Volume 542 Issue 7639, 2 February 2017

Earth-monitoring research missions should go on, despite commercial ventures  

As the public-health agency chooses a new leader, the media and politicians must be more realistic about what it can do.

Policymakers should read the contents of published papers and not just count them, says Dyna Rochmyaningsih.

The week in science: 27 January–2 February 2017.

Order barring citizens of seven countries from entering the United States has left many confused and afraid.

Until this obstacle is overcome, the technology is unlikely to succeed in the wild.

Neural networks produce pictures to train image-recognition programs and scientific software.

Many researchers are sceptical of a paper claiming to have compressed hydrogen to a metallic state.

A movement to privatize Earth-observing satellites is gaining ground.

Centre evaluates how public-health spending can improve mortality rates and disease burden, but many countries still do not record how people die.

A wild plan is taking shape to visit the nearest planet outside our Solar System. Here’s how we could get to Proxima b.

As demand for air conditioning climbs, some see a solution in the very thing that makes us sweat: the Sun.

Ethical review boards must focus on clinical promise as well as safety to hold the first tests of drugs in humans to a higher standard, say Jonathan Kimmelman and Carole Federico.

Davide Castelvecchi applauds an inside story on the discovery of gravitational waves.

Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week's best science picks.

Dan Jones relishes the philosopher's latest exploration of minds and memes.

Observational astronomer who confirmed the existence of dark matter.

When some cancer cells delete a tumour-suppressor gene, they also delete nearby genes. It emerges that one of these latter genes has a key metabolic role, revealing a therapeutic opportunity that might be relevant for many tumours. See Letter p.119

The locations of atoms in a metallic alloy nanoparticle have been determined using a combination of electron microscopy and image simulation, revealing links between the particle's structure and magnetic properties. See Letter p.75

A computer, trained to classify skin cancers using image analysis alone, can now identify certain cancers as successfully as can skin-cancer doctors. What are the implications for the future of medical diagnosis? See Letter p.115

The discovery of what is potentially the world's largest continuous tropical peat complex has great implications for global carbon stocks, land management and scientific investment in central Africa. See Letter p.86

The growth factor TGF-ß1 is located inside a protein cage, and is thought to be released by force applied through integrin proteins. A structure of TGF-ß1 in complex with integrin α_Vß₆ sheds light on the uncaging process. See Article p.55

A theory proposed in 2015 suggested that relatively flat surfaces in mountain ranges were formed by the reorganization of river networks. A fresh analysis rebuts this idea, reigniting discussion of a long-standing problem in Earth science.

Interleukin-17 functions as a neuromodulator in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, acting directly on RMG hub interneurons to alter their response properties and contribution to behaviour.

The lymphangiogenic factor PROX1 transcriptionally upregulates CPT1A, a rate-controlling enzyme in fatty acid β-oxidation, and this co-regulates lymphatic endothelial cell differentiation by epigenetic control of lymphatic gene expression, demonstrating a role for metabolism in developmental biology.

Integrin α_Vβ₆ binds the transforming growth factor-β1 precursor (pro-TGF-β1) in an orientation that is biologically relevant for force-dependent release of TGF-β from its latent form.

The first high-resolution (3.5 Å) structure of a full-length cyclic-nucleotide-gated channel, revealing an unconventional, voltage-insensitive voltage-sensor domain and a unique coupling mechanism between cyclic-nucleotide-binding and pore-opening.

Spin–orbit coupling is implemented in an optical lattice clock using a narrow optical transition in fermionic 87Sr atoms, thus mitigating the heating problems of previous experiments with alkali atoms and offering new prospects for future investigations.

Ultrafast photo-magnetic recording in transparent films of the dielectric cobalt-substituted garnet has very low heat load and is much faster than existing alternatives.

The three-dimensional coordinates of more than 23,000 atoms in an iron-platinum nanoparticle are determined with 22 picometre precision to correlate chemical order/disorder and crystal defects with magnetic properties.

Substitution of a ligand in molybdenum-based complexes enables typically inert hexafluorobutene to participate in Z-selective olefin cross-metathesis reactions.

Field measurements combined with remotely sensed data reveal the Cuvette Centrale in the central Congo Basin to contain the most extensive peatland complex in the tropics, increasing the best estimate of global tropical peatland carbon stocks by approximately one-third.

Examination of the ecosystem properties of treeline ecotones in seven temperate regions of the world shows that the reduction in temperature with increasing elevation does not affect tree leaf nutrient concentrations, but does reduce ground-layer community-weighted plant nitrogen levels, leading to a strong stoichiometric convergence of ground-layer plant community nitrogen to phosphorus ratios across all regions.

Competitive circuits in the amygdala of mice drive either freezing or flight behaviour in response to threat, and involve distinct neuronal subtypes.

The genome sequences of the neglected human-infective malaria species Plasmodium malariae and P. ovale provide new insights into their biology that are pertinent to understanding their epidemiology and to the broader agenda of malaria elimination.

A frame-shift mutation in MATRILINEAL, a pollen-specific phospholipase, triggers haploid induction in maize, which may be useful in developing improved haploid induction systems for crop breeding.

The authors identify in patients with rheumatoid arthritis a pathogenic subset of CD4+ T cells that augments B cell responses within inflamed tissues.

An artificial intelligence trained to classify images of skin lesions as benign lesions or malignant skin cancers achieves the accuracy of board-certified dermatologists.

Depletion of malic enzyme 3 in pancreatic cancer cells that have a deletion of the gene for malic enzyme 2 selectively kills the cells, suggesting that the enzyme might represent a therapeutic target for this subset of cancers.

The system of connecting machines and sensors is finally making its way into the laboratory, giving researchers peace of mind and restoring their work–life balance.

If your job is at risk, don't wait until the last minute before planning a safe landing.

Hooked on bacteria.

Hope springs eternal.