Volume 482 Issue 7383, 2 February 2012

Protecting the Arctic from pollution requires a binding agreement like the Antarctic Treaty.

Spider webs are designed to cope with stress and disruption, favouring repair over rebuilding.

The Global Fund's drive to ensure sustainability and efficiency means that it may not be able to meet its commitments to combat disease, says Laurie Garrett.

The week in science: sequencing stock rebounds after takeover bid for Illumina; drug companies and nations team up against neglected diseases; and turmoil at the Global Fund.

Conservationists fear spills in icy waters as Norway awards oil-production licences.

Field tests of new criteria are flawed, critics argue.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine plans for a future without state support.

Lengthy, complicated documents leave many clinical-trial participants in the dark about the risks they face.

Physicists admit to delays as attempts to measure the neutron’s charge are plagued by difficulties.

Yusuke Nakamura blames government inertia for his move to the United States.

Drive to save money could increase bureaucracy.

Jellyfish will bloom as ocean health declines, warn biologists. Are they already taking over?

For decades, Robert Daum has studied the havoc wreaked by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Now he thinks he can stop it for good.

Added sweeteners pose dangers to health that justify controlling them like alcohol, argue Robert H. Lustig, Laura A. Schmidt and Claire D. Brindis.

There's a solution to the continent's rampant fires and feral animals, says David Bowman — introduce large mammals and increase hunting pressure.

Christof Koch tours the idea that the essence of the mind lies in the links between neurons.

In the week of the Dickens bicentennial, Alice Jenkins explores the literary giant's conflicted take on science.

Cognitive psychologist Gary Marcus researches language acquisition and the evolution of the brain at New York University. On the release of his latest book, Guitar Zero — a personal yet scientific investigation of how people become musical — he explains how a love of music and a computer game helped him to overcome a lack of rhythm and learn to play the guitar.

Chemist who discovered that cancer is caused by damage to DNA.

A petrology study of the Bronze Age 'Minoan' eruption on the Greek island of Santorini finds that the sub-volcanic magma reservoir was recharged in spurts during the decades to months that preceded the eruption. See Letter p.77

How does the brain couple a fleeting sensory input to a delayed reward during learning? A study in locusts shows that coincident firing of neurons can 'mark' a neuronal connection for later modulation. See Article p.47

A simple method has been developed to control the shape of nanoscale cuprous oxide crystals. Some shapes turn out to be much better than others as catalysts for a light-activated reaction.

During early embryo development in animals, maternal genes are expressed in preference to those of the zygote — the newly fertilized egg. But in plants it seems that zygote genomes switch on within hours of fertilization. See Letter p.94

The protein dynein 'walks' along filaments to transport various cargoes within the cell. Two studies reveal that, unlike other motor proteins, dynein's steps are not strictly coordinated.

A 'comb' of photons at evenly spaced frequencies in the extreme ultraviolet has been generated. It will allow a more precise search for variation in the fine-structure constant, which sets the strength of the electromagnetic force. See Letter p.68

In the locust olfactory system, spike-timing-dependent plasticity acts as a synaptic ‘tag’ that labels only the synapses active in response to specific odorants, thus priming them for subsequent modulation of the plasticity rule.

Chromosomes within micronuclei are shown to be damaged during S phase and become highly fragmented, and the damaged pieces can be reincorporated into the genome.

Experimental study of the interactions between intense X-rays and solid matter illustrate the generation of a solid-density plasma governed by electron–ion collisions; these results should inform future high-intensity X-ray experiments involving dense samples, such as X-ray diffractive imaging of biological samples, material science investigations, and the study of matter in extreme conditions.

Demonstration of an optomechanical system that works as a quantum interface between light and micro-mechanical motion.

By coupling a high-power, high-repetition-rate near-infrared frequency comb to a femtosecond optical cavity, a frequency comb operating in the extreme-ultraviolet spectral range has been produced, by high harmonic generation, and provides high-resolution spectroscopy in this spectral region.

Spider web deformation simulations, theory and experiments reveal how the nonlinear response of spider silk to strain and the discrete geometry of a web contribute to its robustness, integrity and performance.

A study of pre-eruptive magmatic processes at a caldera volcano shows that, although such a volcano may have been dormant for a long period, its magma reserves may be replenished in a comparatively very short time and it may move rapidly from a quiescent state to one on the verge of eruption.

Colour sidedness in cattle breeds is reported to be determined by two alleles, created as a result of a serial translocation involving circular intermediates.

Dopaminergic neurons in the mouse ventral tegmental area signal the difference between received and expected reward, whereas GABAergic neurons signal expected reward.

Protective efficacy of novel vaccine candidates in rhesus monkeys opens new paths for the development of an HIV-1 vaccine.

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of hybrid embryos show that in contrast to early animal embryogenesis, early plant embryogenesis is mostly under zygotic control.

Exome sequencing identifies mutations in kelch-like 3 and cullin 3 as causes of a syndrome featuring high blood pressure and electrolyte abnormalities.

A new auxin sensor is used to reveal complex dynamic patterns of hormone distribution in development.

FIC-domain-mediated adenylylation is controlled by inter- or intramolecular disturbance of the ATP binding site by an α-helix; such inhibition seems to be universal and conserved through evolution.

Rather than turning off the biological response, desensitization of the cysteinyl leukotriene type I receptor sustains long-term signalling in the immune system.

The structures of CYP17A1 with steroid inhibitors abiraterone or TOK-001 provide a better understanding of the enzyme’s catalytic capabilities and inhibition, and hence assist in understanding steroidogenic diseases and designing drugs to improve the treatment of prostate and other steroid-responsive cancers.

Mastering scientific protocols is only half the battle when it comes to conducting a clinical study in another country, says Andrew Fung.

A bioinformatician’s career benefits from good timing, hard work and trust in his colleagues.

Average pension contribution of Canadian faculty members set to rise by 2% to make up shortfall.

Research under pressure despite steady job growth in the non-profit sector.

NIH raises postdoc stipend for second consecutive year.

A performance of note.