Volume 539 Issue 7627, 3 November 2016

Researchers spot genes in an African mouse to identify the genetics of developmental patterning. 

An MP’s dismissive tweet that scientists have ‘no experience of the real world’ highlights a chasm in mutual understanding.

Sarah Nelson was refused access to her own genome data. How long before volunteers who face this attitude turn away from science?

The week in science: 28 October–3 November 2016

Antarctic agreement follows years of failed discussions and represents the first major conservation effort in the high seas.

Many biologists are founding their own firms as venture capitalists show increased interest in science.

DSCOVR’s computer may be suffering from radiation-induced glitches, months after it became the primary sentinel for incoming solar storms.

As gene editing opens doors, plant researchers are hamstrung by the need for better ways to slip their molecular tools into cells.

Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes will be widely deployed in two South American cities to combat viral infections.

Joshua Gordon says that his focus at the National Institute of Mental Health will be on quick wins, brain circuits and mathematical rigour.

With prices for renewables dropping, many countries in Africa might leap past dirty forms of energy towards a cleaner future.

A vibrant scientific culture encourages many interpretations of evidence, argues Avi Loeb.

To explain why our planet is habitable, geoscientists studying Earth’s surface and interior must work with each other and with communications scholars, write Ariel D. Anbar, Christy B. Till and Mark A. Hannah.

Andrew Robinson relishes a new volume on a work that has long defied decoders.

Henry Nicholls relishes a brace of chronicles on how zoos on both sides of the Atlantic came to be.

Monkeys have been observed pounding stones and unintentionally forming sharp-edged, tool-like fragments. This deliberate breakage raises questions about the evolution of intentional stone modification. See Letter p.85

Shortening of the ends of chromosomes limits a cell's lifespan. Some cancer cells avoid this fate through a mechanism called alternative lengthening of telomeres, molecular details of which have now been defined. See Article p.54

The discovery of a cascade of sound waves across many wavelengths in an ultracold atomic gas advances our understanding of turbulence in fluids governed by quantum mechanics. See Letter p.72

A previously unknown way in which cells mark proteins for destruction has been found in bacteria — phosphorylation of the amino acid arginine targets proteins for degradation by protease enzymes. See Article p.48

The sounds of words that represent particular meanings are usually thought to vary arbitrarily across languages. However, a large-scale study of languages finds that some associations between sound and meaning are widespread.

Physicists are hunting for a particle called the axion that could solve two major puzzles in fundamental physics. An ambitious study calculates the expected mass of this particle, which might reshape the experimental searches. See Letter p.69 See Clarification p.176

The structure of the bacterial toxin BinAB, which is used to combat mosquito-borne diseases, reveals pH-sensitive switches and carbohydrate-binding modules that may contribute to the larvicidal function of the toxin.

In Gram-positive bacteria, arginine phosphorylation by the McsB kinase functions as a general post-translational marker for Clp-mediated proteolysis.

Alternative lengthening of telomeres in cancer cells is initiated by a specialized replisome and noncanonical homologous recombination at damaged telomeres, culminating in the synthesis of long tracts of telomere DNA.

REXER, a new method that allows long sections of DNA to be inserted or replaced in the genome of the bacterium Escherichia coli, is used to investigate codon replacement schemes for the generation of synthetic genomes.

The unusual dark red coloration of Charon’s northern polar cap is shown to be produced from hydrocarbons that are cold-trapped from Pluto’s escaping atmosphere during winter.

The mass of the axion, a particle that is central to many dark-matter theories, is calculated via the equation of state of the Universe and the temperature dependence of the so-called topological susceptibility of quantum chromodynamics.

The gradual development of a turbulent cascade in a weakly interacting homogeneous Bose gas is observed on application of a periodic driving force.

The flavouring, perfume and pharmaceutical industries rely on the selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes to generate unsaturated alcohols; here, a new type of highly selective catalyst is described in which platinum nanoparticles are sandwiched between a core and a shell of a metal−organic framework.

Deformation experiments on bridgmanite indicate that it may be the main contributor to the shear wave anisotropy observed around several subducting plates.

Wild capuchin monkeys in Brazil deliberately break stones, unintentionally producing flakes similar to the ancient sharp-edged flakes characterized as intentionally produced Pliocene–Pleistocene hominin tools, although why they do so remains unclear.

The mutually exclusive expression of the Hoxa11 and Hoxa13 genes is required for pentadactyl (five-digit) limbs and is proposed to have contributed to the transition from several digits polydactyl (several-digit) limbs in the earliest tetrapods.

Drosophila sechellia, a species closely related to the model species Drosophila melanogaster, bypasses a premature stop codon in neuronal cells to express a functional olfactory receptor protein from an assumed pseudogene template.

A study of the early genetic diversity and history of the HIV-1 epidemic in North America through sequencing of eight full-length viral genomes from the 1970s.

Single-cell RNA sequencing of bone marrow innate lymphoid cell (ILC) precursors reveals that PD-1 marks a committed ILC progenitor and that ILC2 development requires Bcl11b and IL-25R expression; activated ILCs can also be depleted by a PD-1 antibody.

The small-molecule HIF-2α antagonist PT2399 causes tumour regression in animal models of clear cell renal cell carcinoma, but cell lines of this tumour type show unexpectedly variable responses to PT2399.

The HIF-2 antagonist PT2399 is tested in mice bearing tumourgrafts derived from human renal cell cancers to demonstrate its efficacy, identify markers of sensitivity and characterize its effects.

The structure of the V_O subcomplex of yeast V-ATPase, solved by electron cryomicroscopy, reveals a new subunit and suggests a mechanism for the translocation of protons across membranes.

The creators of the Open Syllabus Project hope that sharing data can both improve and reward teaching.

Choices for doctoral programmes can seem endless, so look for one that matches your interests and personality.

Stereotypes about scientific fields shape what women choose to study.

United Kingdom has cut drug-development research jobs over past decade.

Family ties.