Volume 546 Issue 7658, 15 June 2017

Researchers must seize the chance to inject scientific sense into US governance of modified crops and livestock.

Brazil and neighbouring nations need a transparent and integrated energy assessment centred on evidence.

If we can stomach it, a ‘renegotiation’ of the Paris Agreement could help us all, says Elliot Diringer.

The week in science: 9–15 June 2017.

Human fetuses have an immune system that acts differently from the adult version.

US vice-president to head group overseeing civilian and military space activities.

Analysis reveals that the number of clinical trials funded by the National Institute of Mental Health has fallen by 45% since the agency began to focus on the biological roots of disease.

Finding could help researchers to better predict where these viruses are likely to make the jump from animals to people.

Machine-learning project will analyse 1,000 years of maps and manuscripts from the floating city's golden age.

As anti-science sentiment sweeps the world, it is vital to stop the suppression of firearms studies, argues David Hemenway.

On the naturalist's bicentenary, Randall Fuller traces his empirical journey after Walden.

Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis explores a study parsing how the brain makes sense of melody and harmony.

Most state-of-the-art methods of wireless energy delivery are inherently limited to static devices. An approach based on fundamental physics could overcome this limitation, opening up a wealth of applications. See Letter p.387

Evolutionary trees constructed using both newly sequenced and previously available Zika virus genomes reveal how the recent outbreak arose in Brazil and spread across the Americas. See Letters p.401, p.406 & p.411

Cell division requires the action of key regulator proteins called cyclins and CDKs. It emerges that a cyclin–CDK complex can regulate cell metabolism, and targeting this metabolic regulation causes tumour regression in mice. See Letter p.426

Rubber sheets that reversibly bind and release substrates have been made by copying a subtlety in the shape of octopus suckers. The findings reveal how macro-scale biological structures can influence function. See Letter p.396

A paper that analysed genetic variants in 14,000 people to identify disease-associated regions set the standard for collaborative genome-wide association studies and provided methodological advances whose effects are still felt today.

Production of the metabolite acetyl-CoA near specific regions of DNA modulates gene expression in mouse neurons during cellular differentiation and memory formation. See Article p.381

The current and expected environmental consequences of built dams and proposed dam constructions in the Amazon basin are explored with the help of a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index.

Genetic and phenotypic analysis reveals expression quantitative trait loci in human induced pluripotent stem cell lines associated with cancer and disease.

The establishment of a drug-discovery screening pipeline for cryptosporidiosis, and identification of pyrazolopyridines as selective ATP-competitive inhibitors of the Cryptosporidium lipid kinase PI(4)K.

The metabolic enzyme acetyl coenzyme A synthetase directly regulates gene expression during memory formation by binding to specific genes and providing acetyl coenzyme A for histone acetylation.

A nonlinear parity–time-symmetric circuit is used to enable robust wireless power transfer to a moving device over a distance of one metre without the need for tuning.

Molecular dynamics simulations of the Pb(Mg_1/3,Nb_2/3)O₃–PbTiO₃ relaxor reveal a multi-domain state analogous to the slush state of water that provides an explanation for the unusual properties of relaxors.

The suction cups found in octopus tentacles are the inspiration for a synthetic adhesive that functions well in dry and wet conditions and is resistant to chemical contamination.

Genome sequencing of Zika virus samples from infected patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Florida shows that the virus was probably introduced into the United States on multiple occasions, and that the Caribbean is the most likely source.

Virus genomes reveal the establishment of Zika virus in Brazil and the Americas, and provide an appropriate timeframe for baseline (pre-Zika) microcephaly in different regions.

One hundred and ten Zika virus genomes from ten countries and territories involved in the Zika virus epidemic reveal rapid expansion of the epidemic within Brazil and multiple introductions to other regions.

The authors trace the emergence of porcine primordial germ cells and develop in vitro models of primordial germ cell development from human and monkey pluripotent stem cells in order to provide insight into early human development.

Regulatory T cells expressing the transcription factor T-bet selectively suppress T_H1 and CD8 T cells, but not T_H2 or T_H17 activation and associated autoimmunity.

The cyclin D3–CDK6 kinase complex, which is overactive in some cancers, inhibits two key glycolysis enzymes and thereby enhances the levels of antioxidants in cells, promoting tumour cell survival.

Through drug exposure, a rare, transient transcriptional program characterized by high levels of expression of known resistance drivers can get ‘burned in’, leading to the selection of cells endowed with a transcriptional drug resistance and thus more chemoresistant cancers.

The structure of the anti-CRISPR protein AcrIIA4, in complex with a single-guide RNA and Cas9, reveals that the protein inhibits DNA binding and blocks the Cas9 endonuclease active site.

A move into industry after a PhD may not bring immediate financial rewards, but it pays to know your strengths.

A safe haven for career support unlocks a range of non-academic options, says Nathan L. Vanderford.

How to live happily ever after.

Researchers find that perseverance and an altruistic streak keep them going along the long road to drug discovery.