Volume 460 Issue 7258, 20 August 2009

The distribution of human cell lines used in research should not be hindered by restrictions from donors.

Scientists must address the ethics of using neuroactive compounds to quash domestic crises.

In Brazil, details are emerging for plans to stop deforestation. Can it serve as a model for other nations?

Lung damage in Chinese factory workers sparks health fears.

Both parties make vague promises about research, but differ in their climate targets.

Translational research and neglected diseases are on the agenda for incoming director.

Lawsuit puts research voyage on hold.

Gene-association studies hint at better ways of treating the leading cause of death, but capitalizing on them is proving to be a slow and difficult process. Erika Check Hayden reports.

Ecologists have struggled to reconcile what they see in the lab and in the wild. But both views are needed to understand the effects of extinction, finds Virginia Gewin.

Patients checking in to the German Mouse Clinic will undergo the most sophisticated medical testing in the world. But, finds Alison Abbott, the waiting list is becoming a problem.

As researchers discover more agents that alter mental states, the Chemical Weapons Convention needs modification to help ensure that the life sciences are not used for hostile purposes, says Malcolm Dando.

One hundred years after Charles Doolittle Walcott found a wealth of Cambrian fossils in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Desmond Collins reflects on the bumpy road of their classification.

Donald Henderson directed the World Health Organization's effort to eradicate the variola virus. His memoir is a lesson in managing complex projects and personalities, says John Carmody.

When subject to flooding, deepwater rice survives by shooting up in height. Knowledge of the genetic context of this and other responses to inundation will be a boon in enhancing rice productivity.

Strong laser fields can tear an electron away from a molecule, leaving a hole in the electronic wavefunction that races through the molecule. The ultrafast motion of such a hole has been traced at last.

How does neuronal activity affect the development of neural circuits? Work on the retina shows that blocking activity at the synapses between neurons reduces local synapse assembly without affecting global cellular structure.

The size of asteroids in the Solar System's main asteroid belt may help constrain one of the least-understood aspects of planet formation — the transition from pebble-sized dust balls to mountain-sized planetesimals.

Discovering gravitational waves would not only validate Einstein's theory of gravitation but also reveal aspects of the Universe's earliest moments. The hunt for these elusive ripples is now well under way.

The high harmonic emission that accompanies the recombination of an electron with its parent molecular ion in an intense laser field provides a snapshot of the structure and dynamics of the recombining system. Experiments on CO₂ molecules now show how to extract information from the properties of the emitted light about the underlying multi-electron dynamics with sub-Ångström spatial resolution and attosecond temporal resolution

The mechanism by which the tubular architecture of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is maintained is unclear, although homotypic membrane fusion is known to be required for ER biogenesis and maintenance and this is dependent on GTP hydrolysis. Here it is demonstrated that loss of the GTPase Atlastin in Drosophila causes ER fragmentation, whereas its overexpression induces enlargement of ER profiles.

The human genome contains numerous types of repeated 'at risk' sequences that can cause genomic rearrangements and instability. Various proteins are used to ensure that this occurs very infrequently. Here, a comprehensive analysis of the factors involved in suppressing gross chromosomal rearrangements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae shows that there are distinct pathways for suppressing rearrangements mediated by single copy sequences versus repetitive 'at risk' sequences.

A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of a large number of unresolved gravitational-wave sources and should carry unique signatures from the earliest epochs of the Universe. Limits on the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational-wave background are now reported using the data from a two-year science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. These limits rule out certain models of early Universe evolution.

Ultracold atoms held in an optical lattice are an important system in which to study quantum phase transitions. However, the presence of multiple quantum phases within a single sample complicates the interpretation of bulk measurements. Here, a direct imaging method is reported that enables a complete characterization of multiple phases in a strongly correlated Bose gas.

Indirect evidence suggests that groundwater is being consumed faster than it is naturally being replenished in northwest India, but there has been no regional assessment of the rate of groundwater depletion. Terrestrial water storage-change observations and simulated soil-water variations from a modelling system are now used to show that groundwater is indeed being depleted and that its use for irrigation and other anthropogenic uses is likely to be the cause.

Electrical conductivity is highly sensitive to the presence of hydrogen in mantle materials, an important measure as small amounts of water can significantly affect the physical properties of mantle materials, with profound implications for the dynamic and geochemical evolution of the Earth. Here, long-period geomagnetic response functions are used to derive a global-scale three-dimensional model of electrical conductivity variations in the Earth's mantle.

Adjacent populations that are involved in similar predator–prey cycles often oscillate in synchrony. Here, a general stochastic model of predator–prey spatial dynamics is developed to predict the outcome of a laboratory microcosm experiment testing for interactions among synchronizing factors; both model and data indicate that synchrony depends on cyclic dynamics generated by the predator.

Human genome sequences have so far been reported for individuals with ancestry in three distinct geographical regions: a Yoruba African, two individuals of northwest European origin, and a person from China. Here, using a combination of methods, a highly annotated, whole-genome sequence is provided for a Korean male.

Activity is thought to help shape connectivity within neural circuits, with differences often leading to the elimination of less active connections. In order to imbalance neurotransmission from different sets of inputs in vivo, a subpopulation of bipolar cells was inactivated during development. The results reveal an unexpected and remarkably selective role for activity in circuit development, regulating synapse formation but not elimination.

On 11 June 2009 the World Health Organization declared that the infections caused by a new strain of influenza A virus closely related to swine viruses had reached pandemic levels. Here, one of the first US isolates of the new swine-origin H1N1 influenza virus (S-OIV) is characterized, as well as several other S-OIV isolates, both in vitro and in vivo.

In Asia, flooding during the monsoon season can result in widespread devastation of rice crops. Deepwater rice has evolved and adapted to flooding by acquiring the ability to significantly elongate its internodes. The molecular mechanism of this deepwater response is now identified as being dependent on the genes SNORKEL1 and SNORKEL2, which trigger deepwater response by encoding ethylene response factors involved in ethylene signalling.

The actin cytoskeleton plays a critical role in cell biological processes such as cell adhesion, migration and endocytosis. Polymerization of actin filaments directed by the actin-related protein (Arp)2/3 complex supports many types of cellular movement. Two classes of small molecules that bind to different sites on the Arp2/3 complex and inhibit its ability to nucleate actin filaments are now described; these inhibitors provide a powerful approach for studying the Arp2/3 complex in living cells.

The 'death receptor' FAS regulates apoptosis of unwanted or dangerous cells, functioning as a guardian against autoimmunity and cancer development. Distinct cell types differ in the mechanisms by which FAS triggers apoptosis: in type I cells, FAS-induced activation of caspase-8 suffices for cell killing, whereas in type II cells there must be caspase cascade amplification. Here it is shown that the inhibitor of apoptosis XIAP is the critical factor determining this — without it, a type II cell dies in the same way as a type I cell.

Little is known about the structure of the APC superfamily of membrane proteins, which transport amino acids, polyamines and organic cations in a multitude of biological roles. Here, the crystal structure of a member of this family, AdiC, is described at 3.2 Å resolution.

Incoming director of the National Laboratory in Gran Sasso, Italy.

It pays to be clear and concise.

Government backs plan to rebuild 'shabby' research centre.

US national labs and battery makers stand to benefit from cash injection into green cars.

Dig for victory.