[Perspective] Riboswitch regulates RNA

Nutrient metabolism in bacteria is controlled by a circuit in which RNA is regulated by RNA [Also see Reports by DebRoy et al. and Mellin et al.] Authors: Jiandong Chen, Susan Gottesman

[Perspective] Sensing nectar's sweetness

A taste receptor evolves to sense sugar in adapting to the diet of some birds [Also see Report by Baldwin et al.] Authors: Peihua Jiang, Gary K. Beauchamp

[Perspective] How do coral reefs recover?

Experiments on juvenile coral and fish behavior may have implications for reef restoration efforts [Also see Research Article by Dixson et al.] Author: John F. Bruno

This Week in Science

How huge early stars enriched the universe | Corals and reef fish choose nice homes | Routing one photon with a few others | The makings of a powerful sweet tooth | An inhibitor breaks RANK | Two vaccines together are better than one alone | Deep-sea warming slows down global warming | How immune cells fight TB and show it | Opening and closing blood enhancers | Putting the heat on Mother Nature | Challenges for stem cell–based therapies | Censorship of social media in China | Removing the nucleus in sieve elements | A dual-action RNA switch for expression | Watching platinum nanocube growth | Detailed structure of a gold nanoparticle | X-raying superfluid helium droplets | The genomic origins of rape oilseed | Illuminating the pathway to destruction

Editors' Choice

Tissue mimics brain's cortical layers | How to boost cancer immunotherapy | Students produce assessment materials | How much methane from landfills? | Counting human intestinal stem cells | Bacteria scrimp and save themselves | Giants in the outer halo of the Milky Way | Bat calls shaped by sexual selection

[Review] Use of differentiated pluripotent stem cells as replacement therapy for treating disease

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) directed to various cell fates holds promise as source material for treating numerous disorders. The availability of precisely differentiated PSC-derived cells will dramatically affect blood component and hematopoietic stem cell therapies and should facilitate treatment of diabetes, some forms of liver disease and neurologic disorders, retinal diseases, and possibly heart disease. Although an unlimited supply of specific cell types is needed, other barriers must be overcome. This review of the state of cell therapies highlights important challenges. Successful cell transplantation will require optimizing the best cell type and site for engraftment, overcoming limitations to cell migration and tissue integration, and occasionally needing to control immunologic reactivity, as well as a number of other challenges. Collaboration among scientists, clinicians, and industry is critical for generating new stem cell–based therapies. Authors: Ira J. Fox, George Q. Daley, Steven A. Goldman, Johnny Huard, Timothy J. Kamp, Massimo Trucco

[Report] Shapes and vorticities of superfluid helium nanodroplets

Vortex lattices inside individual helium droplets are imaged using x-ray diffraction. Authors: Luis F. Gomez, Ken R. Ferguson, James P. Cryan, Camila Bacellar, Rico Mayro P. Tanyag, Curtis Jones, Sebastian Schorb, Denis Anielski, Ali Belkacem, Charles Bernando, Rebecca Boll, John Bozek, Sebastian Carron, Gang Chen, Tjark Delmas, Lars Englert, Sascha W. Epp, Benjamin Erk, Lutz Foucar, Robert Hartmann, Alexander Hexemer, Martin Huth, Justin Kwok, Stephen R. Leone, Jonathan H. S. Ma, Filipe R. N. C. Maia, Erik Malmerberg, Stefano Marchesini, Daniel M. Neumark, Billy Poon, James Prell, Daniel Rolles, Benedikt Rudek, Artem Rudenko, Martin Seifrid, Katrin R. Siefermann, Felix P. Sturm, Michele Swiggers, Joachim Ullrich, Fabian Weise, Petrus Zwart, Christoph Bostedt, Oliver Gessner, Andrey F. Vilesov

[Report] Electron microscopy of gold nanoparticles at atomic resolution

The atomic structure of a 68–gold atom nanoparticle is determined without prior structural knowledge or model fitting. Authors: Maia Azubel, Jaakko Koivisto, Sami Malola, David Bushnell, Greg L. Hura, Ai Leen Koh, Hironori Tsunoyama, Tatsuya Tsukuda, Mika Pettersson, Hannu Häkkinen, Roger D. Kornberg

[Report] Facet development during platinum nanocube growth

Observation of atomic facet development during platinum nanocube growth reveals shape control. Authors: Hong-Gang Liao, Danylo Zherebetskyy, Huolin Xin, Cory Czarnik, Peter Ercius, Hans Elmlund, Ming Pan, Lin-Wang Wang, Haimei Zheng

[Report] Efficacy of inactivated poliovirus vaccine in India

Controversy over vaccine choice for polio eradication can be reconciled by effective combined use. Authors: Hamid Jafari, Jagadish M. Deshpande, Roland W. Sutter, Sunil Bahl, Harish Verma, Mohammad Ahmad, Abhishek Kunwar, Rakesh Vishwakarma, Ashutosh Agarwal, Shilpi Jain, Concepcion Estivariz, Raman Sethi, Natalie A. Molodecky, Nicholas C. Grassly, Mark A. Pallansch, Arani Chatterjee, R. Bruce Aylward

[Report] Arabidopsis NAC45/86 direct sieve element morphogenesis culminating in enucleation

Cellular remodeling to develop phloem cells orchestrates degradation of the cell’s nucleus. [Also see Perspective by Geldner] Authors: Kaori Miyashima Furuta, Shri Ram Yadav, Satu Lehesranta, Ilya Belevich, Shunsuke Miyashima, Jung-ok Heo, Anne Vatén, Ove Lindgren, Bert De Rybel, Gert Van Isterdael, Panu Somervuo, Raffael Lichtenberger, Raquel Rocha, Siripong Thitamadee, Sari Tähtiharju, Petri Auvinen, Tom Beeckman, Eija Jokitalo, Ykä Helariutta

[Report] Chromatin state dynamics during blood formation

A chromatin precipitation technique identifies changes during the differentiation of blood cells. Authors: David Lara-Astiaso, Assaf Weiner, Erika Lorenzo-Vivas, Irina Zaretsky, Diego Adhemar Jaitin, Eyal David, Hadas Keren-Shaul, Alexander Mildner, Deborah Winter, Steffen Jung, Nir Friedman, Ido Amit

[Report] Early allopolyploid evolution in the post-Neolithic Brassica napus oilseed genome

The polyploid genome of oilseed rape exhibits evolution through homologous gene conversion. Authors: Boulos Chalhoub, France Denoeud, Shengyi Liu, Isobel A. P. Parkin, Haibao Tang, Xiyin Wang, Julien Chiquet, Harry Belcram, Chaobo Tong, Birgit Samans, Margot Corréa, Corinne Da Silva, Jérémy Just, Cyril Falentin, Chu Shin Koh, Isabelle Le Clainche, Maria Bernard, Pascal Bento, Benjamin Noel, Karine Labadie, Adriana Alberti, Mathieu Charles, Dominique Arnaud, Hui Guo, Christian Daviaud, Salman Alamery, Kamel Jabbari, Meixia Zhao, Patrick P. Edger, Houda Chelaifa, David Tack, Gilles Lassalle, Imen Mestiri, Nicolas Schnel, Marie-Christine Le Paslier, Guangyi Fan, Victor Renault, Philippe E. Bayer, Agnieszka A. Golicz, Sahana Manoli, Tae-Ho Lee, Vinh Ha Dinh Thi, Smahane Chalabi, Qiong Hu, Chuchuan Fan, Reece Tollenaere, Yunhai Lu, Christophe Battail, Jinxiong Shen, Christine H. D. Sidebottom, Xinfa Wang, Aurélie Canaguier, Aurélie Chauveau, Aurélie Bérard, Gwenaëlle Deniot, Mei Guan, Zhongsong Liu, Fengming Sun, Yong Pyo Lim, Eric Lyons, Christopher D. Town, Ian Bancroft, Xiaowu Wang, Jinling Meng, Jianxin Ma, J. Chris Pires, Graham J. King, Dominique Brunel, Régine Delourme, Michel Renard, Jean-Marc Aury, Keith L. Adams, Jacqueline Batley, Rod J. Snowdon, Jorg Tost, David Edwards, Yongming Zhou, Wei Hua, Andrew G. Sharpe, Andrew H. Paterson, Chunyun Guan, Patrick Wincker

[New Products] New Products

A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.

[Editorial] Science for lasting peace

Thomas Barnett, a U.S. military geostrategist, has argued that we have leviathan armies that quickly win wars, only to lose the peace. To change that outcome, stability must be established by rebuilding the infrastructure, institutions, and economy of a war-torn nation. An outstanding example of science applied to nation rebuilding is the hyperspectral survey of Afghanistan by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2007. This survey quantified 24 world-class mineral deposits (including iron, cobalt, gold, copper, and rare earth elements), positioning Afghanistan to become a major supplier of minerals (see the News story on p. 725), most of which are in demand for the manufacture of cell phones, computers, and renewable energy technologies. Author: Marcia McNutt

[Feature] The rising toll

Newly released data reveal that the war in Afghanistan is becoming more dangerous for civilians. Author: John Bohannon

[Feature] Civilian casualties in Afghanistan

The first release of military data on civilian casualties in Afghanistan is now publicly available. Authors: Neil Shortland, John Bohannon

[Feature] Mother of all lodes

The United States is putting scientific boots on the ground in Afghanistan to assess its mineral riches. Author: Richard Stone