[News of the Week] Random Sample
University College London staff and students create busts of Charles Darwin from unconventional materials to celebrate the famed scientist's 205th birthday. (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 14, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Stewart Wills (mailto:swills at aaas.org) Source Type: research
[News of the Week] Newsmakers
Forensic chemist Mario Thevis tells Science about a dangerous new performance drug that could be in play at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 14, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Stewart Wills (mailto:swills at aaas.org) Source Type: research
[News of the Week] Around the World
In science news around the world, a new strain of bird flu hits South Korea, the first fish is ready to be removed from the endangered species list, CERN plans a new 100-kilometer-long circular successor to the Large Hadron Collider, and more. (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 14, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Stewart Wills (mailto:swills at aaas.org) Source Type: research
[News of the Week] This Week's Section
Follow the links below for a roundup of the week's top stories in science, or download a PDF of the entire section.
Around the WorldFindingsNewsmakersRandom Samples (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 13, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Stewart Wills (mailto:swills at aaas.org) Source Type: research
[Special Issue News] International Science Engineering Visualization Challenge: 2013 Visualization Challenge
Science and the National Science Foundation present the winners in the five categories of the 2013 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge: illustration, posters & graphics, photography, games & apps, and video. This year's winning entries include a word cloud of common Internet passwords, a poster on the effects of cold-stunning on sea turtles, an educational game that allows deep-sea explorers to guide a remotely operated vehicle, and much more. (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Stewart Wills (mailto:swills at aaas.org) Tags: International Science Engineering Visualization Challenge Source Type: research
[News Focus] Making Every Scientist a Research Funder
A lot of time and money go into conducting peer review at U.S. research agencies. A radical proposal to revamp the current system would give scientists an even bigger role in deciding how to distribute federal research dollars—at a fraction of the current cost.
Author: Jeffrey Mervis (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Jeffrey Mervis Source Type: research
[News Focus] Peering Into Peer Review
Most scientists have the greatest respect for peer review at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). But two recent studies of cardiovascular research suggest it's falling short in meeting its main mission—to help NIH officials decide what research is likely to have the biggest impact.
Author: Jeffrey Mervis (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Jeffrey Mervis Source Type: research
[News Focus] The Mountaintop Witness
Stream ecologist Margaret Palmer once kept a low profile, refusing even to return calls from reporters interested in her work. But over the past decade, the University of Maryland academic has emerged to become a prominent player in injecting science into complex environmental controversies. She's led influential studies raising questions about the effectiveness of the booming river restoration business and documenting the damage done by "mountaintop removal" coal mines in Appalachia. She's helped shape national policy and appeared in contentious court battles as an expert witness. She even made a memorable appearance on T...
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Erik Stokstad Source Type: research
[News & Analysis] Marine Ecology: As Lionfish Invade, Divers Defend Threatened Ecosystems
In the 1980s, aquarium lovers apparently released red lionfish, a showy predator from the Pacific, into the waters off Florida. Since then, the species has spread dramatically, appearing as far north as New England. It has also invaded the Caribbean, where it has exacted a heavy toll on native reef fish. Now, new research shows that carefully targeted hunts by divers can reduce lionfish numbers enough to allow native populations to rebound. The studies show you don't have to kill every last lionfish to make a difference.
Author: Christopher Pala (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Christopher Pala Tags: Marine Ecology Source Type: research
[News & Analysis] Particle Physics: China Builds Mammoth Detector to Probe Mysteries of Neutrino Mass
Scientists know that two of the three neutrino flavors are close in mass and one is further off. But they don't know whether there are two lighter neutrinos and one heavier one, or two heavier ones and one light one. Groundbreaking is slated for later this year in southern China on a $300 million neutrino detector aiming to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and observe geoneutrinos flowing from Earth's deep interior.
Author: Jane Qiu (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Jane Qiu Tags: Particle Physics Source Type: research
[News & Analysis] Newsmaker Interview: Richard Carmona: A Former Surgeon General Lends His Support to E-Cigarettes
As a top U.S. public health official during the George W. Bush presidency, Richard Carmona campaigned against tobacco use and lobbied for banning cigarette smoking in bars and restaurants. Last year, Carmona says, he was offered a position on the board of the e-cigarette company NJOY, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and accepted only after studying the health issues with "due diligence." He became convinced that e-cigarettes—which release a nicotine vapor but no tobacco-derived toxins—offer a viable way to reduce the harm of smoking.
Author: Charles Schmidt (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Charles Schmidt Tags: Newsmaker Interview: Richard Carmona Source Type: research
[News & Analysis] Meteorology: Southern Hemisphere Storms Pulsate to a 25-Day Beat, New Papers Show
Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties, Shrieking Sixties—the sailors' terms for the stormy latitudes of the Southern Ocean suggest that the winds and waves there are relentless. In fact, their fury ebbs and surges. This week in Science, researchers report that the storm belt in the Southern Hemisphere throbs powerfully with a 20- to 30-day beat, the manifestation of a pulsating flow of heat from the tropics to high latitudes.
Author: Richard A. Kerr (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Richard A. Kerr Tags: Meteorology Source Type: research
[News & Analysis] Meteorology: Heat Wave Forecasts Debut in Scorching Australia
Australia is conducting a pilot trial of a heat wave forecasting system that stands out for the high resolution of its 5-day forecasts and its ability to predict heat wave severity. How health agencies respond will determine how useful the forecasts will be in protecting the elderly and others vulnerable to the debilitating effects of heat.
Author: Dyani Lewis (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Dyani Lewis Tags: Meteorology Source Type: research
[News & Analysis] Epidemiology: Top Choice for French Post Drops Out in Industry Flap
Paolo Boffetta, who's now at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, was the top candidate to become the new director of the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in Villejuif, France. But Boffetta withdrew his application on 28 January after some epidemiologists claimed that his scientific judgments, for instance on the risks of diesel exhaust, were influenced by corporate funding. Boffetta denies the claims but says he does not want to engage in a "mud fight."
Author: Tania Rabesandratana (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Tania Rabesandratana Tags: Epidemiology Source Type: research
[News of the Week] Newsmakers
The 2014 Japan Prize recognizes Yasuharu Suematsu of the Tokyo Institute of Technology for developing semiconductor lasers and David Allis of Rockefeller University in New York City for elucidating the function of histones. And robotics scientist Chad Jenkins tells Science about his recent presentation to Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives at their annual retreat. (Source: Science: This Week)
Source: Science: This Week - February 7, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Stewart Wills (mailto:swills at aaas.org) Source Type: research
