to tritium in an apparent case of the only area that suffered damage—two bod- still plenty to chew on. One of the plan-
attempted poisoning. ies that had been charred beyond recognition. ets, for example, is as light as Styrofoam—
The incidents—both unsolved as Science The victims were later identified as Umang and that has astronomers scratching their
went to press—raise the specter of “terrorist Singh, 25, and Partha Pratim Bag, 24. heads. http://bit.ly/keplerplanets
elements checking the vulnerability of India’s The fire “is baffling,” says Tulsi Mukherjee,
nuclear establishment before a bigger and director of BARC’s chem- Mosquitoes: Love at First Buzz
more deadly attack is mounted,” argues istry group. The chemistry How do you mate with the right person if
former BARC director A. N. Prasad. Oth- lab where the fire broke out everyone looks exactly the same? That’s a
ers discount that possibility. “I don’t was “not functional,” as it problem that faces the Anopheles gambiae
was being refurbished and complex of mosquitoes, a group that com-
had been painted a few days prises six identical-looking species. The solu-
earlier. “There was just not tion, according to a new study, is to find a
enough incendiary material partner who can sing in perfect harmony with
in the lab to have caused this you. http://bit.ly/mosquitoharmony
devastating fire,” Mukherjee
says. The lab, he says, housed Read the full postings, comments, and more
a spectrophotometer that was on sciencenow.sciencemag.org.
turned off, two computers, a
nitrogen cylinder—intact after
the accident—a laminar flow
hood, and small quantities of sol- Planes, Boats, and
Seeking clues. Last month’s fire at the Bhabha Atomic Research vents. “No one heard any screams Greenhouse Gas
Centre in Mumbai has put AEC “on a war footing,” says commission or shouts of help,” Mukherjee A new report lays out the chal-
chair Srikumar Banerjee. says. Singh and Bag were lenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions
preparing to study the possible from the airplane and boat transportation
believe [that’s the case],” materials scientist use of herbal extracts for radiation protec- sectors. Those sectors make up roughly 3% of
Srikumar Banerjee, chair of India’s Atomic tion, he says, and usually worked with global greenhouse gas emissions, but their
Energy Commission (AEC), told Science on “harmless chemicals.” contribution could increase by 10 times by
the sidelines of the India Science Congress here A more bizarre incident occurred on 2050. Recent moves by the airline industry to
this week. “These are two isolated events.” 24 November at the 220-MW pressurized study biofuels and even hydrogen-powered
Even before the twin incidents, the Depart- heavy water reactor in Kaiga, some 700 km airplanes might mitigate such carbon pollu-
ment of Atomic Energy (DAE) was on height- south of Mumbai. That day, as many as tion, however. http://bit.ly/7mQWQk
ened alert. After U.S. terror suspect David 92 workers drank from a water cooler tainted
C. Headley was arrested in Chicago last Octo- with tritium-laced heavy water. “It was Deadline Looms for Earth-Sensing Satel-
ber in possession of photos of BARC, DAE perhaps the work of some disgruntled lites Congress is demanding that the three
ordered a security audit for all nuclear facili- employee” who spiked the water cooler, says agencies that run the National Polar-orbiting
CREDITS: PALLAVA BAGLA/CORBIS; (INSET) P. BAGLA
ties. Now the department has ordered an addi- Chavan. “The area was a security area; no Operational Environmental Satellite System
tional safety review. “We have been doing this question of anybody from outside coming in.” provide plans to overhaul the management
on a war footing,” says Banerjee. No workers were harmed by the slight expo- structure for the troubled system. As of press
The fatal fire last week was the worst acci- sures to radioactivity, and all have since time, NASA, NOAA, and the Pentagon had yet
dent in BARC’s 55-year history. The facility is returned to work. No arrest has been made so far. to file a report lawmakers wanted by 4 Janu-
home to India’s nuclear weapons program— Like Banerjee, Chavan dismisses a terrorist ary on the costs and management options for
but the fire was “in no way related to the threat but sees an urgent need for stricter meas- the $15 billion system. http://bit.ly/6ackwr
strategic program,” Banerjee says. A DAE ures at labs across India. For starters, Prasad
spokesperson adds that “no reactor, radio- suggests that authorities conduct more rigorous For the full postings and more, go to
activity, or radiation was involved in the acci- background checks on personnel. blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider.
dent.” However, says Prithviraj Chavan, India’s –PALLAVA BAGLA
moths to achieve the same ends. And once (USDA) declined to answer any questions eradicate the Medfly, California’s multi-
again, Carey has surfaced as a relentless from Science about Carey or his scientific billion-dollar-a-year farming industry
voice of dissent. critiques. would be embargoed from shipping produce
to other countries or would be required to was absolutely Yolo The Fight to Eradicate the
Sonoma Napa Light Brown Apple Moth
implement costly control measures. no way in the world
The agencies also noted that trapping that they were going Solano February 2007, Berkeley:
Two moths trapped in the backyard of
Marin
arrays had failed to spot any Medflies after to have any chance retired moth taxonomist Jerry Powell are
Contra Costa San positively identified as LBAM.
each eradication. Carey insisted that a low- to eradicate this Joaquin
level population was lurking below the radar, thing,” he recalls; San Francisco April and May 2007: State and federal
quarantines are imposed on eight counties
but “you can’t prove a negative,” says retired pheromone spraying in the San Francisco Bay and Monterey
Bay areas.
USDA entomologist Derrell Chambers, then and other tools were too San Mateo
Santa Clara June 2008: The state shelves an aerial,
a colleague on the advisory panel. weak to do the job. pheromone-spraying eradication strategy.
Which theory was right? In 2001 and He submitted an aff i- Sprayings in Santa Cruz and Monterey in
Santa Cruz late 2007 had set off public protest.
2002, genetic analyses of Medflies captured davit to that effect—and
San November 2009, Napa and Sonoma:
in the ’90s found evidence for several sepa- thereby leaped into the biggest, Benito Pilot testing of a sterile moth-release
program on vineyards begins and will
rate introductions and for the existence of most bitterly divisive battle over an finish in late 2011.
populations that persisted from one year to invasive species in the Golden State in
Monterey Light Brown Apple Moth collected
the next. “Both things happened, and we 2 decades. Any way one slices it, the 1 January 2009 – 25 September 2009
need to accept that and learn from it,” says $89.5 million moth-eradication plan Total counts per square mile
1 11–25 51–100
David Haymer, a University of Hawaii, has been a public relations disaster. San Luis 2–10 26–50 >100
Manoa, geneticist and co-author of one of Besieged by lawsuits and a f ierce Obispo
Counties Under Federal Quarantine
the studies. Yet, consensus remains elusive backlash from a public fearful of any- Order for LBAM 10 September 2009
In late 2007, Carey received an e-mail traffic can explain the sudden, widespread USDA are moving forward on the expensive
from a citizens group that was filing a lawsuit appearance of a pest like the moth. If so, the sterile-insect technique (SIT). USDA has
to stop the state from spraying pheromone insect should be cropping up in Arizona or been breeding and sterilizing moths for
over Monterey and Santa Cruz. Would Carey other states too, he says.) The NRC panel release as a contraceptive to the insect’s
weigh in on the matter? Given that soon after independently reached the same conclusion reproduction; f ield testing in Napa and
the moth’s discovery, infestations were spot- after reviewing trapping protocols and data Sonoma vineyards began last November and
ted in nine counties—an area of more than from the state and other sources. will continue through late 2011. Carey says
20,000 square kilometers—Carey believed Carey goes so far as to claim that the moth the effort, like the pheromone spraying, is
the invasion was old and too far gone. “There has been in California for 30 to 50 years. “throwing money down a rat hole”; he thinks
“I’m not kidding,” he says—the the state should instead shift to areawide pest
invasion process is chronic, insid- management of the moth.
ious, and long undetectable. His It will take a couple of years to develop a
estimate is roughly extrapolated robust SIT program. By then, even CDFA
from the case of the exotic gypsy science adviser Cardé admits that it is uncer-
moth, which took 4 decades to tain the tool could push back the moth popu-
spread 25,000 square kilometers lation’s boundaries, although it could still
in the Northeast. help manage low-density infestations or
USDA and CDFA have noted eradicate small outlying pockets. Cardé and
that there are no hard data to sup- the technical working group maintain that
port Carey’s calculation. There is had the state been able to carry out the
no way to verify or disprove the pheromone-spraying program to reduce the
estimate, says Ring Cardé, an moth’s population prior to SIT, there was a
Pesky dissenter. Jim Carey, here with his old Medfly plotting insect pheromone researcher at chance of eliminating it. But now, if the inva-
maps, wants more data and less politics in California’s invasive- UC Riverside and an adviser on sion keeps spreading, eradication becomes
pest policymaking. CDFA’s technical working group more and more of a long shot, Cardé says.
Not so bad after all? Scientists are debating Sciences to evaluate the response. In a report last
whether the light brown apple moth truly poses a August, a committee of the academy’s National
major threat to California crops. Research Council determined that APHIS has the
regulatory authority to continue classifying
up to that reputation. More than 257,907 moths the moth as high-risk. But the panel found that
have been trapped in 18 counties from Napa to the agency’s rationale for that rating—which,
Los Angeles, but they haven’t yet made substan- others note, is the basis for justifying the state’s
tial inroads into the prime agricultural Central moth-eradication program—wasn’t grounded in
Valley. Major crop damage hasn’t materialized. sound, rigorous science.
Entomologists Frank Zalom and James Specifically, USDA’s model predicting a dra-
Carey of the University of California, Davis, matic spread of the insect throughout the south-
along with former UC Santa Cruz arboretum ern United States relied upon “questionable”
director Daniel Harder, believe that the state’s assumptions, says May Berenbaum, a University
farmers can learn to live with the exotic of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, entomologist
Gaps in Moth Logic invader—perhaps with the same control tools who chaired the review. That geographic projec-
they already use to manage other moths in the tion was then plugged into assessments of
same leafroller family. Along those lines, two potential national economic damages that used
When the Australian light brown apple moth groups of citizens, including Harder, have peti- “inconsistent and sometimes incomprehensible
was identified in Berkeley in 2007—its first tioned USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspec- analytic techniques,” the reviewers wrote. In an
sighting in North America—the California tion Service (APHIS) to reclassify the insect as a extreme scenario, the USDA analysis estimated
Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and minor pest so that costly quarantine measures $9 billion in yearly losses from global trade
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rushed can be lifted; forget eradication, they say. How- restrictions.
into action to eradicate it. They saw a grave ever, USDA and CDFA maintain that without an Berenbaum says USDA was “between a rock
emergency for California agriculture, and justi- eradication plan, or if the pest’s status were and a hard place” in navigating trade laws and
fiably so, given the insect’s reputation as a vora- downgraded, trading partners (and other making rapid decisions when little is known
cious, indiscriminate eater with a liking for states) would likely permanently ban or slap about how the moth will behave here. It is to
many of the state’s most valuable crop species. restrictions on California produce. (Canada and APHIS’s credit, she adds, that it asked for the
USDA, which had long ranked the moth a high- Mexico have already enacted some restric- academy’s feedback and made some revisions
risk pest that required quarantines to prevent its tions.) Whether USDA can negotiate around in its response, which has not yet been final-
spread, warned that it could be one of the most such barriers is an issue of debate. ized. An APHIS spokesperson wrote in an e-mail
destructive invaders ever. APHIS drafted a denial to the petitioners’ that the agency continues to seek the best pre-
But nearly 3 years later, the insect hasn’t lived request but also asked the National Academy of dictive models. –I.C.
CREDITS: M. THIEL ET AL., ADVANCED MATERIALS 21 (2009) COPYRIGHT WILEY-VCH VERLAG GMBH & CO. KGAA. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION; (INSET) J. GANSEL ET AL., SCIENCE 325 (18 SEPTEMBER 2009)
Conventional optical materials have a
positive index of refraction, a measure of
the speed of light in different materials. The
index change between air and water, for
example, is what causes a straw submerged
in a glass to appear to bend.
In the 1960s, Russian theoretical physi-
cist Victor Veselago realized that if materi-
MATERIALS SCIENCE als could be properly engineered, their
index of refraction could be negative. If
Next Wave of Metamaterials water’s refractive index were negative, for
example, a straw entering it would appear
Hopes to Fuel the Revolution not just to bend but actually to stick out of
the water’s surface. Veselago’s work implied
that flat metamaterials could act like lenses
Designing invisibility cloaks may be fun. But for more practical applications of and produce other counterintuitive phenom-
metamaterials, scientists need to find ways to have less of the light absorbed ena, such as a reverse Doppler effect and
negative refraction.
In 2001, researchers in the United States But the field faces sizable challenges as It took more than 30 years, but in 2001,
and the United Kingdom pulled off a trick well. Despite the researchers’ successes in researchers led by John Pendry, a theoretical
with light that few thought possible: They manipulating electromagnetic waves, the physicist at Imperial College London, and
bent it backward. To be more precise, they fact that most metamaterials are strong light David Smith, now at Duke University in
altered the refraction pattern by shining absorbers and ultrathin has hampered their Durham, North Carolina, made just such a
microwaves at material made from a circuit real-world uses. “Conceptually, there has material. They began with an assembly of
board topped with an array of rings and already been a revolution,” says Martin metal wires and rings, the latter having had
wires. The feat forced physicists every- Wegener, a physicist at the University of a thin slice removed (Science, 6 April 2001,
where to rethink what they thought they Karlsruhe in Germany. “Whether it will p. 77). When Pendry and his colleagues then
knew about manipulating light. lead to revolutionary products remains to be shined microwaves on their metamaterial,
The concoction was the first to demon- seen.” The challenge, Wegener and others the microwaves excited electrons in the
strate this odd light-bending trick. And its neg- say, is to come up with better ways to create metal rings, causing them to slosh back and
ative index of refraction made it one of the complex, three-dimensional patterns in forth. That sloshing produced a resonant
original “metamaterials.” Metamaterials are thick materials and limit their tendency to magnetic field that affected the propagation
composites engineered to manipulate electro- absorb light. of subsequent microwaves, producing a
magnetic waves in new ways. Researchers negative index of refraction. It also spurred
have designed everything from invisibility Active materials a tide of related innovations.
cloaks and lenses that focus light to a point Centuries ago, glassmakers realized that Since then, physicists and materials sci-
smaller than the diffraction limit—the tightest they could focus light by precisely cutting, entists have had little trouble designing
focus possible by conventional optics—to grinding, and polishing glass. That discovery metamaterials that work with radio waves,
materials that mimic the light-trapping ability led to everything from eyeglasses to tele- microwaves, and terahertz waves, all forms
of black holes. “There have been tremendous scopes. More recently, fiber optics has made of electromagnetic radiation with long
developments in metamaterials over the last possible modern communications. All of wavelengths. That’s because the individual
10 years,” says Xiang Zhang, a physicist and these devices manipulate light based on the components of metamaterials must be
metamaterials expert at the University of Cal- chemical composition of the matter through smaller than the wavelength of the light
ifornia (UC), Berkeley. which light travels. they are trying to manipulate. For instance,
Going vertical. Carving intricate structures in then filled those helical vacancies Redesigned rings. Sandia researchers
polymers (far left) is the first step in creating meta- with gold and removed the poly- are patterning gold split rings on
materials with metallic features (left) that can mer to create a 3D array of curved polymer surfaces to manipu-
manipulate light. gold helices. late incoming infrared light.
When they shined
for microwaves that means in the centime- infrared light along the Sinclair reported that he and
ter range. long axis of the helices, the his colleagues at Sandia
But to manipulate shorter wavelength arrays acted like a filter for National Laboratories in
light, such as infrared or visible rays, polarized light, allowing light Albuquerque, New Mexico,
researchers must design metamaterials with certain polarizations to go are developing a technique to
with features on the micrometer or nano through while blocking others. produce metamaterials that work
scale. That’s certainly possible with con- There are already polarization filters with infrared light coming from virtu-
ventional microchip patterning techniques. that work with conventional optics. But the
ally any direction. Instead of depositing
But in many cases the patterns that meta- metamaterial version is able to work over a
magnetic features on a flat surface, the
materials makers are trying to make are much broader range of frequencies. researchers evaporate gold through thin
more complex than microchip patterning Groups are making progress in design-
slits in a membrane onto curved polymer
can handle. ing bulk metamaterials that work with visi-
surfaces. In theory, this should allow them
Absorption is another big problem. ble light as well. In the 18 September 2008
to craft resonant structures with any orien-
Metamaterials work because incoming issue of Nature, for example, Zhang and his
tation they choose. The technique has
light triggers electrons to flow in ways that UC Berkeley colleagues described a bulk-
already proven capable of creating gold
create a standing magnetic f ield that fishnet structure that had a negative refrac-
structures that resonate at a particular fre-
affects the propagation of the light waves tive index for near-infrared light. They
quency, says Sandia team member Bruce
that follow. Researchers typically use met- made the material by stacking alternating
Burckel. The next step is to layer the struc-
als, which are good electrical conductors, layers of silver and magnesium fluoridetures to produce the collective behavior
to make the portions of their metamaterials and used a focused ion beam to cut a fish-
needed for a metamaterial.
that carry electron current. But metals are net pattern of holes into the stack, leaving
also strong absorbers of visible and Gaining ground
behind structures that control the move-
infrared light. ment of electrons. Other researchers have taken a different
Researchers have partly sidestepped the The pairs of conducting and nonconduct-
approach to overcoming absorption losses.
problem for metamaterials The idea is to create struc-
that work in the visible and tures that generate addi -
infrared ranges by using just tional photons when they are
single ultrathin layers of met- hit with light at a particular
als. “The losses are so high frequency, akin to the way
right now, so we can only use lasers produce a swell of
thin films for metamaterials photons at a single fre -
CREDITS (TOP TO BOTTOM): COURTESY OF SANDIA; JASON VALENTINE ET AL., NATURE 455 (18 SEPTEMBER 2008)
Parts of Ancient Worlds look for excuses to use it,” says Sanders.
Many recent archaeology grads are familiar
with virtual techniques, although older
Using techniques borrowed from the entertainment industry, more and more archae- archaeologists may not understand the tech-
ologists are boosting their imaginations and insights with virtual worlds nology as well, says Sanders, leading to “a
digital divide.”
Back in the late 1990s, archaeologist Sam Sanders concluded that the torches could Despite such frivolous roots, virtual
Paley of the University at Buffalo in New have been fueled by several types of fish oil experts are setting their sights on some of
York was frustrated in his study of the throne and positioned to enhance the art so people archaeology’s thorniest scientific problems.
room of the 9th century B.C.E. Northwest could have seen it. Today, “you can walk in For example, one of the enduring mysteries
Palace at Nimrud, the storied Assyrian capi- the palace of a virtual-reality model,” says of American archaeology is why the Ances-
tal in what is now Iraq. The room was embel- Paley. A 3D rendering of the model is now on tral Puebloan peoples, or Anasazi, aban-
lished by paintings and bas reliefs aimed at display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in doned the Four Corners region of the South-
impressing visitors, but the artwork and New York City, and Sanders is at work on a western United States some 700 years ago,
inscriptions were dispersed in bits and pieces reconstruction of the whole palace. leaving striking cliff dwellings behind.
in 60 museums around the globe, and Paley The throne room is a classic example of Decades of study have yielded answers
was having trouble picturing the layout. Then the growth of virtual archaeology, in which including conflict and climate change.
at a conference he heard a presentation by archaeologists use computers to recreate the Researchers with the Village Eco-
Donald Sanders, a leading proponent of environment and conditions of the past, dynamics Project (VEP), led by Tim Kohler
using interactive 3D computer graphics in including objects, buildings, and landscapes of Washington State University, Pullman,
archaeology, and enlisted Sanders’s help. with human actors, such as ancient battles. and Ziad Kobti of the University of Wind-
The pair spent many years getting photo- The field is a natural evolution of archaeol- sor in Canada, took a different tack to solv-
graphs from museums and building a virtual ogy in the digital age, says archaeologist ing the mystery: They virtually recreated a
3D model. Finally, they were able to imagine Maurizio Forte of the University of Califor- prehistoric world, including everything
and test detailed hypotheses about the throne nia, Merced, who spent 3 years recreating the from landscape to climate to human behav-
CREDIT: © 2009 LEARNING SITES INC
room’s layout. For example, had there been landscape of Rome in the second century ior. They were intent on solving several
enough light to see the artwork in the pre- C.E. And although virtual archaeology arose puzzles, including a cycle of population
sumed windowless room? Sanders assumed in the mid-1990s, it is only now going main- growth and decline from 920 to 1280 C.E.,
that the Assyrians used oil torches. Different stream, as archaeologists realize the benefits by which time the Pueblo peoples had left
oils produce light in different ranges of the of using computers to make the most of their the area. Using archaeological data for vari-
spectrum, and certain types of light accentu- necessarily incomplete data. ables such as numbers of households,
ate certain colors, so he simulated various As costs go down, virtual archaeology ethnographic data on behaviors such as
types of oils in strategically situated torches. “definitely is on the rise,” says Sanders, with food sharing, and tree ring and soil data for
climate clues, the researchers meticulously dence suggests movement into defensible The solstice hypothesis could be empiri-
recreated part of the Ancestral Puebloans settings around springs; this is when the cally tested only during sunset on or near
homeland—an 1827-square-kilometer area cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park the June solstice, and the towers are only
in southwest Colorado. were built. The suggestion that the move partially preserved, making verification dif-
Then they put 200 virtual Pueblo house- “might have been due to competition or f icult. So Frischer and colleague Chris
holds on the landscape and let them respond conflict is strengthened by the simulation Johanson of the University of California,
to various real-life scenarios, choosing how results,” says Kohler. The simulations Los Angeles, devised a virtual-empirical
much corn to grow, how many animals to expanded on the existing evidence, reveal- test that eliminates the constraints of time
kill, and so on; their work will be described ing details of the unfortunate tale of “lots of and space. They built a 3D model of the
in a forthcoming book from the University people, organized in a way that was highly topography of the island and the sanctuary.
of California Press. tuned to competition, heavily dependent on Using astronomical data, they reconstructed
“A part of the simulation is looking at the just one resource, and having to cope with the apparent course of the sun at sunset on
economic structure of these societies,” widespread violence,” says Kohler. “Things dates surrounding the winter solstice in the
explains Mark Varien, a VEP archaeologist fell apart.” year 1500 C.E. Their model confirmed the
with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in The work is an innovative example of solstice hypothesis, Frischer and Johnson
Dolores, Colorado. If a household couldn’t what simulations can achieve, says Thomas wrote in a book chapter last year, by showing
grow enough corn to survive, the simulation J. Baerwald of the National Science Founda- that the “solar pillars would have been visi-
shows how they might have ble to the masses of devotees
coped, for example, by trading standing to the south,” says
with another household or Frischer. “Once we have the
spending more time hunting model, we can explore at ran-
game. The simulation is not dom,” he says. “We can be
3D, but the team did put repre- like time travelers.”
sentations of “agents” onto a Although it can be highly
two-dimensional landscape. effective, virtual archaeology
“Spatial relationships are has its problems, too. Sanders
really important,” says Kohler, says virtual models are built
because location was key to on so many different software
determining how a household platforms that “there are
obtained food, water, and no standards,” which makes
wood. Such simulations “let viewing them difficult.
you look at the interaction On the defensive. Simulations Given how easy it is to
between humans and their explored why the Anasazi built — manipulate a virtual
environment” in a way that and later left—their inaccessible model, there is also
traditional archaeology can’t,” cliff dwellings. the matter of trusting
says Varien. its accuracy. He says
One key result: House- researchers should
holds resorted to overhunting deer by tion, who directs the make sure that viewers
900 C.E. Regardless of the variables incor- program that funds know the evidence and
porated in the simulation, households begin VEP. By examining assumptions behind
“to seriously deplete deer populations” at both human activities each model.
that time, says Kohler. and the environment, “Virtual archaeol-
The simulation also suggests, and archae- the VEP team has helped reveal the relation- ogy’s number-one problem is how to collect,
ological evidence confirms, that turkeys were ship between them, Baerwald says. peer-review, and publish all the 3D digital
domesticated at about this time, perhaps models that scientists are making in increas-
because deer were scarce. Another notable Traveling in time ing numbers each year,” Frischer says. “At
result was extensive deforestation, which In addition to recreating ancient buildings the moment, very few of these models,
wasn’t clearly seen in the archaeological and cultures, virtual archaeologists can go which must number over 1000 by now, are
record. “Without the simulation, you couldn’t back in time to test hypotheses. For example, available online. Most—after having been
calculate the effect of people collecting wood many archaeologists believe that the Inka, used once for a specific purpose—are sitting
every day,” says Kohler. who fashioned a vast empire during the 15th in storage on old CD-ROMs and hard disks.”
Kohler believes that many small social and 16th centuries in western South Amer- Frischer hopes to remedy this problem
units of the Ancestral Puebloans merged into ica, built large stone pillars to record the next year by launching SAVE, a peer-
a single large unit that was less-resilient. The sun’s location on the horizon during the sol- reviewed online journal for virtual models,
production of maize, the primary food for stices. Researchers posited that two Inka though he still needs more funds for the ven-
both people and turkeys, declined sharply towers on the Island of the Sun in Lake Titi- ture. He adds that it would be highly ironic if
CREDITS : TIM KOHLER
around 1270 C.E. due to changes in climate caca in Bolivia served as markers of the archaeologists, charged with recording and
that included drought and cooler summers. sun’s position on the winter solstice at sunset publishing on the world’s cultural heritage,
This, along with conflict and environmental (Science, 9 October 1998, p. 227). But other left no record of their own virtual work.
degradation, led to the exodus. scholars speculated instead that the towers –MICHAEL BAWAYA
Around 1250 C.E., archaeological evi- were used as tombs. Michael Bawaya is the editor of American Archaeology.
The Next Big Beam? fields, you can keep injecting more low-
energy particles while higher energy ones are
still being accelerated, leading to a higher cur-
A long-neglected accelerator technology is making a comeback bid, as its proponents rent than a synchrotron.
point to possible applications in experimental physics, medicine, and even nuclear power In the 1990s, with improved magnet tech-
nology and computer modeling, researchers at
If there’s one thing you can be sure about variation on traditional FFAGs that promises the KEK particle physics lab near Tokyo, led
with particle accelerators, it’s that they’re to be even simpler and cheaper. A successful by Yoshiharu Mori, began rethinking FFAGs.
expensive to build. The €3 billion Large demonstration of this so-called nonscaling In 2000 they built a proof-of-principle device
Hadron Collider at CERN is the most FFAG, which is under construction at the with a beam energy of 1 million electron-
extreme example. But even at the other end Daresbury Laboratory in the United King- volts, followed by a 150-MeV machine in
of the scale, a hospital that wants an acceler- dom, could open the floodgates for the appli- 2003. Other researchers took note, and today
ator for proton beam therapy for cancer cation of this technology. “It’ll be beautiful if another six FFAGs have been built, accelerat-
patients will likely have to fork out more than they work,” says Roger Barlow of the Univer- ing protons, electrons, and alpha particles.
$100 million, and neither of the two most sity of Manchester in the United Kingdom. Three others are under construction, and
common existing technologies—cyclotrons FFAGs were first proposed in the 1950s, about 20 designs are in development.
and synchrotrons—is well-suited to the task. and several electron accelerators were built in Now there are also variations on the origi-
Now a handful of accelerator physicists are the United States. But FFAGs require large, nal design. In the late 1990s, researchers in
experimenting with a new type of machine— complex magnets to keep particles on track, the United Kingdom and the United States
a cross between a cyclotron and a synchro- and the technology lost out to the rival synchro- began looking at an FFAG for accelerating
tron—that avoids many of the shortcomings tron, which emerged muons, short-lived particles that need to be
of both and is simpler and cheaper to build.
Proponents of these machines, known as
at about the same
time. Most earlier Online brought up to speed very quickly. The rapid
acceleration, they figured, would also make
f ixed-f ield alternating-gradient (FFAG) accelerators had sciencemag.org possible a radical simplification. In a tradi-
accelerators, say they would be ideal for been cyclotrons— Podcast interview tional FFAG magnet, the field increases by a
with author
applications such as proton therapy, inspect- machines that use a power of the radius as you move away from
Daniel Clery.
ing the contents of cargo containers, and fixed, uniform mag- the center of the ring. This formula keeps the
accelerating muons for a muon collider or netic field to steer beams of fast-moving par- shape of the beam path constant as the beam
neutrino factory. FFAGs may even revive the ticles in a circle. Particles are injected into the gains energy and moves outward—the path
fortunes of a novel type of nuclear reactor middle of the disk-shaped device and once or “scales” with the radius. This scaling sup-
called an energy amplifier, which needs a par- more per circuit are given a “kick” with an presses resonances that can throw the beam
ticle accelerator to drive it. After a modest electric field to speed them up. As they accel- off line. But this requires very complex mag-
start in Japan about 10 years ago, the field is erate, they spiral outward until they reach the nets. The KEK machines “looked the same as
“kind of exploding,” says Carol Johnstone of outer edge of the magnetic field and leave the the [1950s] U.S. ones, very dense with big
CREDIT: BASROC CONFORM
the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory machine. Hence cyclotrons can produce chunky magnets,” says Ken Peach, director of
(Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois. beams of only a single energy, which is lim- the John Adams Institute for Accelerator Sci-
Over the next few months, FFAG fans ited by the size and strength of their magnets. ence in the United Kingdom.
everywhere will be eagerly awaiting the first Synchrotrons take a different approach, The muon collider team realized that if the
beams to whiz around the Electron Model for using a number of variable electromagnets beam accelerates quickly enough, the reso-
Many Applications (EMMA), a prototype of a arranged in a ring and ramping up the mag- nance wouldn’t have time to build up. Hence
they could build magnets that vary linearly F without the external neutrons, so to turn off the
with radius and don’t scale. Such magnets D D reactor you just turn off the beam.
would be smaller and simpler to make. As a The biggest question mark is the accelera-
proof of principle, researchers in the United tor. Those built so far have been one-off
Kingdom and elsewhere designed an electron High E research machines: too expensive, tempera-
accelerator based on a nonscaling FFAG. By mental, and low-powered to keep a nuclear
the time they finished the design in 2005, reactor running. The planned accelerator for
however, no money was available for their Scaling FFAG the European Spallation Source will likely
Low E
long-sought muon collider. cost €400 million and produce a 5-megawatt
They had more success when they teamed D (MW) beam. An ADSR would need twice that
F F
up with some oncologists who saw the FFAG as power. The CONFORM researchers realized
an ideal machine for proton therapy. Cyclotrons that PAMELA’s design could be adapted to
are the standard machines for such treatment, meet the requirements of an ADSR. “As soon
but FFAGs would be cheaper. They could also High E as we looked at the ADSR, it looked like a
easily vary the beam energy to penetrate more goer,” says Robert Cywinski of the University
deeply into tissue, enabling clinicians to scan of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom.
across tumors in 3D to destroy all cancer cells. Nonscaling FFAG Low E Meanwhile, Japanese researchers were
“We were convinced there is a role for FFAGs Quick fix. In scaling FFAGs, particles take same- already thinking along similar lines. Over
in clinical oncology,” says Peach. shaped paths to avoid beam instabilities. Newer FFAGs the past few years, the KEK team has put
With this real-world application in accelerate particles faster than such trouble can arise. together the world’s first ADSR experiment.
prospect, the team won £16 million from the Using the Kyoto University Critical Assembly
U.K. research councils for a 4-year project Barlow says the United Kingdom’s (KUCA) as their reactor, they assembled a
known as CONFORM, which will construct National Health Service is about to call for cascade of three FFAGs boosting a proton
EMMA, design a prototype nonscaling proton bids to build two proton-therapy centers. beam first to 2.5 MeV, then to 20 MeV, and
FFAG for cancer treatment, dubbed FFAGs won’t be ready in time for those jobs, finally to 100 MeV. The researchers made
PAMELA, and look for other applications. but he thinks they could form a second gener- KUCA subcritical by lowering control rods
Now well into the project’s third year, four of ation. “I’m increasingly positive about proton into the uranium core; then, on 4 March 2009,
EMMA’s seven segments are complete, and therapy,” he says. But Johnstone cautions that they fired neutrons into the reactor. Measure-
researchers expect the machine to carry its medical administrators are conservative and ments clearly indicated that the neutron beams
first beam on 1 March. Accelerator physicists reluctant to back new technologies. “It’s hard were triggering sustainable nuclear reactions.
across the world have high expectations for to break into that market,” she says. Mori says that FFAGs show potential for
nonscaling FFAGs, so a lot is riding on Johnstone is, however, working on being able to drive an ADSR, but “it would be
EMMA’s success. another application that may come to fruition necessary to overcome many problems and
Meanwhile, work has been progressing on sooner. In collaboration with the company difficulties, such as beam losses, operational
the design for PAMELA. PAMELA will be Passport Systems Inc. based near Boston, efficiency, reliability, safety, and so on.”
able to accelerate both protons and carbon she has designed ultracompact electron The U.K. researchers are taking a different
CREDITS (TOP TO BOTTOM): ADAPTED FROM M. K. CRADDOCK/UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND TRIUMF; KEK
ions, which some studies suggest may be even FFAGs whose beams will be used to generate tack with plans to fuel their reactor with tho-
better than protons for cancer treatment. “It x-rays for scanning cargo containers for rium. Thorium is more abundant in the earth
turned out that moving from an electron to a explosives, nuclear materials, or other con- than uranium is, and its fuel cycle doesn’t pro-
carbon FFAG is not so simple,” says Peach. As traband. A prototype scaling FFAG has duce material that could be diverted into
a result, PAMELA may end up somewhere already been built, and a nonscaling version nuclear bombs. The team has made a case for
between a scaling and a nonscaling FFAG, is in the cards for 2010. “There’s nothing like a £300 million, partly publicly funded project
with magnetic fields that don’t vary linearly this on the market,” she says. “You can throw to develop the ADSR technology over 5 years
with radius but that are still simpler than in a them in the back of a truck.” and is waiting for the government’s response.
traditional FFAG. The CONFORM project has discussed a Just over half the money will pay for a series of
more ambitious application: the accel- prototype FFAGs to demonstrate that they are
erator-driven subcritical reactor powerful, reliable, and affordable enough to
(ADSR), otherwise known as an energy be practical in an ADSR. The rest of the fund-
amplifier. This technology, first pro- ing will cover materials research and simula-
posed by Nobel physicist Carlo Rubbia tion of the proposed reactor. If that govern-
in 1993, starts with a reactor containing ment investment is followed by up to £2 bil-
slightly too little nuclear fuel to sustain lion from industry, Cywinski says the project
a chain reaction. Instead, nuclear reac- could produce a working 600-MW prototype
tions are helped along by an external by 2025. “It could create for the U.K. a new
source of neutrons: a powerful particle nuclear export industry. You could sell these to
accelerator that fires protons into a all those countries you can’t sell conventional
heavy metal target, knocking out neu- nuclear,” says Cywinski.
trons. An ADSR would produce less Even in the early days of the FFAG’s revival,
high-level waste than a conventional researchers are thinking big. But for the
Japan weighs in. Experimental FFAG at Kyoto University is reactor does. It is also inherently safe: moment, all eyes are on EMMA.
used in "energy amplifier" research. Nuclear reactions can’t keep going –DANIEL CLERY
146 150
LETTERS I BOOKS I POLICY FORUM I EDUCATION FORUM I PERSPECTIVES
LETTERS
edited by Jennifer Sills
Editorial Expression of Concern time of publication, despite the authors’ indication in the
Supporting Online Material that the data would be so posted. In
IN THE 9 OCTOBER 2009 ISSUE, SCIENCE PUBLISHED THE RESEARCH response to inquiries from Science, the authors have provided new
Article “Reactome array: Forging a link between metabolome and descriptions of the synthetic methods that differ substantially
genome” by A. Beloqui et al. (1). Science is publishing this from those in their published article. Based on our original con-
Editorial Expression of Concern to alert our readers to the fact cerns and the authors’ response, Science has requested evaluation
that serious questions have been raised about the methods and of the original data and records by officials at the authors’ institu-
data presented in this article. The questions focus in particular on tions: These officials have agreed to undertake this task.
the synthesis of the dye-labeled metabolites that are central to the
BRUCE ALBERTS
microarray technique. In addition, the spectroscopic data the Editor-in-Chief
authors cite in support of their claim were not posted to the Reference
Bangor University School of Biological Sciences Web site at the 1. A. Beloqui et al., Science 326, 252 (2009).
Financial Conflicts of the research results that others publish, it is the symptoms, not the cause, and ignore
Interest Worth Knowing essential that a researcher know who financed
the research. Furthermore, not regularly dis-
potentially catastrophic effects of CO2 on nat-
ural systems. For example, there is increasing
IN HIS LETTER “THE ANTIDOTE TO BIAS IN closing such information would prevent us evidence that ocean acidification caused
research” (23 October 2009, p. 522), D. B. from developing a better understanding of by absorption of CO2 may drive immense
Allison argues against the need to disclose how conflicts of interest affect our pursuit of ecosystem shifts and loss in ecosystem serv-
sources of funding when publishing scientific scientific knowledge. K. BRAD WRAY ices (1, 2), yet plans to rapidly cool the atmos-
research. He claims that “disclosure does Department of Philosophy, State University of New phere will do nothing to reduce the effects of
nothing to buttress the validity of the scien- York, Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, USA. E-mail: kwray@ CO2 in the world’s oceans.
tific information and conclusions produced.” oswego.edu The overwhelming danger with the dis-
The methods of science, Allison claims, are References course on geoengineering strategies centers
“the antidote to the poison of bias in research.” 1. J. R. Brown, in The Challenges of the Social and the on the false sense of security that they create.
Allison is deeply mistaken about disclosure. Pressure of Practice: Science and Values Revisited, M. Geoengineering strategies may be useful as
Carrier et al., Eds. (Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh,
As J. R. Brown (1) reports, when a published PA, 2008). an interim measure to reduce the effects of
study “is funded by one of the pharmaceutical 2. R. Davidson, J. Gen. Intern. Med. 12, 155 (1986). atmospheric CO2, but are likely to be effective
companies, the sponsor’s drug invariably does 3. M. Friedberg et al., JAMA 282, 1453 (1999). only in the short term, even when combined
4. H. T. Stelfox et al., N. Engl. J. Med. 338, 101 (1998).
better.” Brown cites evidence from a variety of with other actions to increase resilience in
studies, including Davidson (2), Friedberg natural systems [such as removal of nutrient
et al. (3), and Stelfox et al. (4). Davidson, for Honing the
example, reports that “of 107 published papers
that compared rival drugs, the drug produced Geoengineering Strategy
Letters to the Editor
by the sponsor of the research was found to be IN THEIR PERSPECTIVE (“RISKS OF CLIMATE
Letters (~300 words) discuss material published
superior in every single case” (1). engineering,” 21 August 2009, p. 955), G. C. in Science in the previous 3 months or issues of
Given the data reported by Brown, re- Hegerl and S. Solomon note that geoengineer- general interest. They can be submitted through
searchers ought to report what organizations ing strategies intended to reduce global warm- the Web (www.submit2science.org) or by regular
support their research. Doing so serves the ing may have unintended consequences on mail (1200 New York Ave., NW, Washington, DC
knowledge-seeking goals of science. The aim broader climate systems (such as rainfall pat- 20005, USA). Letters are not acknowledged upon
of the scientific method is to aid scientists in terns). We are particularly concerned by geo- receipt, nor are authors generally consulted before
publication. Whether published in full or in part,
drawing the appropriate conclusions from the engineering strategies that do not reduce the letters are subject to editing for clarity and space.
data they have gathered. The data Brown pre- concentration of atmospheric CO2, but rather
sents suggest that in order to properly assess attempt to reduce warming; such actions treat
Incentives: Encouraging
Adventurous Ideas
IN HIS EDITORIAL “ON INCENTIVES FOR INNO-
vation” (27 November 2009, p. 1163), B.
Alberts raises an important matter. Incen-
tives for innovation have also been ad-
dressed recently by Cancer Council Victoria
(CCV) through its Venture Grant Scheme commence after the selection process—that they would have served as a useful experiment.
(1). This scheme complements Australia’s is, when specific projects could be offered to As the major Asian nations surpass the
conventional funding programs by funding donors. Pleasingly, fundraising stayed ahead United States in equipment and quality,
“adventurous” ideas typically lacking pre- of projected research expenditure. our advantage must remain the U.S. agility
liminary data. Four of five projects continue to meet and daring style. The usual agency nano-
In 2006, CCV advertised that its Venture their adjusted milestones, and two of the steps are simply unequal to the opportunity.
Grants Scheme would support creative pro- projects have already achieved longer-term I suggest two innovation incentives: (i)
jects that could not expect funding through funding through conventional sources. The Require every principal investigator with
conventional grant schemes—high-risk, panel of mentors has been delighted with the tenure to spend one-third of each grant pursu-
high-gain research proposals with the poten- excellence of the science and the flexibility ing an area as far outside the funded proposal
tial to revolutionize cancer research and of the new process. as possible, and base the renewal of the grant
treatment. Of the initial 37 applications, 5 JOSEPH A. TRAPANI,1* ANTONY W. BURGESS,2 partly on that effort. (ii) Explicitly set aside
were selected for funding. Typical budgets DAVID J. HILL3 5% of every agency’s budget for modest
ranged from $450K to $600K over 3 years. 1Cancer Immunology Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer grants that any applicant—young or old, from
The projects were diverse, including drug Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria 3002, Australia. 2Epithelial academia or industry—can use to work in any
Biology, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne
discovery, genomic screens for novel tumor Branch, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia. 3Cancer Council
area that involves genuinely new unexplained
suppressors, and synchrotron-based radia- Victoria, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia. facts with the potential to be of value. This
tion therapy. A panel of mentors negotiated would encourage the revival of the highly suc-
CREDIT: PHOTOS.COM
T
hree new theatrical events that part of culture that ignoring it is, well, like at first to have been plucked from the audi-
cropped up on New York stages late being an idiot savant. ence. This heart also serves as a springboard
this past fall all had at least a nod to That said, Foreman’s Idiot Savant does not for all sorts of remarkable acrobatics, dances,
science for their themes. The Public Theater so much explore the science of savantism as and illusions. For most of the performance,
in lower Manhattan offered Idiot Savant, a evoke the idea that to know is to be an idiot—at it sits out on the stage, waiting to be investi-
play by avant-garde theater pioneer Richard least in someone’s eyes. Willem Dafoe, in what gated, dissected, and diagnosed.
Foreman. Inside Out, a circus performance, might loosely be called the lead role, is con- One of the acrobats performs a wonder-
and minimalist composer Philip Glass’s latest fronted with statements that seem deeply phil- ful routine with a large metal hoop, a few
opera, Kepler, were presented as parts of the osophical but whose meanings evaporate the inches taller than him, which he controls with
New Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy moment he grasps them. The play is perhaps perfect movements. He spins in unimagina-
of Music. Although the plural of anecdote is best characterized as a metaphysical comedy: ble ways while caught inside this hoop like
not data, the three events at least suggest that In one of many bizarre scenes, Giant Duck, a a three-dimensional kinetic version of Leon-
science is becoming a theme of greater inter- puppet character, plays a game of interspecies ardo da Vinci’s famous anatomical human in
est to writers, directors, and players in the golf; in another, the poor savant is trailed around a circle. There are in fact anatomical graph-
performing arts. the stage by “butlers” who are aiming bows and ics in the style of da Vinci spread across the
The term “idiot savant” is no longer in arrows at his head while he tries to utter sensi- backdrop and the floor of the stage.
scientific use, at least in part because of its ble phrases (I thought, “They could be review- The troupe makes their home in Stock-
pejorative nature, but its oxymoronic prop- ers”). Idiot Savant is not about science nor does holm, and director Tilde Björfors gives credit
erty still seems poetically acceptable and it really use science. It does, however, somehow to friends and mentors at the Karolinska Insti-
interesting. Foreman has been producing brush up against science by wondering deeply tutet for consulting on the science and even
intensely personal theater pieces that are about knowing and knowledge. for opening them up to scientific ideas. Once
again, there isn’t really that much science in
the show. But then again, when have you ever
Idiot Savant seen a circus that has gigantic red blood cells
written and directed rolling around the stage? Or an acrobatic num-
by Richard Foreman ber that uses an elastic replica of the neurons
Public Theater, New York. and connections in a brain that stretches from
27 October–20 December 2009. floor to ceiling and across the entire stage—
www.publictheater.org making neural plasticity (elasticity might be
an even better description) as literal as I’ve
ever seen it portrayed? In addition, the “dub-
Inside Out, by Cirkus punk-new wave-electro-inspired” band even
Cirkör, is the literal as well uses a theremin to produce all those eerie
as figurative title of a circus sounds that you may remember from 1950s
event that attempts to bring science fiction movies with social themes.
the inside of you to the out- On the whole, Inside Out may involve as
side. Using the notion that much physics as biology, but it is intuitive
Idiot Savant. Elina Lowensohn, Willem Dafoe, Alenka Kraigher, the circus is a means of fac- physics, the kind practiced by acrobats and
and the company. ing and superceding fears of high-wire performers who know more about
the physical kind (heights, gravity than any of us mere mortals. Indeed,
nonetheless riveting events for public audi- falls, dangerous animals, and other risky acts for amazing moments gravity seems to just
ences for more than 40 years. It is remarkable of bravura), the performance asks whether we disappear from the stage. This all reminded
that someone who has passed the 70-year can face down our inner fears, those that have me of a story about Richard Feynman, a con-
CREDIT: JOAN MARCUS/COURTESY THE PUBLIC THEATER
mark is relentlessly more avant-garde (in the to do with death, meaning, love, and personal summate educator and showman, from his
literal meaning of the phrase) than many half identity—pretty heavy going for a circus. legendary Introduction to Physics course at
his age who consider themselves experimen- In spite of that, the night remains a brilliant Caltech. For the first class, held in a large
tal artists. That he has turned even ever-so- spectacle of high and low comedy, a kind of lecture hall, he had a heavy bowling ball sus-
slightly toward science for the starting point intellectual acrobatics to go with the physical pended by a wire from the ceiling in the cen-
for his latest play is perhaps an indication feats that challenge belief. ter of the room. To begin the lecture he held
that art and science are not so far apart as we A comparison with Cirque du Soleil seems the ball right up to his face and then let it go.
tend to believe. This is certainly to be wel- almost inescapable, but that would not be fair. It sailed across the room, over the heads of
comed, because science forms such a critical Cirkus Cirkör is circus with intellect. Its per- the enraptured students, reached the end of its
formance is funny (and occasionally dumb), arc, and began speeding back toward Feyn-
Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, has a brilliant clown who also serves as a man’s head. Feynman didn’t budge as the ball
New York, NY 10027, USA. E-mail: sjf24@columbia.edu sort of master of ceremonies, and, although came to within the predicted millimeter or so
www.sciencemag.org
ag SCIENCE VOL 327 8 JANUARY 2010 147
POLICYFORUM
SCIENCE AND REGULATION
T
here has been a global, 30-year nitrogen and phosphorus availability
increase in surface mining (1), which through internal eutrophication (15,
is now the dominant driver of land-use 16). Elevated SO4 can also increase
change in the central Appalachian ecoregion microbial production of hydrogen sul-
of the United States (2). One major form of fide, a toxin for many aquatic plants and
such mining, mountaintop mining with valley organisms (17). Mn, Fe, Al, and Se can
fills (MTM/VF) (3), is widespread through- become further concentrated in stream
out eastern Kentucky, West Virginia (WV), sediments, and Se bioaccumulates in
and southwestern Virginia. Upper elevation organisms (11) (figs. S1 and S2).
forests are cleared and stripped of topsoil, A survey of 78 MTM/VF streams
and explosives are used to break up rocks found that 73 had Se water concentra-
to access buried coal (fig. S1). Excess rock already have more than 10% of their total area tions greater than the 2.0 µg/liter threshold for
(mine “spoil”) is pushed into adjacent val- disturbed by surface mining (table S1). toxic bioaccumulation (18). Se levels exceed
leys, where it buries existing streams. Hydrologic flow paths in Appalachian this in many WV streams (see the chart on
Despite much debate in the United States forests are predominantly through perme- page 149). In some freshwater food webs, Se
(4), surprisingly little attention has been able soil layers. However, in mined sites, has bioaccumulated to four times the toxic
given to the growing scientific evidence of the removal of vegetation, alterations in topog- level; this can cause teratogenic deformities
negative impacts of MTM/VF. Our analyses raphy, loss of topsoil, and soil compaction in larval fish (fig. S2) (19), leave fish with Se
of current peer-reviewed studies and of new from use of heavy machinery reduce infiltra- concentrations above the threshold for repro-
water-quality data from WV streams revealed tion capacity and promote runoff by overland ductive failure (4 ppm), and expose birds to
serious environmental impacts that mitigation flow (8). This leads to greater storm runoff reproductive failure when they eat fish with
practices cannot successfully address. Pub- and increased frequency and magnitude of Se >7 ppm (19, 20). Biota may be exposed to
lished studies also show a high potential for downstream flooding (9, 10). concentrations higher than in the water since
human health impacts. Water emerges from the base of valley fills many feed on streambed algae that can bio-
containing a variety of solutes toxic or dam- concentrate Se as much as 800 to 2000 times
Ecological Losses, Downstream Impacts aging to biota (11). Declines in stream biodi- that in water concentrations (21).
The extensive tracts of deciduous forests versity have been linked to the level of mining
destroyed by MTM/VF support some of the disturbance in WV watersheds (12). Below Potential for Human Health Impacts
highest biodiversity in North America, includ- valley fills in the central Appalachians, streams Even after mine-site reclamation (attempts to
ing several endangered species. Burial of head- are characterized by increases in pH, electrical return a site to premined conditions), ground-
water streams by valley fills causes permanent conductivity, and total dissolved solids due to water samples from domestic supply wells have
loss of ecosystems that play critical roles in eco- elevated concentrations of sulfate (SO4), cal- higher levels of mine-derived chemical constit-
logical processes such as nutrient cycling and cium, magnesium, and bicarbonate ions (13). uents than well water from unmined areas (22).
production of organic matter for downstream The ions are released as coal-generated sulfuric Human health impacts may come from contact
food webs; these small Appalachian streams acid weathers carbonate rocks. Stream water with streams or exposure to airborne toxins and
also support abundant aquatic organisms, SO4 concentrations are closely linked to the dust. State advisories are in effect for excessive
including many endemic species (5). Many extent of mining in these watersheds (11, 14). human consumption of Se in fish from MTM/
studies show that when more than 5 to 10% of We found that significant linear increases in the VF affected waters. Elevated levels of airborne,
a watershed’s area is affected by anthropogenic concentrations of metals, as well as decreases hazardous dust have been documented around
activities, stream biodiversity and water qual- in multiple measures of biological health, were surface mining operations (23). Adult hospi-
ity suffer (6, 7). Multiple watersheds in WV associated with increases in stream water SO4 talizations for chronic pulmonary disorders
in streams below mined sites (see the chart on and hypertension are elevated as a function of
1
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science,
page 149). Recovery of biodiversity in mining county-level coal production, as are rates of
Cambridge, MD 21613, USA. 2University of Maryland, Col- waste-impacted streams has not been docu- mortality; lung cancer; and chronic heart, lung,
lege Park, MD 20742, USA. 3Duke University, Durham, NC mented, and SO4 pollution is known to persist and kidney disease (24). Health problems are
27708, USA. 4Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, long after mining ceases (14). for women and men, so effects are not simply
NY 12545, USA. 5University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
55414, USA. 6West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV Conductivity, and concentrations of SO4 a result of direct occupational exposure of pre-
CREDIT: VIVIAN STOCKMAN
26506, USA. 7Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC and other pollutants associated with mine run- dominantly male coal miners (24).
27109, USA. 8Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA. off, can directly cause environmental degra-
9
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720,
USA. 10University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel
dation, including disruption of water and ion Mitigation Effects
Hill, NC 27599, USA. 11Johns Hopkins University, Balti- balance in aquatic biota (12). Elevated SO4 Reclamation of MTM/VF sites historically
more, MD 21218, USA. can exacerbate nutrient pollution of down- has involved planting a few grass and herb
*Author for correspondence. E-mail: mpalmer@umd.edu stream rivers and reservoirs by increasing species (20, 25). Compared with unmined
from the premining state. U.S. rules have 4. Debates are conspicuous because of recent high-profile
00
00
streams well below valley fills, forests are 18. EPA, Stream Chemistry Report, part 2 (EPA Region 3,
20
50
0–
–1
>5
0–
0–
20
A
ccurate chromosome segregation
during eukaryotic cell division Mitotic spindle
requires the timely release of cohe- Nucleus
sion between duplicated chromosomes so Chromosome pairs
that they may separate into two daughter
cells. Errors in this process have been linked
to cancer progression, infertility, and debili- Kinetochore Microtubules
tating genetic diseases such as Down syn-
drome. A surveillance mechanism known as Pericentromeric
heterochromatin
the spindle assembly checkpoint delays this
release until all chromosome pairs are prop- Cohesin
erly attached to a structure called the mitotic
spindle. The enzyme Bub1 is essential for this
checkpoint, but the targets of its phosphory- Centromeric chromatin Nucleosome
lation activity have been elusive. On page
172 of this issue, Kawashima et al. (1) report
that histone H2A—a protein associated with
DNA within chromosomes—is a substrate of
P Sgo2 Bir1
Bub1, and that H2A phosphorylation directs Swi6 Sgo1 P
subsequent events that control chromatid PP2A Aurora B
cohesion and the checkpoint mechanism dur- Bub1 Bub1
ing the early stages of cell division.
After DNA replication in the S phase of the
cell division cycle, the mitotic spindle must
know which chromosomes are duplicates so
as to segregate them from each other. The Kinetochore-microtubule attachment;
Cohesin protection spindle assembly checkpoint activation
linkage of duplicated chromosomes by the
protein complex cohesin enables this to occur
by creating physically associated pairs. These
chromosome pairs (called sister chromatids) Directing shugoshins. Phosphorylation of the nucleosome protein H2A by Bub1 creates a binding site for
attach to microtubules of the mitotic spindle shugoshin proteins (Sgo1 and Sgo2 in fission yeast). Sgo1 prevents cohesin removal from the centromere in
through a kinetochore protein complex that meiosis I whereas Sgo2 recruits Aurora B to monitor proper chromosome attachment to the spindle.
forms on the centromeric region of each chro-
mosome (see the figure). When all chromo- protector of cohesion at centromeres during tension. (12–14). Most organisms have two
some pairs are attached, cohesin is cleaved by meiosis (the cell division process that pro- shugoshin members, although the fly Droso-
the enzyme separase, and sister chromatids duces gametes) (3–6). During the first mei- phila melanogaster and budding yeast have
move to opposite spindle poles. The spindle otic division, the cohesin complex is cleaved only one. In fission yeast, the model organism
assembly checkpoint keeps separase inactive and released from chromosomes except used by Kawashima et al., the shugoshin pro-
until all chromosomes are attached and prop- for at centromeres, where it is protected by tein Sgo1 protects cohesion during meiosis,
erly (bidirectionally) oriented on the spindle shugoshin, which is associated with the phos- whereas Sgo2 functions in the sensing of ten-
(2). Here again, cohesion plays a fundamental phatase PP2A (7, 8). This spared cohesion at sion-less kinetochores.
role. By resisting the pulling forces exerted centromeres ensures sister chromatid segre- How are shugoshins recruited to centro-
by spindle microtubules, cohesion generates gation during the second meiotic division. A meres? The first hint came from discover-
tension when sister chromatids are properly shugoshin-PP2A complex also functions in ing that, during meiosis, the spindle assem-
attached; faulty attachments fail to do so and vertebrate somatic cells, in which the bulk of bly checkpoint component Bub1 is required
are actively dismantled. cohesin is removed during the initial phase of for protecting centromere cohesion in fission
As expected from its crucial function, cell division (prophase), but does not require yeast (15) and that the phosphorylation activity
cohesion is tightly regulated. A protein fam- cleavage. A small amount of cohesin com- of Bub1 is necessary for the centromeric local-
CREDIT: Y. GREENMAN/SCIENCE
ily called shugoshin (which means “guardian plex is protected by shugoshin at centromeres ization of shugoshin during meiosis and mito-
spirit” in Japanese) plays a central role in this to ensure sister chromatid cohesion and bidi- sis (4, 9, 12, 16). Additionally, Bub1-dependent
process. Shugoshin was first identified as a rectional attachment to the mitotic spindle centromeric localization of shugoshin contrib-
(9–11). Shugoshin also contributes to the utes to Aurora B recruitment and the sensing
Institut de Biochimie et Génétique Cellulaires, Université
recruitment of the enzyme Aurora B, which of tension-less kinetochores (12–14).
Victor Segalen Bordeaux2/CNRS UMR5095, Bordeaux, 33077 promotes bidirectional chromosome attach- Kawashima et al. found that Bub1 phos-
France. E-mail: Jpaul.Javerzat@ibgc.u-bordeaux2.fr ment by dismantling those that fail to produce phorylates a conserved serine residue at posi-
tion 121 of histone H2A in fission yeast. The The identification of Bub1’s key substrate might have other chromosomal functions
authors demonstrate that this single phos- raises questions about the roles and regula- that have yet to be identified.
phorylation event is required for the correct tion of H2A phosphorylation. How is this
localization and function of Sgo1 and Sgo2 modification controlled in space and time? References
1. S. A. Kawashima, Y. Yamagishi, T. Honda, K.-i. Ishiguro,
and show that this pathway is conserved from The extended pattern of H2A phosphoryla- Y. Watanabe, Science 327, 172 (2010); published online
yeast to human. tion along a chromosome during interphase 19 November 2009 (10.1126/science.1180189).
However, Bub1-mediated phosphoryla- indicates that targeted dephosphorylation 2. S. Santaguida, A. Musacchio, EMBO J. 28, 2511 (2009).
tion of H2A is not the sole molecular deter- may be instrumental in restraining the his- 3. V. L. Katis, M. Galova, K. P. Rabitsch, J. Gregan, K.
Nasmyth, Curr. Biol. 14, 560 (2004).
minant of shugoshin localization. In fission tone modification to centromeres as the cell 4. T. S. Kitajima, S. A. Kawashima, Y. Watanabe, Nature
yeast, H2A is extensively phosphorylated in prepares to divide. Is the phosphorylation of 427, 510 (2004).
a Bub1-dependent manner along chromo- H2A specifically at centromeres coupled to 5. A. L. Marston, W. H. Tham, H. Shah, A. Amon, Science
303, 1367 (2004).
some arms and centromeres during inter- the spindle assembly checkpoint? Indeed, it 6. K. P. Rabitsch et al., Curr. Biol. 14, 287 (2004).
phase of the cell cycle. Yet Sgo2 specifi- is striking that a component of the check- 7. T. S. Kitajima et al., Nature 441, 46 (2006).
cally locates near the ends of chromosomes point system tells shugoshin where to go. 8. C. G. Riedel et al., Nature 441, 53 (2006).
9. T. S. Kitajima, S. Hauf, M. Ohsugi, T. Yamamoto, Y.
at this stage, suggesting that additional fac- Upon checkpoint activation at the beginning
Watanabe, Curr. Biol. 15, 353 (2005).
tors contribute to Sgo2 positioning. During of every cell division cycle, Bub1 accumu- 10. B. E. McGuinness, T. Hirota, N. R. Kudo, J. M. Peters, K.
mitosis, H2A phosphorylation is selectively lation at kinetochores might increase local Nasmyth, PLoS Biol. 3, e86 (2005).
eliminated from the bulk of chromatin but H2A phosphorylation and promote the 11. A. Salic, J. C. Waters, T. J. Mitchison, Cell 118, 567 (2004).
12. Y. Boyarchuk, A. Salic, M. Dasso, A. Arnaoutov, J. Cell
retained at the centromere, where Sgo2 relo- delivery of shugoshin to the right place at the Biol. 176, 919 (2007).
cation requires Bir1 (a subunit of a protein right time. There is, however, no evidence 13. S. A. Kawashima et al., Genes Dev. 21, 420 (2007).
complex that includes Aurora B). Likewise, for such a mechanism. Instead, Bub1 at the 14. V. Vanoosthuyse, S. Prykhozhij, K. G. Hardwick, Mol. Biol.
Cell 18, 1657 (2007).
in meiosis, Sgo1 is found within the peri- kinetochore might not be relevant because 15. P. Bernard, J. F. Maure, J. P. Javerzat, Nat. Cell Biol. 3,
centromeric domains and its localization H2A-dependent recruitment of shugoshin 522 (2001).
requires the heterochromatin protein Swi6 takes place within pericentromeric hetero- 16. Z. Tang, Y. Sun, S. E. Harley, H. Zou, H. Yu, Proc. Natl.
(17). It is therefore a combination of chroma- chromatin, not at the kinetochore. Finally, Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 18012 (2004).
17. Y. Yamagishi, T. Sakuno, M. Shimura, Y. Watanabe,
tin “marks” that guides shugoshin localization, H2A phosphorylation during interphase and Nature 455, 251 (2008).
and phosphorylated H2A is the prerequisite the sensitivity of bub1 fission yeast mutants
and the common denominator (see the figure). to a DNA damaging agent suggest that Bub1 10.1126/science.1184770
GEOCHEMISTRY
High-temperature, high-pressure
T
he lower mantle extends from 660 below 1100 km. The results have profound pyrolitic mantle material and found Fe enrich-
to 2890 km below the surface of the implications for predicting the properties and ment in Fp at the expense of Fe in Pv. This can
Earth. The rocks and minerals of the dynamics of the deep mantle. be attributed to a high-spin to low-spin tran-
deep mantle are not accessible in nature, Pyrolite is a model bulk mantle compo- sition of Fe in Fp (2). Because high pressure
except those occurring infrequently as inclu- sition, close to that of undifferentiated rock favors Fe in a low-spin state with smaller ionic
sions in diamond. However, they can be syn- found in the uppermost mantle. Irifune et al. radius, Fe partitions into low-spin Fp relative
thesized and examined at the relevant high carried out high-pressure experiments on such to high-spin Pv. Previous x-ray emission mea-
pressure and temperature conditions in the surements (3) and theoretical calculations (4)
laboratory. Recent such experimental inves- suggested a broad transition (over ~1000 km
tigations, as well as theoretical calculations, thickness) in Fp at plausible lower-mantle tem-
have suggested that the properties of lower-
peratures (2000 to 2500 K). In contrast, Iri-
mantle minerals vary with increasing depth fune et al. found that Fe partitioning changed
much more than was previously thought. over a much narrower pressure (depth) range
On page 193 of this issue, Irifune et al. (1) Ks (~150 km thickness). The spin transition has
report that iron (Fe) partitioning between the been demonstrated to occur also in Pv (5), but
two main lower-mantle constituents, iron– the pressure range of transition remains con-
magnesium silicate perovskite (Pv) and troversial (6). A signal of spin transition in Pv
iron–magnesium oxide (ferropericlase, Fp), ! was not found in their experimental data (1).
indeed changes in a natural mantle composi-
tion for conditions corresponding to depths Properties of Earth’s lower mantle. Measured or
calculated profiles for “pyrolite” in the lower mantle
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute (solid lines) (1, 9, 10) in comparison with geophysi-
of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan. E-mail: 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 cal observations (broken lines) (7, 11). ρ, density; Ks,
kei@geo.titech.ac.jp Depth (km) adiabatic bulk modulus; σ, electrical conductivity.
www.sciencemag.org
ag SCIENCE VOL 327 8 JANUARY 2010 151
PERSPECTIVES
Although such abrupt change in Fe distri- tle is not pyrolitic in composition but includes supposed strong chemical heterogeneities in
bution makes Fp and Pv denser and lighter, a substantial amount of subducted oceanic plume upwelling regions underneath Africa
respectively, Irifune et al. found no anom- crust, which exhibits much higher conductiv- and the Pacific are yet to be examined. Further
aly in the net density of pyrolite. Indeed, the ity than pyrolite (10). progress in high-pressure experimental tech-
experimentally measured density of pyro- The results presented by Irifune et al. are niques will allow us to tackle these unsolved
lite matches the lower-mantle density profile an outcome of recent rapid developments in problems in the deep Earth.
deduced from seismology (7), thus supporting high-pressure experimental techniques com-
this traditional mantle composition model. On bined with synchrotron x-ray radiation, which References
1. T. Irifune et al., Science 327, 193 (2010).
the other hand, the spin transition is known to now enables precise density measurements 2. J. Badro et al., Science 300, 789 (2003).
strongly diminish the bulk modulus (incom- up to 47 GPa and 2073 K (corresponding 3. J.-F. Lin et al., Science 317, 1740 (2007).
pressibility) and the electrical conductivity to 1200 km depth) in a large-volume press. 4. T. Tsuchiya, R. M. Wentzcovitch, C. R. S. da Silva, S. de
of pyrolite. Both experiment and theory have These experiments have much better control Gironcoli, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 198501 (2006).
5. J. Badro et al., Science 305, 383 (2004).
suggested an appreciable softening of the of sample temperature than the other tech- 6. J. Li, in Post-Perovskite: The Last Mantle Phase Transition,
bulk modulus of Fp over the pressure range niques, such as laser-heated diamond-anvil K. Hirose, J. Brodholt, T. Lay, D. Yuen, Eds. (American
of spin transition (~4% reduction as pyrolite) cell, with which similar experiments were Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, 2007), pp. 47–68.
7. A. M. Dziewonski, D. L. Anderson, Phys. Earth Planet.
(8, 9) (see the figure). Such an anomaly is not previously performed. Nevertheless, much Inter. 25, 297 (1981).
found in the lower-mantle profile of seismo- remains unknown about the composition and 8. J. C. Crowhurst, J. M. Brown, A. F. Goncharov, S. D. Jacob-
logically observed bulk modulus (7), possibly properties at greater depths. The nature of sen, Science 319, 451 (2008).
9. R. M. Wentzcovitch et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
because it is within the uncertainty of global the spin transition in Pv is still an open ques-
106, 8447 (2009).
seismic data (9). Recent laboratory measure- tion. A range of geophysical and geochemical 10. K. Ohta et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., in press; available
ments of electrical conductivity of pyrolite observations suggest chemical stratification at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.11.042.
have shown that it decreases at depths greater below ~1600 km depth (10, 12, 13). Addition- 11. N. Olsen, Geophys. J. Int. 138, 179 (1999).
12. L. H. Kellogg, B. H. Harger, R. D. van der Hilst, Science
than ~1200 km (10), likely attributable to the ally, the lowermost mantle, the bottom several 283, 1881 (1999).
spin transition in Pv. Such measurements are hundred kilometers of the mantle, exhibits 13. R. D. van der Hilst, H. Karason, Science 283, 1885
not in agreement with geomagnetic field data, complex seismic-wave velocity structure. The (1999).
14. M. Murakami, K. Hirose, K. Kawamura, N. Sata, Y. Ohishi,
although observations constraining the lower- recent discovery of silicate post-perovskite, Science 304, 855 (2004).
mantle conductivity are limited (11) (see the a high-pressure phase of Pv, helps to explain 15. A. R. Oganov, S. Ono, Nature 430, 445 (2004).
figure). The observed high electrical conduc- the abrupt shear velocity increase at around
tivity might suggest that the deep lower man- 2700 km depth (14, 15). On the other hand, 10.1126/science.1184786
ECOLOGY
The worldwide losses of honey bee colonies
Clarity on Honey Bee Collapse? continue to puzzle researchers and the
beekeeping industry.
Francis L. W. Ratnieks and Norman L. Carreck
O
ver the past few years, the media have bees but with abandoned food and brood. It nies may depend on other factors, such as the
frequently reported deaths of honey was widely believed that these were symptoms ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor. CCD-
bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies in of a new and highly virulent pathogen. In the like symptoms have often been reported in
the United States, Europe, and Japan. Most absence of a known cause, the term “Colony Europe in colonies infected with this mite (5).
reports express opinions but little hard sci- Collapse Disorder” (CCD) was coined. What Its original host was the Asian honey bee Apis
ence. A recent historical survey (1) pointed out have we learned about this condition since cerana, but it colonized A. mellifera when this
that extensive colony losses are not unusual then? Are the symptoms really novel? bee species was introduced to Asia. V. destruc-
and have occurred repeatedly over many cen- CCD has stimulated a flurry of explana- tor is now present in all major beekeeping
turies and locations. Concern for honey bees tions, ranging from mobile phones and geneti- regions worldwide except Australia, where
in the United States has been magnified by cally modified crops, which have been dis- CCD symptoms have not been observed. It is
their vital role in agriculture. The Califor- missed by scientists (2, 3), to pests and diseases, not the mite itself that causes bee death, but a
nia almond industry alone is worth $2 billion environmental and economic factors, and pes- range of normally innocuous bee viruses that
annually and relies on over 1 million honey ticides, which have received more serious con- it carries. Experimental studies (6) have shown
bee hives for cross-pollination. So what is kill- sideration and stimulated much research. This that V. destructor transmits viruses previously
ing honey bee colonies worldwide, and what week, for example, comprehensive surveys of considered unimportant to honey bee biol-
are the implications for agriculture? honey bee losses in general in 16 countries in ogy, including slow paralysis virus and Kash-
In fall 2006 and spring 2007, many U.S. North America and Europe are reported (4). mir bee virus, thus causing colony death. Field
beekeepers encountered hives without adult Although full explanations for these losses are studies have demonstrated that the incidence
still debatable, the consensus seems to be that and abundance of viral infections in A. mellif-
pests and pathogens are the single most impor- era have increased substantially since the mite
Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, Department of
Biological and Environmental Science, University of Sussex,
tant cause of colony losses. colonized this species of bee. For example, in
Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK. E-mail: f.ratnieks@sussex. There is also growing evidence that the one study in the UK, the incidence of infec-
ac.uk; norman.carreck@sussex.ac.uk ability of a particular pathogen to kill colo- tion of experimental colonies with deformed
wing virus increased from 0% in 1994–1995 ing research efforts and activities by scientists
to 100% once the mite was firmly established and the beekeeping industry to address these
in the bee population during 1997–1998 (7). and other issues related to honey bee losses,
V. destructor has been controlled in various including CCD (2).
ways, including by acaricides, but in many In February 2009, the high pollination fee,
areas, especially the United States and Europe, combined with a temporary reduction in pol-
the mite has evolved resistance to the most lination demand due to drought and reduced
effective chemicals used. almond prices, resulted in a surplus of hives in
Mite interactions alone cannot, however, California available to pollinate almonds. But
account for all losses attributed to CCD. One this leaves no room for complacency. Almond
paradox noticed by researchers early on in the pollinating beekeepers had a poor summer in
U.S. CCD story is that although V. destruc- 2009 in the Dakotas and neighboring states,
tor is universally present in affected colonies, where hives spend the summer making honey,
mite numbers were often claimed to be small, with heavy rains delaying and reducing the
whereas V. destructor–related colony losses honey crop. This delayed chemical treatments
elsewhere typically reported thousands of mites The mighty honey bee. Research is still needed to for Varroa mites, and many colonies were
per colony (8). A possible resolution for the for- help beekeepers maintain healthy colonies and to probably in worse than usual condition going
mer lies in studies involving V. destructor and determine what is killing colonies in colony collapse into winter back in California. It will be inter-
Kashmir bee virus (9), which report that the disorder. Shown is A. mellifera. esting to see what happens in February 2010
virus can persist in a colony’s worker bees even when the almonds bloom. On a longer time
in the absence of the mite, indicating that direct onies can be killed by chemicals intended to scale, there is a worrying downward trend in
bee-to-bee virus transmission also occurs. This target other insects. Neonicotinoid systemic U.S. hives, from six million after World War
is not surprising, as this virus was present in insecticides have been blamed for extensive II to 2.4 million today. Is the future of U.S.
A. mellifera before the bee was colonized by colony collapse, and this has caused much commercial beekeeping going to be based
V. destructor. A study of U.S. CCD colonies debate. In France, the neonicotinoid compound on pollinating a few high-value crops? If so,
using whole-genome microarrays found much imidacloprid was banned as a treatment on what will be the wider economic cost arising
evidence of viral infection, including by Kash- sunflowers and maize because of concerns that from crops that have modest yield increases
mir bee virus (10). it could contaminate nectar or pollen and thus from honey bee pollination? These crops can-
In 2007, a metagenomic study (11) com- kill bees, but colony losses continued. After 10 not pay large pollination fees but have hith-
pared worker honey bees from dead or dying years of research (14), it seems unlikely that erto benefited from an abundance of honey
colonies showing CCD symptoms with work- imidacloprid was responsible for the French bees providing free pollination.
ers from thriving hives. The analysis showed bee deaths, but it is conjectured that subtle, Given the importance of the honey bee to
that Israeli acute paralysis virus, a previously sublethal effects of either the compound or its mankind, the progress made in understanding
esoteric virus, was the pathogen most com- metabolites may occur, perhaps making bees CCD and colony losses in general is encour-
monly associated with CCD. Although the more susceptible to disease. aging. But further research on honey bee
authors did not claim a causal relationship, this The first annual report of the U.S. Col- health and well-being is needed.
seemed reasonable, given that closely related ony Collapse Disorder Steering Committee,
viruses such as acute bee paralysis virus and published in July 2009 (15), suggests that References
1. B. P. Oldroyd, PLoS Biol. 5, e168 (2007).
Kashmir bee virus can kill colonies when in CCD is unlikely to be caused by a previously 2. L. A. Malone, M.-H. Pham-Delègue, Apidologie (Celle)
association with V. destructor. However, a unknown pathogen. Rather, it may be caused 32, 287 (2001).
2009 study paints a less clear picture (12). Fur- by many agents in combination—the interac- 3. T. A. Mixon et al., Science of Bee Culture 1, 22 (2009).
4. P. Neumann, N. L. Carreck, J. Apic. Res. 49, 1 (2010).
ther studies on the pathology of bee infection tion between known pests and pathogens, poor 5. N. L. Carreck, B. V. Ball, J. K. Wilson, M. F. Allen, in
by Israeli acute paralysis virus are needed and weather conditions that diminish foraging, lack Proceedings of XXXIXth International Apicultural
may be guided by studies on the related viruses of forage (16), and management factors such as Congress, Dublin, Ireland, 21-26/8/2005, pp. 32–33.
6. B. V. Ball, in Varroa! Fight the Mite, P. A. Munn, H. R.
linked to colony death. the use of pesticides and stress caused by long- Jones, Eds. (International Bee Research Association,
Another pathogen that may be killing distance transport of hives to nectar sources or Cardiff, UK, 1997), pp. 11–15.
colonies is the microsporidian gut parasite pollination locations. The increasingly techni- 7. N. L. Carreck, B. V. Ball, J. K. Wilson, Apiacta 37, 44 (2002).
Nosema ceranae, which also originated in the cal process of beekeeping itself merits further 8. S. J. Martin, J. Appl. Ecol. 38, 1082 (2001).
9. N. L. Carreck, Proceedings of XXXXIst International
Asian hive bee A. cerana. N. ceranae affects research as far as its impact on colony health. Apicultural Congress, Montpellier, France, 15th–20th
adult bees and was recently found in collaps- For example, although pollen substitutes are September 2009, p. 146.
ing A. mellifera colonies in Spain. Experimen- now widely used, little is known about the 10. R. M. Johnson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 106,
14790 (2009).
tal results suggest that it is more virulent than interactions between nutrition and disease sus- 11. D. L. Cox-Foster et al., Science 318, 283 (2007);
Nosema apis, which has long been known to ceptibility. Further research is also needed to published online 5 September 2007 (10.1126/
infect A. mellifera. However, molecular stud- develop effective ways of keeping colonies science.1146498).
12. D. vanEngelsdorp et al., PLoS ONE 4, e6481 (2009).
CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
ies show that N. ceranae occurs in thriving healthy through good hive management based 13. R. J. Paxton, J. Apic. Res. 49, 80 (2010).
colonies in many countries, and analyses of on appropriate chemical, and other treatments 14. C. Maus et al., Bull. Insectology 56, 51 (2003).
stored bee extracts showed that it was pres- such as “hygienic” bees that remove diseased 15. CCD Steering Committee, Colony Collapse Disorder
Progress Report (U.S. Department of Agriculture,
ent in A. mellifera decades before the onset of brood and can be bred using conventional Washington, DC, 2009).
CCD. More research is needed to determine methods. In Europe, the COLOSS (COlony 16. D. Naug, Biol. Conserv. 142, 2369 (2009).
how virulent N. ceranae really is (13). LOSS) network, consisting of 161 members
Foraging honey bees and even whole col- from 40 countries worldwide, is coordinat- 10.1126/science.1185563
www.sciencemag.org
ag SCIENCE VOL 327 8 JANUARY 2010 153
PERSPECTIVES
ECOLOGY
Ecologically common species play key roles in
Valuing Common Species terrestrial and marine ecosystems, yet are also
the main victims of habitat loss, ecosystem
Kevin J. Gaston degradation, and overexploitation.
A
ldo Leopold’s dic- ple, be responsible for the bulk of primary
tum that “To keep production, carbon storage and flows,
ticus
every cog and wheel es and sediment mixing (5–8). More-
m
is the first precaution of intel- 100 over, meta-analyses of the results
ser do
ligent tinkering” (1) has been of experiments that have manipu-
oft repeated in the context of 80 lated species richness have shown
Population index (%)
Pas
environmental management. that the standing stock (total abun-
The argument is beguilingly dance or biomass) and resource
60
simple. In the absence of a depletion found in the experimental
detailed understanding of treatments with most species tend to
what each species does in an 40 be similar to those of the most productive
ecosystem, it would be foolish species in single-species treatments (9). This
to allow the loss of any one of 20 result might be explained by the sampling
them. It is the precautionary effect: Assemblages with larger numbers of
principle writ large and, given species are more likely to contain those spe-
0
its enormous ramifications 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006
cies that are most productive.
for the ways in which people is
In consequence, common spe-
Year
interact with the natural world, ar cies underpin the provision of
g
l
ecologists have spent much 100 urnus vu many ecosystem services, the
intellectual energy, time, and benefits that ecosystems pro-
resources in determining 80 vide to people. This does not
Population index (%)
60
the best-known recent ecolog- (such as soil formation, primary
ical experiments have exam- production, nutrient cycling, and
ined the consequences of vary- 40 water cycling) and regulating ser-
ing the numbers of species vices (such as air quality regulation, cli-
in a small area on ecosystem 20 mate regulation, water regulation, and polli-
function. This focus assumes nation). There is also growing evidence that
PHOTO CREDITS: (PASSER DOMESTICUS) CHRIS GOMERSALL/ALAMY; (STURNUS VULGARIS) MICHAEL KRABS/ALAMY
that the importance of retain- physical and visual encounters with the natu-
0
ing Leopold’s cogs and wheels ral world positively influence human health
1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006
lies mostly in the differences and well-being, most noticeably in urban
between them. However, a Year areas where such access is limited but where
growing body of work on Common yet declining. Some of the most familiar common species most people live (10–12). Inevitably, it is spe-
common species underlines are in marked decline. For example, European populations of the house cies that are common within cities (when
that having sufficient cop- sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the starling (Sturnus vulgaris) have native, they are often also common more
ies of some key pieces may fallen dramatically. The trends shown were determined from annual widely) that are chiefly responsible for these
be equally, and perhaps often national breeding bird surveys (17). interactions.
more, important. The null expectation is that the contribu-
Arguably, the importance of naturally restrial and marine systems (3, 4). They may tion of common species to ecosystem struc-
common species—those that are abun- exert a profound influence on the prevailing ture, function, and services will be strictly
dant and widespread—in shaping the world environmental conditions experienced by proportional to their abundance. However,
around us is so blatant that it is easily over- other species and thus those that can coexist. the extent to which this expectation is met,
looked. Within any given taxonomically Even in tropical forest landscapes, some of or to which common species contribute
defined assemblage (such as vascular plants, the most species-rich ecosystems that exist, supraproportionally (that is, they are key-
bees, amphibians, or birds), such species are it is not the full diversity of trees that is most stone species) or subproportionally, remains
in the distinct minority—the state of being apparent but the smaller number of species poorly understood.
very common is actually very rare—but they that have come to dominate. Ecologists and evolutionary biologists
contribute much of the structure, biomass, Few experiments have been conducted have found that common species also con-
and energy turnover of the majority of ter- explicitly to determine the contribution of tribute to structuring the world around us
common species to ecosystem function. in less obvious ways. For instance, they dis-
However, those that have been done confirm proportionately influence spatial patterns of
Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Ani-
mal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield the importance of these species. In particu- variation in species richness and species turn-
S10 2TN, UK. E-mail: k.j.gaston@sheffield.ac.uk lar systems, common species can, for exam- over (13, 14), provide temporal continuity to
E
Third, common species are frequent casu- ven though electrons in solids form a an analogy to classical liquid crystals. For
alties of the invasion of species, whether after dense and strongly interacting fluid, instance, nematic liquid crystals are uniform
accidental or intentional introduction, that electrons in many metals can also be fluids made of “cigar-shaped” molecules, but
are alien to an area. Indeed, some of the envi- considered as a weakly interacting quantum alignment of the molecules causes some of
ronmentally and economically most impor- gas of “quasiparticles.” Like a gas, the elec- their properties to be anisotropic. A strongly
tant alien species are those that have killed or tron fluid is essentially homogeneous and interacting system of electrons can also
replaced the natural dominants. isotropic. On the other hand, if the electrons exhibit an anisotropic conducting state, an
Finally, it is the impacts of habitat loss, interact sufficiently strongly, they crystallize, electron nematic. Alternatively, the molecules
overexploitation, and invasive species on com- freezing into an insulating state that exhibits of a classical liquid crystal can arrange them-
mon species that lead to the most pronounced density modulations that are periodic in space. selves into layered structures, called smec-
resultant cascades of reductions and losses of However, both of these conventional descrip- tics. In the electronic analog, the density is
other species, because common species shape tions fail dramatically in many of the most modulated in one direction, forming a “stripe
their environments and are involved in large interesting electronic materials discovered in phase,” an electron smectic. More generally,
numbers of biotic interactions (such as her- the past two decades. In these materials, the one can envision a host of exotic quantum
bivory, predation, and parasitism). electrons appear to organize into phases with electronic liquid crystalline phases (3).
One might perhaps argue that the declines a spatial structure that partially resembles The phase transitions between liquid
of previously common species are of limited the electron crystal but is still a conducting crystalline phases are also interesting. For
concern, because others will increase in abun- fluid. The behavior of these materials has the instance, at temperatures where the smectic
dance and distribution to take their places. In characteristics of both, seemingly opposite, phase has just “melted” to form a nematic,
some cases, it is doubtless true that other spe- states. On page 181 of this issue, Chuang et remnants of the smectic ordering appear in
cies will come to dominance, although these al. (1) report the observation of such a phase, the form of short-range density wave order.
typically tend to be rather different in bio- in a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) Correspondingly, an electron nematic phase
logical characteristics (for example, smaller study of an iron-based high-temperature near a stripe phase can be pictured as a par-
sizes, shorter generation times, and greater superconductor (2). tially melted stripe phase (see the figure).
propensity for boom-and-bust dynamics) Insight into the behavior of strongly inter- However, quantum effects and the presence
and in the ecosystem services that they pro- acting electron fluids can be gleaned from of additional degrees of freedom are impor-
vide (a grassland is not a forest, and jelly- tant in electronic liquid crystalline phases,
fish-dominated oceans do not provide large In common with the copper oxide high-
1
Department of Physics, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
quantities of fish for human consumption). 61801, USA. 2Department of Physics, Stanford University, temperature superconductors, the iron-based
Moreover, in an increasing number of cases, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. E-mail: efradkin@illinois.edu “Fe pnictides” are layered materials in which
www.sciencemag.org
ag SCIENCE VOL 327 8 JANUARY 2010 155
PERSPECTIVES
magnetism, which reflects strong correlations spontaneous organization of the electrons (14), rather than to a Pomeranchuk instabil-
between the electrons, plays a key role (4). into mesoscale structures by various mecha- ity from a Fermi liquid (7–9). However, bulk
Whereas previous STM studies of various nisms such as frustrated phase separation (5). diffraction studies have yet to detect any evi-
Fe pnictides have revealed poor-quality sur- Where this description applies, the electron dence of this nanoscale electronic structure.
faces, Chuang et al. found that a particular Fe- nematic can be regarded as a melted stripe In recent years, electronic nematic states
pnictide superconductor—CaFe2As2 lightly phase. A key consequence is that low-energy have been discovered experimentally in
doped with cobalt—has sufficiently clean (slow) fluctuations occur in the nematic that an increasing number of diverse systems,
and flat surfaces for the images to achieve have the character of the nearby stripe state, including the two-dimensional electron gas
atomic-scale resolution. This enabled them to a “fluctuating stripe state” (6). However, in a large magnetic field (15), the bilayer
study quasiparticle interference effects. What this is not the only pathway to an electron ruthenate Sr3Ru2O7 (16), and the cuprate
makes the surfaces of this particular Fe pnic- nematic. This phase may also arise from the superconductors YBa2Cu3O6+x (17–19) and
tide so perfect is still unclear. breakdown of a conventional metallic state Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (20, 21). Electronic nematic
caused by a “Pomeranchuk order is fragile and can be disrupted at long
instability” of a conventional length scales by the effects of local disor-
Fermi liquid. The structure of der, which is present to varying degrees in
a Fermi liquid is dominated all of these systems. The use of local probes,
by the Pauli exclusion prin- such as STM, is particularly important in this
ciple: All states with energy context, as they can be used to detect local
less than the Fermi energy are nematic order over nanoscopic length scales
occupied, and all those with (4, 20, 21). The observation of electronic
higher energy are empty. The nematic order (22, 23) in several different
result is a well-defined “Fermi high-temperature superconductors in fact
surface” in momentum space, suggests a common underlying mechanism
which is the surface that sepa- for both superconducting and nematic order.
rates the occupied and unoc- Rather than being competing forms of order-
cupied states. In the Pomer- ing, they may actually arise together.
anchuk picture of the nematic
transition, the Fermi surface References and Notes
1. T.-M. Chuang et al., Science 327, 181 (2010).
undergoes a spontaneous dis- 2. Y. Kamihara et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 3296 (2008).
tortion to a shape with less 3. S. A. Kivelson, E. Fradkin, V. J. Emery, Nature 393, 550
symmetry than that of the (1998).
4. J. Zhao et al., Nat. Phys. 5, 555 (2009).
Electron nematics as melted stripe states. An electronic nematic underlying crystal (7–9). In 5. V. J. Emery, S. A. Kivelson, Physica C 209, 597 (1993).
state, such as the one seen in the experiments of Chuang et al., can both the melted-stripe and the 6. S. A. Kivelson et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 1201 (2003).
be regarded as a melted (quantum or thermal) stripe phase. The Pomeranchuk descriptions, the 7. V. Oganesyan, S. A. Kivelson, E. Fradkin, Phys. Rev. B 64,
result is an electronically uniform state that retains the orientational electron nematic behaves as an 195109 (2001).
8. Ch. J. Halboth, W. Metzner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5162
order of the stripe. anisotropic metal, but where (2000).
the Pomeranchuk description 9. H.-Y. Kee, E. H. Kim, C.-H. Chung, Phys. Rev. B 68,
The STM data of Chuang et al. show sev- applies, no fluctuating stripe correlations 245109 (2003).
10. C. Fang et al., Phys. Rev. B 77, 224509 (2008).
eral fascinating and unanticipated features. appear at low energies.
11. C. Xu, Y. Qi, S. Sachdev, Phys. Rev. B 78, 134507 (2008).
In particular, they present clear evidence of Structural studies of the bulk material 12. W.-C. Lee, C. Wu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 176101 (2009).
nanoscale electronic structures that run in have shown that Fe pnictides at low enough 13. H. Zhai, F. Wang, D.-H. Lee, Phys. Rev. B 80, 064517
one direction with a characteristic scale of doping concentrations exhibit a small struc- (2009).
14. K. Sun et al., Phys. Rev. B 78, 085124 (2008).
8a, where a is the spacing between Fe atoms. tural distortion that distinguishes the oth- 15. K. B. Cooper et al., Phys. Rev. B 65, 241313 (2002).
These structures apparently produce a dra- erwise equivalent x and y directions (which 16. R. A. Borzi et al., Science 315, 214 (2007); published
matic anisotropy in the quasiparticle “disper- crystallographers call “a” and “b”) in the Fe- online 22 November 2006 (10.1126/science.1134796).
17. Y. Ando et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 137005 (2002).
sion” (i.e., the relation between the energy and pnictide layers. This distortion had already 18. V. Hinkov et al., Science 319, 597 (2008); published
the momentum). The quasiparticle dispersion been interpreted theoretically as evidence online 10 January 2008 (10.1126/science.1152309).
is determined indirectly in STM by looking at for an electron nematic state in this system 19. R. Daou et al., http://arXiv.org/abs/0909.4430 (2009).
the characteristic dispersive interference pat- (10–13) that is driven by electronic correla- 20. C. Howald, H. Eisaki, N. Kaneko, A. Kapitulnik, Proc. Natl.
Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 9705 (2003).
terns at different values of the tip bias voltage. tion effects. Preliminary evidence in favor of 21. Y. Kohsaka et al., Science 315, 1380 (2007); published
On the basis of such an analysis, Chuang this interpretation came from the unusually online 7 February 2007 (10.1126/science.1138584).
et al. find an essentially one-dimensional strong magnetic anisotropy detected in neu- 22. For a recent review of electronic nematic order, see (23)
and references therein.
dispersion relation; the quasiparticle energy tron scattering experiments on CaFe2As2 and 23. E. Fradkin et al., http://arXiv.org/abs/0910.4166 (2009).
is only a function of the component of their LaOFeAs (3). 24. Supported by NSF grants DMR 0758462 (E.F.) and
momentum oriented parallel to the nano- The STM data of Chuang et al. apparently DMR 0531196 (S.A.K.), and by the Office of Science,
U.S. Department of Energy, under contract DE-FG02-
scale structures. Conversely, in the transverse confirm this interpretation but also raise more
91ER45439 through the Frederick Seitz Materials Research
direction, the same quasiparticle dispersion questions. The observation of a characteristic Laboratory at the University of Illinois (E.F.) and contract
is repeated displaced by an amount 2π/8a in nanoscale structure strongly suggests that this DE-FG02-06ER46287 through the Geballe Laboratory of
momentum space. system must be regarded as a “melted stripe” Advanced Materials at Stanford University (S.A.K.).
In a strongly correlated system, quan- phase, and that it is likely close to a smec-
tum liquid crystal phases result from the tic (stripe) nematic quantum phase transition 10.1126/science.1183464
&
President’s Address Greider, one of the world’s pioneering researchers on the
structure of telomeres, was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize
in physiology or medicine by the Royal Swedish Academy of
Peter C. Agre, M.D.
Sciences along with Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack W. Szostak.
AAAS President; Director, Malaria While a 23-year-old graduate student at the University
Research Institute, Johns Hopkins of California, Berkeley, working together with Blackburn,
Bloomberg School of Public Health Greider discovered the enzyme telomerase and later, in
Agre shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in her own lab, she cloned its RNA component. This work laid
Chemistry with Roderick MacKinnon of the foundation for studies that have linked telomerase and
Rockefeller University for the discovery telomeres to human cancer and age-related degenerative
of aquaporins, the key proteins that disease. It represents another example of curiosity-driven
transport water across cell membranes.
basic research that has direct medical implications.
Not long after receiving the Nobel Prize, Agre began working
to extend his studies of aquaporins to malaria, addressing
the question of whether or not aquaporins could be Eric S. Lander, Ph.D.
exploited as a means of treating or preventing the disease. Director, The Broad Institute of MIT and
Initial results led his laboratory to focus on malaria as its Harvard University; Co-Chair,
primary area of study. As director of the Malaria Research President’s Council of Advisors on
Center, he oversees 19 Hopkins faculty members who Science and Technology (PCAST)
concentrate on advancing basic science to develop new
Science and Technology in the First
methods in malaria prevention and treatment. Agre is a
member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), chair of Year of the New Administration
the NAS Committee on Human Rights, and a Fellow of AAAS. Lander is widely known as one of the
driving forces behind today’s revolution
Plenary Speakers in genomics, the study of all of the genes in an organism
and how they function together in health and disease. He
also is co-chair of President Obama’s council of science
Barry C. Barish, Ph.D. and technology advisers. PCAST is an advisory group of
Director, Global Design Effort for the the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who directly
International Linear Collider (ILC); advise the President and make policy recommendations in
Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus, the many areas where understanding of science, technology,
California Institute of Technology and innovation is key to strengthening the economy and
Lecture Title To Be Determined forming policy. Lander also was one of the principal leaders
of the Human Genome Project and is a member of both the
Among Barish’s noteworthy National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine. He
experiments were those performed at is also an AAAS Fellow.
Fermilab using high-energy neutrino
collisions. These experiments were among the first to
observe the weak neutral current, a linchpin of electroweak Marcia McNutt, Ph.D.
unification theories. Today he directs the ILC, the highest Director, U.S. Geological Survey;
priority future project for particle physics worldwide that Science Adviser to the Secretary, U.S.
promises to complement the Large Hadron Collider at Department of the Interior (invited)
CERN in exploring the TeV energy scale. In the 1980s, Science Below the Sea
Barish initiated an ambitious international effort to build a
sophisticated underground detector which provided some McNutt’s appointment in 2009 marked
key evidence that neutrinos have mass. As director of a milestone for USGS — she is the first
the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory female director in the agency’s 130-year
Laboratory from 1997 to 2005, he led a team of scientists history. She directs a multi-disciplinary
who built two facilities to detect and study gravitational organization that focuses on biology,
waves from astrophysical sources. Barish is a member of the geography, geology, geospatial information, and water, and
National Academy of Sciences and is an AAAS Fellow. is dedicated to studying the landscape, natural resources,
and natural hazards. Most recently she served as president
and chief executive officer of the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Carol W. Greider, Ph.D. Research Institute. Her biography includes a broad range of
Daniel Nathans Professor; Director, research interests and numerous honors and awards. She has
Department of Molecular Biology and participated in 15 major oceanographic expeditions and served
Genetics; Professor of Oncology, Johns as chief scientist on more than half of them. She is a member of
Hopkins University School of Medicine the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy
Telomerase and the Consequences of of Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of AAAS.
Telomere Dysfunction
To browse the program, register, and reserve hotel rooms, visit www.aaas.org/meetings.
Does Size Matter? Rationales for Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Photonics Research Institute
Large Marine Reserves Council, Washington, DC
Role of the Aspen Institute’s Commission on SPEAKERS
Arctic Climate Change in the Arctic William D. Phillips, National Institute of
Organized by Emily Frost and Angela T. Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Bednarek, The Pew Charitable Trusts; Terry DISCUSSANT Laser Cooling and Trapping: Making the
Hughes, James Cook University, Australia Charles Clusen, Natural Resources Defense Coldest Stuff in the Universe
Council, Washington, DC David N. Payne, University of Southampton,
MODERATOR United Kingdom
Jane Lubchenco, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Washington, DC History and Future of How Lasers and Glass Fibers Changed Our
World
Edward Moses, Lawrence Livermore National
SPEAKERS
Stuart L. Pimm, Duke University, Durham, NC Laser Technology Laboratory, Livermore, CA
Large Terrestrial Protected Areas and Lessons National Ignition Facility: Creating Star Power
for the Marine Environment Sunday, 21 February in the Laboratory
Stephen R. Palumbi, Stanford University, CA A prominent example of the impact that
Spreading the Wealth: Design and Function of pure scientific research can have on society
Highly Protected Reserve Networks
Terry Hughes, James Cook University, Townsville,
Australia
is the story of the laser. The 50th anniver-
sary of the first working laser takes place Special Session
Proving the Benefits of Very Large Marine in 2010. From DVD players to eye surgery,
Reserves the laser is one of the greatest inventions 2010 Forum for
of the 20th century and has revolutionized
DISCUSSANT
Jay Nelson, The Pew Charitable Trusts, daily life. Sustainability Science
Philadelphia, PA Celebrating the Birth of the Laser: A Programs
Marine Spatial Planning: A New Look Back After 50 Years
Thursday, 18 February
Approach for Balancing Ocean Uses Organized by Alan Chodos, American Physi- 1:00PM–6:00PM
and Ecosystem Health cal Society, College Park, MD; Anthony J.
Organized by Morgan Gopnik, Nicholas Campillo, Optical Society of America, Organized by Arnim Wiek, Arizona State
Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions; Washington, DC University, Tempe; Amy Fuller, AAAS Interna-
Mary Turnipseed, Duke University SPEAKERS tional Office, Washington, DC
Anthony Siegman, Stanford University, CA As sustainability considerations rise on both
SPEAKERS
How the Laser Came To Be
Larry Crowder, Duke University, Beaufort, NC the domestic and international agenda,
William B. Bridges, California Institute of
The Science and Management of Coupled policy makers at all levels of governance
Technology, Pasadena
Social-Ecological Systems in the Ocean increasingly look to scientists and engineers
Gas Lasers: The Early Years
Kevin St. Martin, Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey, New Brunswick
Jeff Hecht, Laser Focus World, Auburndale, MA to provide guidance in creating sustain-
Looking Back at How the Laser Evolved able societies. Universities have responded
Mapping Communities: Linking People to
Ocean Spaces Next Generation of Extreme Optical by developing academic and research
Andrew Rosenberg, University of New programs in Science and Technology for
Hampshire, Durham
Tools and Applications
Sustainable Development or “Sustainability
Advancing Ocean Planning in Massachusetts: Organized by Christopher Ebbers, Lawrence
The Role of a Unique Stakeholder Coalition Science” that undertake practical, place-
Mary Turnipseed, Duke University, Durham, NC
Livermore National Laboratory based research to provide decision-support
Re-Imagining the Public Trust Doctrine To SPEAKERS for addressing sustainability challenges.
Inform U.S. Marine Spatial Planning Robert L. Byer, Stanford University, CA
Jo Foden, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Quantum Noise Limited Lasers and the Search These inherently interdisciplinary, society-
United Kingdom for Gravitational Waves
Evaluating Marine Plans: Lessons Learned focused programs have converged on the
Margaret Murnane, University of Colorado,
from Aquatic Environmental Assessments Boulder AAAS Annual Meeting as the most appro-
Fanny Douvere, UNESCO, Paris Attosecond Light and Science at the Time- priate meeting place for networking and
Marine Spatial Planning: A Step-by- Scale of Electron Motion exchanging ideas. Beginning with the 2007
Step Approach Toward Ecosystem-Based Christopher Barty, Lawrence Livermore National Annual Meeting in San Francisco, the AAAS
Management Laboratory, Livermore, CA Center for Science, Technology, and Sustain-
Revolutionizing Isotope Science and
Arctic Sea-Ice Loss: What This Means Applications with Laser-Like Gamma-Rays ability has convened the AAAS Forum for
for the Conservation of Arctic Marine Keith Hodgson, SLAC National Accelerator Sustainability Science Programs.
Ecosystems Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA
Next Generation X-Ray Lasers and Applications An important prerequisite to development
Organized by Tara Connelly and Gabriela Toshiki Tajima, Max Planck Institute for Quantum of course content and curriculum develop-
Chavarria, Natural Resources Defense Optics, Garching, Germany
Relativistic Optics and Applications with Ultra- ment is having a clear understanding of the
Council
Intense Lasers core competencies expected of program
SPEAKERS Wim Leemans, Lawrence Berkeley National graduates. The 2010 Forum will focus on this
John Walsh, University of Alaska, Fairbanks Laboratory, Livermore, CA with the ultimate goal of a set of commonly
Climate Change in the Arctic: What Are the Laser-Based Particle Acceleration and the Path agreed-upon competencies. For more infor-
Signs and What Is Predicted? to TeV Physics
Jacqueline Grebmeier, University of Tennessee,
mation on this invitation-only event, contact
Knoxville Lasers at the Extreme: Ultra-Cold, Amy Fuller at afuller@aaas.org.
The Potential Effect of Sea-Ice Loss on Arctic Ultra-Fast, and Ultra-Hot Uses
Marine Ecosystems
Organized by Thomas M. Baer, Stanford
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Science Meets Society: Walking the Visualizations in the Mind and in Nuclear Waste Management: From
Talk the World: Implications for STEM Public Perception to Industrial Reality
Organized by Viviane Willis-Mazzichi and Education Organized by Didier J. Haas, European
Raffaella Di Iorio, European Commission, Organized by Mary Hegarty, University of Commission, Joint Research Center,
Joint Research Center, Brussels, Belgium California, Santa Barbara Brussels, Belgium
Watching the Watchmen and Worlds of Wonder: Can Video Games Toward Green Mobility: Integrating
Cheering the Heroes: The Science of Teach Science? Electric Drive Vehicles and Smart Grid
Superheroes Organized by Yasmin Kafai, University of Technology
Organized by Cortney Riese Sloan and Ann Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Douglas Clark, Organized by Kathryn Clay, Alliance for
Merchant, National Academies, Washington, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN Automotive Manufacturers, Washington,
DC; Jennifer Ouellette, National Academy of DC; Tina Kaarsberg, U.S. Department of
Sciences, Los Angeles, CA Energy Today and Energy, Washington, DC
To browse the program, register, and reserve hotel rooms, visit www.aaas.org/meetings.
Protecting Marine One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
New Fish: Society Needs Marine Cambridge
Resources Biodiversity Research Science in Motion: Addressing
Adam Smith Meets Jacques Cousteau: Organized by Heather Mannix, Consortium Complex Health Problems Through
Using Economics To Protect Marine for Ocean Leadership, Washington, DC Upstream Solutions
Resources Unraveling the Mysteries of the Deep: Organized by Patricia L. Mabry, Christine
Organized by Benjamin Halpern, University Effects of Human Activities on Marine Bachrach, and Dana M. Sampson, National
of California, Santa Barbara; Anne Guerry, Megafauna Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organized by Rebecca Lewison, San Diego The Science of Well-Being and
Administration (NOAA) Northwest Fisheries State University, CA Implications for Societal Quality of
Science Center, Seattle, WA Life
Will Coral Reefs Disappear?
Confronting Ocean Acidification: Separating Fact from Conjecture Organized by Ed Diener, University of
Options for Management and Policy Organized by Joanie Kleypas, National Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Organized by Susan Park, National Research Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Targeting HIV/AIDS Prevention: New
Council, Washington, DC; Victoria J. Fabry, CO; Kimberley Yates, U.S. Geological Survey, Research and Future Avenues
California State University, San Marcos St. Petersburg, FL Organized by Rochelle A. Diamond,
Denial, Detente, and Decisions: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena;
Fisheries Science at the Crossroads Public Health and Andrew M. Hebbeler, Gladstone Institute of
Virology and Immunology, San Francisco, CA
Organized by Alison Rieser, University Wellness
of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI; John Tracking and Tracing Our Food Supply:
Lynham, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Children of Assisted Reproductive The Way Forward
Honolulu, HI Technologies: Their Health and New
Organized by Ewen C. Todd, Michigan State
Genetic Issues
Designing the Future Ocean: Baseline University, East Lansing
Organized by Marvin L. Meistrich, University
Data Needs for Marine Spatial of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Translating the Science of Vector-
Planning Borne Disease to the Improvement of
Houston
Organized by Alison Chase and Lisa Suatoni, Global Health
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Decoding the Secret Pathologies of Organized by Nancy E. Beckage, University
New York City; Gabriela Chavarria, NRDC, Dolphins: Significance for Human and of California, Riverside; Joseph M. Vinetz,
Washington, DC Ocean Health University of California, San Diego
Ensuring Marine Policy Is Responsive Organized by Carolyn Sotka, National
to Social Dynamics and Management Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Responding to
(NOAA) Oceans and Human Health Initiative,
Experience
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REVIEW
family of proteins that carry functional domains
typical of nucleases, helicases, polymerases, and
polynucleotide-binding proteins (4). CRISPR,
CRISPR/Cas, the Immune System of in combination with Cas proteins, forms the
CRISPR/Cas systems. Six “core” cas genes have
Bacteria and Archaea been identified, including the universal markers
of CRISPR/Cas systems cas1 (COG1518) and
cas2 (COG1343, COG3512, occasionally in a
Philippe Horvath1* and Rodolphe Barrangou2* fused form with other cas genes). Besides the
cas1 to cas6 core genes, subtype-specific genes
Microbes rely on diverse defense mechanisms that allow them to withstand viral predation and exposure and genes encoding “repeat-associated mysteri-
to invading nucleic acid. In many Bacteria and most Archaea, clustered regularly interspaced short ous proteins” (RAMP) have been identified and
palindromic repeats (CRISPR) form peculiar genetic loci, which provide acquired immunity against grouped into subtypes functionally paired with
viruses and plasmids by targeting nucleic acid in a sequence-specific manner. These hypervariable loci particular CRISPR repeat sequences (4–8). The
take up genetic material from invasive elements and build up inheritable DNA-encoded immunity size of CRISPR repeats and spacers varies
over time. Conversely, viruses have devised mutational escape strategies that allow them to circumvent between 23 to 47 base pairs (bp) and 21 to 72 bp,
the CRISPR/Cas system, albeit at a cost. CRISPR features may be exploited for typing purposes, respectively. Generally, CRISPR repeat sequences
epidemiological studies, host-virus ecological surveys, building specific immunity against undesirable are highly conserved within a given CRISPR
genetic elements, and enhancing viral resistance in domesticated microbes. locus, but a large assortment of repeat sequences
has been shown across microbial species (1, 9).
icrobes have devised various strategies viral and plasmid sequences) and are often ad- Most repeat sequences are partially palindromic,
uman studies show that uninvolved by- personally through increased foraging success,
A B C
0.3
0.2
2
0.1
eaten by female
1
0.0
0
-0.1
-1
-0.2
-2
-0.3
-0.4
-3
male chased female chasing prevented male chased female chasing prevented male chased female chasing prevented
Fig. 1. Median difference according to treatment in (A) the number of prawn male ate in first and second presentations, respectively. Differences for each
items eaten by females, (B) the ratio of flake to prawn items eaten by females, pair were calculated by subtracting mean (presentation one) from mean
and (C) the total number of food items eaten by the male. For each pair, we (presentation two). The median of these differences and the interquartile
first calculated (A) mean number of prawn items female ate, (B) mean ratio range were then calculated and are presented in the figure (gray boxes and
of flake to prawn items female ate, and (C) mean number of food items bars, respectively).
Fig. 2. Similar chromosomal instability (CIN) defects of bub1-KD, h2a-SA, and The indicated strains expressing mCherry-Atb2 (a2-tubulin) were examined for
shugoshin mutants. (A) Serial dilution assay (12.5 mg/ml TBZ). (B) The indicated frequencies of lagging chromosomes in anaphase cells (n > 100 cells). Exam-
cells carrying a mutation of b-tubulin (nda3-KM311) were cultured at permissive ples are shown at the right. (E) One of the homologs marked with cen2–green
temperature (+) or restrictive temperature (–) and scored for mitotic index (n > fluorescent protein (GFP) was monitored for segregation during meiosis I in
200 cells). (C) The indicated temperature-sensitive cohesin mutants (psc3-1T) the indicated zygotes. The number of cells that had undergone equational
were arrested at the G1/S phase by adding hydroxyurea (HU) and released by segregation in meiosis I was examined by monitoring metaphase II cells (n >
increasing the temperature. Prometaphase (spindle pole body–duplicated and 100 zygotes). (F) One of the homologs marked with cen2-GFP was monitored
securin/Cut2 positive) cells were counted at each time point (n > 200 cells). (D) for segregation during meiosis II in the indicated zygotes (n > 200 zygotes).
REPORTS
ranged on a 1D chain competes with an applied
Quantum Criticality in an Ising Chain: external transverse magnetic field h. The Ising ex-
change J favors spontaneous magnetic order along
Experimental Evidence for the z axis ðj↑↑↑ ⋯ ↑〉 or j↓↓↓ ⋯ ↓〉Þ, whereas
the transverse field h forces the spins to point along
in transverse field (Eq. Gap both the ordered and paramagnetic phases, as in-
1). Spin excitations are deed observed experimentally in the 3D dipolar-
coupled ferromagnet LiHoF4 (19, 20). In con-
∆(h)
pairs of domain-wall qua-
siparticles (kinks) in the trast, weak additional perturbations in the 1D
ordered phase below hC Ising model, in particular a small longitudinal
and spin-flip quasiparti- domain-wall spin-flip field −hz Si S zi , should lead to a rich structure of
cles in the paramagnet- quasiparticles quantum quasiparticles
bound states (6, 7, 9). Such a longitudinal field, in
ic phase above hC. The critical fact, arises naturally in the case of a quasi-1D
dashed line shows the magnet: In the 3D magnetically ordered phase at
spin gap. (B) CoNb2O6 low temperature, the weak couplings between the
contains zigzag ferro- 0 Ordered hC Paramagnet Field h magnetic chains can be replaced in a first approx-
magnetic Ising chains. imation by a local, effective longitudinal mean
(C) Intensity of the 3D B C2 Q = (0,0.34(1),0) field (21), which scales with the magnitude of the
magnetic Bragg peak T = 0.1 K ordered moment 〈Sz〉 [hz = Sd Jd 〈Sz〉 where the
Counts (103/sec)
as a function of applied O2- sum extends over all interchain bonds with ex-
field observed by neu- change energy Jd]. If the 1D Ising chain is pre-
tron diffraction (27). 1
Co2+ cisely at its critical point (h = hC), then the bound
a c states stabilized by the additional longitudinal field
para- hz morph into the “quantum resonances” that are a
c b ordered magnet characteristic fingerprint of the emergent symmetries
0
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 near the quantum critical point. Nearly two dec-
Field (T) // b ades ago, Zamolodchikov (2) proposed precisely
Energy (meV)
longitudinal mean field of the interchain couplings
and c̃ = c/2 is the lattice spacing along the chain].
2 2
The essential physics of confinement is ap-
parent in the limit of small l for two kinks near
1.5 1.5 the band minimum, where the one-kink dispersion
is quadratic: e(k) = mo + ħ2k2/(2m). In this case,
1 1 the Schrödinger’s equation for the relative motion
of two kinks in their center-of-mass frame is
C hz = 0 D hz = 0.02J
3 3
ℏ2 d 2 ϕ
– þ ljxjϕ ¼ ðm – 2mo Þϕ ð2Þ
m dx2
2.5 2.5
Energy (meV)
Energy (meV)
0.3
L = 0.00(5)
0.15 2.33, 4.08, 5.52, 6.78, 7.94, etc. (18). The very
2.5 nontrivial sequencing of the spacing between
Energy (meV)
m2 0.1
levels at the zone center agrees well with the
0.2
2 0.05
measured energies of all five observed bound
m3
states (Fig. 3H), indicating that the weak
0.1 m4 m5 0 confinement limit captures the essential physics.
1.5
A full modeling of the data throughout the
Brillouin zone can be obtained (18) by consid-
0.0 1 ering an extension of Eq. 2 to finite wave vectors
1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0
L (rlu) in 1.25 Å-1 and adding a short-range interaction between kinks,
Energy (meV)
responsible for stabilizing the observed bound state
G H data near the zone boundary L = –1. Interestingly, this
kink confinement 1.6 kink confinement m5 is a kinetic bound state; that is, it is stabilized by
m4
. ..
Energy / 2mο
2
m2 26. T. Senthil et al., Science 303, 1490 (2004).
2m1 m1 27. The 3D magnetic ordering wave vector has a finite
component in the interchain direction due to
3 4 5 6 antiferromagnetic couplings between chains.
7 8 28. We thank G. Mussardo, S. T. Carr, A. M. Tsvelik, M. Greiter,
0 and in particular F. H. L. Essler and L. Balents for very useful
1 2 3 4 5
0 k 0 k discussions. Work at Oxford, Bristol, and ISIS was supported
Energy/m1 by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
(UK) and at HZB by the European Commission under the
Fig. 4. (A and B) Energy scans at the zone center at 4.5 and 5 T observing two peaks, m1 and m2, at low 6th Framework Programme through the Key Action:
energies. (C) Softening of the two energy gaps near the critical field (above ~5 T the m2 peak could no longer be Strengthening the European Research Area, Research
Infrastructures, contract RII3-CT-2003-505925 (NMI3).
resolved). Points come from data as in Fig. 2, B to D; lines are guides to the eye. The incomplete gap softening is
attributed to the interchain couplings as described in the text. (D) The ratio m2/m1 approaches the E8 golden Supporting Online Material
ratio (dashed line) just below the critical field. (E) Expected line shape in the dominant dynamical correlations at www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5962/177/DC1
the zone center Szz(k = 0,w) for the case shown in (G) [vertical bars are quasiparticle weights (7) relative to m1]: Materials and Methods
two prominent modes followed by the 2m1 continuum (schematic dashed line), in strong resemblance to References
observed data in (A) and (B). (F) Gapless continuum of critical kinks (shaded area) predicted for the critical Ising 3 August 2009; accepted 5 November 2009
chain. (G) E8 spectrum expected for finite hz. Lines indicate bound states; shaded area is the 2m1 continuum. 10.1126/science.1180085
Nematic Electronic Structure in the ordering occurs in the dxz and dyz orbitals of Fe
(22–25).
Thus, our objective is to examine the spatial
“Parent” State of the Iron-Based arrangements in the electronic structure of the
parent state of ferropnictides by imaging simul-
Superconductor Ca(Fe1–xCox)2As2 taneously their→ real space (r→ -space) and momen-
tum space ( k-space) electronic characteristics.
SI-STM can be a powerful technique to achieve
T.-M. Chuang,1,2* M. P. Allan,1,3* Jinho Lee,1,4 Yang Xie,1 Ni Ni,5,6 S. L. Bud’ko,5,6 such electronic structure imaging; it has already
G. S. Boebinger,2 P. C. Canfield,5,6 J. C. Davis1,3,4,7† revealed the structure and arrangement of
ferropnictide vortices (26). Measurement of the
The mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity in the newly discovered iron-based STM tip-sample differential tunneling conductance
superconductors is unresolved. We use spectroscopic imaging–scanning tunneling microscopy to dI=dV ðr ,V Þ ≡ gðr , E ¼ eV Þ at locations r and
→ → →
study the electronic structure of a representative compound CaFe1.94Co0.06As2 in the “parent” state sample-bias voltage V (here, E is the electron
from which this superconductivity emerges. Static, unidirectional electronic nanostructures of energy, and e is a single electron charge) yields
dimension eight times the inter–iron-atom distance aFe-Fe and aligned along the crystal a axis are an image proportional to the local density →of elec-
observed. In contrast, the delocalized electronic states detectable by quasiparticle interference →
tronic states LDOSðr , EÞ. Elements of the k-space
imaging are dispersive along the b axis only and are consistent with a nematic a2 band with an electronic structure can then be determined by
→
apparent band folding having wave vector q ≅ T2!=8aFe-Fe along the a axis. All these effects using Fourier transform scanning tunneling spec-
rotate through 90 degrees at orthorhombic twin boundaries, indicating that they are bulk troscopy, because the spatial modulations in
properties. As none of these phenomena are expected merely due to crystal symmetry, underdoped →
gðr , EÞ due to scattering interference of quasi-
ferropnictides may exhibit a more complex electronic nematic state than originally expected. →
particles are detectable in gðq , EÞ, which is the
→ →
Fourier transform of gðr , EÞ (here, q is the wave
→
he ferropnictide (1–6) and cuprate high- within this layer. The parent compounds are anti- vector reciprocal to r ).
A B C
→
Fig. 2. (A) Difference between two atomically registered topographs z(+50 Iðr ,E = +50 meVÞ in the same FOV as in (A) and (B). The atomic-scale
mV) – z(–50 mV) (where z is the tip-sample distance), acquired in the same impurity state locations as determined from conductance mapping at 150 meV
61.3-nm square FOV at Iz = 10 pA. (Inset) Autocorrelation analysis of this are shown as 262 yellow dots. If they represent the Co dopant atoms, they
image; the centers of self-similarity peaks (red dotted lines) are separated by exhibit only ~15% of the density expected in the top FeAs layer, based on
→
~8aFe-Fe. (B) The current map Iðr ,E = +50 meVÞ in the same FOV as (A). the average measured Co density of the whole sample. (Inset) A typical
(Inset) Autocorrelation analysis of this image; the centers of self-similarity conductance spectrum exhibits a mixed metallic and “pseudogap-like”
peaks (red dotted lines) are separated by ~8aFe-Fe. (C) The current map shape.
FM
from a larger 94-nm square FOV. Six dispers-
s
-A
ing peaks are clearly visible. The two center
As
a
/2
peaks disperse in a hole-like fashion along
2π
the b axis only. Pairs of side peaks mimic their
dispersion at q ≈ T1=8 ð2p=aFe-Fe Þ. The
→
B G
open circles at two corners of each image
→
represent the q -space locations of the 1 × 2
reconstruction. Red arrows indicate the three
parallel dispersion trajectories. (K) Overview
of the different directions and length scales in
→
q space. The dispersing QPI vectors are short
compared with the 2p/aFe-Fe box that spans
all scattering vectors in the first Fe-Fe C H
Brillouin zone (the large black box). The small
gray box indicates the first As-As reciprocal L
unit cell. FM indicates the b axis direction
along which spin correlations are ferro-
magnetic. (L) The hole-like dispersion of
→ →
QPI, plotted in q b ,q a ,E space. Circles mark
the positions of the six dispersion peaks
→
extracted from each gðq ,EÞ image; the blue D I
lines are the parabolic fit for QPI. Projections
→ →
to the ðq b ,q a Þ plane emphasize how
unidirectional the dispersions are along the
b axis. The side peaks are at ~T1=8 (2p/aFe-Fe),
suggesting an intimate relation between the
unidirectional QPI modulations and uni-
directional static electronic structure in Fig. 2.
E J
High Low
A B C
a (AFM)
b (FM)
a (AFM)
90pA 1.45nS
b (FM)
10nm 50pA 1.15nS
Fig. 4. (A) A 96.0-nm FOV topographic image (junction resistance = 500 (A). The static unidirectional domains of Fig. 2 clearly change directionality by
→ →
megohm, V0 = –50 mV) measured simultaneously with the gðr , EÞ and Iðr ,EÞ 90° across the twin boundary. (Insets) Autocorrelations; center of self-
data of (B) and (C). The orthorhombic twin boundary visible in (B) and (C) is similarity peaks (gray dotted lines) are separated by ~8aFe-Fe. (C) The
→
marked with black arrows. Slight deviations in the angle of the surface- conductance image gðr ,E = −10 meVÞ in the same FOV. (Insets) Fourier-
reconstruction reveal the orthogonal orthorhombic axes of the two crystal transforms in the respective domains demonstrate that the QPI dispersions
→
domains (36). (B) The current image, Iðr ,E = 50 meVÞ in the same FOV as exhibit a 90° rotation across the twin boundary.
quasi-folded band along the b axis would be to than originally expected. These new perceptions of 26. Y. Yin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 097002 (2009).
detect the effect of an orthorhombic twin bound- its electronic structure should inform revised the- 27. M. C. Boyer et al., http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.4400
(2008).
ary. In Fig. 4A, we show a 96-nm square topograph ories for the mechanism of the high-temperature 28. F. Massee et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 220517 (2009).
through which a twin boundary passes diago- superconductivity. 29. D. Hsieh et al., http://arxiv.org/abs/0812.2289
nally (36). Figure 4B depicts the Ι map (2008).
taken simultaneously with Fig. 4A, along with 30. V. B. Nascimento et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 076104
References and Notes (2009).
the autocorrelations of this map on each side of 1. Y. Kamihara, T. Watanabe, M. Hirano, H. Hosono,
31. F. C. Niestemski et al., http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.2761
the twin boundary. In both the raw data and the J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 3296 (2008).
(2009).
2. X. H. Chen et al., Nature 453, 761 (2008).
autocorrelations, the static ~8aFe-Fe a-axis– 3. C. Wang et al., Europhys. Lett. 83, 67006 (2008).
32. A. I. Goldman et al., Phys. Rev. B 78, 100506
oriented domains rotate through 90°. In Fig. 4C, (2008).
4. M. Rotter, M. Tegel, D. Johrendt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101,
33. S.-H. Baek et al., Phys. Rev. B 79, 052504 (2009).
we show the gðr→ , E ¼ −10 meVÞ taken simulta- 107006 (2008).
34. T. Kondo et al., http://arxiv.org/abs/0905.0271
neously along with the two gðq , E ¼ −10 meVÞ 5. A. S. Sefat et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 117004
→
(2009).
(2008).
measured on each side of the twin boundary. 35. A. F. Kemper, C. Cao, P. J. Hirschfeld, H.-P. Cheng,
6. N. Ni et al., Phys. Rev. B 78, 014523 (2008).
Again, the C2-symmetric b axis QPI modulations Phys. Rev. B 80, 104511 (2009).
7. J. Zaanen, O. Gunnarsson, Phys. Rev. B 40, 7391
36. Materials and methods are available as supporting
rotate through 90°. This rules out effects of both (1989).
material on Science Online.
the surface reconstruction and the distribution of 8. S. A. Kivelson, E. Fradkin, V. J. Emery, Nature 393, 550
37. We thank F. Baumberger, P. J. Hirschfeld, J. E. Hoffman,
Ca atoms remaining on that surface (neither of (1998).
A. Kaminski, D.-H. Lee, G. Luke, E.-A. Kim, M. Lawler,
9. S. Sachdev, Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 913 (2003).
which rotates at the twin boundary) as the cause A. P. Mackenzie, I. I. Mazin, M. Norman, S. Pan,
10. V. J. Emery, S. A. Kivelson, J. M. Tranquada, Proc. Natl.
of the observed electronic nematicity. Instead, we G. Sawatzky, and S. Uchida for helpful discussions
Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 8814 (1999).
and communications. These studies are supported
conclude that all the unidirectional →
electronic 11. Y. Kohsaka et al., Science 315, 1380 (2007);
by the Center for Emergent Superconductivity, a
→
phenomena (both in r space and k space) de- published online 7 February 2007 (10.1126/
DOE Energy Frontier Research Center headquartered
science.1138584).
tected here are bulk electronic characteristics of 12. Y. Kohsaka et al., Nature 454, 1072 (2008).
at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Work at the
the orthorhombic antiferromagnetic state. Hence, Ames Laboratory was supported by the DOE, Basic
13. H. Hosono, Physica C 469, 314 (2009).
Energy Sciences under Contract no. DE-AC02-
a related conclusion is that C4-symmetric photo- 14. J. Zhao et al., Nat. Phys. 5, 555 (2009).
07CH11358. Support for this work was provided
emission data in this state must represent the 15. S. O. Diallo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 187206
by NSF/DMR-0654118 through the National High
(2009).
average over a strongly C2-symmetric electronic 16. T. Yildirim, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 057010 (2008).
Magnetic Field Lab (to T.-M.C.); the Cornell Center for
structure in different orthorhombic domains. Materials Research under NSF/DMR-0520404 (to Y.X.);
17. Q. Si, E. Abrahams, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 076401
and the U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences
Our SI-STM studies indicate that the elec- (2008).
Research Council and the Scottish Funding Council
tronic structure of underdoped Ca(Fe1–xCox)2As2 18. C. Fang, H. Yao, W.-F. Tsai, J. Hu, S. A. Kivelson,
(to M.P.A.). J.C.D. acknowledges gratefully the
Phys. Rev. B 77, 224509 (2008).
supports a variety of unexpected phenomena, in- hospitality and support of the Physics and Astronomy
19. I. I. Mazin, M. D. Johannes, Nat. Phys. 5, 141
cluding (i) the existence of unidirectional electron- Department at the University of British Columbia,
(2009).
Vancouver, BC, Canada.
ic nanostructures, which are highly self-similar 20. C. Xu, Y. Qi, S. Sachdev, Phys. Rev. B 78, 134507
with dimension ~8aFe-Fe and possibly pinned by (2008).
Co dopant atoms, and (ii) b-axis dispersive QPI 21. H. Zhai, F. Wang, D.-H. Lee, Phys. Rev. B 80, 064517
(2009). Supporting Online Material
modulations, consistent with a nematic version of 22. F. Krüger, S. Kumar, J. Zaanen, J. van den Brink, www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5962/181/DC1
the a2 band and with an additional apparent Phys. Rev. B 79, 054504 (2009). Materials and Methods
SOM Text
q¼
→
˜ T2!=8aFe-Fe band folding. As none of these 23. R. R. P. Singh, http://arxiv.org/abs/0903.4408
(2009). Figs. S1 to S7
effects are expected merely due to the crystal References
24. C.-C. Lee, W.-G. Yin, W. Ku, http://arxiv.org/abs/
symmetry, the underdoped ferropnictide parent 0905.2957 (2009).
state from which superconductivity emerges 25. W.-C. Lee, C. Wu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 176101 25 August 2009; accepted 13 November 2009
appears to be a more complex electronic nematic (2009). 10.1126/science.1181083
Fig. 3. Current-potential
data as a function of A B
808-nm illumination in-
tensity for (A) planar
and (B) wire-array pho-
toelectrodes. Solution
absorbance is accounted
for via the in situ mea-
surement of the incident
light intensity. In panels
(C) and (D), the same data C D
are displayed corrected
for the solution effects,
includinguncompensated
cell resistance (~20 ohms)
and concentration over-
Fig. 2. Photoelectrochemical characterization potentials, so as to attain
was conducted in a glass cell configured so that photoelectrode perform-
the redox potential of the solution could be ance parameters inher-
controlled versus a standard calomel reference ent to the Si electrodes.
electrode (SCE) and the incident light intensity The external quantum E F
could be measured in situ. The cell was filled with yield plotted in panels
~50 mL of aqueous electrolyte containing 0.5 M (E) and (F) was cal-
K2SO4 and 0.05 M methyl viologen dichloride culated on the basis of
(MV2+) and buffered at pH = 2.9. The solution the incident light inten-
potential was driven to –0.60 V versus SCE by sity, the sample area,
using the large carbon-cloth electrode as a and the measured pho-
working electrode and the frit-separated Pt mesh tocurrent from panels (A)
as a counter electrode, which turned the electro- and (B), respectively. The
lyte deep purple-blue because of the formation of performance of a wire-
MV+ radical (~ 3 mM). During photoelectrochem- array sample in which
ical characterization, the p-Si sample was used as the wires had been physically removed from the substrate confirmed that the p+-Si substrate did not
the working electrode, the large carbon cloth as substantially contribute to the observed photoresponse.
the counter electrode, and the small carbon cloth
as the reference electrode.
0.015 V, short-circuit photocurrent densities (Jsc) the exchange current density, and g is the ratio electrodes as a function of angle (q, where q =
of 27.9 T 0.8 mA cm−2, external quantum yields of the actual junction area to the projected 0° is normal incidence), using excitation with a
at short-circuit (Fext,sc) of 0.71 T 0.02, fill factors surface area of the electrode, that is, the laser spot (~1 mm2) much smaller than the
( ff ) of 0.51 T 0.05, and photoelectrode energy- roughness factor (2, 6). The planar p-Si samples sample area (Fig. 4). At q = 60°, at which the
conversion efficiencies (h808) of 12.9 T 1.0% exhibited a Voc that was near the bulk recombi- light path through the array was substantially
(across six devices; the uncertainty is reported as nation limit of 0.60 V (at Jph = Jsc = 27 mA cm−2), increased relative to that for q = 0°, Fext
1 SD). Correction for the concentration over- which was calculated from the value of Jo approached 0.7. Accounting for reflection and
potential and uncompensated resistance losses produced by the known bulk properties and residual absorption by the photo-inactive p+
(15, 19) in the aqueous MV2+/+ test electrolyte effective minority-carrier diffusion length of substrate, the internal quantum yield (Fint) was
yielded the inherent photoelectrode properties the p-Si sample investigated (20), attesting to thus near unity. This conclusion is consistent
under these conditions of ffcorr = 0.68 T 0.05 and the high quality of the semiconductor/liquid with the observation that Fext = ~0.2 at normal
h808,corr = 17.4 T 1.0%. Under the same junction obtained in this test electrolyte system. incidence for the wire array even though the
conditions, wire-array samples exhibited Voc = Equation 1 implies that for each 10-fold specific growth template produced wires that
0.41 T 0.04 V, Jsc = 7.7 T 0.9 mA cm−2, Fext,sc = increase in g, the reduced splitting in the quasi- filled only 4% of the optical plane.
0.20 T 0.02, ff = 0.50 T 0.10, and h808 = 2.6 T Fermi levels when the photogenerated charge Under 100 mW cm−2 of simulated solar
0.4% (across six devices). For the specific wire- carriers are diluted over the larger junction area illumination in the same electrolyte that did not
array electrode displayed in Fig. 3, Voc = 0.42 V, will decrease Voc at room temperature by at least contain MV+ (so as to eliminate visible light
Jsc = 7.9 mA cm−2, Fext,sc = 0.20, ff = 0.55, and 59 mV. Because g ~ 10 for the wire-array samples absorption), these p-Si wire arrays exhibited Jsc
h808 = 3.0%. The inherent photoelectrode prop- fabricated here, the Voc is thus within ~50 mV of values of ~9 to 11 mA cm−2 (21). The theoretical
erties of this electrode were ffcorr = 0.65 and that expected on the basis of the behavior of the Jsc limit for Si under such conditions is 43 mA
h808,corr = 3.6%. planar cells at similar Jsc levels. This result cm−2, and in practice optical reflection losses
The Voc of a semiconductor junction is suggests that these p-Si microwires are largely reduce this value to ~35 mA cm−2. Hence, the Jsc
given by free of electronically deleterious defects or impu- observed for the wire-array sample is larger, by a
rities that would lower the Voc substantially beyond factor of ~6, than the Jsc expected for complete
Voc = (nkBT/q) ln (Jph/gJo) (1) that dictated by purely geometric considerations. light absorption and unity internal quantum yield
Optimized wire-array solar cells would ex- by an array that captured only 4% of the incident
where n is the diode quality factor, kB is the hibit a much higher Jsc than the values observed photons (based on the geometric filling fraction
Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature (in in the test samples. To evaluate the reasons for the of the optical plane). This observation indicates
Kelvin), q is the (unsigned) charge on an lower Jsc values of the wire arrays relative to substantial internal light scattering and optical
electron, Jph is the photocurrent density, Jo is the planar Si sample, Fext was measured for the focusing into the Si regions of the wire arrays.
1
Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4
7AL, UK. 2Institut für Theoretische Physik und Astrophysik, Uni-
versity of Kiel, 24098 Kiel, Germany.
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
Boris.Gaensicke@warwick.ac.uk
E-Type Asteroid (2867) Steins as images of the surface of Steins were taken by the
WAC.
The shape of Steins resembles that of a bril-
Imaged by OSIRIS on Board Rosetta liant cut diamond. The last NAC image, taken at
31° before reaching minimum phase angle, and
the best WAC image, near CA at 61.5° phase
H. U. Keller,1* C. Barbieri,2 D. Koschny,3 P. Lamy,4 H. Rickman,5,20 R. Rodrigo,6 H. Sierks,1
angle, show a very similar outline (Fig. 1). The
M. F. A’Hearn,7 F. Angrilli,2 M. A. Barucci,8 J.-L. Bertaux,9 G. Cremonese,2 V. Da Deppo,21
surface of Steins is mostly covered by shallow
B. Davidsson,10 M. De Cecco,2 S. Debei,2 S. Fornasier,8 M. Fulle,11 O. Groussin,4
craters, often with subdued, ambiguous rims. Some
P. J. Gutierrez,6 S. F. Hviid,1 W.-H. Ip,12 L. Jorda,4 J. Knollenberg,13 J. R. Kramm,1 E. Kührt,13
of the larger craters are pitted with smaller ones.
M. Küppers,14 L.-M. Lara,6 M. Lazzarin,2 J. Lopez Moreno,6 F. Marzari,2 H. Michalik,15 G. Naletto,2
The overall crater shape and depth-to-diameter
L. Sabau,16 N. Thomas,17 K.-P. Wenzel,3 I. Bertini,6 S. Besse,4 F. Ferri,2 M. Kaasalainen,18
ratio (~0.12) are consistent with degradation
S. Lowry,19 S. Marchi,2 S. Mottola,13 W. Sabolo,6 S. E. Schröder,1 S. Spjuth,1 P. Vernazza3
1
The European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission encountered the main-belt asteroid (2867) Steins Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-
Lindau, Germany. 2University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
while on its way to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Images taken with the 3
European Space and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, Nether-
OSIRIS (optical, spectroscopic, and infrared remote imaging system) cameras on board Rosetta lands. 4Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, Université de
show that Steins is an oblate body with an effective spherical diameter of 5.3 kilometers. Its surface Provence, Marseille, France. 5Institute för Astronomi och
does not show color variations. The morphology of Steins is dominated by linear faults and a large Rymdfysik, Uppsala, Sweden. 6Instituto de Astrofísica de
2.1-kilometer-diameter crater near its south pole. Crater counts reveal a distinct lack of small Andalucía–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas,
Granada, Spain. 7University of Maryland, College Park, MD
craters. Steins is not solid rock but a rubble pile and has a conical appearance that is probably the 20742, USA. 8Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France. 9Services
result of reshaping due to Yarkovsky-O’Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) spin-up. The OSIRIS d’Aéronomie de CNRS, Verrières le Buisson, France. 10Depart-
images constitute direct evidence for the YORP effect on a main-belt asteroid. ment of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Uppsala,
Sweden. 11International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste,
Italy. 12National Central University, Jhongli City, Taiwan.
13
he European Space Agency’s (ESA) angle (Sun–object–observer) was 38°. It de- German Aerospace Center, Berlin, Germany. 14European
Iron Partitioning and Density Changes nesiowüstite (Mw, also known as ferropericlase),
and cubic Ca-silicate perovskite (Ca-Pv). Major-
ite garnet (5) and post-perovskite (11) are known
of Pyrolite in Earth’s Lower Mantle to be present as major high-pressure phases in the
uppermost and lowermost portions of the lower
Tetsuo Irifune,1* Toru Shinmei,1 Catherine A. McCammon,2 Nobuyoshi Miyajima,2 mantle, respectively.
David C. Rubie,2 Daniel J. Frost2 Understanding the nature of Fe partitioning
between the two major phases, Mg-Pv and Mw,
Phase transitions and the chemical composition of minerals in Earth’s interior influence under lower mantle conditions may provide im-
geophysical interpretations of its deep structure and dynamics. A pressure-induced spin transition portant clues for interpreting seismic disconti-
in olivine has been suggested to influence iron partitioning and depletion, resulting in a distinct nuities. Fe2+ has been known to preferentially
layered structure in Earth’s lower mantle. For a more realistic mantle composition (pyrolite), we partition into Mw relative to Mg-Pv in the simple
observed a considerable change in the iron-magnesium partition coefficient at about 40 MgO-FeO-SiO2 system (12). Recent multianvil
gigapascals that is explained by a spin transition at much lower pressures. However, only a small experiments on more complex mixtures of pyrolite
depletion of iron is observed in the major high-pressure phase (magnesium silicate perovskite), and peridotite—the dominant rock type of the
which may be explained by preferential retention of the iron ion Fe3+. Changes in mineral upper mantle—demonstrated that the Fe-Mg
proportions or density are not associated with the change in partition coefficient. The observed partition coefficient between Mg-Pv and Mw
density profile agrees well with seismological models, which suggests that pyrolite is a good model [KD = (Fe/Mg)Mg-Pv/(Fe/Mg)Mw] increases con-
composition for the upper to middle parts of the lower mantle. siderably with pressure and approaches unity as a
result of Fe enrichment in Mg-Pv (5, 6, 8, 13).
he evolution of the structure and dy- transitions in mantle materials, including electron This is attributed to a coupled substitution of Mg2+
down to ~0.5, approaching the values observed in line is dashed when only
earlier LHDAC experiments on similar composi- LHDAC data are available. 0.4
tions (9, 10). Thus, the high KD values observed in Values determined or esti-
multianvil experiments below 30 GPa can be re- mated for San Carlos olivine San Carlos olivine
conciled with the relatively low values obtained in compositions (greensymbols) 0.2
LHDAC studies because of the substantial decrease are shown for comparison
of KD at pressures above ~40 GPa. (25–29). Circles denote the
Recent experimental and theoretical studies results based on multianvil 0
(4, 17–20) have demonstrated that an electronic experiments; squares are 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
high-spin to low-spin transition of Fe2+ occurs in those obtained using LHDAC. Pressure (GPa)
Mw over a wide pressure range between ~35
GPa and ~80 GPa in the lower mantle. Because variation of KD attributable to the spin transition to the increase of Fe2+ in this phase with increas-
the effective ionic radius of Fe2+ in the low-spin (Fig. 2). In fact, a recent LHDAC study with careful ing pressure above ~40 GPa. The Fe3+/(Fe2+ +
state is smaller than that of Mg2+, an enrichment examination of chemical heterogeneity in the sam- Fe3+) values for Mg-Pv at 28.7 GPa and 44.2
of Fe in Mw relative to Mg-Pv is expected to ple actually shows an increase of KD (28). Thus, it GPa are 0.66 (T0.06) and 0.67 (T0.08) (Fig. 3, B
accompany the spin transition in Mw. It is unclear is not clear whether the observed decrease in KD at and E), respectively, whereas those based on
whether such transitions occur in Mg-Pv in the ~70 GPa (25, 26) is related to the spin transition in Mössbauer measurements are 0.52 (T0.10) and
corresponding pressure range, which would pre- Mw, which may start at considerably lower pres- 0.52 (T0.16) (Fig. 3, C and F). Although there
sumably influence this enrichment (19, 21–24). sures near 40 GPa, as suggested in our study. was only a small sample volume available for the
The notable increase in the Fe content of Mw at Alternatively, the discrepancy in the possible com- Mössbauer measurements, these values agree
the expense of Fe in Mg-Pv (Fig. 1), and hence mencement of the spin transition could be due to a reasonably well with those estimated from liter-
the resulting decrease in KD (Fig. 2), may thus be compositional effect, because pyrolite has a more ature values (14). Thus, Mg-Pv has a nearly con-
attributed to the commencement of the spin tran- complex chemical composition. stant Fe3+/(Fe2+ + Fe3+) value between 0.52 and
sition in Mw at pressures near 40 GPa. This could The valence state of Fe has also been shown 0.67 at these pressures, suggesting that both Fe2+
be effectively completed by pressures of ~70 to to influence KD, as is the case for the increase and Fe3+ were removed from Mg-Pv in similar
80 GPa, when the KD values constrained by from 23 to 28 GPa, where the enrichment of Fe3+ proportions at pressures above ~40 GPa. It has
LHDAC experiments and some theoretical pre- occurs in Mg-Pv (14). To examine the possible been shown that Fe2+ preferentially partitions
dictions are taken into account (9, 10, 18–20). changes in Fe2+/Fe3+ ratios in Mw and Mg-Pv into Mw in this pressure range, but Fe3+ may also
Some LHDAC studies demonstrated a de- with increasing pressure, EELS and Mössbauer have been removed from Mg-Pv in association
crease in KD in San Carlos olivine with a com- measurements were made on two samples re- with the slightly decreasing Al3+ content of this
position of (Mg0.9Fe0.1)2SiO4 at pressures ~70 GPa covered from the runs at 28.7 GPa and 44.2 GPa. phase with increasing pressure (Fig. 1). The slight
(25, 26) (Fig. 2), which was interpreted as the The EELS measurements show that Fe in Mw in decrease of Al3+ in Mg-Pv may be attributed to
commencement of the spin transition. However, both of these samples is almost entirely Fe2+, the formation of a small amount of an Al-rich
considering the uncertainties associated with the with the Fe3+/(Fe2+ + Fe3+) value being less than phase or its possible enrichment in fine-grained
KD values (~0.02 to 0.1) determined using LHDAC ~0.02 (T0.05) (Fig. 3, A and D). Thus, we pro- Ca-Pv, although we did not see any evidence for
(25–27), it is difficult to see a clear trend in the pose that the increase of Fe in Mw (Fig. 1) is due the presence of additional phases in either in situ
4.7
80 24. C. McCammon et al., Nat. Geoscience 1, 684 (2008).
Density (g/cm3)
Mj
4.6 25. A.-L. Auzende et al., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 269, 164 (2008).
26. T. Sakai et al., Am. Mineral. 94, 921 (2009).
60 4.5
Mg-Pv 27. Y. Kobayashi et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 32, L19301 (2005).
4.4 28. R. Sinmyo et al., J. Geophys. Res. 113, B11204 (2008).
40 29. T. Katsura, E. Ito, Geophys. Res. Lett. 23, 2005 (1996).
4.3 30. A. M. Dziewonski, D. L. Anderson, Phys. Earth Planet. Sci.
Rw
20 25, 297 (1981).
4.2 PREM 31. We thank K. Funakoshi, Y. Tange, N. Nishiyama,
Mw
0 4.1 T. Sanehira, and T. Tsuchiya for technical assistance at
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 SPring-8 and for helpful discussions. T.I. thanks the
Pressure (GPa) Pressure (GPa) Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Bayerisches
Geoinstitut for support during this study. Parts of this
Fig. 4. Proportion of mineral phases in pyrolite with pressure (A). In addition to the lower mantle work were supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific
phases (Mw, Mg-Pv, and Ca-Pv), majorite garnet (Mj) and ringwoodite (Rw) are shown. Filled circles Research and Joint Research Project to T.I. from the Japan
were computed using data from this study; open circles are from (5). Density changes in pyrolite, Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
based on unit-cell volumes and chemical compositions of the coexisting phases (B), are compared Supporting Online Material
with that of the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) (30). www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/science.1181443/DC1
Materials and Methods
x-ray diffraction measurements or scanning elec- in the simple MgO-FeO-SiO2 system. A certain Fig. S1
Table S1
tron microscopy (fig. S1) observations. amount of Fe will be retained in Mg-Pv in pyrolite
References
It has been shown that Mg-Pv becomes es- even when the spin transition causes a depletion of
2 September 2009; accepted 13 November 2009
sentially Fe-free when all Fe in Mw is in the Fe2+ in Mg-Pv because of the presence of a con- Published online 3 December 2009;
low-spin state at pressures greater than ~80 GPa siderable amount of Al2O3 (4 to 5 weight percent) 10.1126/science.1181443
(4, 25), but these values are only valid for Fe2+ in this phase (table S1). The effect of the spin Include this information when citing this paper.
Anthozoa
[PaleoDB, (6)], we tested the cradle and source
hypotheses for biogenic reefs. These largely shallow-
water and tropical ecosystems are known for
their amazing biodiversity (7), but it is disputed
200
applying definitions in (16). To reduce the influ- Crinoidea Echinoidea p (reef origin)
ence of taxonomic errors, we only referred to 70-100%
Gymnolaemata
classified genera for which a species was Ostracoda 50-70%
identified (17), and we minimized stratigraphic
10
30-50%
errors by using only the species occurrences that 10-30%
were firmly assigned to 1 of 74 geological time 5-10%
Malacostraca
1
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on 50 100 200 500 1000 2000
Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt University Berlin, Genera with known environment of origin
10115 Berlin, Germany. 2Department of the Geophysical
Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Fig. 1. Phanerozoic originations of marine benthic genera in reefs for the most common classes recorded
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: in the Paleobiology Database. Error bars represent two times the standard deviation of 50 resampling
wolfgang.kiessling@mfn-berlin.de trials of raw data.
carbonate vs. siliciclastic foreign trading balance is less variable (fig. S9).
origination preferences
0.6
tropic vs. extra-tropic On even finer time scales, the reefal cradle is not
in pairs of habitats. Eco- shallow vs. deep clearly related to rebounds from mass extinctions
system stands for benthic
0.5
(left) and <45° paleolati- none of these potential biases is strong enough to
tude (right). The left points affect the basic results. Sampling probabilities are
0.1
and DP and the proportions of reefs, and ecological complexity generated the many
genera originating in NR, S, ET,
biotic interactions in even low-diversity reefs (19).
and DP migrating into R, C, T, and
Topographic complexity is known to provide eco-
SH. Data for S-C, T-ET, and SH-DP
logical opportunities for species packing of marine
0.60
shallow vs. deep standing diversity, and there is no evidence that reef
diversity increased profoundly over the Phanerozoic
0.50 0.55 0.60 0.65 0.70 (23). Without extinctions, we would thus probably
Proportion of NR, S, ET, DP origins exported not see the pronounced cradle signal in our data.
Fig. 3. Treatment of HCV-infected chimpanzees with SPC3649 was well panzees during the study. (D to G) Photomicrographs of hematoxylin and
tolerated. (A) Plasma trough levels of SPC3649. (B and C) Alanine amino- eosin–stained sections from biopsies of a normal chimpanzee liver (D) and
transferase (ALT) levels (B) and creatinine levels (C) in HCV-infected chim- animal 4x0513 at week –4 (E), week 19 (F), and week 25 (G), respectively.
Fig. 2. Topological confinement of RNA interhelical orientations across respectively. There are a total of [374, 471, 133, 130], [230, 309, 32], [455,
H≥3SXH≥3SY internal loops. 3D interhelical orientation maps show individual 155], and [104] PDB-derived entries for [S1S1, S2S1, S3S1, S4S1]-type, [S2S2,
2D projections along each plane, together with the associated correlation S3S2, S4S2]-type, [S3S3, S4S3]-type, and [S4S4]-type junctions, respectively.
coefficients (R) between the interhelical twist angles for different types of The percentage of interhelical orientations sampled by the PDB-derived and
internal loops. (A) PDB-derived interhelical distributions for various families topologically computed distributions (WPDB and Wcomp, respectively) is
of Y-junctions. (B) PDB-derived and topologically computed interhelical indicated, along with the fraction of the PDB-derived orientations that falls
distributions for different types of internal loops are shown in color and gray, within 10° of the topologically allowed distribution (Wov).
Fig. 4. Generalized size-encoded RNA conformational selection using small the right are correlation plots between the small-molecule SAS and bound
molecules. (A) Interhelical orientation maps depicting small-molecule bound RNA interhelical angles (ahbhgh) and Kd. Outliers shown in open symbols
RNA interhelical orientations color-coded according to small-molecule SAS represent cases in which more than one small molecule is bound to the RNA
(range: red, 400 Å2; purple, 1100 Å2) and the junction-allowed topological or in which added functional groups protrude out in solution and do not
distribution (in gray) for diverse RNA two-way junctions (shown and labeled directly contact the RNA. (B) A representative series of x-ray structures of two-
at the left) including aminoglycosides and derivatives bound to A-site RNA way RNA junctions bound to small molecules of increasing size. The specific
(1J7T, 2BE0, 2BEE, 2ESI, 2ESJ, 2ET3, 2ET4, 2ET5, 2ET8, 2G5Q, 2PWT), HIV example is of the dimerization initiation site kissing dimer bound to
kissing dimers (2FCX, 2FCY, 2FCZ, 2FD0), and thiamine phosphate analogs aminoglycosides (PDB accession 2FCX, 2FCY, 2FCZ, 2FD0). The aminoglycosides
bound to E. coli Thi-Box (2HOJ, 2HOK, 2HOL, 2HOM, 2HOO, 2HOP). Shown at are shown in red; residues in the junction are in yellow.
C
correlations are observed with other properties of
small molecules such as charge (fig. S6). cofactors for promoter recognition and (Pol II) of eukaryotes depends on five “general”
What is the molecular basis for size- the initiation of transcription. In bacteria, factors, comprising some 30 polypeptides, for
encoded RNA conformational selection? The this requirement is met by a single protein, the promoter-dependent transcription. The general
Intestinal Stem Cells islands merge and generate the adult midgut
epithelium, including ISCs, enterocytes, and entero-
endocrine cells (fig. S1). Here we analyze the
Divya Mathur,1 Alyssa Bost,1 Ian Driver,2 Benjamin Ohlstein1* mechanism by which these cells are established
from this pool of AMPs.
Stem cell niches are locations where stem cells reside and self-renew. Although studies have shown Because Notch signaling determines stem cell–
how niches maintain stem cell fate during tissue homeostasis, less is known about their roles in daughter identity in the adult midgut (11, 12, 15),
establishing stem cells. The adult Drosophila midgut is maintained by intestinal stem cells (ISCs); we asked if it plays a similar role during larval
however, how they are established is unknown. Here, we show that an ISC progenitor generates a intestinal development. We examined the expres-
niche cell via Notch signaling. This niche uses the bone morphogenetic protein 2/4 homolog, sion of the Notch ligand, Delta (Dl), which is
decapentaplegic, to allow progenitors to divide in an undifferentiated state and subsequently expressed in adult ISCs, and the Notch reporter,
breaks down and dies, resulting in the specification of ISCs in the adult midgut. Our results Gbe+Su(H)LacZ, which marks ISC daughters,
demonstrate a paradigm for stem cell–niche biology, where progenitors generate transient niches called enteroblasts (table S1), in the process of dif-
that determine stem cell fate and may give insights into stem cell specification in other tissues. ferentiation. We identified enteroendocrine cells
by staining for the nuclear protein Prospero, and
ntercellular factors regulate stem cell prolif- stromal locations, signal to prevent stem cell we distinguished enterocytes by their polyploid
* *
* *
AMP
*
* *
Late L1 Late L2
Pswitch AMP, H Pswitch AMP,
C D G UAS GFP x Nact
UAS GFP
Mid L3 Late L3 *
Fig. 1. Characterization of AMP islands during larval development. (A) Notch mutant MARCM clones (green, asterisk) lack a discernible PC [(inset in
During late L1, AMPs exist as single, Dl-positive cells (arrowheads). Larval (E)]. Sometimes, mutant clones merge with each other (dashed line). They also
enterocytes are polyploid (arrow), and enteroendocrine cells are Prospero- have increased Dl staining at the membranes [inset in (F)], whereas WT islands
positive (asterisk). (B) By late L2, an AMP island contains one Dl-positive (arrow) have predominantly vesicular Dl. (G) PswitchAMP UAS-GFP (green),
AMP (arrowhead), and another cell that is Gbe+Su(H)lacZ-positive (arrow). expressed in all cells of an AMP island (late L3 shown) used to (H) ectopically
(C) The Gbe+Su(H)lacZ-positive cell (asterisk) extends processes (arrows) express Nact at early L1, results in differentiation into a PC-like cell (green) with
around AMPs, throughout mid L3 and (D) late L3, and islands contain long extensions (arrows) when analyzed at late L3. (E, G, and H) DAPI, nuclear
multiple Delta-positive AMPs (arrowheads). (A to D) DAPI, nuclear blue; Dl, blue; Dl, cytoplasmic red; Prospero, nuclear red; and GFP, green. Scale bars,
cytoplasmic red; Prospero, nuclear red; and b-galactosidase, green. (E and F) 10 mm.
Fig. 2. Developmental
fate of AMPs and PCs
during metamorphosis.
(A) PswitchPC UAS-GFP
labels PCs (arrows) sur-
rounding Dl-positive AMPs
(arrowheads) during late
L3 and (B) 0 hours APF.
(C and D) Between 2 and
3 hours APF, PC (aster-
isk) extensions appear to
spread out (arrows), and
most AMPs (stars) express
GFP and Pdm1, indicating
differentiation into entero-
cytes. A smaller AMP
population (arrowheads)
remains Pdm1-negative,
whereas some cells are
Delta-positive. (E) Stat92E-
GFP is expressed only in
PCs (arrows) at 0 hours
APF. (F and G) At 2 hours
APF, PC (asterisk) pro-
cesses break apart (arrow)
and AMPs express Pdm1
(arrowheads). (H) PCs
stain positive for active
caspase-3 (arrows). (I
and J) At 4 hours APF,
PswitchPC UAS-GFP ex-
pression is diminished
in differentiating AMPs.
Most Pdm1-positive cells accumulate membrane-bound Dl (arrows). Pdm1- C, F, I, and K) GFP, green; Dl, cytoplasmic red; Prospero, nuclear red; and
negative cells with vesicular Dl (arrowheads) are present at this stage. (K DAPI, nuclear blue. (D, G, and L) Pdm1, nuclear grayscale, unmerged. (H)
and L) By 14h APF, Pdm1–positive cells lose GFP and Dl expression GFP, green; active caspase-3, nuclear red; and DAPI, nuclear blue. Scale
(arrows), whereas Pdm1-negative cells are Dl-positive (arrowheads). (A to bars, 10 mm.
Fig. 1. Repeated cocaine administration represses G9a expression in the NAc show how genes were affected under the other two conditions. Desensitized
through a ∆FosB-dependent mechanism. (A) mRNA expression of H3K9/K27 transcriptional responses after repeated cocaine are indicated (***). (D)
KMTs and KDMs in the NAc 24 hours after repeated cocaine. (B) H3K9me2 H3K9me2 levels in the NAc from NSE-tTA x tetOP-∆FosB mice on (∆FosB off)
levels in NAc 24 hours after repeated cocaine. (C) Analysis of gene expression or off (∆FosB on) doxycycline 1 hour after repeated cocaine. (E) G9a mRNA
after acute or repeated cocaine. Heat maps (*) show genes up-regulated in NAc expression in the NAc from NSE-tTA x tetOP-∆FosB mice on (∆FosB off) and off
1 hour after a cocaine challenge in naïve animals (acute), in animals treated (∆FosB on) doxycycline and from mice infected with AAV-GFP or AAV-∆FosB.
repeatedly with cocaine (repeated + acute), or in animals after 168 hours of Data are presented as mean T SEM. For statistical analyses, see the full figure
withdrawal from repeated cocaine (repeated wd + acute). Associated heat maps legends in the supporting online text.
Fig. 2. Analysis of
alpha(2A)AR signaling
in rat pancreatic islets.
(A) Insulin secretion from
N1I11 and N1I5 islets at
different glucose concen-
trations with or without
clonidine or yohimbine
as indicated (n = 3 to 8
batches per group). (B) Im-
munoblots of total protein
from N1I5 islets trans-
fected with small interfer-
ing RNA (siRNA) active
against Adra2a or inac-
tive siRNA. The histogram
shows average alpha(2A)
AR signal normalized for
b-actin. Data from four
blots. (C) Insulin secre-
tion at 20 mM glucose
from islets that are non-
transfected (N.T.) or trans-
fected with inactive or
active siRNA [n = 6 to
13 batches per transfection condition for N1I11, N1I5, or N1I5 with 1 mM from 7 to 9 cells per group. (E) Insulin release from N1I5 islets at 20 mM
clonidine (C)]. (D) Depolarization-evoked capacitance increase in N1I5 b cells glucose with active siRNA, deltamethrin, or clonidine as indicated (n = 4 to 6
transfected with inactive or active siRNA. Average total exocytosis (DCTOT) batches per group). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.
The alpha(2A)AR couples to inhibitory het- by incubation with the calcineurin inhibitor delta- insulin secretion at 20 to 60 min during the in-
erotrimeric GTP–binding proteins (Gi proteins). methrin that increased GSIS in N1I5 islets by travenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT) (Fig.
Inactivation of Gi by pertussis toxin reversed the almost the same magnitude (45%; P < 0.05) as 3A and Table 1). Some of the other SNPs were
exocytotic defect in both islets and single b cells silencing of the receptor (Fig. 2E), while the in- also associated with impaired insulin secretion
from N1I5 (fig. S9). Pertussis toxin was effec- hibitor was ineffective in Adra2a-silenced islets. (table S2). Based on this, five SNPs, rs553668,
tive even in the absence of adrenaline, sugges- A near-identical enhancement of GSIS was ob- rs7911129, rs1971596, rs602618, and rs2203616,
tive of tonic activity in the alpha(2A)AR/Gi tained using FK506, another blocker of calci- were replicated in a larger cohort with 4935 in-
signaling system. This is in line with previous neurin, while the inactive deltamethrin analog dividuals, which verified the importance of ge-
findings in Noc2 knockout mice (15). Gi pro- perimethrin did not improve GSIS (fig. S11). netic variation in rs553668 for insulin secretion
teins inhibit exocytosis distal to the elevation of Interestingly, calcineurin, in concert with protein capacity. The SNP was associated with reduced
[Ca2+]i (16) by decreasing cyclic adenosine kinases A and C, has been suggested to affect fasting insulin as well as decreased insulin secre-
monophosphate (cAMP) production, but acti- functional granule distribution and exocytosis tion at 30 and 120 min in response to oral glu-
vation of the protein phosphatase 2B/calcineurin (19, 20). Taken together, our data demonstrate cose (Table 1). Moreover, in a case-control material
has also been proposed to contribute to the that genetically encoded overexpression of Adra2a with 3740 nondiabetics and 2830 diabetics,
effect (17, 18). Interestingly, in all capacitance impairs b cell exocytosis at a late stage and that rs553668 was associated with increased risk of
recordings, cytosolic cAMP was clamped at inappropriately activated calcineurin plays a prom- T2D [recessive effect; odds ratio (OR) 1.42, con-
0.1 mM, and impaired cAMP production inent role by interfering with granule recruitment. fidence interval (CI) 1.01 to 1.99, P = 0.04].
accordingly cannot be the sole explanation for The Niddm1i locus is species-conserved, and When focusing on individuals with low body
reduced exocytosis in N1I5. In fact, cAMP we therefore genotyped 19 single-nucleotide poly- mass index (BMI) (<24) or low C-peptide levels
levels did not differ between the strains at 2.8 or morphisms (SNPs) covering 1 Mb up- or down- (<0.6), the increased T2D risk was evident also
20 mM glucose (fig. S10). However, 5 min stream of the human ADRA2A gene in 935 among heterozygous subjects [OR 1.31 (CI 1.03
after addition of clonidine, cAMP was signifi- individuals well characterized for insulin secre- to 1.68), P = 0.02, and OR 1.28 (CI 1.02 to 1.61),
cantly lower in N1I5 islets compared with tion (fig. S12 and table S1) (10). Notably, the P = 0.03, respectively, using an additive model].
N1I11, as expected if alpha(2A)AR is overex- minor allele (A) of rs553668, located in the 3′ The results for rs553668 were significant also
pressed. In the absence of receptor stimulation, UTR region of ADRA2A, was associated with when correcting for the genotype for TCF7L2
additional mechanisms for suppression of insulin impaired insulin secretion (additive model). The rs7903146, located 1.9 Mb downstream of
secretion must be in operation. The previously impact was prominent, with a significant effect ADRA2A. ADRA2A rs553668 has previously
suggested role of calcineurin was corroborated both on acute insulin response and late-phase been associated with increased stress sensitivity
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POSTDOCTORAL POSITIONS
Xenopus Development,
Stem Cell Research,
Transgenic Mouse Generation, Genetics
The Hormel Institute,
Center for Advanced Drug Research (CADRE) University of Minnesota,
at SRI Shenandoah Valley (SRI SV) Austin, MN 55912
Biosciences Division Postdoctoral positions are available immediately at The Hormel Institute,
SRI International a research branch of the University of Minnesota, located in Austin, MN.
Located in brand new, state-of-the-art laboratories in Virginia's beautiful Successful candidates have the opportunity to work in a variety of research
Shenandoah Valley, CADRE is one of world's few groups focused on the positions in the Cellular and Molecular Biology Group (Dr. Zigang Dong
proteomics of host-vector-pathogen interactions to discover new ways to prevent, and Dr. Ann M. Bode) at The Hormel Institute.
detect, and treat infectious diseases. The group combines SRI’s well-established Postdoctoral positions are available to study the role of histone, MAPKs
expertise in drug discovery, preclinical development, and computational biology and other kinase affecting Xenopus development process. Applicants should
with proteomics to develop new diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for have experience with injection into frog embryos and some manipulation of
infectious and neglected diseases and for biodefense. embryonic tissue. Postdoctoral positions are also available for transgenic
Research at CADRE is focused on three distinct program areas: mouse generation and applicants should have experience in mouse genetics,
• Proteomic studies of host-vector-pathogen interactions, including insect-borne mouse/human embryonic stem cell culture, and especially, experience in
viruses, respiratory and diarrheal pathogens, and parasitic protozoa. terminal differentiation of ES/iPS cells is preferred.
• Identification of ‘critical links’ underlying the mechanisms of antibiotic
Postdoctoral position is available requiring experience in genetics, linkage
resistance, intracellular toxin transport, and vector competence to enable
analysis, SNP chips, and human and mouse genome databases, and additional
discovery of novel biomarkers, well-characterized targets, and therapies.
training in molecular biology, mouse models, and gene characterization.
• Mining SRI’s and others’ databases for biological pathways that play a critical
role in disease development.
Postdoctoral position is also available requiring training in molecular biology,
cloning, mouse model development, advanced microscopy methods such as
CADRE moved into its new building in September 2009, and now seeks group FISH, immunohistochemistry, and histology.
leaders, research scientists, post-doctoral fellows, and research assistants for
several open positions at both Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. levels. For senior positions, A Ph.D. in genetics, molecular biology, cellular development, biochemistry,
applicants should have a successful track record of generating their own funding pharmacy, biology or related fields is required.
through vehicles such as government grants and contracts. Current extramural All candidates must apply on-line at the University of Minnesota employment
funding is preferred. page, https://employment.umn.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=76394
SRI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute headquartered In addition, please e-mail your curriculum vitae to: ambode@hi.umn.edu.
in Menlo Park, California. Founded at Stanford Research Institute, SRI has met
The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and
the strategic needs of clients and partners for more than 60 years.
opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to
For more information please visit www.sri.com/jobs and/or email sv-jobs race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status,
@sri.com. disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation,
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Berkeley
University of California
FACULTY POSITION
Microbial Pathogenesis
James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children
Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research
Applications are invited for tenure/tenure-track
Hematologic Malignancy and
faculty positions in microbial pathogenesis, with rank
Stem Cell Biology Program
Assistant/Associate Professor commensurate with qualifications. Applicants with
The Department of Pediatrics and the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric an interest in emerging infectious disease pathogens,
Research is recruiting for two faculty positions at the Assistant/Associate biodefense and expertise in host-pathogen interactions
Professor level. The research focus for these positions will be on normal
hematopoietic and leukemic stem cell biology with emphasis in basic and
are particularly encouraged to apply. The successful
translational research. Candidates will have a PhD, MD or MD/PhD and candidate will have demonstrated research productivity
must have a strong research background and either current, or potential for, and will be expected to maintain an independent,
independent funding. Laboratory space will be in the Herman B Wells Center
for Pediatric Research (http://www.wellscenter.iupui.edu/). New faculty innovative, funded research program and to participate
will be provided with generous start-up packages and laboratory space. MD in graduate and postgraduate training. A competitive
faculty will have protected time for research activities. New faculty will join start-up package and outstanding core facilities are
an active and growing multi-disciplinary hematopoiesis research community
with a strong collaborative atmosphere. available, including animal imaging, informatics, and
The search committee will begin evaluating applications as they are received extensive BSL-3 and ABSL-3 containment facilities.
and applications will continue to be reviewed until the positions are filled.
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit curriculum vitae, summary
of past accomplishments and future plans, and names and email addresses
Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a
of three references to: statement of research experience, a summary of future
Reuben Kapur, PhD plans, and names of three references by March 1, 2010,
Director, Program in Hematologic Malignancies and
Stem Cell Biology to: Dr. David Perlin, e-mail: perlinds@umdnj.edu.
Wells Center for Pediatric Research AA/EEO Employer M/F/D/V.
Department of Pediatrics
Indiana University School of Medicine
1044 W. Walnut Street, Room 425
Indianapolis, IN 46202
rkapur@iupui.edu
Indiana University is an EO/AA Educator, Employer and Contractor
(M/F/D).
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LATIN AMERICA diseases
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6 junior post-doctorates
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11 experienced post-doctorates
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ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP
DEPARTMENT OF
BIOINFORMATICS AND GENOMICS
We invite applications for the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished
Professorship in the Department of Bioinformatics and Genom-
ics. This research department, housed in the newly dedicated,
$35M Bioinformatics Building, has a collaborative and inter-
disciplinary research focus targeting areas within structural
biology, molecular biophysics, plant genomics, metagenomics,
and human health. The department seeks candidates who have
established outstanding research programs directed toward
critical issues in 21st century biology using computational tech-
niques, alone or in combination with experimental approaches.
The successful candidate should have a demonstrated interest
in fostering collaboration, and a commitment to teaching and
mentorship.
Applications must be made electronically at jobs.uncc.edu
(position #1070) and must include a CV, a list of four references,
and statements on research, teaching, and leadership. Applicants
are also encouraged to contact the Search Committee Chair, Dr.
Cynthia Gibas (cgibas@uncc.edu). All enquiries and applica-
tions will be treated as confidential. For additional information,
please visit our website at www.bioinformatics.uncc.edu.
UNC Charlotte is an EOE/AA Employer and an NSF
ADVANCE Institution.
As part of its on-going drive to excel, NANYANG ENGINEERING invites motivated persons who can flourish in the prevailing, unparalleled, research-oriented
environment in this university, and in Singapore, to apply for faculty positions. Many positions of all ranks are available in various engineering schools. The aspiring
candidate should possess a PhD from a well-recognized university, and must have a strong passion and commitment to excel in both research and teaching.
In addition, candidates for senior appointments must have a demonstrated leadership position in their field of expertise.
Applications and enquiries are invited in emerging fields, which include but not limited to the following broad areas:
Engineering and Medicine Sustainable Living Intelligent Media, Systems and Computing
• Bio-informatics • Environmental Chemistry • Artificial or Computational Intelligence
• Pharmaceutical and Biomolecular Engineering • Green Building Systems and Materials • Digital Media Processing
• Synthetic Biology and Bio-physiology • Risk Analysis and Management • High Performance Computing
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Energy Healthcare
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and Storage
Positions are open until filled but review of applications will begin immediately.
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We seek applications for a tenure track faculty position as an MEG scientist. Applicants should
have a PhD, MD, or the equivalent, and advanced training and experience with MEG methods,
instrumentation and neuroscience applications. They should also have an established track
record in obtaining research funding, teaching and working in a collaborative multi-disciplinary
environment. The new recruit will be expected to establish and lead the MEG laboratory and to
develop a successful research program of basic and clinical neuroscience.
We offer highly attractive salary and start-up packages and an exceedingly high quality of life in
Montreal, one of North America's greatest and most lively cities.
Applications should consist of a PDF file containing a letter outlining current and future research
interests, CV, and the names and addresses of three references. Completed PDF files should be
you by
This booklet is brought to Office
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evaluated as they are received. More information can be found at www.mni.mcgill.ca.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents
will be given priority. McGill University is committed to equity in employment and diversity. It
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2) A summary, preferably less than 500 words, of the significance of this research in the fields of biology or biochemistry
3) A brief biographical sketch of the nominee, including positions held and awards received by the nominee
4) A listing of up to ten of the nominee’s most significant publications relating to the research noted under item 1.
5) A copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae.
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of Pennsylvania is seeking a well-qualified POST-
DOCTORAL RESEARCH (Ph.D., M.D., or
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POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP genetics of colon cancer or pancreatic cancer. Must
The Lillehei Heart Institute is a premier institute have experience in advanced molecular and cell bi-
at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis with Get help ology, genetic mouse models, and be eligible for ap-
state-of-the-art technologies and core facilities fo-
cused on the molecular regulation of myogenesis, stem
cell and regenerative biology. We are accepting ap- is our from the
experts.
plying to NIH grants.
Please send cover letter and curriculum vitae to:
Anil K. Rustgi, M.D.
plications for highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellows
to work on NIH-funded research pertaining to the
role of transcription factor mediated networks to di-
rect the fate of stem and iPS cells to a mesodermal
cause. T. Grier Miller Professor of Medicine
and Genetics
University of Pennsylvania
600 Clinical Research Building
fate (i.e., cardiac, endothelial, skeletal muscle). Ph.D.
and expertise with molecular biological–biochemistry www. 415 Curie Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6140
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