Beware the creeping cracks of bias

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485149a

Author: Daniel Sarewitz

Evidence is mounting that research is riddled with systematic errors. Left unchecked, this could erode public trust, warns Daniel Sarewitz.

Seven days: 4–10 May 2012

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485152a

The week in science: Japan switches off its last nuclear power reactor; South Korea passes carbon-trading laws; and French-Algerian physicist Adlène Hicheur is sentenced to prison for plotting terror attacks.

War of words over tribal tongue

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485155a

Author: Eugenie Samuel Reich

Debate highlights pitfalls in studying minority languages.

Radiation risks: Raiders of the lost archive

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485162a

Author: Alison Abbott

Old collections of irradiated tissues could answer modern-day questions about the dangers of radiation. Now, researchers are making a concerted effort to save the stores.

Climate forecasting: A break in the clouds

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485164a

Author: Jeff Tollefson

Clouds and aerosol particles have bedevilled climate modellers for decades. Now researchers are starting to gain the upper hand.

Correction

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/485160b

The News Feature ‘Date with history’ (Nature485, 27–29; 2012) incorrectly located the University of Waikato in Wellington instead of Hamilton.

With transparency comes trust

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485147a

International development experts say that the Millennium Villages Project's claims of progress should be interpreted with caution.

Misplaced protest

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485147b

Rothamsted's genetically engineered wheat should be allowed to grow.

Price of freedom

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485148a

The latest mission to Jupiter highlights the benefits and pitfalls of collaboration.

Climate science: A check on speeding glaciers

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485150a

Analysis of a decade-long record of Greenland's glaciers suggests that the ice sheets are not accelerating towards the ocean as much as previously forecast.Earlier work on a small number of glaciers had uncovered large increases in speed. Using satellite radar data to calculate the

Neuroscience: BOLD strides in brain imaging

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485150b

To visualize brain activity, neuroscientists use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure blood oxygen levels, known as BOLD signals, which are considered a proxy for cellular activity. However, it has been unclear which types of brain cell contribute to these signals.Fritjof Helmchen and

Physiology: Bladder under circadian control

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485150c

Most adults produce less urine at night than during the day, and store more of what is made, thanks to the circadian regulation of daily urination patterns.Hitoshi Okamura and Osamu Ogawa at Kyoto University in Japan and their colleagues developed a machine that measures

Geochemistry: North Sea starved of oxygen

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485150d

Summer oxygen levels are declining in some parts of the North Sea, probably because of ocean warming and the decay of photosynthetic blooms that form as a result of nutrient influx.Bastien Queste at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, and his team

Evolution: Gene duplication for bigger brains

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485151a

DNA-duplication errors that upped the number of copies of a gene may have catalysed the evolution of complex brains in early humans.The gene SRGAP2 is expressed during development of the brain's neocortex — a region involved in cognition. Evan Eichler at the University

Nanobiotechnology: Radio remote control of genes

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485151b

Externally applied radio waves can be used to switch on a modified gene in a mouse, thanks to radiation-absorbing nanoparticles injected into the animal. The technique could enable researchers to activate cells and genes non-invasively.Jeffrey Friedman at the Rockefeller University in New York and

Biophysics: High-throughput cell stretcher

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485151c

A chip on which cells flow through tiny channels can be used to measure the size and deformability of individual cells at a rate of 2,000 per second — several orders of magnitude faster than existing methods. The chip could be used to detect cancer

Evolution: Cheating cuts offspring fitness

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485151d

'Monogamous' female birds often produce young with another partner. This was presumed to yield offspring fitter than those produced with the paired partner, but a study of song sparrows suggests that 'cheating' comes with no evolutionary reproductive benefit.Jane Reid at the University of Aberdeen,

Drug Delivery: On-demand drug release

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485151e

Highly read on pubs.acs.org in AprilDrug-carrying nanoparticles that shrink and release their payload when irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light could offer a way to get drugs deep into tissues and to unleash them on demand. This could be a valuable therapeutic tool for

Nuclear proliferation: Time to bury plutonium

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485167a

Authors: Frank von Hippel, Rodney Ewing, Richard Garwin & Allison Macfarlane

Recycling plutonium is dangerous and costly. Britain should take the lead on direct disposal, say Frank von Hippel, Rodney Ewing, Richard Garwin and Allison Macfarlane.

Policy reform: Strengthen and stabilize the FDA

Nature 485, 7397 (2012). doi:10.1038/485169a

Author: Daniel Carpenter

The US Food and Drug Administration needs to be more independent, says Daniel Carpenter.