Volume 492 Issue 7427, 6 December 2012

Wrangling over scientific misconduct could influence Romania’s general election.

US science would benefit if Congress improved the predictability and stability of funding.

Biotechnology can help to save endangered species and revive vanished ones. Conservationists should not hesitate to use it, says Subrat Kumar.

The news in brief: Deforestation hits a record low in Brazil; German ruling allows stem-cell patents; and Australia unveils science plan.

Himalayan plans pose ecological threat, researchers warn.

Combustion could help to make minuscule matter.

Innovation promoter wins key role in US Congress.

Report calls for stable funding and industry collaborations.

Industry says antibiotic pipeline is being blocked by overly stringent clinical-trial requirements for new treatments.

Scientists monitor greenhouse gases in urban areas as a first step to gauging success of climate initiatives worldwide.

Fierce rivals have joined forces in the race to teleport information to and from space.

For decades, one design has dominated nuclear reactors while potentially better options were left by the wayside. Now, the alternatives might finally have their day.

Simple chemical pathways open up proliferation possibilities for the proposed nuclear 'wonder fuel', warn Stephen F. Ashley and colleagues.

Too many US authors of the most innovative and influential papers in the life sciences do not receive NIH funding, contend Joshua M. Nicholson and John P. A. Ioannidis.

Philip Ball is gripped by the life of a remarkable scientist whose flawed theory dented her reputation.

George Szpiro celebrates a biography of the multifaceted mathematician, physicist and philosopher Henri Poincaré.

Camille Seaman photographs icebergs and storm clouds. With an exhibition of her work opening in January in San Francisco, California, she talks about stalking supercell storms and watching hungry polar bears destroy a bird colony.

Palaeontologist, anatomist, explorer and artist.

It's a touching story of cohabitation and meaningful communication. Two neighbouring fruitfly neurons talk to each other not by means of synaptic junctions but by interactions through the surrounding electrical field. See Article p.66

Reagents have been developed that allow carbon—hydrogen bonds on benzene-like compounds called heterocycles to be converted directly into carbon—carbon bonds. The finding will be a boon to medicinal chemists. See Letter p.95

The nuclear genomes of two of nature's most complex cells have been sequenced. The data will help to determine the evolutionary path from symbioses between species to a multi-compartmental unicellular organism. See Article p.59

The probability that giant-planet-like signals detected by the Kepler spacecraft are not from planets is higher than expected. The result underscores the importance of making follow-up observations to confirm the nature of the signals.

Eyewitnesses are sometimes asked to identify a culprit from a line-up of people associated with a crime scene. An enzyme — iridoid synthase — that catalyses an unusual reaction has been identified by a similar approach. See Letter p.138

A neat study shows that a sheet of laser light can be used to reflect light-absorbing liquid droplets and manipulate their trajectories. This observation may open up new ways of controlling and studying aerosols.

The discovery of what may be the best example yet of a forming star caught in the moments just before birth provides a missing link in our understanding of how giant gas clouds collapse to form fully fledged stars. See Letter p.83

As the recipients of the 2012 science Nobel prizes gather in Stockholm to celebrate and be celebrated, News & Views shares some expert opinions on the achievements honoured.

As the recipients of the 2012 science Nobel prizes gather in Stockholm to celebrate and be celebrated, News & Views shares some expert opinions on the achievements honoured.

As the recipients of the 2012 science Nobel prizes gather in Stockholm to celebrate and be celebrated, News & Views shares some expert opinions on the achievements honoured.

As the recipients of the 2012 science Nobel prizes gather in Stockholm to celebrate and be celebrated, News & Views shares some expert opinions on the achievements honoured.

Sequencing the nuclear genomes of Guillardia theta and Bigelowiella natans, transitional forms in the endosymbiotic acquisition of photosynthesis by engulfment of certain eukaryotic algae, reveals unprecedented alternative splicing for a single-celled organism (B. natans) and extensive genetic and biochemical mosaicism, shedding light on why nucleomorphs persist in these species but not other algae.

Olfactory receptor neurons of fruitflies are shown to communicate with one another through ephaptic interactions with significant impact on olfactory behaviour; the results indicate that ephaptic effects may be more widespread than previously appreciated.

Recordings from rat grid cells, cells that are active at periodically spaced locations in the environment, show that they are organized into discrete modules that maintain distinct scale and orientation, and may respond independently to environmental changes.

The spectrum of a quasar at redshift 7.04 reveals absorption from a large column of foreground neutral hydrogen with no corresponding heavy elements; this absorbing gas is either diffuse and intergalactic but has not yet been ionized by starlight at this early epoch, or it is gravitationally bound to a proto-galaxy that has a chemical abundance <1/10,000 the solar level.

In the earliest stage of star formation, protostars accrete mass from their surrounding envelopes through circumstellar disks; observations of the protostar L1527 IRS find a large, rotating proto-planetary disk from which the protostellar mass is measured to be 0.19 solar masses, with a protostar-to-envelope mass ratio of about 0.2.

Randomly adsorbing chemically synthesized silver nanocubes, each of which is the optical analogue of a grounded patch antenna, onto a nanoscale-thick polymer spacer layer on a gold film results in a metamaterial surface with a reflectance spectrum that can be tailored by varying the geometry.

Aerotaxy, an aerosol-based growth method, is used to produce gallium arsenide nanowires with a growth rate of about 1 micrometre per second, which is 20 to 1,000 times higher than previously reported for traditional nanowires and allows sensitive and reproducible control of the nanowires’ optical and electronic properties.

It is shown that zinc sulphinate salts can be used to transfer alkyl radicals to heterocycles, allowing for the mild, direct and operationally simple formation of medicinally relevant carbon–carbon bonds while reacting in a complementary fashion to other innate carbon–hydrogen functionalization methods.

Models and field measurements together show that the branching patterns of fine-scale river networks are the result of coupled instabilities in the erosional processes that drive valley incision.

The sessile tunicate Ciona intestinalis possesses a lineage of cells, originating at the margin of the neural plate, that express several neural crest specification genes and can be reprogrammed into migrating ectomesenchyme by the targeted misexpression of Twist.

EZH2 is a methyltransferase that is mutated in lymphoma; here a potent small molecule inhibitor of EZH2 is described, which inhibits the proliferation of EZH2 mutant cell lines and growth of EZH2 mutant xenografts in mice, thus providing a potential treatment for EZH2 mutant lymphoma.

FusKR, a fucose-sensing two-component system, has been identified in enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, linking fucose utilization and virulence factor gene expression and providing insight into how sensing of a host signal can facilitate bacterial colonization.

Passive immunotherapy with a combination of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies is shown to be effective in suppressing HIV replication in a humanized mouse model.

Evidence is presented that activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is regulated by the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR).

A combination of structural, computational and biophysical tools is used to characterize the bond between tip-link proteins protocadherin 15 and cadherin 23, which have an essential role in inner-ear mechanotransduction; the bond, involving an extended protein handshake, is found to be affected by deafness mutations and is mechanically strong enough to resist forces in hair cells, adding to our understanding of hair-cell sensory transduction and interactions among cadherins.

The crystal structures of two different cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂)-binding riboswitches are determined; the structures reveal how cobalamin facilitates interdomain interactions to regulate gene expression.

Iridoids are a large family of bicyclic natural products that possess anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial activities; here the essential cyclization step in their biosynthesis is identified, opening up the possibility of production of naturally occurring and synthetic variants of iridoids for use in pharmacy or agriculture.

The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly turning to academics to tackle the early stages of drug discovery.

National Academies panel recommends guidelines for attribution and citation.

Reflections on the past.

More people are surviving to older ages than ever before, pushing life expectancy from birth to unprecedented highs. Further gains will require tackling age-related conditions, across the world, with ramifications for society as a whole.

Treating cognitive problems common in elderly people requires a deeper understanding of how a healthy brain ages.

Scientists are searching for a genetic blueprint that will enable humans to stay healthy and vital well into their old age.

Why do some people cope better than others with getting old? Sociologist Eva Kahana, director of the Elderly Care Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, offers some clues.

Evolution can extend a species' lifespan by an order of magnitude. Can we learn the same tricks?

Stem cells rejuvenate our tissues but are not resistant to ageing themselves. How can they retain their effectiveness?

Studies of gut bacteria are beginning to untangle how diet affects health in old age — but determining cause and effect is tricky.

High-tech gadgets such as sensors that detect falls and robots that can fetch items are helping people stay independent and safe into their later years.

Researchers are learning about the molecular basis of ageing — and finding clues about how to treat diseases in the process.

Humans are the longest lived primates, with life expectancy in some developed nations surpassing 80 years. Of course, that doesn't stop us wanting more time. Research into the mechanisms of ageing is yielding Insights, many of them diet-related, into how we might not only live longer but also stay healthier as we do.