Science Magazine 5755 2005 12 16

16 December 2005
Vol. 310 No. 5755

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www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 310 16 DECEMBER 2005 1729
DEPARTMENTS
1735 SCIENCE ONLINE
1737 THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE
1741 EDITORIAL by Thomas Cech and Donald Kennedy
Doing More for Kate
1743 EDITORS CHOICE
1746 CONTACT SCIENCE
1747 NETWATCH
1828 NEW PRODUCTS
1829 SCIENCE CAREERS
NEWS OF THE WEEK
1748 STEM CELLS
Korean University Will Investigate
Cloning Paper
1749 SPACE SCIENCE
ESA Hits the Right Note,
and Funding Flows
1751 PALEONTOLOGY
How Fast Does Your
Dinosaur Grow?
related Report page 1800
1751 SCIENCESCOPE
1752 U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
Summit Lists Waysbut Not
Meansto Strengthen Science
1753 AFTER KATRINA
Struggling New Orleans
Universities Cut Hundreds of Faculty
1754 GENETICS
Zebrafish Researchers Hook
Gene for Human Skin Color
related Research Article page 1782
1754 INDIAN SCIENCE
Booming Computer Sector
Seen as a Mixed Blessing
1755 SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING
Echoing Other Cases, NEJM Says
Vioxx Safety Data Withheld
NEWS FOCUS
1756 SPONGIFORM DISEASES
After the Crisis: More Questions
About Prions
Waiting for the Final Experiment
1759 CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
Hawaiis Coral Trees Feel the Sting of
Foreign Wasps
1760 MEETING
Environmental Genomics, Imprinting,
and Disease Susceptibility
Food, Tobacco, and Future Generations
Supplements Restore Gene Function via Methylation
1762 ELECTRONICS
Organic LEDs Look Forward to a Bright,
White Future
1764 RANDOM SAMPLES
LETTERS
1767 Asian Scientists and the Glass Ceiling M.-C. Hung
et al.; R. Mejia et al.; D. Jiang; J. B. Stewart; L. J. Pike.
How to Cut World Hunger in Half P. Lindskog.
Cognitive Unbinding in Sleep and Anesthesia
G. A. Mashour. Response G. Tononi and M. Massimini
1769 Corrections and Clarifications
BOOKS ET AL.
1770 SCIENCE AND CULTURE
Mad, Bad and Dangerous?
The Scientist and the Cinema
C. Frayling, reviewed by J. A. Labinger
1771 ENVIRONMENT
The Logic of Sufficiency
T. Princen, reviewed by N. Myers
POLICY FORUM
1772 RESEARCH FUNDING
Science Foundations: A Novelty in Russian Science
I. Dezhina and L. R. Graham
PERSPECTIVES
1774 CHEMISTRY
Lateral Hopping Requires Molecular Rocking
H. Ueba and M. Wolf
1775 MICROBIOLOGY
Chitin, Cholera, and Competence
D. H. Bartlett and F. Azam
1777 GEOPHYSICS
Helium Feels the Heat in Earths Mantle
F. Albarde
1778 ECOLOGY
Population Evolution and Island Biogeography
R. S. Thorpe
Contents continued
COVER The cellular changes of lightly pigmented golden zebrafish show a striking
resemblance to those of lighter skinned humans. The zebrafish pigment gene slc24a5
is functionally conserved across evolution; a single base change in its human ortholog
may play a role in pigment variation in human populations. See page 1782.
[Image: J. Mest and J. Cheng]
1778 &
1807
1770
Volume 310
16 December 2005
Number 5755
1756
Roberto Gradnik
Regional Vice-President, Serono
Why is he so attracted?
Italy is currently a key strategic location for Serono,
thanks to its competitive costs, excellent research
centres and high productivity, comparable to
Switzerland or anywhere in Europe. This is why
Serono chose to strengthen its Italian presence
with a new R&D centre in Rome in 2004. Italian Life
Sciences industry is the third largest in Europe, a
world market leader in the sector attracting major
global companies.The presence of high performing
research centres with a proven track record of
achievements in Healthcare research and a strong
synergy between academia and industry has led to
the creation of specialized biotechnology clusters,
with excellent perspectives in Oncology and
Neurosciences. An array of recent applications in
the Biomedical, Bioinformatics, Biomechanics and
Nano-biotechnology fields is catching foreign inve-
stors attention.
Serono is attracted, we bet you are too.
InvestInItaly is the newly established single reference point for inward investment
promotion created by Sviluppo Italia, the National Agency for enterprise and
inward investment development, and ICE - Italian Trade Commission, the
Government Agency which promotes the internationalization of Italian companies.
www.investinitaly.com [email protected]
SCIENCE EXPRESS www.sciencexpress.org
MATERIALS SCIENCE: A Stretchable Form of Single-Crystal Silicon for Electronics on
Elastomeric Substrates
D.-Y. Khang, H. Jiang, Y. Huang, J. A. Rogers
Silicon deposited in micrometer-scale waves on an elastic substrate yields a flexible template for devices
and components that can be stretched or compressed further.
ECOLOGY: Scaling of Connectivity in Marine Populations
R. K. Cowen, C. B. Paris, A. Srinivasan
Larvae of coastal fish in the Caribbean typically disperse shorter distances than had been assumed10 to
100 kilometersyielding relatively isolated populations.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY: The snoRNA HBII-52 Regulates Alternative Splicing of the Serotonin
Receptor 2C
S. Kishore and S. Stamm
An exon is included in the mature messenger RNA of a receptor only when a small RNA inhibits a silencer
sequence in the precursor RNA.
CHEMISTRY: Femtosecond Multidimensional Imaging of a Molecular Dissociation
O. Gener, A. M. D. Lee, J. P. Shaffer, H. Reisler, S. V. Levchenko, A. I. Krylov, J. G. Underwood,
H. Shi, A. L. L. East, D. M. Wardlaw, E. t. H. Chrysostom, C. C. Hayden, A. Stolow
Laser imaging and ionization reveals the precise paths followed by electrons and then nuclei in the extremely
rapid dissociation of the nitric oxide dimer.
TECHNICAL COMMENT ABSTRACTS
1769 CHEMISTRY
Comment on Characterization of Excess Electrons in Water-Cluster Anions by
Quantum Simulations
J. R. R. Verlet, A. E. Bragg, A. Kammrath, O. Cheshnovsky, D. M. Neumark
full text at www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/310/5755/1769b
Response to Comment on Characterization of Excess Electrons in Water-Cluster
Anions by Quantum Simulations
L. Turi, W.-S. Sheu, P. J. Rossky
full text at www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/310/5755/1769c
BREVIA
1781 ECOLOGY: Aphid Protected from Pathogen by Endosymbiont
C. L. Scarborough, J. Ferrari, H. C. J. Godfray
Aphids that harbor certain endosymbiotic bacteria more effectively resist infection by a fungal pathogen.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
1782 GENETICS: SLC24A5, a Putative Cation Exchanger, Affects Pigmentation in Zebrafish and Humans
R. L. Lamason, M.-A. P. K. Mohideen, J. R. Mest, A. C. Wong, H. L. Norton, M. C. Aros, M. J. Jurynec,
X. Mao, V. R. Humphreville, J. E. Humbert, S. Sinha, J. L. Moore, P. Jagadeeswaran, W. Zhao, G. Ning,
I. Makalowska, P. M. McKeigue, D. ODonnell, Rick Kittles, E. J. Parra, N. J. Mangini, D. J. Grunwald,
M. D. Shriver, V. A. Canfield, K. C. Cheng
Identification of a gene that controls pigmentation in zebrafish points to a similar gene that may play a key
role in human skin color. related News story page 1754
REPORTS
1787 CHEMISTRY: Complete Photo-Induced Breakup of the H
2
Molecule as a Probe of Molecular
Electron Correlation
W. Vanroose, F. Martn, T. N. Rescigno, C. W. McCurdy
Computations reveal that paired electrons residing between the two protons in molecular hydrogen are
more correlated than when surrounding two protons in the helium atom.
1790 CHEMISTRY: Real-Time Observation of Molecular Motion on a Surface
E. H. G. Backus, A. Eichler, A. W. Kleyn, M. Bonn
Diffusion of CO molecules on a stepped platinum surface is initiated by rotational motion, rather than the
expected translational motion. related Perspective page 1774
Contents continued
1774 &
1790
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2005 |nvltrogen Corporatlon. All rlghts reserved.
These products may be covered by one or more Llmlted Use Label Llcenses (See the |nvltrogen catalog or our webslte, www.lnvltrogen.com)
Anymetrlx, the Anymetrlx logo, and GeneChlp are reglstered trademarks, of Anymetrlx, |nc. Products may be covered by one or more of the followlng patents and/or sold under llcense
from Oxford Gene Technology: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,445,934, 5,700,637, 5,744,305, 5,945,334, 6,054,270, 6,l40,044, 6,26l,776, 6,29l,l83, 6,346,4l3, 6,399,365, 6,420,l69, 6,55l,8l7, 6,6l0,482,
6,733,977, and LP 6l9 32l, 373 203 and other U.S. or forelgn patents. Por research use only. Not for use ln dlagnostlc procedures.
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plate, and gravlty ow column formats from mlnl- to glgaprep scale
PlboMlnus" transcrlptome enrlchmentnovel, negatlve selectlon system
1793 CHEMISTRY: Multistep Synthesis of a Radiolabeled Imaging Probe Using Integrated Microfluidics
C-C. Lee, G. Sui, A. Elizarov, C. J. Shu, Y.-S. Shin, A. N. Dooley, J. Huang, A. Daridon, P. Wyatt, D. Stout,
H. C. Kolb, O. N. Witte, N. Satyamurthy, J. R. Heath, M. E. Phelps, S. R. Quake, H.-R. Tseng
A device with micrometer-scale valves and channels has been designed and used for efficient synthesis
of a molecule used in medical positron emission tomography.
1797 PHYSICS: Direct Experimental Evidence of a Growing Length Scale Accompanying the
Glass Transition
L. Berthier, G. Biroli, J.-P. Bouchaud, L. Cipelletti, D. El Masri, D. LHte, F. Ladieu, M. Pierno
Experiments and simulations show that glasses form from liquids upon cooling because increasingly
larger regions of a material move simultaneously, inhibiting flow.
1800 PALEONTOLOGY: Developmental Plasticity in the Life History of a Prosauropod Dinosaur
P. M. Sander and N. Klein
Some early large dinosaurs grew rapidly in response to environmental factors whereas others grew slowly
but steadily; later dinosaurs and mammals have fixed life histories. related News story page 1751
1803 ECOLOGY: Drought, Snails, and Large-Scale Die-Off of Southern U.S. Salt Marshes
B. R. Silliman, J. van de Koppel, M. D. Bertness, L. E. Stanton, I. A. Mendelssohn
Salt marshes of the southeastern United States have progressively collapsed as drought has increased their
susceptibility to destruction by grazing snails.
1807 ECOLOGY: Island Biogeography of Populations: An Introduced Species Transforms
Survival Patterns
T. W. Schoener, J. B. Losos, D. A. Spiller
In the presence of a predatory lizard, anoles that usually thrive on islands with less vegetation survive better
on islands with taller shrubbery that provides cover. related Perspective page 1778
1809 NEUROSCIENCE: Long-Term Modulation of Electrical Synapses in the Mammalian Thalamus
C. E. Landisman and Barry W. Connors
In inhibitory neurons of the rat thalamus, current flow through gap junctionsconduction pores between
neuronsis modulated by electrical activity and neurotransmitters.
1813 NEUROSCIENCE: Glial Membranes at the Node of Ranvier Prevent Neurite Outgrowth
J. K. Huang, G. R. Phillips, A. D. Roth, L. Pedraza, W. Shan, W. Belkaid, S. Mi, A. Fex-Svenningsen,
L. Florens, J. R. Yates III, D. R. Colman
Sections of neuronal axons that are devoid of myelin trapping are prevented from sprouting inappropriately
by adjacent glia membranes containing an inhibitory protein.
1817 BIOCHEMISTRY: The Widespread Impact of Mammalian MicroRNAs on mRNA Repression
and Evolution
K. K.-H. Farh, A. Grimson, C. Jan, B. P. Lewis, W. K. Johnston, L. P. Lim, C. B. Burge, D. P. Bartel
In mammals, recently discovered small regulatory microRNAs influence the expression or evolution
of most genes.
1821 BIOCHEMISTRY: Ubiquitin-Binding Domains in Y-Family Polymerases Regulate
Translesion Synthesis
M. Bienko, C. M. Green, N. Crosetto, F. Rudolf, G. Zapart, B. Coull, P. Kannouche, G. Wider, M. Peter,
A. R. Lehmann, K. Hofmann, I.Dikic
The small peptide ubiquitin, known to mark proteins for degradation, also triggers the activity of a group of
polymerases specialized for repairing DNA damage.
1824 MICROBIOLOGY: Chitin Induces Natural Competence in Vibrio cholerae
K. L. Meibom, M. Blokesch, N. A. Dolganov, C.-Y. Wu, G. K. Schoolnik
When grown under natural conditions, cholera bacteria can release and exchange functional DNA, an ability
not seen in 60 years of study in the laboratory. related Perspective page 1775
1813
SCIENCE (ISSN 0036-8075) is published weekly on Friday, except the last week in December, by the American Association for the Advancement of
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Contents continued
REPORTS CONTINUED
1775 &
1824
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The Defense Threat Peductlon Agency,
1olnt Sclence and Technology Offlce ls
proud to announce the openlng of the
2007 physlcal program call for research
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1735 www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 310 16 DECEMBER 2005

sciencenow www.sciencenow.org DAILY NEWS COVERAGE
Thinking the Pain Away
Patients can use imaging technology to control pain centers in the brain.
Lightning Has a Long-Distance Conversation
Space shuttle videos suggest lightning bolts can coordinate strikes over hundreds of kilometers.
No More Sleigh-Rides
Climatologist simulates a world without snow.
ScienceCareers.org www.sciencecareers.org CAREER RESOURCES FOR SCIENTISTS
US: Tooling UpPresenting Your Research to Employers D. Jensen
At an industrial job talk, you need to sell your science and yourself.
INDUSTRY INSIDER: In the Footsteps of Archimedes A. Michels
Our Industry Insider highlights opportunities for mathematicians in industry.
CANADA: Risky Business A. Fazekas
Alex Marini left the world of theoretical physics to pursue a career in financial risk management.
MISCINET: MentorDoctorOvercoming Katrina MentorDoctor Team
The MentorDoctor team advises a pre-med major from an institution forced to close temporarily
because of Hurricane Katrina.
GRANTSNET: International Grants and Fellowship Index GrantsNet Staff
Get the latest listing of funding opportunities from Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
sciences sage ke www.sageke.org SCIENCE OF AGING KNOWLEDGE ENVIRONMENT
PERSPECTIVE: When T Cells Get Old G. Pawelec
Is remediation possible for immunosenescence?
NEWS FOCUS: Oxidants off the Hook? M. Leslie
Fast-aging mice dont suffer oxidative overload.
sciences stke www.stke.org SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION KNOWLEDGE ENVIRONMENT
REVIEW: Regulation of Voltage-Gated Ca
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Channels by Calmodulin D. B. Halling,
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Calmodulins versatility allows it to mediate both inhibition and facilitation of voltage-gated calcium
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www.sciencemag.org
With the introduction of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) technology, cell biology and life sciences in general have entered a
whole new exciting era of research. [...] In some instances however, the resolution of the light microscope is the limiting factor
in answering our scientific questions. In these cases, the higher resolution of the electron microscope is essential. Combining
both light and electron microscopy is my field of interest. By performing so-called Correlative Light Electron Microscopy (CLEM)
experiments one has the advantage of live cell imaging in the confocal microscope and afterwards have high resolution
results from the transmission electron microscope of the same cell. The Leica EM RTS was specifically developed to be used in
such experiments in conjunction with EM PACT2. It provides a high time resolution between the light and electron microscope,
allowing excellent preservation of the ultrastructure close to the natural state, an essential prerequisite for electron
microscopy. It allows us to decide upon the exact moment of interest and study that particular event at high resolution.
Dr. Paul Verkade, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
Dr. Verkade works with the Leica EM PACT2 & RTS High Pressure Freezer.
@
www.leica-microsystems.com
Combining live imaging with
high resolution electron microscopy
is a real challenge.
Begin with a Backflip
The initiation of diffusion of molecules on surfaces is mainly
thought of in terms of translational motion. Backus et al. (p. 1790,
published online 10 November; see the Perspective by Ueba and
Wolf) followed the diffusion of CO mole-
cules on a stepped Pt surface with ultrafast
vibrational spectroscopy by using changes
in CO stretching frequencies to distinguish
different adsorption sites. Photoexcitation
of the CO with a laser pulse revealed very
fast motion (a time constant of only 500
femtoseconds) that was associated with
CO rotation rather than translation. Densi-
ty functional theory calculations show
that the excitation of frustrated rotational
motion of the CO molecule is needed for
the molecule to hop to an adjoining ad-
sorption site.
The Reptile-Dinosaur-Bird
Conundrum
Examination of the histology of fossil
bones has shown that most dinosaurs,
like birds and mammals today, attained
their adult size at about the same age
after a period of rapid growth, inde-
pendently of environmental factors. In
contrast, many repti l es adj ust thei r
growth in response to temperature and
other factors, and may attain adult size
at rather different ages. By examining a
large collection of fossils from central
Europe, Sander and Klein (p. 1800; see
the news story by Gramling) now show
that the most common Triassic dinosaur,
the large prosauropod Plateosaurus engel-
hardti grew more like turtles, snakes,
and alligators, unlike later dinosaurs,
whose growth response resembles that
of birds and mammals.
Small Reactors
Positron emission tomography (PET) achieves local sensitivity in
medical imaging of organs by detecting the emissive decay of iso-
topically unstable molecular probes. This instability also
requires the rapid and efficient synthesis of probe compounds.
Lee et al. (p. 1793) have built a computer-controlled device,
roughly the size of a penny, for optimizing the speed and cost of
such preparations. The mi-
crometer-scale valves and
channels achieve rapid mixing
and solvent exchange, and ef-
fi ci ent heat transfer, as
demonstrated in the multi-
step synthesis of
18
F-radiola-
beled 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-
glucose, the most widely used
PET probe.
The Genetics of Skin Pigmentation
Little is known about the specific genes that contribute to the
variations in human skin color. An exciting clue has now emerged
from an unlikely source, a tiny aquarium fish. Working with a mutant
line of zebrafish called golden, whose
stripes are paler than those in wild-type
fish, Lamason et al. (p. 1782; see the cov-
er and the news story by Balter) found
that the altered pigmentation was caused
by a mutati on i n the sl c24A5 gene,
which encodes a protein potentially in-
volved in cation exchange. The gene is
highly conserved in vertebrates, and ex-
pression of the human gene in the golden
zebrafish restored wild-type pigmenta-
tion. European populations carry a slight-
ly different version of the slc24A5 gene
than do African and East Asian popula-
ti ons. A geneti c polymorphi sm that
changes one amino acid in the coding re-
gion of the gene correlates with skin pig-
mentation levels, which suggests that
slc24A5 may contribute to skin color in
humans.
Hiding in the Long Grass
Since the seminal work of MacArthur and
Wilson on the theory of island biogeogra-
phy, studies on this topic have focused
mainly on the relation of species richness
with island parameters such as area, dis-
tance, and habitat variability. The popula-
tion biology of individual species in the
island context has received much less at-
tention. Schoener et al. (p. 1807; see the
Perspective by Thorpe) report results
from an experiment using Anolis lizards
and an introduced lizard predator on small
islands in the Bahamas archipelago. In the
absence of the predator, there was a
highly regular (decreasing) correlation of
lizard survival to a key habitat variable
(vegetation height). In the presence of
the predator, the situation was nearly reversed, such that prey
survival was highest in the tallest vegetation.
Modification of Electrical Synapses
The brain has two main types of synapses, chemical and electrical.
Electrical synapses represent a major form of communication
between interneurons in the mammalian nervous system. They play
an important role in synchronization of activity in local cell popula-
tions because their speed and reliability allows signals to spread
across whole networks at a time scale that is sufficient to preserve
precise timing of signals between distant neurons. In spite of these
potentially vital functions, electrical synapses have generally been
regarded as stereotypic and nonflexible. However, Landisman and
Connors (p. 1809) found that transmission across electrical synapses
edited by Stella Hurtley and Phil Szuromi
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 1739
Comparing Correlations
Quantum mechanics offers an exact
solution to the forces binding an elec-
tron to a proton in the hydrogen atom.
However, adding just one more proton
and electron to the system presents an
intractable complication arising from
the correlated motion of the electrons.
Vanroose et al. (p. 1787) have im-
proved the approximate solution by nu-
merical computation. They analyze the
trajectories of both electrons upon
double ionization of the hydrogen mol-
ecule by a single photon, specifically fo-
cusing on the influence of changing the
internuclear separation. The result is
distinct from the path taken on double
ionization of the helium atom, These
findings indicate that significant corre-
lation effects stem from a molecular
geometry (an electron pair shared be-
tween two protons), as opposed to an
atomic geometry (an electron pair sym-
metrically surrounding two protons).
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can undergo long-term modifications just like chemical synapses. The modulation de-
pends on activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors, which presumably trigger intra-
cellular signal cascades modulating the connexins that constitute the electrical synapses.
Snails on the Rampage
There has been unprecedented and mas-
sive die-off of southeastern United States
salt marshes during the past 5 years, with
potentially serious consequences for
coastal protection and integrity. Silliman
et al. (p. 1803) surveyed more than 1200
kilometers of coastline and found high-
density fronts of plant-grazing snails
(~1500 individuals per square meter)
mowing down marsh plants at 11 of 12
die-off sites. Die-off was initiated by drought-induced stress. Snail fronts developed at
the edges of the die-off zones, and then spread across remaining healthy areas. These
interactions between climatic and trophic factors may lead to further degradation or
even collapse of these ecologically and economically important systems.
Inhibiting Brain Repair
Neuronal axons in the mammalian central and peripheral nervous system are generally
ensheathed in myelin that is generated by nonneuronal cells. In response to injury in
the peripheral nervous system, new axons can sprout from unmyelinated gaps called
the Nodes of Ranvier, but this response rarely occurs in the central nervous system
(CNS). Huang et al. (p. 1813, published online 17 November) have identified a precur-
sor oligodendrocyte cell type whose processes envelope nodes in the CNS and inhibit
axon sprouting. The processes express a glycoprotein previously thought exclusive to
compact myelin. Mice lacking the glycoprotein exhibited abnormal node formation and
nodal axon sprouting. Overcoming the inhibitory nature of these cells may be clinically
important in recovery from injury.
MicroRNA Management of the Genome
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small, ~22-nucleotide noncoding RNAs that have been found in
most of the plants and animals so far studied, generally regulate gene expression by
suppressing the activity of messenger RNAs (mRNA) bearing complementary target
sequences. These targets, or seeds, are apparently only seven to eight nucleotides
long, and so, all things being equal, should occur randomly throughout the genome
with relatively high frequency. Farh et al. (p. 1817, published online 24 November)
now show that all things are not equal: Expression of regulated seed-bearing mRNAs
correlates with the presence of the appropriate miRNA. However, nonregulated mRNAs
present at high levels in miRNA-expressing tissues have a paucity of complementary
seed matches in their sequence. Thus, miRNAs are influencing the expression, the evo-
lution, or both of the majority of mRNAs.
Just-in-Time Competency
Many bacteria can take up exogenous DNA, an ability known as natural compe-
tence. The causative agent of cholera, Vibrio cholerae, is not known to have this
property, but somehow it has clearly acquired virulence attributes, including
cholera toxin, from some other source. V. cholerae does possess the genes used by
other bacteria to assemble the necessary machinery for DNA uptake, for example,
type IV pili. Meibom et al. (p. 1824; see the Perspective by Bartlett and Azam)
now show that a chitin (which can be found in the exoskeleton of crabs, a natural
host for the bacteria) triggers V. cholerae to produce pili, and to release and ex-
change functional DNA. This competency remained unnoticed in a pathogen that
has been studied for 60 years, which suggests that other noncompetent bacteria
may become so under the appropriate growth conditions.
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CONTINUED FROM 1737
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EDITORIAL
W
hen Kate graduated from Lincoln High School, she had a budding interest in science. Taking
college-level advanced placement courses in biology and chemistry during her senior year had
been challenging, but a combination of enthusiastic teachers and supportive classmates brought
her unanticipated satisfactionshe was learning how nature worked and had made a good start at
analyzing it as a scientist would.
It took only 1 year of science classes at a large research university to turn Kate into a business major. Her general
chemistry textbook was similar in content to the one shed used in high school. But the class was so enormous that
she only knew the professor as a speck in the distance. The laboratory section was taught by a teaching assistant who
was struggling to learn English, but that didnt matter much because the acid/base titration was the same experiment
that Kate had done in high school. Moreover, the pressure to memorize equations and work on assigned problems
dampened Kates enthusiasm for grappling with the underlying concepts.
So why should a research scientist reading this account care about what
happened to Kate? After all, hasnt it always been this way? There is a laissez-
faire attitude among some that although university science classes are tough,
those who are really cut out for it will survive to populate the next generation
of scientists. But we should care, and there are two reasons why.
First, the pipeline issue; illustrated here with reference to the United States,
but a problem in many other countries as well. The number of Ph.D. degrees in
science and engineering granted by U.S. universities increased by 45% from
1974 to 2004, somewhat more than the 37% growth in the countrys population.
But the doctoral degrees granted to U.S. citizens increased by only 11%, making
nonU.S. citizens, most holding temporary visas, largely responsible for
our keeping pace with the countrys need for scientists. Clearly, something is
turning Kate and her classmates away from careers in science.
Second, the future of the world is at stake! Thats not melodrama. Never
have exciting new developments in science been more tightly connected to
real dilemmas in public policy. If the electorate distrusts science and doesnt
understand how scientists explore and interrogate the natural world, how will they vote on issues ranging from stem
cell research and global climate change to the teaching of intelligent design in our schools? In addition to full-time
scientists, we need educated citizens who can think critically about the science and technology choices so prominent
in contemporary political life.
Science and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) are committed, each in their own ways, to revitalizing
science education. Therefore, we are pleased to collaborate and bring the readers of Science innovative educational
ideas in each month of 2006.* We want to showcase new approaches to teaching that work even in large lecture
classes, or bring other disciplines, such as physics and computer sciences, together with biology into a single course.
Learning is not a spectator sport, and through active involvement in the material, students will understand and retain
concepts much better. We want to explore how to connect research and teaching for the benefit of both student and
professor. We want to help faculty do what they would all love to do: teach better with less struggle. Above all, we hope
to increase general interest in, and knowledge about, science; no matter what path our students embark on.
Why Science? Because its widely read by scientists around the world, many of whom share a primary commitment
to research and a conviction that the successor generation of scientists must be nurtured. If they agree with us that
science and the teaching of science are inseparable, they are an audience we must reach.
We researchers pride ourselves on thinking scientifically in our laboratories. We gather data, formulate
hypotheses, and suspect our own conclusions enough to test them rigorously. And we always want to apply the best
technology available to our problems. When scientists step out of the lab into the classroom, they can apply these
same principles: finding out what their students already know, reworking their methods to enhance understanding,
and applying technology to support those efforts. This scientific approach to teaching science is what we will
highlight in the upcoming issues of Science.
Thomas Cech
Donald Kennedy
Thomas Cech is president of HHMI in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Donald Kennedy is Editor-in-Chief of Science.
*Science and HHMI will work with an advisory committee on the essay series. Science will have full editorial responsibility for the content. Essays may
be submitted for consideration through our Web site at www.submit2science.org.
10.1126/science.1123580
Doing More for Kate
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ScienceCareers.org is the leading careers resource for scientists.
And nowit offers even more. In addition to a brand new website with
easier navigation, ScienceCareers.org now includes Next Wave, the
essential online careers magazine. Next Wave is packed with features
and articles to help advance your science career all for free.
Hundreds of job postings
Career tools from Next Wave
Grant information
Resume/CV Database
Career Forum
ScienceCareers.org
now with Next Wave
CHE MI S TRY
Building a Better
Wacker
The Wacker oxidation is a
well-established method for
the conversion of olefins to
aldehydes and ketones. The
reaction involves activation of
the olefin toward water addi-
tion by a palladium catalyst,
followed by regeneration of
the catalyst by oxygen. In gen-
eral, however, the regeneration
step cannot be accomplished
directly, but instead requires a
copper or quinone derivative
to shuttle electrons between
Pd and O
2
.
Mitsudome et al. show that
a judicious choice of solvent
eliminates the need for the
co-catalyst. Using PdCl
2
in
dimethylacetamide (DMA)
solvent, they achieve efficient
conversion of long-chain (up
to C
20
) terminal olefins to the
corresponding 2-ketones on
treatment with water under
O
2
pressure. The catalyst
tolerates hydroxyl and cyano
groups and can be recycled
several times after heptane
extraction. Electrochemical
studies suggest that DMA lowers
the oxidation potential of the
catalyst in its Pd(0) state,
thereby promoting direct
oxidation by O
2
. JSY
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
10.1002/anie.200502886 (2005).
P S YCHOL OGY
Frozen in Time
Humans may be unique in
being aware of their own
mortality. In any case, being
reminded that we are, in fact,
mortal is apt to evoke feelings
of anxiety and to call forth
mechanisms for alleviating or
managing our reactions to
lives being extinguished. One
such strategy is to seek rein-
forcement of ones worldview,
which has the consequence of
skewing our opinions of others
(and others actions) toward
the extremes of good (in
accord with ones views) and
bad. Furthermore, these valua-
tions may very well become
fixed at their best or worst if
the other person has died.
Eylon and Allison provide
evidence for the immutability
of judgments
in the form of
two experi-
ments in
which sub-
jects were
assessed for
the change in
their valua-
tions when a
good person
(fictitious in
the first case,
real in the
second) was
described as
having
behaved
immorally and, conversely,
when a bad person was
reported as having acted meri-
toriously. They found that the
decrement in positive ratings
and the increase in negative
ratings were both smaller
when the persons in question
were dead versus still alive,
suggesting that our impressions
of people, favorable or not,
become resistant to change
when they die. GJC
Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 12, 1708 (2005).
I MMUNOL OGY
Awakening HIV
One of the pressing issues in
HIV research is understanding
the mechanisms of viral
latency, in which small numbers
of memory CD4
+
T cells harbor
a transcriptionally silent form
of the integrated provirus.
Because this latent virus can
be reactivated and because it
exists in this dormant form
within a long-lived population
of lymphocytes, it represents
a life-long reservoir.
To overcome the in vivo
paucity of latently infected
memory cells, Williams et al.
studied a human T cell line
containing a single integrated
provirus and found that RNA
polymerase II did not bind to
the proviral long terminal
repeat (LTR) because of
alterations in the chromatin
structure that had been
induced by the binding of the
histone deacetylase enzyme
HDAC1 to the LTR. Inhibition
of HDAC1 or knockdown of
NF-B p50 (which recruits and
complexes with HDAC1) were
sufficient for the production
of short nonproductive viral
transcripts, and full viral tran-
scription could be achieved by
coexpressing the viral transac-
tivating protein Tat.
Establishing this mechanism in
primary CD4
+
T cells will be
the next step in determining
whether combinations of
EDITORS
CHOICE
HI GHL I GHT S OF T HE RE C E NT L I T E R AT UR E
edited by Gilbert Chin
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 1745
MATE RI AL S S CI E NCE
Nanotube Firefighters
When polymers are heated and reach the temperature at which they begin to decompose,
bubbles often form beneath the surface because the boiling points of the degradation products
are usually lower than the decomposition temperature of the parent polymer. The evolution
of these bubbles prevents the formation of a solid layer of char, which would insulate the
rest of the polymer from further heating. With
the advent of restrictions on halogenated
flame-retardant additives, nanoscale reinforcing
materials, such as clay particles, have been
investigated as alternatives.
Kashiwagi et al. have found that carbon
nanotubes and nanoparticles can also act both as
reinforcing materials and as flame retardants,
and in some cases can surpass the performance
of nanoclay materials. Coaxing the asymmetric
fibers into a continuous network structure is the
key to reducing bubbling. At fixed loads under
radiant heat, the best results were obtained
using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs),
which left a residue with an undulating surface
but no deep cracks. In contrast, multiwalled
carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) yielded only islands of protection, and neither carbon nanofibers
(CNF) nor carbon black particles helped very much. Flame retardancy was found to correlate with
rheology, because the best materials showed a gel-like response, which matches their ability to
form networks. MSL
Nat. Mater. 4, 928 (2005).
The residue of poly(methyl methacrylate)
with various nanoadditives after heating.
Candles in the wind.
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HDAC1 inhibition and Tat activation will
prove viable as a means of overcoming
latency in the clinic. SJS
EMBO J. 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600900 (2005).
GE NE TI CS
Pressure Under Pressure
Hypertension is an extremely common
disorder that, left untreated, can lead to
stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure.
Individuals of African descent are at greater
risk of developing high blood pressure than
are those of European descent, and this
may reflect adaptations to distinct envi-
ronmental selection pressures experienced
by ancestral populations. For example,
ancient human populations living in hot
humid climates where salt was scarce
would likely have a physiology adapted to
maximize salt retention (which would con-
comitantly increase blood vessel tone), but
this selective pressure would be lost once
populations moved to cooler regions.
Young et al. present genetic data consis-
tent with the hypothesis that differential
susceptibility to hypertension among
modern humans is due to climatic adapta-
tion during the out-of-Africa expansion.
Studying worldwide variation in five genes
implicated in blood pressure regulation,
they find that the prevalence of allelic vari-
ants that would increase heat adaptation
(and hence hypertension susceptibility) is
significantly greater in populations living
at low latitudes or in hot wet climates
than in those at high latitudes or cold dry
climates. In addition, using data from an
epidemiologic study of blood pressure in
52 different populations, they conclude
that a major portion of the worldwide
variation in blood pressure can be
accounted for by latitude and a variant
allele of GNB3, the beta3 subunit of guanine
nucleotidebinding protein. PAK
PLoS Genet. 10.1371/journal.pgen.0010082.eor (2005).
CHE MI S TRY
Chiral Golden Rings
The self-assembly of a large chiral aggre-
gate with luminescent properties from
achiral building blocks is reported by Yu et al.,
who have exploited aurophilic interactions
between Au(I) atoms to drive assembly.
Two equivalents of the Au(I) dimer,
[Au
2
(dppm)Cl
2
] where dppm is the bridging
bis(diphenylphosphino)methane ligand,
bind to piperazine-1,4-dicarbodithiolate in
anhydrous methanol; the thiol groups add
a second bridging group to two gold
dimers. This compound crystallizes as a
tetramer in which the 16 gold atoms form
a continuous loop: The two pairs of gold
atoms from one monomer bind to the
ends of a pair from an adjacent monomer,
and two sets of bridging groups end up on
each side of the loop. This interleaved
cyclic assembly imparts chirality on the
tetramer, which crystallizes with a 70%
preference for one form in each sample
prepared (but with essentially equal
probability of either handedness for any
given sample). The tetramer also displays
intense green phosphorescence. PDS
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 10.1021/ja0565727.
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CONTINUED FROM 1743
EDITORS CHOICE
The crystal structure of the tetramer (Au,
yellow; N, blue; P, pink; S, orange; C, gray).
Galanin Antagonists as Antidepressants
The neuropeptide galanin influences a broad range of processes
in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Swanson et al.
used two small molecules that selectively inhibit the Gal
3
receptor
subtype to help define the effects mediated through this recep-
tor in behavioral studies of anxiety and depression in three rodent model systems.
They compared the effects of the inhibitors to those of chlordiazepoxide (a benzodi-
azepine anxiolytic) and fluoxetine (an antidepressant). In several assays, including the
social interaction test and the forced swim test, the Gal
3
inhibitors showed acute and
chronic antidepressant and anxiolytic effects equal to those of the control drugs,
suggesting that Gal
3
-selective agonists may be useful therapeutics. LBR
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102, 17489 (2005).
HI GHL I GHT E D I N SCI E NCE S SI GNAL TRANS DUCT I ON KNOWL E DGE E NVI RONME NT
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16 DECEMBER 2005 VOL 310 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org 1746
John I. Brauman, Chair, Stanford Univ.
Richard Losick, Harvard Univ.
Robert May, Univ. of Oxford
Marcia McNutt, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Inst.
Linda Partridge, Univ. College London
Vera C. Rubin, Carnegie Institution of Washington
Christopher R. Somerville, Carnegie Institution
George M. Whitesides, Harvard University
R. McNeill Alexander, Leeds Univ.
Richard Amasino, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison
Meinrat O. Andreae, Max Planck Inst., Mainz
Kristi S. Anseth, Univ. of Colorado
Cornelia I. Bargmann, Rockefeller Univ.
Brenda Bass, Univ. of Utah
Ray H. Baughman, Univ. of Texas, Dallas
Stephen J. Benkovic, Pennsylvania St. Univ.
Michael J. Bevan, Univ. of Washington
Ton Bisseling, Wageningen Univ.
Mina Bissell, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Peer Bork, EMBL
Dennis Bray, Univ. of Cambridge
Stephen Buratowski, Harvard Medical School
Jillian M. Buriak, Univ. of Alberta
Joseph A. Burns, Cornell Univ.
William P. Butz, Population Reference Bureau
Doreen Cantrell, Univ. of Dundee
Peter Carmeliet, Univ. of Leuven, VIB
Gerbrand Ceder, MIT
Mildred Cho, Stanford Univ.
David Clapham, Childrens Hospital, Boston
David Clary, Oxford University
J. M. Claverie, CNRS, Marseille
Jonathan D. Cohen, Princeton Univ.
Robert Colwell, Univ. of Connecticut
Peter Crane, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
F. Fleming Crim, Univ. of Wisconsin
William Cumberland, UCLA
Caroline Dean, John Innes Centre
Judy DeLoache, Univ. of Virginia
Edward DeLong, MIT
Robert Desimone, MIT
John Diffley, Cancer Research UK
Dennis Discher, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Julian Downward, Cancer Research UK
Denis Duboule, Univ. of Geneva
Christopher Dye, WHO
Richard Ellis, Cal Tech
Gerhard Ertl, Fritz-Haber-Institut, Berlin
Douglas H. Erwin, Smithsonian Institution
Barry Everitt, Univ. of Cambridge
Paul G. Falkowski, Rutgers Univ.
Ernst Fehr, Univ. of Zurich
Tom Fenchel, Univ. of Copenhagen
Jeffrey S. Flier, Harvard Medical School
Chris D. Frith, Univ. College London
R. Gadagkar, Indian Inst. of Science
Mary E. Galvin, Univ. of Delaware
Don Ganem, Univ. of California, SF
John Gearhart, Johns Hopkins Univ.
Jennifer M. Graves, Australian National Univ.
Christian Haass, Ludwig Maximilians Univ.
Dennis L. Hartmann, Univ. of Washington
Chris Hawkesworth, Univ. of Bristol
Martin Heimann, Max Planck Inst., Jena
James A. Hendler, Univ. of Maryland
Ary A. Hoffmann, La Trobe Univ.
Evelyn L. Hu, Univ. of California, SB
Meyer B. Jackson, Univ. of Wisconsin Med. School
Stephen Jackson, Univ. of Cambridge
Daniel Kahne, Harvard Univ.
Bernhard Keimer, Max Planck Inst., Stuttgart
Alan B. Krueger, Princeton Univ.
Antonio Lanzavecchia, Inst. of Res. in Biomedicine
Anthony J. Leggett, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Michael J. Lenardo, NIAID, NIH
Norman L. Letvin, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Richard Losick, Harvard Univ.
Andrew P. MacKenzie, Univ. of St. Andrews
Raul Madariaga, cole Normale Suprieure, Paris
Rick Maizels, Univ. of Edinburgh
Eve Marder, Brandeis Univ.
George M. Martin, Univ. of Washington
William McGinnis, Univ. of California, San Diego
Virginia Miller, Washington Univ.
Edvard Moser, NorwegianUniv. of ScienceandTechnology
Andrew Murray, Harvard Univ.
Naoto Nagaosa, Univ. of Tokyo
James Nelson, Stanford Univ. School of Med.
Roeland Nolte, Univ. of Nijmegen
Helga Nowotny, European Research Advisory Board
Eric N. Olson, Univ. of Texas, SW
Erin OShea, Univ. of California, SF
Malcolm Parker, Imperial College
John Pendry, Imperial College
Philippe Poulin, CNRS
Mary Power, Univ. of California, Berkeley
David J. Read, Univ. of Sheffield
Colin Renfrew, Univ. of Cambridge
Trevor Robbins, Univ. of Cambridge
Nancy Ross, Virginia Tech
Edward M. Rubin, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
David G. Russell, Cornell Univ.
Gary Ruvkun, Mass. General Hospital
J. Roy Sambles, Univ. of Exeter
Philippe Sansonetti, Institut Pasteur
David S. Schimel, National Center forAtmosphericResearch
Dan Schrag, Harvard Univ.
Georg Schulz, Albert-Ludwigs-Universitt
Paul Schulze-Lefert, Max Planck Inst., Cologne
Terrence J. Sejnowski, The Salk Institute
George Somero, Stanford Univ.
Christopher R. Somerville, Carnegie Institution
Joan Steitz, Yale Univ.
Edward I. Stiefel, Princeton Univ.
Thomas Stocker, Univ. of Bern
Jerome Strauss, Univ. of Pennsylvania Med. Center
Tomoyuki Takahashi, Univ. of Tokyo
Glenn Telling, Univ. of Kentucky
Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Genentech
Craig B. Thompson, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Michiel van der Klis, Astronomical Inst. of Amsterdam
Derek van der Kooy, Univ. of Toronto
Bert Vogelstein, Johns Hopkins
Christopher A. Walsh, Harvard Medical School
Christopher T. Walsh, Harvard Medical School
Graham Warren, Yale Univ. School of Med.
Fiona Watt, Imperial Cancer Research Fund
Julia R. Weertman, Northwestern Univ.
Daniel M. Wegner, Harvard University
Ellen D. Williams, Univ. of Maryland
R. Sanders Williams, Duke University
Ian A. Wilson, The Scripps Res. Inst.
Jerry Workman, Stowers Inst. for Medical Research
John R. Yates III,The Scripps Res. Inst.
Martin Zatz, NIMH, NIH
Walter Zieglgnsberger, Max Planck Inst., Munich
Huda Zoghbi, Baylor College of Medicine
Maria Zuber, MIT
David Bloom, Harvard Univ.
Londa Schiebinger, Stanford Univ.
Richard Shweder, Univ. of Chicago
Robert Solow, MIT
Ed Wasserman, DuPont
Lewis Wolpert, Univ. College, London
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SENIOR EDITORIAL BOARD
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WE B L OGS
Bioethics
Banter
With an egg-donation
scandal at a t op
cloning lab, contin-
ued skirmishing over
stem cel l s i n the
United States, and
last months first-
ever face transplant,
2005 has given bio-
ethicists plenty to
contemplate. To follow
the latest twists in these and
other sci ence stori es wi th
social impact, dive into the Web log
launched in September 2004 by the edi-
tors of the American Journal of Bioethics.
Although the journals Web site offers
some news, the blog format allows
broader coverage and better explanations
of issues, according to the three editors,
who wri te most of the materi al . Its
opi nionated posts have highlighted
developments such as classical musi-
cians use of beta blockers to quell stage
fright and the current controversy over
how South Korean stem cell pioneer Woo
Suk Hwangs lab obtained human eggs
(Science, 2 December, p. 1402). Youll also
find newspaper commentaries co-written
by a site editor.
blog.bioethics.net
TOOL S
Species Crawl
iSpecies provides as much information as a good
Internet encyclopedia, yet it doesnt contain a sin-
gle Web page. The new search engine from system-
atist Roderic Page of the University of Glasgow in
the U.K. furnishes what Web aficionados call a
mashup. Instead of housing static pages about dif-
ferent species, it compiles a profile of your selected
organism by linking to molecular, taxonomic, and
other sites. Enter aardvark, for example, and
iSpecies tracks down images of the snouty mam-
mal, protein and DNA sequences, a list of abstracts
from recent papers, and a classification
synopsis from the Integrated Taxo-
nomic Information System.
www.ispecies.org
NETWATCH
edited by Mitch Leslie
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Avoid Lab Mix-Ups
Nested or real-time PCR? Western, Southern, or Northern blotting? Newbies struggling
to keep genomic methods straight can get help at this primer written by biologist
Malcolm Campbell of Davidson College
in North Carolina. Methods for Genomics
isnt a lab manual but instead briefly
explains more than 50 widely used tech-
niques and pieces of equipment. With
diagrams and animations, the site helps
students grasp lab staples such as elec-
trophoresis (right) and more advanced
methods such as the Cre/loxP recombi-
nation system for deleting specific sec-
tions of DNA. The content ties in with a text Campbell uses in his classes, but it also
works as a standalone resource.
www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/genomics/methodslist.html#meth2
E DUCATI ON
Catch Some Rays
Cosmic rays spew from the sun,
hurtl e out of the remai ns of
supernovas, and escape from other
extraterrestrial sources. The speed-
ing space particles, which constantly
pelt Earth, interest astronomers study-
ing questions such as the composition of
the galaxy. NASAs Cosmicopia explains
cosmic rays and related topics such as space weather for students and the
public. Subjects include Earths magnetosphere, the magnetic cloak
around the planet that rebuffs many cosmic rays. The site also offers a
Q&A written by experts, a timeline of ray
research, and links to news stories.
Above, a false-color image illumi-
nates the magnetosphere.
helios.gsfc.nasa.gov
I MAGE S
Head Cases
This new image bank from Brookhaven
National Laboratory in Upton, New York,
can help researchers studying neural variabil-
ity among mouse strains. Stored here are 3D
brain maps for the C57BL/6J strain, a lab favorite,
created using magnetic resonance microscopy.
After completing a free registration, users can down-
load images for each of 10 rodents studied. Other atlases
depict the average anatomy and the variation within the
group. Researchers can compare the images to structural measure-
ments for other strains or use them as a template for mapping data on gene and metabolic
activity. To help users view and analyze the scans, the site offers free software.
www.bnl.gov/CTN/mouse
Send site suggestions to [email protected]. Archive: www.sciencemag.org/netwatch
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NEWS
P A G E 1 7 5 1 1 7 5 2
Meeting of
the minds on
innovation
Dinosaurs
growth
spurt
Thi s Wee k
SEOUL AND TOKYOEmbattled Korean stem
cell scientist Woo Suk Hwang and his univer-
sity have bowed to pressure for an investiga-
tion into a growing list of questions about a
landmark paper he and colleagues pub-
lished in Science in June
2005 (17 June, p. 1777). On
12 December, Seoul National
University (SNU), where
Hwang works, announced it
will conduct an investigation
at the scientists request. This
follows a 7 December petition
for an investigation from
30 SNU faculty members to
university president Un Chan
Chung. Prompted initially by
anonymous allegations made
on a public Web site about
irregularities in the paper, sci-
entists in Korea and else-
where are calling for the
papers key DNA fingerprint-
ing tests to be redone by an
independent researcher.
(As Science went to press, one of Hwangs
co-authors, Gerald Schatten of the University
of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, asked Science
to remove his name from the paper.)
Meanwhile, stem cell researchers else-
where are worried about the possible fallout.
The labs as-yet-unreplicated feat of creating
human embryonic stem (ES) cell lines that
match the DNA of patients inspired a global
ramp-up in stem cell efforts. Such ES cell lines
might one day provide replacement cells
genetically matched to a patient suffering
from Parkinsons disease or diabetes. Hwangs
team not only showed that producing such ES
cell lines was possible but also that it could be
done efficiently, with relatively few donated
oocytes per cell line. Alan Colman, head of
Singapore-based ES Cell International and a
member of the team that produced Dolly the
sheep, the first cloned mammal, says, Id still
like to believe this is a case of sloppy presenta-
tion but good science. If the results of the
paper do not hold up, he says it could set the
field back to a time when many thought the
research was too difficult and inefficient to
pursue. It would also provide ammunition to
opponents of the research, he says.
The latest revelations center on the DNA
fingerprinting in the papers supplementary
online material first posted on 19 May 2005;
the fingerprinting data purportedly show that
the ES cells are genetically identical to the
patients. There are also new allegations about
another set of images in the online material
that Hwang last week told editors at Science
had been erroneously duplicated (Science,
9 December, p. 1595). All the scientific ques-
tions can apparently be traced to anonymous
observations about the paper posted on an
Internet message board hosted by the Biolog-
ical Research Information Center (BRIC)
(bric.postech.ac.kr). BRIC officials declined
to comment, but a senior Korean scientist
who has followed the postings agreed to dis-
cuss the issue provided he not be identified.
(The Korean scientists contacted for this arti-
cle requested anonymity because they fear a
backlash against what are perceived to be
attacks on Hwang, who has become a
national icon. This issue is now completely
beyond the realm of science, one laments.)
The senior scientist says the message
board writer, who claims to be a life science
researcher, first pointed out the possibility
of duplicated images early on 5 December
Korea time. Hwangs e-mailed notice of
problems with duplicate images arrived at
Sciences editorial offices on 4 December at
11:29 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, which
would have been 1:29 p.m. on 5 December
in Korea, or several hours after the images
were posted on the message board.
On 7 December, a critique of the DNA fin-
gerprinting results appeared on the BRIC site.
DNA fingerprinting shows a genetic match
between two samples when peaks in the traces
line up. But because the height and shapes of
peaks are influenced by random factors, they
should not be identical. The anonymous
poster pointed out that the
traces for several cell lines
appear to be identical to the
traces from the respective
patients. In other cases, the
background noise on the two
traces looks very similar.
Alec Jeffreys, a genetic
fingerprinting expert at the
University of Leicester, U.K.,
said in an e-mail that some of
the traces do look unusually
similar in peak shape and back-
ground noise. He declined to
comment further without see-
ing the original data.
The anonymous poster also
notes that Hwangs admission
of duplicated images does not
include other images that
appear to have been duplicated.
The postings have elicited a flurry of
responses. The consensus, says the senior sci-
entist following the BRIC postings, seems to
be that if Korean scientists dont take the lead
in reviewing the paper, the integrity of the
Korean scientific community might be ques-
tioned by the world community.
Two of the 30 SNU professors who signed
the petition asking for an investigation told
Science the group first learned of the questions
surrounding the paper from the BRIC discus-
sion. One of the two professors contacted by
Science says that they are not trying to discredit
Hwang. Dr. Hwang is a pioneer researcher in
the field, and his studies should be pursued. We
just see a serious need for a review.
The investigation comes amid a flurry of
claims and counterclaims in the Korean
media. On 10 December, a Korean news Web
site called Pressian reported that it had seen a
transcript from an unaired documentary by
the Korean Munhwa Broadcasting Corp.
MBC pulled the documentary, prepared for a
weekly TV show called PD Notebook, in
response to public outcry over allegations
Korean University Will
Investigate Cloning Paper
S TE M CE L L S
Back to work. Cloning researcher Woo Suk Hwang returned to his lab on 12 December.
He had been hospitalized for several days suffering from symptoms of stress and fatigue.
that the investigative team had coerced its

sources; MBC later apologized for the inves-
tigative teams transgressions. Pressian
claimed that in an interview for the unaired
segment, a member of Hwangs team alleged
that Hwang had directed him to manipulate
photographs of stem cells. The lab member
had previously said that the interview was
coerced. On 11 December, Hwangs team
issued a statement dismissing the allegations.
In this charged atmosphere, SNU held a
press conference on 12 December to announce
its investigation. Jung Hye Roe, SNUs dean of
research affairs, said SNU would form an
investigative committee of experts from within
and outside the university. They will not be
publicly identified and will not respond to
press inquiries. Roe said SNU may cooperate
with the University of Pittsburgh, which
started its own investigation at Schattens
request. One of the two SNU professors con-
tacted by Science says the announcement of
the investigation is welcome. But this profes-
sor added that because the details have not yet
been set, we need to keep an eye on how the
investigation goes. On 9 December, Science
Editor-in-Chief Donald Kennedy wrote to
Hwang encouraging him to cooperate with
efforts to verify his findings.
Colman thinks the only way to prove
whether and how many of the ES cell lines
match the donors is a new genetic analysis.
There is an absolute necessity now to have an
independent investigator redo the fingerprint-
ing, he says. But this could be problematic.
Fresh samples might have to be taken from the
donors, and that would entail again gaining
informed consent. The university has not yet
set any timeline for its investigation.
DENNIS NORMILE AND GRETCHENVOGEL
With reporting by Sei Chong, Ji-soo Kim, and Richard
Stone. Chong and Kim are freelance writers in Seoul.
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Prion research:
The spotlight
dims
A better
light
bulb?
Another
Hawaiian
invasion
Foc us
To stay afloat, the European Space Agency
(ESA) is forced to go through an often painful
routine: It has to convene ministers from its
15 member states every few years and ask
them to hammer out a long-term budget, gen-
erally requiring some hard sacrifices. But
ESA got a pleasant surprise last week. Fol-
lowing the latest such meeting in Berlin, it
came away with almost everything it asked
for. ESA said it needed a total of $10.04 billion
for current programs and new initiatives cov-
ering everything from launcher development
to exploration of Mars; it was granted
$9.87 billion, 98% of its request. There was
one casualty: Ministers dropped a proposed
collaboration with Russia to develop a crewed
shuttle called Clipper.
The pain factor at ESA ministerial meet-
ings usually involves haggling over how much
member states are willing to pledge to manda-
tory programsto which all must contribute
in line with their gross domestic products
and how much each will splurge on optional
programs. The largest chunk of mandatory
funding goes to ESAs highly regarded science
program. It has been suffering a decade-long
erosion of resources as funding increases were
pegged below inflation at earlier meetings.
This time, science won $2.5 billion for
200610, which includes annual increases of
2.5%, slightly above inflation. Psychologi-
cally, this is a very positive step, says David
Southwood, the programs director.
Cost overruns in several missions over the
past few years have put the science program
under severe pressure. It forced the cancella-
tion of the Eddington planet-hunting mission
in 2003 (Science, 14 November 2003, p. 1130)
and put the BepiColombo mission to Mer-
cury under threat. The program was facing a
major crisis, says space scientist Mark Sims
of the University of Leicester, U.K. Last
weeks reversal makes many difficulties go
away but not all of them, he adds. Southwood
says the program will host a meeting of
researchers in January to plan future priori-
ties; in February, ESAs Science Program
Committee will meet to decide which of four
missions on the programs rosterSolar
Orbiter, BepiColombo, the Gaia star-mapper,
and LISA, a gravitational-wave interferome-
terwill get the go-ahead.
The agency also won $4.3 billion to con-
tinue its programs in the earth sciences,
telecommunications research, participation
in the international space station, develop-
ment of the new, small Vega rocket, and
further refinements to the giant Ariane 5.
A new program, dubbed Global Monitor-
i ng for Envi ronment and Securi t y
(GMES), won $300 million, 26% more
than ESA had asked for. GMES is a collab-
oration between ESA and the European
Union to provide decisionmakers with
environmental data from satellites.
Aurora, ESAs new optional program of
planetary exploration (Science, 25 November,
p. 1272), won enthusiastic backing. Auroras
first mission, the $700 million ExoMars, will
search for signs of life on the Red Planet. It was
oversubscribed by about 8% at Berlin. This
should enable the mission to be bigger than
currently planned, says Sims, who chairs the
U.K.s Aurora Advisory Committee. The extra
money could pay for a small orbiter in addition
to the rover and base station already planned.
The one sour note was the failure of any
of Europes large spacefaring nations
France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K.to
support Clipper. ESA asked for $60 million
for 2 years of joint studies with Russian
researchers to see if the minishuttle could
give European astronauts independent
access to space. Manuel Valls of ESAs
exploration program says off icials will
spend the next 6 months or so refining the
proposal and then present it again to mem-
ber states. Its a long-term program, Valls
says. Making it right will be worthwhile.
DANIEL CLERY
ESA Hits the Right Note, and Funding Flows
S PACE S CI E NCE
There and back again. Auroras future plans
include the Mars Sample Return mission.
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Flu Defenses Bolstered
A single company has obtained the rights
to a vaccine-producing technology that
may prove crucial in a fight against pan-
demic influenza and insists it will make it
widely available in an emergency. And
U.S. officials have revised a vaccine policy
to stretch supplies.
MedImmune in Gaithersburg, Mary-
land, announced last week that it has
licensed patents for so-called reverse
genetics from Mount Sinai School of Med-
icine in New York City. The company
already had rights to other patents for the
technology. Reverse genetics makes possi-
ble the production of seed vaccine faster
and more safely than the traditional
means of making seed vaccine in eggs.
If MedImmune waives licensing fees for
developing countries during a pandemic,
as it has pledged, there should be no
downside, says infectious disease expert
Andrew Pavia of the University of Utah,
Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Admin-
istration (FDA) said last month that the
agency will not require that a pandemic
flu vaccine containing an immune-
response-boosting additive called an
adjuvant go through a trial testing its effi-
cacy at preventing infection. Instead, FDA
will require only evidence of safety and an
immune response to license such a vac-
cine. That could stretch scarce vaccine
supplies in a pandemic. It is very impor-
tant that FDA has clarified its position,
says Pavia. The United States is currently
conducting clinical trials of vaccines with
an adjuvant against the deadly H5N1
avian influenza strain that has killed more
than 70 people.
JOCELYN KAISER
NIH to Draw Cancer Map
An ambitious effort to systematically
find the main genetic changes in all
human cancers officially got under way
this week. National Human Genome
Research Institute (NHGRI) Director Fran-
cis Collins compared the effort to tackling
thousands of genome projects.The
Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) will begin
with a 3-year pilot project of $100 mil-
lion in grants fromthe National Cancer
Institute and NHGRI. Some have criticized
the project as potentially futile, siphoning
funds from investigator-initiated grants
(Science, 9 December, p. 1615). To address
those concerns, TCGA, previously known
as the Human Cancer Genome Project,
will start with just two or three tumor
types and attempt to demonstrate repro-
ducibility and clinically relevant results.
JOCELYN KAISER
ScienceScope
The name may mean thunder lizard, but
dinosaurs are not actually reptiles. One key dif-
ference, paleontologists will tell you, is how
fast they grew. Modern reptiles such as turtles
and crocodiles grow relatively sluggishly and
may reach widely different adult sizes depend-
ing on their diet and what the climate was like
along the way. But studies of dinosaur bones
have shown that the ancient nonlizards grew
faster and attained a more or less standard adult
size regardless of environmental changes
just as birds and mammals do today.
That sharp distinction has just lost its
focus. New studies of bone growth ring pat-
terns reveal that at least one abundant early
dinosaur grew more like a reptile. The results,
reported on page 1800, suggest thatin that
respect, at leastthe common ancestor from
which all dinosaurs descended may not have
been dinosaurlike at all.
The results are very exciting, says
Robert Reisz, a paleontologist at the Uni-
versity of Torontos Mississauga campus in
Canada. It suggests that much of what we
think of as the overall story of dinosaur
evolution may have evolved independently,
in different lineages.
The dino maverick is Plateosaurus engel-
hardti, a member of the prosauropods, a
group of early two-legged dinosaurs that
thrived from the Upper Triassic through the
Lower Jurassic (about 220 million to 180 mil-
lion years ago). P. Martin Sander and Nicole
Klein of the Universitt Bonns Institut fr
Palontologie in Germany set out to deter-
mine how it grew by scrutinizing the micro-
scopic structure of the creatures fossilized
bonesparticularly a fast-growing type of
bone known as fibrolamellar complex.
To distinguish faster-growing P. engel-
hardti from the slower-growing specimens,
Sander and Klein counted growth rings in
limb and pelvic bones from animals of similar
size. Near the end of its growth phase, a
slower-growing animal switches from fibro-
lamellar to a different kind of bone called
lamellar-zonal. Full-grown specimens can be
distinguished by a lack of blood vessel spaces
in the bones outer rings.
In Plateosaurus, that full size turned out to
be highly variable, Sander says. Some ani-
mals were full-grown at less than 5 meters in
length, while others grew to twice that size.
That plasticity could have evolved in either
of two different ways, Sander says. In one sce-
nario, the common ancestral dinosaur lacked
plasticity, as later species did, but plateosaurs
reverted back to an earlier, pre-dinosaurian
growth pattern. In the other, the common
ancestor had plasticity, and different dinosaur
lineages independently evolved uniformly
speedy growth ratesbut plateosaurs missed
the boat. So far paleontologists dont have
enough fossils of other early dinosaurs to tell
which way it happened, Sander says.
The finding also may help paleontologists
understand how the prosauropods more
recent relativesgiant four-legged sauropods
such as Apatosaurusattained such enor-
mous sizes, says Matthew Bonnan of Western
Illinois University in Macomb. The study
shows that the development of the plastic rate
of growth can affect maximum attainable
size, he says. The challenge now, he adds, is
to understand how prosauropods can shed
light on the evolutionary changes that enabled
sauropods to outgrow any other land animal.
The study highlights how little we still
know of early dinosaur evolution, says
Thomas Holtz of the University of Maryland,
College Park. There has been the tendency
to infer that features found in all advanced
dinosaurs were found in all of their ances-
tors, he says. This emphasizes the impor-
tance of tree-based thinking. We have to look
at as many branches of the evolutionary tree
to get as big a picture as possible.
CAROLYN GRAMLING
How Fast Does Your Dinosaur Grow?
PAL E ONTOL OGY
Odd beast. Unlike other
dinosaurs, Plateosaurus
reached a wide range of
adult sizes.
N E W S O F T H E W E E K
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In an unusual show of unity, 50 business,
academic, and legislative leaders came to
Washington, D.C., last week to proclaim
what they believe is obvious: The United
States should be paying more attention to
science and engineering. But although
there was a rousing consensus on the need
to improve teaching, graduate more sci-
ence maj ors, and boost spendi ng on
research and translating the results to the
workplace, there was mostly silence on
how these changes might come about and
who would pay for them.
The 1-day meeting, hosted by the Depart-
ment of Commerce, was billed as the
National Summit on Competitiveness.
Although such business-oriented meetings
are commonplace in the nations capital, this
one was distinguished by an intermingling of
industry CEOs with university presidents,
who have long lobbied for many of these
changes. After a morning roundtable, the
invitees attended closed ses-
sions led by Cabinet secre-
taries and senior Bush Admin-
istration officials who, by sev-
eral accounts, extolled the
presidents accomplishments
in energy technology, trade,
education, and research. In
turn, participants maintained a
relentlessly positive tone
about how the United States
should respond to heavy
investments by other countries
in their scientific workforces
and high-tech industries.
Were doing OK, but we
need t o do bet t er, sai d
Representative Sherwood
Boehlert (RNY), chair of
the House Science Commit-
tee, one of the organizers of
the congressionally mandated meeting. I
dont think we should be intimidated by the
scope of the problem, remarked Dana
Mead, chair of the MIT Corp. and former
CEO of Tenneco, after moderating the
morning roundtable. Remember, the way
to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.
The groups series of recommendations,
announced before the meeting began,
include more federal spending on basic
research and set-asides for high-risk
research, a doubling over the next 10 years of
the number of undergraduates earning
science and engineering degrees, changes in
immigration laws to make it easier for
foreign-born graduates to remain in the
United States, and greater support for
advanced manufacturing technologies.
Drawn from a series of recent reports by blue-
ribbon panels assembled by the likes of the
National Academies, the Council on Competi-
tiveness, and the Business Roundtable, the rec-
ommendations offer a surfeit of solutions and a
dearth of details (www.usinnovation.org).
Participants made no attempt to rank the
importance of those recommendations, for
instance. There are no priorities for essen-
tials, and these are all essential, said Mead.
Asked by reporters whether the Administra-
tions signature No Child Left Behind pro-
gram was likely to raise the performance of
U.S. students on international science and
math tests, Richard Templeton, CEO of Texas
Instruments, grew testy. The point is that we
need to improve science and math education,
he said. The details are less important.
Nowhere was that hands-off approach
more visible than in the summits key
recommendation to double the number of
science-related bachelors degrees awarded
annually to U.S. students. The recommenda-
tion draws on testimonials from industrial-
ists about their inability to find qualified
domestic engineers for vacant positions.
My company has 180 employees, and we
have 10 unfilled engineering positions,
says Kellie Johnson, president of ACE
Clearwater Enterprises, an aerospace and
power-generation manufacturing company
in Torrance, California. Our customers are
asking us to design products for them, and
we cant find the right people. The recom-
mendation also asserts that the federal gov-
ernment can influence the number of stu-
dents pursuing such degrees by offering
financial incentives such as scholarships
and forgivable student loans.
But although the suggestion may seem
like a no-brainer to CEOs, many educators
say the situation is more complicated and
that their institutions must shoulder part of
the blame. The production of science, tech-
nology, engineering, and math (STEM)
majors is determined by many factors, some
impossible to predict, they note, and the
impact of financial incentives is not clear.
An annual survey of incoming freshmen,
for example, shows that nearly one in three
declare an interest in STEM fields, a frac-
tion that has remained constant over the past
40 years. But only about 5% of students
actually graduate with a STEM degree.
A lot of students come to top research
universities with good science back-
grounds, and it takes us only 1 year to drive
this interest out of them, says Thomas
Cech, president of the Howard Hughes
Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Mary-
land. Incentives for teachers may be a bet-
ter way to go than incentives for students.
In particular, poor introduc-
tory courses can discourage
the most promising scientists
by emphasizing rote learning
over conceptual knowledge,
says Alan Merten, president
of George Mason University
in Fairfax, Virginia.
Mark Wrighton, chancel-
lor of Washington University
in St. Louis, Missouri, and
member of the National Sci-
ence Board, which oversees
the National Science Foun-
dation, agrees that universi-
ties should focus on nurtur-
ing budding scientists. The
former Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology chemistry
professor says his university
has decided to make research
opportunities for undergraduates a priority
for one simple reason: Its so much more
fun to actually do science.
Regardless of how it happens, getting
more people to do science is a worthy goal,
say participants. Paying for it, however, is
another story. In a meeting with White
House budget director Josh Bolten on the
morning of the summit, Boehlert says he and
two House colleagues, Representatives Vern
Ehlers (RMI) and Frank Wolf (RVA),
learned that the Administrations concern
about U.S. competitiveness has its limits.
He gets it, Boehlert said about Boltens
response to the summits recommendations.
Then he challenged us to find sources of
revenue to finance these programs.
JEFFREY MERVIS
Summit Lists Waysbut Not Meansto Strengthen Science
U. S . COMP E TI TI VE NE S S
All ears. Dana Mead moderates a roundtable discussion at last weeks summit.
ScienceScope
1753
Break the Ice, Coast Guard
A White House decision earlier this year to
transfer responsibility for the U.S. ice-
breaking fleet from the Coast Guard to the
National Science Foundation (NSF) is a bad
idea. So says a National Academies panel
in an interim report released this week.
The report takes issue with the Admin-
istrations assertion that icebreaking no
longer fits into the Coast Guards mission,
noting that climate change in the Arctic,
for example, could bring more people to
the region, adding to the Coast Guards
duties. The report also argues that NSF, as
a research agency, is not equipped to
manage the three icebreakers in the U.S.
fleet despite its primary use in supporting
scientific activity at both poles. The rec-
ommendations cover the next 4 to 8
years; a final report next summer will
explore long-term options for the fleet.
JEFFREY MERVIS
GM Protest Upheld
In a verdict last week that could under-
mine French agricultural biotechnology, a
court in Orleans, France, acquitted 49 activists
who had destroyed experimental plots
planted with genetically modified (GM)
maize developed by Monsanto.
The defendants had been charged with
organized vandalism after ravaging two
test sites near Orleans in August 2004
and July 2005. But the court agreed with
their argument that the imminent dan-
ger of contamination of nearby crops
justified the offense. In a related civil
complaint, the court ordered the defen-
dants to collectively pay $7000 in dam-
ages to Monsanto, instead of $470,000 as
demanded by the company.
Environmentalists hailed the decision,
but the prosecutor and Monsanto intend
to appeal. We are outraged that the
court does not enforce the law, says
Philippe Pouletty, chair of trade lobby
France Biotech. MARTIN ENSERINK
Bidders Vie for Superarray
Competition is heating up for the $1 billion
Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio tele-
scope project. Australia sent its bid this
week; South Africa, China, and Argentina
are due to submit before the 31 Decem-
ber deadline.
With possibly hundreds of dishes spread
over a vast region, SKA will provide an
unprecedented look at early galaxy forma-
tion and the nature of dark matter and dark
energy. A preliminary ranking of the com-
peting bids is expected next year, followed
by a hunt for funding.
ROBERT KOENIG
Faced with financial crisis, the two largest
research institutions in hurricane-ravaged
New Orleans are making painful cuts. Last
week, Tulane University announced it will
eliminate 230 faculty positions and phase out
many degree programs in one of the largest-
ever restructurings of a U.S. university.
Louisiana State Universitys
(LSUs) Health Sciences Cen-
ter, meanwhile, has furloughed
indefinitely more than 100 fac-
ulty members, some of them
young researchers.
The flooding of New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina on
29 August shuttered universi-
ties and sent researchers and
students to host institutions
across the country (Science,
25 November, p. 1267). Even
though 86% of its students are
expected to return when the
main campus opens in January,
Tulane faces a budget shortfall
and needs $200 million to pay
for hurricane recovery. On
8 December, university presi-
dent Scott Cowan announced a
renewal plan that involves trimming weaker
programs to save $55 million a year. Acade-
mic departments must lose about 50 of 500
faculty positions by May 2007, and 14 doc-
toral programs including sociology, econom-
ics, and several in engineering and computer
science will close down.
The heaviest blow will fall on Tulanes
medical school, which doesnt plan to reopen
in New Orleans until next fall. It has lost
income from clinical care due to the citys
drastically reduced population and the closure
of nine of the citys 11 hospitals. The school
had hoped to receive bridge money from the
federal government, but it didnt come
through, says Paul Whelton, senior vice presi-
dent for health sciences of the Tulane Univer-
sity Health Sciences Center. So the Tulane
renewal plan calls for trimming 180 faculty
positions at the centerabout one-third of the
totalby 31 January 2006 and focusing on
the schools strengths, in infectious disease,
cancer, gene therapy, organ transplantation,
and heart disease. Its a necessary action, and
its a sad one, says Whelton.
The contraction is probably unprece-
dented for a research university, says
William Brody, president of Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore, Maryland, who
served on a panel that helped Tulane
develop the plan. Its a Hobbesian choice
between two difficult decisions: Close or
lose good people.
The cuts were made after department chairs
compiled a list of faculty members most essen-
tial to teaching, patient care, and research,
Whelton says. He adds, however, that Tulane is
easing the transition by giving very generous
separation packages with up to 1 year of paid
salary for some tenured faculty. James Karam,
chair of the biochemistry department, which is
losing two junior professors, says he and others
are hopeful that Tulane is now stable finan-
ciallythe university has committed to paying
salaries of remaining faculty members through
spring semester 2007.
A sharp drop in revenues from patient care
has also devastated LSUs Health Sciences
Center. On 1 December, the center placed
more than 300 staff and 150 faculty members,
or about 20% of the total faculty, on indefinite
leave without pay. Acting chancellor
Lawrence Hollier explains that the school is
losing $10 million a month and could close
down after February if it cant find bridge
funding. Decisions about layoffs were based
partly on how much independent research
funding a professor had, he says.
Cell biology and anatomy assistant profes-
sor Roderick Corriveau, who says his depart-
ment chair called on 21 November to tell him
his last paycheck would be 9 days later, calls
the furloughs brutal. The 41-year-old devel-
opmental neurobiologist is now contacting
colleagues at other institutions, trying to find
spots for himself and his three graduate stu-
dents. It is like starting over, Corriveau says.
Hopefully, new doors will open.
JOCELYN KAISER
Struggling New Orleans Universities
Cut Hundreds of Faculty
AF TE R KATRI NA
Heavy toll. Costs from Hurricane Katrinas flooding and a shrunken
New Orleans population are forcing Tulane University to downsize.
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People come in many different
hues, from black to brown to
white and shades in between.
The chief determinant of skin
color is the pigment melanin,
which protects against ultra-
violet rays and is found in cel-
lular organelles called melano-
somes. But the genetics behind
this spectrum of skin colors
have remained enigmatic.
Now, on page 1782 of this
weeks issue of Science, an international team
reports the identification of a zebrafish pig-
mentation gene and its human counterpart,
which apparently accounts for a significant
part of the difference between African and
European skin tones. One variant of the gene
seems to have undergone strong natural selec-
tion for lighter skin in Europeans.
The new work is raising goose bumps
among skin-color researchers. Entirely orig-
inal and groundbreaking, says molecular
biologist Richard Sturm of the University of
Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Anthro-
pologist Nina Jablonski of the California
Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Cali-
fornia, notes that the paper provides very
strong support for positive selection of light
skin in Europeans. Researchers have not been
sure whether European pale skin is the result
of some selective advantage or due to a relax-
ation of selection for dark skin, after the
ancestors of modern Europeans migrated out
of Africa into less sunny climes.
Yet the authors agree that the new gene,
SLC24A5, is far from the whole story:
Although at least 93% of
Africans and East Asians
share the same allele, East
Asians are usually light
skinned too. This means that
variation in other genes, a
handful of which have been
previously identif ied, also
affects skin color.
The Science paper is the
culmination of a decade of
work, says team leader Keith
Cheng, a geneticist at Penn-
sylvania State University College of Medi-
cine in Hershey. He and his colleagues were
using the zebrafish as a model organism to
search for cancer genes and became curious
about a zebrafish mutation called golden,
which lightens the f ishs normally dark,
melanin-rich stripes. Chengs team identified
the mutated gene and found that the
zebrafish version shared about 69% of its
sequence with the human gene SLC24A5,
Zebrafish Researchers Hook Gene for
Human Skin Color
GE NE TI CS
Booming Computer Sector Seen as a Mixed Blessing
NEW DELHIIndia cemented its claim to
leadership in information technology (IT) last
week when three U.S. companiesMicrosoft,
Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
announced plans to spend nearly $6 billion on
research and manufacturing here over the next
few years. The economy will benefit, but some
scientists are concerned that the IT bonanza
could drain talent away from basic research.
Microsoft chief Bill Gates announced on
7 December that his company will double its
workforce in India to 7000 and increase its
R&D investment by $1.7 billion over the
next 4 years. We depend on India for man-
power, and that is why we are scaling up
operations, said Gates, who unveiled plans
to add a second R&D center in Bangalore to
an existing one in Hyderabad.
Earlier in the week, Intels chief executive
Craig R. Barrett announced that his company
will invest $1 billion over the next 5 years,
including $200 million for development of a
microprocessor being researched at its center
in Bangalore. AMD is investing $3 billion in a
chip-manufacturing plant at
an undisclosed location.
According to the National
Associ at i on of Soft ware
and Ser vi ce Compani es
(NASSCOM) in New Delhi,
Indian software and services
expor t s grew more t han
34% from 2004 to 2005, earn-
ing revenues of $17.2 billion
over a 12-month period.
India attracts IT companies,
NASSCOM argues, because it
has a well-educated English-
speaking workforce, low labor
costs, and a time zone that
allows Western companies to
run operations around the clock.
Although the IT sector is
booming, some leaders fear
that its rapid growth could hurt other areas of
research. Astrophysicist Rajesh Kochhar, for-
mer director of the National Institute of Sci-
ence, Technology, and Development Studies
in New Delhi, says: There can be no doubt
that information technology is acting as a
brain sink. New entrants in the Indian IT sec-
tor are paid roughly three times as much as
entry-level scientists, he says. The result, he
argues, is that highly qualified engineers are
doing stupid, repetitive work. Echoing this
view, aeronautics engineer Gangan Prathap,
chief of the Centre for Mathematical Model-
ling and Computer Simulation in Bangalore,
says foreign investments like those announced
this week could seduce Indians into becom-
ing a nation of techno-coolies. He claims
that academic centers already must scrounge
at the bottom of the barrel for talent.
Other science community leaders take a
more optimistic view. M. Vidyasagar, execu-
tive vice president of software company Tata
Consultancy Services in Hyderabad, dis-
misses internal brain-drain concerns as noth-
ing more than disguised envy. And Raghu-
nath Anant Mashelkar, a polymer engineer
and president of the Indian National Science
Academy in New Delhi, says there is
undoubtedly a war for talent at the top of the
ladder. But if it leads to a stronger economy,
he thinks that both commercial R&D and
basic science will benefit. PALLAVA BAGLA
I NDI AN S CI E NCE
Human rainbow. A newly discovered gene partly explains the light skin of Europeans,
but not East Asians, as compared to Africans.
Great expectations. Microsoft Chair Bill Gates meets with Indias
Minister of Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran.
which is thought to be involved in ion
exchange across cellular membranesan
important process in melanosome formation.
And when Cheng and his co-workers
injected human SLC24A5 messenger RNA
(an intermediary molecule in protein synthe-
sis) into golden zebrafish embryos, wild-
type pigmentation pattern was restored.
Researchers say the ability of human
SLC24A5 to rescue the mutant zebrafish is
strong evidence that the gene has a similar
function in fish and humans. The zebrafish
data are extremely compelling, says human
geneticist Neil Risch of the University of
California, San Francisco.
The team then searched for genetic variants
among humans. Data from the HapMap
dat abase of human genet i c diversi t y
(Science, 28 October, p. 601) showed that
SLC24A5 has two primary alleles, which vary
by one amino acid. Nearly all Africans and
East Asians have an allele with alanine in a
key locus, whereas 98% of Europeans have
threonine at that locus. These marked fre-
quency differences combined with the pattern
of variation in nearby genes suggest that the
threonine variant has been the target of a
recent selective sweep among the ancestors of
modern Europeans, Chengs team concluded.
Finally, the team measured the pigmenta-
tion levels of 203 African Americans and
105 African Caribbeansgroups that repre-
sent an admixture of African and European
ancestryand compared their SLC24A5
genotypes. Subjects homozygous for the
threonine allele tended to be lightest skinned,
those homozygous for the alanine allele were
darkest, and heterozygotes were in between,
as shown by the degree of reflectance of their
skin. The team concludes that between
25% and 38% of the skin-color difference
between Europeans and Africans can be
attributed to SLC24A5 variants. The experi-
ments provide a beautiful example of the
critical role that model organism genetics
continues to play for understanding human
gene function, says geneticist Gregory Barsh
of Stanford University in California.
The new work doesnt solve the question
of why fair skin might have been favored
among Europeans. However, it is consistent
with a long-standing but unproven hypothe-
sis that light skin allows more absorption of
sunshine and so produces more vitamin D, a
trait that would be favored at less sunny
European latitudes.
Barsh adds that the paper indicates how
the genetics of skin-color variation is quite
different from, and should not be confused
with, the concept of race. Rather, he says,
one of the most obvious characteristics
that distinguishes among different humans
is nothing more than a simple change in
activity of a protein expressed in pigment
cells. Jablonski agrees: Skin color does
not equal race, period. MICHAEL BALTER
When the New England Journal of Medicine
(NEJM) last week released a scathing editorial
asserting that a study on Vioxx had omitted
safety data, the episode became the latest chap-
ter in the efforts of medical journal editors to
keep what they consider misleading drug stud-
ies from their pages. The editorial contended
that the authors of the influential 2000 study in
NEJM failed to report three out of 20 heart
attacks among patients treated with Vioxx and
data on cardiovascular ailments such as angina.
A string of similar cases have prompted
journals to tighten requirements of authors,
ask increasingly pointed questions before pub-
lishing, and require that clinical trials be pub-
licly registered before papers are reviewed. Yet
those measures may not be enough, say edi-
tors. We now hold [a paper] up to the light and
say, This seems like a very well done study;
can we believe it? says Drummond Rennie,
a deputy editor at the Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA). What can we
do? We cant go wired into their lab.
The latest case came to light when Gregory
Curfman, an NEJM editor, was deposed on
21 November in the third Vioxx lawsuit. (The
jury deadlocked, producing a mistrial this
week.) Curfman learned from a Merck memo
of three unreported heart attacks, which he
realized had been deleted from a paper com-
paring the gastrointestinal effects of Vioxx
with those of the anti-inflammatory naproxen,
says Karen Pedersen, an NEJMspokesperson.
(Curfman was not available for comment.)
Data showing other cardiovascular problems
were removed just 2 days before the manu-
script was submitted, according to NEJM.
Pedersen says the journals editors
crafted their editorial, sent it to the
papers lead author Claire Bombardier
of the University of Toronto, and pub-
lished it online. They also invited the
authors to submit a correction.
In an e-mail to Science, Bombardier
said that she and the other authors
are preparing a reply to NEJM and
declined to comment until thats com-
plete. In a statement, Merck denied
any wrongdoing, asserting that the
three heart attacks occurred after the
studys prespecified completion and thus did
not warrant inclusion. The company also noted
that the heart attacks were disclosed to the
Food and Drug Administration.
This new Vioxx flap produced flash-
backs, says Christine Laine, senior deputy
editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Last
spring, her journal learned from a reporter that
a 2003 Vioxx paper reporting several heart
attacks excluded a sudden cardiac death.
Because the paper was not technically in
errorthe cardiac death was not necessarily
due to a heart attackthe journal published
only a letter from the Merck co-authors. As
part of its detailed author questionnaire, the
Annals now asks whether a professional or
industry writer was involved in the paper. And
rather than simply asking authors what contri-
butions they made to the research, the journal
inquires at which stage they became involved.
JAMA, which was also singed by a COX-2
inhibitor paper it published in 2000, now
insists on an independent statistical analysis of
raw data from clinical trials and uses a ques-
tionnaire thats increasingly specific, querying
the authors about their separate contributions.
The International Committee of Medical Jour-
nal Editors, a consortium of 12 medical jour-
nals and the U.S. National Library of Medi-
cine, has also tried to tighten guidelines around
conflict-of-interest disclosure and press its
members to publish more negative trials.
In September, the consortium, which
includes JAMA, NEJM, and Annals, began
requiring registration of clinical trials before
it would consider publishing them. The goal
is to ensure that reported results conform to
the trials design, and that there is a pub-
lic record of trials whose results go unre-
portedoften because the findings are nega-
tive. At the National Institutes of Healths
ClinicalTrials.gov, the number of trials regis-
tered shot from 12,000 in the spring to more
than 30,000 today. It really looks like the pol-
icy had a big impact, says Deborah Zarin,
director of the database. JENNIFER COUZIN
S CI E NTI F I C P UB L I S HI NG
Echoing Other Cases, NEJMSays Vioxx Safety Data Withheld
Fighting back. NEJMreleased this statement
about a paper it published.
DSSELDORF, GERMANYPeering over an
audience of more than 700 researchers on
19 October, Nobel laureate Stanley
Prusiner seemed pleased. This is probably
the largest gathering of prion scientists
ever, boasted the fields controversial god-
father, who gave the keynote speech at a
recent meeting.
*
As the crowd
attested, prion science had come a
long way since Prusiner proposed a
heretical idea 23 years ago that it is
not viruses or bacteria, but weird
proteins, that cause a family of
lethal brain diseases.
But now, leaner times may be
ahead. Public health efforts to com-
bat prion infections in cattle have
worked so well that reports about
mad cow disease have all but van-
ished from the newspapers; the
clamor for action is fading, and
governments are looking for ways
to scale back costly safety meas-
ures. And many worry that research
may suffer; trimming has begun in
Germany and France. Prusiner cap-
tured the atmosphere best in a pri-
vate quip after his keynote speech,
according to conference organizer
Detlev Riesner of Heinrich Heine
University, when he said the largest
prion meeting to date could end up being
the largest in history.
Prion researchers admit theres reason
to breathe a little easier. Outbreaks of mad
cow di sease, or bovi ne spongi for m
encephalopathy (BSE), have declined ever
since reaching a peak in the United King-
dom, by far the hardest-hit nation, in
1992. Fears of a massive wave of an asso-
ciated human brain disease called variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) have
not materialized.
But a slowdown in research would be the
wrong response, prion scientists say. The
British vCJD outbreak could still be in its
infancy, and medical procedures could trig-
ger a second wave. (Tests to screen blood,
organs, and tissue are still some time away.)
There are other reasons to stay alert as well.
Europeans have reported the appearance of
a new form of scrapie, an age-old prion dis-
ease in sheep. And a prion disease in North
American deer and elk is spreading rapidly.
The fire is out, but there are still glowing
red spots everywhere, says Jean-Philippe
Deslys, head of the prion research group at
the French Atomic Energy Commission.
And leaving aside public and animal
health, researchers say their field has barely
begun to crack its mysteries.
Debatable
Even after decades of research, the most fun-
damental question about the prion family of
diseases remains open: What is the infectious
agent? Many researchers today say recent
experiments have convinced them that
Prusiners dogma-defying theory is correct:
A rogue protein imposes its own
misfolded shape on other, healthy
proteinsbut some still have doubts
(see sidebar on p.1758).
And other riddles remain. For
example: After oral infection, how
do prions travel from the gut to the
brain? They are known to pass
through lymphoid tissue and
peripheral nerves, but do individual
misfolded proteins make that jour-
ney, or do they infect their neigh-
bors, causing them to fall like domi-
noes? Once present in the brain,
misfolded proteins form aggregates
that appear to be involved in killing
neurons. But exactly how is unclear.
Fortunately, answers to these
questions werent needed to start
bringing the BSE and vCJD epi-
demics under control. Primarily as a
result of a 1988 ban on feeding so-
called rendered protein, including
brain tissue, from ruminants to
ruminants, the number of BSE cases in the
United Kingdom began to fall in 1993; there
were only 343 last year and just 151 so far in
2005 (see graphic). Other countries in
Europe, after discovering about the year
2000 that they had their own BSE problems,
now report rapid declines, too.
In reaction, the European Union (E.U.) is
beginning to loosen measures to stop BSE
and limit human exposure. A road map for
prion diseases, published by the European
Commission in July, listed restrictions that
might eventually be lifted, arguing that
After the Crisis: More
Questions About Prions
With mad cow disease declining sharply, public anxiety about
prion diseases has diminished. But cutting funds would be a big
mistake, prion researchers say
News Focus
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Twin peaks. Both mad cow disease (BSE) and human variant CJD
cases have declined sharply in Britain. But some experts warn that
vCJD could bounce back.
* Prion 2005. Between Fundamentals and Societys
Needs. Dsseldorf, 1921 October.
After the Crisis: More
Questions About Prions
With mad cow disease declining sharply, public anxiety about
prion diseases has diminished. But cutting funds would be a big
mistake, prion researchers say
resources should be concentrated on new
health threats such as avian influenza. (Test-
ing of apparently healthy animals at the
slaughterhouse cost about 1.6 billion
between 2001 and 20041.6 million per
BSE case detected.)
And in October, the commission delighted
lovers of T-bone steak and other meat on the
bone by raising the age from 12 to 24 months
at which the vertebral columnone place
where prions concentrateis removed.
(Generally produced from cattle aged 22 to
30 months, such cuts had virtually disap-
peared.) That decision was premature, says
Martin Groschup of the Friedrich Leffler
Institute, Germanys federal animal health
center. His lab is still carrying out a long-term
BSE pathology study to discover at what age
and where in the cows body infectious parti-
cles collect; the decision should have been
stayed pending the outcome, he says.
Thanks in part to the decline of BSE, more
scientists are now turning their attention to
sheep. Scrapie has been known to infect flocks
for at least 250 years and is harmless to
humans. But in the lab, sheep can also be
infected with BSE. Researchers have long
worried that the resulting diseasesimply
called BSE in sheepcould get into
Europes flocks, for instance, through feed. If it
were transmissible among sheep, like scrapie,
it would pose a special problembecause a feed
ban would not get rid of it, says Lucien van
Keulen of the Central Institute for Animal
Disease Control in Lelystad, the Netherlands.
But so far, theres no evidence of this.
The increased surveillance has turned up
a new problem, however. In the last 3 years,
researchers in Germany, Portugal, and
France have discovered a new variety of
scrapie whose prion proteins accumulate in
different parts of the brain, have different
biochemical properties, and produce a
slightly different set of symptoms. Most
likely, says Groschup, its a variant of
scrapie that flew under the radar until now.
Whats disconcerting is that it also appears
to affect sheep with a genotype called
ARR/ARR, thought to confer resistance to
scrapie. Now, some worry that an ambitious
E.U. breeding program aimed at spreading
that genotype could just replace classical
scrapie with a new form. Its another thing
we need to get to the bottom of, says Neil
Cashman of the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Meanwhile, in the United States and
Canada, chronic wasting disease (CWD), first
discovered in deer and elk in Colorado and
Wyoming in the 1980s, keeps turning up in
new places. In 2005, NewYork became the
13th state affected, and moose the fourth
species. So far, there is no evidence that CWD
can cross the species barrier to humansnor,
for that matter, nonmembers of the deer family.
CWDhasnt appeared in Europe, but the E.U.
is planning a survey in 2006 to make sure.
Deceptive calm?
In BSEs wake, vCJD is declining too;
there were just nine deaths last year in the
United Kingdom, down from 28 in 2000
(see graph), and the total death toll stands
at 153 (plus fewer than 20 in other coun-
tries), far below worst-case predictions in
the late 1990s.
But some believe the curve may be decep-
tive. John Collinge of the National Hospital
for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London
notes that vCJDs peak came barely 10 years
after the highest BSE exposure inBritain. The
delay is just too short, he says. Kuru, a disease
among the Fore people in the highlands of
New Guinea that resulted from cannibalistic
rituals in the 1950s, has a mean incubation
period of about 12 years. BSE ought to take
longer, Collinge says, because in all known
instances, crossing a species barrier length-
ens a prion diseases incubation period.
Collinge suggests another possibility:
Only the most genetically susceptible people
have developed symptoms so far. Researchers
know that having the wrong amino acid at
codon 129 of both copies of the prion gene
makes a person more susceptible to vCJD. All
patients so far except one, who likely con-
tracted vCJD through a blood transfusion, had
this genotype, called MM. But other genes
may be involved as well, says Collinge; the
victims so far may just be an especially sus-
ceptible vanguard of the MM population at
large, which comprises 40% of U.K. residents.
The possibility that many more people
harbor the disease without symptomsand
the fact that probable vCJD transmission
through blood transfusions has now been
shown twicemeans that, rather than
slacking off now, efforts to develop drugs
and diagnostic techniques should be inten-
sified, Riesner says. At the meeting, several
groups reported encouraging data that
could lead to a blood test within the next
several years. Drug development has been
slower, in part because the pharmaceutical
industry has little interest in a disease that
affects about one in a million people.
Researchers have tried at least half a dozen
compounds on CJD patients, but most seemto
prolong life by only a few weeksif they do
anything. An ongoing U.K. trial of a drug
called quinacrine for vCJD and CJD, in which
53 patients have been enrolled, is primarily a
way to discover how to run future tests, says
Collinge, whose group is one of three mass-
screening small compounds in vitro in a
search for promising newcandidates.
Because of the countless remaining ques-
tions, many scientists say they worry about
the unmistakable decline in public interest.
Cashman, for instance, says he was amazed a
media firestorm didnt break out after a
paper in the October issue of Nature Medicine
showed that prions can lurk in the inflamed
mammary glands of scrapie-infected sheep
and presumably their milk as well. If the same
is true in cows, he said, it would be a hugely
important finding for public health.
So far, funding doesnt appear under
threat in the United States or the United
Kingdom, and it is even expanding in
Canada. Three weeks ago, the Canadian
government announced a new U.S. $30 mil-
lion network of centers of excellence; sepa-
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Old news. Concern about vCJD cases made headlines in the 1990s. Now that the crisis seems to be
over, some public health and research measures are being scaled back.
rately, the government of the province of
Alberta has committed $33 million to launch a
prion research institute. The reason: Canada
recently learned how devastating prion diseases
be. Four cases of BSE since 2003 have cost
the economy an estimated $5.5 billion. (As
Cashman puts it, those cattle might as well
have been space shuttlesthey cost the same.)
But in Germany, prion projects worth
about 10 million, funded by three federal
ministries since 2001, will come to an end
in 2006; they include the German Trans-
missible Spongiform Encephalopathy
Research Platform, which coordinates
studies and sample sharing through three
depositories. Several German states pro-
grams will end next year as well, says
Kerstin Dressel, the platforms scientific
secretary. In France, funding is set to
decline as well, Deslys says.
Still, not everyone is worried. If it turns out
that after BSE, prion diseases pose no major
new health risks, well, then it would only be
natural that the money goes elsewhere, says
Byron Caughey, a veteran prion researcher at
the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases Rocky Mountain Labora-
tories in Hamilton, Montana. Then well
have to adapt, as scientists do.
MARTIN ENSERINK C
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Scrapie-infected
hamster brain
Healthy
hamster brain
PrP
c
becomes
PrP
Sc
Sound waves
break up growing
PrP
Sc
fibers
Homogenize
Homogenize
Add
Dilute
Inject into
healthy hamster
Hamster develops
scrapie
PrP
Sc
PrP
c
Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification
Waiting for the Final Experiment
The Nobel Committee went out on a limb in 1997, some biologists
thought, when it awarded sciences highest honor to neurologist Stanley
Prusiner of the University of California, San Francisco. Prusiner had
championed the idea that a mysterious class of infectious particles
called prions consisted of nothing but protein. Even some who thought
he was on the right track wanted more evidence.
The theory has stronger support today. Some, like Detlev Riesner of
Heinrich Heine University in Dsseldorf, Germany, say papers pub-
lished in the past 18 months, including one by Prusiner, have nailed the
case for infectious proteins. Its beyond
any doubt now, says Riesner. But not
everyone agrees. A few researchers
believe Prusiner is spectacularly wrong;
many more say the evidence is getting
stronger but isnt irrefutable yet.
The protein-only hypothesis, as its
often called, holds that the infectious
agent in prion diseases consists of an
abnormally folded protein, PrP
Sc
, with a
bizarre power over its neighbors. It can
impose its own three-dimensional shape
on an abundant protein in mammalian
cells (called PrP
C
) that has the same amino
acid sequence but a different structure.
The altered proteins then help recruit
more PrP
C
, according to theory, and over
the years the chain reaction causes large
amounts of PrP
Sc
to build up in the brain
and cause death. No bacterium or virus is
needed to accomplish this.
Yale researcher Laura Manuelidis is
among the people who think this scenario
is all wrong. For decades, she has advo-
cated the notion that the true culprits in
prion diseases are slow-acting, elusive
viruses. That would explain far better why
so-called strains of prion diseases with
slightly different characteristics have been
found, she says. Manuelidis published a
paper in Science in October showing that
infection with a slow-acting Creutzfeldt-
Jakob strain protects mouse cells from
infection with a faster onea finding she says points to an immune
defense reaction and thus a virus. But many researchers say her results can
also be interpreted within the protein-only theory. Although Manuelidiss
studies are good, says Riesner,her conclusions are wrong.
The experiment that could irrefutably prove Prusiner right, mean-
while, is easy on paper but difficult to perform, says Byron Caughey of the
U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases lab in Hamilton,
Montana: Synthesize PrP
Sc
in vitro and show that it can, by itself, produce
an infectious disease in healthy animals. Several labs have tried to do this
and failed, leading to renewed speculation that something other than
proteins is involved after all, Caughey says.
Prusiner and his team reported last year in Science (30 July 2004,
p. 673) that they had created such synthetic prions.The group engi-
neered Escherichia coli bacteria to produce part of a mouse prion pro-
tein, polymerized it into misfolded fibrils akin to PrP
Sc
, and injected
these into the brains of mice, where they triggered a neurodegenera-
tive disease that could be transmitted to other animals.
The work won over Riesner, but other researchers saw problems.
Prusiners mice were engineered to express 16 times the normal amount
of prion protein, which could lead them to
develop prions spontaneously, Caughey
says. The very important control to show
that they dont is missing.
Meanwhile, a group led by Claudio Soto
of the University of Texas Medical Branch in
Galveston has tried a different tack. Build-
ing on earlier work by Caughey, Soto devel-
oped a technique called protein misfolding
cyclic amplification (PMCA), which can
multiply PrP
Sc
in the test tube. In PMCA, the
brain of a hamster infected with a prion dis-
ease called scrapie is ground up till it
becomes a cell-free soup called a
homogenate; when a similar brain
homogenate from a healthy hamster is
added, PrP
Sc
from the sick brain will trans-
form any PrP
C
to PrP
Sc
. (The test tubes are
blasted periodically with a short sound
wave to break up growing PrP
Sc
fibers.) The
mixture is diluted into more healthy brain
homogenate, and the process is repeated.
In a Cell paper published in April, the
group showed that even after hundreds of
cycles and a 10
20
-fold dilutionmeaning
not a single molecule of the original sick
brain was leftthe reaction produced PrP
Sc
that sickened healthy hamsters. The study
demonstrates that molecules made
entirely in vitro and free of viruseswhich
cant live without cellscan generate
infection, Soto says.
Although its a fantastic result,
Caughey says, the study doesnt clinch the case for the protein-only the-
ory. Because the reaction takes place in a complex, brain-derived chemical
mix, one cannot rule out that, say, a small piece of nucleic acid thats essen-
tial to infectivity was replicated along with PrP
Sc
in each cycle. Soto says
thats unlikely. Nonetheless, he is now planning experiments in which the
PMCA process is fed with purified PrP
C
rather than brain homogenate. He
believes that should dispel the skepticism once and for all.
M.E.
Prion factory. By mixing scrapie-infected brain material
with healthy brain in a process called PMCA, researchers
say they made infectious proteins in a test tube.
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The once-beautiful coral trees on
the University of Hawaiis Manoa
campus where botanist David
Duffy works have deformed
lumps where the leaves and flow-
ers should be. Trees here look
like they have been hit by a
flamethrower, says Duffy.
The bulbous growths are
infested with tiny wasps, a recently
identified parasitic species that
first appeared in southern Taiwan
in 2003. Within a year, the wasps
had spread across the island and
had also reached Singapore,
Reunion, and Mauritius. By 2005,
they appeared in Hong Kong and
China and were f irst seen on
Hawaiis Oahu island this April. By
August, the wasps had invaded
every island in the state, threaten-
ing the existence of one of Hawaiis
most enduring symbols, a native
tree locally known as the wiliwili
that provides flowers and seeds for
leis and bark for canoes.
Threats to Hawaiis native
species by foreign invaders are
nothing new. Long cut off from
the rest of the world, Hawaiis
endemic species are particularly
vulnerable to invasion by foreign
insects, plants, and other organ-
isms, and state off icials con-
stantly race to keep up with the
latest threat (Science, 2 Decem-
ber, p. 1410). But even the states
weary conservationists have been
stunned by the speedy efficiency
with which this latest pest has
spread from island to island. And
now, researchers are struggling to
identify any measure, from burning infested
trees to chemical or biological defenses, that
can halt the wasps devastation of the native
wiliwili and other nonnative species of coral
trees. Either all the trees are going to die, or
theyll never be the same again, says
botanist Art Medeiros of the U.S. Geological
Surveys Haleakala Field Station on Maui.
The wasps, dubbed Quadratichus erythri-
nae in 2004, lay their eggs in green stems and
leaves of the trees, creating outbreaks of
tumors that stunt the treesgrowth and eventu-
ally kill them. The wasps disperse easily as
larvae-infested tissue falls off and is scattered
with the wind, or as adult wasps emerge to lay
more eggs in new growth.
The Asian-Pacific path of the wasps par-
allels the habitat of the genus of trees called
Erythrina, popularly known as coral trees.
Erythrinas 115 species are found around the
world in tropical and warm temperate
regions, from Southeast Asia to the south-
eastern United States. With their bright red
flowers, they are highly prized as ornamental
trees and have f igured widely in local
mythology. Native and nonnative Erythrina
are both extensively cultivated in Hawaii, but
the wiliwili is the only species of the tree that
is found exclusively in the state. A dominant
species in the large dry forests that form on
the leeward slopes of many of the islands,
wiliwili grow on rocky lava substrates called
aa, a forbidding terrain that has helped dis-
courage previous invaders.
The species has been bulletproof, says
Medeiros. But now, he fears, the trees are in
danger of extinction.
That danger has resulted in a concerted
effort by state and federal officials and univer-
sity researchers to find an effective remedy.
Cutting down infested trees and burning the
detritus has proved ineffective, Duffy says:
The wasps simply spread too quickly. Another
possible solution is injecting the trees with an
insecticide, says Anne Marie LaRosa of the
U.S. Department of Agricultures Forest Ser-
vice in Hilo. However, such a strategy is very
expensive, costing nearly $30 per tree, and is
likely to prove impractical on trees in the wild.
The only point in treat-
ing them chemically is
as a stopgap method,
LaRosa says. Injec-
tions could preserve
some trees for a while,
giving researchers
more time to identify
a biological control
agentnow consid-
ered the only viable
long-term solution.
But biological con-
trol agents are fraught
with their own dangers,
as Hawaii well knows. Fifty years ago, a differ-
ent species of parasitic wasp was brought into
Hawaii to repel sugar-cane pests; those wasps
now dominate the food web of the Alakai
Swamp, a wilderness preserve on Kauai
island. Such cautionary tales highlight the need
for stringent prerelease testing to ensure that
the new agents wont run amok, researchers
say (Science, 17 August 2001, p. 1241). We
need to be incredibly sure that whatever we try
to introduce will not attack native species in
Hawaii, says entomologist Daniel Rubinoff of
the University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Because the coral tree wasp is brand-new,
adds Rubinoff, he and other researchers
seeking a biological control agent have their
work cut out for them. Rubinoff, with col-
leagues Russ Messing and Mark Wright, is
working on identifying the origin of the
wasp. Africa is the likeliest source, they
believe: Scientists in South Africa have seen
similar gall-forming parasitoid wasps on
Erythrina species in the region. As a result,
Hawaiis Coral Trees Feel the
Sting of Foreign Wasps
Island researchers are desperate to find a natural enemy of the parasitic wasps that are
killing a local treasure, the wiliwili
Conser vati on Bi ol ogy
Inside attack. Infestations of parasitic wasps (right) transform
Hawaiis cherished coral trees (top) into deformed eyesores
(bottom) and threaten their survival.
Hawaiian researchers are soliciting wasp
samples from colleagues in Kenya and South
Africa, and they are preparing to mount
expeditions to other possible hot spots on the
continent, hoping to locate a natural enemy
that will be specific to the wasp.
The University of Hawaii team will head to
South Africa in March 2006, which should
coincide with the end of the rainy season
there, when the trees will be sporting new
growth and infestations will be easier to find.
Meanwhile, state of Hawaii entomologist
Mohsen Ramadan hopes to leave by the end of
2005 for Tanzania, also to coincide with the
rainy season in that country.
Back in Hawaii, scientists are working on a
last-ditch solution. Called the Noah of wili-
wili, Alvin Yoshinaga, a botanist at the Uni-
versity of Hawaiis Center for Conservation
Research and Training in Honolulu, is over-
seeing a collection of the trees seeds, har-
vested by volunteers on all the islands and
hoarded against the day that a wasp-control
method is found. We are trying to gather
seeds from as many subpopulations on differ-
ent islands as possible, Duffy says. Identify-
ing an effective but safe biological control
agent could take anywhere from 1 to 50 years,
he addsand the trees almost certainly
wouldnt last that long.
We have very little time, Rubinoff agrees.
All of the Erythrina are being hammered.
CAROLYN GRAMLING
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One day, doctors taking family histories may
ask not just about patients diet and smoking
habits, but also about their parents and
grandparentsfood and tobacco consumption.
The reason: Theres increasing evidence that a
persons health may be influenced by the
lifestyle of past generations.
At the meeting, Marcus Pembrey, a
geneticist at University College London,
offered two new studies support-
ing this surprising link. He
reported that a mans taste for
tobacco as a boy appears to
increase the risk that his sons will
be overweight as children. In a
second study, Pembrey and his
Swedish colleagues found that a
persons risk of early death, and in
some cases, diabetes, is influ-
enced by the eating patterns of
their paternal grandparents. (The
results of both studies appeared
online 14 December in the Euro-
pean Journal of Human Genetics.)
Pembrey says the mechanism
is unclear, but it may be that cer-
tain eating patterns or smoking at
critical periods in life cause epige-
netic changeschemical modifi-
cations of a genes DNA rather
than direct mutationsthat can
silence genes in sperm and eggs.
These changes may persist for
more than one generation. These
two epidemiological studies
highlight the profound impact of
our behavior on the health of
future generations, says Moshe
Szyf, an epigeneticist at McGill
University in Montreal, Canada.
Pembreys evidence for the
effects of smoking comes from the
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Chil-
dren. This long-term U.K. study enrolled
about 14,000 pregnant women almost 15 years
ago and has tracked lifestyle, diet, growth,
and disease in these womens families.
Because the study included data on smoking,
Pembrey decided to look at whether tobacco
consumption influenced transgenerational
health outcomes. About 5400 fathers in the
database were smokers; most had taken up the
habit by age 16. (There were too few women
smokers to study.)
Pembrey and his colleagues examined
whether there was any connection between
when a father had begun smoking and his chil-
drens weight at age 9, a measurement included
in the Avon study. There were 166 fathers who
started smoking before age 11, and Pembrey
found that these fathers sons were on average
heavier than sons of fathers who took up this
habit later in life or who never smoked. To his
surprise, daughters were unaffected. This is
the first report of an acquired parental expo-
sure, smoking, influencing metabolic
processes in sons but not daughters, says
Bruce Richardson, a geneticist at the Univer-
sity of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
In another effort to pinpoint transgenera-
tional risk factors, Pembrey reanalyzed data
from a provocative 2002 study in which
Swedish researchers had delved into more
than a century of birth, death, health, and
genealogical records on 300 Swedish families
in an isolated village. This rich data set also
included crop records and food prices. The
Swedish team determined that the grand-
children of individuals who enjoyed a surplus
of food during childhood had a higher risk of
diabetes than those whose grandparents grew
up in times of food scarcity.
When Pembrey and his Swedish col-
leagues looked more closely at these data,
they found that these effects were sex-
specific. The health of grandsons, but not
granddaughters, was related to the food sup-
ply of their paternal, but not maternal, grand-
fathers. And the health of granddaughters was
tied only to that of paternal grandmothers,
Pembrey reported.
As in the case of smoking, timing seems to
be critical. Food surpluses during a paternal
Food, Tobacco, and Future
Generations
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINAGeneticists,
molecular biologists, and epidemiologists
discussed epigenetics from 2 to 4 November
at the Environmental Genomics, Imprinting,
and Disease Susceptibility conference.
Meeti ng Envi ronmental Epi genomi cs
Just say no. Preteen smoking may impair the health of
future grandchildren.
grandfathers preteen years adverselyaffected
the health of his grandsons, increasing their
relative risk of an early death by about
twofold. Surplus food for a paternal grand-
mother in utero or during infancy adversely
affected the health of her granddaughters, to a
slightly greater degree.
Given the limits of epidemiological analy-
ses, Richardson and others are concerned that
unrecognized factors might have influenced
these results, and they wonder if these inter-
generational associations could be statistical
flukes. Pembrey thinks not, noting that the
critical periods revealed in the smoking and
food studies coincide with when eggs are
maturing in girls and sperm production is
about to begin in boys.
Based on his findings, Pembrey specu-
lates that smoking, nutrition, and perhaps
other lifestylefactors can cause semipermanent
changes in the germ line during these critical
periods. Most researchers had thought that
such epigenetic changes only occurred
while a person was developing in the womb.
Pembreys results also indicate that post-
development effects can be transmitted
through the paternal line. Theyre proof of
principle. The sperm have captured informa-
tion about the ancestral environment, and this
is modifying the development and health of
subsequent generations, he says.
If so, epigeneticists need to give more
thought to what fathers contribute, says
James Curley of the University of Cambridge,
U.K. The mechanism underlying [sperm-
based transmission] will be a big area in epi-
genetics, he predicts.
It has long been known that pregnant women
who consume insufficient folic acid, a B
vitamin, run an increased risk of having
babies with spina bifida or similar neural
tube defects. Yet biologists are still teasing
out exactly what this vitamin does for the
developing fetus. At the meeting, Robert
Waterland, an epigeneticist at Baylor College
of Medicine in Houston, Texas, presented
evidence from mice that methylation of
DNAa chemical modification that can
shut down genescan be key.
Folic acid does restore gene function in
mutant mice that have improper DNA
methylation patterns, the researcher
reported. However, Waterland has also
found that the supplement-induced
changes in DNA methylation might not be
all that predictablethey appear to occur
at different points in time during embry-
onic development and to affect only spe-
cific tissues, he reported.
These mouse results mayhave implications
for supplement use in both pregnant women
andthe public at large. People are taking mas-
sive quantities of vitamins, and we dont have
any idea what these potential methyl donors
are doing, says Adele Murrell, a geneticist at
the University of Cambridge, U.K.
Waterland first observed the embryonic
impact of folic acid and other methyl donors
2 years ago, while working with Randy
Jirtle at Duke University in Durham, North
Carolina. At that time, he examined a strain
of off-colored mice that has a defect in a
pigment gene called agoutithe gene is
defective because a mobile bit of DNA
called a transposable element had inserted
itself in some of the nearby DNA that regu-
lates the genes expression. The transpos-
able element short-circuits methylation of
this regulatory region, causing the gene to
be overactive. As a result, yellowor mottled
coats are common in these animals. But lit-
ters born to dams fed supplements of folic
acid, a rich source of methyl groups, were
primarily the typical brown. Waterland and
his colleagues subsequently found that the
supplements caused an increase in the den-
sity of methyl groups on and around the
agouti gene, overriding the transposable
elements effects.
Waterland has since investigated a gene
that may be more relevant to human disease.
The axin gene helps set up the dorsal-ventral
axis inembryos and also requires methylation
toworkproperly. Many mice with an axindis-
rupted by a transposable element embedded
in it typically develop mild to tightly angled
kinks in their tails. Again, methyl donors can
come to the rescue. Waterland reported that
receiving folic acid supplements during preg-
nancy reduced by half kinking in the pups
tails. Taken together, Waterlands data are
the most convincing positive finding with
respect to whether diet has any effect on the
methylation patterns and expression of a par-
ticular [gene], says Carmen Sapienza, a
geneticist at Temple University in Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania.
Folic acid supplementation altered the
methylation of the two genes in different
ways, however, illustrating the complexity
of the phenomenon. In the agouti mice, the
supplements increased methylation of the
gene in a variety of tissues, and the change
was most pronounced early in pregnancy.
But in the case of the axin mice, that genes
methylation remained low early in preg-
nancy and only increased later on, as the tail
formed, Waterland reported. Moreover, the
increase occurred only in the tissue giving
rise to the tail. These two observations sug-
gest to him that DNA methylation produced
by vitamin supplementation can be tissue-
specif ic and, depending on the gene
involved, can occur at different times over
the course of a pregnancy.
Waterlands research may one day lead to
more sophisticated timing of when to give
vitamin supplements to pregnant women or
anyone else. If we can understand critical
windows and when methylation is benefi-
cial, says Patrick Stover, a nutritional bio-
chemist at Cornell University, that would
totally change the concept of how we set
dietary requirements during pregnancy and
howwe think about preventive medicine.
ELIZABETH PENNISI
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Supplements Restore
Gene Function via
Methylation
Straighten out. Methylation
stimulated by supplements
hel ps unki nk the tai l s of
mutant mice.
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BOSTONIf you want to save the world, you
might start by getting rid of the light bulb. In
the United States alone, lighting sucks up
more than 6 quadrillion BTUs of energy
every year, 17% of all the energy used in
buildings. Incandescent bulbs turn about
90% of that energy into not light but heat.
Fluorescents do better, converting 70% of the
energy they use into light. But researchers
have spent decades working to create novel
semiconductor-based light-emitting diodes
(LEDs) that do even better. Red LEDs and
other colors made from inorganic com-
pounds are already in widespread use in
traffic lights, car taillights, and other niche
applications. Inorganic white LEDs are also
on the market. But so far, all of them remain
too costly for general lighting use. Now a
new competitor is coming on strong.
At a recent meeting of the Materials
Research Society
*
here, researchers from
Japan, Germany, and the United States
reported steady progress in turning thin
organic films into high-efficiency lights.
Because such films are likely to be made
with inexpensive organic starting materi-
als, they are potentially very cheap to man-
ufacture, even in large panels. That day
isnt here yet, but with prototype products
already in development, the f irst white
organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for
general lighting are expected to hit the
market in 2007. The efficiency of these new
OLEDs is moving up quite fast, says
Stephen Forrest, an OLEDs researcher at
Princeton University.
That pace of improvement has recently
caught the attention of numerous lighting
companies, which are also pushing the tech-
nology forward. No one cared about [white
OLEDs] until a few years ago, says Anil
Duggal, an OLED researcher at General
Electric in Niskayuna, New York. Duggal
says most of the interest in OLEDs until now
has been for making flat-panel displays for
everything from cell phones to wall-sized
televisions. Thats partly because the display
market, which brings in about $100 billion a
year worldwide, is twice the size of the light-
ing market. For displays, OLEDs also had
the advantage of being ultrathin, a feature
many experts believe will command a pre-
mium on the market and compensate for the
fact that the early devices had relatively poor
efficiency. But to compete in the lighting
market, where their sleek appearance isnt as
critical, OLEDs had to become both better
and cheaper. You need higher efficiency
and brightness for lights, in order for OLEDs
to carve out a niche in the market, Duggal
says. Now, there is impressive progress on
both fronts.
At the meeting, Junji Kido, an OLED
expert at Yamagata University in Japan,
reported that he and his colleagues have
produced white OLEDs with an efficiency
of up to 57 lumens per watt (lm/W) of power
thats fed into them. Thats nearly the effi-
ciency of fluorescent bulbs and almost four
times that of incandescent lights, which
typically operate at 15 lm/W.
That efficiency is a big step up from the
f irst white OLED, which Kido and col-
leagues produced in 1993. Like all LEDs,
that device was made by sandwiching a
light-emitting material between two elec-
trodes. When turned on, positive and nega-
tive charges pass from the electrodes and
into the light-emitting material, where they
combine and give off a photon of light. In
Kidos initial OLED, the device contained
red, green, and blue lightemitting com-
pounds that together produced white light.
But the early devices had problems. Their
efficiency was meager, at less than 1 lm/W,
they required large voltages to drive charges
into the light-emitting materials, and they
burned out quickly.
Kido and his colleagues have worked
through numerous generations of devices,
steadily improving their efficiency, life-
time, and operating characteristics. One of
the biggest changes, pioneered by Kidos
and Forrests groups and others, has been in
switching from light emitters that fluoresce
to ones that are phosphorescent. The change
comes in the quantum-mechanical details of
how these materials turn electrical charges
into light. When negatively charged electrons
and positively charged holes meet in
organic materials, they create electron-hole
pairs called excitons that quickly decay
and give off their energy either as a photon
of light or as heat. In addition to carrying
charge, electric charges harbor a property
known as spin. And because of the precise
way in which the spins align in these exci-
tons, 25% of the excitons become what is
known as singlet excitons, whereas the
other 75% become triplet excitons. Thats
important, because fluorescent compounds
can convert only singlet excitons into photons
Organic LEDs Look Forward to a
Bright, White Future
A new type of light-emitting diode may be set to give light bulbs and fluorescent tubes
a run for their wattage
Glowing prospects.
Sleek, high-efficiency
organi c-based l i ghts
should be on the market
by 2007.
El ectroni cs
*
28 November2 December.
as the exciton decays. The triplets, mean-
while, just give up their energy as heat.
Phosphorescent dyes, however, can convert
both singlet and triplet excitons into light,
making thempotentially much more efficient.
At the meeting, Kido reported that he and
his colleagues have synthesized novel phos-
phorescent compounds and used them to
make high-efficiency white OLEDs. Kidos
group, for example, reported that they have
made a new blue OLED with a record-
breaking efficiency of 42 lm/W when it puts
out a relatively dim 100 candelas per square
meter (cd/m
2
) and 31 lm/Wat a
bright 1000 cd/m
2
. At the heart
of the blue device was a blue
lightemitting phosphorescent
compound called Flrpic. One key
to improving the device was that
the researchers surrounded the
Flrpic-containing layer with lay-
ers of other compounds that allow
triplet excitons to reside there
only if they have very high ener-
gies. In effect, this creates an
energet i c wel l i n t he l i ght -
emitting material, so that once
the excitons fall into that region,
they cant get back out, raising
the likelihood that they will decay
in the presence of the blue phos-
phor and give off blue light. To
get white light, the researchers
then added a yellow phosphor to
their blue lightemitting layer, converting
some of the emitted light to yellow, which
combined with the blue to give off white.
The new results are fantastic work, says
Yang Yang, a physicist at the University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA). And at
57 lm/W, the efficiency, Yang adds, is a
very impressive number.
Bright idea
It was far from the only impressive number
reported at the meeting. Forrest outlined a
new strategy for improving OLED eff i-
ciency that eventually may surpass even the
all-phosphorescent devices. Working with
chemist Mark Thompson at the University
of Southern California in Los Angeles,
Forrest has been reconsidering the trend
toward making OLEDs with phosphors
only. The reason, he explains, is that for
phosphor-based OLEDs to turn out white
light, they must first convert singlet exci-
tons to triplets, which then emit the light.
You pay a price for that, as this initial
conversion step lowers the overall eff i-
ciency of the device.
So For rest and his colleagues have
made LEDs with a combination of phos-
phorescent and fluorescent light emitters.
They designed the devices so that the sin-
glet excitons, which have a higher amount
of energy than the triplet excitons, were
directed to a fluorophore to generate blue
l i ght , whi ch requi res hi gher energy
charges to make than other colors. The
lower energy triplet excitons were then
directed to additional layers harboring red
and green phosphors. The researchers were
able to target them in that way because the
singlet excitons are too short-lived to
travel far through the device before decay-
ing and giving up their energy. By contrast,
triplet excitons are long-lived and can
travel comparatively long distances.
Forrests team placed their blue light
emitting fluorescent dopants in a central
region where the excitons initially formand
sandwiched them between layers contain-
ing the red and green phosphors. Because
the triplet excitons couldnt generate blue
light in the fluorophores, they passed
right through that layer on their way to the
phosphorescent-containing layer.
For rest reported that the
device achieved 27 lm/W,
even though it used
a r el at ively l ow-
eff i ci ency bl ue-
light fluorophore.
If the best blue
f l u o r o p h o r e
were used in its
pl ace, For rest
est i mat es, t he
efficiency would
likely double.
Bot h For rest
and Kido say they
can al so boost t he
eff i ci ency of t hei r
OLEDs by adding spe-
cialized coatings to the outside of the
glass that sits at the top of OLED devices.
Without such a coating, most photons
reflect off the glass-air interface and
bounce back inside the device, where
many of them are reabsorbed and wind up
generating heat instead of light. When
Kidos group added an antireflective
coating to their best white OLEDs, the
eff i ci ency cl i mbed from 36 l m/ W t o
57 lm/W. Forrest says he expects he would
get a similar jump. Given the steady progress
with white OLEDs, Karl Leo, an OLED
expert at the Technical Univer-
sity of Dresden in Germany, says
the future looks bright. With
OLED lighting, it should be pos-
sible to surpass the fluorescent
tube, Leo says. Whether it will
be cheap enough and stable
enough is still an issue.
But groups reported progress
on those fronts as well. Kido is
part of a large Japanese consor-
tium that is creating industrial-
scale machines to manufacture
large white OLED panels at high
speed and lowcost. Working with
Matsushita and other companies,
the group has already produced
30-by-30-centimeter panels and
expects to begin selling products
within 2 years.
Even with novel machinery,
however, conventional OLEDs, which are
produced by depositing as many as 10 or
more successive layers of materials in a
vacuum, could still be relatively expensive
to make. But progress is also coming
quickly in making much simpler devices
wi t h a si ngl e polymer l ayer bet ween
electrodes. Such devices typically have
far lower eff iciencies than the standard
OLEDs. But at the meeting, Yangs
gr oup at UCLA r epor t ed
creating white polymer-
based OLEDs that put
out 14 l m/ W, and a
group led by Franky
So of t he Ger man
l i ght i ng company
OSRAM repor t ed
reaching 16 lm/W
already as efficient
as incandescent light
bulbs. And because
the devices consist of
simple polymers that can
be cast from solution over
large areas, they look to be
very cheap to makeperhaps
cheap enough to dethrone the
light bulb and do their part to
save the world.
ROBERT F. SERVICE
N E W S F O C U S
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Stepping up. White OLEDs are now almost as efficient as fluorescent tubes.
Energy hog. Incandescent
bulbs convert only 10% of
energy into light.
Still Missing the Mark
Although many states have recrafted their
public school science standards in the past
5 years,were no better off now than
before,according to a report issued last
week by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
in Washington, D.C.Science education in
America is under attack, with discovery
learning on one flank and the Discovery
Institute on the other.
The foundation, which supports research
on education reform, graded each state
based on the clarity and quality of its stan-
dards. Seven states, led by California, got an
A.Virginia was most-improved, rising from
a Din the foundations 2000 report to an
A.Of the 13 that received an F,all except
New Hampshire are in the South or West.
Lead author of the report is biologist Paul
R. Gross, former head of the Marine Biological
Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Gross says the problem with precollege
science education is much bigger than the
debate over teaching evolution.Certainly
some states do an awful job addressing
evolution, but for the most part these states
also do an awful job addressing the rest of
science,he says. See www.edexcellence.net
for The State of State Science Standards 2005.
Peruvians Pressure
Yale on Artifacts
Peru has joined the throng of nations
seeking the return of native archaeological
treasures that reside in foreign museums.
The Peruvian government is threatening to
sue Yale University for failing to return some
5000 artifacts that renowned researcher
Hiram Bingham excavated during three
visits to Machu Picchu nearly a century ago.
Bingham was the first foreigner to
behold the dramatic site high in the Andes,
a stronghold of the Incan empire that was
abandoned in the early 16th century.
He found troves of mummies, pottery, and
sculpture, and with the permission of the
Peruvian government, the objects were
taken to Yalebut they were supposed to
be returned within a few years.
Negotiations have been going on for
several years, but with Peruvian elections
coming up next April and the centennial of
Machu Picchus 1911 discovery by out-
siders approaching, the government is put-
ting the pressure on. Machu Picchu is a
very, very potent symbol for Peru as well
as for all native peoples of the Americas,
says Clark Erickson, an archaeologist at
the University of Pennsylvania. Foreign
Minister Oscar Maurtua told reporters in
Lima last week that although he would
prefer an out-of-court settlement, he
believes Peru could win in a court battle.
Yale spokesperson Thomas Conroy says
the university hopes to find a resolution
through joint exhibitions of the material in
Peru as well as in the United States. Many
of Machu Picchus treasures have been on
public display for the first time in a Yale
traveling exhibit that opened in 2003.
RANDOM SAMPLES
Edited by Constance Holden
Giving the Earth a Poke
The weight of the worlds tallest building may have been great enough to trigger earthquakes.
The 101-story Taipei 101, completed in 2003, rises 509 meters over the capital of Taiwan. The
towers 705,132 tons of steel and concrete also exert considerable pressure on the ground below it.
So when magnitude-3.8 and -3.2 quakes struck directly beneath the building in late 2004 and early
2005, seismologist Cheng-Horng Lin of Academia Sinicas Institute of Earth Sciences in Taipei took
an interest.
The quakes struck a previously unrecognized fault 10 kilometers down that before construction
had produced only minor tremors too small to be felt. The buildings weight is applied in just the
way needed to make the fault slip as it did in 2004, Lin found. [T]his megastructure might very well
have triggered the quakes, he concludes in a 30 November Geophysical Research Letters paper. The
seemingly stressed fault demands close monitoring, he adds.
Human activities such as nuclear explosions and filling water reservoirs have been known to trigger
quakes, but a building has never before been fingered. Seismologist Ross Stein of the U.S. Geological
Survey in Menlo Park, California, says hes not convinced that Taipei 101just a womans high heel on
a slightly larger scalecould cause quakes.The stresses at the base of the building can be quite high, he
notes, but they rapidly decay deeper in the earth because the building is so narrow.
Peruvians want the return of items
such as this ritual offering vessel.
New Species in Borneo?
A mysterious new catlike animal has been glimpsed by cameras set up
in the dense central forests of Borneo by researchers from the Swiss
World Wildlife Fund (WWF). With dark red fur and a long bushy tail, it
may be a type of marten or civet. WWF biologist Stephan Wulffraat
said that the animal was unfamiliar to the locals, and wildlife experts
were stumped. Researchers hope to nail down its identity by trapping
a live one.Although the animal lives in Kayan Mentarang National Park,
WWF says plans by the Indonesian government to build a giant palm
oil plantation in the area pose a threat to it.
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Worlds tallest building.
Reality TV. Many television
shows about science portray it
as a purely rational pursuit. A
Belgian TV producer has won a
top science communication
prize for showing the emo-
tional drama of searching for
breakthroughs.
Jos Van Hemelrijcks Over-
levena Flemish play on words
meaning about life and sur-
vivaldocuments the trials
and tribulations of the scientific
method by trailing a single
researcher every week. We try
to follow a false lead and dram-
atize the disappointment, he
says. Episodes focus on those
whose work has an impact
on society, such as a stem
cell expert and a biologist
who trains rats to be
minesweepers. Through
realistic portrayals of sci-
entific life, Van Hemelrijck
says, the series strives to
meet the demand for
deeper science.
For his efforts, Van
Hemelrijck shares the
European Unions $300,000
Descartes Prize for science
communication with Bill
Bryson, author of the laymans
guide to science, A Short
History of Nearly Everything;
Swedish medical doctor Carl
Sundberg; Danish astrophysicist
Anja Andersen; and Michael
Seifert, who started the
Childrens University to
stimulate scientific interest in
German schoolchildren.
The E.U. has also named five
scientific groups as the winners
of its $1.2 million Descartes
research prize. Details are at
www.cordis.lu/descartes.
Preparing for takeoff. The win-
ners of the Siemens Westing-
house high school competition
in math, science, and technology
are in. Michael Viscardi (below,
right) of San Diego, California, a
homeschooled student with a
flair for music composition, will
receive the $100,000 grand
prize for finding elegant and
computer-applicable solutions
to a complex mathematical
problem. Aspiring actress/
biologist Anne Lee, a student
at Phoenix Country Day School
in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and
future computer scientist/intel-
lectual property lawyer Albert
Shieh, a student at Chaparral
High School in Scottsdale, Ari-
zona, share the $100,000 team
prize for developing software
to analyze high volumes of
genetic data.
New blood for CDC. After
2 years of reorganizing and the
loss of many senior scientists,
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta,
Georgia, last month promoted
three staffers to key leadership
posts in infectious diseases.
Rima Khabbaz will direct the
National Center for Infectious
Diseases, Anne Schuchat will
head the National Immuniza-
tion Program, and Kevin Fenton
will lead the National Center
for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention.
J OB S
R I S I N G S TA R S
AWA R D S
RANDOM SAMPLES
PEOPLE
Edited by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
P OL I T I C S
Not in my backyard. You can be too close to a good thingthats what some residents of Anchorage, Alaska, are saying to a
neighbor who wants to put a particle accelerator in his house. Engineer Albert Swank Jr. plans to use the 60-ton, room-sized
cyclotron, donated by Johns Hopkins University, to generate radioactive isotopes for a type of
medical imaging called positron emission tomography (PET). I lost my father [to cancer] in
1982, says Swank, 55, and I decided at that point to start working on bringing a PET facility
to Alaska.The state currently has two such scanners, Swank says, but must fly in isotopes from
Seattle, Washington. Swank, who built his own cyclotron as a teenager, says he also hopes to
inspire local students to pursue science by introducing them to the device.
Some residents claim the machine is a radiation hazard. Wed be pleased as punch to
bring this technology to Alaska, says Allan Tesche, a member of the Anchorage city coun-
cil, but it belongs in hospitals and industrial areas. Tesche says that Swanks plans violate
zoning laws, and he has introduced an ordinance that would explicitly forbid home
cyclotrons. Swank counters that he already has all the permits required to install the
machine in January, perhaps in his garage.
Attacked. When religious studies profes-
sor Paul Mirecki of the University of
Kansas, Lawrence, decided to offer a
class on creationism, intelligent design,
and other religious mythologies last
month, he knew that his inbox was going
to get flooded with nasty e-mails. What
he probably didnt expect was a physical
beating, followed by the loss of his title
as department chair.
The thrashing took place on 5 Decem-
ber, after Mirecki had already canceled his
proposed class. He told police that two men in a pickup truck fol-
lowed him as he was driving to breakfast in rural Douglas County
and pummeled him when he got out of his car. Mirecki drove to a
hospital, where he was treated for bruises. He told reporters his
assailants referred to the controversy during the attack. Police
have yet to make any arrests in the case.
Mirecki has come in for intense criticism from politicians and
Christian groups not just for proposing the class but also for describ-
ing it in an e-mail as a nice slapin the big fat faceof fundies,and
for many other e-mails containing derogatory remarks about Chris-
tians, says university spokesperson Lynn Bretz. On 7 December, at the
urging of his colleagues, he stepped down as chair of his department.
The university still hopes to offer Mireckis proposed course taught
by someone else, says Bretz.
ON C A MP U S
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Asian Scientists and
the Glass Ceiling
IN HIS ARTICLE A GLASS CEILING FOR ASIAN
scientists? (News Focus, 28 Oct., p. 606),
J. Mervis raised the interesting question of
why Asian scientists, who are abundantly
present in U.S. research and industrial labs
and academic institutes, do not hold posi-
tions and titles as senior
l eaders. Thi s i s st rongly
supported by available sta-
tistics from the National
Inst i t ut es of Health, the
Society for Neuroscience,
and the American Society
for Biology and Molecular
Biology.
We applaud these efforts
in revealing some of the
facts and concerns behind
this glass ceiling. From
what we have gathered and
what has been shown, Asian-
Americans are represented
currently in less than 10% of
higher decision-making
positions in their particular
professions. This is true in
academia, government, and private enter-
prise. Although the reasons behind this
issue are complicated and certainly need to
be dealt with appropriately, we believe it is
and will continue to be Americas loss for
not tapping into such a vastly talented pool
for current and future leaders. It is also
time for Asian-American scientists to
assert themselves and to embrace any chal-
lenges from the decision-making hierarchy.
Our hope remains that Asian-Americans
and nonAsian-Americans will work
together to remove barriers for the common
good of this great nation. On this note, it is
encouraging to see that some of the major
institutions in this country have appointed
Asian-Americans to prominent leadership
positions; for example, two of the seven chairs
in the Basic Science Research Departments at
the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are held by
Asian-Americans.
MIEN-CHIE HUNG,
1
KENNETH FONG,
2
JOSEPH K.-K. LI
3*
1
President of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in
America (SCBA) and Professor and Chair, Depart-
ment of Mol ecul ar and Cel l ul ar Oncol ogy,
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center,
Houston, TX 77030, USA.
2
President-elect of the
SCBA and Chairman, Kenson Venture, LLC, Palo Alto,
CA 94301, USA.
3
Executive Director of the SCBA
and Professor, Department of Biology, Utah State
University, Logan, UT 843225305, USA.
*To whom correspondence should be addressed.
E-mail: [email protected]
WE READTHE NEWS FOCUS ARTICLE A GLASS
ceiling for Asian scientists? (J. Mervis, 28
Oct., p. 606) with chagrin and numbers envy.
Latino/Hispanic scientists at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) are essentially an
endangered species, despite a 10-year effort
by Hispanic scientists to have
the NIH address the disparity
(see http://heo.nih.gov/). In
contrast to Asian scientists, in
April 2005 Latinos made up
5.3% of tenure-track investiga-
tors versus 4.5% in 1994
(21.5% and 10.2%, respec-
tively, for Asians) and 2.5% of
senior investigators (1.5% in
1994) (9.2% and 7.2%, respec-
tively, for Asians) (1). In fact,
Latinos account for 4.3% of
medical officers, 3.4% of biol-
ogists, and 2.5% of chemists in
the NIH workforcesignifi-
cantly below the figure for the
U.S. Civilian Labor Force (2).
Hence, there seems to be little
opportunity for Latinos to
become the right-hand men (or women)
noted by Dr. Jeang in the article.
RAYMOND MEJIA,* OFELIA OLIVERO, MIGDALIA
RIVERA-GOBA, ANA ANDERS,* CARLOS CABAN,*
MARTA LEON-MONZON,* ERNEST MARQUEZ*
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892,
USA.
*Past presidents of the NIH Hispanic Employee
Organization (NIH-HEO).
Current president of the NIH-HEO.
President-elect of the NIH-HEO.
References
1. See http://heo.nih.gov/files/Tenure_Track_and_
Tenured_Scientists.ppt.
2. See http://heo.nih.gov/files/NIH_PROFILE_BY_JOB_
SERIES.ppt.
THE NEWS FOCUS ARTICLE A GLASS CEILING
for Asian scientists? by J. Mervis (28
Oct., p. 606) attracted my attention. When
you look at these numbers, on the surface,
one may draw the conclusion that Asian
scientists are underrepresented. However,
it should be taken into consideration that
many Chinese scientists have been in the
United States for less than 20 years, since
Chinas Open Door policy. With gradu-
ate study, postdoctoral training, and junior
faculty positions, a scientist may need
more than 15 years to build up her or his
experience and reputation to be a leader in
research laboratories and in scientif ic
societies. The visibility of Asian scientists
in scientif ic leadership should increase
with time.
DIANHUA JIANG
Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar
Street, New Haven, CT 065208057, USA. E-mail:
[email protected]
I WAS APPALLED WHEN I READ ABOUT THE
percentage of Asians in tenure-track posi-
tions at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) in the News Focus article A glass
ceiling for Asian scientists? (J. Mervis, 28
Oct., p. 606). According to the 2000 Census,
Asians make up only 3.6% of the popula-
tion of the United States, yet 21.5% of
researchers at NIH are Asian. Could this be
due to a hiring bias on the part of NIH? Im
not Asian so apparently I do not have the
inherent qualities to make a good researcher
and have had to forge out on my own to con-
duct science. Bigotry at workplaces like
NIH will only harm our country in the long
term, and I hope that articles like this, rather
than postulating some fanciful glass ceiling,
will shed light on the immoral and unfair
hiring practices that go on currently at our
public institutions.
JEFFREY B. STEWART
Aeri Park Institute of Molecular Biology and its
Applications (APIMBA), 3000 Kent Avenue, West
Lafayette, IN 47906, USA.
I WRITE TO ADDRESS COMMENTS ATTRIB-
uted to me in the News Focus article A
glass ceiling for Asian scientists? (J.
Mervis, 28 Oct., p. 606). Some comments
cited in the article were from an e-mail and
referred to trainees and the diff iculties
they, particularly those who are foreign
nationals, face in making the transition to
positions as independent scientists. For
example, my comments indicated that
trainees were not in a position to serve
on the committees of scientific societies
because they are at a very early stage of
their careers. I have spent the better part of
my academic career working to increase
the representation of women scientists at
senior levels. Having actively advocated
for equity in the promotion and participa-
tion of women scientists, I am hardly in
favor of bias against other groups.
Scientific societies are not involved in
the hiring or promotion of their members
and thus do not control the numbers of
underrepresented minorities who advance
to the faculty ranks from which society
committee members are drawn. Scientific
societies can, however, ensure that the
accomplishments of all their members are
LETTERS
C
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F
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O
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O
C
K
/
S
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Asian scientists are preva-
lent in U.S. labs but found
in much lower numbers in
leadership positions.
1768
recognized through presentations at soci-
ety-sponsored meetings as well as service
on society committees. They can also take a
leadership role in ensuring that the issue of
equity remains a priority within the scien-
tific community as a whole. I believe that
this article has raised the awareness of all of
us to this problem and hope that it will help
to achieve equity for all members of the sci-
entific community.
LINDA J. PIKE
Department of Bi ochemi stry and Mol ecul ar
Biophysics, Washington University School of
Medicine, 660 South Euclid, Box 8231, St. Louis, MO
63110, USA.
How to Cut World
Hunger in Half
THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE UN TASK FORCE ON
Hunger, created in 2002 to determine how
t o meet t he UN hunger Mi l l enni um
Development Goal (1, 2), recently summa-
rized their findings in Science (Cutting
world hunger in half, P. A. Sanchez and
M. S. Swaminathan, Policy Forum, 21
Jan., p. 357).
Roughly 80% of the worlds hungry live
i n r ural areas of t he l east devel oped
countries and have no
power in society. These
people are mainly farm-
ers and need incentives
to invest in their land to
intensify agricultural
production (3, 4). How-
ever, urban, mostly well-
educated people, who do
not depend on agricul-
ture for their survival,
frequently determine
agricultural policies (57).
The Task Force on Hunger report does
not make its analysis from the interests of
the poorest, rural people, nor does it assess
how farmers would get necessary incen-
tives (such as better prices) for their agri-
cultural products (8, 9). According to the
UN Development Programmes Human
Development Report, The basic problem
to be addressed in the WTO [World Trade
Organization] negotiations on agriculture
can be summarized in three words: rich
country subsidies [(10), p. 10]. Wealthy
countries give 1 billion U.S. dollars per
year in agricultural aid to developing coun-
tries, while they subsidize their own agri-
culture with nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars
per day [(10), p. 130].
According to the Human Development
Report Rich country consumers and tax-
payers are locked into financing policies
that are destroying livelihoods in some of
the worlds poorest countries WTO rules
threaten to systematically reinforce the
disadvantages faced by developing coun-
tries and to further skew the benefits of
global integration towards developed
countries The unbalanced agenda pur-
sued by rich countries and failure to tackle
agricultural subsidies are at the core of the
problem [(10), p. 10]. UN Secretary
General Kof i Annan has said that The
[Millennium Development Goals] can be
met by 2015but only if all involved
break with business as usual and dramati-
cally accelerate and scale up action now
[(10), p. 5].
To avoid that disaster, wealthy coun-
tries must accept free trade principles. At
t he WTO meet i ng i n Hong Kong i n
December 2005, they must agree to (i)
make deep cuts in wealthy countries sup-
port for domestic agriculture and prohibit
export subsidies and (ii) make deep cuts in
barriers to exports from developing coun-
tries (10).
According to Kirkpatrick and George,
trade liberalization can contribute posi-
tively to the [Millennium Development]
goal of eradicating extreme poverty and
hunger [(11), p. 3]. Hoekman et al. write
that a 50% reduction in border protection
will have a much larger positive impact on
developing economies exports and welfare
than a 50% reduction in agricultural subsi-
dies [(12), p. 175]. Price incentives
through cancelled trade barriers and subsi-
dies (13, 14), as well as a redressed rural-
urban balance in living conditions and pro-
duction (7), are therefore necessary but not
sufficient to halve the number of hungry by
2015. In contrast to the effects of aid and
debt cancellation, the money from higher
agricultural prices goes directly into the
pockets of the poorest people and of the
farmers in poor countries.
PER LINDSKOG
Department of Science and Technology, Linkping
University, S-601 74 Norrkping, Sweden. E-mail:
[email protected]
References
1. UN Millennium Project, Investing in Development: A
Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development
Goals: Overview (Earthscan, London and Sterling,VA,
2005) (available at www.unmillenniumproject.org/
documents/MainReportComplete-lowres.pdf).
2. UN Millennium Project, Task Force on Hunger. Halving
Hunger: It Can Be Done (Earthscan, London and
Sterling VA, 2005) (available at http://www.unmilleni-
umproject.org/reports/tf_hunger.htm).
3. E. Boserup, The Conditions of Agricultural Growth: The
Economics of Agrarian Change Under Population
(Aldine, New York, 1965).
4. M. Tiffen, M. Mortimore, F. Gichuki, More People, Less
Erosion: Environmental Recovery in Kenya (Wiley,
Chichester, 1994).
5. M. Lipton, Why Poor People Stay Poor: A Study of Urban
Bias in World Development (Temple Smith, London,
1977).
6. P. Lindskog, J. Lundqvist, Why Poor Children Stay Sick:
The Human Ecology of Child Health and Welfare in Rural
Malawi (Research Report no. 85, Scandi navi an
Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, 1989).
7. P. D. Goldsmith, K. Gunjal, B. Ndarishikanye, Agric.
Econ. 31, 33 (2004).
8. R. Thiele, Afr. Dev. Rev. Rev. Afr. Dev. 15, 425 (2003).
9. D. Tilman, K.G. Cassman, P. A. Matson, R. Naylor, S.
Polasky, Nature 418, 671 (2002).
10. United Nations Development Programme, Human
Development Report (UNDP, New York, 2005) (avail-
able at http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/).
11. C. Ki rkpatri ck, C. George, Sustai nabi li ty Impact
Assessment of Proposed WTO Negotiations (Impact
Assessment Research Centre, Uni versi ty of
Manchester, 22 April 2005) (available at www.sia-
trade.org/wto/FinalOverallApr05.pdf).
12. B. Hoekman, F. Ng, M. Olarreaga, World Bank Econ. Rev.
18, 175 (2004).
13. K. Anderson, W. Martin, World Econ. 28, 1301 (2005).
14. M. A. Aksoy, J. C. Beghin, Eds. Global Agricultural Trade
and Developing Countries (World Bank, Washington,
DC, 2005).
Cognitive Unbinding
in Sleep and Anesthesia
I READ WITH GREAT INTEREST THE REPORT
Breakdown of cortical effective connectiv-
ity during sleep by M. Massimini et al. (30
Sept., p. 2228). As in the f ield of sleep
research, the traditional view in anesthesi-
ology has been that the brain is somehow
shut off under general anesthesia. More
recent data and formulations of anesthetic
mechanism suggest, however, that it is not
the neural activity but rather the integration
of neural information that is inhibited.
It has been previously reported that
numerous general anesthetic agents from
various pharmacologic classes induce a
similar pattern of functional uncoupling
between the cerebral hemispheres, as well
as between the rostral and caudal poles of
the brain (1). These and other data describ-
ing anesthetic-induced interruption of
cognitive binding processes have given
rise to the theory of general anesthesia as a
cognitive unbinding (2, 3). Recent data
from magnetic resonance imaging support
this by demonstrating loss of functional
cortical connectivity under sevoflurane
anesthesia (4).
The integration of cognitive informa-
tion as an essential feature of conscious-
ness has its philosophical origins in the
18th-century epistemology of Kant and has
made its modern neuroscientific appear-
ance as the cognitive binding problem and
the information integration theory of
Tononi (5). Massimini et al. suggest that
In contrast to the effectsof aid
and debt cancellation, the money
from higher agricultural prices
goes directlyinto the pocketsof
the poorest people....
16 DECEMBER 2005 VOL 310 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org
L E T T E R S
LINDSKOG
1769
the loss of integration during sleep sup-
ports its central role in consciousness, a
claim that is strengthened by current per-
spectives of the general anesthetic mecha-
nism. Furthermore, I would suggest that
the loss of cortical effective connectivity,
or cognitive unbinding, may be the com-
mon feature of general anesthesia and
sleep that has long been hypothesized but
never identified.
GEORGE A. MASHOUR
Anesthesia and Critical Care, Massachusetts
General Hospital, Clinics 309, 55 Fruit Street,
Boston, MA 02138, USA.
References
1. E. R. John et al., Conscious. Cogn. 10, 165 (2001).
2. G. A. Mashour, Anesthesiology 100, 428 (2005).
3. E. R. John, L. S. Prichep, Anesthesiology 102, 447
(2005).
4. S. J. Peltier et al., Neuroreport 16, 285 (2005).
5. G. Tononi, BMC Neurosci. 5, 42 (2004).
Response
MASHOURS COMMENTS GO RIGHT TO THE
point. According to the information inte-
gration theory (1), the neural substrate of
human consciousness is a complex of neu-
ronal groups, largely contained within the
thalamocortical system, that has two key
properties: (i) it behaves as a single, inte-
grated entity and (ii) it has a large repertoire
of different states or firing patterns. Such a
combination of properties requires that dis-
tributed neuronal groups that are function-
ally specialized can interact effectively
through multiple pathways.
If the critical interactions among such
specialized neuronal groups are compro-
mised, consciousness should fade, even if
neural activity is preserved. Our Report
indicates that this is precisely what hap-
pens during slow wave sleep early in the
night. Mashour and others have pointed out
that a similar situation may occur under
anesthesia (24). For example, recent neu-
roimaging studies have revealed that func-
tional connectivity (correlated activity)
between distant cortical areas and between
thalamus and cortex is reduced by different
anesthetic agents (5).
An important task for the future will be
to determine whether effective connectivity
(the ability of one cortical area to causally
affect other areas) is also reduced by anes-
thetic action. It would be important to know
whether a reduction of effective connectiv-
ity also underlies the anesthetic action of
ketamine and other substances that do not
reduce cortical metabolism (4). It would
also be important to establish whether a
breakdown in cortical effective connectiv-
ity is due primarily to a direct action by
anesthetics on cortico-cortical connections,
or if it results indirectly from a depression
of cortico-thalamic and thalamo-cortical
interactions. Although many anesthetics
have a disproportionate effect on thalamic
metabolism or blood flow (6), this may be
an inevitable consequence of a diffuse
reduction in cortical input to the thalamus
(4). Finally, it would be valuable to deter-
mine whether the transition between just-
conscious to unconscious that often occurs
with slight changes in anesthetic concentra-
tion is predicted more reliably by changes
in effective connectivity than by changes in
overall metabolism or neuronal activity (4).
GIULIOTONONI AND MARCELLO MASSIMINI
Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison,
WI 53719, USA.
References
1. G. Tononi, BMC Neurosci. 5, 42 (2004).
2. G. A. Mashour, Anesthesiology 100, 428 ( 2004).
3. E. R. John, L. S. Prichep, Anesthesiology 102, 447
(2005).
4. M. T. Al ki re, J. Mi l l er, Prog. Brai n Res. 150, 229
(2005).
5. N. S. White, M. T. Alkire, Neuroimage 19, 402 (2003).
6. M. T. Alkire, R. J. Haier, J. H. Fallon, Conscious Cogn. 9,
370 (2000).
Letters to the Editor
Letters (~300 words) discuss material published
in Science in the previous 6 months or issues of
general i nterest. They can be submi tted
through the Web (www.submit2science.org) or
by regular mail (1200 New York Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20005, USA). Letters are not
acknowledged upon receipt, nor are authors
general ly consul ted before publ i cati on.
Whether published in full or in part, letters are
subject to editing for clarity and space.
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
Letters: Response to Problems of study-
ing extinction risks by M. Cardillo et al.
(25 Nov., p. 1277). In the third sentence of
the last paragraph, Despite the case for
using PICs in extinction risk studies having
recently been clearly and elegantly made
(6), the reference citation is incorrect. It
should be reference (7): D. O. Fisher, I. P. F.
Owens, Trends Ecol. Evol. 19, 391 (2004).
Reports: Patient-specific embryonic stem
cells derived from human SCNT blasto-
cysts by W. S. Hwang et al. (17 June,
p. 1777). There were errors in Table 2. The
corrected table appears at right.
Reports: Evi dence of a pl uri potent
human embryonic stem cell line derived
from a cloned blastocyst by W. S. Hwang
et al. (12 Mar. 2004, p. 1669). Contrary to
the statements in the second paragraph of
text and first paragraph of the supporting
online material, which indicated that there
was no financial payment to oocyte and
cumulus cell donors, some oocyte donors
were financially compensated for their
donation with a payment of approxi-
mately U.S. $1,400.
TECHNICAL COMMENT ABSTRACTS
COMMENT ON Characterization of Excess Electrons in Water-Cluster
Anions by Quantum Simulations
J. R. R. Verlet, A. E. Bragg, A. Kammrath, O. Cheshnovsky, D. M. Neumark
The conclusion by Turi et al. (Reports, 5 August 2005, p. 914) that all experimental spectral and energetic data on
water-cluster anions point toward surface-bound electrons is overstated. Comparison of experimental vertical
detachment energies with their calculated values for (H
2
O)
n
clusters with surface-bound and internalized elec-

trons supports previous arguments that both types of clusters exist.
Full text at www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/310/5755/1769b
RESPONSE TO COMMENT ON Characterization of Excess Electrons in
Water-Cluster Anions by Quantum Simulations
Lszl Turi, Wen-Shyan Sheu, Peter J. Rossky
We reiterate that the conclusions of our original report are based on identifiable characteristic trends in several
observables with cluster size. The numerical comparison between simulated and experimental vertical detach-
ment energies emphasized by Verlet et al. reflects quantitative limitations of our atomistic model, but, in our opin-
ion, does not undermine these conclusions.
Full text at www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/310/5755/1769c
NT-
hESC
Isolation Plurip Differ Pass # DNA HLA
2
ZF -
Blast
Identical Match
3 Blast Identical Match
4, 5 ImmS , EB Identical Match
6, 7 ImmS EB Identical Match
8 Blast EB Identical Match
9
ZF -
Blast
EB Identical Match
10 ImmS EB Identical Match
11
ZF -
Blast
EB Identical Match
12
ZF -
Blast
TBD TBD Identical Match
P40
P35
P26
P25
P21
P20
P19
P19
P7

Table 2. Summary of patient-specific human NT-ESC
lines. ZF-blast, zona-free blasotcyst; ImmS, immuno-
surgery; Plurip, Pluripotent; TBD, to be determined; EB,
embryoid body; , pluripotency demonstrated by both
EBs and teratomas. Normal karyotypes have been shown
for each line (female, pink; male, blue).
L E T T E R S
F
rench philosopher Jean Baudrillard has
given us the simulacrum as one of the
defining characteristics of (post)mod-
ern society. A simulacrum is a
representation that has com-
pletely displaced the original it
is meant to represent; it has
come to seem much more real
than its underlying reality (1).
Christopher Fraylings Mad,
Bad and Dangerous?accord-
ing to the author, the first full-
length book to tackle the por-
trayal of the scientist in popular
cultureneatly reflects Baudrillards con-
ception. Frayling argues that the current
popular image of science and the scientist is
almost entirely defined by the cinema and
other mass media. The power of cinematic
images to penetrate the collective psyche,
coupled with the fact that scientists have
generally been unwilling and/or unable to
compete with convincing narratives of their
own (culture, like nature, abhors a vacuum),
has brought us to the point where the pub-
lics view of science is shaped more by film
and television and newspaper head-
lines than by anything else.
Of course, the relation between
the cinema and science is not a new
topic: it has provided material for a
vast number of essays and books
over the years (2). But Fraylings
take is a little different. Based on his
examination of science-themed
movies, from Metropolis to The
Matrix, along with the strong simi-
larities in how schoolchildren
describe and portray scientists in
surveys carried out from 1957 to
2003, he claims that iconic images
of the scientist in cinema have
become part of the cultural drink-
ing water. In particular, key features have
survived more or less unchanged. Even
though the dominant paradigm of the cine-
matic scientist has evolved considerably
through the 20th century, the same conven-
tional stereotypes are found in a wide vari-
ety of genres. From tales of mad scientists
such as Henry Frankenstein and his suc-
cessors, to the hagiographic bio-pics of
famous scientists (such as Louis Pasteur,
Paul Ehrlich, Alexander Graham Bell,
Thomas Edison, and Marie
Curie) popular in the late
1930s and 1940s, the scientist
is shown as a misfit, single-
mindedly focused on his
(sometimes, but rarely, her)
work, and isolated from soci-
ety in general and from the sci-
entific establishment in partic-
ular. As Frayling concludes,
[T]he mad scientist and the
saintly one are in some ways two sides of
the same Hollywood coin.
Fraylings basic contention, that cine-
matic images have remarkable staying
power, certainly rings true. Anyone would
instantly recognize Boris Karloff as
Frankensteins monster from the 1931
James Whale version. Another of his
examples will be familiar to readers of a
certain generation: the illustration of a
nuclear chain reaction by way of a table
covered with ping pong ballloaded
mousetraps in Walt Disneys Our Friend
the Atom, which I havent seen for nearly
50 years but still remember vividly. On a
more detailed level, his arguments might
have been made a little more convincing.
The thematic organization of his film sur-
vey sometimes seems arbitrary and forced;
also he goes a little too far in trying to sep-
arate popular from literary culture. After
all, many of the films he considers have
origins in highbrow literature. Indeed,
the very title of the book has neither scien-
tific nor cinematic ancestrymad, bad
and dangerous to know comes from a
description of Byron by one of his
(female) acquaintances.
I have a couple more quibbles: There is
very little real science in the book, and
what is presented is often a little bit off.
(For example, the author claims that
Einsteins 1905 paper on special relativity
was experimentally confirmed in 1919, but
Arthur Eddingtons 1919 solar eclipse
observations were taken as confirmation of
the theory of general relativity; similarly,
the main components of the Strategic
Defense Initiative are identified as heat-
seeking lasers.) Furthermore, the gener-
ally lively and entertaining writing style is
periodically marred by interminable run-
on sentences that cry out for the interven-
tion of a more assertive copy editor.
But these are not major shortcomings,
because Frayling gives us valuable insights
about a very real problem. He also offers
suggestions for corrective action, although
he does not appear to be very sanguine about
the likelihood of success. As he repeatedly
points out, positive and/or realistic portray-
als of scientific practice may be hard to rec-
oncile with the demands of effective dra-
matic representation. He cites an early
example, H. G. Wellss Things to Come
(1936). Produced as deliberate counterpoint
to the dystopian Metropolis (1927), this
utopian futuristic movie was, unlike Fritz
Langs classic, a total flop. On the
other hand, Frayling has not paid
much attention to the recent diversi-
fication and fragmentation of popu-
lar culture. As public reliance on
mainstream cinema and network tel-
evision is increasingly supplanted by
hundreds of satellite and cable chan-
nels and the Internet, new opportuni-
ties for loosening the decades-long
hold of the stereotypical scientific
image might well open up.
Lastly, I would carry Fraylings
concerns even further on one point.
If he is correct that the representa-
tion of the scientist as anti-establish-
ment outsider is deeply embedded
in public opinion, might not that perception
contribute to explaining why scientists who
adopt heterodox positionsin arenas rang-
ing from global warming to intelligent
designseem to command so much atten-
tion in the United States (3)? Frayling (who
is English) draws no such conclusion; on
the contrary, he quotes one commentator:
All these debates about creation science
versus Darwin are almost beside the
point. The real creation myth of modern
times is not Darwin, not Genesis; it is
Frankenstein. Maybe so, but on this side
The reviewer is at the Beckman Institute, California
I nsti tute of Technol ogy, 1200 East Cal i forni a
Boul evard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. E-mai l :
[email protected]
S CI E NCE AND CULTURE
Two-Dimensional Science
Jay A. Labinger
Mad, Bad and
Dangerous?
The Scientist and
the Cinema
by Christopher Frayling
Reaktion, London, 2005.
239 pp. $35, 19. 95.
ISBN 1-86189-255-1.
BOOKS
et al.
The archetypal mad scientist. Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive)
and his assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) prepare to bring the monster to
life in James Whales 1931 film.
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of the Atlantic, it certainly doesnt look that
way right now.
References and Notes
1. J. Baudrillard, in Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings, M.
Poster, Ed. (Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, CA, 1988), pp.
166184; also available at www.egs.edu/faculty/bau-
drillard/baudrillard-simulacra-and-simulations.html.
2. For example, the Society for Literature, Science, and the
Arts, an organization focused on the social and cultural
dimensions of science and technology, invariably has sev-
eral sessions on science and film at its annual confer-
ences. Recent programs can be found at www.litsci.org.
3. See C. Mooney, The Republican War on Science (Basic,
New York, 2005). Reviewed by N. Oreskes, Science
309, 56 (7 October 2005).
10.1126/science.1121899
E NVI RONME NT
Learning to
Say Enough
Norman Myers
W
e live in societies where there is
never enough and never too much.
At the same time we hear end-
lessly about our overuse of environmental
resources, and there is an emerging consen-
sus that we need to do something. Alas, we
hear little in pragmatic, everyday terms about
what that something could be. Instead, we
hear vague admonitions to buy green, to be
less greedy, and to think long term, among
other well-intended practices. Sometimes
these exhortations extend to appeals to politi-
cal leaders to lead by, for instance, making
prices reflect all externality costs.
Plainly, such simple
urgings are not getting
us very far. We need to
learn more about the
hows of changing peo-
ples behavior and then
formulating a changed-
consumption world. In
short, we need to gain a
better understanding of
the kinds of social
organization that will lead us toward the
promised land of sustainability. In turn, this
means developing new principles to reflect
the radical changes ahead.
Such is the message of Tom Princens
The Logic of Sufficiency, an admirable and
timely book. Princen, a sociologist at the
University of Michigan, has long pondered
the norms of sustainable consumption,
especially when grounded in moderation,
restraint, and thrift. He postulates a princi-
ple of consumption sufficiency, which he
believes can reach beyond the oft-urged
goal of resource efficiency. Efficient con-
sumption of resources is still consumption.
If 100-miles-per-gallon cars enable con-
sumers to save suff icient money to buy
more of this and that, the eff iciency
increases consumption and only postpones
the day when we consume less while enjoy-
ing greater material well-being. To para-
phrase Al Gore, we need life-styles that are
not just better off but better.
Princen starts by reviewing the concept
of sufficiency, especially the imperative of
sufficiency in an ecologically constrained
world. After surveying the brief and curious
history of the term efficiency, he devotes an
entire chapter to the issue of eff iciency
ratios. The books first half concludes with a
critique of activities undertaken to foster
greater consumption through increases in
both worker productivity and individual
spending. The latter point prompts
some revisionist thinking; for
instance, when a person has a job he
enjoys both work and leisure, but if
he becomes unemployed, does he
then have endless leisure or no
leisure at all?
The second half of the book,
Suff iciency on the Ground,
examines key questions through
specif ic examples. The Pacif ic
Lumber Company in California
could have logged redwoods in
per petuity had it settled for
reduced profits today, but adverse
discount rates (among other insti-
tutional deficiencies) won out over
sustainable profits tomorrow. Conversely, a
lobster fishery in Maine provides a success
story; co-management shared by local lob-
stermen and state authority has surmounted
problems of common-property rights.
Toronto Island has achieved what many
would view as laughably impossible: a car-
less community. In all three instances, an
enough limitation has been paramount
albeit overruled in the first case while win-
ning out in the other two. Also in each
instance, the enough limitation reflects
both social values and ecological restraints.
The book ends with an assessment of the
fundamental question: How much suffi-
ciency do we need to attain ecological sta-
bility? Princen postulates that the ultimate
arbiter of what constitutes enough has been
the institutional framework: To say enough
when more is possible, well, that is irra-
tional. To say too much when life is full of
uncertainty is to deny the role of risk taking
and exploration and innovation, indeed,
human progress. Tradition asserts that
theres nothing that cant be made or done
bigger or faster or cheaper. Well, there is:
Earths ecological bounds will proclaim
Thus far and no further.
However idealistic Princens prescrip-
tions may appear to some eyes, he stresses
that they are grounded in established
understandings of human capacity. He
rejects prevailing assumptions about
humans inherent short-term thinking, about
their inability to self-organize for restrained
resource use, about the insatiability of their
consumption, about their inability to do
much more than work and spend.
If I have a reservation about Princens
views, it is that he seems unduly critical of a
strategy that offers vast (though far from all-
encompassing) scope for sustainable con-
sumption, namely, efficiency of resource
use. Princen rejects that as somehow
opposed to sufficiency, yet the two should
surely be complementary. Although the
reader encounters the efficiency issue at
dozens of points in the book, I would like to
have seen more on efficiency gurus such as
Amory Lovins, Paul Hawken, and William
McDonough.
All in all, The Logic of Sufficiency is a
first-rate effort at breaking new ground in the
consumption debate. It often flies in the face
of conventional wisdomand not only of
those who still rejoice in the prospect of end-
less growth of the established economy (and
hence of consumption, usually two-thirds of
that economy). Princen also contests the idea
that greening of economies and consump-
tion will accomplish the sustainability trick;
he even sees greening as a distraction from the
ultimate strategy of enough-ism. Conversely,
he presents his message in strictly pragmatic
terms: not as a visionary ideal but as a practi-
cal proposition for the Monday-morning
world. He is not only a conceptual optimist, he
has sufficient faith in human nature to assert
that optimal-scale consumption is both a wor-
thy purpose and eminently doable. In any
case, although it may initially be difficult to
live with sustainable consumption, it will be
far more challenging to live by the credo that
there can never be any such thing as enough.
10.1126/science.1121897
Restraining the catch. A Monhegan Island lobsterman
tosses back a healthy lobster.
The reviewer is the coauthor, with Jennifer Kent, of
The New Consumers: The Influence of Affluence on
the Environment. E-mail: [email protected]
The Logic of
Sufficiency
by Thomas Princen
MIT Press, Cambridge,
MA, 2005. 417 pp. $72,
46. 95. I SBN 0-262-
16232-6. Paper, $29,
18. 95. I SBN 0-262-
66190-X.
B O O K S E T A L .
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D
erek Bok, former president of
Harvard University, wrote in 1996
that, of all the institutions in the
United States, private foundations are
surely among the least accountable. And
he defended that status, saying that, if foun-
dations answered to outside groups, they
might be more timid and reluctant to back
controversial people or bold undertakings.
(1). In the United States, government foun-
dations such as the National Science
Foundation (NSF) have been given a
degree of autonomy unusual for govern-
ment agencies.
The Soviet Union was supposed to be a
planned, directed society. Autonomous
institutions such as foundations were con-
sidered inefficient, politically threaten-
ing, and impermissible. Science was pro-
moted generously by the Soviet state, but
on the basis of block-funding to institu-
tions, not peer-reviewed grants to individ-
ual researchers.
The fall of the Soviet Union and the
attempted creation of democracy and a free
economy has led, therefore, to a great
debate in Russia over how science should
be organized and funded (2). One of the
results of that debate has been the creation
of both government and private Russian
foundations financing science.
History
The most active foundations in Russia in
the f irst years after the collapse of the
USSR were foreign ones. George Soros
alone, through his International Science
Foundation, provided about $130 million
between 1993 and 1996 to support basic
research in the natural sciences (3). This
was emergency aid at a time when
Russian scientists were poverty-stricken,
and Soros assistance was much appreci-
ated in the scientific community, although
criticized occasionally by nationalists who
resented foreign involvement in Russian
affairs. Although Soros is no longer sup-
porting Russian natural science, other for-
eign organizations have continued (4).
The creation in 1992 of the first Russian
government science foundationthe
Russian Foundation for Basic Research
(RFBR)brought a profound change in
the support of scientif ic research. This
change was more in principle than in fact,
because the budgetary funds available to
the RFBR have been modest, as shown
below. Although much of Russian science
continues to be funded as before,
from the top down, the creation of
the RFBR brought to Russian sci-
ence a dramatically different con-
ception of how science should be
governed and a new method for the
f inancing and management of
research projects. The new concep-
tion put much more emphasis on
individual researchers and less on
administrators, and the new method
promoted peer review and trans-
parency of financing.
During the organization of the
RFBR, Russian officials studied for-
eign models of science foundations,
especially the NSF in the United States (5,
6). In addition, they visited the U.S. National
Institutes of Health. The Russians were also
interested in the Deutsche Forschung-
sgemeinschaft, or DFG, in Germany (7). The
most important feature the Russians took
from these foreign models was the peer-
review process, a new idea for Russia. These
foreign foundations were used as examples
that could be modified according to local
customs and preferences. Unlike the NSF,
for example, the RFBR does not have pro-
gram officers who frequently rotate from
universities or other research organizations,
and the RFBR also does not engage in sci-
ence policy endeavors like the NSFs widely
circulated Science Indicators.
Since in Russian the term science
(nauka) includes both the natural and social
sciences, as well as the humanities, at first it
was thought that one foundation could han-
dle all knowledge. However, natural scien-
tists were usually recruited to work as
RFBR officials, and it soon became clear
that they favored their own fields, to the
detriment of the social sciences and human-
ities. Furthermore, the latter f ields in
Russia still suffered from the years of ideo-
logical deformation in Soviet times and
were in need of special attention. Therefore,
a separate Russian Foundation for the
Humanities (RFH) was established in 1994.
Although the fields it supports (the human-
ities and social sciences) differ from the
RFBRs, it operates on the basis of similar
mechanisms and regulations.
Operation and Emphases of the New
Foundations
The amount of money that the new founda-
tions give out is, at least by American stan-
dards, pitifully small. For research projects
today the average grant size is about
U.S.$7000 per year for a group of 5 to 10
researchers. The foundations have obvi-
ously made the choice to support more
with less rather than fewer with more.
Average salaries are also low, about $300
per month (including financing from the
science foundations and other programs).
The budgets of the RFBR and the RFH
are, according to current legislation, a fixed
share (7%) of the total government expendi-
tures on civilian science (8) [not counting
space science, 40,239.7 million rubles in
2003 (9, 10); see table, above]. The inade-
quacy of this share is illustrated by noting
that, in the United States, the NSF tradition-
ally receives about 20% of total federal gov-
ernment expenditures on basic research at
academic institutions (and, in the United
States, there are many other sources of
researcher funding). But the situation is
much worse than these statistics indicate,
because often the RFBR does not actually
receive the funds stipulated in the legislation.
In the first 6 months of 1998, for example,
the RFBR received less than one-sixth of its
designated budget (11). With such radical
swings in funding, long-range planning and
RE S E ARCH F UNDI NG
Science Foundations:
A Novelty in Russian Science
Irina Dezhina and Loren R. Graham
POLICY FORUM
I. Dezhina is a leading researcher at the Institute for
the Economy in Transition, Gazetny per., 5, Moscow
125993, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]. L. R. Graham is
a professor of History of Science at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;
e-mail: [email protected]
FEDERAL ALLOCATIONS
TO SCIENCE FOUNDATIONS
Percent of total government
allocations for civilian science
Foundation 2000 2001 2002 2003
RFBR 5.75 5.8 5.8 4.9
RFH 0.95 0.96 0.96 0.8
Allocations from the federal budget to Russian sci-
ence foundations. By law, the government obligation
was 6.0 and 1.0% for RFBR and RFH, respectively, which
was not met for the years shown.
P OL I C Y F OR U M
steady funding of projects were obviously
impossible. Delays in funding grants were
frequent, often 5 or 6 months (12).
Despite their small budgets, the founda-
tions play a very large role in the hopes and
aspirations of Russian scientists for the
futures of their fields. Opinion surveys of
Russian scientists show that the idea of
financing science by grants, after initial
suspicion, has found broad support. In
199394, according to surveys, competitive
grant-financing was positively evaluated by
75% of scientists; just a year or two later, in
1995, that number had grown to 86% (13).
In the summer and fall of 2003, in a postal
survey of scientific workers in 10 regions of
Russia conducted by one of the authors, the
grant system of financing was evaluated
positively by 92.9% of male researchers and
80.3% of female researchers (14). (The
gender difference triggers questions about
the role of women in Russian science and
possible gender discrimination.)
Yet despite these positive comments about
the grant system in principle, the surveys
show that Russian scientists are often less
pleased with the specific science foundations
currently providing grants. One of the chief
complaints is that the foundations favor cer-
tain scientists in Moscow and St. Petersburg;
consequently, negative evaluations grow as
one moves away from these cities. A common
criticism is that cliques of scientists in the
two major cities have formed around the
foundations, which resist outsiders (15).
Russian scientists often remark that
foundations support normal science but
not competing paradigms and that it is
impossible to make a scientif ic break-
through by means of grant financing.
Private Philanthropy
In the past 6 years, something entirely new
has appeared in Russia: private philanthro-
pies supporting science and education. It is
true that a century ago, in the tsarist period,
there were a few organizations similar to pri-
vate foundations, but nothing of the sort
existed in the Soviet and immediate post-
Soviet years. These foundations are still
very small in terms of the amounts of money
they distribute, and their legal and tax posi-
tions are still uncertain, but they represent a
potentially promising phenomenon (16).
The new private foundations support a
range of endeavors and scientists. For
example, the Vladimir Potanin Foundation
provides stipends and grants to students and
young teachers doing research. The
Foundation for the Assistance to Domestic
Science makes grants to researchers within
the Russian Academy of Sciences. The
Dynasty Foundation helps students and
young scientists (up to age 35) in the field
of theoretical physics. The Alferov
Foundation supports primarily higher educa-
tion in the natural sciences with stipends and
an annual prize to a young scientist. The
Scientific Potential Foundation gives grants
in the areas of energy, eco-
nomics, and the computer
information technologies.
The total number of
grants given by these foun-
dations is less than 2000
annually, and most grants
are small, usually under
$100 a month, with some
grants to particular senior grantees much
larger. The sources of these funds are hetero-
geneous, ranging from individual wealthy
entrepreneurs, to industrial companies, to the
presidium of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, to small donors, to local govern-
ment officials.
Looking Toward the Future
Although peer-reviewed applications are
likely to result in the support of better-
qual i t y research, some sci ent i st s are
unsuccessful and slide back into poverty or
leave for other lines of work. The total
number of Russian scientists today is less
than half of what it was in Soviet times.
Adjusting to such Darwinian principles
has not only been painful, but even contra-
dicted much of the spirit of collectivism
still strong in Russian life. However,
adjustment has been occurring.
The questions that have emerged among
Russian science administrators and scientists
as the most important today are somewhat
different from those asked only a few years
ago. The most pressing questions in the early
90s were Can Russian science survive?
and How should scarce resources during a
crisis be distributed? [For a discussion of
the general funding situation of Russian sci-
ence, see (17, 18).] The most pressing cur-
rent questions are What is the correct bal-
ance between foundation-funding and tradi-
tional block-funding? and How much
independence from government direction
should the foundations have?
Russian science foundations have two
serious weaknesses: (i) chronic underfund-
ing which lessens their effectiveness and
threatens the hopes of Russian scientists for
transparent and noncorrupt financing, and
(ii) legal and tax uncertainties which endan-
ger the future and significance of the foun-
dations. As this article goes to press, legisla-
tion is pending in the Russian Duma (leg-
islature) that would, if passed, reduce the
independence of nongovernmental organi-
zations, both Russian and foreign (19).
Government foundations, such as the
RFBR, do not appear to be threatened, but
the current centralizing tendency of the
Putin government undermines autonomy of
the sort praised by Derek Bok in the opening
sentence of this article. Foundations in
Russia are still controversial and their future
today is even more uncertain than earlier.
1. D. Bok, New York Times, 17 November 1996, p. A1.
2. L. R. Graham, in What Have We Learned About Science
and Technol ogy from the Russi an Experi ence?
(Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, 1998), pp. 7497.
3. I. Dezhina,The International Science Foundation:
The Preservation of Basic Science in the Former
Soviet Union (Open Society Institute, New York,
2000), p. 151.
4. For example, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, the Civilian
Research and Development Foundation, foreign scien-
ti fi c professi onal soci eti es, the I nternati onal
Association for the Promotion of Cooperation with
Scientists of the Former Soviet Union, the European
Union, the International Science and Technology
Center, the Humboldt Foundation, the Max Planck
Soci ety, and the Netherl ands Organi zati on for
Scientific Research.
5. G. Kochetkov, I. Nikolaev, The Russian science founda-
tion: An unfinished history, MIT Workshop, 1994, p. 9.
6. An organizer of these visits on the U.S. side was H.
Balzer of Georgetown University.
7. Conversations of L. Graham with DFG officials, Bad
Godesbug, 4 February 2004. In subsequent discussion
with RFBR officials, I. Dezhina was told that originally
the major model for the RFBR was the NSF, but that
after the RFBR had started its operations, the experi-
ence of some other foreign organizations and founda-
tions, including the DFG, were taken into account.
8. This has grown from the initial level. Until 1997, the
RFBR received 4% of federal budget expenditures for
civilian science, and the RFH received 0.5%.
9. For 2003, the total intramural expenditures on R&D were
169,862.4 million rubles. Federal expenditures on civilian
R&D (including space) were 46,867 million rubles (10).
10. Science in Russia at a Glance: 2004 (Statistical year-
book) [in Russian] (Center for Science Research and
Statistics, Moscow, 2004), pp. 6869.
11. Novosti RFBR (5), 3 (August 1998).
12. V. Kliaus, Nezavisimaia gazeta-nauka (27 October
2004), p. 12.
13. A. Alakhverdian, I. Dezhina, A. Iurevich, Mirovaia ekon.
mezhdunarodnye otnoshenii (5) , 35 (1996).
14. I. Dezhina, Position of Women-Researchers in Russian
Science and the Role of Foundations (TEIS Press,
Moscow State Univ., Moscow, 2003).
15. (12), pp. 124125.
16. I. Dezhina, in The Russian Economy in 2003: Tendencies
and Prospects [No. 25, Institute for the Economy in
Transition Period (IEPP), Moscow, 2004], p. 256.
17. For a discussion of the general funding situation in
Russian science, see in English: I. Dezhina and L. R.
Graham, Russian basic science after ten years of tran-
sition and foreign support (Working paper 24,
Carnegi e Endowment for I nternati onal Peace,
Washington, DC, 2002); (www.ceip.org).
18. And in Russian: Nauka Rossii v tsifrakh: statisticheskii
sbornik [Russian science in numbers: Statistical collec-
ti on] [ TsI SN (Center for Sci ence Research and
Statistics), Moscow, annual volumes].
19. S. L. Meyers, C. J. Chivers, S. R. Weisman, New York
Times, 24 November 2005, p. A1.
20. We would like to thank the NSF for research support.
10.1126/science.1117855
The foundations play a very large
role in the hopes and aspirations
of Russian scientists.
1774
H
eterogeneous catalysis is a process by
which chemical reactions are fos-
tered on the surfaces of small solid
particles. Although many products used in
daily life are based on the products of such
catalytic processes, our understanding of
the underlying ele-
mentary steps and
reaction dynamics is
still far from com-
plete. One of the
major goals in surface chemistry, therefore,
is to obtain microscopic insight into the
dynamics of making and breaking chemical
bonds during surface reactions. The chal-
lenge is to observe molecular motions and
energy redistributions with a time and spatial
resolution suff icient to capture the key
details. Whereas studies with femtosecond
resolution (1) and optimum control of chem-
ical reactions (2) in the gas phase are well
established, a comparable level of sophisti-
cation is lacking in the analysis of surface
reactions. However, on page 1790 of this
issue, Backus et al. (3) present a direct analy-
sis of the time evolution of the most elemen-
tary reaction taking place on a surface: the
lateral motion of a molecule (carbon monox-
ide) on a platinum surface.
Adsorbate motion on a surface consti-
tutes the most fundamental step for many
surface chemical reactions, because it is the
primary way for adsorbates to meet a reac-
tion partner or to reach an active site before
reaction takes place. As molecules adsorb on
specific sites (e.g., on top of surface atoms of
the substrate), they move by site-to-site hop-
ping if they can overcome the energetic bar-
rier. Heating the surface is the simplest way
to provide the adsorbate with the necessary
energy to diffuse. In such a thermally acti-
vated process, however, the energy is evenly
distributed over all electronic and vibrational
degrees of freedom of the adsorbate/surface
system. This makes it difficult to identify the
elementary reaction steps.
This drawback can be circumvented with
the use of femtosecond laser pulses to drive
surface diffusion, as demonstrated recently
by two independent groups (4, 5). The
essence of this approach is that, with ultra-
fast lasers, heating and cooling occur so rap-
idly that the different degrees of freedom are
not equilibrated, allowing one to distinguish
their contribution to the reaction (6). In pre-
vious reports, the adsorbate motion was not
followed in real time, but now Backus et al.
(3) present a real-time study of the lateral
motion of molecules on a metal surface. The
authors use a pump-probe scheme: A fem-
tosecond pump pulse induces the motion of
CO over the surface, and the motion is fol-
lowed in real time with variably delayed
probe pulses (see the figure). The probe
consists of femtosecond surface vibrational
spectroscopy to look inside the CO mole-
cules at the C-O stretch vibration, as these
are excited and displaced as a result of fem-
tosecond laser excitation. The clever selec-
tion of a nanostructured stepped platinum
surface, and the fact that the internal CO
stretch frequency depends on the precise
location of the CO molecule on this type of
surface, enable simultaneous high temporal
and spatial resolution.
The adsorbate motion is brought about
by heating of the Pt electrons with ultrafast
laser pulses. Because the heat capacity of
the electrons is very low, they reach temper-
atures of up to 2500 K for a time of less than
1 ps. These hot electrons, in turn, transfer
energy to the adsorbates low-frequency
modes [specifically the Pt-CO stretch, the
frustrated translation (FT) mode, and the
frustrated rotation (FR) mode]. These
modes are characterized by their time-
dependent temperature. The typical time
scale of energy transfer from the hot elec-
trons in the substrate to the different vibra-
tional modes of CO is characterized by an
electron-vibration coupling rate that is dif-
ferent for each mode.
One of the key questions in surface reac-
tion dynamics is: Which mode is associated
with which reaction coordinate? For sur-
face diffusion, one would expect that the
adsorbate needs sufficient excitation in a
direction parallel to the surface for hopping
CHE MI S TRY
Lateral Hopping Requires
Molecular Rocking
Hiromu Ueba and Martin Wolf
PERSPECTIVES
H. Ueba is in the Department of Electronics, Toyama
University, 930-8555, Toyama, Japan. M. Wolf is in the
Department of Physics, Freie Universitt Berlin,
Arnimallee 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany. E-mail:
[email protected]
0.10
0.05
0.00
0 4
Delay
SFG
CO on platinum
10
8
Time (ps)
H
o
p
p
i
n
g

p
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y
(
p
s
1
)
Rotational mode
Translational mode
Pump
IR
VIS
Carbon monoxides molecular dance. Schematic view of CO hopping from a step to a terrace site
on a platinum surface after excitation with a femtosecond pump pulse (blue). The motion is moni-
tored by ultrafast snapshots of the C-O stretch vibration with sum-frequency generation (SFG) spec-
troscopy from a delayed pair of infrared (IR) and visible (VIS) laser pulses. Transient changes in the
vibrational spectrum give the population of CO molecules on step and terrace sites. (Inset) Time evo-
lution of the hopping rate, where lateral motion is induced by the rotational mode (red) or transla-
tional mode (black). The experimental observations are compatible only with the ultrafast energy
transfer into the rotational mode as a prerequisite for lateral hopping.
Enhanced online at
www.sciencemag.org/cgi/
content/full/310/5755/1774
1775
to occur from one adsorption site to the
next. Intuitively, one might expect that only
the translational (FT) mode is responsible.
But the authors show that the situation is
more complex. In a separate set of experi-
ments, they determine the rate of energy
exchange between the Pt electrons and the
translational mode, and find that the energy
transfer rate occurs much more slowly than
the time scale on which actual hopping
occurs. Hence, the experimental results are
incompatible with the FT mode being the
relevant mode responsible for hopping
motion. The results are, however, perfectly
compatible with the rate at which energy is
transferred from the electrons to the FR
mode (see the figure, inset).
In this way, Backus et al. gain an
unprecedented look at the diffusive motion
of the CO molecule from one site to the next
and obtain detailed information about the
rate of energy flow in this model system. In
contrast to the widely accepted view that
hopping occurs by excitation of multiple
quanta in the translational mode to over-
come the diffusion barrier, excitation of the
rotational mode seems crucial for diffusion.
The reaction pathway involves translational
motion, which is already thermally popu-
lated even if no laser excitation occurs. This
precursor state couples to the rotational
motion excited by ultrafast coupling to hot
substrate electrons and induces diffusion to
the next adsorption site on the terrace. The
diffusional motion is like a dance in which
the CO molecules execute concerted rock-
ing and translational steps (see the figure).
By careful design, Backus et al. per-
formed the experiments at 100 K, where
thermal excitation of the FT mode is suffi-
cient to reveal the role of the rotational mode,
which would otherwise remain obscured by
the slower coupling to the FT mode. It should
be noted that as both modes have to be
excited (thermally or through laser excita-
tion), one expects the translational mode to
become rate limiting at lower temperatures,
where it is not thermally pre-excited.
The present results demonstrate that for
translational motion of diatomic molecules
like CO, rotation is required to compensate
the tilt of the intramolecular axis relative to
the substrate. This involvement of the frus-
trated rotational mode in surface chemistry
appears in a number of surface phenomena:
Excitation of the FR mode has been
reported to play an important role in the
desorption process of CO from Ru(001) (7)
and from Pt(111) (8), even though excita-
tion of the metal-CO stretch mode was
expected to be the primary mode for a des-
orption process. Coupling of vibrational
excitation to molecular motion on metal
surfaces has been also extensively investi-
gated by observing single-molecule
motions and reactions with scanning tun-
neling microscopy (STM) (911). In these
studies, an implicit assumption was that the
reaction coordinate simply lies along the
coordinate for the frustrated translation.
STM-induced hopping may occur by exci-
tation above the barrier as the FT mode is
anharmonically coupled to internal stretch-
ing modes excited by tunneling electrons
from a STM tip. Recently, the diffusion of
atomic oxygen on a vicinal Pt(111) surface
has been discussed in terms of the indirect
excitation of the FT mode via anharmonic
coupling to the O-Pt stretch vibration excited
by hot electrons (5).
Although the inevitable role of mode
coupling in surface chemical transforma-
tions is unambiguous, for many systems the
detailed mechanism of which modes con-
tribute to the motion along the reaction path
is an open question. The work by Backus et
al. shows that a simple one-dimensional
view of diffusion is not sufficient and that in
general, a concerted motion is occurring.
An excellent example of such complex mul-
tidimensional dynamics is the rapid diffu-
sion of water dimers on Pd(111), which per-
form a molecular waltz along the surface
(12). Backus et al. nicely demonstrate that
such surface dynamics can be followed by
vibrational snapshots directly on the time
scale on which the molecular dynamics
occur. In the future, such experiments will
provide new insights into surface processes
on molecular length and time scales, which
are essential for a fundamental understand-
ing and control of heterogeneous catalysis
and electrochemistry.
1. A. Zewail, in Nobel Lectures in Chemistry 19962000, I.
Grenthe, Ed. (World Scientific, Singapore, 2003). Also
avai l abl e at http: //nobel pri ze. org/chemi stry/
laureates/1999/zewail-lecture.html.
2. H. Rabitz, R. de Vivie-Riedle, M. Motzkus, K. Kompa,
Science 288, 824 (2000).
3. E. H. G. Backus, A. Eichler, A. W. Kleyn, M. Bonn, Science
310, 1790 (2005); published online 10 November
2005 (10.1126/science.1120693).
4. L. Bartels, F. Wang. D. Moller, E. Knoesel, T. Heinz,
Science 305, 648 (2004).
5. K. Stpn, J. Gdde, U. Hfer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94,
236103 (2005).
6. M. Bonn et al., Science 285, 1042 (1999).
7. M. Bonn et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 4653 (2000).
8. F. Fourni er, W. Zheng, S. Carrez, H. Dubost, B.
Bourguignon, J. Chem. Phys. 121, 4839 (2004).
9. B. C. Stipe, M. A. Rezaei, W. Ho, Science 279, 1907
(1998).
10. T. Komeda, Y. Kim, M. Kawai, B. N. J. Persson, H. Ueba,
Science 295, 2055 (2002).
11. J. I. Pascual, N. Lorente, Z. Song, H. Conrad, H.-P. Rust,
Nature 423, 525 (2003).
12. V. A. Ranea et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 136104 (2004).
See al so www. fhi -berl i n. mpg. de/~mi chael i /
member/ice3/ICE-group-research-page.htm.
10.1126/science.1122123
T
he ancient human pathogen Vibrio
cholerae resides in oceanic, estuarine,
and freshwater aquatic environments,
where it often attaches to, and feeds on,
chitin, the most abundant polymer on Earth
after cellulose, and the most abundant poly-
mer in the marine environment (1).
Chitinous substrates include arthropods and
their molts and fecal pellets, some diatoms,
and fungi, which are spread over wide geo-
graphic and spatial ranges in rivers, estuar-
ies, and oceans (see the figure). The connec-
tion between this bacterium and chitin has
been a long-standing concern to health sci-
entists for two reasons. First, this associa-
tion increases the microbes resistance to
acids such as those secreted by the lining of
the stomach. Thus, if ingested by drinking
contaminated water or improperly cooked
shellfish, there is an increased possibility
that the microbe will cause cholera, a poten-
tially devastating intestinal infection (2).
Second, V. cholerae biofilms that develop on
single, chitin-containing plankton may rise
to the level of an infectious dose (3). More
recently it has been shown that attachment
to chitin is favored by V. cholerae bacteria
that express a surface protein that is also
required for infecting humans (4).
The Meibom et al. study (5) on page 1824
in this issue adds a new reason to worry about
the V. choleraechitin connection: the phe-
nomenon of microbial competence, the abil-
ity of a bacterium to directly take up DNA
present in the environment by the process
known as natural DNA transformation. V.
cholerae is already renowned for its ability to
absorb new genes into its genome. But this
feature has previously been attributed to bac-
terial cell-to-cell contacts (conjugation) or
virus-mediated events (transduction) (6).
Even the cholera toxin genes themselves are
shared among serotypes and biotypes of V.
cholerae via bacterial viruses (7). The dis-
covery of DNA transformation in V. cholerae
provides a new mechanism for this organism
MI CROB I OL OGY
Chitin, Cholera, and Competence
Douglas H. Bartlett and Farooq Azam
The authors are in the Marine Biology Research
Di vi si on, Scri pps Insti tuti on of Oceanography,
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
920930202, USA. E-mail: [email protected];
[email protected]
P E R S P E C T I V E S
to effectively acquire genes for adapting to its
aquatic habitat or infecting its human host.
Meibom et al. developed the hypothesis
of competence in V. cholerae after observing
that chitin induced the production of a pro-
tein appendage known as a type IV pilus, a
structure sometimes associated with DNA-
uptake ability in other bacteria. Chitin
oligosaccharides, as well as natural chitin
from crab shells, stimulate transformation of
bacteria to antibiotic resistance and restore
their ability to synthesize amino acids.
Components of the type IV pilus are required
for competence. The authors examined the
role of a chitin-induced gene that regulates
natural transformation in other bacteria and
compared the genotypes of competence-pos-
itive and -negative strains of V. cholerae. In
an elegant series of genetic experiments, they
elucidated three separate regulatory circuits
in the bacterium that control transformation.
These pathways are stimulated by (i) the
availability of chitin; (ii) a lack of nutrients,
or by some other stress; or (iii) a sufficiently
high bacterial population.
The discovery of chitin-induced compe-
tence in V. cholerae raises a number of new
questions that can be considered from the
standpoint of the source of the transforming
DNA, and the process and function of DNA
uptake. Extracellular DNA concentrations
can be in the range of tens of micrograms per
liter in the water column between the surface
and bottom of the ocean. The concentration
is about three orders of magnitude greater in
sediments, and higher still within biofilms
of various microorganisms (8, 9). Extra-
cellular DNA stabilizes biofilm structure
(9), and cytidine, a DNA breakdown prod-
uct, stimulates V. cholerae biofilm formation
(10). In this way, V. cholerae cells growing
on a chitin surface may benefit from DNA
both because of its utility as a biofilm stabi-
lizer and as a source of transformation sub-
strate. This DNA could arise from the cell
death and lysis of a subpopulation of bacte-
ria or from membrane vesicles containing
DNA that are released from living microbes.
DNA release from bacteria can even be stim-
ulated by algae (11).
The existence and nature of transforma-
tion in V. cholerae suggest that this phe-
nomenon could be even more widespread
than is currently appreciated. All of the
DNA-uptake (or competence) genes iden-
tified by Meibom et al. have related coun-
terparts within and even beyond other
members of this bacterial family, including
Vibrio vulnif icus (the major cause of
seafood-related fatalities in the United
St at es) and Vi bri o parahaemolyt i cus
(another emerging pathogen that causes
gastroenteritis). Even more distantly related
pathogens such as Escherichia coli are wor-
thy of reconsideration. Although E. coli is
not generally thought to be naturally compe-
tent, it has many of the genes associated with
the process and can take up plasmid DNA
from the environment if concentrations of
extracellular calcium are in the millimolar
range, as is the case with seawater (12).
The requirement for chitin in tranforma-
tion imparts a novel twist to the story
unfolded by Meibom et al. Why chitin?
Perhaps it provides a mechanism for scav-
enging DNA, much as the silica in beach
sand does (13), thereby creating an opportu-
nity for DNA and bacteria to be brought
together onto the two-dimensional surface
of a chitin particle. However, because chitin
oligosaccharides containing only six N-
acetylglucosamine residues induce compe-
tence, it would seem more likely that the
chitin facilitates the presentation of DNA to
the cell surface and/or induces the synthesis
of the DNA-uptake apparatus.
Another interesting aspect of the work
by Meibom et al. is that transformation also
depends on extracellular signaling among
the cells. This is mediated through the pro-
duction of small organic molecules dubbed
quorum molecules. Quorum signaling in
V. cholerae controls a growing list of func-
tions, including virulence in both humans
and protozoa and biofilm formation (14,
15). It is likely that in the environment,
allelopathic interactions among competing
bacteria, where a variety of quorum-mole-
cule inhibitors may be produced, will also
regulate if, when, and where DNA uptake
occurs (16, 17).
Last but not least, why does V. cholerae go
to the trouble of being transformable in the
first place? Transformation can promote
genetic diversity, DNA repair, or nutrition.
The authors have clearly demonstrated that
diversity is at least part of the story. In this
regard, transformation could be one reason
why some strains of V. cholerae have the
cholera toxin genes but lack the receptor for
a bacteriophage that harbors cholera toxin
genes. It could also provide another pathway
for V. cholerae to acquire new or altered viru-
lence or antibiotic resistance properties. But
the value of transformation to the nutrition of
bacteria in aquatic environments also
deserves consideration. Whatever its source,
Fungi Copepod Fecal pellets
Diatom Crab
Chitin
Bacterial transformation in the aquasphere. Shown are various aquatic chitin-
containing organisms and materials. The scales of the images range from ~5 m
(fungal spores) to ~50 m (diatoms) to ~500 m (copepod fecal pellets) to ~2
mm (copepods) to many centimeters (crabs). The fecal pellets are the brown
objects in the image on the upper right. One route for the entry of such genetically
altered V. cholerae into the human habitat could be from either drinking water
that is contaminated with V. cholerae that is attached to chitinaceous structures
or from the consumption of organisms that have concentrated V. cholerae-chitin.
C
R
E
D
I
T
S
:
I
M
A
G
E
S
,
C
L
O
C
K
W
I
S
E
,
F
R
O
M
T
O
P

L
E
F
T
:
S
C
I
M
A
T
/
S
C
I
E
N
C
E

P
H
O
T
O

L
I
B
R
A
R
Y

(
S
P
L
)
,
M
.
I
.
W
A
L
K
E
R
/
S
P
L
,
S
.
H
O
N
J
O
/
W
O
O
D
S

H
O
L
E

O
C
E
A
N
O
G
R
A
P
H
I
C

I
N
S
T
I
T
U
T
I
O
N
,
D
.
R
O
B
E
R
T
S
/
S
P
L
,
S
.
G
S
C
H
M
E
I
S
S
N
E
R
/
S
P
L
.
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N
:
C
.
B
I
C
K
E
L
/
S
C
I
E
N
C
E
1777
DNA can be used by many bacteria as a
source of carbon, energy, nitrogen, and phos-
phorus. The ability to use DNA as a food
source confers a dramatic survival advantage
to E. coli cells in stationary phase over
mutant bacteria that lack this ability. As once
expressed, DNA is good eating (18). To
what extent V. cholerae uses transformation
to satisfy this appetite remains to be seen.
Note added in proof: V. cholerae secretes
a chitin-binding protein that is also important
in colonizing human intestinal epithelial
cells (19).
References
1. K. L. Meibom et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101,
2524 (2004).
2. J. Castro-Rosas, E. F. Escartin, Int. J. Food Microbiol. 102,
195 (2005).
3. R. R. Colwell, Science 274, 2025 (1996).
4. G. Reguera, R. Kolter, J. Bacteriol. 187, 3551 (2005).
5. K. L. Meibom, M. Blokesch, N. A. Dolganov, C.-Y. Wu,
G. K. Schoolnik, Science 310, 1824 (2005).
6. S. M. Faruque, J. J. Mekalanos, Trends Microbiol. 11, 505
(2003).
7. M. K. Waldor, J. J. Mekalanos, Science 272, 1910
(1996).
8. C. Corinaldesi, R. Danovaro, A. DellAnno, Appl. Environ.
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10. A. J. Haugo, P. L. Watnick, Mol. Microbiol. 45, 471
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10.1126/science.1122396
F
or nearly two decades, geoscientists
held that the terrestrial mantle behaves
as two superposed layers separated by
a discontinuity at a depth of 660 km. In this
picture, convection of mantle material
occurs separately in each layer. This view
was challenged in the 1990s by evidence
from seismic tomography that some sub-
ducting plates penetrate almost all the way
down to the core-mantle boundary (1, 2).
Many of the arguments supporting layered-
mantle convection still survive, however,
and their impactnotably on chemical
geodynamics and on the understanding of
terrestrial evolution through geological
agesis still considerable. Most notably,
researchers point to the noble gas helium.
Reconciling whole-mantle convection with
what we know about the abundances of
helium isotopes in hotspot and mid-ocean
ridge basalts (35) demands a solubility
level of this gas in minerals that is rarely
considered as acceptable. Second, the ter-
restrial inventory of the isotope
40
Ar cre-
ated by radioactive decay of
40
K leaves too
much of this gas unaccounted for. This is
commonly interpreted to mean that deep
mantle material never came close to the sur-
face to lose its gas content (6).
A third very strong argument supporting
the model of convection as occurring in
separate layers is the apparent imbalance
between heat flow and helium loss through
the surface of Earth. Most of the energy that
sustains convection movements in the man-
tle and that powers plate tectonics is heat
produced by the radioactive nuclides
238
U,
235
U, and
232
Th. These isotopes decay by
emitting eight, seven, and six particles,
respectively. These particles are simply the
nuclei of
4
He (with a small fraction of the
energy produced by the decay of
40
K).
ONions and Oxburgh (7, 8) pointed out
that the production of heat and helium
should be strongly connected but observed
that the terrestrial flux of
4
He (at the prox-
imity of mid-ocean ridges) only accounted
for about 5% of the heat flow. They con-
cluded that somewhere below the surface a
conductive boundary layer exists that
allows heat to be transferred upward while
retaining
4
He in the lower reservoir. After
examining all the possible boundary layers,
notably those located in the crust, they con-
cluded that the helium-heat terrestrial
imbalance was best explained by two con-
vecting mantle shells separated by a con-
ductive boundary layer at 660 km. This
interpretation was recently reinforced by
van Keken et al. (9), who demonstrated that
such an imbalance is not a transient effect
of the convective regime. Although the case
of the heat/helium imbalance seemed to be
clear, further work from an apparently unre-
lated field would prove it wrong.
A recent article by Castro et al. (10) is
now placing the terrestrial helium-heat
imbalance in a very different perspective.
These authors constructed a two-dimen-
sional (2D) numerical model of the Carrizo
aquifer in Texas and surrounding forma-
tions in which the calculated
hydraulic pressures, tempera-
tures, and helium concentra-
tions were carefully calibrated
against measured f ield data.
They computed local heat and
helium fluxes and discovered
that for much of this multilay-
ered aquifer system, heat is lost
by conduction, whereas helium
is transported by advection but
only inefficiently because of the
low hydraulic conductivities
(and thus permeabilities) of the
rocks. Under such conditions,
the
4
He/heat flux ratios are
smaller than the production
ratio in the crust by one to two
orders of magnitude. In other
words, this is the
4
He/heat ratio
characteristic of radioactive
sources. Recharge of the system
with cold meteoric water (that
is, from rain or atmospheric
condensation), very poor in rare
gas contents because it equili-
brated with the atmosphere,
enhances this effect. Castro et
GE OP HYS I CS
Helium Feels the Heat
in Earths Mantle
Francis Albarde
The author is in the Laboratoire des Sciences de la
Terre, Ecole Normale Suprieure de Lyon, 46 Allee
d`I tal i e, 69364 Lyon Cedex 7, France. E-mai l :
[email protected]
Lower
mantle
Upper
mantle
Transition
zone
Crust
Heat
Helium
Aquifer
Layered-mantle
convection
Whole-mantle
convection
Mantle models. (Left) In layered-mantle convection, heat
and helium are separated at the transition zone, which acts as
a conductive boundary layer. (Right) As shown by Castro et al.
(10), a similar effect is achieved by aquifers in continental
crust and by seawater circulating through the oceanic crust.
This picture of the crust reconciles the heathelium flux
imbalance with whole-mantle convection.
1778
al. extend their interpretation to ocean
basins in which water injected into the
oceanic crust plays the same role as mete-
oric water in continental aquifers. Their
article therefore does justice to the careful
warning given by Oxburgh and ONions
(8), who advised that the systematics of
the relation between the fluxes of helium
and heat depend on transport processes.
This warning was unfortunately lost in the
turmoil of the debate between the advo-
cates of whole-mantle versus layered-man-
tle convection.
One of the cornerstones of layered-man-
tle convection is therefore weakening. The
remaining evidence essentially revolves
around our understanding of the properties
and inventories of rare gases. We are still
awaiting incontrovertible data on rare-gas
solubility in mantle minerals and melts,
which would consolidate the dominant
interpretation of the
3
He/
4
He evidence in
oceanic basalts. Helium-3 is a stable
nuclide essentially unaffected by deep-
seated radioactive processes. Even if
helium turns out to be particularly incom-
patible, enough undegassed mantle mate-
rial with high
3
He/
4
He ratios may be con-
cealed in the lower mantle as streaks inter-
layered with recycled material (11). In
addition, the argument based on the inven-
tory of
40
Ar in Earth is crucially dependent
on our knowledge of the terrestrial concen-
tration of potassium, an element that is
known to be extremely volatile during plan-
etary accretion.
By coincidence, the consensus on the
heat/helium imbalance at the surface of
Earth is being challenged at almost the
same moment as new experiments overturn
the well-entrenched idea that high
3
He/
4
He
ratios in basalts are the hallmark of primi-
tive mantle.
3
He is a stable isotope of
helium, whereas
4
He ( particles) is contin-
uously produced by the decay of uranium
and thorium. High
3
He/
4
He ratios in hotspot
basalts (e.g., Hawaii) with respect to mid-
ocean ridge basalts have been held as prime
evidence that the deep mantle never lost its
primordial gases. Measurement of the
helium solubility in mantle minerals (12)
suggests instead that a high
3
He/
4
He mantle
ratio may not be primordial (3, 4) but rather
corresponds to residues of earlier stages of
melting (5, 13, 14).
We should not let the heritage of layered-
mantle convection models fall into oblivion,
however. Numerical models of mantle con-
vection repeatedly suggest that radial trans-
port is particularly slow across the 660-km
discontinuity and display episodic surges of
layered-mantle convection regime (14). The
article by Castro et al. nevertheless provides
the first rigorous framework against one of
the strongest arguments used to support the
role of the 660-km discontinuity as a con-
vection boundary, and the authors should be
commended for their work. Further full 2D
and 3D models of large well-characterized
aquifer systems around the world will soon
let us reevaluate the terrestrial heat and
helium fluxes and provide a new perspec-
tive on the thermal regime of our planet.
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10.1126/science.1120194
I
n most areas of empirical science,
including biology, we take an experimen-
tal approach for granted. However, in
evolutionary and related studies, large-
scale natural or field experiments are rare
because the large spatial and temporal
scales of evolutionary and biogeographical
processes render experimentation problem-
atic. Classically, biogeography is about
large-scale pattern: How many species are
there on an island? Is the number related to
extent of isolation, island size, or complex-
ity of vegetation? For example, why are
there so many tree lizard (anole) species on
each of the Greater Antilles but only one or
two on each of the Lesser Antilles? Is it sim-
ply island size that is accountable, even
though the small islands are environmen-
tally heterogenous and complex (1)? This is
not readily subject to direct experimenta-
tion. However, these large-scale biogeo-
graphic patterns are mediated by small-
scale population-level processes. These
include ecological processes such as com-
petition between species and habitat usage,
and evolutionary processes such as adapta-
tion by natural selection, ancestor-descen-
dant relationships, and speciation (splitting
into distinct species, which do not inter-
breed). Exceptionally, it may be possible to
manipulate these fundamental population
processes experimentally to gain insight
into biogeographic patterns, although even
population-level experimentation is diffi-
cult. For example, experimental introduc-
tion of small Caribbean anoles onto islands,
and experimental translocation between
large enclosures within islands, have
revealed much about the evolutionary and
ecological population processes underlying
their biogeography. Large-scale transloca-
tion of the small tree lizard Anolis oculatus
(Dominica, Lesser Antilles) has demon-
strated the rapid effect of natural selection
on a wide range of genetically controlled
traits in response to wet or dry habitats (2,
3), thus explaining the nature and cause of
the geographic variation. In addition,
experimental introduction of Anolis sagrei
onto Bahamanian islands has shown how
predators can alter the behavior, niche
usage, and their selection for prey (4).
These studies also suggested how intro-
duced predators may render their prey more
vulnerable to extinction by catastrophes
such as hurricanes (5).
On page 1807 in this issue, Schoener et
al. (6) show how the survival of resident
anoles on islands with introduced predator
lizards depends on vegetation height. On
islands without the introduced predator,
anoles survive better in habitats with
shorter vegetation, but on islands with the
introduced predator, anoles survive better
in habitats with taller vegetation. Island size
on its own did not appear to have a signifi-
cant effect. Hence, the authors take the
important step of linking a population
process (survival) to a key feature of island
biogeography (vegetation type), and this
direct demonstration, using a field experi-
E COL OGY
Population Evolution
and Island Biogeography
Roger S. Thorpe
The author is in the School of Biological Sciences,
University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK.
1779
ment, is novel. This relationship is impor-
tant because island biogeographic patterns
are determined by such population
processes. Although population phenomena
underlie central aspects of island biogeo-
graphic theory, these related disciplines are
often pursued without extensive cross-ref-
erence. For instance, the species-area rela-
tionship (number of species per island com-
pared to size of island) in island biogeogra-
phy is usually considered in isolation of the
population processes that drive speciation.
Comparative island biogeographic analysis
of the distribution and number of species of
native Caribbean island anoles concludes
that within-island speciation is rare or
nonexistent on small islands (7). However,
this proposition has been made in the
absence of population-based genetic evi-
dence, and thus biogeographic pattern is
suggesting population process, rather than
population process informing biogeo-
graphic theory. Moreover, what precisely
does within-island mean? It has become
an axiom of evolutionary ecology that the
historical component should be taken into
account. This, quite rightly, means that the
history of an organism (phylogeny) should
be considered. But in island biogeography,
should we not also be considering the geo-
logical history? We may anthropocentri-
cally regard an island that exists now as a
real single entity, yet it may have been a
single entity for only a brief portion of its
history. For example, the island of
Martinique in the Lesser Antilles may once
have comprised up to five separate islands,
some more than 20 million years old, which
have spent only a fraction of their existence
as part of the single island of Martinique
(8). Biogeographic patterning suggests that
each Lesser Antillean island has one anole
species (per clade), implying that each
island may have been dominated by
allopatric speciation via island coloniza-
tion. In other words, each island is naturally
inhabited by a single anole species by virtue
of having evolved into a new species after
colonization of a new island because it was
geographically, and hence genetically,
isolated from its ancestor. This widely
accepted view is perhaps immune to chal-
lenge because it is virtually impossible to
directly test the reproductive isolation of
allopatric species. However, it may be pos-
sible to test one aspect of this theory by
using population-level analysis. The
allopatric speciation hypothesis predicts
that the endemic forms on ancient islands
should act as good species and not freely
interbreed on contact with a different
species. Such secondary contact exists
between the anoles from the precursor
islands of Martinique (see the f igure).
However, population-based genetic studies
of nuclear gene flowdo not support this pre-
diction of no interbreeding on secondary
contact of these populations (9). Therefore
it may be more appropriate for population-
based studies to inform biogeographic the-
ory, than for biogeographic pattern to sug-
gest the nature of the population process.
Field experiments on aspects of popula-
tion biology that are relevant to biogeogra-
phy are replete with challenges. These prob-
lems include maintaining conditions that are
as natural as possible such as natural densi-
ties of organisms, maintaining discrete
experimental units such as small islets or
enclosures, having a size and number of
replicate units that are large enough to give
statistical significance but are still logisti-
cally manageable, and having effects that
are intense enough to yield results in the
time frame of the project and variables with
suff icient variance to elicit a response.
Island anoles in general, and A. sagrei in the
islands of the Bahamas in particular, provide
a model system that overcomes many of
these problems. The small size of anoles,
their high population density, numerous
studies providing background information
on their evolutionary ecology, and their
presence on small discrete islands with
varying vegetation types make island anoles
a valuable model system for both experi-
mental (16) and comparative (1, 810)
studies in evolution and biogeography.
Perhaps the larger challenge will be
relating population ecology and population
evolution to broader scale spatial variation
in the environment. Schoener et al. have
shown that demographics are certainly sen-
sitive to changes in species composition
and that this is habitat specif ic. Anoles
adapt closely to the environmental and cli-
matic zones that exist on even small islands
(13, 8). Can similar experimental studies
be used to provide insight into the speed
and limits of adaptation to climate change
of both individual species and whole com-
munities?
1. J. B. Losos, R. S. Thorpe, i n Adapti ve Speci ati on,
U. Dieckmann, M. Doebeli, J. A. J. Metz, D. Tautz, Eds.
(Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2005), pp.
322344.
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3. R. S. Thorpe, J. T. Reardon, A. Malhotra, Am. Nat. 165,
495 (2005).
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(2004).
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(2001).
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1807 (2005).
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8. R. S. Thorpe, A. G. Stenson, Mol. Ecol. 12, 117 (2003).
9. R. Ogden, R. S. Thorpe, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99,
13612 (2002).
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11. I thank the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council for support.
10.1126/science.1122457
No evidence for the geographic speciation predicted by biogeographic pattern. Broad biogeo-
graphic pattern suggests geographic speciation in Lesser Antillean anoles, yet on Martinique, where
once separate island species now meet in secondary contact (red line), population-based genetic
studies show no evidence of their reproductive isolation (9). However, there is strong parallel adap-
tation to the habitat zonation and some evidence of reduced interbreeding among these habitat
types (ecotypes) (9). Xeric coastal ecotypes of anoles are brown and striped (lower photographs;
arrows indicate locality of origin). Where lineages meet, in the montane rainforest, they show paral-
lel evolution of green montane ecotypes (upper photographs), irrespective of their independent
island history and deep molecular phylogenetic divergence.
Aphid Protected from Pathogen
by Endosymbiont
Claire L. Scarborough,* Julia Ferrari,*. H. C. J. Godfray
Many invertebrates have intimate associations
with bacterial symbionts, and over the past
few years, several have been shown to influ-
ence their hosts_ ability to defend against nat-
ural enemies (1, 2). Aphids possess a range of
facultative bacterial endosymbionts that may
help in defense against parasitoids (2) and in-
fluence the aphids_ ability to use different plant
species (3). We show here that one of the
common facultative symbionts of pea aphid
(Acyrthosiphon pisum), the bacterium Regiella
insecticola (synonyms: U-type, PAUS) (4),
has a major effect on host resistance to a fun-
gal pathogen and lowers the rate of trans-
mission of the fungus. Regiella is vertically
transmitted during both asexual and sexual
reproduction.
A vertically transmitted symbiont (that does
not manipulate sex ratio) or one with low lev-
els of horizontal transmission will eventually
be lost from a population if carrying it imposes
a cost on the host. This loss has led to a search
for beneficial effects of the symbiont. By ex-
perimentally introducing symbionts, it has been
shown that both Hamiltonella defensa and
Serratia symbiotica increased resistance to an
aphid parasitoid (2), whereas Regiella im-
proved the performance of one aphid clone
on one of its host plants (3).
A major pathogen of aphids is the En-
tomophthorales fungus Pandora (Erynia)
neoaphidis. Infectious spores of the fungus
germinate on the aphid cuticle, and mycelia
penetrate and fill the aphid_s body cavity, lead-
ing to death within a few days. Spores are then
produced on the cadaver_s surface. We previ-
ously found a correlation across pea aphid
clones between the possession of Regiella and
resistance to Pandora (6). To test whether car-
riage of Regiella enhances resistance, we took
five facultative symbiont-free pea aphid clones
and established novel infections by injecting
hemolymph from pea aphids
that carried only Regiella. After
several generations, the aphids
were tested for resistance to
Pandora (5).
Across all five aphid clones,
the association with Regiella
improved the aphids_ ability to
survive exposure to the fungal
pathogen (Fig. 1A). Symbiont
presence (treatment) increased
the log odds of survival by 1.8 T
0.2 (SE), which is highly sig-
nificant (c
1
2
0 173.47, P G
0.001). There were significant
differences among clones in their
susceptibility to fungi (c
4
2
0
22.39, P 0 0.02), although all
responded similarly to Regiella
(clone treatment, c
4
2
0 3.46,
P 0 0.78).
The presence of the symbiont
influenced whether the fungus
would sporulate successfully on
those aphids it had killed (Fig.
1B). Regiella reduced the log
odds of successful sporulation
by 2.7 T 0.2 (SE) (c
1
2
0
423.21, P G 0.001). This ef-
fect differed significantly among
aphid clones (clone, c
4
2
0 26.98,
P G 0.001; clone treatment, c
4
2
0 56.93, P G
0.001). The interaction between clone and treat-
ment may represent differences among aphid
genotypes in their response to Regiella or vice
versa, because each aphid clone was injected
with a different strain of Regiella. Failure to
sporulate has no bearing on the fate of the
individual insect; however, aphids reproduce
clonally and are often wingless. Hence, nearby
individuals are more likely to be genetically
identical, and this will lead to an increase in
the aphid_s inclusive fitness.
Because Pandora is the most common
aphid fungal pathogen, our results provide an
explanation for Regiella_s maintenance in pea
aphid populations. But why do not all aphids
carry Regiella? One possibility is that the ad-
vantage of disease resistance varies over time
and space and, in Pandora_s absence, carrying
the symbiont is costly, although no costs to
date have been identified. Regiella can influ-
ence performance on certain host plants (3),
and, possibly, the net benefits of carrying the
symbiont depend both on its effect on resource
use and the risk of infection on different food
plants. Such an effect might explain why pea
aphid clones specialized on Trifolium both tend
to harbor Regiella and show high resistance to
Pandora (6, 7).
1. M. S. Gil-Turnes, M. E. Hay, W. Fenical, Science 246,
116 (1989).
2. K. M. Oliver, J. A. Russell, N. A. Moran, M. S. Hunter,
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100, 1803 (2003).
3. T. Tsuchida, R. Koga, T. Fukatsu, Science 303, 1989
(2004).
4. N. A. Moran, J. A. Russell, R. Koga, T. Fukatsu, Appl.
Environ. Microbiol. 71, 3302 (2005).
5. Materials and methods are available as supporting
material on Science Online.
6. J. Ferrari, A. C. Darby, T. J. Daniell, H. C. J. Godfray, A. E.
Douglas, Ecol. Entomol. 29, 60 (2004).
7. J. Ferrari, H. C. J. Godfray, Ecol. Lett. 6, 111 (2003).
8. We thank A. Douglas, C. Gibson, M. Hunter, S. Kelly, A.
Kraaijeveld, K. Oliver, and F. van Veen for comments on
an earlier version of this manuscript. Partial sequences
of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene of the bacterial strains
used are available on GenBank (accession numbers
DQ202723DQ202727). This work was funded by the
Natural Environment Research Council.
Supporting Online Material
www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/310/5755/1781/
DC1
Materials and Methods
SOM Text
14 September 2005; accepted 4 November 2005
10.1126/science.1120180
BREVIA
Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Pop-
ulation Biology, Division of Biology, Imperial College
London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berks, SL5 7PY, UK.
*These authors contributed equally to this work.
.To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Fig. 1. The facultative endosymbionts R. insecticola increase
resistance to the entomopathogenic fungus P. neoaphidis. Five
aphid genotypes were artificially infected with Regiella. (A) All
aphid genotypes had significantly increased survival. (B) Even
when killed by P. neoaphidis, pea aphids harboring Regiella
produced fewer sporulating cadavers. Means and SEs are shown.
SLC24A5, a Putative Cation
Exchanger, Affects Pigmentation
in Zebrafish and Humans
Rebecca L. Lamason,
1
* Manzoor-Ali P.K. Mohideen,
1
.
Jason R. Mest,
1
Andrew C. Wong,
1
- Heather L. Norton,
6
Michele C. Aros,
1
Michael J. Jurynec,
8
Xianyun Mao,
6
Vanessa R. Humphreville,
1
` Jasper E. Humbert,
2,9
Soniya Sinha,
2
Jessica L. Moore,
1
Pudur Jagadeeswaran,
10
Wei Zhao,
3
Gang Ning,
7
Izabela Makalowska,
7
Paul M. McKeigue,
11
David ODonnell,
11
Rick Kittles,
12
Esteban J. Parra,
13
Nancy J. Mangini,
14
David J. Grunwald,
8
Mark D. Shriver,
6
Victor A. Canfield,
4
Keith C. Cheng
1,4,5
P
Lighter variations of pigmentation in humans are associated with diminished
number, size, and density of melanosomes, the pigmented organelles of
melanocytes. Here we show that zebrafish golden mutants share these
melanosomal changes and that golden encodes a putative cation exchanger
slc24a5 (nckx5) that localizes to an intracellular membrane, likely the
melanosome or its precursor. The human ortholog is highly similar in
sequence and functional in zebrafish. The evolutionarily conserved ancestral
allele of a human coding polymorphism predominates in African and East
Asian populations. In contrast, the variant allele is nearly fixed in European
populations, is associated with a substantial reduction in regional heterozy-
gosity, and correlates with lighter skin pigmentation in admixed populations,
suggesting a key role for the SLC24A5 gene in human pigmentation.
Pigment color and pattern are important for
camouflage and the communication of visual
cues. In vertebrates, body coloration is a
function of specialized pigment cells derived
from the neural crest (1). The melanocytes
of birds and mammals (homologous to melano-
phores in other vertebrates) produce the
insoluble polymeric pigment melanin. Mel-
anin plays an important role in the protec-
tion of DNA from ultraviolet radiation (2)
and the enhancement of visual acuity by con-
trolling light scatter (3). Melanin pigmen-
tation abnormalities have been associated
with inflammation and cancer, as well as
visual, endocrine, auditory, and platelet de-
fects (4).
Despite the cloning of many human
albinism genes and the knowledge of over
100 genes that affect coat color in mice,
the genetic origin of the striking varia-
tions in human skin color is one of the re-
maining puzzles in biology (5). Because
the primary ultrastructural differences be-
tween melanocytes of dark-skinned Afri-
cans and lighter-skinned Europeans include
changes in melanosome number, size, and
density (6, 7), we reasoned that animal mod-
els with similar differences may contribute to
our understanding of human skin color. Here
we present evidence that the human ortholog
of a gene associated with a pigment mutation
in zebrafish, SLC24A5, plays a role in human
skin pigmentation.
The zebrafish golden phenotype. The
study of pigmentation variants (5, 8) has
led to the identification of most of the
known genes that affect pigmentation and
has contributed to our understanding of
basic genetic principles in peas, fruit flies,
corn, mice, and other classical model
systems. The first recessive mutation stud-
ied in zebrafish (Danio rerio), golden
(gol
b1
), causes hypopigmentation of skin
melanophores (Fig. 1) and retinal pigment
epithelium (Fig. 2) (9). Despite its common
use for the calibration of germ-line muta-
genesis (10), the golden gene remained
unidentified.
The golden phenotype is characterized by
delayed and reduced development of mela-
nin pigmentation. At approximately 48 hours
postfertilization (hpf ), melanin pigmentation
is evident in the melanophores and retinal
pigment epithelium (RPE) of wild-type
embryos (Fig. 2A) but is not apparent in
golden embryos (Fig. 2B). By 72 hpf, golden
melanophores and RPE begin to develop
pigmentation (Fig. 2, F and G) that is lighter
than that of wild type (Fig. 2, D and E). In
adult zebrafish, the melanophore-rich dark
stripes are considerably lighter in golden
compared with wild-type animals (Fig. 1, A
and B). In regions of the ventral stripes
where melanophore density is low enough to
distinguish individual cells, it is apparent
that the melanophores of golden adults are
less melanin-rich than those in wild-type fish
(Fig. 1, A and B).
Transmission electron microscopy was used
to determine the cellular basis of golden hypo-
pigmentation in skin melanophores and RPE
of 55-hpf wild-type and golden zebrafish.
Wild-type melanophores contained numer-
ous, uniformly dense, round-to-oval melano-
somes (Fig. 1, C and E). The melanophores of
golden fish were thinner and contained fewer
melanosomes (Fig. 1D). In addition, golden
melanosomes were smaller, less electron-dense,
and irregularly shaped (Fig. 1F). Comparable
differences between wild-type and golden mel-
anosomes were present in the RPE (fig. S1,
A and B).
Dysmorphic melanosomes have also been
reported in mouse models of Hermansky-
Pudlak syndrome (HPS) (11, 12). Because HPS
is characterized by defects in platelet-dense
granules and lysosomes as well as melano-
RESEARCH ARTICLE
1
Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation, Depart-
ment of Pathology;
2
Intercollege Graduate Degree
Program in Genetics;
3
Department of Health Evalua-
tion Sciences;
4
Department of Pharmacology;
5
De-
partment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine,
Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
6
Department of Anthropol-
ogy,
7
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
16802, USA.
8
Department of Human Genetics,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
9
Department of Genetics, Weis Center for Research,
Danville, PA 17822, USA.
10
Department of Biological
Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
76203, USA.
11
Conway Institute, University College
Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
12
Department of
Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics,
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
13
Department of Anthropology, University of To-
ronto at Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Can-
ada.
14
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology,
Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest,
Gary, IN 46408, USA.
*Present address: The Graduate Program in Immu-
nology, The Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
.Present address: Health System Management Cen-
ter, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
44106, USA.
-Present address: Department of Human Genetics,
Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
`Present address: The Pennsylvania State University
College of Medicine, H060, 500 University Drive,
Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
Present address: Department of Biology, University
of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
PTo whom correspondence should be addressed.
somes, we examined whether the golden
mutation also affects thrombocyte function
in the zebrafish. A comparison of golden
and wild-type larvae in a laser-induced ar-
terial thrombosis assay (13) revealed no sig-
nificant difference in clotting time (35 versus
30 s). The golden phenotype thus appears
to be restricted to melanin pigment cells in
zebrafish.
The zebrafish golden gene is slc24a5/
nckx5. Similarities between zebrafish golden
and light-skinned human melanosomes sug-
gested that the positional cloning of golden
might lead to the identification of a phylo-
genetically conserved class of genes that
regulate melanosome morphogenesis. Posi-
tional cloning, morpholino knockdown,
DNA and RNA rescue, and expression
analysis were used to identify the gene
underlying the golden phenotype. Linkage
analysis of 1126 homozygous gol
b1
embryos
(representing 2252 meioses) revealed a sin-
gle crossover between golden and micro-
satellite marker z13836 on chromosome 18.
This map distance of 0.044 centimorgans
(cM) [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.01 to
0.16 cM] corresponds to a physical distance
of about 33 kilobases (kb) (using 1 cM 0 740
kb) (14). Marker z9484 was also tightly
linked to golden but informative in fewer
individuals; no recombinants between z9484
and golden were identified in 468 embryos
(95% CI, distance G0.32 cM). Polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) analysis of a g-radiation
induced deletion allele, gol
b13
(15), showed a
loss of markers z10264, z9404, z928, and
z13836, but not z9484 (fig. S2A). Screening
of a zebrafish genomic library (16) led to the
identification of a clone (PAC215f11) con-
taining both z13836 and z9484 within an
85-kb insert. Microinjection of PAC215f11
into golden embryos produced mosaic res-
cue of wild-type pigmentation in embryonic
melanophores and RPE (Fig. 2, H and I), in-
dicating the presence of a functional golden
gene within this clone.
Shotgun sequencing, contig assembly,
and gene prediction revealed two partial
and three complete genes within PAC215f11
(fig. S2B): the 3 end of a thrombospondin-
repeatcontaining gene (flj13710), a putative
potassium-dependent sodium/calcium ex-
changer (slc24a5), myelin expression factor
2 (myef2), a cortexin homolog (ctxn2), and
the 5 end of a sodium/potassium/chloride
cotransporter gene (slc12a1). We screened
each candidate gene using morpholino anti-
sense oligonucleotides directed against either
the initiation codon (17) or splice donor
junctions (18). Only embryos injected with a
morpholino targeted to slc24a5 (either of two
splice-junction morpholinos or one start codon
morpholino) successfully phenocopied gold-
en (Fig. 2C). In rescue experiments, injection
of full-length, wild-type slc24a5 transcript
into homozygous gol
b1
embryos led to the
partial restoration of wild-type pigmentation
in both melanophores and RPE (Fig. 2, J and
K). Taken together, these results confirm the
identity of golden as slc24a5.
To identify the mutation in the gol
b1
allele,
we compared complementary DNA (cDNA)
and genomic sequence from wild-type and
gol
b1
embryos. A CYA nucleotide transversion
that converts Tyr
208
to a stop codon was found
in gol
b1
cDNA clones (GenBank accession
number AY682554) and verified by sequenc-
ing gol
b1
genomic DNA (fig. S3C). Con-
ceptual translation of the mutant sequence
predicts the truncation of the golden poly-
peptide to about 40% of its normal size, with
loss of the central hydrophilic loop and the
C-terminal cluster of potential transmem-
brane domains.
In wild-type embryos, the RNA expression
pattern of slc24a5 (Fig. 3A) resembled that of
the melanin biosynthesis marker dct (Fig. 3B),
consistent with expression of slc24a5 in melano-
phores and RPE. In contrast, slc24a5 ex-
pression was nearly undetectable in golden
embryos (Fig. 3C), the expected result of
nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (19). The
extent of protein deletion associated with the
gol
b1
mutation, together with its low expres-
sion, suggests that gol
b1
is a null mutation.
The persistence of melanosome morphogen-
esis, despite likely absence of function, sug-
gests that golden plays a modulatory rather
than essential role in the formation of the mel-
anosome. The pattern of dct expression seen
in golden embryos (Fig. 3D) resembles that of
wild-type embryos, indicating that the golden
mutation does not affect the generation or mi-
gration of melanophores.
Conservation of golden gene structure
and function in vertebrate evolution.
Comparison of golden cDNA (accession
number AY538713) to genomic (accession
number AY581204) sequences shows that
the wild-type gene contains nine exons (fig.
S2C) encoding 513 amino acids (fig. S3A).
Fig. 1. Phenotype of golden zebrafish. Lateral
views of adult wild-type (A) and golden (B)
zebrafish. Insets show melanophores (arrow-
heads). Scale bars, 5 mm (inset, 0.5 mm). gol
b1
mutants have melanophores that are, on av-
erage, smaller, more pale, and transparent.
Transmission electron micrographs of skin mel-
anophore from 55-hpf wild-type (C and E) and
gol
b1
(D and F) larvae. gol
b1
skin melanophores
(arrowheads show edges) are thinner and con-
tain fewer melanosomes than do those of wild
type. Melanosomes of gol
b1
larvae are fewer
in number, smaller, less-pigmented, and irregu-
lar compared with wild type. Scale bars in (C)
and (D), 1000 nm; in (E) and (F), 200 nm.
Fig. 2. Rescue and mor-
pholino knockdown estab-
lish slc24a5 as the golden
gene. Lateral views of 48-
hpf (A) wild-type and (B)
gol
b1
zebrafish larvae. (C)
48-hpf wild-type larva
injected with morpholino
targeted to the transla-
tional start site of slc24a5
phenocopies the gol
b1
mu-
tation. Lateral view of eye
(D) and dorsal view of
head (E) of 72-hpf wild-
type embryos. (F and G)
gol
b1
pigmentation pattern at 72 hpf, showing lightly pigmented
cells. (H and I) 72 hpf gol
b1
larva injected with PAC215f11 show
mosaic rescue; arrow identifies a heavily pigmented melanophore. (J
and K) 72-hpf gol
b1
larva injected with full-length zebrafish slc24a5
RNA. (L and M) 72-hpf gol
b1
larvae injected with full-length human
European (Thr
111
) SLC24A5 RNA. Rescue with the ancestral human
allele (Ala
111
) is shown in fig. S4. Rescue in RNA-injected embryos is
more apparent in melanophores (K) and (M) than in RPE. Scale bars
in [(A) to (C)], 300 mm; in (D), (F), (H), (J), and (L), 100 mm; in (E), (G),
(I), (K), and (M), 200 mm.
R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E
BLAST searches revealed that the protein is
most similar to potassium-dependent sodium/
calcium exchangers (encoded by the NCKX
gene family), with highest similarity (68 to
69% amino acid identity) to murine Slc24a5
(accession number BAC40800) and human
SLC24A5 (accession number NP_995322)
(fig. S3B). The zebrafish golden gene shares
less similarity with other human NCKX
genes (35 to 41% identity to SLC24A1 to
SLC24A4) or sodium/calcium exchanger
(NCX) genes (26 to 29% identity to SLC8A1
to SLC8A3). Shared intron/exon structure
and gene order (slc24a5, myef2, ctxn2, and
slc12a5) between fish and mammals further
supports the conclusion that the zebrafish
golden gene and SLC24A5 are orthologs.
The high sequence similarity among the
orthologous sequences from fish and mam-
mals (fig. S3A) suggested that function may
also be conserved. The ability of human
SLC24A5 mRNA to rescue melanin pigmen-
tation when injected into golden zebrafish
embryos (Fig. 2, L and M, and fig. S4) dem-
onstrated functional conservation of the
mammalian and fish polypeptides across ver-
tebrate evolution.
Tissue-specific expression of Slc24a5.
Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-
PCR) was used to examine Slc24a5 expres-
sion in normal mouse tissues and in the B16
melanoma cell line (Fig. 3E). Slc24a5 ex-
pression varied 1000-fold between tissues,
with concentrations in skin and eye at least
10-fold higher than in other tissues. The
mouse melanoma showed 100-fold greater
expression of Slc24a5 compared with normal
skin and eye. These results suggest that
mammalian Slc24a5, like zebrafish golden,
appears to be highly expressed in melanin-
producing cells.
Model for the role of SLC24A5 in
pigmentation. SLC24A5 shares with other
members of the protein family a potential
hydrophobic signal sequence near the amino
terminus and 11 hydrophobic segments,
forming two groups of potential trans-
membrane segments separated by a central
cytoplasmic domain. This structure is con-
sistent with membrane localization, although
the specific topology of these proteins re-
mains controversial (20). Elucidation of the
specific role of this exchanger in melano-
some morphogenesis requires knowledge of
its subcellular localization and transport prop-
erties. Although previously characterized
members of the NCKX and NCX families
have been shown to be plasma membrane
proteins (21), the melanosomal phenotype
of golden suggested the possibility that the
slc24a5 protein resides in the melanosome
membrane. To distinguish between these al-
ternatives, confocal microscopy was used to
localize green fluorescent protein (GFP)
and hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged derivatives
of zebrafish slc24a5 in MNT1, a constitu-
tively pigmented human melanoma cell line
(22). Both slc24a5 fusion proteins displayed
an intracellular pattern of localization (Fig.
4, A and B), which is distinct from that of
a known plasma membrane control (Fig.
4C). The HA-tagged protein showed pheno-
typic rescue of the golden phenotype (Fig.
4D), indicating that tag addition did not ab-
rogate its function. Taken together, these
results indicate that the slc24a5 protein
functions in intracellular, membrane-bound
structures, consistent with melanosomes and/or
their precursors.
Several observations suggest a model for
the involvement of slc24a5 in organellar
calcium uptake (Fig. 4E). First, the intracel-
lular localization of the slc24a5 protein
suggests that it affects organellar, rather than
cytoplasmic, calcium concentrations, in con-
trast with other members of the NCX and
NCKX families. Second, the accumulation
of calcium in mammalian melanosomes
appears to occur in a transmembrane pH
gradientdependent manner (23). Third, sev-
eral subunits of the vacuolar proton adeno-
sine triphosphatase (V-ATPase) and at least
two intracellular sodium/proton exchangers
have also been localized to melanosomes
(24, 25). In the model, active transport of pro-
Fig. 3. Expression of slc24a5 in zebrafish embryos
and adult mouse tissues. The expression of
slc24a5 (A) and dct (B) in melanophores and
RPE of a 24-hpf wild-type zebrafish larva show
similar patterns. (C) gol
b1
larvae lack detectable
slc24a5 expression. (D) dct expression in 24-hpf
gol
b1
larva is similar to that in wild type. Scale
bar, 200 mm. (E) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of
Slc24a5 expression in mouse tissues and B16
melanoma. Expression was normalized using the
ratio between Slc24a5 and the control transcript,
RNA polymerase II (Polr2e).
Fig. 4. Subcellular localization of slc24a5.
Human MNT1 cells transfected with (A) GFP-
tagged zebrafish slc24a5 (green) and (B) HA-
tagged slc24a5 (red) clearly show intracellular
expression. (C) HA-tagged D3 dopamine recep-
tor localizes to the plasma membrane in MNT1
cells (red). 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole
(DAPI) counterstain was used to visualize nu-
clei (blue). Scale bars in (A) and (B), 10 mm; in
(C), 5 mm. (D) Rescue of dark pigmentation in
a melanophore of a golden embryo by HA-
tagged slc24a5. These dark cells appear in golden
embryos injected with the HA-tagged con-
struct, but not in mock-injected embryos. Scale
bar, 10 mm. (E) Model for calcium accumu-
lation in melanosomes. Protons are actively
transported into the melanosome by the V-ATPase
(left). The proton electrochemical potential gra-
dient drives sodium uptake via the sodium
(Na
)/proton (H
) exchanger (center). Sodium

efflux is coupled to calcium uptake by the slc24a5
polypeptide (right). If potassium (dashed ar-
row) is cotransported with calcium, it must ei-
ther accumulate within the melanosome or exit
by means of additional transporters (not de-
picted). P
i
, inorganic phosphate; ADP, adenosine
diphosphate.
tons by the V-ATPase is coupled to slc24a5-
mediated calcium transport via a sodium/
proton exchanger. The melanosomal pheno-
type of the zebrafish golden mutant sug-
gests that the calcium accumulation predicted
by the model plays a role in melanosome
morphogenesis and melanogenesis. The ob-
servations that processing of the melanosomal
scaffolding protein pmel17 is mediated by a
furin-like protease (26) and that furin activ-
ity is calcium-dependent (27) are consistent
with this view. The role of pH in melano-
genesis has been studied far more extensive-
ly than that of calcium, with alterations in
pH affecting both the maturation of tyrosinase
and its catalytic activity (25, 28). The in-
terdependence of proton and calcium gra-
dients in the model may thus provide a
second mechanism, in addition to calcium-
dependent melanosome morphogenesis, by
which the activity of slc24a5 might affect
melanin pigmentation.
Role of SLC24A5 in human pigmenta-
tion. To evaluate the potential impact of
SLC24A5 on the evolution of human skin
pigmentation, we looked for polymorphisms
within the gene. We noted that the G and A
alleles of the single nucleotide polymor-
phism (SNP) rs1426654 encoded alanine or
threonine, respectively, at amino acid 111 in
the third exon of SLC24A5. This was the only
coding SNP within SLC24A5 in the Inter-
national Haplotype Map (HapMap) release
16c.1 (29). Sequence comparisons indicate
the presence of alanine at the corresponding
position in all other known members of the
SLC24 (NCKX) gene family (fig. S5). The
SNP rs1426654 had been previously shown
to rank second (after the FY null allele at the
Duffy antigen locus) in a tabulation of 3011
ancestry-informative markers (30). The al-
lele frequency for the Thr
111
variant ranged
from 98.7 to 100% among several European-
American population samples, whereas the
ancestral alanine allele (Ala
111
) had a fre-
quency of 93 to 100% in African, Indigenous
American, and East Asian population samples
(fig. S6) (29, 30). The difference in allele
frequencies between the European and Afri-
can populations at rs1426654 ranks within the
top 0.01% of SNP markers in the HapMap
database (29), consistent with the possibility
that this SNP has been a target of natural or
sexual selection.
A striking reduction in heterozygosity
near SLC24A5 in the European HapMap
sample (Fig. 5A) constitutes additional evi-
dence for selection. The 150-kb region on
chromosome 15 that includes SLC24A5,
MYEF2, CTNX2, and part of SLC12A1 has
an average heterozygosity of only 0.0072 in
the European sample, which is considerably
lower than that of the non-European HapMap
samples (0.175 to 0.226). This region, which
contains several additional SNPs with high-
frequency differences between populations,
was the largest contiguous autosomal region
of low heterozygosity in the European (CEU)
population sample (Fig. 5B). This pattern of
variation is consistent with the occurrence of a
selective sweep in this genomic region in a
population ancestral to Europeans. For com-
parison, diminished heterozygosity is seen
in a 22-kb region encompassing the 3 half
of MATP (SLC45A2) in European samples,
and more detailed analysis of this genomic
region shows evidence for a selective sweep
(31). However, the gene for agouti signaling
protein (ASIP), which is known to be involved
in pigmentation differences (32), shows no
such evidence.
The availability of samples from two
recently admixed populations, an African-
American and an African-Caribbean popula-
tion, allowed us to determine whether the
rs1426654 polymorphism in SLC24A5 cor-
relates with skin pigmentation levels, as
measured by reflectometry (33). Regression
analysis using ancestry and SLC24A5 geno-
type as independent variables revealed an
impact of SLC24A5 on skin pigmentation
(Fig. 6). Despite considerable overlap in skin
pigmentation between genotypic groups,
regression lines for individuals with GG
versus AG and GG versus AA genotypes
were separated by about 7 and 9.5 melanin
units, respectively (Fig. 6A). These differ-
ences are more evident in plots of skin
pigmentation separated by genotype (Fig.
6B). SLC24A5 genotype contributed an es-
timated 7.5, 9.5, or 11.2 melanin units to the
differences in melanin pigmentation among
African-Americans and African-Caribbeans
in the dominant, unconstrained (additive ef-
fect plus dominance deviation), or additive
models, respectively.
The computer program ADMIXMAP pro-
vides a test of gene effect that corrects for
potential biases caused by uncertainty in the
estimation of admixture from marker data
(34). Score tests for association of melanin
index with the SLC24A5 polymorphism were
significant in both African-American (P 0
3 10
j6
) and African-Caribbean population
subsamples (P 0 2 10
j4
). The effect of
SLC24A5 on melanin index is between 7.6
and 11.4 melanin units (95% confidence
limits). The data suggest that the skin-
lightening effect of the A (Thr) allele is
partially dominant to the G (Ala) allele.
Based on the average pigmentation difference
between European-Americans and African-
Americans of about 30 melanin units (33),
Fig. 5. Region of de-
creased heterozygosity
inEuropeans on chromo-
some 15 near SLC24A5.
(A) Heterozygosity for
four HapMap popula-
tions plotted as averages
over 10-kb intervals. YRI,
Yoruba from Ibadan,
Nigeria (black); CHB,
Han Chinese fromBeijing
(green); JPT, Japanese
from Tokyo (light blue);
CEU, CEPH (Foundation
Jean DaussetCentre
dEtude du Polymor-
phisme Humain) popu-
lation of northern and
western European ances-
try from Utah (red). The
data are from HapMap
release 18 (phase II). (B)
Distribution in genome
of extended regions
with low heterozygos-
ity in the CEU sample.
Only regions larger
than 5 kb in which all
SNPs have minor allele
frequencies e0.05 and
which contained at
least one SNP with a
population frequency
difference between
CEU and YRI of greater
than 0.75 were plotted.
Regions were divided
at gaps between genotyped SNPs exceeding 10 kb. The data are from HapMap release 16c.1. An
asterisk marks the region containing SLC24A5 within 15q21.
our results suggest that SLC24A5 explains
between 25 and 38% of the European-African
difference in skin melanin index.
Relative contributions of SLC24A5 and
other genes to human pigment variation.
Our estimates of the effect of SLC24A5 on
pigmentation are consistent with previous
work indicating that multiple genes must
be invoked to explain the skin pigmentation
differences between Europeans and Afri-
cans (5, 35). Significant effects of several
previously known pigmentation genes have
been demonstrated, including those of MATP
(36), ASIP (32), TYR (33), and OCA2 (33),
but the magnitude of the contribution has
been determined only for ASIP, which ac-
counts for e4 melanin units (32). MATP
may have a larger effect (37), but it can be
concluded that much of the remaining dif-
ference in skin pigmentation remains to be
explained.
Variation of skin, eye, and hair color in
Europeans, in whom a haplotype contain-
ing the derived Thr
111
allele predominates,
indicates that other genes contribute to
pigmentation within this population. For
example, variants in MC1R have been linked
to red hair and very light skin [reviewed
in (37)], whereas OCA2 or a gene closely
linked to it is involved in eye color (7, 38).
The lightening caused by the derived allele
of SLC24A5 may be permissive for the ef-
fect of other genes on eye or hair color in
Europeans.
Because Africans and East Asians share
the ancestral Ala
111
allele of rs1426654,
this polymorphism cannot be responsible for
the marked difference in skin pigmenta-
tion between these groups. Although we
cannot rule out a contribution from other
polymorphisms within this gene, the high
heterozygosity in this region argues against
a selective sweep in a population ancestral
to East Asians. It will be interesting to de-
termine whether the polymorphisms respon-
sible for determining the lighter skin color
of East Asians are unique to these popula-
tions or shared with Europeans.
The importance of model systems in
human gene discovery. Our identification
of the role of SLC24A5 in human pigmen-
tation began with the positional cloning of a
mutation in zebrafish. Typically, the search
for genes associated with specific pheno-
types in humans results in multiple poten-
tial candidates. Our results suggest that
distinguishing the functional genes from
multiple candidates may require a combi-
nation of phylogenetic analysis, nonmam-
malian functional genomics, and human
genetics. Such cross-disciplinary approaches
thus appear to be an effective way to mine
societal benefit from our investment in the
human genome.
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39. We thank P. Hubley for excellent management of our
zebrafish facility; B. Blasiole, W. Boehmler, A. Sidor,
and J. Gershenson for experimental assistance; R.
Levenson, B. Kennedy, G. Chase, J. Carlson, and E.
Puffenberger for helpful discussions; L. Rush for help
on the cover design; and V. Hearing and M. Marks for
MNT1 cells. Supported by funding from the Jake
Gittlen Memorial Golf Tournament (K.C.), NSF (grant
MCB9604923 to K.C.), NIH (grants CA73935,
HD40179, and RR017441 to K.C.; HD37572 to D.G.;
HG002154 to M.S.; EY11308 to N.M.; and HL077910
to P.J.), the Pennsylvania Tobacco Settlement Fund
(K.C.), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (E.P.). This work is
dedicated to the open, trusting, and generous
atmosphere fostered by the late George Streisinger.
DC1
Figs. S1 to S7
References
17 June 2005; accepted 15 November 2005
10.1126/science.1116238
Fig. 6. Effect of SLC24A5 genotype on pigmentation in admixed populations. (A) Variation of
measured pigmentation with estimated ancestry and SLC24A5 genotype. Each point represents a
single individual; SLC24A5 genotypes are indicated by color. Lines show regressions, constrained to
have equal slopes, for each of the three genotypes. (B) Histograms showing the distribution of
pigmentation after adjustment for ancestry for each genotype. Values shown are the difference
between the measured melanin index and the calculated GG regression line ( y 0 0.2113x
30.91). The corresponding uncorrected histograms are shown in fig. S7. Mean and SD (in
parentheses) are given as follows: for GG, 0 (8.5), n 0 202 individuals; for AG, 7.0 (7.4), n 0 85; for
AA, 9.6 (6.4), n 0 21.
Complete Photo-Induced Breakup
of the H
2
Molecule as a Probe of
Molecular Electron Correlation
Wim Vanroose,
1
Fernando Mart n,
2
Thomas N. Rescigno,
3
C. William McCurdy
3,4
Despite decades of progress in quantum mechanics, electron correlation ef-
fects are still only partially understood. Experiments in which both electrons
are ejected from an oriented hydrogen molecule by absorption of a single
photon have recently demonstrated a puzzling phenomenon: The ejection
pattern of the electrons depends sensitively on the bond distance between
the two nuclei as they vibrate in their ground state. Here, we report a com-
plete numerical solution of the Schrodinger equation for the double photo-
ionization of H
2
. The results suggest that the distribution of photoelectrons
emitted from aligned molecules reflects electron correlation effects that are
purely molecular in origin.
Chemical physics has long sought deeper
insight into correlation effects because they
lie at the heart of understanding atomic and
molecular structure. Because quantum me-
chanics does not offer an analytic solution of
the wave function for any physical system
with three or more charged particles, elec-
tron correlation is a challenge to model math-
ematically even in the simplest atomic and
molecular systems. Processes that put two
electrons into the continuum, particularly near
the ionization threshold, can offer unique in-
sight into the nature of electron correlation.
In particular, complete breakup of a hydro-
gen molecule after the absorption of only
one photon, hn H
2
Y p p e
, is
a pure manifestation of the correlated mo-
tion of all the particles in the system, be-
cause the energy of a single photon must be
shared by all the outgoing particles. Recent
imaging techniques have allowed the simul-
taneous observation of the charged particles
that emerge in the breakup of atoms and
molecules after a collision with photons or
other particles (14). Such detailed data (5)
offer substantial insight into the nature of
electronic correlation. However, a precise
quantum theoretical treatment is needed to
unambiguously unravel the possible origins
of the effects observed (6). We report such a
complete computational treatment of molec-
ular double ionization.
In double photoionization, two electrons
are emitted from an atom or a molecule after
absorption of a single photon. The observed
pattern of electron ejection is a reflection
of the competition between the effects of
electron-nuclear attraction, electron-electron
repulsion, and the acceleration of the electrons
by the electric field in the direction of its po-
larization. To the degree that the electron ejec-
tion pattern is different when the two electrons
are in a chemical bond (in the H
2
molecule
versus in the helium atom), these experiments
can probe the nature of correlation in that
bond. Are the observed angular patterns sim-
ply a manifestation of the intrinsic molecular
symmetries of the initial and final states, or do
they reveal more specific information about
the dynamics of the ejection process? The var-
iation of the two-electron ejection pattern with
respect to initial orientation and internuclear
distance of the moleculeeither in precise
calculations or in experimentsallows us to
investigate these questions.
In the experiments recently reported by
Weber et al. (5), linearly polarized 75.5-eV
synchrotron radiation was used to study single-
photoninduced fragmentation of molecular
deuterium (7). By measuring the final momen-
ta of both nuclei and the ejected electrons
in coincidence, they were able to relate the
angular pattern of the ejected electrons to a
particular internuclear separation in the mo-
lecular ground state at the instant of photon
absorption. Weber et al. demonstrated exper-
imentally that this essentially classical inter-
pretation of nuclear motion Econsistent with
the Breflection principle[ for photodissocia-
tion spectra (8)^ is valid for the conditions of
their experiment. For certain geometries they
found marked differences in the angular pat-
terns of ejection of the electrons with small
changes in the nuclear momenta, and they
speculated that this effect was the signature
of changes in electron correlation with bond
distance. It is not surprising, of course, that
electron correlation in a molecule should
change with bond distance. However, Weber
et al. asserted that small changes in bond
distance result in major changes in the
angular distributions of the ejected electrons.
There is, however, a complication. The
two electrons are ejected suddenly from the
vibrating molecule with the nuclei a particu-
lar distance apart. A coulomb explosion fol-
lows, and the nuclei separate with a kinetic
energy determined by the potential energy of
their repulsion at that distance. Therefore, ob-
serving the process at different internuclear
distances changes the kinetic energy available
to be shared by the outgoing electrons. Could
the recently observed changes in the ejection
pattern of the electrons with internuclear dis-
tance be due to this purely kinematic effect, or
do they really reflect changes in electron cor-
relation? This question could not be answered
by the experiment because it was performed
with a single-photon energy. Precise solutions
of the SchrPdinger equation are required to
unambiguously resolve this issue and thereby
test the assertion that large changes in the
ejection pattern are the signature of changes
in electron correlation with bond distance.
The calculation we report here required a
major extension, described in the supporting
online material (9), of the methods that only
recently solved such problems for isolated
atoms (6, 10, 11). Only the first steps toward
a precise solution of the molecular problem,
based on a numerical solution of the full
SchrPdinger equation with no appeal to models,
had previously been taken with the use of any
methods (12, 13), and those efforts produced
only the total ionization probability and not the
angular patterns of the ejected electrons. The
only assumption we have made here is that the
nuclei do not move during the time required to
eject the two electrons. This simplification is
consistent with the familiar Born-Oppenheimer
approximation, which is valid for electrons
moving much faster than the nuclei, as is the
case in the current experiments on D
2
and for
the same process in H
2
.
One of the clearest molecular effects that
can be observed both by experiment and by
our current theory is manifested in the angular
pattern of two ejected electrons or triple dif-
ferential cross section (TDCS), so called be-
cause it depends on the directions of the two
ejected electrons and their energy sharing. We
have calculated the TDCS for double photo-
ionization of the helium atom at 24.5 eV ex-
cess energy (Fig. 1A) using the methods we
REPORTS
1
Department of Computer Science, K.U. Leuven, Celes-
tijnenlaan 200A, B-3001 Heverlee, Belgium.
2
Departa-
mento de Qu mica C-9, Universidad Auto noma de
Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
3
Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, Chemical Sciences, Berkeley,
CA 94720, USA.
4
Department of Applied Science and
Department of Chemistry, University of California,
Davis, CA 95616, USA.
developed earlier for atomic problems (10).
We chose 24.5 eV excess energy to facilitate
comparison with the results for molecular
hydrogen. For the case shown, one electron
goes out along the direction of the polariza-
tion vector of the incident photon with 90%
of the available energy, and the cross section
is plotted as a function of the direction of the
other electron. The resulting distribution for an
atom must have cylindrical symmetry about
the common axis of the polarization and the
direction of the fixed electron. In contrast,
when the H
2
molecule, oriented perpendicular
to the polarization direction, is doubly ionized
with the same excess energy, our calculations
show that the cylindrical geometry of the
atomic case (Fig. 1A) becomes flattened along
the direction of the molecular axis (Fig. 1B).
This molecular effect has been observed
experimentally (Fig. 1C) (14, 15). The ex-
perimental data were collected in a manner
that corresponds to making two cuts of the
three-dimensional distribution shown in Fig.
1B, and they reveal a widening of the distribu-
tion when the cut is parallel to the molecule.
The detailed comparison of theory with the
existing experiments is complicated by the fi-
nite resolution of the experiment in both angle
and energy. The experiment accepts all events
with Bfixed[ electron angles T20-, Bswept[
electron angles T17.5-, molecular angles T25-,
Bfixed[ electron energies Q80% of that avail-
able, and a range of proton kinetic energies of
1 eV. The calculated data in Fig. 1C also give
some indication of the major changes that occur
in the TDCS with relatively small changes in the
energy sharing between the electrons. To deter-
mine the full implications of these experiments,
we focused on the accurate theoretical descrip-
tion of this process without the complication of
averaging over the experimental resolutions.
To see the effect on the angular depen-
dence of varying the internuclear distance,
we must choose an experimental geometry
that is sensitive to that variation. As the mol-
ecule rotates between being parallel and per-
pendicular to the polarization direction, the
dipole-allowed transitions between the initial
state of
1
S
g
symmetry and final continua of
1
S
u
(parallel) and
1
P
u
(perpendicular) symme-
tries contribute in varying proportion to the
observed TDCS. The behavior of the TDCS
for an angle between the molecule and
polarization vector of 15- (Fig. 2) probes both
those components visibly. Experimental data
resolving the orientation of the molecule
sufficiently to show the smaller
1
S
u
compo-
nent Ea factor of 10 smaller (12, 13) than
1
P
u
^
unambiguously have yet to be published. In the
existing experiments (5, 14, 15), differences in
the observed cross section for various inter-
nuclear distances, with one electron ejected
perpendicular to the plane formed by the
molecular axis and polarization vector, were
attributed to changes in the electronic correla-
tion of the initial state of the D
2
molecule (5).
To explore that effect uncomplicated by
the finite resolutions of the experiment, we
examined the TDCS at three internuclear
distances: the equilibrium position of the nu-
clei and the inner and outer classical turning
points of their vibrational motion in the ground
vibrational state. The behavior of the TDCS
(Fig. 2A) shows a marked variation with inter-
nuclear separation that is particularly notable
when seen in complete three-dimensional views
of the angular dependence of the second elec-
tron for a fixed ejection direction of the first.
The differences are even larger than the ex-
periment was able to reveal because of its finite
angular and energy resolutions.
However, the variation shown in Fig. 2A
does not establish that the effect on the cross
section of varying internuclear distance is a
result of changes in electron correlation. The
electrons liberated by ionization at the inner
vibrational turning point share 5.42 eV less
energy than electrons released by ionization
at the outer turning point, because the nuclei
carry off different amounts of repulsion en-
ergy. The experiments (5, 14, 15) were per-
formed at a photon energy 24.5 eV above the
threshold for double ionization of D
2
in its
ground vibrational state. This variation with
internuclear distance of kinetic energy shared
by the outgoing electrons is more than 20% of
that nominal value. Double photoionization cross
sections of atoms are known to be sensitive to
energy differences and very sensitive to changes
in energy sharing. Therefore, one must suspect
that changes observed in the molecular TDCS
with varying internuclear distances might only
be due to the change in the effective energy
transmitted to the outgoing electrons.
To investigate that question, we examined
the TDCS for the same three internuclear dis-
tances but now calculated with different pho-
ton energies so that the outgoing electrons
always shared 24.5 eV of energy (Fig. 2B).
The resulting variations in the cross section
with varying internuclear distance were both
qualitatively and quantitatively similar to those
observed when a single-photon energy was
used (Fig. 2A). This comparison therefore es-
tablishes that experiments observing the com-
plete dynamics of the breakup process can
measure changes in the effect of electron cor-
Fig. 1. Angular distribution (TDCS) of ejected electrons with direction of one electron (red arrow,
momentum k
1
) with 90% of the available energy fixed along the polarization direction (green
arrow). A manifestation of a purely molecular effect can be seen by comparing the angular
distributions (TDCS) for (A) helium atom with (B) H
2
molecule with axis oriented perpendicular
to the polarization. (C) Comparison with relative experimental measurements shows that two cuts
of the distribution in (B) have been observed to verify this effect. The dashed curve in (C) shows
how the TDCS changes when the fixed electron has 80% of the available energy.
Fig. 2. Effect on the angular distribution for D
2
of varying the internuclear distance. (A) TDCS
is shown with molecular axis (yellow) 15- from
polarization vector (green arrow) and fixed elec-
tron (red arrow) leaving perpendicular to that
plane with 50% of the available ejection ener-
gy. (Left) Inner vibrational turning point; (mid-
dle) equilibrium internuclear distance; (right)
outer turning point. Background shows ground
state potential curve (blue), ground state vibra-
tional wave function (red), and energy (green
line, with black dots indicating equilibrium and
inner and outer turning points). (B) The effect
on the angular distribution of varying inter-
nuclear distance is primarily due to changes in
molecular electronic correlation. The angular dis-
tributions closely resemble those in (A) when the
photon energy is varied, so as to produce the same
amount of final kinetic energy to be shared by the
outgoing electrons, regardless of the internuclear
distance at which ionization occurs. Inset shows
the corresponding atomic case (helium).
R E P O R T S
relation that are purely molecular in character
and vary with molecular geometry.
The three-dimensional representations of
the TDCS seen in Figs. 1 and 2 can be viewed
as variations on a theme already seen in the
helium atom. There, the angular distribution of
the plotted electron shows an apparent tend-
ency to go out in the direction more or less
opposite to that of the fixed electron (10). This
pattern is modified in the case of equal energy
sharing by selection rules (1618) that place a
zero in the angular distribution for back-to-
back ejection of the electrons. The molecular
cases in Fig. 2 show interesting modifications
of the resulting simple two-lobed pattern seen
in the case of the helium atom.
To see how the presence of the nuclei in
the molecular case modifies the angular dis-
tributions, we can examine how the TDCS
changes when the orientation of the mole-
cule is varied while keeping the direction of
the fixed electron unchanged. Choosing the
fixed electron along the polarization vector
and with 90% of the available kinetic energy
(as in Fig. 1B), we compared the atomic dis-
tribution with that obtained for the molecule
when it makes an angle of 30- (Fig. 3A), 60-
(Fig. 3B), 75- (Fig. 3C), or 90- (Fig. 1B) with
the polarization vector. This sequence suggests
the effect of nuclear attraction on the slower
outgoing electron for a set of cases for which
no simple symmetry selection rules apply. At
30- the nuclei break the single lobe of the
atomic pattern into two lobes, which change to
have very different sizes by 60-. The overall
flattening of the distribution in the direction of
the molecular axis is evident in all four figures.
A comparison of the angular distribution at
75- (Fig. 3C) with the more symmetric 90-
pattern (Fig. 1B) shows how attraction to the
nuclei tends to orient some parts of the ejec-
tion pattern along that axis, but the set of four
patterns shows that this effect is strongly modi-
fied by the forces of electron repulsion and the
applied radiation field. At some geometries,
such as the one shown in Fig. 3D, the presence
of the nuclei alter the corresponding atomic
ejection pattern even more. In this case, the
two lobes of the atomic angular distribution
are broken into three lobes, and no simple
model appears to explain the resulting TDCS.
This initial view of accurate calculations of
the angular dependence of double photoion-
ization of a molecule shows that experiments
measuring the TDCS for different internuclear
distances can reveal the signature of essen-
tially molecular effects in electronic correla-
tion. The wealth of information that can only
be obtained from calculations and experiments
on oriented molecules is highlighted by the
fact that, when averaged over molecular orien-
tations, the TDCS patterns for molecular hy-
drogen are almost identical to those for helium
(19). Detailed comparison of measurements on
oriented molecules with accurate theory may
form the basis for improving existing models
(2022) to show clearly how simple physical
effects are manifested in the TDCS. However,
some aspects of the angular distributions are
the signatures of the essentially complicated
physics of electron correlation and may not be
easy to model. Nonetheless, the present calcu-
lations indicate that there is promise that such
analyses can be performed for double photo-
ionization of other molecules to probe corre-
lation in more complicated molecular cases.
We expect that this class of experiment and
theory will be used, for example, to study the
difference between the correlation effects that
dominate when two electrons are ionized from
the same molecular orbital in a molecule like
CO, as opposed to when those electrons are
ionized from different shells leaving behind a
different electronic state of the CO
ion.
1. R. Dorner et al., Phys. Rep. 330, 96 (2000).
2. J. H. D. Eland, M. Takahashi, Y. Hikosaka, Faraday
Discuss. 115, 119 (2000).
3. M. Lebech, J. C. Houver, D. Dowek, Rev. Sci. Instrum.
73, 1866 (2002).
4. M. Gisselbrecht, A. Huetz, M. Lavolle e, T. J. Reddish,
D. P. Seccombe, Rev. Sci. Inst. 76, 013105 (2005).
5. T. Weber et al., Nature 431, 437 (2004).
6. T. N. Rescigno, M. Baertschy, W. A. Isaacs, C. W.
McCurdy, Science 286, 2474 (1999).
7. The experiments in (5) were performed on D
2
rather
than H
2
, but this has no bearing on the comparisons
in Figs. 1 and 3, and it only changes the locations of
the inner and outer turning points for the compar-
ison in Fig. 2.
8. G. Herzberg, Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure
I: Spectra of Diatomic Molecules (Van Nostrand
Reinholdt, New York, 1950), pp. 391393.
10. C. W. McCurdy, D. A. Horner, T. N. Rescigno, F. Mart n,
Phys. Rev. A. 69, 032707 (2004).
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B 37, R137 (2004).
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Phys. Rev. A. 70, 050703 (2004).
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Mol. Opt. Phys. 37, L377 (2004).
14. Th. Weber, thesis, Institut fuer Kernphysik Frankfurt
(2003), pp. 428429 (available at http://hsb.uni-frankfurt.
de/web/publications/diplom%5Fdoktor/).
15. Th. Weber, personal communication.
16. M. Walter, J. S. Briggs, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 1630 (2000).
17. L. Malegat, P. Selles, A. Huetz, J. Phys. B At. Mol. Opt.
Phys. 30, 251 (1997).
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At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 24, 1917 (1991).
19. D. P. Seccombe et al., J. Phys. B At. Mol. Opt. Phys.
35, 3767 (2002).
20. M. Walter, J. Briggs, J. Phys. B At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 32,
2487 (1999).
21. A. S. Kheifets, Phys. Rev. A. 71, 022704 (2005).
22. T. J. Reddish, J. M. Feagin, J. Phys. B At. Mol. Opt.
Phys. 32, 2473 (1999).
23. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of En-
ergy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical
Sciences, the Ministerio de Educacio n y Ciencia project
BFM2003-00194 (Spain), and at the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory was performed under contract DE-
AC02-05CH11231. W.V. is funded by the Belgian
Science Policy Office through its action return grants.
We thank Th. Weber for sharing unpublished experi-
mental data shown in Fig. 1C and D. A. Horner for
assembling the data on helium double ionization.
DC1
References
10.1126/science.1120263
Fig. 3. Effects of molecular orientation on the angular distribution of ejected electrons. For the
fixed electron ejected along the polarization direction with 90% of the kinetic energy, the mol-
ecule makes an angle with the polarization of (A) 30-, (B) 60-, and (C) 75-, and splits the
corresponding pattern for the helium atom (insets) into two lobes which vary in size and ul-
timately show a tendency to align along the molecular axis as in Fig. 1B. The cross section in (A) is
about one-fourth the magnitude of (B) and (C). (D) A case in which the molecule and fixed
electron have 10% of the kinetic energy, both at 20- from the polarization vector but on opposite
sides, yielding an ejection pattern markedly different from the corresponding atomic one.
R E P O R T S
Real-Time Observation of
Molecular Motion on a Surface
Ellen H. G. Backus,
1
Andreas Eichler,
2
Aart W. Kleyn,
1,3
Mischa Bonn
1,4
The laser-induced movement of CO molecules over a platinum surface was
followed in real time by means of ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy. Because
the CO molecules bound on different surface sites exhibit different CO
stretch vibrational frequencies, the site-to-site hopping, triggered by ex-
citation with a laser pulse, can be determined from subpicosecond changes
in the vibrational spectra. The unexpectedly fast motioncharacterized by a
500-femtosecond time constantreveals that a rotational motion of the CO
molecules, rather than pure translation, is required for this diffusion process.
This conclusion is corroborated by density functional theory calculations.
The motion of molecules from one adsorp-
tion site to another is the most elementary
process of bond-breaking and-making on a
surface and is a key step in processes such as
catalysis and crystal growth. A fundamental
understanding of surface molecular motion
requires insights on both the molecular length
and time scales, necessitating subnanometer
spatial resolution and subpicosecond temporal
resolution.
Real-space observations of site-to-site sur-
face molecular motion are readily obtained by
scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) (1).
Recent STM experiments have even demon-
strated control over molecular motion on a
surface, induced by electrons from the STM
tip (25) or by a femtosecond laser (6). These
studies have provided detailed insights into the
energetics, local directionality, and site depen-
dence of molecular surface motion.
In contrast, the direct real-time observation
of surface molecular motion has not been re-
ported to date, although such data would
provide important insights into the dynamics
and molecular mechanism behind surface
molecular motion. Indeed, a recent time-
resolved study by St2p"n et al. (7) and com-
bined laser-STM experiments by Bartels et al.
(6) have revealed detailed quantitative infor-
mation on surface motion induced by an ul-
trashort laser pulse, as also shown previously
for other surface reactions (812). However, in
these studies the time coordinate was probed
indirectly, by monitoring the equilibrated sys-
tem after the induction of molecular motion
with a laser pulse.
The direct time-resolved study of surface
processes would allow the observation of en-
ergy flow between the substrate and the vibra-
tional and rotational modes of the adsorbed
molecule, and elucidate how these modes are
coupled to the reaction coordinate (such as
diffusion). Such information would unambig-
uously reveal the detailed molecular mecha-
nism and intrinsic rates of surface reactions.
Here we report the direct real-time obser-
vation of surface molecular motion by means
of time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy to
provide real-time Bsnapshots[ of the process.
We observed subpicosecond hopping of CO
molecules from step sites to terrace sites. Both
the experiments and density functional theory
(DFT) calculations reveal that, in contrast to the
common belief that lateral motion is preceded
by excitation of only the translational mode,
excitation of the rotational mode of the mole-
cules is a crucial step in the hopping process.
Our approach relies on CO molecules hav-
ing a different internal CO stretch vibrational
frequency when adsorbed on the different sites
of a stepped Pt(533) surface (Fig. 1A) (13),
which provides indirect subnanometer spatial
resolution along the coordinate perpendicular to
the steps, as shown previously (14, 15). The Pt
surface consisted of 7 )wide flat terraces
separated by monatomic steps. The CO stretch
vibrations of CO on steps and terraces mon-
itored with femtosecond sum-frequency gen-
eration (SFG) (16) differed by 20 cm
1
(Fig.
1B), so that CO molecules on the two sites
were readily distinguished.
To obtain a surface with preferential oc-
cupation of the step sites, we made use of the
stronger binding of CO molecules on steps
(2 eV) as compared to terrace sites (1.5
eV) for isolated molecules (13, 17). Brief heat-
ing of a fully CO-saturated surface to 420 K
preferentially removed CO molecules from the
terrace sites; CO molecules at the steps de-
sorbed at a higher temperature. The heating
was terminated when the SFG spectrum (Fig.
1B, black line) revealed only CO on step sites
at 2080 cm
1
(13). The spectrum for a CO-
saturated surface, where the majority of CO is
adsorbed on terrace sites, shows a resonance at
2100 cm
1
(13), which is the vibrational fre-
quency of CO on terraces. The CO molecules
bound to the step sites are invisible because of
the effects of dipole-dipole coupling: The vi-
brational intensity from the oscillating CO
dipoles on the step sites is transferred to the
1
Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Post
Office Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands.
2
Institut
fur Materialphysik and Center for Computational
Materials Science, Universitat Wien, Sensengasse 8/12,
A-1090 Wien, Austria.
3
Stichting voor Fundamenteel
Onderzoek der Materie (FOM) Institute for Plasma
Physics Rijnhuizen, Post Office Box 1207, 3430 BE
Nieuwegein, Netherlands.
4
FOM Institute for Atomic
and Molecular Physics, Kruislaan 407, 1098 SJ Amster-
dam, Netherlands.
Fig. 1. (A) A schematic drawing of CO bound on top of step and terrace sites of the Pt(533) surface,
consisting of four-atom-wide (111) terraces and monatomic (100) steps. (B) Sum-frequency spectra for
CO bound on the step and terrace sites, exhibiting resonances at 2080 and 2100 cm
1
, respectively. a.u.,
arbitrary units. (C) SFG spectra without pump (gray dotted line) and before (10 ps, gray solid line) and
after (170 ps, black solid line) excitation of a Pt(533) surface partially covered with CO at 100 K with a
130-fs laser pulse at a fluence of 60 J m
2
. After 170 ps, the terrace peak has increased in intensity,
whereas the step peak is reduced by a factor of 2: Molecules have moved from step to terrace sites. (D)
The normalized experimental (exp) SFG spectrum at 170 ps (gray) of (C), together with the normalized
calculated spectra (black). The black solid and dashed lines show calculated spectra with and without
motion of 10% of the CO molecules of the step sites, respectively. (E) Experimental (gray) and calculated
(black) pump-probe spectra at short delay times for a surface partially covered with CO (75% of steps
and 20% of terrace sites occupied) for excitation with a laser pulse with a fluence of 60 J m
2
.
R E P O R T S
more quickly oscillating COs (at higher fre-
quency) on the terrace sites (18).
In our experiment, we induced the ener-
getically uphill motion of CO molecules from
step to terrace sites by exciting the substrate
with an ultrashort laser pulse (fluence, 60 J m
2
).
To achieve maximum sensitivity for the CO
hopping process, we started with occupancies
of 100% of the steps and 10% of the
terrace sites, the spectrum for which is shown
as the dotted line in Fig. 1C. Estimates of the
occupation of the step and terrace sites were
obtained from an uptake curve and the dipole-
dipole coupling model (18). Because de-
sorption Ebinding energy (E
bind
) 0 1.5 to
2 eV^ by laser-induced heating is readily
achieved (19), and the activation energy for
diffusion is typically a fraction of E
bind
, we
expect diffusion to be triggered at lower flu-
ences. Indeed, pump excitation of the Pt sur-
face with CO preferentially at the step sites
resulted in a steady-state situation, with CO
more evenly distributed on step and terrace
sites, as is apparent from comparing the gray
curves (pump on/pump off) in Fig. 1C. After
excitation, the terrace peak is even larger than
the step peak, because the terrace CO (15%
occupation of the terrace sites) efficiently
borrows vibrational intensity from the step
CO (90% occupation of the step sites) (18).
Thus, the system is extremely sensitive to the
motion of CO from steps to terraces.
The CO molecules can clearly undergo
laser-induced movement from step to terrace
sites. We also find that blocking the pump
laser allows the molecules to diffuse back to
the step sites in 10 s, in agreement with (20).
If the motion is induced at an initial surface
temperature of 400 K rather than 100 K, re-
population of the step sites occurs on 100-ps
time scales because of thermal diffusion; that
is, 10
11
times faster than at 100 K, which is
consistent with the diffusion coefficients re-
ported in (21).
The fraction of molecules that moves from
step to terrace sites in a single laser shot can
be determined by comparing pump-probe
spectra directly before and after the excitation
pulse. Figure 1C depicts spectra 10 ps before
the pump pulse (negative delay, under steady-
state conditions with 90% occupation of the
step sites and 15% occupation of the terrace
sites) and 170 ps after excitation. At 170 ps,
the terrace peak has gained intensity and the
step peak is reduced by a factor of 2. Taking
into account that, at 170 ps, the system is still
at slightly elevated temperature, we can re-
produce the spectrum using the dipole-dipole
coupling model (18), with 10
5
10
% of the CO
molecules on the steps hopping to terrace
sites. The calculated curve (18) is shown as
the solid curve in Fig. 1D. Hopping of 10% of
the step CO molecules to the terrace sites re-
sults in a disproportionately large intensity
decrease of 20% of the step peak (compare
dotted and solid lines in Fig. 1D) because of
dipole-dipole coupling effects. The observed
intensity change cannot be explained by de-
sorption, because at the fluence used, less than
0.1% of the molecules desorbs in a single shot.
Also, the time scale of signal recovery is not
consistent with readsorption of CO from the
background or the relaxation of laser-induced
changes in the orientation of molecules. Dif-
fusion to or from bridge sites can be excluded
as well, because no change is observed in the
bridge peaks for step and terrace around
1900 cm
1
(13).
The dynamics of the motion of the CO
molecules from step to terrace sites is obtained
from pump-probe spectra near zero delay,
shown in Fig. 1E for steady-state occupation
of 75 and 20% of the step and terrace sites,
respectively. It is evident that the ratio of step
and terrace peaks changes on ultrafast time
scales: The step peak disappears almost com-
pletely within a picosecond, indicating that the
motion from step to terrace sites occurs on this
time scale. The observation that the effect of
the pump pulse appears in the spectra already
at negative delay can be explained by the per-
turbation of the free-induction decay (22, 23).
The details of the mechanism and rate of
the laser-induced diffusion process are con-
tained in the time-dependent fraction of the
step molecules. This information was ex-
tracted from the data by a full spectral sim-
ulation. The spectral changes are caused by
two effects: (i) the change of the occupation of
the different sites due to motion of CO mol-
ecules from step to terrace sites and (ii) the
effects of the laser-induced heating of the
system on the internal CO stretch vibration.
The latter was determined in independent mea-
surements at a lower fluence at which no laser-
induced motion occurs. Laser excitation results
in a transient redshift, line broadening, and
decrease in intensity of the CO stretch vi-
bration for CO on both step and terrace sites,
even when no motion occurs (Fig. 2). This
laser excitation of the Pt substrate still creates a
hot electron gas, from which energy transfer to
the CO molecules can occur, resulting in the
excitation of the three CO low-frequency
modes: (i) the frustrated translation, (ii) the
frustrated rotation, and (iii) the PtCO stretch.
The degree of electron-induced excitation of
each mode can be characterized by a time-
dependent temperature (T
ads
). The internal CO
stretch is not itself excited, because its frequen-
cy is too high, but it is affected (Fig. 2) by
excitation of the low-frequency En 0 35 cm
1
(19)^ frustrated translation mode through an-
harmonic coupling (22, 23). The relation be-
tween this excitation (expressed in T
ads
) and the
internal CO stretch frequency can be obtained
from temperature-dependent measurements at
thermal equilibrium (24).
This sequence of eventsexcitation of the
substrate electrons, energy transfer to mode (i)
of the CO molecules, and the associated
changes in the CO stretch vibrationcan be
described with a friction model (25), the result
of which is shown as black lines in Fig. 2. The
key parameter of this model is the time scale
on which energy flows between the electrons
of the Pt and the frustrated translational mode
(i), t
el
. To reproduce the data in Fig. 2,
coupling times of t
el
0 2.5 T 0.5 ps and 4 T
0.5 ps for terrace and step, respectively, are
required. The shortcoming of the model in
reproducing the intensity for small negative
delay originates from an increase of the
Raman tensor due to changes in the electronic
structure of the Pt substrate immediately after
laser excitation, as verified in an independent
measurement without CO. However, width
and central frequency are well reproduced.
These coupling times can now, in combi-
nation with the dipole-dipole coupling model,
be used to calculate the SFG spectra of Fig. 1E,
with inclusion of the hopping process. To
reproduce the dynamic behavior of the terrace
peak, the magnitude of its peak shift and line
width change have to be divided by 2, pre-
sumably because of the appearance of addi-
tional terrace CO molecules during the hopping
process. The time scale of the peak shift and
line width is unchanged, however. In the
Fig. 2. (A) Experimental
(gray) and calculated
(black) time-resolved
sum-frequency spectra
for CO on Pt(533), with
occupation of the step
sites at 100 K. At time
zero, a 130-fs pump pulse
with a fluence of 11 J m
2
excites the Pt substrate. (B
and C) Central frequency
obtained by fitting a Lo-
rentzian line shape to the
experimental (gray dots)
and calculated (black lines)
SFGspectra (A) for COon
the step (B) and terrace
(C) sites, the latter with a
fluence of 16 J m
2
.
p e t s
p e t s
e c a r r e t
A B
C
0 8 0 2
8 7 0 2
6 7 0 2
4 7 0 2
8 9 0 2
6 9 0 2
4 9 0 2
2 9 0 2
0 5 1 0 0 1 0 5 0
) s p (
(
a
.
u
.
)
0 0 1 2 0 8 0 2 0 6 0 2
m c (
1 -
)
s p
s p
s p
s p
s p
s p
s p
s p
s p
(
c
m
-
1
)
R E P O R T S
modeling, the time-dependent hopping proba-
bility from the step site to the terrace site is
approximated by a function that is formed by a
Gaussian rising edge, followed by an exponen-
tial decay (26). The integral of this function
gives the time-dependent step site occupation.
The calculations confirm quantitatively
that, in order to reproduce the data at short
delays (Fig. 1E), a subpicosecond change of
the site occupation is required, as is already
evident from the raw data. The resulting step
site occupation is plotted in Fig. 3A. The
shape of the curve of Fig. 3A is very sensitive
to the spectra at small positive delay. The time-
dependent calculated SFGspectra are plotted in
Fig. 1E and are in good agreement with the
experimental data. As is the case in Fig. 2A,
the calculated intensity is slightly too low at
small negative delays. The exponential time
obtained from the calculation is 500 T 150 fs.
It has been generally assumed that molecular
diffusion of diatomic adsorbates is controlled
by excitation of the frustrated translation (inset
in Fig. 3) (4, 5, 7). Although this model is
intuitively appealing, the actual reaction coordi-
nate may involve a more complex combination
of modes. We calculated the time-dependent
hopping probability expected for motion con-
trolled by the frustrated translational mode.
Using the t
el
0 4 ps coupling time derived from
Fig. 2 for CO on steps, we can directly calculate
the time-dependent temperature associated with
the frustrated translational mode (T
ads
) (Fig. 3B)
and calculate the hopping probability according
to an Arrhenius-type expression P
hop
(t) 0
q(t)k
0
expAE
a
/Ek
B
T
ads
(t)^Z, given the activation
energy (E
a
) of 0.4 eV (21) and the prefactor (k
0
)
of 10
12
s
1
(20).
Remarkably, the agreement between the
calculated result and the experimentally ob-
served hopping probability (Fig. 3C, obtained
by differentiating the hop fraction of Fig. 3A) is
very poor, despite the independent calibration
of the temperature of the frustrated translational
mode with SFG (Fig. 2). However, quantitative
agreement between model and data is obtained
for a hopping process controlled by excitation
of the frustrated rotational mode Emode (ii), n 0
411 cm
1
(24), inset in Fig. 3^. This mode (see
Fig. 3B for its time-dependent temperature) is
coupled to the hot electrons in the Pt, with t
el
0
0.1 ps as established in (19) and also in
agreement with the coupling time previously
reported for this mode on Pt(111) (23). Because
of this very efficient coupling, hopping can
occur on the observed fast time scale. Not only
was the temporal evolution reproduced, but
also the calculated total hop fraction of 10%
is in good agreement with our experimentally
observed 10
5
10
%. No additional coupling to
the frustrated translation is required to account
for our experimental data (27). Thus, a ro-
tational motion rather than a translational
motion is essential for the hopping process of
CO molecules from step to terrace sites.
These experimental observations are corrob-
orated by DFT calculations (17), which reveal
that the barrier for motion onto the terrace next to
the step (0.4 eV) is substantially lower than
that for motion onto the terrace down the step
(0.6 eV); the majority of the hopping CO
molecules will migrate onto the upper terrace.
The calculated value of the diffusion barrier is
in good agreement with the 0.4 eV observed
experimentally for COon a stepped Pt surface
(21). The reaction pathway for the motion of CO
onto the upper terrace is depicted in Fig. 4. From
the initial (is) and intermediate (im) states, one
can see that the CO molecules moving onto the
upper terrace first perform a frustrated transla-
tional motion: The C and O atoms move in the
same direction. This is a joint motion around
the center of the underlying Pt atom (28), not
parallel to the surface. At the first transition
state (ts1), however, a rotational motion of the
molecule, with the C and O atoms moving in
opposite directions, compensates for this tilting,
so that the reaction intermediate (ri), with CO
bound in a bridge configuration, can be reached.
To reach the final state (fs), a similar motion
has to be performed. The entire process thus
requires excitation of both the frustrated trans-
lation and frustrated rotation, but the former
(frequency, 35 cm
1
) is thermally excited at
100 K, effectively resulting in a precursor state.
Hence, excitation of the frustrated rotation is
pivotal for CO hopping, in agreement with our
experimental observations. For diffusion on a flat
surface as well, most likely the frustrated rotation
is crucial. Because of the atomic corrugation of
the surface, the frustrated translational mode
always involves rotation of the molecular axis
with respect to the surface normal. This rotation
has to be compensated for in order for the
molecule to settle on the neighboring site, which
can only be achieved by excitation of the
frustrated rotational mode. Our findings illustrate
the intricacies of mode coupling at surfaces:
Contrary to common belief, the frustrated
rotational mode is strongly coupled to the
Fig. 3. (A) Occupation of the step sites as a
function of time after the pump pulse with a
fluence of 60 J m
2
, obtained by fitting the spec-
tra of Fig. 1E, assuming exponential hopping
dynamics and a Gaussian response function.
(See text for details about the fitting procedure.)
(B) Time-dependent electron temperature after
excitation at time 0 0, with a pump pulse with an
adsorbed fluence of 60 J m
2
, together with the
temperatures of the frustrated translational (elec-
tronic coupling time, 4 ps) and the frustrated ro-
tational (electronic coupling time, 0.1 ps) modes.
(C) Experimental and calculated hopping proba-
bility as a function of time. The experimental
curve was obtained by differentiating the step
occupation of (A). Calculations were performed
for hopping due to excitation of the frustrated
translation and rotation modes, using the time-
dependent adsorbate temperature of (B). Clearly,
coupling along the frustrated rotation is in
agreement with the experimental results: The
shape and intensity are very well reproduced
(note that the calculation is not scaled to fit). The
inset depicts the molecular motion associated
with the two modes.
Fig. 4. Reaction pathways for the diffusion of CO
from the step sites to the upper terrace, obtained
with DFT calculations (calculated for the situation
in which 75% of all step sites are initially oc-
cupied.). To go from the initial state (is) to the
final state (fs), the CO molecule must pass two
transition states (ts1 and ts2) and a reaction in-
termediate (ri). Whereas initially the motion is
dominated by the frustrated translation, the
molecule has to perform a rotational motion as
well to overcome ts1. After passing ts1, the
molecule arrives in the reaction intermediate (ri),
consisting of a bridge state. Before reaching fs,
CO bound atop the terrace site, the molecule
again performs a translational and rotational
motion. Experimentally, it has been concluded
that there is a significant tilt angle away from the
surface normal for CO on step sites (29). Never-
theless, even for tilted molecules the crucial step
over the transition state is still the frustrated
rotation: To reach the final position, the PtC
bond has to be broken and reformed in the new
position on the terrace, requiring a rotation of the
molecule. An initial change in the tilt angle can be
achieved by a translation motion.
R E P O R T S
coordinate for diffusion, and, in the case of our
experiment, dominates the diffusion away from
step sites.
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vacuum chamber with a base pressure of 2 10
j11
mbar, in combination with a Ti:sapphire femtosecond
laser system (Quantronix, Titan). For the femtosecond
pump-probe SFG experiments, three laser pulses were
used to induce the motion of CO molecules: the SFG
probe pair [a combination of a weak infrared (IR) and
weak visible beam] and an intense visible pump beam
(130 fs). Both the IR pulses [2080 cm
1
, full width at
half maximum (FWHM) 0 200 cm
1
, 6.5 mJ], gener-
ated by a traveling-wave optical parametric ampli-
fier of superfluorescence, and the visible upconversion
pulses (12550 cm
1
, FWHM 0 8 cm
1
, 4.5 mJ) were
p-polarized and focused onto the surface by the
same parabolic mirror ( f 0 100 mm). 1.3 mJ of the
800-nm laser output was used as a pump pulse (p-
polarized). The beam diameter of the pump beam was
1 mm, which is approximately four times larger than
the diameter of the probe beams. The time resolution
was better than 200 fs. The SFG signal was detected
with a spectrometer and a charge-coupled device
camera. To minimize steady-state heating effects of
the substrate, the laser frequency was reduced to
83 Hz by a chopper. Unless otherwise noted, the ex-
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of 100 K. For the highest-excitation fluences, very small
amounts (G1 per mil per shot) of CO, dosed via
background dosing at 100 K, were desorbing. Therefore,
the experiments at fluences exceeding 50 J m
2
were
performed with a CO background pressure of 91
10
j8
mbar to keep a constant surface coverage.
17. Structures and binding energies were calculated with
the Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP) (see
http://cms.mpi.univie.ac.at/vasp/). VASP is a plane
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(3 2 1) k points. A cutoff energy for the expan-
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tial time scale is the largest of the two, and thus
provides an upper limit for the time scale on which
adsorbate motion occurs.
27. Coupling to the frustrated rotation is not observed in
the SFG spectra of Fig. 1, because the anharmonic
coupling between the frustrated rotation and the
internal CO stretch vibration is apparently too small.
The data at low fluence (11 J m
2
) can be described
with only anharmonic coupling to the frustrated
translation without invoking any effect of the
frustrated rotation. This allows us to determine an
upper limit for the anharmonic coupling between the
frustrated rotation and the internal CO stretch vi-
bration. Based on the known values for the frequen-
cies of the different modes and the anharmonic
coupling for the frustrated translation (24), the ab-
solute value for the coupling of the frustrated rotation
is less than 1 cm
1
. This will result in an additional shift
to the spectra in Fig. 1E of at most 2.5 cm
1
.
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Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO).
28 September 2005; accepted 25 October 2005
Published online 10 November 2005;
10.1126/science.1120693
Include this information when citing this paper.
Multistep Synthesis of a
Radiolabeled Imaging Probe
Using Integrated Microfluidics
Chung-Cheng Lee,
1
* Guodong Sui,
3,4
* Arkadij Elizarov,
2
*
Chengyi Jenny Shu,
5
Young-Shik Shin,
2
Alek N. Dooley,
6
Jiang Huang,
8
Antoine Daridon,
8
Paul Wyatt,
8
David Stout,
4
Hartmuth C. Kolb,
3,9
Owen N. Witte,
3,5,7
Nagichettiar Satyamurthy,
3
James R. Heath,
2,3,4
Michael E. Phelps,
3,4
Stephen R. Quake,
1,10
. Hsian-Rong Tseng
3,4
.
Microreactor technology has shown potential for optimizing synthetic efficiency,
particularly in preparing sensitive compounds. We achieved the synthesis of
an [
18
F]fluoride-radiolabeled molecular imaging probe, 2-deoxy-2-[
18
F]fluoro-
D-glucose ([
18
F]FDG), in an integrated microfluidic device. Five sequential
processes[
18
F]fluoride concentration, water evaporation, radiofluorination,
solvent exchange, and hydrolytic deprotectionproceeded with high radio-
chemical yield and purity and with shorter synthesis time relative to conven-
tional automated synthesis. Multiple doses of [
18
F]FDG for positron emission
tomography imaging studies in mice were prepared. These results, which con-
stitute a proof of principle for automated multistep syntheses at the nanogram
to microgram scale, could be generalized to a range of radiolabeled substrates.
Continuous-flow microreactors (13) have
recently been used to manipulate individual
chemical processes on nanoliter to microliter
scales. The advantages of such chemical re-
action circuits include enhanced heat transfer
performance, faster diffusion times and reac-
tion kinetics, and improved reaction product
selectivity (46). For example, in microflu-
idic environments, triphasic hydrogenation
(7) can be achieved with higher reaction effi-
ciency, the inorganic synthesis of high-quality
CdSe nanocrystals has been demonstrated (8),
and chemical processes involving highly re-
active intermediates can be executed with
superior reaction selectivity (9). However, chal-
lenges remain in applying the technology to
sequential syntheses of fine chemicals and
pharmaceuticals.
In multistep procedures, flow-through sys-
tems are plagued by cross-contamination of
reagents from different steps; side reactions
and poor overall yield result from the inability
1
Department of Bioengineering,
2
Division of Chemis-
try and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
3
Department
of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology,
4
Crump In-
stitute for Molecular Imaging,
5
Department of Micro-
biology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics,
6
UCLA
Mass Spectrometry Facility,
7
Howard Hughes Medical
Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
90095, USA.
8
Fluidigm Corporation, 7100 Shoreline
Court, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
9
Molec-
ular Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc.,
6140 Bristol Parkway, Culver City, CA 90230, USA.
10
Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University,
Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
E-mail: [email protected] (S.R.Q.); hrtseng@mednet.
ucla.edu(H.-R.T.)
R E P O R T S
to confine each individual step. Microfluidic
batch devices with integrated microvalves
show promise for the automation of multiple,
parallel, and/or sequential chemical processes
on a single chip under digital control. By anal-
ogy, this technology has already been suc-
cessfully applied to biological problems (10).
A compelling application is in the prepa-
ration of organic compounds bearing short-
lived isotopes whose emission permits detailed
mapping of biological processes in living or-
gans. In conjunction with positron emission
tomography (PET) (11), the development
of sensitive radiolabeled molecular probes is
crucial for expanding the capability of target-
specific in vivo imaging for biological research,
drug discovery, and molecular diagnostics. The
United States already has a vast network of
PET cyclotron production sites in place as con-
venient sources for radiolabeled precursors Ee.g.,
E
18
F^fluoride, E
11
C^CO
2
, and E
11
C^methyl io-
dide (MeI)^ and a few labeled biomarkers.
The capacity for diversifying radiolabeled probe
structure is therefore limited only by the cost,
speed, and efficiency of synthetic methods.
A central challenge in this regard is the half-
life of the radiolabels.
The synthesis (12) of the E
18
F^-labeled
molecular imaging probe 2-deoxy-2-E
18
F^fluoro-
D-glucose (E
18
F^FDG) in an integrated micro-
fluidic chip was chosen as a proof-of-principle
study. This compound is the most widely used
radiolabeled molecular probe, with more than
1 million doses for patient diagnosis produced
in the United States in 2004 and a similar
number in the rest of the world (13). The
brief half-life of E
18
F^fluorine (t
1/2
0 110 min)
makes rapid synthesis of doses essential. To-
day, E
18
F^FDG is routinely produced in about
50 min with the use of commercial synthe-
sizers (14), which are expensive ($140,000)
and produce 10 to 100 doses in a single run.
Obtaining high yields with short synthesis
times is even more critical for molecular im-
aging biomarkers bearing positron-emitting
radioisotopes with shorter half-lives, such as
11
C (t
1/2
0 20 min) and
13
N (t
1/2
0 10 min). A
unique aspect of PET molecular imaging
probes is that only nanogram masses per dose
of the radiopharmaceuticals are administered
to subjects.
The radiopharmaceutical requirements of
expedited chemical kinetics and low-mass
quantities of product, together with the emerg-
ing need to expand and diversify the cat-
alog of molecular imaging probes, provide a
unique opportunity for the use of integrated
microfluidics. In addition, the preparation of
E
18
F^FDG provides a conceptual model for
the preparation of other molecules (including
pharmaceuticals) because it includes common
steps required in many chemical syntheses.
We developed a microfluidic chemical re-
action circuit (Fig. 1) capable of executing
the five chemical processes of the syntheses
of both E
18
F^FDG and E
19
F^FDG within a
nanoliter-scale reaction vessel. Conceptually,
however, the chip was designed to demonstrate
the digital control of sequential chemical steps,
variable chemical environments, and variable
physical conditions, all on a single chip. It
was also designed to produce sufficient quan-
tities of E
18
F^FDG (100 to 200 mCi) for mouse
imaging. The chip thus has the capability of
synthesizing the equivalent of a single mouse
dose of E
18
F^FDG on demand. The device ac-
celerates the synthetic process and reduces
the quantity of reagents and solvents required.
This integrated microfluidic chip platform can
be extended to other radiolabeled molecular
imaging probes.
Some of the components required for con-
ducting sequential chemical processes within
microfluidics are similar to those previously
demonstrated for biological analysis: isolation
of distinct regions on the chip with micro-
mechanical valves for nanoliter chemical reac-
tions (15), acceleration of diffusion-dominated
mixing within a confined volume with a rotary
pump (16), and creation of in situ affinity
columns (10). However, two additional tech-
nical advances were required to perform
effective chemical synthesis. First, an in situ
ion exchange column was combined with a
rotary pump to concentrate radioisotopes by
nearly three orders of magnitude, thereby op-
timizing the kinetics of the desired reactions.
Second, the gas-permeable poly(dimethylsilox-
ane) (PDMS) matrix allows solvent exchange
to occur within the microfluidic channel
through direct evaporation, thereby allowing
for the sequential execution of chemical re-
actions in PDMS-compatible solvents (17).
A solution inside a PDMS-based microfluidic
reactor can be heated above its normal (atmo-
spheric) boiling point to provide further ki-
netic enhancement. Pressure is mediated not
only by the heat supplied to the chip, but also
by the porosity of the PDMS matrix. Thus,
PDMS plays a role akin to the safety valve of
a pressure cooker that regulates the Bcooking
pressure[ within a critical range. Our device
permits computer-controlled mixing of spatial-
ly isolated reagents under individually regu-
lated solvent and temperature conditions.
Fig. 1. (A) Schematic
representation of a
chemical reaction circuit
used in the production
of 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-
glucose (FDG). Five se-
quential processes are
shown: (i) concentration
of dilute fluoride ion
with the use of a mini-
aturized anion exchange
column located in a
rectangle-shaped fluoride
concentration loop, (ii)
solvent exchange from
water to dry MeCN, (iii)
fluorination of the D-
mannose triflate pre-
cursor 1, (iv) solvent
exchange back to water,
and (v) acidic hydrolysis
of the fluorinated in-
termediate 2a (or 2b)
in a ring-shaped reac-
tion loop. Nanogram
amounts of FDG (3a,
3b) are the final product.
The operation of the
circuit is controlled by
pressure-driven valves,
with their delegated re-
sponsibilities illustrated
by their colors: red for
regular valves (for iso-
lation), yellow for pump
valves (for fluidic me-
tering circulation), and
blue for sieve valves
(for trapping anion ex-
change beads in the
column module). (B)
Optical micrograph of the central area of the circuit. The various channels have been loaded
with food dyes to help visualize the different components of the microfluidic chip; colors are as in
(A), plus green for fluidic channels. Inset: Actual view of the device; a penny (diameter 18.9 mm) is
shown for comparison.
R E P O R T S
The production (12) of E
18
F^FDG is based
on five sequential chemical processes (Fig. 1A):
(i) concentration of the dilute E
18
F^fluoride
mixture (18) solution (G1 ppm, specific ac-
tivity 5000 to 10,000 Ci/mmol), obtained
from the proton bombardment of E
18
O^water
at a cyclotron facility (19); (ii) solvent ex-
change from water to acetonitrile (MeCN);
(iii) E
18
F^fluoride substitution of the triflate
group in the D-mannose triflate precursor 1
in dry MeCN; (iv) solvent exchange from
MeCN to water; and (v) acidic hydrolysis
of the fluorinated intermediate 2a to obtain
E
18
F^FDG (3a).
The concentration of E
18
F^fluoride mixture
(18) obtained from a proton bombardment of
E
18
O^water is usually below 1 ppm. We created
a miniaturized anion exchange column (Fig. 2)
in the microfluidic device to concentrate the
E
18
F^fluoride mixture solution to 100 ppm.
Sieve valves (Fig. 2B) were created using a
square-profiled fluidic channel and a control
membrane. Actuation of this membrane pro-
hibits the passage of large particles while still
permitting the solution to pass along the edges
of the channel. Using these sieve valves to trap
anion exchange beads, we obtained the anion
exchange column (Fig. 2, C and D) for the
concentration of the E
18
F^fluoride mixture.
We performed a proof-of-concept trial (Fig.
3) with the use of nonradioactive E
19
F^fluoride.
The acquired experimental parameters could
be used directly for the production of radioac-
tive E
18
F^FDG. For the concentration of dilute
fluoride (process i, Fig. 1A), a NaF solution
(5 ppm) was loaded into the anion exchange
column (Fig. 3A). The loading rate (5.0 nl/s)
was controlled with a metering pump. After
the fluoride solution was loaded completely,
a K
2
CO
3
solution (0.25 M, 18 nl) was intro-
duced to fill the rectangular loop. The circu-
lating pump module was then turned on so that
the K
2
CO
3
solution (0.25 M, 18 nl) could loop
through the column continuously to produce a
concentrated KF solution.
Because the fluorination (process iii) of the
D-mannose triflate precursor requires anhydrous
conditions, a digitally controlled hot plate was
used to heat the reaction circuit for removing
water (process ii) from the concentrated KF
Fig. 2. Schematic representations of the operational mechanisms of (A) a regular valve having a
round-profiled fluidic channel, and (B) a sieve valve having a square-profiled fluidic channel. When
pressure is introduced into the control channels, the elastic membranes expand into the fluidic
channels. In a regular valve, the fluidic channel is completely sealed because of the perfect fit
between the expanded membranes and the round profile of the fluidic channel. In a sieve valve,
the square-profiled fluidic channel is only partially closed, which allows fluid to flow along the two
edges. Sieve valves can be used to confine solid objects within the fluidic channel but allow liquid
to flow through. (C) Schematic illustration of the loading of anion exchange beads into a column
module incorporating one fluidic channel and five sieve and five regular valves (, closed valve). A
suspended solution of anion exchange beads is introduced into the column modules where five
sieve valves and five regular valves operate cooperatively to trap anion exchange beads inside the
fluidic channel (total volume 10 nl). A miniaturized anion exchange column for fluoride
concentration is achieved when the fluidic channel is fully loaded. (D) A snapshot of the bead-
loading process in action.
Fig. 3. Schematic diagrams show-
ing the four most critical steps of
FDG production in the reaction
circuit. (A) Concentration of dilute
fluoride ion. With the cooperation
of regular valves, a dilute fluoride
solution (blue) is introduced into the
ion exchange column by a meter-
ing pump. (B) Evaporation of water
from the concentrated KF solution.
After transferring the concentrated
KF solution from the fluoride con-
centration loop to the ring-shaped
reaction loop, the circuit is heated
on a hot plate to evaporate water
from the reaction loop. Meanwhile,
all of the surrounding regular valves
are completely closed and the circu-
lating pump is turned on. (C) Fluori-
nation reaction. After introduction of
a MeCN solution (green) of Kryptofix
and the D-mannose triflate 1 into
the reaction loop, the inhomoge-
neous reaction mixture is isolated in
the reaction loop, mixed using the
circulating pump, and heated under a
computer-controlled gradient to gen-
erate the intermediate 2a (or 2b).
(D) Hydrolysis reaction. After evaporation of the MeCN, an HCl solution (blue) is introduced into the reaction loop to hydrolyze the intermediate 2a (or 2b) to
give the final product, FDG (3a, 3b).
R E P O R T S
solution (Fig. 3B). Dry MeCN was loaded into
the reaction loop and the reaction circuit was
heated again to completely extrude any remain-
ing moisture. Moisture and MeCN vapor can
penetrate and escape the gas-permeable PDMS
matrix. Once the circuit had cooled to room tem-
perature, an anhydrous MeCN solution (40 nl)
containing the D-mannose triflate 1 (92 ng, lim-
iting reagent) and Kryptofix 222 (364 ng) was
introduced into the ring-shaped reaction loop con-
taining the dried KF. This heterogeneous reaction
mixture was mixed inside the loop using the cir-
culating pump. During this step (process iii),
the circuit was heated (100-C for 30 s and
then 120-C for 50 s) to yield the fluorinated
intermediate 2b (Fig. 3C), as analyzed by gas
chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS).
This analysis indicated that the conversion yield
for the fluorination process was 98%. After
removal of MeCN by direct evaporation, 3 N
HCl solution (40 nl) was injected into the circuit,
and the hydrolysis (Fig. 3D, processes iv and v)
of the intermediate 2b was conducted at 60-C
to obtain E
19
F^FDG in 990% purity, according
to GC-MS analysis. The entire synthesis was
reproduced on multiple chips.
Radioactive E
18
F^FDG was also produced
in the reaction circuit by starting from the
radioactive E
18
F^fluoride mixture. For this
demonstration, only 720 mCi of E
18
F^fluoride
(limiting reagent) in 1 ml of E
18
O^water
was used. Because of the relatively high load-
ing rate (65 nl/s) applied, only 500 mCi
of E
18
F^fluoride was trapped in the column.
Then, 324 ng of D-mannose triflate was in-
troduced into the circuit to obtain 190 mCi of
E
18
F^FDG with a radiochemical yield of 38%
and a radiochemical purity of 97.6% (20), ac-
cording to radiothin layer chromatography
(TLC) analysis. This sequential production of
E
18
F^FDG was completed in automated fash-
ion within 14 min (21), and similar results
were observed across multiple runs.
We also designed a second-generation
chemical reaction circuit with the capacity to
synthesize larger E
18
F^FDG doses (22). This
chip has a coin-shaped reactor (volume 5 ml)
equipped with a vacuum vent. It was used to
synthesize 1.74 mCi of E
18
F^FDG, an amount
sufficient for several mouse experiments.
From the purified and sterilized product (Fig.
4A), two doses (375 mCi and 272 mCi) were
used for microPET- and microCT-based mo-
lecular imaging of two mouse models of can-
cer (23). One of the mouse images is shown
in Fig. 4B as a two-dimensional projection.
This circuit design should ultimately yield
large enough quantities (i.e., 9100 mCi) of
E
18
F^FDG for multiple human PET scans,
which typically use 10 mCi per patient.
A major limitation (17) of the current chips
involves the PDMS elastomer. This material is
not chemically resistant to most organic solvents,
so it seriously limits the variety of chemical re-
actions that can be executed within integrated
microfluidic environments. New solvent-resistant
elastomeric materials (24) have been introduced
for integrated microfluidic chips. Therefore, the
above technology shows promise for a broad
range of chemical syntheses. In addition to the
flexibility of rapidly arranging unit operations on
an integrated microfluidic chip for specific reac-
tions, newcircuit designs take less than 2 days to
proceed from a computer-aided design (CAD)
based proposal to a working chip. Taken togeth-
er with the low production costs for the chips,
these chemical reaction circuits offer an appeal-
ing versatility for molecular biomarker and phar-
maceutical chemistry, among other applications.
1. A. de Mello, R. Wootton, Lab Chip 2, 7n (2002).
2. Y. Kikutani, T. Kitamori, Macromol. Rapid Commun.
25, 158 (2004).
3. K. Jahnisch, V. Hessel, H. Lowe, M. Baerns, Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 43, 406 (2004).
4. P. D. I. Fletcher et al., Tetrahedron 58, 4735 (2002).
5. O. Worz, K. P. Jackel, T. Richter, A. Wolf, Chem. Eng.
Sci. 56, 1029 (2001).
6. P. Watts, S. J. Haswell, Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 7, 380
(2003).
7. J. Kobayashi et al., Science 304, 1305 (2004).
8. E. M. Chan, R. A. Mathies, A. P. Alivisatos, Nano Lett.
3, 199 (2003).
9. T. Kawaguchi, H. Miyata, K. Ataka, K. Mae, J. Yoshida,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 44, 2413 (2005).
10. J. W. Hong, V. Studer, G. Hang, W. F. Anderson, S. R.
Quake, Nat. Biotechnol. 22, 435 (2004).
11. M. E. Phelps, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 97, 9226
(2000).
12. K. Hamacher, H. H. Coenen, G. Stocklin, J. Nucl. Med.
27, 235 (1986).
13. PETNet Radiopharmaceuticals, personal communication.
14. H. C. Padgett et al., Appl. Radiat. Isot. 40, 433 (1989).
15. T. Thorsen, S. J. Maerkl, S. R. Quake, Science 298, 580
(2002).
16. H. P. Chou, M. A. Unger, S. R. Quake, Biomed. Micro-
devices 3, 323 (2001).
17. Solvent incompatibility of PDMS limits the applica-
tion of PDMS-based integrated microfluidics for per-
forming organic reactions. When PDMS-based devices
are exposed to certain organic solvents (e.g., hydro-
carbons, toluene, and chloroform), the PDMS materials
swell, leading to delamination and malfunction of the
devices. Nonetheless, some low-solubility organic sol-
vents (e.g., acetonitrile, dimethylsulfoxide, and glycer-
ol) are compatible with performing organic reactions
in microfluidic channels made in PDMS. For a study on
solvent compatibility of PDMS, see (25).
18. [
19
F]Fluoride ion (0.2 ppm) is an ubiquitous con-
taminant in [
18
O]water, and thus [
18
F]fluoride ion
produced from it will have a total fluoride (radio-
active nonradioactive) ion concentration of about
0.2 ppm. The concentration of [
18
F] fluoride ion in
this mixture is generally G10 parts per thousand.
19. N. Satyamurthy, in PET, Molecular Imaging and Its
Biological Applications, M. E. Phelps, Ed. (Springer-
Verlag, New York, 2004), pp. 217269.
20. Radioactive reaction wastes, including unreacted
[
18
F]fluoride and contaminated microfluidic chips, were
stored in a lead-shielded area until they decayed
to background levels, which takes about 24 hours.
21. The complete 14-min synthesis of FDG inside the
circuit was recorded and compressed into a 2-min
movie clip (movie S1).
22. See supporting data on Science Online.
23. The tumor model used was a strongly immunogenic,
nonmetastasizing, retrovirally induced rhabdomyo-
sarcoma (M-MSV/M-MuLV). MSV is a replication-
defective, acutely transforming retrovirus carried with
helper activity provided by M-MuLV, which encodes
the gag, pol, and env components that are necessary
for cell infection and replication. Rhabdomyosarcomas
develop at the intramuscular inoculation site after a
short latency period (7 to 10 days) and regress over a
period of 4 to 5 weeks after the induction of a strong
immune reaction in immunocompetent adult mice.
24. J. P. Rolland, R. M. Van Dam, D. A. Schorzman, S. R. Quake,
J. M. DeSimone, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 2322 (2004).
25. J. N. Lee, C. Park, G. M. Whitesides, Anal. Chem. 75,
6544 (2003).
26. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energyfunded
Institute for Molecular Medicine laboratory, the Na-
tional Cancer Institute, the Norton Simon Research
Foundation, the UCLA SOMI training program, NIH
training grant 5T32-GM07616, and a collaboration
between Molecular Imaging/Siemens and Fluidigm.
We thank H. Padgett at Siemens for his contribution
in radiochemical experiments.
DC1
Figs. S1 to S7
Movie S1
References
15 August 2005; accepted 15 November 2005
10.1126/science.1118919
Fig. 4. (A) Analytical TLC profile of the un-
purified mixture (blue curve) obtained upon
the production of [
18
F]FDG in the second-
generation reaction circuit, indicating that the
radiochemical purity of the FDG production is
96.2%. The two peaks have R
f
values of 0.0
and 0.36, corresponding to [
18
F]fluoride and
[
18
F]FDG, respectively. After purification and
sterilization, the [
18
F]FDG (black curve) with
99.3% radiochemical purity was used for mouse
microPET/microCT imaging. (B) Projection view
of microPET/microCT image of a tumor-bearing
mouse injected with [
18
F]FDG produced in a
microfluidic chip.
R E P O R T S
Direct Experimental Evidence of a
Growing Length Scale
Accompanying the Glass Transition
L. Berthier,
1
* G. Biroli,
2
J.-P. Bouchaud,
3,4
L. Cipelletti,
1
D. El Masri,
1
D. LHote,
4
F. Ladieu,
4
M. Pierno
1
Understanding glass formation is a challenge, because the existence of a true
glass state, distinct from liquid and solid, remains elusive: Glasses are liquids that
have become too viscous to flow. An old idea, as yet unproven experimentally, is
that the dynamics becomes sluggish as the glass transition approaches, because
increasingly larger regions of the material have to move simultaneously to allow
flow. We introduce new multipoint dynamical susceptibilities to estimate
quantitatively the size of these regions and provide direct experimental evidence
that the glass formation of molecular liquids and colloidal suspensions is ac-
companied by growing dynamic correlation length scales.
Why does the viscosity of glass-forming
liquids increase so dramatically when ap-
proaching the glass transition? Despite dec-
ades of research, a clear explanation of this
phenomenon, common to materials as diverse
as molecular glasses, polymers, and colloids,
is still lacking (1, 2). The conundrum is that
the static structure of a glass is indistin-
guishable from that of the corresponding
liquid, with no sign of increasing static
correlation length scales accompanying the
glass transition. Numerical simulations per-
formed well above the glass temperature, T
g
,
reveal instead the existence of a growing
dynamic length scale (37) associated with
dynamic heterogeneities (8). Experiments
(812) have indirectly suggested a character-
istic length scale of about 5 to 20 molecular
diameters at T
g
, but its time and temperature
dependencies, which are crucial for relating
this finding to the glass transition, were not
determined.
We present quantitative experimental ev-
idence that glass formation in molecular
liquids and colloids is accompanied by at
least one growing dynamic length scale. We
introduce experimentally accessible multi-
point dynamic susceptibilities that quantify
the correlated nature of the dynamics in glass
formers. Because these measurements can be
made using a wide variety of techniques in
vastly different materials, a detailed charac-
terization of the microscopic mechanisms
governing the formation of amorphous glassy
states becomes possible.
Supercooled liquids are believed to exhibit
spatially heterogeneous dynamics over length
scales that grow when approaching the glass
state (1, 1315). This heterogeneity implies
the existence of significant fluctuations of the
dynamics, because the number of indepen-
dently relaxing regions is reduced. Numerical
simulations have focused on a Bfour-point[
dynamic susceptibility c
4
(t), which quantifies
the amplitude of spontaneous fluctuations
around the average dynamics (37). The
latter is usually measured through ensemble-
averaged correlators, F(t) 0 bdA(t)dA(0) 0
bC(t), where dA(t) 0 A(t) bA represents the
spontaneous fluctuation of an observable
A(t), such as the density. Dynamic correlation
leads to large fluctuations of C(t), measured
by c
4
(t) 0 NbdC
2
(t), where N is the number
of particles in the system. The susceptibility
c
4
(t) typically presents a nonmonotonic time
dependence with a peak centered at the liquid_s
relaxation time (16). The height of this peak is
proportional to the volume within which
correlated motion takes place (4, 5, 15, 16).
Unfortunately, numerical findings are limited
to short time scales (10
j7
s) and temper-
atures far above T
g
. Experimentally, detecting
spontaneous fluctuations of dynamic correla-
tors remains an open challenge, because
dynamic measurements have to be resolved in
both space and time (17).
Induced fluctuations are more easily ac-
cessible experimentally than spontaneous
ones and can be related to one another by
fluctuation-dissipation theorems. We intro-
duce a dynamic susceptibility defined as the
response of the correlator F(t) to a per-
turbing field x.
c
x
t 0
Ft
x
1
The relaxation time of supercooled liquids
increases abruptly upon cooling, so a rele-
vant perturbing field is temperature, in
which case Eq. 1 becomes c
T
(t) 0 F(t)/T.
Density also plays a role in supercooled
liquids, although a less crucial one (18).
Hence, another interesting susceptibility is
c
P
(t) 0 F(t)/P, where P is the pressure.
Colloidal hard spheres undergo a glass
transition (19) at high particle volume frac-
tion 8. Thus, the appropriate susceptibility
for colloids is c
8
(t) 0 F(t)/8. Equation 1
also applies in the frequency domain,
c
x
w 0
Fw=x, where

Fw can be the
dielectric susceptibility. We will show below
that linear response formalism and fluc-
tuation theory can be used to relate c
x
(t) to
the spontaneous fluctuations of C(t), and thus
to c
4
(t). Thus, c
x
(t) is an experimentally
accessible multipoint dynamic susceptibility
that directly quantifies dynamic heterogene-
ity in glass formers.
For molecular liquids, the dynamics con-
serves energy, volume, and number N of par-
ticles, and one can establish, in the NPT
ensemble relevant for experiments, the fol-
lowing fluctuation-dissipation theorem
k
B
T
2
c
T
t 0 NbdCtdH0 2
where k
B
is the Boltzmann constant, H(t) the
fluctuating enthalpy per particle, and C(t) the
instantaneous value of a generic dynamic cor-
relator F(t). Both C(t) and H(t) are sums over
local contributions (20), NC(t) 0 rXd
3
rc(r,t)
and NHt 0 r
k
B
c
P
p
TXd
3
r
hhr; t. Here, r is
the average number density, c
P
the constant
pressure specific heat that sets the scale of
the enthalpy fluctuations, bdH
2
0 k
B
c
P
T
2
, so
that the field h
r; t has unit variance. Using

translational invariance, Eq. 2 can be rewrit-
ten as:
k
B
c
P
r
Tc
T
t 0rXd
3
r dcr; tdh
0; 0

3
This expression shows that c
T
(t) directly
probes the range of spatial correlations
between local fluctuations of the dynamics
and that of the enthalpy. In the case of
colloids, the dynamics only conserves densi-
ty, and a similar expression can be obtained
rk
B
Tk
T
p
8c
8
t 0 rXd
3
r
D
dcr; tdr0; 0
E
4
where k
T
is the isothermal compressibility
and dr denotes density fluctuations rescaled
by their root mean square.
Equations 3 and 4 show that c
x
(t) probes the
extent of spatial dynamic correlations that differ
from the ones studied in earlier theoretical and
numerical works, which focused instead on
1
Laboratoire des Collo des, Verres, et Nanomate riaux,
UMR 5587, Universite Montpellier II and CNRS, 34095
Montpellier, France.
2
Service de Physique The orique
Orme des Merisiers, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette
Cedex, France.
3
Science and Finance, Capital Fund Man-
agement 6-8 Bd Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France.
4
Service de Physique de lE
tat Condense Orme des

Merisiers, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex,
France.
R E P O R T S
c
4
(t) 0 rXd
3
rbdc(r,t) dc(0,t). We have, howev-
er, established a direct relation between c
x
(t)
and c
4
(t) by using the thermodynamic formal-
ism developed in (21), which is generically
applicable to bulk glass formers above the glass
transition. For dynamics conserving energy and
volume, we relate the fluctuations of C(t), and
therefore c
4
(t) measured in the NPT ensemble,
to its isobaric-isoenthalpic counterpart, c
4
NPH
(t),
which quantifies the amplitude of the fluctua-
tions of C(t) in the NPH ensemble in which all
configurations have exactly the same enthalpy:
c
4
(t) 0 c
4
NPH
(t) k
B
T
2
c
T
2
(t)/c
P
. Because
c
4
NPH
(t) 9 0, one derives an experimentally
measurable rigorous lower bound (22) for c
4
(t).
c
4
t Q
k
B
c
P
T
2
c
2
T
t 5
A similar inequality holds between c
4
(w) and
c
T
(w), where c
4
(w) denotes the amplitude of
spontaneous fluctuations around F
w. Similar
arguments also apply to c
4
(t), computed in the
NVT ensemble preferred in numerical simula-
tions. In that case, energy replaces enthalpy in
Eqs. 2 and 3, and the specific heat at constant
volume, c
V
, replaces c
P
in Eq. 3 and relation 5.
Finally, we find that an inequality similar to
relation 5 holds for colloidal systems, for which
the volume and the number of particles are
conserved quantities.
c
4
t Q rk
B
Tk
T
8
2
c
2
8
t 6
We have determined c
x
(t) experimentally and
numerically in three representative glass for-
mers. For supercooled glycerol near T
g
, 185 K,
the real part of the dielectric susceptibility,
e(w), was measured every 1 K in the tem-
perature range from 192 to 232 K. After fit-
ting to a Havriliak-Negami form (1), we use
smoothed finite differences to evaluate c
T
(w) 0
Ee(w)/e(0)^/T and show in Fig. 1A the right
side of relation 5 as a function of inverse
frequency. We plot in Fig. 1B the right side of
relation 6 for hard sphere colloids where c
8
(t) 0
f(q,t)/8. The normalized intermediate scat-
tering function (20) f(q,t) is measured by dy-
namic light scattering (23) for a wave vector q
close to the first peak of the static structure
factor. Several packing fractions are studied,
from diluted samples where f (q,t) decays expo-
nentially in 1 ms to concentrated suspensions
with a two-step decay and a final relaxation
time of 10 s. Finite differences of data sets
obtained for nearby 8 are used to deduce c
8
(t).
Finally, we show in Fig. 1C numerical data
obtained by standard molecular dynamics sim-
ulations of a binary Lennard-Jones mixture, a
well-studied model for fragile supercooled
liquids (24, 25). The dynamics is recorded at
nearby temperatures through the self part of
the intermediate scattering function, whose char-
acteristic decay time spans a range from 1 ps
to 100 ns Eusing Argon units (24, 25)^.
Dynamical susceptibilities behave similarly
in all three cases. All display a peak for t , t
a
,
the average relaxation time. The peak height
increases when the glass transition is ap-
proached. This behavior represents the central
result of our work. Together with Eqs. 3 to 6, it
provides direct evidence of enhanced dynamic
fluctuations and a growing dynamic length
scale associated with the glass transition.
How tight the bounds of relations 5 and 6
are depends on the specific material and range
of parameters studied. A quantitative answer is
given by simulations where the microcanonical
quantity c
4
micro
(t), i.e., the difference between
c
4
(t) in the NVT ensemble and k
B
T
2
c
T
(t)/c
V
,
can be easily measured. For the Lennard-Jones
mixture, we find that the right side of relation
5 is much smaller than c
4
(t) at high T, but
the difference rapidly diminishes when T de-
creases. Both sides of relation 5 become com-
parable for the lowest temperature shown in
Fig. 1C, which is still well above T
g
. Follow-
ing (26), we also find that mode-coupling
theory predicts c
4
(t) c
T
2
(t) (T/T
c
j1)
j2
near the mode-coupling singularity T
c
9 T
g
,
provided that conserved variables are properly
taken into account.
These results support the idea that relation 5
can be used as an equality to quantitatively es-
timate c
4
(t) at low temperature, at least for
fragile systems. This use of relation 5 is equiv-
alent to assuming that dynamic heterogeneity
in molecular liquids is strongly correlated with
enthalpy fluctuations and, through a similar ar-
gument, with density fluctuations in colloids. In
fact, supposing that enthalpy is the only source
of fluctuations, dC , (C/T)
P
dH/c
P
, and if
we use the definition of c
P
, we obtain directly
that c
4
(t) , k
B
T
2
c
T
2
(t)/c
P
. A more general
result can be obtained by taking into account
that energy and density are both fluctuating
quantities, in which case c
4
(t) is the sum of
two contributions: c
4
(t) , k
B
T
2
c
T
2
(t)/c
V

rk
B
Tk
T
r
2
c
r
2
(t). The second term is negligi-
ble in most fragile liquids (18) but dominates
in colloidal systems. The presence of addition-
Fig. 1. Dynamic sus-
ceptibilities in c
4
units, right side of
relations 5 and 6 for
three glass formers.
(A) c
T
(w) was obtained
for 99.6% pure super-
cooled glycerol in a
desiccated Argon envi-
ronment to prevent
water absorption by
using standard capaci-
tive dielectric measure-
ments for 192 K e T e
232 K (T
g
, 185 K). (B)
c
8
(t) was obtained in
colloidal hard spheres by dynamic light scattering. The static prefactor, rk
B
Tk
T
, was evaluated
from the Carnahan-Starling equation of state (20). From left to right, 8 0 0.18, 0.34, 0.42,
0.46, 0.49, and 0.50. (C) c
T
(t) was obtained in a binary Lennard-Jones (LJ) mixture by
numerical simulation. From left to right, T 0 2.0, 1.0, 0.74, 0.6, 0.5, and 0.465 [in reduced LJ
units (24, 25)]. Relative errors at the peak are at most about 10% for (A) and (C) and 30%
for (B). For all of the systems, dynamic susceptibilities display a peak at the average
relaxation time whose height increases when the dynamics slows down, which is direct
evidence of enhanced dynamic fluctuations and a growing dynamic length scale.
R E P O R T S
al sources of fluctuations justifies that the rig-
orously derived inequality 5 does not hold as
an equality.
Our results for dynamic fluctuations pro-
vide an estimate of the size x of dynamic het-
erogeneity in liquids near T
g
. Because c
4
(t) 0
rXd
3
r bdc(r,t)dc(0,t), this quantity, once di-
vided by the amplitude of the fluctuations at
zero distance, bdc
2
(0,t), defines a correlation
volume. The correlation functions are normal-
ized to unity at t 0 0, so bdc
2
(0,t) is on the
order of 1 or smaller. Our simulations indeed
show that in the temperature regime where the
dynamics slows down and on time scales not
much longer than the system relaxation time,
this average is on the order of 1 and displays
extremely weak temperature dependence, as
expected for a local quantity in glass formers.
Thus, the height of the peak in the dynamic
susceptibility, c
4
* , k
B
T
2
(c
T
*)
2
/c
P
, yields
directly a correlation volume expressed in mo-
lecular units, c
4
* ; (x/a)
z
, where a is the mo-
lecular size and c
P
is expressed in units of k
B
.
Numerical (4, 6) and theoretical (6, 15, 16, 26)
works suggest that z , 2 to 4.
A direct comparison between our data and
existing measurements can be performed for
glycerol, where multidimensional nuclear mag-
netic resonance (NMR) experiments show that
x 0 1.3 T 0.5 nm for T 0 199 K (27, 28). As-
suming a simple compact geometry for hetero-
geneities, z 0 3, we estimate that x increases
from 0.9 nm at T 0 232 K to 1.5 nm at 192 K.
Given the assumptions involved in both ap-
proaches, and the uncertainty about numer-
ical prefactors of order unity, the agreement
is remarkable. An important physical conclu-
sion of our work is that dynamic hetero-
geneity is strongly correlated to enthalpy
fluctuations in fragile liquids, although there
is no signature of any static large-scale cor-
relations (3, 6, 15).
For other glass-forming liquids, we obtain
an estimate for x at T
g
by assuming for sim-
plicity that correlators obey time-temperature
superposition, F(t) 0 F(t/t
a
), and using rela-
tion 5 as an equality. One gets
c
4
T
g
, EF
1^
2
k
B
c
p
ln t
a
ln T
k
Tg

2
7
The logarithmic derivative is proportional to the
well-known Bsteepness index[ m, introduced in
the glass literature to characterize the fragility
of glass-forming liquids (29). From reported
values (1, 29) of the quantities appearing in
Eq. 7 and assuming a stretched exponential
form for F(x) 0 exp(jx
b
), we estimate c
4
*(T
g
)
for different glass-forming liquids in Fig. 2A.
For complex molecules, fluctuations that
are unrelated to the glassy dynamics might
contribute to the specific heat. These effects
may be taken into account by replacing c
P
in
Eq. 7 by Dc
P
, the jump in specific heat at T
g
,
which is sensitive only to the glassy degrees of
freedom. Furthermore, for large molecules, the
molecular size is probably not the relevant
microscopic length scale, and it is sensible to
express the specific heat in units of k
B
per
Bindependent bead[ instead of molecular units
(30). These physical assumptions are used in
Fig. 2B, where we have converted our results
into length scales expressed in bead units, and
they lead to a trend similar to that of the main
plot but with less scatter: Dynamic correlations
revealed by c
T
increase weakly with fragility
(31). This result is compatible with some theo-
retical approaches (32) but contrasts with
others that predict an opposite trend (33).
This discrepancy might arise from the existence
of at least two physically distinct dynamic
length scales, one revealed by c
T
and a second
associated to c
4
. Although we found that both
quantities are comparable for fragile systems,
the bound in relation 5 may underestimate c
4
for strong materials.
To further test our length scale estimate of
Eq. 7, we apply the formula to a polymeric liquid
poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) using the monomer
size for a (27). We find x , 2.0 nm at T
g
to be
compared with the value of 3.7 T 1 nm ob-
tained at T
g
10K (9, 28) Ewe assume z 0 3
and use the data on PVAc in (9, 28)^. Again,
the agreement is satisfactory. A similar agree-
ment is found for orthoterphenyl and sorbitol,
for which available NMR data are reported in
Fig. 2A. Hence, we find that typical values for
the dynamic correlation length at T
g
obtained
by Eq. 7 are in good agreement with previous
experiments performed near T
g
(1, 8, 9, 26, 34).
However, our approach has a broader scope,
because it allows one to extend experimental
studies of dynamic heterogeneity to a range of
temperatures not previously accessible and to
the full-time dependence of the fluctuations
(Fig. 1). Finally, we remark that even for
(strong) Arrhenius molecular liquids with acti-
vation energy E, relation 5 and time temper-
ature superposition give c
4
*(T) Q (k
B
/c
P
)
E
2
/(k
B
T)
2
, showing that dynamic heterogeneity
must also exist in that case (35), in agreement
with the general argument that for systems
with finite range interactions, diverging time
scales must be accompanied by diverging
length scales.
Our experiments provide a quantitative
demonstration that dynamic correlations and
length scales increase as the glass transition is
approached. More work is needed to character-
ize the time and temperature dependencies of
dynamic fluctuations over a larger range of ma-
terials and parameters. Open issues also concern
the precise space-time geometry of dynamic
heterogeneity that fixes the value of the expo-
nent z and the relation between time scales and
length scales, the connection between coopera-
tivity and heterogeneity, and the extension of our
results to the nonequilibrium aging dynamics
encountered in the glass phase.
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7
6
5
4
3
200
300
100
0
30 50 70
m m
90 110 0 40 80 120
*4

(
T
g
)
A B

(
T
g
)

/
a
Fig. 2. (A) Correlation volume c
4
*(T
g
) in supercooled liquids at the glass transition. Filled squares
represent a lower bound to
c
4*(Tg) in molecular units estimated through Eq. 7. Different points
represent different materials, which are ranked by their fragility m. Open squares represent the
same quantity evaluated from available multidimensional NMR data, using (28) c
4
* 0 Xd
3
r exp(j2r/x),
for glycerol (T
g
10 K) (27), orthoterphenyl (T
g
9 K) (28, 34), and d-sorbitol (T
g
7 K) (28). A
linear fit to the weak increase of c
4
* with fragility is shown as a dashed line. (B) Correlation length
x(T
g
) in supercooled liquids at the glass transition expressed in bead units a. The correlation volume is
first evaluated using Dc
P
instead of c
P
in Eq. 7. Following (30), Dc
P
is expressed in k
B
per bead units,
accounting for different molecular shapes and sizes. Using z 0 3, the result is finally converted into a length
scale expressed in bead units. The known empirical correlations (29) between m, b, and Dc
P
translate into
a weak increase of x(T
g
) with fragility, which we fit with a linear relation shown as a dashed line.
R E P O R T S
17. P. Mayer et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 115701 (2004).
18. G. Tarjus, D. Kivelson, S. Mossa, C. Alba-Simionesco,
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250 (1967).
22. Alternatively, this inequality may be derived from stan-
dard probability theory. From the Cauchy-Schwarz in-
equality, one obtains that the average k
B
T
2
c
T
(t)/N 0
bdC (t)dH (0) is e [bdC (t)dC (t)bdH (0)dH (0)]
1/2
.
Using the fluctuation-dissipation relation to express
enthalpy fluctuation in terms of the specific heat at
constant pressure, one directly obtains relation 5.
Contrary to the derivation in the main text, this ar-
gument does not provide any estimate of the differ-
ence between the two sides of relation 5.
23. D. El Masri, M. Pierno, L. Berthier, L. Cipelletti, J. Phys.
Condens. Matter 17, S3543 (2005).
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(1994).
25. The numerical model is an 80:20 binary Lennard-
Jones mixture at density r 0 1.2. A and B parti-
cles interact via a Lennard-Jones potential V(r
ab
) 0
4 e
ab
[(s
ab
/r
ab
)
12
j (s
ab
/r
ab
)
6
], with a, b 0 A, B. Time,
energy, and length are measured in units of s
AA
and
e
AA
, and
m
A
s
2
AA
=e
AA
p
, respectively. Other parame-
ters are e
AB
0 1.5, e
BB
0 0.5, s
BB
0 0.88, and s
AB
0 0.8.
Newton equations are integrated using a velocity
Verlet algorithm with time step 0.01. Characteristic
temperatures for this system are the onset of slow
dynamics, T
o
, 1.0, and T
c
, 0.435, the location of
the mode-coupling singularity in the analysis of Kob
and Andersen (24).
26. G. Biroli, J. P. Bouchaud, Europhys. Lett. 67, 21
(2004).
27. S. A. Reinsberg, X. H. Qiu, M. Wilhelm, H. W. Spiess,
M. D. Ediger, J. Chem. Phys. 114, 7299 (2001).
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(2003).
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118, 10184 (2003).
30. J. D. Stevenson, P. G. Wolynes, J. Phys. Chem. B 109,
15093 (2005).
31. A similar correlation is discussed in (36).
32. X. Y. Xia, P. G. Wolynes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
97, 2990 (2000).
33. J. P. Garrahan, D. Chandler, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
U.S.A. 100, 9710 (2003).
34. S. A. Reinsberg, A. Heuer, B. Doliwa, H. Zimmermann,
H. W. Spiess, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 307-310, 208
(2002).
35. The energy conservation is central to this argument,
which does not apply, for instance, to Langevin
dynamics, where the thermal bath can locally provide
energy to the system. In this case, no growing dynamic
length is expected in Arrhenius liquids.
36. E. Hempel, G. Hempel, A. Hensel, C. Schick, E. Donth,
J. Phys. Chem. B 104, 2460 (2000).
37. We thank A. Schofield for providing us with the
colloidal particles. L.C. is a junior member of the
Institut Universitaire de France. M.P. is supported
by the Marie Curie Research and Training Network
Dynamical Arrested State of Soft Matter and Colloids
(grant MRTN-CT-2003-504712). This work was also
supported by Centre National dEtudes Spatiales and
the French ministe `re de la Recherche through an Ac-
tion Concerte e Incitative Jeunes Chercheurs.
10.1126/science.1120714
Developmental Plasticity in the
Life History of a
Prosauropod Dinosaur
P. Martin Sander* and Nicole Klein
Long-bone histology indicates that the most common early dinosaur, the
prosauropod Plateosaurus engelhardti from the Upper Triassic of Central
Europe, had variable life histories. Although Plateosaurus grew at the fast
rates typical for dinosaurs, as indicated by fibrolamellar bone, qualitative
(growth stop) and quantitative (growth-mark counts) features of its histology
are poorly correlated with body size. Individual life histories of P. engelhardti
were influenced by environmental factors, as in modern ectothermic reptiles,
but not in mammals, birds, or other dinosaurs.
Virtually all dinosaurs studied to date show a
primary bone type known as fibrolamellar
complex in their long bone wall (13). This
bone type indicates fast growth that must have
been sustained by a metabolic rate well above
that of modern reptiles, if not as high as that of
mammals (14). Dinosaurs for which such
data are available grow along a species-
specific growth trajectory with little individual
variation in rate of growth and final size
(3, 58), as in mammals (9) and birds (10).
Here, we show that the most common early
dinosaur had a life history in which its growth
was affected by environmental factors such as
climate and food availability Edevelopmental
plasticity (11)^.
P. engelhardti is found in several mass
accumulations of medium to large individuals
in the Norian of central Europe, such as
Trossingen (southern Germany) and Frick
(northern Switzerland) (1215). Plateosaurus
belongs to a group known as prosauropods,
which flourished from the Upper Triassic to
the Lower Jurassic, representing the dominant
herbivores in faunas of this age worldwide
(15). Prosauropod interrelationships are con-
troversial (1518), but prosauropods and sau-
ropods together form a monophyletic group,
Sauropodomorpha. At a maximum length of
10 m and a corresponding mass of nearly 4
tons, Plateosaurus was one of the larger
bodied prosauropods. Together with some
other prosauropods, this dinosaur was the first
to reach the large body size generally at-
tributed to dinosaurs, and the first high browser
to evolve.
We sampled the histology of long and
girdle bones of P. engelhardti from Trossingen
and Frick (19) (table S1). Plateosaurus long
bones are characterized by a large medullary
cavity (49% to 58% of shaft diameter) and
relatively thin bone walls (Fig. 1). The cortex
is sharply set off from the medullary cavity
with little or no secondary cancellous bone and
rare resorption spaces in the compact bone.
The primary bone of the cortex is dominated
by growth cycles of fibrolamellar bone, ending
in a line of arrested growth (LAG) (Fig. 2).
Vascular canals are primarily circumferential,
and vascularity decreases toward the LAG
(Figs. 1 and 2). Growth-cycle width decreases
substantially toward the outer bone surface
(Fig. 1A). In one group of specimens, fibro-
lamellar bone is the last tissue type to have
been formed (Fig. 2). We assigned the on-
togenetic stage of Bfast growth[ to these
specimens, because fibrolamellar bone deposi-
tion indicates a high growth rate. A strong
decrease in growth rate is documented in the
last bone tissue deposited in many other
specimens, in which growth cycles in fibro-
lamellar bone in the outer cortex become
narrow and less vascularized (Fig. 2). We as-
signed the Bslow growth[ stage to this second
group. A third group of specimens survived
to an even later ontogenetic stage, as evi-
denced by lamellar-zonal bone with closely
spaced LAGs and poor to absent vascular-
ization in the outermost cortex (Fig. 2). This
tissue type is also known as an external funda-
mental system and documents a growth pla-
teau, i.e., that final body size had been reached.
Individuals in this group were thus scored as
Bfully grown.[
Surprisingly, we found such fully grown in-
dividuals virtually across the whole size range
sampled (19). Some individuals had reached
final size at 4.8 m body length (BL), whereas
others attained 10 m BL (Fig. 3). Similarly, the
Bfast growth[ and the Bslow growth[ stages
were also found at widely differing body sizes
(Fig. 3). Size at the slow growth stage is close
to final body size because not much bone
tissue was added to the circumference of the
bone during this stage.
Life history was quantified by applying
skeletochronology to long and girdle bones
(19). We estimate that the youngest specimen
in the sample was 9 years old, whereas the
oldest had reached 26 to 27 years (Fig. 3). This
specimen had attained nearly final size but was
still growing slowly. The minimum age for a
fully grown specimen was 12 years. Howev-
er, in agreement with our observations about
Institut fur Palaontologie, Universitat Bonn, Nussallee 8,
D-53115 Bonn, Germany.
R E P O R T S
the qualitative growth record, we found a
poor correlation between body size and age
(Fig. 3). This is most obvious from the Bslow
growth stage[ sample from Trossingen (n 0
19, r 0 0.383, no significant correlation at P 0
0.001) and the Bfully grown[ sample from Frick
(n 0 5, r 0 0.114, no significant correlation at
P 0 0.001).
Two lines of evidence, growth stage assign-
ment and skeletochronology, thus indicate that
growth rate and final size varied strikingly
in individuals of the species P. engelhardti.
Hypotheses to explain this extreme variability
include: (i) that more than one biological spe-
cies is represented by the material identified
as P. engelhardti, (ii) that the material repre-
sents a single species with a strong sexual size
dimorphism, (iii) that our methods for detect-
ing growth stage and age are inadequate, and
(iv) that P. engelhardti had strong develop-
mental plasticity in life-history parameters.
We view the last interpretation as the most
credible. We reject hypothesis (iii), methodolog-
ical problems, because termination of growth
(Fig. 2) can be detected histologically with
confidence (3, 7), although our skeletochrono-
logical age estimates may be inaccurate be-
cause of the lack of juvenile Plateosaurus (Fig.
3). We also reject hypothesis (ii), sexual di-
morphism, because terminal body size shows a
unimodal distribution, albeit with a high stan-
dard deviation (Fig. 3), and not the bimodal
distribution expected for sexual morphs. Sex-
ual dimorphism in aspects of morphology and
in metric characters has been postulated for
Plateosaurus but cannot be proven (20, 21).
Finally, the morphology and systematics of
Plateosaurus have been intensively studied in
recent years, and all authors agree that there
is only evidence for one species among the
Plateosaurus fossils from the rich bone beds
of central Europe (1315). This leads us to
reject hypothesis (i).
Fig. 1. Histology of P.
engel har dt i l ong
bones, polished sec-
tions, normal light.
(A) Cross section of a
humerus shaft (right
humerus NAA F 88/
B640, 44.5 cm long,
Frick). Arrows mark
LAGs. Note the de-
crease in LAG spacing
toward the periphery
of the bone. Scale bar,
1 cm. (B) Core section
(left femur IFG com-
pactus, 74 cm long,
Tr os s i ngen) wi t h
growth-mark count.
Numbers mark LAGs.
IFG, Institut fur Geo-
wissenschaften, Universitat Tubingen, Germany; NAA, Naturama, Aarau, Switzerland. Scale
bar, 3 mm.
Fig. 2. Ontogenetic stages in the histology of P. engelhardti long bones. (A) Polished section (left
femur IFG compactus, 74 cm long, Trossingen) showing laminar fibrolamellar complex with LAGs.
This tissue type indicates fast growth of the cortex. (B) Thin section from the same specimen
showing the same bone tissue. (C) Polished section (right humerus NAA F 88/B640, 44.5 cm long,
Frick) showing fibrolamellar bone with LAGs followed by lamellar-zonal bone in the outer cortex.
This tissue type indicates slow growth. (D) Thin section (left tibia MSF 1, 51 cm long, Frick) with
closely spaced LAGs in outermost cortex. This tissue type indicates that the animal was fully grown.
Bone surface is beyond [(A) to (C)] or at top (D) of image. IFG, Institut fur Geowissenschaften,
Universitat Tubingen, Germany; MSF, Sauriermuseum, Frick, Switzerland; NAA, Naturama, Aarau,
Switzerland. Scale bars, 1 mm.
R E P O R T S
Additional support for hypothesis (iv),
strong developmental plasticity, comes from
the observation that the Plateosaurus individ-
uals from Frick show the same great variability
in final size and growth rate as the individuals
from Trossingen (Fig. 3). The individuals from
Frick are smaller on average and show a
smaller final size. The Frick bone bed may rep-
resent a population of generally smaller
stature, possibly due to a less favorable habitat
or because the Trossingen and Frick rocks
have different ages.
Outgroup comparison based on long-
bone histology indicates that the strong de-
velopmental plasticity is plesiomorphic for
archosaurs and was retained in the crocodile
lineage (1, 2, 4). Virtually all basal archosaurs
and pseudosuchians have lamellar-zonal bone
with numerous and distinctive LAGs (4).
Ornithodirans (pterosaurs and dinosaurs), on
the other hand, had lost developmental plastic-
ity, as indicated by the predominance of the
fibrolamellar complex (1, 2, 4, 22, 23). The
strong developmental plasticity of Plateosaurus
is a reversal to an ancestral condition and
contrasts with all of the more derived dinosaurs
and two other basal dinosaurs, the prosauropod
Massospondylus (7, 24) and the basal sauris-
chian Herrerasaurus Ealthough only two speci-
mens of Herrerasaurus were sampled (2, 22)^.
Recent phylogenetic analyses (1518) agree
that Massospondylus and Plateosaurus are
closely related, suggesting that different spe-
cies of prosauropod dinosaurs varied in their
degree of developmental plasticity. It may be
no coincidence that a similarly unexpected
reversal to an ancestral condition, i.e., quad-
rupedality, was recently discovered in embryos
of Massospondylus (25).
In extant amniotes, strong developmental
plasticity is correlated with a low metabolic
rate and behavioral thermoregulation Ethe ec-
totherm strategy (26)^, resulting in widely
differing growth rates and final sizes in in-
dividuals of the same species of, e.g., turtles
(27, 28), lizards (29, 30), and crocodiles (31, 32).
The observed strong developmental plastic-
ity in Plateosaurus would suggest that it also
was an ectotherm. This disagrees with the
dominance of the fibrolamellar complex in
the long-bone cortex of this dinosaur Ewhich
is not known from modern ectotherms in
natural habitats and indicates high growth
rates (1, 33)^ and its advanced dinosaurian
locomotor apparatus. The early dinosaur P.
engelhardti possibly represents the initial stage
in the evolution of metabolic thermoregula-
tion (endothermy) in dinosaurs, in which endo-
thermy was decoupled from developmental
plasticity.
1. K. Padian, A. de Ricqle `s, J. R. Horner, Nature 412, 405
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24, 555 (2004).
3. G. Erickson, Trends Ecol. Evol. 20, 677 (2005).
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89, 67 (2003).
5. G. M. Erickson, T. A. Tumanova, Zool. J. Linn. Soc.
130, 551 (2000).
6. G. M. Erickson, K. C. Rogers, S. A. Yerby, Nature 412,
429 (2001).
7. A. Chinsamy-Turan, The Microstructure of Dinosaur
Bone (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore, 2005).
8. P. M. Sander, Paleobiology 26, 466 (2000).
9. P. Jarman, Biol. Rev. Camb. Philos. Soc. 58, 485 (1983).
10. J. M. Starck, R. M. Ricklefs, Avian Growth and Develop-
ment: Evolution Within the Altricial-Precocial Spectrum
(Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1998).
11. J. S. Smith-Gill, Am. Zool. 23, 47 (1983).
12. P. M. Sander, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol.
93, 255 (1992).
13. M. Moser, Zitteliana B 24, 1 (2003).
14. A. Yates, Palaeontology 46, 317 (2003).
15. P. M. Galton, P. Upchurch, in The Dinosauria. 2nd
Edition, D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, H. Osmolska, Eds.
(Univ. California Press, Berkeley, 2004), pp. 232258.
16. M. J. Benton, L. Juul, G. W. Storrs, P. M. Galton, J. Vertebr.
Paleontol. 20, 77 (2000).
17. P. Sereno, Science 284, 2137 (1999).
18. A. M. Yates, Postilla 230, 1 (2004).
20. D. B. Weishampel, R. E. Chapman, in Dinosaur Sys-
tematics: Perspectives and Approaches, K. Carpenter,
P. J. Currie, Eds. (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge,
1990), pp. 4351.
21. P. M. Galton, Neues Jahrb. Geol. Palaeontol. Mh.
1997, 674 (1997).
22. J. M. Starck, A. Chinsamy, J. Morphol. 254, 232
(2002).
23. A. de Ricqle `s, K. Padian, J. R. Horner, H. Francillon-
Vieillot, Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 129, 271 (2000).
24. A. Chinsamy, Palaeontol. Afr. 27, 77 (1990).
25. R. R. Reisz et al., Science 309, 761 (2005).
26. G. R. Zug, L. J. Vitt, J. P. Caldwell, Herpetology: An
Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles
(Academic Press, San Diego, 2001).
27. J. M. Legler, Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Publs. 11,
527 (1960).
28. G. R. Zug, A. H. Wynn, C. Ruckdeschel, Smithson. Contrib.
Zool. 427, 1 (1986).
29. A. E. Dunham, Ecology 59, 770 (1978).
30. G. R. Zug, S. A. Rand, Amphib. Reptil. 8, 237 (1987).
31. H. B. Cott, Trans. Zool. Soc. London 29, 211
(1961).
32. J. M. Hutton, Copeia 2, 332 (1986).
33. S. Ray, J. Botha, A. Chinsamy, J. Vertebr. Paleontol.
24, 634 (2004).
34. We thank R. Wild, R. Foelix, K. Wettstein, and H.-U.
Pfretzschner for permission to sample specimens in
their care. Technical help was provided by O. Dulfer,
G. Oleschinski, and D. Kranz. Financial support by the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Graduiertenfor-
derung North Rhine-Westphalia is gratefully acknowl-
edged. This is contribution 23 of the DFG Research
Unit Biology of the Sauropod Dinosaurs.
DC1
Table S1
References
10.1126/science.1120125
Fig. 3. Relation between body
size, age, and ontogenetic stage in
specimens of P. engelhardti, based
on bone histology. Proxy for body
size is femur length. Data for plots
are in table S1. (A) Relation be-
tween age and body size in the
Trossingen specimens. For each
specimen, observed LAG count
(black symbols) and estimated
total LAG count (blue symbols)
are plotted. Estimated total LAG
count is equivalent to individual
age in years. Note poor correla-
tion between age and size. (B and
C) Relation between growth stage
and body size in the samples from
Trossingen (B) and Frick (C). Note
poor correlation between growth
stage and size in both samples.
The large variation in final body
size is best appreciated if the slow
growth individuals, which would
not have grown much larger, are
considered together with the fully
grown individuals.
R E P O R T S
Drought, Snails, and Large-Scale
Die-Off of Southern U.S.
Salt Marshes
Brian R. Silliman,
1
* Johan van de Koppel,
2
Mark D. Bertness,
3
Lee E. Stanton,
4
Irving A. Mendelssohn
4
Salt marshes in the southeastern United States have recently experienced
massive die-off, one of many examples of widespread degradation in marine and
coastal ecosystems. Although intense drought is thought to be the primary cause
of this die-off, we found snail grazing to be a major contributing factor. Survey of
marsh die-off areas in three states revealed high-density fronts of snails on die-
off edges at 11 of 12 sites. Exclusion experiments demonstrated that snails
actively converted marshes to exposed mudflats. Salt addition and comparative
field studies suggest that drought-induced stress and grazers acted synergistically
and to varying degrees to cause initial plant death. After these disturbances, snail
fronts formed on die-off edges and subsequently propagated through healthy
marsh, leading to cascading vegetation loss. These results, combined with model
analyses, reveal strong interactions between increasing climatic stress and grazer
pressure, both potentially related to human environmental impacts, which
amplify the likelihood and intensity of runaway collapse in these coastal systems.
Degradation of coastal ecosystems is occurring
worldwide (1). Large-scale eutrophication,
food web alteration, runaway consumer ef-
fects, climate change, habitat destruction, and
disease have all been implicated as causes of
extensive loss of key coastal ecosystems in-
cluding kelp forests, mangroves, oyster reefs,
seagrass beds, and coral reefs (27). These
threats rarely occur in isolation from one
another, and the realized damage we observe
may well be exaggerated by synergistic in-
teractions (as opposed to simply additive
stress). Failure to understand these synergies
will lead to further loss of important eco-
system services including shoreline buffering,
nutrient and sediment filtering, and critical
nursery and adult habitat for fisheries and
shorebirds (1). Because near-shore commu-
nities generate 9$150 billion in benefits per
year through the tourism, aquaculture, and
fishery industries, elucidating the complex
causes of marine ecosystem degradation is
one of the most pressing ecological issues of
our times (1).
Over the past 6 years, salt marshes along
the southeastern and gulf coasts of the United
States experienced unprecedented die-off, with
affected areas ranging in size from 100 m
2
to 3 km
2
, totaling 9250,000 acres, and oc-
curring along 91500 km of coastline (811).
These systems are the most ecologically and
economically important shoreline communities
along the eastern and gulf U.S. seaboard (12).
The key to protecting these critical habitats is
to understand the factors that affect marsh
community structure and how those factors
may be changing. For nearly 60 years, the
paradigm of salt marsh ecology has been that
bottom-up factors (e.g., nutrients, soil salinity)
are the primary forces controlling growth of
the dominant habitat-forming plant in the
community, Spartina alterniflora (cordgrass)
(12). Accordingly, investigations of die-off of
this grass have focused on the role of physical
stressors such as salinity and soil moisture
related factors (811).
Recent experimental evidence, however, has
shown that grazing is also important in reg-
ulating grass production (1316). Manipulation
of the most abundant marsh grazer, the
periwinkle snail (Littoraria irrorata), revealed
these gastropod consumers damage live Spar-
tina when grazing their fungal food (14, 15).
Subsequent facilitation of fungal infection in
leaf tissue via snail radular activity leads to
drastic reductions in aboveground plant pro-
duction (16) and, at high densities, grazing by
fungal-farming snails destroys the marsh can-
opy (15). Although both edaphic (i.e., soil-
related) stresses and grazing can potentially
harm salt marsh vegetation, there is currently no
consensus on the relative importance of these
factors in explaining marsh dieback. Extreme
physical stressors Ee.g., decreased soil mois-
ture, elevated salinities in marsh soils and
estuarine waters, increased soil acidity; see
Table 1 (811, 17)^ generated by a severe
drought from 1999 to 2001 in the southern
United States ETable 1, reoccurrence interval
100 years (17)^ and biotic interactions with
fungal pathogens EFusarium spp. (11)^ have
been considered as plausible causal factors
(811). However, no studies have examined
experimentally the role of grazers in either
contributing to or expanding initial dieback
areas.
To examine the extent and intensity of
grazer impacts at marsh die-off sites, we quan-
tified snail abundance at 12 randomly chosen
die-off sites that spanned 1200 km of shoreline
and experimentally investigated the relative
contribution of these consumers to marsh loss
at two sites in Georgia and two in Louisiana
1
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gaines-
ville, FL 32611, USA.
2
Centre for Estuarine and Marine
Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-
KNAW), NL 4401 NT7 Yerseke, Netherlands.
3
Depart-
ment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown
University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
4
Department
of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Table 1. Rainfall levels, Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) values, and salinities in Sapelo Island,
Georgia (for Airport Marsh and Marsh Landing Creek) and Louisiana coastal marsh ecosystems during the
peak of a 100-year drought (1999 to 2001) event that immediately preceded marsh die-off in both
states. For Georgia, drought rainfall data are for 2000 and 2001 and for predrought years from 1958 to
1999. The PDSI, which is a meteorological drought index based on precipitation, temperature, and
available water content of the soil, ranges from 4.0 or more for extremely wet conditions to 4.0 or less
for extreme drought and covered the same time periods as for rainfall. For salinities, data are averages of
monthly (soil salinity) and daily (estuarine salinity) measurements taken at the same location on Sapelo
Island, Georgia, from June to September in 2000 and 2001 and for nondrought years from June to
September in 2003 and 2004 (mean 20032004 rainfall 0 134.4 cm). For Louisiana, drought rainfall is for
1999 and 2000 and for predrought years from 1950 to 1998. The PDSI is provided for the same time
periods as for rainfall. Estuarine salinities before the drought were for the period from 1961 to 1998;
drought estuarine salinities were for 1999 and 2000. For Louisiana, data are averages of monthly means.
Data are means T SD.
Drought indicator
Georgia Louisiana*
Drought
Predrought/
nondrought
Drought Predrought
Yearly rainfall (cm) 93 T 7.5 131 T 21 102 T 76 132 T 74
PDSI 2.71 T 0.57 0.18 T 1.56 2.85 T 1.27y 0.11 T 2.02y
Estuarine salinities (ppt) 30.5 T 1.41 20.8 T 3.54 25.5 T 0.6 20.6 T 5.6
Marsh soil salinities (ppt) 48.6 T 4.27 27.3 T 2.58 y y
*Data modified from (22). .Grand Terre, LA. Although interstitial salinities before and after the drought are not
available for Louisiana, interstitial salinities collected in June 2000 at a dieback site at Bay Junop ranged from 27 to 32
ppt; salinity was 23 ppt in an adjacent nondieback site (8).
R E P O R T S
(17). An initial survey of dieback sites revealed
extreme densities of plant-grazing snails, com-
monly 500 to 2000 individuals/m
2
, aggregated
in extensive fronts on die-off borders. Snail
density was near zero on exposed mudflats,
peaked on the die-off/healthy marsh border,
and dropped off considerably within healthy
marsh (Table 2).
To test the hypothesis that Littoraria grazing
expands marsh dieback areas, we placed 1-m
by 1-m wire-mesh exclosures in July 2002 (i)
just ahead of fronts of snails on die-off borders,
and (ii) in remnant Spartina patches inside die-
off areas. We monitored the effects of snail
removal on cordgrass biomass and soil physical
conditions for 14 months until September
2003 (17). We also examined the effects of
snail density on expansion of die-off border
and quantified the total vegetated area cleared
by moving consumer fronts (17). Finally, to
examine the relationship between both con-
sumer front persistence and propagation and
snail density in adjacent healthy areas, we set
up permanent 50-cm by 50-cm plots along
line transects running perpendicular to die-
off borders (5 m, inside die-off area on ex-
posed mudflats; 0 m, on border; 5 m, within
healthy areas; 10 m; and 20 m) and mon-
itored snail densities and Spartina biomass
in those plots over a 1-year period starting
in July 2002 (17).
Recent studies have suggested that top-
down control by fungal-farming snails intensi-
fies when Spartina is either stressed or
receives nutrient enhancement, because facili-
tated, facultative pathogenic fungi growing in
grazer wounds on live leaves experience
enhanced growth (1416). To test whether
sublethal drought stress observed in marsh
soils and estuarine waters throughout the
Southeast (811, 17) (Table 1) could have acted
together with grazing to generate initial die-
off areas, we experimentally elevated salt con-
centrations in marsh soils with and without
snails at one healthy marsh site in Georgia
(434 T 54 snails/m
2
) from March to October
2002 (17).
Experimental manipulation of Littoraria on
high-density borders and in remnant Spartina
patches supports our hypothesis that snail graz-
ing contributes to expanding dieback in south-
ern U.S. salt marshes (Fig. 1). In both Georgia
and Louisiana marshes, snail removal in-
creased Spartina biomass by more than three
orders of magnitude, whereas continued snail
access to Spartina in control plots resulted in
heavy overgrazing, destruction of marsh can-
opy, and conversion of healthy salt marsh
cordgrass to exposed mudflat both along die-
off borders and on edges of remnant Spartina
patches (Figs. 1 and 2). The primary mecha-
nism by which snails killed Spartina was
likely through facilitation of pathogenic fungi
during farming activitiesan indirect pathway
of control, as has been shown in past studies
(14, 16)and not through consumption of live
plant material. In all plots, there was no evi-
dence that physical stress negatively affected
Spartina health (17), as caged, isolated patches
of cordgrass on mudflats (Fig. 2) were dense,
robust, and green in the absence of intense
snail grazing. This observation of minimal soil
stress during our caging study (July 2002 to
July 2003) is consistent with the cessation of
drought conditions in Georgia and Louisiana
marshes in 2002 (Table 1). Combined with
results from snail exclusion experiments (Fig.
1), these findings imply that runaway con-
sumption can carry on the process of vegeta-
tion loss in the absence of drought-induced
effects.
After moving through control plots, snail
fronts maintained structure and continued to
eliminate healthy marsh (Fig. 1). As concen-
trated waves of consumers passed over veg-
etated areas, Spartina grass disappeared and
exposed mudflats remained (Figs. 2 and 3).
How far and how long these fronts propa-
gated, however, was strongly dependent on
snail density both in the front itself and at
the experimental sites before die-off (17).
When snail density in consumer fronts was
high (91000 individuals/m
2
), front propa-
gation from initially marked areas through
healthy marsh was extensive, reaching a max-
imum of 14 m in Louisiana and 31 m in
Georgia, whereas at lower densities (100 to
400 individuals/m
2
) front effects were sig-
nificantly diminished (Fig. 1). From a tempo-
ral perspective, when snail densities before
marsh die-off and outside of fronts were low,
as in Louisiana (78 T 33 individuals/m
2
),
snail fronts broke up in G8 months. In con-
trast, at Georgia sites, where snail densities
outside of fronts and before die-off were
high (485 T 124 individuals/m
2
), front prop-
agation lasted 91 year (Fig. 3). The tendency
for consumer fronts to break up and for snails
to spread out likely occurs because Littoraria
experience intense intraspecific competition
at high densities (1416).
The total extent of marsh destroyed by
snails (17) tracked background snail density
and front persistence. Snail grazing in two
Louisiana marshes resulted in relatively small
but significant expansion of die-off areas (an
11% increase, from 22,980 m
2
to 25,320 m
2
).
In Georgia, long-lived snail fronts converted
extensive marsh habitat into exposed mud-
flat, increasing original die-off areas by at
least 185% (from 2230 m
2
to 6456 m
2
; be-
cause snail fronts were already formed when
we arrived, total impact estimates are un-
derestimations). Thus, when grazer density
is high, marsh systems become more sus-
ceptible to runaway grazing, and top-down
forces can be responsible for significantly
larger proportions of marsh die-off. Our sur-
vey of 12 marshes in the southeastern United
Table 2. Snail densities (individuals/m
2
) at 12 marsh die-off sites in the
southeastern United States. In the summer of 2002, at each site, 10 quadrats
(50 cm by 50 cm) were randomly placed (i) along the two types of die-off
border (i.e., the exposed mudflat-healthy marsh interface) typically
encountered at each sitethat is, borders with high snail densities and
those with low densities; (ii) on exposed mudflats; and (iii) in adjacent
healthy marsh areas. Lengths of high-density snail fronts are in parentheses.
Data are means T SD.
Site
Snail density
Exposed
mudflat
Die-off border
with low snail
density
Die-off border with
high snail density
Healthy
marsh
Bourbon Field Marsh, Sapelo Island, GA 0 223 T 96 1076 T 243 (98 m) 176 T 59
Airport Marsh, Sapelo Island, GA 0 564 T 132 2175 T 675 (68 m) 487 T 92
Dean Creek, Sapelo Island, GA 1.2 T 2.3 48 T 26 416 T 45 (24 m) 185 T 67
Lighthouse Marsh, Sapelo Island, GA 0 834 T 112 2634 T 456 (128 m) 558 T 121
South Marsh, Ossabaw Island, GA 0 114 T 43 457 T 167 (32 m) 78 T 17
Jerico River, Bryan County, GA 0 3 T 3 15 T 9 1.4 T 0.8
South Marsh, Talahi Island, GA 0 128 T 87 412 T 254 (14 m) 68 T 11
Exp. Site 1, Fort Fourchon, LA 0 67 T 32 1356 T 387 (212 m) 82.2 T 12.6
Exp. Site 2, Fort Fourchon, LA 0.2 T 0.1 45 T 29 1067 T 365 (185 m) 68.4 T 14.6
Watch Tower Marsh, Bell Buruch, SC 0 38 T 16 225 T 112 (13 m) 49 T 15
Inlet Marsh, Bell Buruch, SC 0 63 T 31 315 T 96 (13 m) 56 T 17
Charleston, SC 0 32 T 18 402 T 167 (22 m) 96 T 37
R E P O R T S
States (Table 2) revealed snail fronts at 11 of
12 die-off areas, which suggests that con-
sumer wave propagation was an important,
yet overlooked (811), contributing factor
to the expansion of dieback throughout the
Southeast.
Reconstruction of snail densities before
marsh die-off and severe drought conditions
from 1999 to 2001 (Table 1) (811) indicate
that snail grazing alone did not initiate marsh
die-off in Louisiana or Georgia. In Louisiana,
snail densities E78 individuals/m
2
(14, 15)^ were
well below levels needed to completely de-
nude vegetated marsh under nonstressful
conditions, and all evidence to date points
to drought-induced soil moisture stress and
related edaphic factors (e.g., salinity, acidifi-
cation, and metal toxicity) as the primary initiat-
ing factors (Table 1) (811, 17). However, only
nonlethal physical conditions were observed in
the field, both during die-off events in Louisiana
and Georgia (Table 1) and afterward (811).
These data suggest that less intense, sublethal
drought stress interacting with snail grazing
could also have caused or contributed to
initial marsh die-off in some instances. In
Georgia, die-off occurred extensively at many
locations with low snail density (Jerico River
marsh, Table 2) (9, 10), but at many sites in
Georgia snail densities were high enough (100
to 600 individuals/m
2
, Table 2) to strongly sup-
press Spartina growth (14, 15) and potentially
interact synergistically with drought-induced
stress.
Our experimental simulation of drought-
induced salt stress supports this prediction
and reveals that elevated salinities intensify
top-down control by snails. Experimentally
increasing dissolved salt concentrations in
the soil to approximate drought conditions
Efrom 35.33 T 2.63 parts per thousand (ppt) to
56.83 T 6.24 ppt; see Table 1 for comparisons^
in the absence of snails reduced grass growth
by 45%, whereas in the presence of snails,
high salt levels had a significantly greater
negative effect (84% biomass reduction), re-
sulting in near-complete mortality of Spartina
(17). Thus, although drought stress was likely
the overwhelming cause of initial die-off
when snail densities were low Emost Louisiana
marshes; Table 2 (811)^, our experimental
results and surveys indicate that climate-
induced stress and consumer pressure acted
together at many other sites (i.e., in marshes
with high snail density in Georgia) to gen-
erate original die-off disturbances.
On the basis of this analysis and our ex-
perimental results, we hypothesize that exten-
sive die-off in southern marshes was caused by
the following sequence of interacting events:
(i) Protracted and intense drought (3 to 4 years)
resulted in stressful soil conditions, which
acted either alone or in combination with
plant-grazing snails to cause rapid community
die-off in well-defined, distinct areas. (ii) After
these areas were denuded by grazers and
natural processes, predictable, behaviorally
driven snail movement toward live Spartina
(17) led to snails concentrating on die-off
borders, forming consumer fronts. (iii) Run-
away grazing and density-dependent propa-
gation of snail fronts, which persisted 91 year
after drought impacts subsided, carried on
the process of vegetation loss to expand the
total area of marsh degradation. After drought
stress subsided in 2002, some die-off areas
began to recover in 2003 via vegetative growth
from adjacent healthy marsh (17), but only
along borders without snail fronts (Fig. 1). To
date, most die-off areas have yet to fully re-
cover (17), but the trend for marsh plants to
recolonize exposed mudflats and for consum-
er fronts to break up shows that vegetation
loss in this system is not unidirectional for the
observed levels of grazer density and drought-
induced stress.
We developed a spatially explicit model
that supports our experimental findings, indi-
A
B
C
Fig. 2. (A) Snail front exclosures (wrapped in
hardware cloth) installed on die-off border at one
site in Louisiana. Gray area in front of cages is a
snail front. (B) Representative extreme snail den-
sities found in snail front pictured in (A). (C) Effect
of exclusion cage on S. alterniflora biomass on die-
off border at the Lighthouse Marsh in Georgia.
2
2
2
2
Fig. 1. Effects of snail exclusions on Spartina biomass in interior (i.e., remnant patches of live cordgrass)
and on border of marsh die-off sites in Georgia (left) and Louisiana (right), and least squares linear
regression of mean Littoraria density on 5-m sections of die-off border and net movement of that border
over 1 year in Georgia and Louisiana (n 0 39 for Georgia, n 0 44 for Louisiana). In the lower panels, 0 m
on the line of the abscissa indicates original position of die-off border and is denoted by a horizontal
arrow; negative numbers close to the current 0-m position indicate further marsh loss and expansion of
mudflats, whereas positive numbers indicate community recovery and grass growth into die-off areas.
For the caging experiment, data for each state were separately analyzed using a two-way (treatment
site) analysis of variance (ANOVA). Data either exhibited homogeneity of variance and were normally
distributed or were transformed using log transformations for assumption conformity. Only linear
contrasts were compared, using Tukeys post hoc test. Because we found no significant effect of site (P 9
0.43, both cases), data from replicate sites were pooled. Solid bars (left) indicate snail exclusion
treatments; open bars (right) indicate uncaged controls. Error bars indicate SE.
R E P O R T S
cating that (i) the interaction of drought stress,
grazing, and directional snail movements can
lead to formation of traveling consumer waves
(17) (fig. S1A), and (ii) consumer fronts form
only when both edaphic stress and snail den-
sities are high, but not when either of these
factors occurs in isolation (fig. S1B). In ad-
dition, model analyses point to the multi-
plicative effects of two forces that have the
potential to strongly affect the health of south-
eastern U.S. marshes: (i) increased incidence
of intense drought, caused by increasing cli-
matic extremes Esee discussion in (8)^, and
(ii) decreased snail mortality rates, which
have the potential to occur as a result of
recent population declines in blue crabs E40
to 85% (18)^, a major predator of Littoraria
(15). Occurring simultaneously, these factors
could act synergistically to increase system
susceptibility to even more intense and pro-
longed vegetation loss and, potentially, unidirec-
tional large-scale collapse. Increased drought
stress lowers the threshold grazer density needed
to generate consumer fronts and runaway con-
sumption of Spartina, as we have shown, while
decreased snail predation may allow that crit-
ical threshold to be crossed even faster. Al-
though decreased predation by blue crabs
could lead to lowered snail mortality rates,
more study is required to clarify the sources
of snail predation and human influence on
top-down control in this system.
Our experimental results provide definitive
field evidence that the interplay between phys-
icochemical stressors and trophic interactions
plays an important role in die-off of coastal
salt marshes in the southern United States.
Drought-induced soil stress can amplify top-
down control by grazers and initiate marsh
plant die-off in localized intertidal areas. These
disturbances then stimulate the formation of
consumer fronts, leading to waves of salt
marsh destruction resulting from runaway con-
sumption. These findings stress that interactions
between food web dynamics and climate must
be considered when investigating community
collapse in coastal systems. Despite similar ob-
servations of consumer fronts leading to habitat
collapse in kelp beds Esea urchins (2)^, arctic salt
marshes Esnow geese (19)^, and coral reefs Esea
stars (20)^all initially in response to human
alteration of food web structure or nutrient
regimes Ebut see (21) for evidence of emerging
climatic feedbacks in arctic marshes^there is
relatively little understanding of how the po-
tential for runaway consumption will interact
with climate changeinduced weather extremes
to affect system stability and persistence.
Recognition of the interactive, nonlinear pro-
cesses by which such effects are manifested is
paramount for successful management of eco-
systems that face anthropogenic impacts through
multiple stressors.
1. W. V. Reid et al., World Bank Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment Report (World Bank, Washington, DC,
2005).
2. J. A. Estes, M. T. Tinker, T. M. Williams, D. F. Doak,
Science 282, 473 (1998).
3. E. J. Farnsworth, A. M. Ellison, Ambio 26, 328 (1997).
4. M. X. Kirby, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 13096
(2004).
5. J. C. Zieman, J. Fourqurean, T. A. Frankovich, Estuaries
22:2B, 460 (1999).
6. J. B. C. Jackson et al., Science 293, 629 (2001).
7. T. P. Hughes, J. E. Tanner, Ecology 81, 2250 (2000).
8. K. L. McKee, I. A. Mendelssohn, M. D. Materne, Global
Ecol. Biogeogr. 13, 65 (2004).
9. Salt Marsh Dieback in Louisiana: Brown Marsh Data
Information Management System (2002) (www.
brownmarsh.net).
10. Georgia Coastal Research Council Fact Sheet: Salt Marsh
Dieback in Coastal Georgia (meeting summary, February
2004) (www.marsci.uga.edu/coastalcouncil/dieback_
workshop.htm).
11. R. Schneider, S. Useman, Proceedings of the 14th
Biennial Coastal Zone Conference, New Orleans, 17 to
21 July 2005.
12. W. J. Mitsch, J. G. Gosselink, Wetlands (Van Nostrand
Reinhold, New York, ed. 2, 2001).
13. B. R. Silliman, A. Bortolus, Oikos 143, 549 (2003).
14. B. R. Silliman, J. C. Zieman, Ecology 82, 2830 (2001).
15. B. R. Silliman, M. D. Bertness, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
U.S.A. 99, 10500 (2002).
16. B. R. Silliman, S. Y. Newell, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
U.S.A. 100, 15643 (2003).
17. See supporting data on Science Online.
18. R. N. Lipcius, W. T. Stockhausen, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.
226, 45 (2002).
19. R. L. Jefferies, in Disturbance and Recovery in Arctic
Lands, R. M. Crawford, Ed. (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht,
Netherlands, 1997), pp. 151165.
20. C. Birkeland, Mar. Biol. 69, 175 (1982).
21. W. R. Skinner, R. L. Jefferies, T. J. Carleton, R. F. Rockwell,
K. F. Abraham, Global Change Biol. 4, 3 (1998).
22. E. M. Swenson, D. E. Evers, J. M. Grimes III, Report to
the Coastal Restoration Division (Louisiana Depart-
ment of Natural Resources, Baton Rouge, LA, 2003).
23. We thank C. Layman, R. Holt, P. Karieva, M. McCoy,
and C. Crain for their comments on the manuscript,
and S. Lee and T. Buck for field assistance. Supported
by a Nature Conservancy David Smith postdoctoral
fellowship, a Georgia Sea grant, a Louisiana Sea
grant, the NSF Ecology and Biological Oceanography
Program, the University of South Carolina Marine
Institute, and the Schure-Beijerinck-Popping Fund.
DC1
Fig. S1
References
1 August 2005; accepted 26 October 2005
10.1126/science.1118229
2
Spartina
Fig. 3. Change in Littoraria density and Spartina biomass over 6 to 12 months on die-off mudflat
(5 m), original border at time zero (0 m), and 5, 10, and 20 m into live marsh at two die-off sites
in Georgia (left) and Louisiana (right). For each distance at each site, n 0 5. In Georgia and
Louisiana, readings were taken at time zero (July 2002), 6 months later, and after 1 year.
Differences in snail density and Spartina biomass were assessed separately for each state and date
using a two-way (distance site) ANOVA. We did not use repeated-measures analysis or Bonferroni
adjustments because we had a priori hypotheses about each date (i.e., snail fronts would be moving
toward grass, dissipating and mowing down Spartina). Because there was no site effect (P 9 0.16), we
pooled data from replicate sites for one analysis per state per date. For snail densities, there was a
significant effect of distance in all cases (P G 0.02). For Spartina biomass, there was a significant effect
of distance at time zero and after 6 and 12 months in Louisiana (P G 0.04) and for time zero and after
6 months in Georgia (P G 0.001).
R E P O R T S
Island Biogeography of
Populations: An Introduced Species
Transforms Survival Patterns
Thomas W. Schoener,
1
* Jonathan B. Losos,
2
David A. Spiller
1
Population phenomena, which provide much of the underlying basis for the
theoretical structure of island biogeography, have received little direct study.
We determined a key population traitsurvivalin the Bahamian lizard
Anolis sagrei on islands with an experimentally introduced predatory lizard
and on neighboring unmanipulated islands. On unmanipulated islands, sur-
vival declined with several variables, most notably vegetation height: The
island with the shortest vegetation had nearly the highest survival recorded
for any lizard. On islands with the introduced predator, which forages mostly
on the ground, A. sagrei shifted to taller vegetation; unlike on unmanipulated
islands, its survival was very low on islands with the shortest vegetation but
was higher on the others. Thus, species introduction radically changed a res-
ident species relation of survival to a key island-biogeographical variable.
When MacArthur and Wilson first proposed
their highly influential equilibrium theory of
island biogeography (1), a main objective was
to predict patterns of species richness as a
function of island area and distance. Subse-
quent research broadened the island properties
to include variables such as habitat and ele-
vation, but the focus on understanding species
richness and related community characteristics
remained (26). Likewise, experimental ap-
proaches to island biogeography dealt almost
entirely with community rather than with
population aspects (7). However, the equilib-
rium theory and its derivatives rely to a great
extent on population phenomena for their
underlying assumptions, making research on
population traits necessary for mechanistic
understanding. Here, we report an experi-
mental study designed to examine how a prey
population-level trait, in this case survival,
relates to major island variables. We inves-
tigated not only island area, an original com-
ponent of the island-equilibrium model, but
also a habitat variablevegetation height
because a number of previous studies have
shown that such variables were better pre-
dictors of species richness than area. We also
investigated a key ecological variable, popu-
lation density of the subject species, the lizard
Anolis sagrei.
We selected 12 neighboring islands varying
in area, habitat, and A. sagrei population size
(population size and population density are
strongly correlated: r 0 0.86). The islands are
located near Snake Cay and Buckaroon Bay,
Abaco, Bahamas. The islands range from 104
to 324 m
2
in vegetated area, at the small end of
the continuum for islands that have A. sagrei
(8). They are rather sparsely covered with trees
(up to 3.8 m in height) and/or shrubs (many
quite prostrate). On six islands, we introduced
the larger lizard Leiocephalus carinatus, a pred-
ator on the smaller A. sagrei. To avoid strong
predator density dependence, L. carinatus prop-
agule size was scaled to the population size of
A. sagrei (9). The introduction of the larger
lizard caused A. sagrei to shift to higher
perches (10). As the islands differed substan-
tially in the availability of such perches, we
selected a measure of vegetation height as the
most relevant habitat variable.
The unmanipulated islands, containing A.
sagrei with no introduced predator, showed
negative relations of survival (percentage of
the original cohort still alive by Date X) to all
three variables (9). After 6 months (the time
when about half the A. sagrei individuals had
died), Pearson r for vegetation height was 0.90
(using the arcsin square-root transformation for
survival and log transformation for height) and
r values for A. sagrei population density and
area (both log-transformed) were 0.75 and
0.37, respectively. Annual survival (9), highly
related to the 6-month measure, gives similar
results for vegetation (r 0 0.86), density (r 0
0.81), and area (r 0 0.28). If we focused on
a single one of these correlations, a Pearson
r exceeding in magnitude 0.73 would be
significant at the 5% level (one-tailed P). How-
ever, the results are highly related because the
three island variables are positively intercor-
related: area/density r 0 0.34, area/vegetation
height r 0 0.55, and vegetation height/density
r 0 0.61 (Fig. 1). Two of the variables are
statistically confounded, and collinearity mea-
sured by the condition number is much too high
(11) to perform multiple regression of survival
with any two or all three island variables (9).
Rather, we accept as the best description the
single island variable giving the strongest corre-
lation with survivalnamely, vegetation height
(Fig. 2). Survival values over the six islands
span the great majority of the possible range:
Survival after 6 months varies from the nearly
immortal (91.4% of individuals survived on the
island that had the shortest vegetation, which
was also the smallest island) to a very high
mortality (25.6% of individuals survived on the
island that had the tallest vegetation, which was
also the largest island). Annual survival on the
island with the shortest vegetation is still 80%,
tied for the highest determined for any Anolis
and only exceeded by one other lizard species
population known to us (12).
Notably, vegetation height gives a substan-
tially stronger correlation with survival than
does area. Islands with higher vegetation are
especially attractive to birds: A study of more
than 500 islands in the Bahamas showed that
occurrences and diversity of bird species in-
1
Section of Evolution and Ecology, University of Califor-
nia, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
2
Department of Biology,
Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Fig. 1. Relationships between variables charac-
terizing the 12 study islands. (A) A. sagrei pop-
ulation density versus area. (B) Vegetation
height versus area. (C) Population density versus
vegetation height.
R E P O R T S
crease more with amount of higher vegetation
than with other variables (8), including area.
We would therefore expect this result if birds
were the main natural predator on our 12 study
islands. Prey density, however, is also strongly
correlated with survival, which also suggests
bird predation, particularly from itinerants. The
larger the density of prey on an island, the
more likely itinerant predators will be present,
because it is profitable to spend more time
there (13). This expectation is often supported
by data (14). Furthermore, the greater the
density, the more per capita interaction there
is among prey individuals, leading to a greater
likelihood of capture by predators (15).
How does the addition of a large predatory
lizard species change this marked relation of
survival to island vegetation height? The pred-
ator is substantially longer and stockier than
A. sagrei and perches mainly on the ground
and rocks. It only occasionally (and sometimes
awkwardly) perches on the vegetation, but
generally close to the ground and on relatively
thick branches. Hence, a refuge from this
predator for A. sagrei is the vegetation, par-
ticularly the higher branches and twigs (which
tend to be thinner). One might expect, there-
fore, that availability of such perches would
enhance survival in A. sagrei (16). If no other
factors were involved, this would imply that
islands with higher vegetation should have
higher survival, the opposite of the trend ex-
pected from the other (e.g., bird) predators,
which was indeed found on unmanipulated
islands. As expected, results after introducing
the large terrestrial predator give very dif-
ferent plots of survival versus vegetation
height for the six manipulated islands than
for the controls. First, the relation is now pos-
itive, not negative as it is for the unmanipu-
lated islands (Fig. 2). Pearson r values are
high but not quite statistically significant at
the 5% level (6 months, r 0 0.65; 1 year, r 0
0.71). However, an analysis of covariance on
the entire set of 12 islands gives a highly
significant (treatment)*(vegetation height) in-
teraction term (two-tailed P 0 0.005 for both
6 months and 1 year). Second, the shapes of
the curve are different (supporting online ma-
terial text).
The difference in survival values between
islands with and without the introduced pred-
ator varies substantially with vegetation height
(Fig. 2). For islands with the shortest vegeta-
tion (which tend to be small), survival is much
greater in the absence of the introduced
predator. In particular, 80.0 to 91.4% of lizards
on the two control islands with the shortest
vegetation survived 6 months, whereas 6.3 to
15.2% did so on the two introduction islands
that had the shortest vegetation (values of
vegetation height are very similar between
controls and introductions). In contrast, for
moderate to large vegetation heights, little to
no difference in survival exists; if mortality
factors were additive, one might expect that
introduction islands with vegetation of these
heights would have lower survival. Instead, the
pattern found is consistent with compensatory
mortality factors (1719); no more lizards were
killed on islands with moderate to large vege-
tation height in the presence of the introduced
predator than were killed in its absence.
How might such compensation take place?
A simple explanation is that mortality from
predators other than L. carinatus is smaller on
introduction than on control islands. But why
would mortality from other predators decline?
It seems likely that such predators would be
mostly itinerant birds (rats are also possible),
which include the study islands within their
foraging range but only occasionally (if ever)
nest on one of them. Were potential prey re-
duced by the introduced lizards on a particular
island, such itinerant predators would feed
there less, much as is depicted by optimal
foraging conceptualizations (13). In other
words, the predator that can select feeding
sites over a broad region can avoid those is-
lands to which the nonitinerant introduced
predators are necessarily confined (20). Addi-
tionally, especially vulnerable prey individuals
will mostly be eaten by the introduced lizard
predator, leaving few prey that the itinerant pred-
ators can easily capture.
Losey and Denno (17) showed for an
arthropod assemblage that when a predator
caused a shift of prey to a different habitat, a
synergistic effect arose in which the prey
suffered from the predators in the original
habitat and were more vulnerable to the pred-
ators in the new habitat. In this case, not only
was compensatory predation not operating, but
even additive predation underestimated the
combined effect of the several predators. A
similar phenomenon might have been expected
for our system, with A. sagrei shifting upwards
in the vegetation and thereby increasing their
vulnerability to predation by birds. However,
the pattern of survival that we found is in-
consistent with this expectation, leading to the
inference that predation by birds takes place
mostly at lower sites, including the ground,
perhaps because A. sagrei is in general much
more vulnerable there. A trial (9) in which
clay-model lizards were placed in low po-
sitions (on the ground or rocks) produced
significantly fewer marksplausibly the result
of bird pecking (21, 22)on the control island
with the second-shortest vegetation (13%) than
on the control island with the tallest vegetation
(67%; P 0 0.007). The difference is in line
with Fig. 2 and implies substantial attempted
predation at low sites on the nonintroduction
island with the tallest vegetation.
The kind of compensation we are hypothe-
sizing can provide the basis of a simple model
giving the form (9) and positioning of the
curve relating survival to vegetation height on
introduction islands. Assume that itinerant bird
predators kill those prey not killed by the
introduced lizard predator, but only up to the
point that the number they kill plus the number
the introduced lizard predator kills equals the
number the itinerants would kill if the island
did not have the introduced lizard predator.
The rule is roughly consistent with the mar-
ginal value theorem (13), whereby all patches
(regardless of the value when entered by the
predator) are left at the same marginal intake
rate, corresponding to the same giving-up
density (23). Such marginals are unlikely to
change much for the entire site by manipula-
tion of six islands, so the departure rule should
be about the same with and without the
introduced predator. Thus, on islands where
the introduced predator kills a relatively large
percentage of the prey, itinerants would kill no
additional prey. On islands where prey are
better able to avoid the introduced predator,
itinerants kill some prey, but fewer than they
would in the absence of the introduced pred-
ator. Figure 3 gives hypothetical examples.
Assume (Fig. 3A) that the percentage of prey
killed on control islands by itinerant birds
rises linearly with vegetation height and then
asymptotes, approximately as the data for control
islands behave (Fig. 2). The curve representing
Fig. 2. Survival fractions versus vegetation height
on control (solid) and introduction (clear) islands
in November 2003, 6 months after initiation of
the experiment (A) and in May 2004, 1 year
after initiation of the experiment (B).
R E P O R T S
predation by the large lizard is assumed to
decline monotonically with vegetation height,
either linearly (curve A) or asymptotically
(curve B). The actual number killed by both
predators is then the number killed by the
introduced large lizard or the number killed by
itinerant birds on the control island, whichever
is larger. The resulting survival curves for
introduction islands are depicted in Fig. 3B,
which should be compared with the actual
curves of Fig. 2. Although consistent with the
data and hypothesized mechanisms involving
itinerant birds, definitive evaluation awaits
further investigation.
By using an archipelago of small islands as
a laboratory for both comparative study and
manipulative experiment, we showed a notable
natural relation of survival rate to island
characteristicsespecially vegetation height
and the ability of an introduced predator to
transform that relation. Implications of this
study extend beyond islands: Vegetation struc-
ture over much of Earth_s surface is being
precisely characterized, in part to understand
how species populations respond to anthropo-
genic changes in land use or in climate (2426).
However, information beyond vegetation struc-
ture may be crucial. Thus, in our study, sur-
vival is unrelated to vegetation height if data
from all 12 islands are considered together (r 0
0.23, 0.24), yet knowing which islands have
the introduced predator makes the latter a good
predictor of survival rates.
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Biogeography (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ,
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73, 262 (1976).
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505 (2004).
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and Hall, New York, 1993), pp. 183210.
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14. D. W. Stephens, J. R. Krebs, Foraging Theory (Princeton
Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, 1986).
15. Deleterious effects increasing with density that are
purely intraspecific are also possible. For the subject
A. sagrei, it is unlikely that such effectsintraspecific
competition for food and consequences of aggressive
interactionswould by themselves result in mortal-
ity, because the lizards marked for this study were
relatively large.
16. Moreover, L. carinatus is thermophilic, depending on
sufficient sunlight for its activity during cooler times of
the year. Islands having taller vegetation on average
have less sunlight striking the ground, which is where
L. carinatus mostly forage. Hence, their average
predation rate should be lower on such islands.
17. J. E. Losey, R. F. Denno, Ecology 79, 2143 (1999).
18. S. L. Lima, L. M. Dill, Can. J. Zool. 68, 619 (1990).
19. A. Sih, G. Englund, D. Wooster, Trends Ecol. Evol. 13,
350 (1998).
20. L. carinatus, the introduced predator, feeds on prey
palatable to large birds other than small lizards,
specifically large arthropods (27).
21. E. D. Brodie III, Anim. Behav. 45, 851 (1993).
22. A. M. Castilla, A. Labra, Acta Oecol. 19, 107 (1998).
23. J. S. Brown, Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 22, 37 (1988).
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28. We thank J. Chase and reviewers for helpful com-
ments, and the NSF and National Geographic Society
for support.
DC1
SOM Text
References
10.1126/science.1120165
Long-Term Modulation of
Electrical Synapses in the
Mammalian Thalamus
Carole E. Landisman
1,2
* and Barry W. Connors
1
Electrical synapses are common between inhibitory neurons in the mamma-
lian thalamus and neocortex. Synaptic modulation, which allows flexibility of
communication between neurons, has been studied extensively at chemical
synapses, but modulation of electrical synapses in the mammalian brain has
barely been examined. We found that the activation of metabotropic gluta-
mate receptors, via endogenous neurotransmitter or by agonist, causes long-
term reduction of electrical synapse strength between the inhibitory neurons
of the rat thalamic reticular nucleus.
Connexin36 (Cx36)-containing gap junctions
are a major mechanism of communication
between the inhibitory neurons of the rodent
thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) (1, 2). More
than 50% of neighboring TRN neurons inter-
act via electrical coupling. TRN neurons, which
provide feedback inhibition to the thalamus,
also receive strong glutamatergic synaptic in-
puts from neurons in the deep layers of neo-
cortex (3). These corticothalamic fibers can
activate metabotropic glutamate receptors
(mGluRs) on TRN neurons (2, 47).
We used dual whole-cell recordings in
rat thalamocortical slices under infrared
differential interference contrast (IR-DIC) vi-
sualization (Fig. 1A) to measure the strength
of electrical synapses interconnecting adja-
cent neuron pairs Ecoupling coefficient (cc) 0
0.08 T 0.06, mean T SE, n 0 30 pairs^. The
strength of electrical coupling was tested be-
fore and after briefly tetanizing corticothalamic
(CT) fibers or applying the mGluR agonist
(1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic
Fig. 3. (A) Hypothetical mortality curves as a
function of vegetation height. The fraction of
prey killed by the large introduced lizard predator
decreases with vegetation height, either linearly
(a) or asymptotically (b). The fraction of prey
killed by natural predators such as itinerant birds
increases with vegetation height, with a small
asymptotic portion at the end. (B) Predicted sur-
vival curves as a function of vegetation height.
These curves consist of two segments, the first
of which is the complement (1 fraction killed)
of the large lizard predator curve to the left of
the intersection, and the second is the comple-
ment of the itinerant bird predator curve to the
right of the intersection.
1
Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and
Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912,
USA.
2
Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical
School, 220 Longwood Avenue, GB2-504, Boston, MA
02115, USA.
R E P O R T S
acid (ACPD). Ionotropic glutamatergic re-
sponses were blocked pharmacologically in all
experiments.
The tetani depolarized 15 of 18 neurons
tested (from nine paired recordings) (Fig. 1B);
of these, 11 fired action potentials, and the
remaining 3 neurons hyperpolarized in re-
sponse to the stimuli. All cells recovered their
baseline resting potential (V
rest
) within 500 ms
to 2 s poststimulus. Changes of coupling strength
were tested after baseline recovery.
Tetanic stimulation caused a long-lasting
reduction in electrical coupling strength. In one
example, the coupling coefficient was reduced
by 36% after the tetanus and showed no signs
of recovery, even 40 min posttetanus (Fig. 1C).
More detailed analysis of the time course of
coupling before and after the tetanus revealed
that prestimulus coupling strength varied lit-
tle, but within 5 min after CT shocks the cou-
pling coefficient dropped to steady state values,
where it remained for the duration of most re-
cordings (Fig. 1D). Both the pretetanus sta-
bility and the long-term changes in coupling
strength after stimulation were found for all
pairs tested (n 0 9). However, two of the nine
pairs showed slight recovery of coupling
strength Q 30 min poststimulus, and one pair
showed full recovery at 20 min. Overall, the
coupling coefficient (cc) and the junctional con-
ductance (Gc) (8, 9) of the electrical synapses
dropped for all 9 pairs (cc mean 0 24% and
range from 6 to 52%; Gc mean 0 19% and
range from 9 to 36%) (Fig. 1E). A small
consistent drop caused the difference in Gc
versus cc reduction in input resistance (R
in
)
after tetanic stimulation (12 of 18 cells from
nine pairs), but this change was not significant
(mean T SE change 0 7 T 6%, n 0 18 cells,
P 0 0.27, two-tailed paired t test). The tetanus-
induced changes in coupling strength were
prevented by including an mGluR antagonist
in the bath before stimulation (Fig. 1F).
We have previously shown that TRN re-
sponses to tetanic stimulation can be simulated
by application of ACPD (2) (fig. S1). The
mGluR agonist depolarized all cells and in-
duced continuous spiking (Fig. 2A). Three to
five min after washout, resting membrane
potential returned to baseline levels. Over a
population of cells, there was no consistent in-
crease or decrease in R
in
; however, most cells
did exhibit immediate changes in R
in
(both
increases and decreases) with ACPD in the
bath (mean change e 5 min of ACPD start 0
0 T 15%, n 0 9 cells). R
in
remained stable and
similar to predrug amounts for at least 10 to
30 min post-ACPD (mean change of 7 T 17%,
P 0 0.11, two-tailed paired t test). During con-
trol recordings of similar duration but without
ACPD application, membrane R
in
was stable.
ACPD reduced electrical coupling responses
of TRN cells (Fig. 2B) to a degree comparable
to the effects of CT tetanus. During a current
step applied to TRN 1, the amplitude of the
postsynaptic voltage in TRN 2 dropped 23%
after ACPD application, indicating a reduction
in coupling strength. The weakened response
persisted after washout. All neuron pairs tested
showed a decrease in coupling coefficient and
coupling conductance after ACPD application
Ecc 0 26 T 5% and Gc 0 23 T 3% (mean
reduction T SE), n 0 7 pairs) (Fig. 2E). The
pooled data were similar to the single case
shown (Fig. 2C) and demonstrated that 25 min
of washout did not restore predrug coupling
strength (Fig. 2E). As seen with the tetanus
paradigm, prior application of (S)-a-methyl-
4-carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG) prevented
ACPD-induced changes for all pairs tested,
indicating that the change in coupling strength
required mGluR activation (Fig. 2, D and F).
We also tested the effects of modulating
electrical synapses on electrical postsynaptic
potentials (ePSPs) evoked by presynaptic spike
bursts and by single spikes (burstlets and spike-
lets, respectively). ACPD consistently reduced
the amplitude of both burstlets and spikelets
(Fig. 3, A to D, and table S1) as well as their
relative coupling strength (Fig. 3, E and F). The
coupling strength of bursts and spikes were
reduced by similar amounts Eburst cc 0 28.2 T
7.1% and spike cc 0 26.5 T 9.9% (mean re-
duction T SE), P 0 0.58, two-tailed unpaired
t test^ (Fig. 3, E and F).
As described previously (1, 2), electrical
synapses between thalamic reticular neurons
attenuate single spikes much more than bursts
because of the low-pass filtering characteristics
Fig. 1. Effects of tetanic stimulation on gap junction strength. (A) IR-DIC image of the thal-
amocortical slice with diagram of tetanus paradigm. Scale bars indicate 1 mm and 20 mm (inset).
(Inset) High-magnification view of recorded neurons in TRN. (B) Responses of an electrically coupled
neuron pair to tetanic stimulation. (C) Injected cell responses (TRN 1) and electrical coupling re-
sponses (TRN 2) before tetanus, after tetanus, and after recovery. Control cc equaled 0.11 and 0.07
immediately posttetanus to the end of recording. (D) Time-course measure of coupling coefficient in
a pair of neurons before and after tetanus. (E) Normalized cc (black squares) and Gc (gray open
circles) for nine pairs of cells before and after tetanic stimulation. Y values are normalized to the
average of values collected before stimulation for each pair. (F) Normalized cc and Gc for four pairs
before and after tetanic stimulation in the presence of MCPG. Time points represent 5-min bins, with
0 min equal to the time of tetanic stimulation. Each trace (C) and value per pair (D to F) is the
average of 10 to 30 trials (mean T SE).
R E P O R T S
Fig. 2. Effects of ACPD on gap junction strength.
(A) Cells depolarized to spiking during washing.
A hyperpolarizing current step was delivered to
TRN 1 (at trace start). (B) Step (100 pA) re-
sponses (TRN 1) before, during, and after ACPD
and corresponding gap junction responses (TRN 2).
Control cc was 0.05 then 0.03 immediately post-
tetanus through recovery. (C) cc time course of a
neuron pair before and after ACPD application.
(D) cc time course of a neuron pair before and
after MCPG then ACPD application. Traces and
time points show 10 to 30 trial averages (B to D).
(E) cc and Gc time course for seven TRN pairs
before and after ACPD application. (F) cc and Gc
time course for five TRN pairs before drug ap-
plication and after MCPG then ACPD wash. (E
and F) y values normalized and x values binned
as in Fig. 1F; each value per pair is the average of
10 to 30 trials. Gray bars (C and D) and dotted
lines (E and F) indicate wash times. Error bars in
(E) and (F) indicate SE.
Fig. 3. Effect of ACPD modulation on gap junc-
tion transmission of spikes and bursts. (A) Con-
trol (black) and post-ACPD (gray) single bursts
(bottom); postsynaptic burstlet responses di-
rectly above corresponding bursts. (B) Control
(black) and post-ACPD (gray) single-action po-
tentials (bottom) in ACSF (black) and post-ACPD
(gray); spikelet responses above. (C) Paired av-
erage burstlet amplitudes before and after ACPD.
(D) Paired average spikelet amplitudes before
and after ACPD. (E) Paired average burst-to-
burstlet cc before and after ACPD. Burst cc,
pre- versus post-, P G 0.04. (F) Paired average
spike-to-spikelet coupling coefficients before and
after ACPD. Spike cc, pre- versus post-, P G 0.03.
Two-tailed paired t tests (E and F). N 0 9 cell
pairs (C to F). Thick gray lines indicate popula-
tion means (C to F). (G) The scaling relationship
of direct current coupling coefficients versus burst
and spike cc. Black solid symbols, control; gray
open symbols, post-ACPD from the same neuron
pairs; circles, burst cc; triangles, spike cc. Regres-
sion lines generated from ACSF and post-ACPD
pooled data. Burstlet slope 0 1.9 (r
2
0 0.94);
spikelet slope 0 0.05 (r
2
0 0.41). (H and I)
Coupling strength versus amplitude of the post-
synaptic event before and after ACPD. (H)
Burstlets, slope 0 23 (r
2
0 0.87). (I) Spikelets,
slope 0 42 (r
2
0 0.73). Burstlet data points are
an average of two to four events per cell.
Spikelet data points are the average of 10 to
20 events (C to I).
R E P O R T S
of the interconnected neurons and the slow
voltage trajectory of a burst. On average, spike
bursts evoke ePSPs with peak amplitudes about
seven times larger than those of the ePSPs
evoked by single spikes (table S1) Eburstlet/
spikelet amplitudes were 7.4 and 7.1 in arti-
ficial cerebro-spinal fluid (ACSF) and ACPD,
respectively^, even though the amplitudes of
presynaptic spikes are about twice as large as
the slow depolarizing envelope of bursts (table
S1) (spike/burst amplitudes were 2.0 and 1.9
for ACSF and ACPD, respectively). The rela-
tive attenuation of bursts versus spikes is illus-
trated by the difference in the slopes (Fig. 3G)
(2). Because ACPD caused very few persist-
ent changes in the passive nonjunctional
membrane properties of the neurons (table
S1), there are no changes in these linear
relationships of step attenuation versus burst
and spike attenuation after ACPD. Addition-
ally, the scaling factors for coupling strength
versus amplitude of the postsynaptic events
remained constant for burst and spike trans-
mission (Fig. 3, H and I). The only persist-
ent change that we observed was that most
cells lost one spike per burst after ACPD
application (n 0 8 of 11 cells, range of 3 to 8
spikes per burst before ACPD and 2 to 7 after)
(table S1).
Presumably, one of the most important func-
tions of gap junctions in the brain is to correlate
the activity of coupled neurons (1013). Elec-
trical synapses of TRN cells can robustly syn-
chronize the firing of neuron pairs under normal
conditions (1, 2). Thus, the reduction of cou-
pling strength by mGluR activation could have
important functional consequences for spike
synchrony. We measured the effective coupling
of pairs of neurons before and after ACPD and
tested the strength of spike timing correlations
during repetitive firing (Fig. 4). Weakening of
synchrony is apparent in the single-trial exam-
ple (Fig. 4B): Much larger jitter in spike timing
of TRN2 relative to TRN1 is seen after ACPD
treatment. Reduction of coordinated activity
was also demonstrated by measuring cross-
correlations of multiple trials (Fig. 4C). ACPD-
induced reduction of electrical synapse strength
was always accompanied by a decrease in spike
synchrony, indicated by the correlation coef-
ficients derived from cross-correlation analysis
(Fig. 4D) (n 0 5 pairs, P 0 0.02, two-tailed
paired t test).
mGluR activation (by endogenous gluta-
mate or bath-applied agonist) caused a long-
lasting, 20 to 30% reduction of electrical
synapse strength between TRN neurons. The
reduction of gap junction communication
caused a consistent decrease in the size of both
slow and fast postsynaptic events and weak-
ened electrical synapse-mediated synchrony of
spiking between pairs of TRN neurons.
Modulation of synapses by transmitters or
activity has been studied extensively at mam-
malian chemical synapses. Modifiable strength
expands the computational abilities of each
synaptic contact. Activity-dependent modula-
tion of neuronal electrical junctions, however,
has not been previously characterized in the
mammalian central nervous system (CNS).
Prior studies have shown gap junction
modulation in other systems. Functional elec-
trical synapses between TRN neurons require
Cx36 (1, 11, 13). Cx35, the fish ortholog of
Cx36, shares consensus phosphorylation sites
with Cx36 (14). Cyclic adenosine monophos-
phate (cAMP) analogs cause a reduction in
perch Cx35 hemichannel currents expressed in
oocytes, presumably via a specific phospho-
rylation site (14). In synapses onto Mauthner
cells, neural activity and activation of protein
kinase II induce long-term changes of both
chemical and electrical communication strength
(1518). The best evidence for modulation of
Cx36 gap junctions comes from studies of reti-
nal neurons (19). Mammalian amacrine cells
have Cx36 gap junctions (20) that can be weak-
ened by dopamine (21). There have also been
suggestions of gap junctional modulation from
tracer-coupling experiments done in neocortex
(22), hypothalamus (23), and striatum (24) (al-
though the relationship of these measurements
to electrical coupling is unclear).
The gap junction modulation we describe
here is functionally similar to mGluR-induced
long-term depression at chemical synapses. In
both cases, activation of mGluRs (by tetanus or
agonist) induces slow postsynaptic effects last-
ing hundreds of milliseconds (Fig. 1B), and
neuronal communication is then reduced by
20 to 50% for tens of minutes (2526). Con-
sidering the similarities to chemical synapse
modulation along with the bidirectional modu-
lation seen at invertebrate electrical synapses, it
is likely that electrical long-term potentiation
(LTP) also exists at mammalian gap junction
synapses (1517).
The corticothalamic fibers originating from
the deep layers of neocortex activate ionotrop-
ic AMPA, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), and
mGluRs in cells of the mammalian dorsal
thalamus (47). The excitatory action of the
corticothalamic pathway plays a part in regu-
lating the flow of information from sensory
input, through relay nuclei of the thalamus,
and into neocortex. Because mGluR activation
reduces junctional coupling between TRN neu-
rons, corticofugal input could effectively de-
synchronize inhibition of moderately coupled
neurons that would otherwise be coordinated
via electrical coupling. This decrease of co-
ordinated inhibitory output from TRN could, in
turn, enhance the efficacy of small amplitude
excitatory events received by thalamic relay
cells, making small sensory stimuli more sa-
lient during alert, exploratory states.
Another important role of TRN inhibition
is to change the gating of thalamic relay cells
from bursting to tonic mode, which is associ-
ated with changes from sleep to wakefulness
(27, 28). Reduced coupling strength between
TRN cells during mGluR activation may con-
tribute to the transition from thalamocortical
Fig. 4. Effect of re-
duced coupling strength
on spike coordination.
(A) Example responses
of simultaneous spiking
used to measure spike
correlation before and
after ACPD. Gray lines
indicate correlation
analysis window. (B)
Demonstration of spike-
triggered spikes in one
trial before ACPD and
one trial after for a
TRN pair. The best sin-
gle trial for each test
was selected for com-
parison. Gray traces,
post-ACPD, and black
traces, controls (in
ACSF). Top and bottom
traces (TRN 1 trigger
spikes) are the super-
imposed single spikes
locked to their peaks
(appear as one trace
but have 40 spikes
each). The middle traces
(TRN 2 response spikes)
are the spikes closest
in time to each of the trigger spikes over an 8-ms window (T4 ms). (C) Cross-correlation of tonic
action potentials before (black) and after (gray) ACPD for one TRN. Y axis normalized to average
spikes per bin. Correlograms calculated from 10 consecutive trials each. (D) Paired correlation
coefficients before and after ACPD (n 0 5 cell pairs). Thick gray line is the population mean.
R E P O R T S
rhythms and burst firing to tonic firing of
both TRN and relay cells (29). Thus, mGluRs
may play a role in regulating the spatial and
temporal coordination of inhibition to the dor-
sal thalamus.
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Brown University, in accordance with NIH guidelines.
We thank J. Gibson for writing software, S. Patrick for
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gestions. Supported by NIH grants NS40528, NS25983,
and NS050434 and Shore Scholars in Medicine Pro-
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DC1
Fig. S1
Table S1
10 May 2005; accepted 11 November 2005
10.1126/science.1114655
Glial Membranes at the
Node of Ranvier Prevent
Neurite Outgrowth
Jeffrey K. Huang,
1,2
Greg R. Phillips,
1
Alejandro D. Roth,
3
Liliana Pedraza,
3
Weisong Shan,
3
Wiam Belkaid,
3
Sha Mi,
4
Asa Fex-Svenningsen,
5
Laurence Florens,
6
John R. Yates III,
7
David R. Colman
1,3
*
Nodes of Ranvier are regularly placed, nonmyelinated axon segments along
myelinated nerves. Here we show that nodal membranes isolated from the
central nervous system (CNS) of mammals restricted neurite outgrowth of
cultured neurons. Proteomic analysis of these membranes revealed several
inhibitors of neurite outgrowth, including the oligodendrocyte myelin glyco-
protein (OMgp). In rat spinal cord, OMgp was not localized to compact myelin,
as previously thought, but to oligodendroglia-like cells, whose processes con-
verge to form a ring that completely encircles the nodes. In OMgp-null mice,
CNS nodes were abnormally wide and collateral sprouting was observed. Nodal
ensheathment in the CNS may stabilize the node and prevent axonal sprouting.
Myelin sheaths that wrap around neuronal
axons are periodically interrupted by nodes
of Ranvier that enable saltatory conduction
(1) (Fig. 1A). After peripheral nervous system
(PNS) injury, axonal sprouting from neigh-
boring unlesioned nerves commonly occurs at
nodes of Ranvier, allowing for the reestab-
lishment of functional neurocircuitry (2, 3). In
contrast, injury-induced sprouting rarely occurs
at CNS nodes despite the absence of myelin,
which is inhibitory to neurite outgrowth (4).
One explanation for the nonresponsiveness of
CNS axons to injury might be that sprouting
is prevented by nonmyelin-derived factors
present in the nodal vicinity.
To identify such inhibitory factors, we iso-
lated membranes of the mammalian CNS nod-
al axoglial apparatus, comprising the node and
flanking paranodal domains, by subcellular frac-
tionation of dissected bovine, mouse, or human
white matter. Because the nodal axoglial ap-
paratus is morphologically distinct from mye-
lin (Fig. 1B) and likely to be of greater density
due to a higher protein:lipid ratio than mye-
lin, we reasoned that membranes of the nodal
axoglial apparatus might be sheared away dur-
ing homogenization and be concentrated at an
isopycnic density greater than that of compact
myelin. We modified a synaptosome protocol
(5) by using as starting material CNS white
matter that contained myelinated axons and
was devoid of synaptic endings. Membrane
fractions were recovered from sucrose density
gradients at a 0.32/1.0 M interface, compris-
ing compact myelin membranes (6), and at a
1.0/1.25 M interface, which we provisionally
termed Baxogliasomes.[ Ultrastructural exam-
ination of axogliasomes revealed membrane
profiles characteristic of paranodal loops, at-
tached to underlying axolemmal fragments
(Fig. 1C). In contrast, profiles of compact my-
elin and synaptosomes were rarely detected.
Immunoelectron microscopy examination with
a paranode-specific marker, Caspr (7, 8), con-
firmed that the observed membranes were de-
rived from the nodal axoglial apparatus (Fig.
1D). We also investigated whether axoglia-
somes contained appropriate biochemical mark-
ers for the nodal axoglial apparatus. The
known paranodal markers Caspr, contactin,
and neurofascin-155 (9), as well as the nodal
marker, neurofascin-186 (10), were all detected
by Western blot analysis of the axogliasome
fraction, whereas compact myelin-specific
markers, the proteolipid proteins PLP and
DM20, were barely detected (Fig. 1E). The
detection of myelin-associated glycoprotein
(MAG) in compact myelin and axogliasomes
was expected, because it is expressed through-
out periaxolemmal channels of compact mye-
lin and at paranodes (11). Axogliasomes are
thus morphologically and biochemically dis-
tinct from membranes derived from compact
myelin and comprise the entire nodal axo-
glial apparatus.
It is well established that purified compact
myelin membranes can effectively limit neu-
rite outgrowth activity in cell culture owing to
myelin-specific inhibitory factors (4). To de-
termine if CNS nodes of Ranvier also con-
tain inhibitory factors for axon outgrowth,
1
Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New
York, NY 10029, USA.
2
Wellcome Trust/Cancer Re-
search UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge,
Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK.
3
The
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University,
3801 University Street, Montreal PQ H3A 2B4, Canada.
4
Biogen Idec, Discovery Biology, 14 Cambridge Center,
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
5
Department of Genetics
and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University,
SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
6
Stowers Institute, 1000
East 50th Street, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA.
7
De-
partment of Cell Biology SR11, The Scripps Research
Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA
92037, USA.
R E P O R T S
we seeded embryonic rat cerebellar (Cb) neu-
rons onto axogliasome-spotted culture cham-
bers at increasing protein concentrations, and
axon lengths were measured after 36 hours in
culture. For comparison, we also seeded Cb
neurons onto compact myelin-spotted chambers.
The outgrowth capacity of Cb neurons was lim-
ited in the presence of axogliasomes, and sprout-
ing decreased exponentially as the concentration
of axogliasome proteins increased from as low
as 50 ng/ml (Fig. 1F). We found that Cb neurites
were on average 20 nm in length at 100 ng/ml
axogliasome concentrationa near-fourfold de-
crease compared with control water-spotted cul-
tures (Fig. 1H). We also found that neurite
lengths decreased by nearly eightfold com-
pared with water-spotted cultures as the con-
centration of axogliasomes increased up to
1000 ng/ml. Indeed, the inhibitory effect of
axogliasomes on axon outgrowth was compa-
rable to that of myelin-coated culture chambers
at the same protein concentrations tested (Fig.
1, F and H). To determine if the nonpermissive
effect of axogliasomes also applied to post-
natal neurons, we dissected dorsal root ganglia
(DRG) from postnatal day 8 (P8) rats, placed
the ganglia directly onto axogliasome-coated
coverslips at increasing protein concentrations,
and incubated them for 7 days in culture be-
fore measuring their axon lengths. We ob-
served the outgrowth capacity of DRG axons
reduced by about fourfold, from greater than
4 mm to less than 1 mm in length, when axo-
gliasomes concentrations increased from 25 to
1000 ng/ml (Fig. 1, G and I). These observa-
tions suggest the presence of potent inhibitory
peptides at the CNS node of Ranvier that limit
axon outgrowth activity in both embryonic and
postnatal neurons.
To identify the protein constituents that
might mediate neurite outgrowth activity, we
subjected axogliasomes to proteomic analy-
sis by multidimensional protein identification
technology (MudPIT) (12). MudPIT detects
peptides comprising all isoelectric points, mo-
lecular weights, and hydrophobicities, includ-
ing integral membrane and low-abundance
proteins. Rather than analyzing peptides de-
rived from excised gel pieces, it separates and
further fragments peptides from a solubilized
membrane fraction by a combination of multi-
dimensional liquid chromatography and tan-
dem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), followed by
an automated sequence analysis of individual
peptide fragments eluted from the chromatog-
raphy column. More than 300 nonredundant
proteins were identified from axogliasomes
(Fig. 2A), including many with known local-
ization to the nodal axoglial apparatus (Fig.
2B). We also identified proteins that were
previously unsuspected as constituents of the
nodal axoglial apparatus (Fig. 2B), such as
a disintegrin and metalloprotease protein 23
(ADAM23) (13), and collapsin response medi-
ator protein 2 (Crmp-2). Several known nega-
tive regulators of neurite outgrowth (Fig. 2B)
were also identified, including MAG, versican,
protein kinase C (1417), and the oligodendro-
cyte myelin glycoprotein (OMgp) (18, 19). By
Western blot analysis, OMgp was detected at
the expected molecular sizes of 95 to 120 kD
(20) and was present in both CNS white matter
membranes and axogliasomes (Fig. 2C).
Although its precise distribution had not
been demonstrated, OMgp has generally been
regarded as a component of myelin membranes
(20). OMgp was not detected in compact my-
Fig. 1. Isolated membranes of CNS nodal axoglial apparatus prevent neurite outgrowth. (A)
Longitudinal section of P15 rat spinal cord labeled with antibody to sodium channel (antisodium
channel) (blue) at the node of Ranvier, anti-Caspr (red) at the paranode, and antipotassium channel
(green) at the juxtaparanode. Bar, 2.5 mm. (B) Longitudinal section of rat CNS revealed the paranode,
comprising characteristic paranodal loops (asterisks) attached to the axolemma through septate
densities (arrowheads). Bar, 180 nm. (C) Bovine axogliasomes contained 250- to 500-nm vesicles
(asterisks) attached to one another and to underlying axolemmal fragments. Bar, 550 nm. (D)
Detection of Caspr-gold particles (arrows) in isolated paranodal membranes (asterisks). Bar, 375 nm.
(E) Western blot analysis demonstrating the enrichment of proteins from the nodal axoglial
apparatus in axogliasomes (Axg) isolated from bovine white matter (WM) compared with compact
myelin (CM). (F) At increasing mouse axogliasome (Axg) or compact myelin (CM) protein con-
centration, embryonic day 17 rat Cb neurite outgrowth decreases. Bar, 50 nm. (G) P8 rat DRG
explants were cultured on axogliasome at the indicated protein concentrations. Bar, 1 mm. (H)
Measurement of E17 rat Cb neurite outgrowth lengths under increasing Axg and CM concentrations
(950 neurites/well). Values are means T SEM. (I) Measurements of mean outgrowth lengths of P8 rat
DRG axons under increasing concentration of axogliasomes.
R E P O R T S
elin in the CNS, but rather was consistently
detected in thin glial membranes that appear to
extend on the outer surface of myelin and ter-
minate at nodes of Ranvier (Fig. 2D). Notably,
OMgp was localized to a sharply defined, tight
membranous Bring[ encircling the CNS axon
at the node of Ranvier (Fig. 2E). Its weak ex-
pression at the outer myelin surface resembled
that of MOG, a protein component of noncom-
pact myelin expressed in the outermost mem-
brane (21) but not at the nodal locus, as we
found for OMgp. OMgp was also detected at
nodes of Ranvier in PNS fibers (Fig. 2F), albeit
at a much lower relative labeling intensity, and
in a diffuse circumnodal pattern. Its position at
PNS nodes suggests that OMgp might be a
constituent of Schwann cell microvilli, which
are membranous extensions of Schwann cell
myelin that engage each other across the node
of Ranvier. However, CNS nodes do not ex-
hibit microvillous ensheathment and appear
bare ultrastructurally (22); this suggested that
OMgp might be expressed at CNS nodes by a
different glial cell type. In transverse serial
sections of a CNS nodal axoglial apparatus, we
detected multiple glial processes expressing
OMgp (OMgp
) that converged on and com-

pletely ensheathed the axon at the node of
Ranvier (Fig. 3A, movie S1). In cerebellar cul-
tures, we also observed OMgp
processes in
contact with developing nodes of Ranvier that
flanked the elongating myelin membranes (Fig.
3C). These results suggest that OMgp is de-
rived from a nonmyelinating glial cell type and
directly interacts with a nodal component on
the axon.
Previous studies have suggested the exis-
tence of astrocyte-like cells that contact the
node of Ranvier (23, 24). However, no con-
vincing molecular markers for this cell type
were described, and it remained unclear if
these contacts were passive, or whether they
were features of all CNS nodes. OMgp was
not detected in conventional astrocytes, because
its expression did not codistribute with the
astrocyte-specific marker GFAP (glial fibril-
lary acidic protein) (Fig. 3F). OMgp
cells
exhibited a stellate morphology (Fig. 3, D
and E) that strongly resembled that of NG2
proteoglycan-expressing (NG2
) oligoden-
drocyte precursor cells (OPCs) (25) (Fig. 3, G
and H). NG2
cells are abundantly expressed

in the adult CNS, and NG2 proteoglycans have
also been shown to inhibit neurite outgrowth in
vitro (25, 26). Like OMgp
cells, NG2
glial
processes extended toward and encircled CNS
nodes of Ranvier in the spinal cord (Fig. 3B,
movie S2). It was unclear how many nodes
were ensheathed by NG2
processes because
NG2 staining is most prominently detected in
glial cell bodies and their processes, whereas
OMgp is most prominently detected at the ter-
minals of glial cell processes that surround the
nodes of Ranvier. Although we were not able
to directly demonstrate colocalization of NG2
and OMgp within the same cell with the avail-
able antisera to each protein, the observation
of identical cellular morphology and the tight
nodal ensheathment by NG2
and OMgp
glial processes, particularly in transverse spinal

cord sections (Fig. 3, E and H), suggested
that this is the same cell type and might rep-
resent a mature population of nonmyelinat-
ing oligodendrocytes. These cells might be
similar to the recently described adult NG2
glia that contact CNS nodes in the rat optic

nerve (27).
The detection of OMgp
glial processes at
the node of Ranvier implies that they might
participate in nodal formation and mainte-
nance. Furthermore, the inhibitory nature of
the ensheathing processes suggests that nodal
ensheathment by OMgp
cells might be nec-

essary to prevent collateral axon outgrowth
during development. To address these issues,
we generated a mutant mouse lacking OMgp
(OMgp
j/j
) by deletion of the entire coding
sequence of the OMgp gene (28). OMgp
j/j
mice did not exhibit obvious behavioral ab-
normalities compared with the wild type at all
ages examined (from P0 to P30). There also
did not appear to be any changes in NG2
cell
numbers in the mutant mouse spinal cord.
However, in spinal cord sections of P21 mutant
mice, the axonal marker, Caspr, which sharply
flanks the node in wild-type animals (Fig. 4B),
was observed either in a diffuse pattern or ec-
Fig. 2. Proteomic dissection of human axogliasomes reveals OMgp as a component of CNS nodal
axoglial apparatus. (A) Functional profile of MudPIT-identified proteins. (B) List of candidate proteins
identified from axogliasomes. (C) Western blot detection of OMgp at 95 to 120 kD in human white
matter (WM) and axogliasomes (AXG). The lower molecular size bands detected in WM might rep-
resent degraded protein fragments, because they appear not to be present in AXG. (D) Longitudinally
sectioned P18 rat spinal cord labeled with anti-OMgp (green) demonstrates nodal distribution.
Arrowheads indicate glial processes extending on the surface of myelin before terminating at nodes
of Ranvier. Paranodes were labeled with anti-Caspr (red) and compact myelin was labeled with Rip
(blue). Bar, 10 mm. (E) At higher magnification in a sectioned P40 rat spinal cord, OMgp (green) is
detected in a prominent membranous ensheathment (arrowhead) that encircles the axon at the node
of Ranvier. Bar, 2 mm. (F) In P18 teased rat sciatic nerves, OMgp (green) was observed in PNS nerves
at Schwann cell microvilli that encircle the node (arrow). Paranodes were labeled with anti-Caspr
(red) and node with antisodium channel (blue). Bar, 2 mm.
R E P O R T S
topically clustered on the axon (Fig. 4C). In-
deed, nodal lengths, which are 0.5 to 1 mm in
normal mice, were much more variable in mu-
tant mice, ranging from 0.5 to 7 mm (Fig.
4D). Because nodal sizes may vary owing to
differences in axon caliber, we calculated the
ratio of measured nodal lengths to measured
axon diameters and found that on average,
nodal length was 30% greater in the mutant
than in wild-type animals (Fig. 4E). These ob-
servations indicate that the establishment of
CNS nodes is impaired in OMgp-null mice and
that OMgp is likely required for this process to
proceed at a normal pace.
Several discrete axons sprouting from
nodes of Ranvier were observed in OMgp-null
mice in both gray (Fig. 4G) and white matter
regions (Fig. 4, H and I). At least 30 nodal
sprouts were detected in 10 mutant mouse spi-
nal cord sections. These bifurcated axons ex-
hibited wider nodal gaps and abnormal Caspr
labeling, suggesting that the loss of OMgp
might enable collateral sprouting. We also ob-
served, but with lower frequency, occasional
collateral sprouting in gray and white matter
regions of wild-type spinal cord, in which we
detected 12 sprouts from 10 examined spinal
cord sections (Fig. 4F). These are likely nor-
mally branched axons; in these cases, nodal
gaps and Caspr staining appeared no different
from unbranched axons. It is extremely unlike-
ly that the observed sprouted axons in OMgp-
null mice were the result of nearby axons
crossing at the node, because we inspected
each of the individually collected confocal
laser scanned slices (at 0.1 mm per slice) from
Fig. 3. OMgp
glial processes, resembling NG2
cells, converge onto and

ensheath the CNS node of Ranvier. (A) Serial transverse sections of P15
spinal cord demonstrate several OMgp
processes (arrowheads, green)

converging at the node (antisodium channel, red), which disappeared at the
paranode (anti-Caspr, blue). Bar, 2.5 mm. (B) An NG2
cell (asterisk) whose

process (arrowhead, green) is observed to encircle the node. Bar, 5 mm. (C)
Immunostaining of Cb cultures demonstrates an OMgp-expressed cell
(asterisk) whose process (green, arrowhead) contacts a developing hemi-
node flanked by a paranode (anti-Caspr, red) and myelinating membranes
(antimyelin basic protein, blue). Bar, 7.5 mm. (D) P15 rat spinal cord
revealed OMgp
glial cells (asterisks, green) resembling oligodendrocyte

precursor cells. Arrowhead points to a node. Bar, 7.5 mm. (E) Immunoper-
oxidase labeling of P18 spinal cord transverse section demonstrates
abundant OMgp
cells with stellate morphology. Bar, 15 mm. (F) GFAP

(blue) expressed by astrocytes do not colocalize with OMgp (green). Bar,
5 mm. (G) An oligodendrocyte precursor-like cell (asterisk, green)
labeled with anti-NG2 proteoglycan. NG2
processes were observed

to contact the node (arrowhead). Bar, 8 mm. (H) NG2
cells resemble
the OMgp
stellate cells. Bar, 14 mm.

Fi g. 4. OMgp-null
mouse exhibits abnor-
mal CNS nodes and col-
lateral sprouting. (A)
OMgp proteins are ab-
sent in spinal cord ex-
tract of OMgp-null
(KO) mouse compared
with the wild type
(WT). Red box indicates
OMgp. (B) P21 WT spi-
nal cord (OMgp/)
shows narrow nodal
gaps between adja-
cent paranodes (anti-
Caspr, red). Axons
were labeled with
anti-neurofi lament
(blue). Bar, 5 mm. (C) KO
spinal cord (OMgpj/j)
shows widened nodal gaps, and ectopic (arrowheads) and diffused (arrow) Caspr
distribution. Bar, 5 mm. (D) Scatter plot reveals increased nodal lengths in KO mouse. (E)
Normalized measurement of nodal lengths corresponding to axon calibers reveals
widened nodes in KO animal by nearly 30%. (F) A normal collateral axon (arrowhead),
labeled with anti-Caspr (red) and anti-neurofilament (blue) within gray matter of WT
spinal cord. NG2
process (green) was barely detectable at the node. Bar, 5 mm. (G) A
thin collateral axon (arrowhead) observed in KO mouse. Nodal NG2 labeling was barely
detectable. Bar, 5 mm. (H) A section within white matter of KO mouse. Asterisk labels
NG2
cell. Bar, 24 mm. Upper inset and (I) show a sprouted axon (arrowhead). Lower inset
and (J) show an unbranched axon (arrowhead) with intense NG2 labeling.
R E P O R T S
all imaged spinal cord sections to rule out
possible axon intersections. Notably, in all of
the collaterally sprouted axons from both mu-
tant and wild-type animals, NG2
glial pro-
cesses were barely detectable at the nodal
vicinity (Fig. 4I), whereas many nonsprouted
nodes appeared to be in contact with NG2
glial processes (Fig. 4J). This observation

further indicates that nodal ensheathment is
necessary to prevent axonal sprouting.
In conclusion, we find that isolated mem-
branes of CNS nodes of Ranvier are non-
permissive for neurite outgrowth and propose
that this is due to cell extensions that emanate
from NG2
oligodendrocyte precursor-like cells

that tightly ensheath the nodal axon. It is known
that NG2 is expressed by a heterogeneous pop-
ulation of neuroglial cells in the adult CNS,
ranging from oligodendrocyte precursors to spe-
cialized glial cells that contact nodes of Ranvier
in optic nerves and synaptic terminals in the
hippocampus (2931). Whether these nodal
glial cells represent the same lineage of spe-
cialized NG2
neuroglia described to con-

tact nodes of Ranvier in rat optic nerves
remains to be determined. Furthermore, we found
glial processes emanating from specialized
oligodendrocyte-like cells that converge at the
CNS node and contain high concentrations of
the neurite outgrowth inhibitor, OMgp. OMgp
was detected at most of the nodes examined,
which suggests that it may function in gener-
ating normal nodal architecture and in suppress-
ing collateral sprouting, because in OMgp-null
mice, the nodal gap is abnormally widened and
sprouting from this locus is observed. It also
remains to be determined whether OMgp is
necessary for survival of the NG2
oligoden-
drocyte precursor-like cells, although given the
lack of decrease in NG2
cells in the OMgp

j/j
mice, this may not be a likely functional role
for OMgp. It seems more likely that OMgp
plays a role in the adhesion of NG2
glial
processes to CNS nodes because in all of the
observed sprouted nodes, there were no de-
tectable NG2
processes.
Finally, considering the intimate relation
between the node and the encircling inhibi-
tory glial membranes, after traumatic injury
to the CNS, OMgp and possibly other in-
hibitory peptides at the nodal/paranodal re-
gion, such as versican, MAG, NG2, or Nogo-A
(11, 16, 27, 32), may remain stably attached
to the nodal region or become deposited on
the axonal surface, thus preventing axons from
responding to injury-elicited growth signals.
Overcoming the inhibitory nature of these
nodal glial cells may yield new therapeutic
interventions to promote functional recovery
after CNS trauma.
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for helpful suggestions. This work was supported
by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health
Research and the NIH (NS20147), the National Mul-
tiple Sclerosis Society (RG 3217-A-8), the Myelin Re-
pair Foundation, and the New York State Spinal Cord
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www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/1118313/DC1
Movies S1 and S2
2 August 2005; accepted 4 November 2005
10.1126/science.1118313
The Widespread Impact of
Mammalian MicroRNAs on mRNA
Repression and Evolution
Kyle Kai-How Farh,
1
* Andrew Grimson,
1
* Calvin Jan,
1
Benjamin P. Lewis,
1,2
Wendy K. Johnston,
1
Lee P. Lim,
3
Christopher B. Burge,
2
David P. Bartel
1
.
Thousands of mammalian messenger RNAs are under selective pressure to
maintain 7-nucleotide sites matching microRNAs (miRNAs). We found that
these conserved targets are often highly expressed at developmental stages
before miRNA expression and that their levels tend to fall as the miRNA that
targets them begins to accumulate. Nonconserved sites, which outnumber the
conserved sites 10 to 1, also mediate repression. As a consequence, genes pref-
erentially expressed at the same time and place as a miRNA have evolved to
selectively avoid sites matching the miRNA. This phenomenon of selective
avoidance extends to thousands of genes and enables spatial and temporal
specificities of miRNAs to be revealed by finding tissues and developmental
stages in which messages with corresponding sites are expressed at lower levels.
MicroRNAs are an abundant class of endog-
enous 22-nucleotide (nt) RNAs that spec-
ify posttranscriptional gene repression by
base-pairing to the messages of protein-
coding genes (1, 2). Hundreds of miRNAs
have been identified in humans (1), and
thousands of messages are under selection
to maintain pairing to miRNA seeds (nucleo-
tides 2 to 7 of the miRNA), enabling reg-
ulatory targets of miRNAs to be predicted
simply by searching 3 untranslated regions
(3UTRs) for evolutionarily conserved 7-nt
matches to miRNA seed regions (35).
We used the mouse expression atlas (6)
to examine the expression of the predicted
targets of six tissue-specific miRNAs: miR-1
and miR-133 (skeletal muscle), miR-9 and
1
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, De-
partment of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
2
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
3
Rosetta
Inpharmatics, 401 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA
98109, USA.
R E P O R T S
miR-124 (brain), miR-122 (liver), and miR-
142-3p (hematopoietic organs and blood
cells) (710) (fig. S1). The 250 messages with
conserved miR-133 sites were generally ex-
pressed in muscle but at lower levels in
muscle than in other tissues (Fig. 1A). Sim-
ilarly, predicted targets of the other miRNAs
were usually at lower levels in the tissue
expressing the miRNA than in other tissues
(Fig. 1A). Brain-specific miR-9 and miR-124
displayed more complex patterns, perhaps
reflecting the heterogeneous cell types within
the brain.
The low relative expression of predicted
targets in differentiated tissues raised the
question of whether they might be more
highly expressed earlier in differentiation,
before miRNA expression. To address this,
we analyzed expression profiles of myotube
differentiation (11), during which miR-1 and
miR-133 accumulate after cell-cycle arrest (12).
Predicted targets of these muscle-specific
miRNAs were preferentially high before
miRNA expression and then dropped as the
miRNAs accumulated (Fig. 1B and fig. S3).
Our observation that miRNAs induced dur-
ing differentiation tend to target messages
highly expressed in the previous develop-
mental stage suggested a function analogous
to that proposed for miRNAs in plants: They
dampen the output of preexisting messages
to facilitate a more rapid and robust transition
to a new expression program (13). Predicted
targets tended to be expressed at substantial
levels on the absolute scale (Fig. 1A, x axis),
which further suggested that metazoan miRNAs
are often optimizing protein output without
eliminating it entirely (14).
Our results are consistent with the idea
that miRNAs are destabilizing many target
messages to further define tissue-specific
transcript profiles (15) but also leave open
the possibility that many targets are repressed
translationally without mRNA destabiliza-
tion. If miRNAs were usually working in
concert with transcriptional and other regula-
tory processes to down-regulate the same
genes, then a correlation between conserved
targeting and lower mRNA levels would be
observed even for messages that miRNAs
translationally repress without destabilizing.
Mammalian miRNA families have an av-
erage of 200 conserved targets above es-
timated background, a figure approximately
1/10th the number of 3UTRs with 7-nt sites
in a single genome (3, 5). Computational al-
gorithms rely on evolutionary conservation
to distinguish functional miRNA targets
from the thousands of messages that would
pair equally well; in contrast, the cell must
rely on specificity determinants intrinsic to a
single genome. To determine whether these
nonconserved sites might be functional, we
used reporter assays to compare repression
mediated by conserved and nonconserved
sites. We selected two targets of miR-1, pre-
dicted by TargetScan based on conservation
in human, mouse, and rat (16) and six human
UTRs that had comparable TargetScan scores
in human but low or nonexistent scores in
mouse or rat. When eight UTR fragments of
0.5 kb that contained the sites were placed
in reporters, we observed specific repression
for all of them (Fig. 2A). Analogous exper-
iments with eight predictions from our more
sensitive analysis, TargetScanS, which searches
for conserved 7- or 8-nt matches (3), and 17
genes with nonconserved matches also detected
little difference between UTR fragments con-
taining conserved and nonconserved sites (Fig.
2B), even when the concentration of transfected
miRNA was titrated to suboptimal levels (fig.
S4). Apparently, most nonconserved sites for-
tuitously reside in local contexts suitable for
mediating repression and therefore have the po-
tential to function when exposed to the miRNA.
These results generalize previous work show-
ing that in certain contexts 7- or 8-nt matches
appear sufficient for miRNA-like regulation
(4, 17, 18). We conclude that additional recog-
nition features, such as pairing to the remain-
der of the miRNA, accessible mRNA structure,
or protein-binding sites, are usually dispensable,
or occur so frequently that they impart little
overall specificity Esupporting online material
(SOM) text^.
To explore the impact of this vast poten-
tial for nonconserved targeting, we examined
the expression of messages with noncon-
served 7-nt matches to tissue-specific miRNAs,
focusing first on messages with sites present
in mouse but not in the orthologous human
UTRs (Fig. 3A). In contrast to the conserved
sites, the nonconserved sites had a propensi-
ty to fall in the UTRs of genes that were not
expressed in the same tissue as the miRNA.
Also notable was the depletion of sites
among those genes that were most highly
and specifically expressed in the tissue. Such
depletion could result primarily from direct
miRNA-mediated destabilization of mes-
sages (15), or some depletion might be from
selective avoidance of sitesevolutionary pres-
sure for messages highly specific to a tissue to
lose sites for coexpressed miRNAs.
To distinguish between these two pos-
sibilities, we plotted the expression, in mouse,
A
B
C
-2 -1 2 4 6 8 10 0
Oocyte Zygote
Blasto-
cyst
6.5-day
embryo
7.5-day
embryo
8.5-day
embryo
9.5-day
embryo
10.5-day
embryo
Detected in
muscle
Not detected
in muscle
Expression
n
o
i
s
s
e
r
p
x
e
e
v
i
t
a
l
e
R
10 20 30 40 50 60
10
20
30
40
50
Skeletal muscle
miR-133 predicted targets
Expressed
lower in
muscle than
other tissues
Expressed
higher in
muscle than
other tissues
Skeletal muscle
miR-133
Liver
miR-122
Cerebellum
miR-9
Skeletal muscle
miR-1
CD8+ T-cells
miR-142-3p
Cerebral cortex
miR-124
Days after cell-
cycle arrest:
miR-1
predicted
targets
miR-133
predicted
targets
let-7
predicted
targets
miR-19
predicted
targets
miR-302
predicted
targets
let-7
predicted
targets
+80%
+40%
0%
-40%
-80%
Enrichment
Depletion
Fig. 1. Gene density maps of
conserved miRNA targets. (A)
Predicted targets of miRNAs in
tissues expressing the miRNAs.
For muscle (large panel, left),
the genes of the expression
atlas were first placed in 61
equally populated bins along
the x axis and 61 equally
populated bins along the y
axis. Along the x axis, genes
were sorted on the basis of
whether they were expressed
at low (left) or high (right)
levels in muscle. Along the y
axis, genes were sorted on the
basis of whether they were
expressed higher (top) or low-
er (bottom) in muscle com-
pared with other tissues.
Predicted targets of miR-133
were then mapped onto this
61-by-61 grid. Local density
[after background subtraction (fig. S2) and smoothing] of miR-133 targets is color coded, with regions
of enrichment (red) or depletion (blue) shown (key at far right). Other miRNA-tissue pairs were
analyzed analogously (smaller panels, right). (B) Time course of predicted targets during myoblast
(C2C12) differentiation to myotubes, analyzed with a 24-by-24 grid. (C) Time course of predicted
targets during mouse embryogenesis, analyzed as in (A). Predicted targets of let-7 are included for
comparison in (B) and (C).
R E P O R T S
of genes that lacked sites in the mouse UTR
but contained a site in the human ortholog.
Because such messages would not be subject
to miRNA-mediated destabilization in mouse,
the depletion signal would vanish if it reflected
only direct destabilization. However, the signal
persisted (Fig. 3B, blue in upper right); mouse
genes that were highly and specifically ex-
pressed in the tissue were less likely to harbor
sites in their human orthologs, indicating that
genes preferentially coexpressed with the
miRNA have evolved to avoid targeting by
that miRNA. The enrichment for genes ex-
pressed at low levels also explained some of
the many potentially functional nonconserved
sites; they accumulate by chance, without con-
sequence, in messages not coexpressed with the
miRNA. The reduction in signal in Fig. 3B
compared to Fig. 3A hints that species-specific
mRNA destabilization might also be frequent,
presumably as both neutral and consequential
species-specific targeting.
Quantifying selective depletion of sites
among messages preferentially expressed in
muscle indicated that 420 of the 8511
genes of the expression atlas are under se-
lective pressure to avoid miR-133 sites. These
are Bantitargets,[ an anticipated class of genes
not observed previously (14). The estimated
numbers of antitargets for miR-1, miR-122,
miR-142, miR-9, and miR-124 were 300, 190,
170, 240, and 440, respectivelycomparable
to the numbers of their conserved targets.
Extrapolating to include other miRNA families
that are also highly expressed with specific
spatial or temporal expression patterns, we
estimated that selective avoidance of miRNA
targeting extends to thousands of genes (SOM
text). A signal for messages avoiding targeting
in all tissue types would be harder to detect in
our analysis. For some messages, acquiring
miRNA pairing might be so detrimental that
they are under selective pressure to have short
UTRs, perhaps helping to explain why highly
expressed Bhousekeeping[ genes have substan-
tially shorter UTRs than do other messages (19).
In addition to revealing target avoidance,
these data extend results of our heterologous
reporter system(Fig. 2) into the animal, show-
ing that 7-nt sites are often sufficient to spec-
ify a biological effect. Messages expressed
highly and specifically in muscle are 59%
less likely than controls to possess a 7-nt match
to muscle-specific miR-133 (Fig. 3A). For the
other five miRNAs, this depletion averaged
45% (range of 31 to 57%). This extent of de-
pletion implies that as sites for highly ex-
pressed miRNAs emerge during sequence
drift of UTRs, about half emerge in a context
suitable for miRNA targetingcausing either
mRNA destabilization or a selective disad-
vantage sufficient for preferential loss of the
site from the gene pool.
Site depletion due to miRNA activity
should occur specifically in tissue types ex-
pressing the miRNA. To explore the specificity
of depletion, we used a modified Kolmogorov-
Smirnov (KS) test to determine whether the set
of genes with sites in either human or mouse
orthologs were expressed at lower levels than
cohorts of genes with the same estimated
expectation for having sites, controlling for
UTR length and nucleotide composition. In
muscle, but not in T cells, the set of transcripts
with a miR-133 site was depleted compared with
those of control cohorts (Fig. 4A). Repeating
the miR-133 analysis for all 61 tissues in the
mouse atlas showed that this effect was most
pronounced in skeletal muscle and heart, the
two tissues in which miR-133 is preferentially
expressed. Plotting color-coded P values for
relative depletion of transcripts with miR-133
sites illustrated a signature reflecting the tissue-
specific influence of miR-133 (Fig. 4B, top
row).
Signatures for all 73 miRNA families
(representing 169 human miRNA genes) con-
served among the four sequenced mammals
and zebrafish were derived (fig. S7). For many
miRNA families that are prominently ex-
pressed in specific tissues (710), the signatures
corresponded to tissues in which these miRNAs
are expressed (Fig. 4B). These included the six
families featured in Fig. 3, as well as let-7,
miR-99, miR-29, and miR-153 (brain), miR-30
(kidney), miR-194 (liver, gut, and kidney),
miR-141 and miR-200b (olfactory epithelium
and gut), miR-96 (olfactory epithelium), and
miR-375 (pituitary). Eight of these also gave
accurate signatures when considering sites in
the coding sequences rather than 3UTRs (SOM
text). miR-7 had the highest signal in the
pituitary. This miRNA is known to be prefer-
Fig. 2. MicroRNA-mediated
repression of luciferase re-
porter genes containing
3UTR fragments with con-
served or nonconserved
sites. (A) UTR fragments
with TargetScan-like miR-1
sites. Luciferase activity
from HeLa cells cotrans-
fected with miRNA and
wild-type reporters was
normalized to that from
cotransfection with mutant
reporters with three point
substitutions disrupting
each seed match. The miR-
124 transfections served as
specificity controls. Error
bars represent the third
largest and smallest values
among 12 replicates (one
asterisk, P G 0.01; two as-
terisks, P G 0.001, Wilcoxon
rank-sumtest). (B) UTR frag-
ments with TargetscanS-like
miR-1 (top) and miR-124
(bottom) sites, analyzed as
in (A).
A
*
*
*
*
*
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Cons. Nonconserved
N1 N2 N3 N4 N5 N6
D
P
6
G
F
N
D
B
1
2
3
n
o
i
s
s
e
r
p
e
r
d
l
o
F
miR-1 transfected
wild-type sites
miR-1 transfected
mutant sites
miR-124 transfected
wild-type sites
miR-124 transfected
mutant sites
B
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1
2
3
n
o
i
s
s
e
r
p
e
r
d
l
o
F
4
Nonconserved Conserved
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* *
*
*
*
*
*
1
2
3
n
o
i
s
s
e
r
p
e
r
d
l
o
F
Nonconserved Conserved
N7 N8 N9 N10 N11 N12 N13 N14 N15 N16
1
K
T
F
P
1
I
C
C
L
G
C
1
O
R
O
C
2
S
K
N
T
N17 N18 N19 N20 N21 N22 N23
1
D
K
R
P
I
K
Q
1
K
P
I
H
2
1
S
R
F
S
A
B
Skeletal muscle
miR-1
Skeletal muscle
miR-133
Liver
miR-122
CD8+ T-cells
miR-142-3p
Cerebellum
miR-9
Cerebral cortex
miR-124
+40%
+30%
+20%
+10%
0%
-20%
-10%
-30%
-40%
Fig. 3. Density maps for genes with nonconserved sites. (A) Messages with site present in mouse
3UTR but absent in human ortholog. Data are shown as in Fig. 1, but enrichment is relative to
matched cohorts (figs. S5 and S6), controlling for UTR length and nucleotide composition. (B)
Messages with site present in human UTR but absent in orthologous mouse UTR, analyzed as in (A).
R E P O R T S
entially expressed in the brain (810), but
preferential expression in pituitary had not been
noted. An RNA blot confirmed that miR-7
expression is highest in the pituitary (Fig. 4D).
Other miRNA families, including most
described as having ubiquitous, complex, or
undetectable expression patterns, were in-
distinguishable from controls (Fig. 4C and
fig. S7). Nonetheless, some described as
ubiquitous displayed stage-specific signa-
tures. These included families in the miR-
171819a2019b92 cluster, which
had a strong embryo signature, consistent with
their association with proliferation and can-
cer (20, 21). The miR-302 family also had a
strong early-embryo signature, consistent with
its sequence similarity to the 1792 prolifer-
ation cluster and its expression in embryonic
stem cells (22, 23). The conserved targets of
these embryonic miRNAs were preferen-
tially at high levels in the oocyte and zygote
and then dropped to low levels in the blas-
tocyst and embryo (Fig. 1C), as expected if
these miRNAs help dampen expression of
maternal transcripts.
A signal for motif conservation is a main-
stay of bioinformatics and previously indicated
the widespread scope of conserved miRNA
targeting (35, 24), but a signal for absence of
a motif is unusual. The ability to observe such
a signal revealed an additional dimension to
the impact of miRNAs on UTR evolutiona
widespread potential for nonconserved target-
ing leading to the selective loss of many 7-nt
sites. When considering conserved targeting,
nonconserved targeting, and targeting avoid-
ance, it is hard to escape the conclusion that
miRNAs are influencing the expression or
evolution of most mammalian mRNAs.
1. D. P. Bartel, Cell 116, 281 (2004).
2. V. Ambros, Nature 431, 350 (2004).
3. B. P. Lewis, C. B. Burge, D. P. Bartel, Cell 120, 15
(2005).
4. J. Brennecke, A. Stark, R. B. Russell, S. M. Cohen, PLoS
Biol. 3, e85 (2005).
5. A. Krek et al., Nat. Genet. 37, 495 (2005).
6. A. I. Su et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 6062
(2004).
7. M. Lagos-Quintana et al., Curr. Biol. 12, 735 (2002).
8. L. F. Sempere et al., Genome Biol. 5, R13 (2004).
9. S. Baskerville, D. P. Bartel, RNA 11, 241 (2005).
10. E. Wienholds et al., Science 309, 310 (2005).
Fig. 4. Depletion of sites in genes preferentially coexpressed with the
miRNA. (A) miR-133 sites in skeletal muscle and CD8 T cells. For each
panel, genes were binned based on their expression in the indicated tissue
compared with expression in the 60 other tissues, with bin 1 lowest and
bin 61 highest. (Top) Difference between observed and expected number
of messages with miR-133 sites at each expression rank. (Bottom)
Modified KS test and estimate of significance, showing the running sum
of the difference between the observed and expected distributions across
expression ranks for messages with sites (red) compared to control
cohorts (blue). (B) Summary map of KS tests for each miRNA-tissue pair
for 28 miRNAs; P-value key is shown above. Reported expression is from
zebrafish in situ data (10), supplemented with notable mammalian data
(8, 9) (parentheses). ES cells, embryonic stem cells. (C) Tail of P-value
distribution for all 73 miRNA families (left) (fig. S7) and for a mock
analysis using control sequences (right). P values greater than 10
j2
,
which are gray in (B), were only marginally less frequent for controls. (D)
RNA-blot analysis of miR-7 in rat tissues, reprobed for miR-124 and U6
small nuclear RNA.
R E P O R T S
11. K. K. Tomczak et al., FASEB J. 18, 403 (2004).
12. P. K. Rao, M. Farkhondeh, S. Baskerville, H. F. Lodish,
data not shown.
13. M. W. Rhoades et al., Cell 110, 513 (2002).
14. D. P. Bartel, C. Z. Chen, Nat. Rev. Genet. 5, 396 (2004).
15. L. P. Lim et al., Nature 433, 769 (2005).
16. B. P. Lewis, I. H. Shih, M. W. Jones-Rhoades, D. P.
Bartel, C. B. Burge, Cell 115, 787 (2003).
17. J. G. Doench, P. A. Sharp, Genes Dev. 18, 504 (2004).
18. E. C. Lai, B. Tam, G. M. Rubin, Genes Dev. 19, 1067
(2005).
19. E. Eisenberg, E. Y. Levanon, Trends Genet. 19, 362 (2003).
20. A. Ota et al., Cancer Res. 64, 3087 (2004).
21. L. He et al., Nature 435, 828 (2005).
22. H. B. Houbaviy, M. F. Murray, P. A. Sharp, Dev. Cell 5,
351 (2003).
23. M. R. Suh et al., Dev. Biol. 270, 488 (2004).
24. X. Xie et al., Nature 434, 338 (2005).
25. We thank G. Ruby, M. Axtell, and H. Chang for help-
ful discussions. Supported by predoctoral fellowships
from the Department of Energy (B.P.L.) and NSF
(C.J.) and a postdoctoral fellowship and grants from
the NIH (A.G., C.B.B., D.P.B.). D.P.B. is a Howard Hughes
Medical Institute Investigator.
www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/1121158/DC1
SOM Text
Figs. S1 to S7
Tables S1 and S2
References
11 October 2005; accepted 10 November 2005
10.1126/science.1121158
Ubiquitin-Binding Domains in
Y-Family Polymerases Regulate
Translesion Synthesis
Marzena Bienko,
1
Catherine M. Green,
2
Nicola Crosetto,
1
*
Fabian Rudolf,
3
* Grzegorz Zapart,
1
Barry Coull,
2
.
Patricia Kannouche,
2
- Gerhard Wider,
4
Matthias Peter,
3
Alan R. Lehmann,
2
Kay Hofmann,
5
Ivan Dikic
1
`
Translesion synthesis (TLS) is the major pathway by which mammalian cells
replicate across DNA lesions. Upon DNA damage, ubiquitination of proliferat-
ing cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) induces bypass of the lesion by directing the
replication machinery into the TLS pathway. Yet, how this modification is
recognized and interpreted in the cell remains unclear. Here we describe the
identification of two ubiquitin (Ub)binding domains (UBM and UBZ), which
are evolutionarily conserved in all Y-family TLS polymerases (pols). These do-
mains are required for binding of polh and poli to ubiquitin, their accumulation
in replication factories, and their interaction with monoubiquitinated PCNA.
Moreover, the UBZ domain of polh is essential to efficiently restore a normal
response to ultraviolet irradiation in xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XP-V)
fibroblasts. Our results indicate that Ub-binding domains of Y-family poly-
merases play crucial regulatory roles in TLS.
Signaling through ubiquitin (Ub) is generally
thought to occur by low-affinity noncovalent
interactions between Ub and a variety of spe-
cialized Ub-binding domains (UBDs) (1, 2).
To analyze the Ub-interaction map, we per-
formed yeast two-hybrid screens using wild-
type Ub and Ub in which isoleucine 44 (I44)
was mutated to alanine (Ub*). To date, all
known characterized UBDs require the con-
served I44 in the hydrophobic patch on Ub for
their binding (2), and proteins interacting with
Ub* might therefore contain previously un-
known Ub-interacting modules. Among the
clones that interacted with Ub* are two that
encode the C terminus of TLS polymerase i
(poli) (fig. S1A). Moreover, full-length mouse
poli expressed in human embryonic kidney
(HEK) 293T cells bound to both glutathione
S-transferase (GST)Ub and GST-Ub*, but
not to GST alone (fig. S1A). Thus, poli con-
tains a Ub-binding module in the C terminus
that does not require I44 for its binding to Ub.
Bioinformatic analysis of the C-terminal part
of poli identified two copies of a previously
unknown sequence motif termed UBM (Ub-
binding motif). These repeats span 30 res-
idues and consist of two predicted helical
segments, separated by an invariant BLeu-Pro[
motif, which is conserved in all poli versions
examined, as well as in Rev1, another Y-
polymerase (fig. S1B). Missense mutations of
the conserved residues with a presumptive
crucial role in Ub binding (L508A, P509A in
UBM1*, L693A, P694A in UBM2*) in either
poli UBM substantially impaired poli bind-
ing to GST-Ub, whereas the inactivation of
both domains by point mutations completely
blocked the interaction (Fig. 1A). Similar
results were obtained using poli UBM de-
letion (poli-D496-524 and poli-D681-709)
mutants (fig. S1C). We purified isolated
GST-UBM1 and GST-UBM2 of poli and ana-
lyzed their binding to Ub and the Ub-I44A mu-
tant by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
spectroscopy (fig. S1D). The estimated disso-
ciation constant (K
d
) values for binding of
UBM1 and UBM2 to both Ub and Ub-I44A
were in the range of 180 mM. Mapping of the
1
Institute for Biochemistry II, Goethe University Med-
ical School, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt,
Germany.
2
Genome Damage and Stability, University
of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RQ, UK.
3
Institute
of Biochemistry,
4
Institute of Molecular Biology and
Biophysics, ETH Honggerberg, 8093 Zurich, Switzer-
land.
5
Bioinformatics Group, Miltenyi Biotec GmbH,
Stoeckheimer Weg 1, D-50829 Koeln, Germany.
.Present address: Life Sciences, Unilever R&D, Colworth
House, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ, UK.
-Present address: Laboratory of Genetic Instability
and Cancer, CNRS, Institut Gustave Roussy, 94805
Villejuif, France.
`To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Fig. 1. (A) Identification of the UBDs in Y-
polymerases. Point mutations of either UBM1
(L508A,P509A in UBM1*) or UBM2 (L693A,P694A
in UBM2*) of mouse poli reduce its binding to Ub
as compared with wild-type poli (wt). Mutating
both UBMs (UBM1*,2*) abolishes binding of poli
to Ub in GST pull-down assays. (B) Surface rep-
resentation of Ub interaction with UBM deter-
mined by NMR spectroscopy. The binding
interface of GST-UBM2 on Ub defined by residues
K6, L8, T9, G10, I13, T14, R42, K48, G53, and R72
(see supporting online material) is indicated in
purple. Residue I44 (yellow) is indicated for
orientation. (C) Polh UBZ mediates binding to
ubiquitin. HEK293T lysates (TCL) containing
FLAG-polh wild type or its UBZ mutant
(D652A) (UBZ*) were subjected to Ub-agarose
pull-down assays. The shift in mobility of polh
visible in lane 1 represents its monoubiquitinated
form. IB, immunoblot.
R E P O R T S
UBM2 binding surface on Ub revealed bind-
ing around the previously defined hydrophobic
patch, but the binding surface is displaced
toward L8 and away from I44 (Fig. 1B).
Apart from the UBMs, we also identified
several yeast two-hybrid clones containing
mononucleate Zn fingers, which were required
for their binding to Ub in yeast and mamma-
lian cells. Using profile-based sequence com-
parisons (3, 4), we grouped these Ub-binding
Zn fingers into a separate family, which we
named UBZ (Ub-binding Zn finger). These
sequence profile searches showed that the
UBZ-family Zn fingers can be clearly sep-
arated from the presumed DNA-binding vari-
ety and are completely unrelated to PAZ
(polyUb-associated Zn finger) (5) and NZF
(Npl4 Zn finger) (6). UBZ-type fingers were
also found in the remaining two Y-family
polymerases polh and polk (fig. S1E). Indeed,
human polh is a Ub-binding protein because it
interacted specifically with monoUb coupled
to agarose (Fig. 1C), and point mutation of the
conserved aspartate 652 to alanine in the UBZ
(UBZ*) prevented the interaction of polh with
monoUb. Thus, all members of the Y-family
polymerases contain UBDs in their C termini
(fig. S1F).
Poli and polh colocalize with each other
and with proliferating cell nuclear antigen
(PCNA) in replication factories. These appear
as bright foci in S-phase cells, which accumu-
late upon ultraviolet (UV) irradiation (7, 8).
To examine whether this localization re-
quires their UBDs, we cotransfected MRC5
fibroblasts with wild-type cyan fluorescent
protein (CFP)poli and wild-type or mutated
FLAG-poli. The fraction of cells with foci
increased in UV-irradiated cells to 60%, and
as expected, both wild-type constructs colo-
calized in foci. However, neither DUBM1,2
nor UBM1*,2* mutants of poli localized in
replication foci (Fig. 2A). Furthermore, the
Xenopus tropicalis poli, which contains two
UBMs but few other conserved amino acids in
the C-terminal part (fig. S2A), bound to Ub
(fig. S2B) and localized in replication factories
in human cells (fig. S2C).
In similar cotransfection experiments, yel-
low fluorescent protein (YFP)- or CFP-tagged
wild-type polh formed bright foci in S-phase
cells accumulated upon UV irradiation, where-
as CFP-polhjD652A mutant (UBZ*) formed
very faint or no foci (Fig. 2B). We conclude
that foci localization of both polh and poli de-
pends on their ability to interact with Ub,
indicating a common mechanism for the ac-
cumulation of Y-polymerases in replication
foci. Notably, the polymerase activity was
identical in wild-type and mutant proteins used
(fig. S3A).
Ubiquitination of the polymerase proces-
sivity factor PCNA controls switching of poly-
merases and replication of damaged DNA
(913). TLS polymerases polh and poli bind
directly to PCNA via their PCNA-interacting
peptide (PIP box) (11, 1416). In addition,
DNA damageinduced ubiquitination of PCNA
on K164 increases its interaction with polh in
vivo (11, 13). We therefore investigated wheth-
er the UBM domains of poli directly bind to
monoubiquitinated PCNA upon DNA damage.
Isolated UBMs of poli readily precipitated mo-
noubiquitinated PCNA generated in HEK293T
cells by hydroxyurea treatment (Fig. 3A).
UBMs also interacted directly with mono-
ubiquitinated His-PCNA and with a perma-
nently ubiquitinated PCNA, engineered by
fusing the cDNA for Ub in frame with that
for His-PCNA-K164R mutant (PCNA*-Ub
chimera) (fig. S3B). We next analyzed wheth-
er simultaneous binding of PIP and UBM do-
mains of poli to ubiquitinated PCNA enhanced
this interaction in vivo. Coprecipitation of poli
and unmodified PCNA from cells was hardly
detectable, whereas the PCNA*-Ub chimera
strongly bound to poli in transiently transfected
HEK293T cells (Fig. 3B). Coprecipitation was
substantially reduced when the PIP box was
mutated in poli and completely abolished if
UBM domains or both PIP box and UBM do-
mains of poli were mutated.
We next examined the importance of the
UBDs in polh for its functions in vivo. Xero-
derma pigmentosum variant (XP-V) patients
are defective in polh, resulting in elevated
levels of UV mutagenesis and skin cancers
(17). XP30RO is an XP-V fibroblast line that is
sensitive to UV irradiation in the presence of
caffeine (17). Transfection of green fluorescent
protein (GFP)polh into XP30RO cells restores
the UV plus caffeine sensitivity to that of nor-
mal human fibroblasts (Fig. 3C). However,
when we transfected a UBZ mutant of polh
(C638A) into XP30RO cells, the ability to
confer resistance to UV plus caffeine treat-
ment was substantially impaired. A reduction
in this ability, though less marked, was also
obtained with the PIP box mutation. Thus,
both Ub- and PCNA-binding abilities of polh
are required for efficient TLS. In previous
work, we identified a motif in the little finger
domain of polh that was required for its in-
teraction with ubiquitinated PCNA; we thought
this motif was similar to a CUE domain (11).
Current bioinformatic and biochemical studies
indicate that this motif is not a bona fide
UBD. It is likely therefore that it is involved
in the polh-PCNA interaction, irrespective
of ubiquitination status.
UBDs can mediate monoubiquitination of
the proteins containing them (1, 2). When
FLAG-poli was transfected into HEK293T
Fig. 2. UBMs and UBZ are es-
sential for the accumulation of
poli and polh in replication foci.
(A) MRC5 fibroblasts were co-
transfected with pECFPpoli wild
type (left panels) and pCMV-FLAG
poli, either wild type (WT) or
mutants, as indicated (middle
panels). The cells were UV
irradiated with 15 J m
j2
and fixed
16 hours later. (B) MRC5 fibro-
blasts were cotransfected with
YFP-polh wild type and CFP-polh,
either wt or D652A, and treated
as in (A).
R E P O R T S
cells, a band of poli of reduced mobility was
detected by immunobloting with antibodies to
FLAG (Fig. 4A). Analysis of cells addition-
ally transfected with hemagglutin (HA)Ub
showed that the protein of reduced mobility
was monoubiquitinated poli (Fig. 4A). Under
similar conditions, we found a species of polh
with reduced mobility (Fig. 4B; see also Fig.
1C), which we showed was monoubiquitinated
polh (Fig. 4B). Mutational inactivation of UBMs
in poli or UBZ in polh abolished their mono-
ubiquitination (Fig. 4, A and B). We also de-
tected endogenous levels of monoubiquitinated
forms of both polymerases (Fig. 4, C and D).
The monoubiquitinated species of poli ap-
peared to be no longer capable of binding to
Ub. In GST-Ub pull-down assays, only the
unmodified form of poli was detected (Fig.
4E; compare lane 3 with lane 1). Similarly,
only the unmodified form of polh bound to
Ub-agarose beads (Fig. 1C). In accordance
with these observations, creating a perma-
nently ubiquitinated form of polh by fusing Ub
to the C terminus of polh (polh-Ub chimera)
strongly reduced its ability to bind to Ub-
agarose beads (fig. S3C). These results indicate
that monoubiquitinated polymerases might be
blocked in binding to Ub because of autoin-
hibitory interactions with their own UBDs (18).
In conclusion, we have identified two pre-
viously unknown UBDs in the Y-family TLS
polymerases that enable them to interact with
monoubiquitinated targets and undergo mono-
ubiquitination in vivo. UBDs are critical for
accumulation of poli and polh in replication
foci in human cells and are required for effi-
cient restoration of normal TLS in XP-V cells.
Both poli (Fig. 3, A and B) and polh (11, 13)
preferentially interact with monoubiquitinated
PCNA, which is generated at stalled replica-
tion forks (11, 13). The PIP box provides the
specificity for the interaction, and the DNA
damageinduced conjugation of a Ub moiety
to PCNA increases the avidity of this bind-
ing by providing an interaction surface for
the UBDs. We have also shown that poli
and polh are themselves monoubiquitinated
in vivo. Although the precise role of mono-
ubiquitination of the polymerases remains to be
established, it is tempting to speculate that a
cycling between their nonubiquitinated and
monoubiquitinated forms may contribute to
regulation of their compartmentalization in or
out of replication factories. Taken together,
our data showthat Ub binding of the Y-family
polymerases plays an important role in trans-
lesion DNA synthesis and provide a long-
sought clue to how these polymerases can
gain preferential access to the stalled replica-
tion machinery at the sites of DNA damage.
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Fig. 3. Dual mode of poli-monoUb-PCNA inter-
action. (A) The UBM domains of poli mediate
interaction with monoubiquitinated PCNA (mUb
PCNA) generated in HEK293T cells by hydroxyurea
(HU) treatment. Total cell lysates or proteins bound
to GST or GST-UBMs were analyzed by immuno-
blotting (IB) with antibodies to PCNA (anti-PCNA).
A small amount of nonubiquitinated PCNA precip-
itated with GST-UBM domains, presumably owing
to heterotrimerization of ubiquitinated monomers
with nonubiquitinated ones. (B) Both the UBM
and PIP box motifs of poli mediate its binding to
PCNA*-Ub chimera. HEK293T cells were trans-
fected with His-PCNA*-Ub and FLAG-poli (wt) or
its PIP* mutant (FLAG-poli-D424A/C425A/Y426A),
UBM1*,2* mutant, or PIP*,UBM1*,2* mutant. The
TCL shows the expression level of the correspond-
ing proteins that were subsequently subjected
to anti-FLAG immunoprecipitation (IP). Immuno-
precipitated poli and PCNA*-Ub were detected
with anti-FLAG and anti-PCNA, respectively.
(C) XP30RO XP-V cells were transfected with
pEGFP-polh constructs, and stable clones were
isolated. The survival of these clones was mea-
sured after exposure to different doses of UV
irradiation and plating in the presence of caf-
feine (75 mg/ml). UBZ* represents the C638A
mutation.
Fig. 4. Monoubiquitination of poli
and polh. HEK293T cells were
transfected with () or without
(j) HA-Ub together with the
indicated FLAG-poli (A) or FLAG-
polh (B) constructs, and TCL or
anti-FLAG immunoprecipitates (IP)
were subjected to immunoblotting
(IB) with anti-FLAG or anti-HA, as
indicated. (C) Endogenous mono-
ubiquitinated poli was detected
with anti-poli in TCL or anti-poli
immunoprecipitate. (D) Endoge-
nous monoubiquitinated polh was detected with anti-polh in TCL from MRC5 but not in XP30RO
cells (E) HEK293T lysates containing FLAG-poli were subjected to pull-down assays with GST-Ub, and
bound proteins were detected by immunoblotting with anti-FLAG. The arrow indicates the mono-
ubiquitinated form of poli.
R E P O R T S
19. We thank E. Friedberg and S. Tateishi for help with
reagents and W. Mueller-Esterl, A. Carr, K. Caldecott,
and members of the Dikic laboratory for critical reading
of the manuscript. We also thank J. Wing and I. Konrad
for technical assistance. This work was supported
by a scholarship from the Ernst Schering Foundation
(to M.B.), an MRC Programme Grant and EC Contract
MRTN-CT-2003-503618 (to A.R.L.), grants from the
Swiss National Science Foundation and Eidgenossische
Technische Hochschule Zurich (to M.P. and G.W.), and
grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DI
931/1-1) and Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (to I.D.).
DC1
Figs. S1 to S3
References
10.1126/science.1120615
Chitin Induces Natural
Competence in Vibrio cholerae
Karin L. Meibom,*. Melanie Blokesch,* Nadia A. Dolganov,
Cheng-Yen Wu, Gary K. Schoolnik.
The mosaic-structured Vibrio cholerae genome points to the importance of
horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in the evolution of this human pathogen. We
showed that V. cholerae can acquire new genetic material by natural trans-
formation during growth on chitin, a biopolymer that is abundant in aquatic
habitats (e.g., from crustacean exoskeletons), where it lives as an autochtho-
nous microbe. Transformation competence was found to require a type IV
pilus assembly complex, a putative DNA binding protein, and three conver-
gent regulatory cascades, which are activated by chitin, increasing cell den-
sity, and nutrient limitation, a decline in growth rate, or stress.
Rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters are the
principal reservoir for Vibrio cholerae in nature.
In habitats of this kind, V. cholerae is found as
a planktonic organism in the water column, in
the mucilaginous sheaths of blue-green algae,
and on the chitinous exoskeletons and molts of
copepods (1). Population structure studies of
aquatic habitats typically disclose ecosystems
containing multiple microbial strains and spe-
cies and high concentrations of phage and free
DNA (2, 3). These features, when combined
with mechanisms for HGT, likely explain why
the Vibrionaceae have developed high levels of
genomic diversity (4, 5).
One microenvironment where HGT could
occur between V. cholerae and other strains
and species is within microbial assemblages
on natural chitin surfaces. V. cholerae readily
attaches to and degrades chitin, a polymer of b-
1,4linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Chi-
tin induces the expression of a 41-gene regulon
involved in chitin colonization, digestion, trans-
port, and assimilation, including genes predicted
to encode a type IV pilus assembly complex (6).
V. cholerae has never been shown to be
competent for natural transformation, and thus,
with respect to HGT events, its genome is
presumed to have evolved by transduction
(responsible for the acquisition of the ctx genes
encoding cholera toxin) and conjugation (7, 8).
However, the induction of type IV pilin by
chitin and the association of type IV pili and
competence in several other species led us to
test if chitin might induce natural competence in
V. cholerae (9). We grew V. cholerae O1 El
Tor, strain A1552, in a liquid minimal medium
containing 2.5 mM (GlcNAc)
6
, a soluble chitin
oligosaccharide that induces the chitin regulon
(6). Then, genomic DNA from the V. cholerae
O1 El Tor strain VCXB21, which harbors a
gene for kanamycin resistance on the chromo-
some, was added to the culture. After 18 hours
of growth, the culture was plated onto antibiotic-
free and kanamycin-containing LB agar; this
yielded a transformation frequency Ekanamycin-
resistant (Kn
r
) colony-forming units (CFU)/
Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Med-
icine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
and Stanford Institute for the Environment, Stanford
University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
*These authors contributed equally to the work.
E-mail: [email protected] (K.L.M.); schoolni@cmgm.
stanford.edu (G.K.S.)
Table 1. Transformation of V. cholerae; data are the average of at least three experiments. Transformation frequency is Kn
r
or Str
r
CFU/total CFU; GDL, below
detection limit (for values in (A), 4.0 10
j8
; for (B), 3.0 10
j9
; for (C), 1.0 10
j7
; for (D), 4.0 10
j8
).
Donor DNA Recipient strain Medium Transformation frequency Range
A. Transformation in liquid medium
VCXB21 A1552 (GlcNAc)
6
2.7 10
j5
1.4 to 6.8 10
j5
6
DNase GDL
None A1552 (GlcNAc)
6
GDL
6
Glucose GDL
VCXB21 A1552 Glucose GDL
VCXB21 A1552 GlcNAc GDL
B. Transformation in liquid medium of His and Pro auxotrophs
VCXB21 A1552proC (GlcNAc)
6
2.7 10
j6
4.0 10
j7
to 1.1 10
j5
None A1552proC (GlcNAc)
6
GDL
VCXB21 A1552hisD (GlcNAc)
6
6.8 10
j6
4.0 10
j8
to 1.7 10
j5
None A1552hisD (GlcNAc)
6
GDL
C. Transformation of chitin surfaceattached bacteria
VCXB21 A1552 Crab shell 3.5 10
j5
5 10
j6
to 6.9 10
j5
None A1552 Crab shell GDL
N16961 A1552 Crab shell 1.8 10
j5
5 10
j6
to 4.4 10
j5
VCXB21 A1552 Crab shell DNase 3.7 10
j7
GDL to 8.0 10
j7
VCXB21 N16961 Crab shell GDL
VCXB21 C6706 Crab shell 2.8 10
j6
8.0 10
-7
to 5 10
j6
VCXB21 0395 (classical) Crab shell GDL
D. Transformation in biofilm communities without exogenous DNA
None A1552 -Kn/-Str Crab shell 4.4 10
j5
1.4 to 8 10
j5
None A1552 -Kn/-Str Crab shell DNase G1.2 10
j7
GDL to 1.2 10
j7
R E P O R T S
total CFU^ of 2.7 10
j5
(Table 1). In the
absence of donor DNA or when deoxyribo-
nuclease (DNase) and donor DNA were added
simultaneously, no Kn
r
colonies were detected.
Of other carbohydrates tested, including the
chitin monomer GlcNAc, which does not up-
regulate the chitin regulon, only chitin induced
the competence phenotype. When glucose was
combined with (GlcNAc)
6
, competence was in-
hibited, which suggests that the competence
phenotype is subject to catabolite repression.
Chitin-induced natural transformation with ge-
nomic DNA from the prototroph strain VCXB21
also restored prototrophy to two amino acid
auxotrophic mutants that had deletions in
either the proC or hisD gene and, thus, were
unable to synthesize proline or histidine (Table
1). That the deleted version of the hisD gene
was replaced by the wild-type copy from the
donor DNA was shown by polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) (fig. S1) and is indicative of
homologous recombination. Together, these ex-
periments showed that the growth of V. cholerae
O1 with a soluble chitin oligosaccharide in-
duced transformation competence and the ca-
pacity to acquire different genetic markers.
In nature, V. cholerae experiences chitin as
an insoluble polymer provided as a structural
component of copepod exoskeletons and molts
on which it grows as surface-attached colonies
or as a biofilm (1). To determine whether
growth on a natural chitin surface induced the
competence phenotype, strain A1552 was
allowed to establish a surface-attached popu-
lation on a sterile crab shell fragment in
defined (artificial) seawater medium (DASW)
for 24 hours. Then, the crab shell was im-
mersed in fresh DASW containing antibiotic-
marked genomic DNA from V. cholerae O1
strain VCXB21 (Kn
r
) or strain N16961, which
is streptomycin-resistant (Str
r
). These exper-
iments yielded transformation frequencies
of 3.5 10
j5
and 1.8 10
j5
, respectively;
in the absence of added DNA, no transfor-
mants were obtained (Table 1). The addition
of DNase reduced transformation frequency
Q100-fold, but did not abolish it entirely,
possibly because of the resistance of surface-
adsorbed DNA to DNase (10) or to the use of
conditions in the transformation assay that are
not optimal for the activity of this enzyme. Thus,
during growth on a chitin surface, V. cholerae
becomes competent for transformation by ge-
nomic DNA from other V. cholerae strains.
Some naturally competent species release
DNA to an extent that can lead to localized
concentrations in a biofilm that exceed 100 mg/ml
(11). Simultaneously, transformation compe-
tence develops among other members of
the population (12, 13). To determine whether
V. cholerae can be transformed when DNA
is provided by other members of a surface-
attached consortium, two variants of the same
competent V. cholerae strain (A1552), with
different antibiotic resistance markers on the
chromosome (-Kn
r
or -Str
r
), were propagated
together on a crab shell fragment (9). Twenty-
four hours later, planktonic bacteria were
discarded and fresh DASW added; 24 hours
thereafter, the bacteria were detached from the
crab shell surface and plated onto LB agar and
LB agar containing both Kn and Str, then the
colonies were counted. Experimental repli-
cates yielded transformants resistant to both
antibiotics with an average frequency of 4.4
10
j5
(Table 1). The addition of DNase to
the crab shell culture reduced transforma-
tion efficiency by Q100-fold (Table 1). Thus,
naked DNA is apparently provided in situ by
V. cholerae growing on a chitin surface and
can be acquired by competent members of
the consortium.
Twelve chitin-induced genes are predicted
to encode components of a type IV pilus as-
sembly complex (6). To determine whether a
type IV pilus is required for competence, the
following genes were disrupted in V. cholerae
strain A1552: pilA (VC2423), predicted to
encode a type IV pilin; pilQ (VC2630), encod-
ing a homolog of the secretin protein family;
and pilB (VC2424), which specifies a traffic
nucleotide triphosphatase(NTPase) believed to
energize assembly of the pilus filament. The
wild-type parent and each of the mutants were
tested for competence with the crab shell
transformation assay and DNA from the Kn
r
strain VCXB21. The wild-type parent exhibited
a transformation frequency of 3.5 10
j5
; no
Kn
r
transformants were detected for any of the
mutants (Table 2). Thus, at least three com-
ponents of a putative type IV pilus assembly
complex are required for competence. This
finding prompted us to use transmission and
scanning electron microscopy (TEM and SEM,
respectively) to search for new or additional
pilus filaments emanating from the surface of
chitin-induced bacteria. None was identified,
which indicates that this assembly complex
likely directs the synthesis of a competence
pseudopilus (14).
We used BLAST to search among the 41
chitin-induced genes for homologs of com-
petence genes in other species. One of these,
VC1153 (further named tfoX
VC
), was found
to contain two TfoX domains, which are in-
volved with competence regulation in Hae-
mophilus influenzae (15, 16). To determine
whether tfoX
Vc
is required for competence, it
was disrupted in V. cholerae strain A1552,
and the mutant was tested for competence by
using the crab shell transformation assay. No
transformants were detected (Table 2). To
determine whether tfoX
Vc
expression would
promote transformation competence in the
absence of chitin, tfoX
Vc
was placed under
the control of an arabinose-inducible promot-
er, and then either the vector alone (pBAD) or
the recombinant plasmid (pBAD-tfoX) was
introduced into the A1552tfoX mutant. Growth
of the complemented mutant in LB liquid
medium containing arabinose (but no chitin)
led to chitin-independent overexpression of
tfoX
Vc
. The addition of genomic DNA from V.
cholerae strain VCXB21 to this culture yielded
Kn
r
transformants at a frequency of 2.9 10
j6
.
By contrast, under the same growth conditions,
neither the wild-type parent nor the A1552tfoX
mutant was competent (Table 3).
The demonstration that TfoX
Vc
is required
for competence and the role of its ortholog in
H. influenzae as a regulator of competence
prompted us to use microarray expression
profiling to identify genes it might regulate
in V. cholerae. Transcriptional profiles were
obtained by using RNAs isolated from the
Table 2. Transformation of V. cholerae O1 El Tor strains and mutants in a crab shellassociated
community. Transformation with DNA from V. cholerae strain VCXB21; data are the average of at least
three experiments. Transformation frequency is Kn
R
CFU/total CFU; GDL: below detection limit (1.0
10
j7
). Similar results were obtained using liquid medium with (GlcNAc)
6
as carbon source.
Strain Genotype Transformation frequency
A1552 O1 El Tor, wt 3.5 10
j5
A1552pilA A1552DVC2423 GDL
A1552pilB A1552DVC2424 GDL
A1552pilQ A1552DVC2630 GDL
A1552tfoX A1552DVC1153 GDL
A1552VC1917 A1552DVC1917 GDL
FY1 A1552DrpoS GDL
ATN140 A1552DhapR GDL
ATN194 A1552DhapR::mTn7hapR 1.3 10
j5
N16961 O1 El Tor GDL
N16961ChapR N16961::mTn7hapR 7.5 10
j6
Table 3. Expression of tfoX
VC
allows transforma-
tion in the absence of chitin. Transformation with
DNA from strain VCXB21 in LB media supple-
mented with ampicillin and 0.2% L-arabinose; data
are the average of two independent experiments.
Transformation frequency, Kn
r
CFU/total CFU;
GDL: below detection limit (2.0 10
j8
).
Strain Plasmid
Transformation
frequency
A1552 pBAD GDL
A1552tfoX pBAD GDL
A1152tfoX pBAD-tfoX 2.9 10
j6
R E P O R T S
A1552tfoX mutant described above, which
harbors either pBAD (does not express tfoX
Vc
)
or pBAD-tfoX (arabinose-induced expression
of tfoX
Vc
) during mid log phase growth in LB
liquid medium containing arabinose, but no
chitin. Under these conditions, 99 genes were
significantly and Q2.5-fold induced in the
culture expressing tfoX
Vc
compared with the
control culture (table S1). Among the TfoX
Vc
-
induced genes were 28 that were previously
reported to be induced by chitin, including the
three pilus assembly genes, pilA, pilB, and
pilQ; genes encoding four chitinases (includ-
ing ChiA-1 and ChiA-2); and a chitoporin
gene. Thus, TfoX
Vc
is induced by chitin and
controls the expression of genes encoding pro-
teins with two quite different functions: chitin
degradation and chitin-induced competence.
The foregoing result encouraged us to
search for other TfoX
Vc
-regulated genes that
might be required for competence. This led to
the identification of VC1917, predicted to
encode a protein with a signal peptide and a
motif homologous to the DNA-binding helix-
hairpin-helix domain found in the Bacillus
subtilis ComEA protein (17). When VC1917
was disrupted and the mutant tested for com-
petence, no transformants were obtained
(Table 2). This shows that VC1917 is required
for competence in V. cholerae.
During the course of this study, we tested
a total of eight V. cholerae strains for trans-
formation competence: four V. cholerae O1
strains and four recent V. cholerae non-O1
environmental isolates. Strain C6706, an El
Tor biotype, and each of the environmental
isolates exhibited chitin-dependent compe-
tence. By contrast, neither strain N16961, an
O1 El Tor biotype for which a genome sequence
is available, nor strain O395, a V. cholerae O1
classical biotype, was found to be competent un-
der the same experimental condition (Table 1).
Both of these nontransformable strains are
reported to have a frameshift mutation in hapR
(18), whose protein product coordinately down-
regulates the expression of virulence determi-
nants and biofilm formation and up-regulates
hemagglutinin/protease (HA/protease) produc-
tion in response to increasing cell density. To
determine whether the reported frameshift mu-
tation in hapR accounts for the competence-
negative phenotype of strain N16961, it was
complemented with a wild-type copy of hapR
from the transformable strain A1552. When
tested in the crab shell transformation assay,
the complemented strain, N16961ChapR,
showed a transformation frequency of 7.5
10
j6
(Table 2). To further examine the re-
quirement of hapR for the competence pheno-
type, it was disrupted in A1552. The resulting
mutant was transformation-negative (Table 2).
Together, these data show that HapR is
required for transformation competence.
The expression of hapR is positively con-
trolled by the alternative sigma factor RpoS
(19, 20). To find out if it is also required for
transformation competence, an rpoS mutant
was tested using the crab shell transformation
assay and found to have a transformation-
negative phenotype (Table 2). Thus, RpoS likely
modulates transformation efficiency through its
effect on hapR expression. The natural effectors
of increased RpoS abundance in a chitin-
associated biofilm were not identified. How-
ever, plausible candidates include nutrient
limitation as population density increases,
growth deceleration, or stress (20).
At low cell densities, hapR expression is
repressed by the quorum-sensing regulator
phospho-LuxO; at high cell densities, LuxO
is dephosphorylated, the repression is relieved,
and HapR is synthesized (18, 21). Because
HapR is required for competence, we tested
the effect of cell density on the competence
phenotype. luxO was disrupted in A1552 and
the mutant compared with the wild-type strain
using the crab shell transformation assay. The
average transformation frequency of the luxO
mutant was about five times that of the wild-
type parent. We reasoned that the effect of a
luxO mutation on transformation efficiency
would be most evident at low cell densities.
To correlate bacterial cell density with trans-
formation frequency, genomic DNA from Kn
R
strain VCXB21 was added at 0, 2, 4, or 6
hours after inoculation of the crab shell, time
intervals that correspond to increasing cell
densities on the crab shell surface. Two hours
after the addition of genomic DNA, the assay
was treated with DNase to degrade residual
donor DNA. Then the culture was allowed to
grow for a total of 24 hours, and the exper-
iment was scored as transformation positive or
negative (9). Kn
R
transformants were first
evident more than 4 hours after we inoculated
the crab shell assay with the wild-type strain.
By contrast, the luxO mutant was transform-
able at lower cell densities, with some trans-
formants noted between 0 and 2 hours after
inoculation; many more transformants were
evident after 2 to 4 hours (Fig. 1). These re-
sults show that high cell density positively
controls transformation competence by re-
lieving LuxO-dependent repression of HapR
synthesis.
The data presented in this report have
led us to propose a model of the V. cholerae
competence regulatory network that posits
three controlling environmental determinants
of this phenotype. These are the presence of
chitin; increasing cell density; and, nutrient
limitation, growth deceleration, or stress (fig.
S2). Chitin, acting through TfoX
Vc
, induces
the expression of a competence pseudopilus,
as well as genes required for the extracellular
degradation and uptake of chitin. Increasing
cell density, in combination with effectors of
heightened RpoS abundance, strengthen the
expression of hapR, shown here to be required
for the positive regulation of competence.
Remarkably, both HapR and TfoX
Vc
are re-
quired for the expression of the VC1917 gene
(tables S1 and S2) and thus the three environ-
mental determinants of competence converge
in the regulation of this and perhaps other genes.
This model highlights the importance
of natural competence, occurring in chitin-
attached bacterial communities in the aqua
sphere, as a powerful driver of the evolution
of V. cholerae. It further suggests that en-
vironmental events giving rise to copepod
blooms likely foster the rapid evolution of
this pathogen.
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Fig. 1. Transformation
frequency as a function
of cell density. Transfor-
mation was scored as
positive or negative for
the crab shellassociated
wild type (gray bars) or
luxO mutant (black bars)
of strain A1552 (9). Do-
nor DNA from strain
VCXB21 was present
during the postinocula-
tion time intervals in-
dicated on the x axis.
Transformation ( y axis)
is calculated as the per-
centage of experiments
that were scored as transformation-positive, based on results from two replicates of six independent
experiments.
R E P O R T S
11. B. Baur, K. Hanselmann, W. Schlimme, B. Jenni, Appl.
Environ. Microbiol. 62, 3673 (1996).
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15. R. J. Redfield et al., J. Mol. Biol. 347, 735 (2005).
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21. M. B. Miller, K. Skorupski, D. H. Lenz, R. K. Taylor, B. L.
Bassler, Cell 110, 303 (2002).
22. We thank K. Visconti for excellent technical assist-
ance, S. Shiviah for artwork, S. Roseman and X.-B. Li
for making available V. cholerae strain VCXB21, F.
Yildiz for mutant FY1, and D. Keymer and A. Boehm
for recent environmental isolates. We gratefully
acknowledge helpful discussions with S. Falkow, S.
Molin, M. Miller, A. Spormann, B. Bohannan, and
A.T. Nielsen. This work was supported by grants
to G.S. from the Ellison Foundation and from NIH
(AI053706), by a research fellowship from the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (BL 786/1-1) to
M.B and by an Environmental Venture Project grant
from the Stanford Institute for the Environment.
The data discussed in this publication have been
deposited in the NIH National Center for Bio-
technology Informations Gene Expression Omnibus
(GEO, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) and are accessi-
ble through GEO Series accession numbers GSE3576
and GSE3577.
DC1
Material and Methods
Figs. S1 and S2
Tables S1 to S3
References
10.1126/science.1120096
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teaching and educational purposes. This compact, stand-alone,
ready-to-use instrument is based on the much acclaimed cutting-
edge technology of the mmi Cellcut. No compromise was made in the
essential parts of the instrument, thus, a safe, reliable, and precise
microdissection is guaranteed. Key features include easy operation,
contamination-free microdissection, and single-step sample collection.
MMI Molecular Machines & Industries For information 603-629-9536
www.molecular-machines.com
Reverse Osmosis Water
The RiOs 3 water purification
system is designed to meet the
needs of laboratories that
require up to 30 l per day of
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the tap.This adaptable system is
suitable for general non-critical
laboratory applications such as
manual cleaning and rinsing and
buffer preparation. It can also be
used to provide feedwater for
glassware washers, autoclaves,
and humidifiers, or as a pretreat-
ment for ultrapure water systems. The system can be wall- or bench-
mounted and produces water at a rate of three liters per hour at 20 C.
Millipore For information 800-MILLIPORE www.millipore.com
Flow Cytometry System
The Cell Lab Quanta SC is the second offering in a family of affordable
flow cytometers for drug discovery and basic clinical research. The
Quanta SC combines side light scatter detection and a third fluores-
cent channel with Coulter volume measurement to deliver accurate,
multiparameter cell counting and sizing. Up to five parameters can
be studied at once on the new system. The additional fluorescent
channel and the side light scatter capability enable users to measure
cellular granularity for simple three-color
immunophenotyping applications. Because
the system also incorporates Coulter volume
measurement, users can carry out sensitive
antigen density studies, critical for under-
standing apoptosis processes in more detail.
Quantas multiple excitation wavelengths,
including ultraviolet and laser light sources,
allow flexible fluorochrome selection for a
variety of multicolor analyses. Quanta SC is
offered with a powerful 488 nm laser diode for
fluorescent and side-scatter analysis as well as
a mercury arc lamp for use with ultraviolet-
excitable dyes.The Quanta SC analyzes a vari-
ety of cellular types, including mammalian,
yeast, and bacteria, in research applications such as cell cycle, apopto-
sis, cellular enumeration, and basic immunophenotyping.
Beckman Coulter For information 800-742-2345 www.beckmancoulter.com
NEWPRODUCTS
http://science.labvelocity.com
1828
Newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of interest to
researchers in all disciplines in academic, industrial, and government organizations are
featured in this space. Emphasis is given to purpose, chief characteristics, and availabil-
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rials mentioned is not implied.Additional information may be obtained from the manu-
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request that the information be sent to you by e-mail, fax, mail, or telephone.
NEWPRODUCTS
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From the pages of GetInfo, you can:
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on products and services found in the pages
of Science.
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information.
Link directly to vendors' Web sites.
POSITIONS OPEN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Nutritional Sciences
University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine
The Department of Nutritional Sciences in the
Faculty of Medicine invites applications for a tenure-
track Assistant Professorship. The research inter-
ests of the Department include public health, clinical
and basic nutrition, profiled on website: http://
www.utoronto.ca/nutrisci/. Applications are en-
couraged from candidates with an excellent record of
research accomplishments in any area of human
nutrition relating to human health and disease. Suc-
cessful candidates will be expected to mount an in-
dependent, externally funded research program and
to participate in some teaching at the undergraduate
or graduate level.
Applicants should send curriculum vitae, descrip-
tion of research interests, and the names and ad-
dresses of three references by March 15, 2006, to:
Dr. Michael C. Archer, Chair, Department of
Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Uni-
versity of Toronto, FitzGerald Building, 150
College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3E2.
E-mail: [email protected]. Telephone: 416-
978-8195. Fax: 416-971-2366.
The University is strongly committed to diversity within its
community and especially welcomes applications from visible
minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons
with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and others
who may contribute to further diversification of ideas.All qual-
ified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians
and permanent residents will be given priority.
ASSISTANTAND/ORASSOCIATEPROFESSOR
TWO FACULTY POSITION OPENINGS
Case Western Reserve University
School of Medicine
Department of Nutrition
The Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine,
Case Western Reserve University has two tenure-track
Faculty Positions open in the general field of
metabolic regulation in health and diabetes. We seek
applicants with independent research programs
making use of molecular/cellular biology or stable
isotopic/metabolomic techniques. Preferred lines of
research are beta cell metabolism and control of the
regulation of intermediary metabolism. Rank is
commensurate with experience and funding.
For additional information on the Department,
go to website: http://www.cwru.edu/med/
nutrition/home.html. Please send cover letter with
curriculum vitae to: Dr. Henri Brunengraber,
Chair, Department of Nutrition, 10900 Euclid
Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44109-4906, or electron-
ically to e-mail: [email protected].
Case Western is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer.
ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Biology Department
Mercer University
Macon, Georgia
The Biology Department of Mercer University
seeks a tenure-track Assistant or Associate Profes-
sor to begin August 2006. Duties will consist of
teaching five undergraduate courses per academic
year in freshman level human anatomy and phys-
iology and an upper division specialty course or
extra-departmental general education course. Earned
doctorate in biological science with emphasis in
developmental biology or animal physiology from
an accredited university/college, granted by August
2006, is required. Membership in Phi Beta Kappa is
considered an advantage. Interested applicants will
need to apply online at website: Ghttps://www.
mercerjobs.com/9. Affirmative Action/Equal Opportu-
nity Employer/ADA.
POSITIONS OPEN
ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE
PROFESSOR OF PHYSIOLOGY
Southern Illinois University
The Department of Physiology at Southern Illinois
University Carbondale_s (SIUC) School of Medicine,
Carbondale, invites applications for a tenure-track
faculty position. The preferred level of appointment
is for the Assistant Professor level, however well-
qualified applicants could be considered at Associate
Professor. The University has over 22,000 students
making it the second largest public university in
Illinois, and is located two hours southeast of St.
Louis, Missouri on the border of the scenic Shawnee
National Forest. The Department has established
graduate and undergraduate research programs in
molecular, cellular, and systemic physiology. While
the specific area of research of the candidate is open,
it should be competitive for extramural funding and
preferably would complement existing departmental
strengths in cancer biology, neuroscience, reproduc-
tion, endocrinology, aging, and metabolism. The
successful candidate will be expected to contribute
to the medical school, graduate and/or undergrad-
uate teaching responsibilities of the Department.
The position includes a twelve-month state-funded
competitive salary, modern and spacious research
facilities, and substantial startup funds. Applicants
must have a Ph.D. (or equivalent degree) and evi-
dence of high quality research potential. Postdoctoral
experience is preferred. For appointment at the As-
sociate Professor level, the candidate should current-
ly have faculty status at a university (or equivalent),
an extramurally funded research program, and a
strong record of research productivity as evidenced
by a history of extramural funding and extensive
publications in scientific journals. This is a security
sensitive position. Before any offer of employment is
made, the University will conduct a pre-employment
background investigation, which includes a criminal
background check. Additional departmental infor-
mation can be obtained via the following website:
http://www.siumed.edu/physiology/.
Review of applications will begin February 1, 2006,
and will continue until the position is filled. Appli-
cants are asked to submit curriculum vitae, description
of research and teaching interests, and arrange to have
at least three letters of reference sent to:
Faculty Search Committee
c/o Dr. Michael Collard
Department of Physiology
School of Medicine
Mail Code 6523
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1225 Lincoln Drive
Carbondale, IL 62901
Women and minority applicants are encouraged to apply.
SIUC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
that strives to enhance its ability to develop a diverse faculty and
staff to increase its potential to serve a diverse student popu-
lation. All applications are welcomed and encouraged, and will
receive consideration.
One RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
one INSTRUCTOR, and two POSTDOCTORAL
POSITIONS are immediately available in the labora-
tory of Dr. Ming-Hui Zou at the University of Uni-
versity of Oklahoma Health Science Center (OUHSC).
The research projects in Dr. Zou_s laboratory focus
on cellular redox regulation and signal transduction
in cardiovascular diseases, aging, metabolic syndrome,
obesity, and diabetes. A wide range of approaches
from molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology,
to mouse genetic strategies is employed to tackle
these problems important for human health. This
Ph.D. or M.D. scientist should have strong back-
ground in biochemistry and cell/molecular biology
and a strong interest in research, good communica-
tion skills, and the ability to work independently.
Prior experience working with animals is a plus. In-
terested applicants should send their resume and
letters of reference addressed to: Dr. Ming-Hui Zou
at e-mail: [email protected]. The University
of Oklahoma Health Science Center is an Equal Employment
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
www.sciencecareers.org SCIENCE VOL 310 16 DECEMBER 2005 1829
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Classified Advertising
Marie Curie
18671934
Tenured/Tenure-Track/Senior Scientist Positions
National Eye Institute
The National Eye Institute (NEI) at the National Institutes of Health is seeking outstanding and creative scientists for several Tenured, Tenure-Track and
Senior Scientist positions as part of a new multidisciplinary initiative for therapy of retinal genetic neurodegenerations. The program will be located within the
Institutes Division of Intramural Research NEI, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). These positions offer
an opportunity to participate in an organization dedicated to uncovering new scientic knowledge, both basic and clinical, and ensuring the translation of that
knowledge to the treatment of ocular diseases.
Investigators chosen for this Program will have access to clinical resources and research programs of the NEI as well as the intellectual and technical resources of
the entire NIH. Investigators are expected to provide scientic leadership and expertise in one or more disciplines that include genetics, gene therapy, molecular
biology, cellular biology, physiology, developmental neurobiology, or animal studies as they relate to the design and conduct of pre-clinical and clinical therapeutic
retinal genetic disease research. The basic science components will interface with the existing clinical expertise within NEI on ophthalmic genetic diseases.
This will be a comprehensive program to move into human therapy. The following approaches are pertinent to this effort: molecular genetic analysis of funda-
mental questions in retinal disease; biochemistry of transcriptional regulation; genetic basis of cellular differentiation and pattern formation in a multicellular
tissue; molecular and cellular mechanisms of retinal development and their role in the progression and treatment of retinal degenerative diseases; molecular
basis of cell-cell interactions that regulate retinal neurogenesis and neuronal specicity during development and regeneration; pre-clinical animal models for
retinal degenerative diseases; pharmacogenetics; cell-based therapies; molecular control of stem cell neurobiology and self-renewal; neural remodeling in retinal
degenerative diseases.
Salary is commensurate with research experience and accomplishments. A full Federal package of benets is available (including retirement, health, life and
long term care insurance, Thrift Savings Plan etc).
Applicants should submit curriculum vitae, bibliography, copies of three major publications, a summary of research accomplishments, a brief statement of future
research goals, and three reference letters to: Sheila Ayala, Intramural Administrative Specialist, Ofce of the Scientic Director, National Eye Institute,
31 Center Drive, Building 31, Room 6A22, Bethesda, MD 20892, Tel: 301-451-6763, Email: [email protected].
This position will be open until lled.
Tenure Track Position in Bacterial Pathogenesis
Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Department of Health & Human Services
The National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Division of Intramural Research (DIR), Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases (LCID) is seeking an outstanding
investigator to develop a clinical and basic program in bacterial pathogenesis.
The LCID studies the pathogenesis, pathophysiology, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, including emerging infections and pathogens that are of concern in biodefense,
as well as microorganisms that cause persistent, recurrent, or fatal disease. Current areas of clinical and basic expertise in the LCID include viral, fungal, and mycobacterial
pathogenesis and pathophysiology and the pathophysiology of defects in cellular apoptosis.
The successful candidate will establish an independent research program in bacterial pathogenesis with both laboratory and clinical components. The incumbent will develop clinical
protocols, which may include natural history, pathophysiology, mechanism of action, treatment, or all of the above. Board eligibility/board certification or the equivalent in Internal
Medicine or Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases or Allergy and Immunology are desirable, but Ph.D.s with active clinical programs are also encouraged to apply. Sufficient independent
resources including space, support personnel and an annual budget for services, supplies and salaries have been committed to the position to ensure success.
The appointment is a Tenure Track appointment and will be at the appropriate level under Title 42, which is equivalent to a University Assistant Professor rank. Salary is dependent
on experience and qualifications.
Interested candidates may contact Dr. Steven Holland, Chief, LCID, DIR, and NIAID at 301/402-7684 or email ([email protected]) for additional information about the position.
To apply for the position, candidates must submit a curriculum vitae, bibliography, three letters of reference, a detailed statement of research interests, and reprints of up to three
selected publications by January 31, 2006 to Patrick Murray, Ph.D., Chair, NIAID Search Committee, c/o Mrs. Lynn Novelli, Committee Manager, 10 Center Drive, MSC 1356, Building
10, Room 4A26, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1356. Further information on this position and guidance on submitting your application is available on our website at:
http://healthresearch.niaid.nih.gov/science
Please reference Science on your resume.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a major
research component of the NIH and the Department of Health and Human
Services, is recruiting for a Post-doctoral Fellow or Research Fellow. The
position will be available in the Respiratory Viruses Section of the Laboratory
of Infectious Diseases, and scientists with a M.D., Ph.D., or DVM are eli-
gible. The Research activity involves (1) the development of live attenuated
parainuenza virus vaccine candidates and their characterization in rodents,
in non human primates, and in humans; (2) the use of new rescue systems
for these viruses to examine basic questions of viral genetics, molecular
virology, viral pathogenesis, and the molecular basis of attenuation; (3)
production of new candidate vaccines using site-directed mutagenesis to
introduce desired attenuating mutations into viral genomes; and (4) the
evaluation of the immunologic determinants of resistance to infection and
illness caused by these parainuenza viruses. This full-time research posi-
tion offers a unique opportunity to work on investigations that range from
basic molecular biology to applied vaccinology, and they provide excellent
training for newly graduated Ph.D. scientists, for postdoctoral scientists, and
for MDs at all levels of training who plan a career in research in infectious
diseases. The salary range for post-doctoral applicants is $38,500-56,900,
depending on experience. Research Fellow applicants should have three or
more years of post-doctoral experience; the salary range is $40,974-72,990.
Applicants with an MD degree are eligible for the NIH Loan Repayment
Program. Applicants should send their curriculum vitae, a letter of interest,
and names and addresses of three (3) references to Brian Murphy, 50 South
Drive Room 6517 MSC 8007, Bethesda, MD 20892-8007, FAX: (301)
480-1268, email: [email protected].
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID), a major research component of
the NIH and the Department of Health and Human
Services, is recruiting for one Post-doctoral Fellow or
Research Fellow. The position will be in the Epide-
miology Section of the Laboratory of Infectious Dis-
eases. The research program focuses on epidemiology,
molecular biology, host immune response, and vaccine
development for the human noroviruses. The salary
range of post-doctoral applicants is $38,500-56,900,
depending on experience. Research Fellow applicants
should have three or more years experience; the salary
range is $40,974-72,990. Applicants should send their
curriculum vitae and contact information for three (3)
references to Kim Y. Green, 50 South Drive MSC
8026, Room 6318, Bethesda, MD 20892-8007, FAX:
(301) 480-5031, email: [email protected].
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institutes of Health
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) in Bethesda, MD is seeking applications from outstanding candidates for a Health Scientist
Administrator (HSA) position in the Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences Branch within the Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry Divi-
sion. The recruiting branch currently supports research and training into understanding the basis of traumatic and burn injury and the perioperative period, the
molecular basis of action of anesthetics, the mechanisms of and genetics underlying the actions of therapeutic drugs, and the development of predictive preclinical
toxicology approaches.
The individual hired will be responsible for applying his/her clinical and research expertise to manage and develop research and training grants in NIGMS broad
areas of basic studies in pharmacological and physiological sciences, and to foster the translation of results from fundamental research areas into clinical studies.
The person should have experience gained in a medical research institution and understand how research is conducted with human subjects or patients in a clinical
setting. A background in at least one of the following areas is preferred: trauma, injury and recovery, or clinical pharmacology, or immune system biology, or
alternatively in a cross-cutting area such as studies of the role of inammation in the disease process or of molecular/cellular signaling in these systems. Experi-
ence in modern methods of genome or proteome analysis would also be desirable.
Applicants must possess an MD and/or PhD plus scientic knowledge in the elds of pharmacology, physiology, immunology, systems biology, medicine, or
related elds. Applicants must be familiar with both clinical and laboratory approaches in his/her own eld(s) of expertise. Experience in the NIH peer review
and grant award process would be benecial. Salary will be commensurate with qualications, may include a physicians comparability allowance, and will have
a full package of benets. Detailed vacancy announcements NIGMS-05-100271 and NIGMS-05-100881 with the qualications and application procedures are
available at the NIGMS web page at http://www.nigms.nih.gov/about/job_vacancies.html. Questions about application procedures may be directed to Erin
Bandak at 301-594-2324. Applications must be received by January 4, 2006.
DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF CELL BIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
The Challenge: The NIGMS Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics supports a signicant research grant
program seeking greater understanding of the structure and function of cells, cellular components, and the
biological macromolecules that make up these components. The research ranges from traditional cell biology
and biophysics to studies of single molecules and work in structural genomics and proteomics. The long-term
goal of the Division is to nd ways to prevent, treat, and cure diseases that result from disturbed or abnormal
cellular activity. The division has three components: the Biophysics Branch, the Cell Biology Branch, and
the Structural Genomics and Proteomics Technology Branch. The Institute is seeking a leader in this eld
to direct the Division of Cell Biology and Biophysics, to coordinate the divisions efforts with other federal
agencies and the broader scientic community, and to supervise a staff of 11. Information about the division
is available at: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/About/Overview/CBB.htm
Position Requirements: Candidates must have an M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent degree and post-doctoral
training in the elds relevant to the position. The ideal candidate will have:
Broad knowledge of both cell biology and biophysics;
A demonstrated record of leadership and accomplishment in activities beyond the
candidates own research program; and
Experience in the management of programs and people.
The position will be lled under Title 42, offering a competitive salary commensurate with qualications and
experience, within the range of $125,304 to $175,700. A recruitment or relocation bonus may be available.
Relocation expenses will be paid.
How to Apply: The ofcial vacancy announcement is available at: http://www.nigms.nih.gov/about/
job_vacancies.html. To be considered for this position, send to the address below a CV, bibliography, the
names and contact information of four references, and a vision statement, not to exceed three pages, that
describes your vision for the elds of cell biology and biophysics, where you see the elds going over the
next ten years, and the role that NIGMS should play in enabling necessary developments.
[email protected] or FAX to 301-451-5686
Applications must be received by midnight on the closing date: February 15, 2006
You may contact Erin Bandak, Human Resources Specialist, with questions about this vacancy on 301-594-2324.
Florida State University College of Medicine
Department of Biomedical Sciences
The Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair
The Florida State University College of Medicine invites applications and nominations for the Jim
and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair, which carries the rank of Professor in the Depart-
ment of Biomedical Sciences. The tenure-track position has been established to enhance the research
programs of the department and the College of Medicine. The Florida State University College of
Medicine is the rst allopathic medical school to be established in the United States in 20 years (http:
//med.fsu.edu) and was created by the Florida Legislature for the purpose of training physicians
devoted to the needs of rural, underserved, minority, and elderly populations.
The successful candidate for the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Chair in Biomedical Sciences must
be:
An internationally recognized distinguished leader in his/her eld,
Dedicated to a world-class research program with a continuously distinguished record of
scholarship and research, including publications and funding,
Able to develop a research group or institute in his/her eld,
Able to lead university and/or state-wide development of interdisciplinary programs,
Able to foster national eminence of academic programs, so as to address critical state needs
and meet the mission of the College of Medicine,
Able to engage in the recruitment, education, training, and mentoring of other scholars, and
Experienced with graduate programs and the administration of these programs.
The Department of Biomedical Sciences is the basic science research and teaching arm of the Col-
lege of Medicine. The department has grown to more than 20 faculty in just four years and will add
several more faculty by 2008. The second phase of our new research building, the rst phase of
which was occupied in November of 2004, will be completed by March 2006 giving the College of
Medicine complex more than 300,000 sq. ft. including more than 150,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space.
The Department of Biomedical Sciences has an extensive inventory of common use equipment and
state-of-the art core labs in proteomics, genomics, confocal microscopy, ow cytometry, and cell
culture. See http://med.fsu.edu/biomed for more information.
The Florida State University is recognized for outstanding research and graduate programs in many
areas (e.g., National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Neuroscience, Structural Biology) and has
begun a major initiative to strengthen interdisciplinary research teams and recruit science faculty
campus-wide. The environment for collaboration is excellent. Located in northern Florida, Tallahas-
see is a beautiful, mid-sized capital city with a mild climate and excellent cultural and recreational
opportunities.
Applications and nominations for the Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair should
be mailed to: Alma Littles, M.D., Chair, Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers Eminent Scholar Chair
Selection Committee, The Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 West Call Street,
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300. Letters of nomination should include potential candidates name,
contact information and an explanation of qualications for the position. Direct applications should
include a complete CV and request for three (3) letters of reference. Consideration of nominees and
applicants will begin on February 1, 2006.
The Florida State University is an Equal Opportunity/Afrmative Action Employer.
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE FOR BIONANOTECHNOLOGY IN MEDICINE
(IBNAM)
2006 BAXTER-NORTHWESTERN EARLY CAREER
DEVELOPMENT AWARD IN BIOENGINEERING
Baxter Healthcare Corporation and the Institute for BioNanotechnology in
Medicine (IBNAM) at Northwestern University are collaborating on early
discovery projects for future medical technologies. As part of this program
Baxter will fund up to three early career development postdoctoral research-
ers for a period of two years.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, must have received
a PhD degree from a U.S. institution within the last two years, and be quali-
ed to pursue research in areas such as targeted therapy delivery through
nanotechnology, novel therapies and early detection methods based on nano-
technology, stem cell based therapies, and biomaterials for tissue regeneration.
Successful candidates for this position will work in laboratories of one or
two Northwestern University faculty members.
Applicants are required to submit curriculum vitae, a statement of research
interests (up to two pages), and three letters of recommendation. Candi-
dates are encouraged to submit a list of Northwestern University faculty
members they would like to work with (optional). Please send hard copy
originals to: Professor Samuel I. Stupp, Director, Institute for BioNano-
technology in Medicine, Northwestern University, R.H. Lurie Medical
Research Building, Suite 11-131, 303 East Superior St., Chicago, IL
60611. Additionally, an electronic copy, in PDF or Word, must be sent
to: [email protected]. To receive full consideration, completed
applications must be postmarked no later than March 6, 2006. The earliest
possible starting date is July 1, 2006.
Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity/Afrmative Action
Educator and Employer and invites applications from all qualied indi-
viduals. Applications from women and minorities are especially sought.
IN 2006
CNRS IS RECRUITING
MORE THAN 410 TENURED RESEARCHERS IN ALL SCIENTIFIC FIELDS*
This recruitment campaign is open
to junior and senior researchers from
all over the world. One of the major
objectives of this campaign is to
encourage international
scientists to apply to CNRS.
CNRS researchers work in
an enriching scientific environment:
numerous large-scale facilities
highly-skilled technical support
multiple networks throughout
Europe and across disciplines
access to university
research and teaching
lab-to-lab and international mobility
At CNRS, a long-term vision of
excellence in basic research provides
a solid foundation for the latest
technological research. Successful
candidates from the CNRS competitive
entry process benefit from the
dynamics, stability and stimulation
of belonging to a major research
organization.
Application deadline: January 16
th
2006.
www.cnrs.fr
*MATHEMATICS; PHYSICS; NUCLEAR AND HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS; CHEMISTRY;
ENGINEERING SCIENCES; COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND
SCIENCES; EARTH SCIENCES AND ASTRONOMY; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES;
LIFE SCIENCES; HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES.
Queens College
Director, CUNY Institute for
Research on the Citys Environment
A
pplications are invited for the position of
Director of the CUNY Institute for Re-
search on the Citys Environment. The Institute
is devoted to the protection of the natural land-
scape and habitability of New York City and
environmentally sound management of its nat-
ural resources. For further information, see
www.qc.cuny.edu/nnyn.
The Director will be a prominent scientist
with earned doctorate, strong scholarly record,
and distinguished reputation in environmental/
ecological studies, and be responsible for artic-
ulating/advancing the Institutes mission, de-
veloping its public profile/outreach programs,
stimulating new collaborations among CUNY
faculty, and identifying sources of extramural
funding. The Director will maintain his/her
own research activities and play a lead role in
developing CUNYs Urban Environment Initia-
tive. Admin. exp. in leading multi-investigator
research desirable. Applications should include
letter of interest, CV, statement of vision for the
Institute, and contact information for 4 refs.
Applications will be accepted until position is
filled, and should be sent to Dr. Marten den-
Boer, Queens College, 65-30
Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY
11367. Email submission pre-
ferred ([email protected]).
AA/EOE/IRCA/ADA
London Six figure package
*
RBG Kew is the worlds leading organisation devoted to increasing knowledge, so that the diversity of plants and fungi
can be understood and used in sustainable ways for human benefit and conserved for future generations. It is a non-
departmental public body and consists of two outstanding gardens, Kew Gardens, a World Heritage Site, and
Wakehurst Place. These two visitor attractions are home to Kews collections, laboratories, library and the Millennium
Seed Bank. A science and plant-led organisation, the gardens crucially enable Kew to build public understanding and
support for sustainability and plant conservation. It welcomed over 1.5 million visitors last year, has an income of over
40 million and involves 1,200 people, including 350 volunteers. The Trustees now seek an exceptional individual to
succeed Sir Peter Crane, who leaves in 2006 after seven years to take up a Chair at the University of Chicago.
Director
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Odgers Ray & Berndtson, 11 Hanover Square, London W1S 1JJ
t 0845 1309005 f 020 7529 1009 e [email protected]
www.odgers.com
A candidate brief containing full application details can be downloaded from our website
www.odgers.com/9218 or requested by telephone or email, quoting reference AWA/9218SC.
Closing date: 27th January, 2006
RBG Kew is committed to the principles of diversity in all appointments and to selection on merit
with openness and transparency of process
Management responsibility for all aspects of the
organisation, accountable to the Board of Trustees and to
Parliament, as Accounting Officer.
Providing leadership and vision for the organisation.
Scientific leadership, including setting science strategy and
maintaining and developing Kew as a world class centre for
conservation and living plant collections.
Ambassador for Kew, promoting its activities and
international status, working with all stakeholders.
Enhancing the outstanding values of RBG Kew while
developing its public and educational mission.
Demonstrable record of achievement in plant sciences or a
related discipline.
Senior management experience gained from a large and
complex organisation.
Accomplished communicator in public, private and political
forums.
Ability to engage with strategic fundraising initiatives and
demonstrate commercial awareness.
* commensurate with experience,
including a house at Kew Gardens
Ref. no. UFV-PA 2005/3322
Within physical chemistry, the department presently offers postgraduate courses and research opportunities
in ultrafast chemical reactions and laser spectroscopy, artificial photosynthesis, colloid and interfacial che-
mistry and molecular simulation. The subject is broad and new research areas are welcomed. Uppsala
University is looking for a person who can either strengthen one of the existing research areas or else esta-
blish a new area of mainly experimental physical chemistry within the department. A documented theoreti-
cal ability is, however, also a qualification.
The tasks will include: Comprehensive responsibility for research and postgraduate studies in physical che-
mistry, teaching and advising PhD-students and undergraduate students. Research in experimental physical
chemistry. Information about research and development and planning of new research projects.
Administration at a divisional or higher level.
For further information about the position, please contact the Head of the Department of Physical Chemistry, Christer
Elvingson, tel +46(0)18 471 3631, e-mail: [email protected] or Professor Sten Lunell, tel +46(0)18 471 3268,
e-mail [email protected].
Information about the Section of Chemistry can be found at www.chemistry.uu.se and about the Department of Physical
Chemistry at www.fki.uu.se.
Further particulars including instructions for applicants can be obtained from [email protected].
This information can also be found at http://www.teknat.uu.se/english/index.php.
Chair in Physical Chemistry
at the Section of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology,
Uppsala University
Closing date for
acceptance of appli-
cations is January
23th, 2006.
IN NEUROBIOLOGY AND BIOIMAGING
The School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University is searching for a tenure-track faculty
member at the Assistant or Associate Professor level to use state-of-the-art bioimaging techniques
to solve current problems in neurobiology. Research in neural development or plasticity, signal
transduction, and neural modulatory systems are examples of research areas in which the candidate
might be working. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to contribute expertise to our
W.M. Keck Bioimaging and Electron Microscopy Laboratory by participating in equipment grants
and advisory panels, and to collaborate with a wide array of scientists who include the growing
neurobiology research cluster in the School of Life Sciences, the Centers of Optical Biotechnology,
Molecular Biophysics and High Resolution Electron Microscopy, the neural engineering group in
the Ira Fulton School of Engineering, the Neurogenomics Division of the Translational Genomics
Research Institute, the Barrow Neurological Institute, the T.H. Christopher Parkinsons Disease
Research Center, and the Sun Health Research Institute, all in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Websites for SOLS and our bioimaging laboratories (sols.asu.edu/klab and sols.asu.edu/lsem.)
provide further information.
Candidates must have a doctoral degree and a record of scholarly activity appropriate to rank
Individuals who have postdoctoral research experience in a relevant discipline, and have dem-
onstrated innovation and excellence in bioimaging research appropriate to rank, are preferred.
Responsibilities of the position will include maintaining an active, extramurally funded research
program, mentorship of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and teaching at the undergradu-
ate and graduate levels.
To apply, candidates must submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and a statement of research
interests and a statement of teaching experience. Additionally, for an Associate Professor position,
include the name, phone number and email address for 3 references; for the Assistant Professor
level, request 3 letters of recommendation to be sent to: Chair, Bioimaging/Neurobiology Search
Committee, School of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
85287-4501. Letters of reference, but not application materials, may be submitted by email to
[email protected]. Application deadline is January 20, 2006; if not lled, applications will be
reviewed weekly thereafter until the search is closed. See http://sols.asu.edu/jobs/index.php for
more information. A background check is required for employment.
Arizona State University is an Afrmative Action-Equal Opportunity Employer.
Stony Brook University seeks an outstanding scientific leader to serve as
founding Director of a new Center for Computational Neuroscience. The
successful candidate will have expertise in computational neuroscience
and demonstrated leadership ability to build upon traditional disciplines in
neurobiology, psychology, other biomedical sciences, physical sciences,
electrical engineering, computer science, and mathematics to develop
integrative, research, and training programs in computational neurosciences.
The Center Director will have the resources to recruit new faculty to Stony
Brook University in coordination with Neurobiology and other relevant
departments in the College of Arts and Science, College of Engineering
and Applied Sciences, School of Medicine, and in collaboration with the
neighboring Brookhaven National and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories.
Substantial resources to establish this Center of Excellence have been
provided by New York State and Stony Brook University for faculty
recruitment and infrastructure development.
Required: M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent degree; the academic rank of Associate
or Full Professor; extramural funding at a national/international level; publica-
tions in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and reviews; and symposium
participation at the national/international level. The candidate will also have
a proven record of success in graduate student and/or post-doc training.
The review of applications will begin January 1, 2006, and will continue
until the position is filled.
Applicants should forward a curriculum vitae to:
Computational Neuroscience Director Search Committee
c/o Maria Doelger, 407 Administration Building
Stony Brook University, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY 11794-1401
or e-mail [email protected]
AA/EOE. Visit www.stonybrook.edu/cjo
for complete job description and other
employment opportunities.
Director of Center for
Computational Neuroscience
change the world?
Why not
Why not
The Department of Biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
seeks candidates in any area of basic biomedical research for
tenure track faculty positions at all academic levels. We are
particularly interested in candidates in the areas of genomics,
proteomics, and bioinformatics as part of a campus-wide
initiative in computational biology and bioinformatics.
Rensselaer has recently opened a 218,000 sq. ft. Center for
Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies with approximately
60 faculty laboratories and state of the art core facilities.
Significant funding is available for startup packages. Review of
applications will begin January 15, 2006, but searches will
continue until the position is filled. Please send a curriculum
vitae, a statement of research interests up to three pages, and a
minimum of three letters of reference to:
Robert H. Parsons, Chair Biology Search Committee
Biology Department, Rm. 1W14 SC
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180-3590
We welcome responses from those persons who will bring diverse
intellectual, geographical, gender and ethnic perspectives to
Rensselaers work and campus communities.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
is an Affirmative Action/Equal
Opportunity Employer.
Biology Faculty
Department Head
Department of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology
Franklin College of Arts
and Sciences
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is seeking an estab-
lished scientist with creative vision to lead
the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular
Biology [http://www.bmb.uga.edu/home/]. With
over 30 faculty members, the internationally
recognized department has research strengths in
several areas, including glycobiology, structural
biology, bioinformatics, microbial genomics,
enzyme mechanisms, and molecular/cellular
biology. This search is coincident with a
dramatic expansion of research programs in
interdisciplinary biomedical and health sciences
at UGA, the establishment of a new College
of Public Health, the development of state-of-
the-art biohazard containment facilities, and
increasing emphasis on quantitative approaches
to biological and medical problems [see http:
//www.ovpr.uga.edu/facultypositions/].
Candidates should have an outstanding record of
academic accomplishments and funding, as well
as proven leadership and administrative skills.
Send applications and nominations electroni-
cally to Dr. Wyatt W. Anderson, Chair of the
Search Committee, chairheadsearch@bmb.
uga.edu. Applicants should submit a cover letter
summarizing their qualifications and vision,
together with complete curriculum vitae. For
full consideration, applications must be received
by January 5, 2006.
The University of Georgia is an Equal
Opportunity/Afrmative Action Employer.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Basic Sciences and
The School of the Coast and Environment
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803
The College of Basic Sciences and The School of the Coast
and Environment invite applications for eleven (11) tenure-
track positions beginning in August 2006. Applicants should
have a Ph.D. in an appropriate eld. Successful candidates will
be expected to develop a strong research program and contribute
to graduate and undergraduate education.
The positions in the College of Basic Sciences are distributed
among ve academic departments. While we anticipate hiring
at the Assistant Professor level, candidates at higher ranks are
also encouraged to apply.
The Department of Biological Sciences is seeking a faculty
member in the area of Microbial Ecology/Evolution (Log
#0464).
The Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry
jointly invite applications for a tenure-track position in the
area of Toxicogenomics (Log #0458).
The Department of Chemistry invites applications for three
tenure-track positions in the areas of (1) NMR Spectroscopy/
Log #0423, (2) Physical Chemistry/Log #0421, and (3) Mac-
romolecular or Organic Chemistry/Log #0422.
The Department of Computer Science invites applications for
a tenure-track position, which is open to outstanding candidates
in all areas of Computer Science (Log #0465).
The Department of Geology and Geophysics invites appli-
cations and nominations for the Charles T. McCord Chair in
Petroleum Geology (Log #0508).
The Department of Physics and Astronomy invites applica-
tions for an Assistant Professor in the area of Medical Imaging
Physics (Log #0463).
Further information for Basic Sciences positions is available
at science.lsu.edu/employment.htm.
The School of the Coast and Environment has three positions
available in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal
Sciences:
Biological Oceanographer (Assistant Professor/Log #0551)
with expertise in one or more of the following areas: phyto-
plankton ecology, microbial ecology, coastal and estuarine
primary productivity, noxious and toxic algal species, or
microbial processes.
Coastal Marine Geologist (Assistant/Associate Professor/
Log #0552) with expertise in the general areas of shelf, coastal,
estuarine, and uvial processes.
Physical Oceanographer (Assistant Professor/Log #0553)
with expertise in the general area of continental shelf or larger
scale ocean circulation and demonstrated research interests
(observational and/or modeling) in one or more of the follow-
ing areas: circulation and transport processes, mixing processes,
ocean/atmosphere interactions, gravity wave dynamics (includ-
ing internal waves), and climate change.
Further information for the School of the Coast and Environ-
ment positions is available at www.ocean.lsu.edu.
For more information and complete qualications, see our
website at http://www.lsu.edu/lsucareers.
LSU IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/EQUAL ACCESS
EMPLOYER.
PROFESSORSHIP
(W2-PROFESSUR, TENURE
TRACK)
IN MOLECULAR MICROSCOPY
GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITT GTTINGEN
Bereich Humanmedizin
Universittsklinikum Medizinische Fakultt
which will be installed at the Department of Neuro- and
Sensory Physiology as part of the joint initiative with the newly
established DFG-Research Centre for the Molecular
Physiology of the Brain (CMPB).
We are looking for candidates with profound experience in
the optical investigation of molecular processes in single
neurons, aiming at physiological systems analysis. The
goal is the quantification of biochemical networks in time
and space and their correlation with cellular neurophysiol-
ogy. Therefore, we expect expertise in quantitative in vitro
and in vivo fluorescence detection techniques. The appli-
cant should have a broad experience in the application of
biophotonic techniques; in the design and improvement of
innovative optical bioassays for specific neuronal func-
tions; and in the implementation and development of opti-
cal instrumentation/analysis solutions.
In teaching, the position is dedicated to the whole field of
Physiology, as well as to the curriculum in the MSc-PhD
graduate program in Neurosciences. The CMPB Centre
and the department offer a unique environment for interdis-
ciplinary research in the Neurosciences and Biophysics. An
excellent infrastructure is available at the department.
The formal requirements for the recruitment follow 25
NHH. Details can be given upon inquiry.
Handicapped candidates are given priority, if equally quali-
fied.
The University of Gttingen is determined to increase the
percentage of female professors. Therefore, we strongly
encourage qualified female scientists to apply. A part-time
appointment can eventually be given.
Applications with the standard documents (CV, index of
publications, presentation of teaching record, diplomas)
should be sent in by 4 weeks to
Dekan der Medizinischen Fakultt des Bereichs Hu-
manmedizin der Georg-August-Universitt, Robert-
Koch-Str. 42, 37075 Gttingen
Please fill in as well the following form:
http://www.humanmedizin-goettingen.de/orga/doc/
curriculum_vitae-kurzbewerbungsbogen.doc
The Bereich Humanmedizin (University Hospital and Faculty
of Medicine) of the Georg-August-Universitt Gttingen
seeks to fill a
Director, Nikon Imaging Center at QB3/UCSF
UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics is seeking a Director
for the new Nikon Imaging Center (NIC). The NIC is a collaborative core
facility developed by the UCSF School of Medicine, the California Institute
of Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), the Cardiovascular Research
Institute, and Nikon Instruments, Inc. designed to promote education and
innovation in imaging.
The Nikon Imaging Center will provide a platform for the development of new
microscopy technologies, software, analysis, and methods. The Director will
have responsibility for the teaching and training of microscopic techniques to
all users of the Center and provide expert advice and suggestions about data
and research projects. The Director will be directly responsible for the upkeep,
scheduling, and calibration of the microscopes themselves. Finally, the Direc-
tor will coordinate further improvements and additions with our partners at
Nikon and will be responsible for the management of the NIC nances.
The candidate must have demonstrated teaching ability and excellent inter-
personal skills. The ideal candidate will have at least a Masters degree in
biological sciences (PhD preferred). Because the users of the Center will come
from all UCSF departments and the Director will be expected to help evaluate
and improve experimental approaches, a solid grounding in biology will be
essential to success. Experience with tissue culture of human cells is required.
The candidate must also possess the organizational and technical skills to assist
in handling the large volumes of data generated by the microscopes and moni-
tor the usage of the microscopes. Experience with modifying and improving
existing microscope software and/or hardware is also desirable.
Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a brief summary of research
accomplishments, and three letters of recommendation to: Adam Carroll,
UCSF Center for Advanced Technology, 600 16
th
Street, Box 2140, San
Francisco, CA 94143.
We strongly encourage applications from women and minorities.
The University of California, San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity/
Afrmative Action Employer.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
Faculty Position in Mammalian Evolutionary
or Ecological Biology
Position ID #1010
The Department of Integrative Biology and the Museum of Vertebrate
Zoology seek a colleague at the Assistant Professor and Assistant Curator
level in the area of Mammalian Evolutionary or Ecological Biology. We
seek an individual who will develop an outstanding eld- and collection-
based research program in evolution and/or ecology, using any taxa of
extant mammals as a study system. The successful candidate will share
an appointment in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the Department
of Integrative Biology. Previous museum experience is not required but
the successful candidate must demonstrate an intellectual commitment to
museum-based research, the potential to use and add to MVZ collections,
a clear vision of the multiple roles of museum collections in the 21
st
cen-
tury, and the capacity to integrate intellectual activities of the MVZ and
the Department of Integrative Biology. We encourage applicants from all
areas of mammal biology. Candidates should have a strong commitment
to both undergraduate and graduate teaching.
The position is available 1 July 2006. Applicants should submit a curricu-
lum vitae and a statement of research and teaching objectives, including a
vision for the future of natural history museums such as the MVZ.
Applications, including at least three letters of recommendation, should
be sent directly to the search committee at: Search Committee, Mam-
malian Evolutionary/Ecological Biology Search, Department of
Integrative Biology, 3060 VLSB, University of California, Berkeley,
CA 94720-3140. The deadline for receipt of applications is 23 January
2006. Applicants should refer their reviewers to the UC Berkeley State-
ment of Condentiality at http://apo.chance.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html.
Further information about the department, the MVZ, and this fac-
ulty position can be found at http://ib.berkeley.edu/ and http:
//mvz.berkeley.edu.
The University of California, Berkeley, is an Equal Opportunity
Employer committed to excellence through diversity.
Professorship of Biological Anthropology
Applications are invited for the above post, tenable from
1st September 2006, or such later date as may be arranged.
The Professorship of Biological Anthropology at Oxford has
historically been one of the most prestigious in the country.
The University of Oxford wishes to appoint a candidate who can take
that tradition forward. To this end the successful candidate will
have an international research reputation in Biological Anthropology,
involving human genetics, human evolution/palaeoanthropology
(either genetic or morphological), or primatology.
The Institute of Biological Anthropology is now merged with the
Department of Zoology, and the professorship is part of the latter
department, while also being affiliated, for academic purposes, to the
School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography. The professor would
be expected to build biological anthropology, and one of his or her primary
duties would be to provide teaching and other support for the Human
Sciences degree, in which Biological Anthropology is a core subject.
A non-stipendiary fellowship at Linacre College is attached to
the professorship.
Further particulars, including details of how to apply, are
available from http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/fp/ or from the
Registrar, University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD,
tel. (01865) 270200. The closing date for applications is
30th January 2006.
The University is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Incyte Corporation is focused on becoming a leading drug discovery and
development company by building a proprietary product pipeline of novel,
small molecule drugs. We have assembled a competitive and talented drug
discovery and development team, which has extensive experience in a number
of the rapeutic areas. We have active internal drug discovery programs
focused on the identification of drugs for inflammation, cancer and diabetes.
Our most advanced product candidate is currently in Phase IIb clinical trials
to treat patients infected with HIV. Our assets, including a highly experienced
team with prior industry success in bringing important new drugs to market,
put us in a strong position to make a difference in healthcare as well as
improve the lives of patients.
Preclinical Biology Scientist
We currently have an opening in the Preclinical Biology group. As a key
member of this group, the selected candidate will be an experimental and
conceptual specialist for Incytes diverse molecularly targeted oncology
therapeutics programs. In this role you will be expected to provide input
with regard to new/ novel oncology targets and perform and oversee
experiments to support current drug discovery programs. Expertise in cell
and molecular biology with at least some in vivo tumor model experience
is required. The scope of responsibilities will range from cell-based to animal
studies. Focus will be placed on the generation and characterization of
genetically customized tumor and/or pharmacodynamic models and the
evaluation of novel compounds in these models. Requires an advanced
degree (Ph.D. or M.D.) and a record of scientific accomplishment. Post-doctoral
training is highly preferred, as is some industrial experience.
Located in Wilmington, DE, Incyte is uniquely close in proximity to
Philadelphia, NY City, Baltimore, D.C., New Jersey/Delaware beaches and
Pocono Mountain resorts. We offer a competitive salary, 401K and other
benefits. For consideration, please send your resume to [email protected],
referencing Job Code LL6418JF. To learn more, please visit our website at
www.incyte.com. Incyte Corporation is proud to be an Equal Opportunity
Employer M/F/V/D.
Make the right step toward your futurewith Merial
Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health, well-being and
performance of a wide range of animals. Merial employs approximately 5,000 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide. Its 2004 sales
were in excess of $1.8 billion. Merial Limited is a joint venture between Merck & Co., Inc. and Aventis, part of the sano-aventis Group. Our growing,
performance-driven team is in search of qualied candidates for the following position at our Athens, Georgia site:
SCIENTIST, GENE THERAPY
Primary position responsibilities include the following:
Design, implement and report on in vivo assays in laboratory and target species to select optimized gene delivery systems.
Select, implement and report on most appropriate/relevant laboratory and target species models of experimental pathology
to support the development of specic products. Validate relevance and consistency of selected models.
Conrm potential of specic set of therapeutical gene candidates in the aforementioned models and generate pre clinical
data to prepare further evaluations. Provide critical data to support the initiation of regulatory submissions for the target species.
Provide technical support for on-going strategic positioning of gene therapies within Merial. Explore relevant literature
to identify and/or consolidate leads.
Provide support to furthering relevant patent portfolio.
The ideal candidate will have a DVM, PhD, 2-3 years experience in pharmaceutical or immunology-related industry/university/institutional research
setting. Must possess excellent knowledge of basic science and general knowledge of drug development process. Must have hands-on successful experi-
ence with different gene vectors engineering and production, including recombinant adenoviruses. Must have demonstrated leadership, communication,
analytical and problem solving skills.
As an industry leader, Merial offers a stimulating work environment, competitive salaries, and an excellent benets program -- including a 401(k) sav-
ings plan with a generous company match, a cash balance retirement plan, onsite training and development, educational assistance program, tness
reimbursement program and a very comprehensive medical plan.
If you are interested in joining a growing Company that is committed to making a vital difference in the lives of its customers and employees, please
forward your resume with salary history/requirements to: Attn: Human Resources, Merial, 1730 Olympic Drive, Athens, GA 30601 or Fax to (706)
227-4187 or to view more open positions, or to apply online, please visit our website at www.merial.com.
An Equal Opportunity Employer promoting a progressive and drug-free workplace. M/F/V/D/A
Merial is a joint venture between Merck & Co., Inc. and sano-aventis.
Make the right step toward your futurewith Merial.
Hope Professorship of Zoology
(Entomology)
Applications are invited for the above post, tenable from
1st September 2006, or such later date as may be arranged.
The Hope Professorship of Zoology (Entomology) has long been the
most prestigious Chair in Entomology in a UK University. The Hope
Professor will be based in the Department of Zoology, but will also have
access to the Hope Entomological Collections in the University
Museum and to the Universitys Field Station at Wytham.
The successful candidate will have an international research
reputation in an aspect of entomology that integrates with one or
more of the Departments main research groupings in behaviour,
conservation biology, development, ecology, evolution, disease or
ornithology. The appointee will be expected to build and lead a
substantial and academically excellent research group that
integrates with others in the Department; to teach and examine on
the Biological Sciences undergraduate course and the MSc course
in Biology (Integrative Bioscience).
A non-stipendiary fellowship at Jesus College is attached to
the Professorship.
Further particulars, including details of how to apply, are available from
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/fp/ or from the Registrar, University
Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD, tel. (01865) 270200.
The closing date for applications is 30th January 2006.
The University is an Equal Opportunities Employer.
Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences
(PI Recruitment)
The Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter
referred to as the Institute) is a non-profit research institution jointly supported
by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institut Pasteur and the Shanghai Municipal
Government. The missions of the Institute are to promote research and education
in the field of infectious diseases, in particular virology, immunology,
epidemiology, vaccinology and related biotechnology, which meet Chinese
priorities in public health.
The Institute is now seeking to recruit additional research scientists. Qualified
individuals are encouraged to apply. All interested candidates must have a
Ph.D. degree or equivalent, obtained internationally advanced research
experiences and accomplishments, good track record of publications in high-
level international journals or be responsible for the undertaking of biological
research related to infectious diseases at internationally well-known institutions.
They should be able to demonstrate abilities in directing key research and
development projects as well as in management. Candidates must be able to
work full time in the Institute.
The Institute will provide those who are recruited with excellent working
conditions comparable to the international level. Teaching experience is
preferred. The initial appointment is for a period of 4 years, renewable on
evaluation records. Salary will be commensurate with experiences and
qualifications. Applicant should submit electronically a full CV (in English)
that includes history of training, employment, awards, achievements, dates of
availability, and a description of his/her vision for the applied position within
3,000 words. Please mail a publication list and copies of five representative
papers and three letters of recommendation by January 16, 2006 to:
Ms. Caroline Wu, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, CAS,
225 South Chongqing Road, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Tel: 86-21-6384-2921; Fax: 86-21-6384-3571; E-mail: [email protected]
Personal data collected will be used for recruitment purpose only.
Further information, please visit http://www.shanghaipasteur.ac.cn
UNIVERSITYOF
PENNSYLVANIA
SCHOOLOF MEDICINE
The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Institute
on Aging at the University of Pennsylvanias School of Medicine seeks
candidates for an Assistant Professor position in the tenure track. The
successful applicant will have experience in the field of Neurodegerative
Disease with a focus on Bioinformatics related to normal aging and aging
related neurodegenerative diseases. Applicants must have a Ph.D. or
M.D./Ph.D. degree and have demonstrated excellent qualifications in
Education and Research.
This faculty appointment would include membership in the Institute on Aging. The
ideal candidate should have demonstrable abilities and background to develop
an independent research program in bioinformatics of aging and aging related
neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, candidates are expected to possess
bioinformatics expertise in the field of aging research. Teaching and mentoring of
medical students, pathology residents, biomedical graduate students, and fellows
will be an integral component of the position. All applications should be received
by February 1, 2006.
The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity, affirmative action
employer. Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Please submit curriculum vitae, a brief statement of research interests, and
three reference letters to:
Virginia M.-Y. Lee, Ph.D., Search Committee Chair
C/O Gayle Joseph
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Institute on Aging
3 Maloney-HUP, 3600 Spruce St., Phila., PA 19104-4283
[email protected]
PATHOLOGY AND LABORATORY MEDICINE
http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/path/JobOpps.html
INSTITUTE ON AGING/BIOINFORMATICS
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Human-Computer Interaction Visiting
Faculty Position in the School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University established a branch campus in Qatar in the fall
of 2004. We are offering a BS degree in Computer Science to an international
student body. The university invites applications for a visiting faculty position
to begin as early as January 2006.
We are seeking a faculty member in the area of Learning Science and Technol-
ogy with research experience ideally in designing, implementing, deploying,
and evaluating educational technology in school or college settings. An ability
to teach courses in human-computer interaction, articial intelligence, cogni-
tive psychology, or related areas is also desired. The position will involve
research in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center and
faculty at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon in
Pittsburgh. The position offers competitive salaries, overseas assignments,
travel and housing allowances and other benets packages, as well as attrac-
tive research support.
Interested candidates should send their resume, statement of teaching interest
and research, and names of three references to: Faculty Hiring Committee,
c/o Ruth Gaus, Qatar Ofce SMC 1070, 5032 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh,
PA 15289; [email protected]; Fax 412-253-0924.
For more information on the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center, see
http://learnlab.org.
For more information on the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, see
http://www.hcii.cs.cmu.edu.
For more information on the BS in CS program, see http://
www.csd.cs.cmu.edu/education/bscs/index.html.
For more information on the Carnegie Mellon Qatar Campus, see http:
//www.qatar.cmu.edu/.
Information on Qatar is available at: http://www.experienceqatar.com/
.
Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) of
Experimental Geochemistry
The Department of Earth Sciences is seeking an experimentalist with a
strong theoretical background to lead investigations on the structure and
properties of natural materials with innovative applications to Earth science
problems.
He or she will develop an experimental program including in-situ observations
(i. e. synchrotron and other microbeam methods) of the behaviour of natural
materials at high pressures and high temperatures, as well as computational
chemistry applied to geochemical problems. Potential applications might
include melts and fluids in planetary interiors and surfaces, the transport
properties of geologically and environmentally relevant fluids, and the abiotic
origin of organic molecules in volcanic and planetary environments. The
new professor will join the Institute of Mineralogy and Petrology and initiate
cooperative research/teaching programs with other groups at ETH and related
institutions.
The successful candidate will have a record of accomplishments in one or
more of the fields of physical and chemical properties of fluids and gases,
melts, and/or minerals at high pressures and high temperatures.
The new professor and his or her staff will offer introductory and advanced
courses covering physical chemistry aspects of the Earths subsurface and
interior. Courses at Master level may be taught in English.
This assistant professorship has been established to promote the careers of
younger scientists. The initial appointment is for four years with the possibility
of renewal for an additional two-year period and promotion to a permanent
position.
Applicants should submit a detailed rsum, publication list, statement of
research interests, and the names of three potential referees to the President
of ETH Zurich, Professor E. Hafen, ETH Zentrum, CH-8092 Zurich,
Switzerland no later than January 31, 2006. With a view towards increasing
the proportion of female professors, ETH Zurich specifically encourages
female candidates to apply.
Put your brain to good use.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Title: Group Leader, T-12
Summary: Los Alamos National Laboratory is accepting
applications for the position of Theoretical Chemistry and
Molecular Physics (T-12) Group Leader. The T-12 Group
Leader provides scientific leadership, project management,
capability development, and line management. The
members of the T-12 group seek to understand the behavior of
materials by describing how basic forces operating at the atomic
and molecular level manifest themselves in the properties of
matter at more macroscopic levels. Current activities include
research in gas phase and condensed phase phenomena. Research
projects include the development and application of techniques
for calculating the electronic properties of molecules and solids,
atomistic simulations of materials, the dynamics and kinetics of
chemical reactions, molecular modeling of catalysts, and the
study of solute-solvent interactions. Particular applications of
this research are to the properties of actinide materials and
transition metals, to the properties of polymers, biological
solvation processes, and fuel cell technologies. Work in the group supports applied
missions of the Laboratory, including the Advanced Simulation and Computing
(ASC) program, Threat Reduction (TR) programs, and the Department of Energy
(DoE) Basic Energy Sciences programs. The Group Leader, with the help of the
Deputy Group Leader, will develop and manage the Groups human, financial,
computing, and other resources; new programs and funding. The Group Leader will
also maintain an active research effort, at the half to three-fourths level.
Required Skills: Demonstrated knowledge and research accomplishments in one
or more of T-12s technical research focus areas. Ability to provide scientific and
project leadership, project management skills, and fiscally responsible business
practices. Demonstrated ability to function effectively in an environment of
rapidly changing priorities. Excellent communication skills. Attract and establish
research programs from sponsors comparable to those such as the DoE, Laboratory
LDRD, industrial partners, and other agencies. Ability to obtain a DoE Q clearance,
which normally requires U.S. citizenship.
Ph.D. in Chemistry, Physics, Material Sciences, or the equivalent combination of
education and relevant experience.
For a complete job description and application information, visit www.
lanl.gov/jobs and search for job# 211737.
Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the
National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy. AA/EOE
www.lanl.gov/jobs
The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Department of Plant Sciences
Department Head and Professor
Position Description: The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences invites applications and nomina-
tions for the position of Head of the Department of Plant Sciences and Professor. The Department of
Plant Sciences, in addition to serving the agricultural industry of the state of Arizona, has extensive
collaborative interactions with faculty in the biological sciences across the University. The department
consists of 40 faculty members who reside on the main campus in Tucson and at several off-campus
experimental stations located elsewhere in the state. The department is also home to the University of
Arizona Campus Herbarium, the largest herbarium in the southwest. Strong innovative, interdisciplinary
leadership in an academic environment is being sought to lead the Department in the areas of exten-
sion, research, and teaching. The candidate should have established scholarly credentials in an area that
could be considered a part of a contemporary inter-disciplinary department of plant sciences, including
agronomy, biochemistry, botany, controlled environment agriculture, genetics, genomics, horticulture,
molecular and cellular biology, plant-microbe interactions, plant-insect interactions, plant physiology
or development. The successful candidate will be encouraged to maintain an extension, research, or
teaching program. The department is seeking an individual who is able to work with diverse students and
colleagues, and who has experience with a variety of teaching methods and curricular perspectives.
Qualications: A Ph.D. is required, preferably in one of the above elds or areas of study. Strong
evidence of managerial and leadership abilities, the capacity to articulate a vision for the Department,
and a strong appreciation for diversity and for the land-grant mission are essential.
Salary: The salary will depend upon qualications and experience.
Application Procedure: Applicants should submit a current curriculum vitae, the names, addresses
(including email), and telephone numbers of six references, and a statement of qualications and goals
to: Dr. Jeffrey C. Silvertooth, Plant Sciences Search Committee, Department of Plant Sciences,
University of Arizona, Forbes Building, Room 303, PO Box 210036, Tucson, AZ 85721-0036.
Phone: (520) 621-1977 Fax: (520) 621-7186. [email protected]. Position # 34015.
The committee will begin considering applicants on 1 February 2006 but will accept applications
until suitable candidates for interviews have been identied. This appointment will be available 1
July 2006.
The University of Arizona is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Afrmation Action Employer.
Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply.
The Ohio State University
Professor and Chair
Department of
Biomedical Engineering
The Ohio State University (OSU) seeks
candidates for the position of Professor and
Chair of Biomedical Engineering. The
Biomedical Engineering (BME) Center with a
Graduate Program, established in 1971, was
established as a department within the College
of Engineering on November 4, 2005. Situated
within one of the largest comprehensive, land-
grant universities, BME enjoys extensive
collaborations with faculty in engineering and
health science colleges including medicine,
dentistry, veterinary medicine and biological
sciences and engineering. BME currently has
15 core faculty members, 59 participating
members, and 5 support staff members. BME
administers a strong graduate program (MS &
PhD), participates with a MD/PhD program, and
offers an undergraduate minor curriculum. An
undergraduate major curriculum is in the
planning stages. Research in the BME center is
focused in three interrelated areas: Tissue
engineering/biomaterial, biomedical micro- &
nano-technology, and bio imaging. Related,
specialized research facilities and equipment
are shared campus-wide. For more details see:
www.bme.ohio-state.edu.
The successful applicant will present
leadership skills and an extensive record of
accomplishment in research and
scholarship: He or she will lead a research
program fitting the departmental focus
areas, demonstrate biomedical teaching
experience, and have a record of extensive
extramural funding. In addition, the candidate
will develop and implement a strong vision for
the future of the department with the objective
of achieving a high national ranking.
OSU is committed to excellence in
undergraduate and graduate education, and to
diversity. Applications should include a
curriculum vita, a statement of the candidate's
vision for the future of biomedical engineering
research and education, a self-assessment of
leadership qualities and style, and the names of
five professional references. Review of
applications will begin immediately and
continue until the position is filled.
Please send applications to: BME Chair Search
Committee, c/o Kirsten Gibbons, 270 Bevis
Hall, 1080 Carmack Rd., Columbus, Ohio
43210, Email: [email protected]
Search Committee Chairs
Sanford Barsky, Professor & Chair
Department of Pathology, College of Medicine
Stuart L. Cooper, Professor & Chair
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
College of Engineering
To build a diverse workforce Ohio State encourages
applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities,
veterans, and women. EEO/AA employer.
UC DAVIS
MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGIST
The Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, in the College of Biological Sciences,
University of California, Davis, invites applications for a faculty position in Physiology at the assis-
tant professor level. Applicants specializing in skeletal or cardiac muscle physiology are especially
encouraged to apply. Areas of signicant interest include, but are not limited to, exercise physiology,
muscle development and regeneration, metabolic control, calcium signaling, and biomechanics. Suc-
cessful applicants will be expected to establish a vigorous research program supported by extramural
funding, and contribute to the teaching mission of the Section, including the Exercise Biology major.
The Section has been steadily expanding since its inception in 1993 to include 32 ladder rank faculty
who conduct research encompassing a general theme of integrative biology, ranging from muscle
physiology and biomechanics, molecular endocrinology, environmental physiology, cell physiol-
ogy, aging, molecular, cellular, and developmental neurobiology, systems neuroscience, and animal
behavior. In addition, UC Davis has one of the largest concentrations of life scientists in the world,
with vibrant units across campus that would provide the successful candidate with a wide range of
collaborative interactions. These units include the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biol-
ogy in the Medical School, the Exercise Biology Program (now fully integrated into the Section),
the UC Davis Genome Center, the Mouse Biology Program, the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit,
the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology and Exercise Science Graduate Groups, the
Center for Neuroscience, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and other physiology-related
departments of the Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and College of Agriculture and
Environmental Sciences.
Candidates must possess a Ph.D. or M.D. degree with signicant post-doctoral experience. Applicants
should send a letter describing their research plan and teaching interests, a curriculum vitae, copies
of representative publications, and the names of at least ve persons from whom references can be
obtained to: Chair, Muscle Physiology Search Committee, Section of Neurobiology, Physiology,
and Behavior, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616-8519. All materials
must be received by February 1, 2006, to be assured full consideration. For more information on
the position and UC Davis in general, please visit the following web site: www.npb.ucdavis.edu/
facultypositions/.
The University of California is an Afrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
POSITIONS OPEN
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGIST
The Department of Biological Sciences at Bingham-
ton University, one of the four doctoral granting
State University of New York University Centers, in-
vites applications for a new position at the Assistant
Professor level in evolutionary ecology. We seek
someone who can establish a strong, extramurally
funded empirical research program informed by
evolutionary theory. Research that integrates evolu-
tionary ecology with other disciplines (e.g., ecosys-
tem ecology, genetics) will receive special attention.
This position is designed to contribute to cross-
departmental integration through EvoS (website:
http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/evos/), our
campus-wide evolutionary studies program. Appli-
cants should submit curriculum vitae, statement of
research and teaching interests, sample of reprints,
and have three letters of reference sent to:
Dr. David Sloan Wilson
Chair, Evolutionary Ecology Search Committee
Department of Biological Sciences
Binghamton University
State University of New York
Binghamton, New York 13902-6000.
Review of applications will begin on January 1,
2006, and will continue until the position is filled.
Binghamton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative
Action Employer.
ANIMAL ECOLOGIST
We seek a broadly-trained Animal Ecologist for
a tenure-track assistant professorship who uses
individual-based physiological or behavioral research
approaches to understand population, community,
or evolutionary processes. The successful candidate
will develop an externally-funded research program
and contribute to both undergraduate and graduate
education in biological sciences and the Conservation
and Environmental Sciences Program. Postdoctoral
experience is expected. Submit a letter of application,
curriculum vitae, statements of research and teaching
interests and the names, addresses, and e-mail con-
tact of three references in PDF format to e-mail:
[email protected], or by post to:
Ecologist Search
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI, 53201
Additional information is at website: http://
www.uwm.edu/Dept/Biology. Review of applica-
tions will begin on January 23, 2006, and will
continue until the position is filled. University of
Wisconsin, Madison is an Affirmative Action/Equal Oppor-
tunity Employer.
FACULTY POSITION
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Assistant Professor tenure-track position in exer-
cise physiology available starting August 28, 2006.
Earned doctorate is required and postdoctoral re-
search experience is preferred. Area of research interest
is open within the broad confines of biological as-
pects of exercise. Information about the Department
is available at website: http://www.education.
wisc.edu/kinesiology/. Applicants should send a
letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of
research interests, copies of up to three published
articles in refereed journals, and names, mailing ad-
dresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of
three references to: Professor Gary Diffee, Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, Department of Kinesiology,
2000 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706.
E-mail: [email protected]. (PVL 52124)
To ensure full consideration, applications should be
received by February 1, 2006. Unless confidentiality
is requested in writing, information regarding the
applicants must be released upon request. Finalists
cannot be guaranteed confidentiality.
University of Wisconsin, Madison is an Equal Opportunity/
Affirmative Action Employer. We promote excellence through
diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
POSITIONS OPEN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
The University of Minnesota Cancer Center
Breast Cancer Program invites applications for a
tenure-track Assistant Professor. Candidates are ex-
pected to have a Ph.D. or relevant doctoral degree.
The successful candidate will have completed a post-
doctoral fellowship and have an interest in targeted
therapies in breast cancer. Experience in developing
pre-clinical models of targeted therapies, identifying
predictive biomarkers, and utilizing in vivo imaging
modalities in conjunction with targeted therapies are
required. There are numerous opportunities for
collaboration within the Cancer Center. In addition
to developing and maintaining their own vigorous
research program, the successful candidate will also
participate in the development of an interdisciplinary
translational breast cancer research program. The
Cancer Center also supports substantial Shared Re-
sources and the applicant will have access to these
facilities. Academic appointment will be made in an
appropriate academic unit within the University of
Minnesota_s Academic Health Center. Interested
applicants should send their curriculum vitae, a sum-
mary of research interests, and three letters of rec-
ommendation to: Dr. Douglas Yee, c/o Human
Resources, MMC 806, 420 Delaware Street S.E.,
Minneapolis, MN 55455. E-mail: cchr@umn.
edu. Application deadline is January 31, 2006. The
University of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Educator
and Employer.
THE CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION
Lerner Research Institute
The Pathobiology Department of The Cleveland
Clinic Lerner Research Institute invites applications
for new faculty at the ASSISTANT, ASSOCIATE
OR FULL PROFESSOR position in integrative
pharmacology/physiology.
This position is an exceptional opportunity to
translate laboratory discoveries to the patient through
the basic and clinical resources of The Cleveland
Clinic. The successful candidate will possess either a
M.D. or Ph.D. in pharmacology, physiology or
related field, with a strong track record of accom-
plishments. Emphasis on integrated approaches to
disease-related research or experience in pharmaceu-
tical or biotechnology industry is desirable. Out-
standing facilities and generous startup funds are
available. Interactions with excellent clinical pro-
grams are readily available and provide the potential
to develop multi-disciplinary research programs. The
Lerner Research Institute has a strong tradition of
collaborative research and well-developed training
programs for postdoctoral fellows and medical
students. Candidates should submit curriculum vitae,
summary of research plans, and three references to:
Serpil C. Erzurum, M.D.
Chair, Pathobiology
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
9500 Euclid Avenue/NB40
Cleveland, Ohio 44195.
ASSOCIATE RESEARCH SCIENTIST
Ph.D. or preferably M.D./Ph.D. with at least four
years of experience to run basic science laboratory,
to design and perform clinical and in vitro studies in
the field of cancer biology. Experienced in mamma-
lian cell culture, isolation of DNA and RNA, PCR
and RT-PCR, DNA constructs, preparation of cell
lysates, immunomagnetic protein purification, West-
ern blot, zymography, enzyme-linked immunosor-
bent assay, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescent
staining, microscopy/confocal microscopy, and flow
cytometry.
Fax resumes to fax: 212-305-9474, Attn: Debra
Keller. Columbia University is an Affirmative Action/Equal
POSITIONS OPEN
INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGIST
Tenure-track position, Assistant Professor level,
beginning August 2006. Strong commitment to
excellence in teaching and research essential. Teach-
ing responsibilities include introductory majors
course and upper-level courses in entomology and
invertebrate zoology. An active research program
involving graduate and undergraduate students, and
pursuit of extramural funding expected. Successful
candidate eligible to compete with other junior fac-
ulty for a three-year appointment as the newly estab-
lished Jess Fisher Endowed Chair in the Biological
and Physical Sciences. Holder of Chair will receive
additional funds to support her/his research pro-
gram. Ph.D. required, postdoctoral experience
preferred. Applications should include curriculum
vitae, photocopies of transcripts from all institutions
attended, one-page statements of teaching philoso-
phy and research interests, and three letters of
reference. Review of applications begins January
15, 2006, and continues until position is filled.
Submit applications to: Invertebrate Zoology
Search Committee Chair, Department of Biolog-
ical Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD
21252. Additional information available at website:
http://wwwnew.towson.edu/biology/. Towson
University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action
Employer and has a strong institutional commitment to di-
versity. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and
veterans are encouraged to apply.
LIFE SCIENCES TEACHING POSITION
University of Houston
The Honors College and the Department of Biol-
ogy and Biochemistry at the University of Houston
(UH) invite applications for an instructional Assistant
Professor to contribute to the teaching mission of
these units. This position is a twelve-month, non-
tenure-track appointment, with the possibility of
annual renewal. The successful applicant will teach
honors sections of courses in introductory biology
and genetics, and will coordinate special programs
for honors students in the natural sciences. The
position requires an earned doctorate in any appro-
priate area of the life sciences, broad knowledge of
biology and biochemistry, prior teaching experience
at the post-secondary level, and a commitment to
high quality undergraduate teaching. Review of
applications will begin February 1, 2006. Start date:
June 1, 2006, preferred. Please submit curriculum
vitae, a statement outlining teaching experience and
philosophy, and three letters of recommendation to:
Honors Biology Search Committee, The Honors
College, 212 M.D. Anderson Library, University
of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2001. UH is an
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Minorities,
women, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to
apply.
Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, seeks candi-
dates for an ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE PRO-
FESSOR tenure-track position in physics to begin
in August, 2006. Field of expertise is open within
the general area of experimental physics; special
consideration will be given to abilities in leadership,
teaching, and promise for sustained scholarship in
an undergraduate liberal arts college. The ideal can-
didate will be able to serve as departmental Chair.
Two national laboratories are within twenty miles of
campus.
Review of applications will begin December 15,
2005, and continue until the position is filled. Ap-
plicants should send curriculum vitae and a descrip-
tion of the applicant_s teaching philosophy and
research interests to: Dr. Dorothy F. Chappell,
Dean of Natural and Social Sciences, Wheaton
College, Wheaton, IL 60187. Application mate-
rials will be sent to eligible candidates.
Wheaton College is an evangelical protestant Christian
liberal arts college whose faculty members affirm a Statement of
Faith and the moral and lifestyle expectations of our Com-
munity Covenant. The College complies with federal and state
guidelines of nondiscrimination in employment; women and
minorities are encouraged to apply.
16 DECEMBER 2005 VOL 310 SCIENCE www.sciencecareers.org 1842
The Department of Anthropology and the
College of Medicine at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seek to hire
an anthropologist for a full-time tenure-track
Assistant Professor position beginning August
16, 2006. We are interested in candidates with a
research program in functional or developmen-
tal morphology, medical anthropology or human
biology, human or primate paleontology. Consid-
eration also will be given to all candidates with
research experience in other areas of anthro-
pology that complement existing strengths in
the Department of Anthropology. Candidates
must be willing to assume responsibility for
lecture and laboratory instruction in human
gross anatomy in the College of Medicine, and
have demonstrated excellence as a human gross
anatomy instructor. Scholarly excellence is our
primary criterion. A Ph.D. degree in a relevant
biological, anthropological, or medical disci-
pline is required, and applications from medical
scholars (MD/PhD) are strongly encouraged.
Salary will be commensurate with experience,
and benets will be consistent with full-time
University employment.
Please send a letter of application, vitae, samples
of publications, a statement detailing research
interests and plans, teaching experience and
the names and addresses of three referees
to: Paul A. Garber, Head, Department of
Anthropology, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 S.
Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801;
217-333-3616. Full consideration will be given
to applications received by February 15, 2006.
Position 10241.
The University of Illinois is an Afrmative
Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
UC DAVIS
ENDOWED CHAIR
IN PHYSIOLOGY
The Section of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, in the College of Biological Sciences,
University of California, Davis, invites applications for an Endowed Chair in Physiology at the full
professor level, to begin July 1, 2006. Outstanding applicants specializing in any area of physiology
consistent with the broad goals of the Section will be considered. The Section has made a signicant
commitment to the growth of physiology including several junior faculty positions in addition to
the appointment of the Endowed Chair. The Section has been steadily expanding since its inception
in 1993 to include 32 ladder rank faculty who conduct research encompassing a general theme of
integrative biology, ranging from muscle physiology and biomechanics, molecular endocrinology,
environmental physiology, cell physiology, aging, molecular, cellular, and developmental neuro-
biology, systems neuroscience, and animal behavior. In addition, UC Davis has one of the largest
concentrations of life scientists in the world, with vibrant units across campus that would provide
the successful candidate with a wide range of collaborative interactions. These units include the
Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology in the Medical School, the Exercise Biology
Program (now fully integrated into the Section), the UC Davis Genome Center, the Mouse Biology
Program, the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology
Graduate Group, the Center for Neuroscience, the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and other
physiology-related departments of the Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and the College
of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. For more information on the position and UC Davis in
general, please visit the following web site: www.npb.ucdavis.edu/facultypositions.
Successful applicants will be expected to maintain a vigorous research program with continued
extramural funding, and contribute to the teaching mission of the Section. Candidates must possess
a Ph.D. or M.D. degree with signicant experience as an established independent investigator and
academic leadership. Applicants should send a letter describing their research interests, curriculum
vitae, copies of representative publications, and the names of at least ve persons from whom refer-
ences can be obtained to: Chair, Endowed Chair in Physiology Search Committee, Section of
Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis,
CA, 95616-8619. Review of applications will commence February 1, 2006, and the search will
continue until the position has been lled.
The University of California is an Afrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
CANCER CENTER
POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITIES
Applicants are invited to apply for postdoctoral positions in laboratories
engaged in interdisciplinary, collaborative research at the Albert Einstein
Cancer Center, a major NCI-designated research institute with a broad
spectrum of programs and core laboratory facilities. Research training
areas encompass:
Epigenetics, chromatin, transcriptional regulation, and tumor suppressors
Thermodynamics/kinetics of DNA-protein interactions and RNA folding
Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Human embryonic stem cells, cell cycle and differentiation controls
Mismatch repair and AID-induced mutations in B cell lymphomagenesis
Growth factors, steroid hormones, signaling and cancer
The role of macrophages in breast cancer progression
Glycan functions in tumorigenesis, metastasis and Notch signaling
Transcriptional regulation of drug metabolism
Molecular cloning and characterization of novel facilitative anticancer
drug transporters
Ribosomal synthesis-relation to cell growth, division and apoptosis
Regulatory mechanisms in lower organisms
To learn more about specific research projects and their faculty
preceptors go to the Albert Einstein Cancer Center Webpage at:
www.aecom.yu.edu/cancer. Click on postdoctoral training.
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is located in a residential area of
the Northeast Bronx, in close proximity to City Island and Westchester
County with easy access to Manhattan. Apply through the Cancer Center
Web Page or write to: Dr. Richard Seither, Albert Einstein Cancer Center,
Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus, Chanin Two, 1300 Morris Park Avenue,
Bronx, New York 10461. EOE
ALBERT EINSTEIN
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Advancing science, building careers
The Swedish Research Council announces nine Senior Research Positions
within natural and engineering sciences. The positions are intended for
scientists who have obtained a Ph.D., where the date of exam, with a few
exceptions, is not older than ten years prior to the end of the application period.
The intention is that the major part of the time should be spent on research.
The positions are nanced for a maximum of six years.
There is one position each within the following areas:
The proposal must be approved by a Swedish host university or a Swedish
host institution engaged in research.
Apply at www.vr.se no later than February 14, 2006
Application form and instructions can be found at www.vr.se/english.
Speciation
Eukaryotic Molecular Biology
Physics at the Large Hadron
Collider Facility CERN
Green Chemistry including
Organo Catalysis
Fast Collision Dynamics of
Complex Atomic and Molecular
Systems
Molecules in Solids, Liquid
Crystals or Aggregates Studied
by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Spectroscopy
Process Technology for New Nano
and Micro Structured Materials
Reconstructing Climate over the
Last Millenia
Engineering Mechanics
9 Senior Research Positions
at Swedish Universities
Swedish Research Council
POSITIONS OPEN
The Division of Biological Sciences in the College
of Science at Marshall University invites nominations
and applications for the position of DIVISION
HEAD. The primary responsibility of the Division
Head is to chair the Department of Biological
Sciences. This is a twelve-month appointment with
an anticipated start date of July 1, 2006. Salary and
rank will be commensurate with experience.
For consideration, a candidate must possess a
doctorate in the biological sciences and must
demonstrate (1) the appropriate administrative skills
to lead a department whose research interests are
centered in environmental/organismal biology and
cellular/molecular biology; (2) a distinguished record
of funded research and peer-reviewed publications;
and (3) a commitment to diversity in students, staff,
and faculty.
The successful candidate will promote quality
educational and research opportunities for under-
graduate and graduate students, will support faculty
development and research, and will build upon cur-
rent interdisciplinary teaching and research initiatives.
Formal review of applications will begin on
February 1, 2006, and continue until the position is
filled. An applicant must submit (1) a curriculum
vitae; (2) a letter detailing qualifications and leader-
ship experience; (3) a statement of administrative
philosophy; and (4) a vision for biological sciences
for the next ten years. Please provide contact in-
formation (address, telephone number, and e-mail)
of three professional references. Send materials to:
Division Head Search Committee
Division of Biological Sciences
Marshall University
One John Marshall Drive
Huntington WV 25755
or in the form of a PDF document to e-mail:
[email protected].
Information about Marshall University and Hun-
tington, West Virginia can be found at websites:
http://www.marshall.edu and www.hadco.org.
Marshall University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from
women, minorities and persons with disabilities.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGIST
Illinois Wesleyan University seeks an Assistant Pro-
fessor of Developmental Biology for a tenure-track
appointment to start fall 2006. A Ph.D. and a strong
commitment to excellence in liberal arts education
are required. The successful candidate will teach a
course in vertebrate developmental biology, courses
in his/her specialty and team teach portions of the
introductory biology course. The successful appli-
cant will be expected to maintain an active research
program with undergraduates. Illinois Wesleyan Uni-
versity is a nationally selective undergraduate liberal
arts institution, located approximately 130 miles
southwest of Chicago, with an enrollment of 2,100
students. Send curriculum vitae, undergraduate and
graduate transcripts, statement of teaching philoso-
phy, statement of research interests and how students
might be involved, and three letters of recommenda-
tion to: R. Given Harper, Chair, Department of
Biology, Illinois Wesleyan University, P.O. Box
2900, Bloomington, IL 61702. E-mail: gharper@
iwu.edu. Review of applications will begin on 1
January 2006, and continue until the position is
filled.
The Department of Statistics at North Carolina
State University invites applications for a senior posi-
tion (ASSOCIATE/FULL PROFESSOR) for its
statistical genetics and bioinformatics programs.
Responsibilities include teaching and research. All
applicants must have a Ph.D. in statistics, or a related
field, as well as a demonstrated interest and com-
mitment for research at the intersection of statistical
and biological sciences with an established record of
funded research, collaboration, and good teaching.
Send application or nomination letters, vitae, and
names of three references to e-mail: bioinformatics_
[email protected] or to fax: 919-515-1169. For
more information, see website: http://www.stat.
ncsu.edu. Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
POSITIONS OPEN
DIRECTOR
Division of Graduate Education
National Science Foundation,
Arlington, Virginia
National Science Foundation_s (NSF) Directorate
for Education and Human Resources seeks candi-
dates for the position of Director, Division of
Graduate Education (DGE). The Division leads the
National Science Foundation_s efforts to attract the
most talented United States students into graduate
studies, and to support them in their quest to
become the leading scientists and engineers of the
future. Information about the Division_s activities
may be found at website: http://www.nsf.gov/
ehr/dge/about.jsp.
Appointment to this Senior Executive Service
position may be on a career basis, on a one-to-three
year limited term basis, or by assignment under the
Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) provisions.
Announcement S20060003A1, with position
requirements and application procedures are posted
on NSF_s home page at website: http://www.
nsf.gov/about/career_opps/.
Applicants may also obtain the announcements by
contacting executive personnel staff at telephone:
703-292-8755 (Hearing impaired individuals may
call TDD 703-292-8044). Applications must be
received by January 15, 2006. NSF is an Equal
EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENTAL BI-
OLOGY. The Department of Biology at the Uni-
versity of Central Florida invites applicants for a
tenure-track faculty appointment in evolutionary
developmental biology at the rank of Assistant or
Associate Professor. Candidates should have a strong
focus on the mechanisms of phenotypic evolution in a
broadly defined sense. The successful candidate will be
expected to establish and maintain an extramurally-
funded research program that complements our ac-
tive and expanding faculty. The new faculty member
will have the opportunity to participate in Ph.D. pro-
grams in biomolecular sciences and conservation biol-
ogy, and contribute to graduate and undergraduate
education. The University of Central Florida main-
tains a strong research emphasis with competitive
startup funds and teaching loads. Candidates must
have a Ph.D. and appropriate postdoctoral training.
Please submit curriculum vitae, brief statements of
research plans and teaching philosophy, and arrange
for three letters of recommendation to be sent
directly to: Dr. Laurie von Kalm, Chair, Evolu-
tionary Developmental Biology Search Commit-
tee, Department of Biology, University of Central
Florida, 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Orlando,
FL 32816-2368. Review of applications will begin
January 15, 2006, with an anticipated start date of
August 2006. See website: http://www.cas.ucf.
edu/biology/ for departmental details. Search doc-
uments may be viewed by the public upon request
in accordance with Florida statute. The University of
Central Florida is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity
Employer.
STAFF ASSOCIATE
The Staff Associate will be responsible for studies
in the laboratory related to the kidney in injury and
activation of regulatory molecules and pathways that
underlie the injury phenotype. At least three years of
experience performing all related molecular analyses
on kidney tissues and vascular tissues. Extensive ex-
pertise in performing molecular analyses such as real
time PCR, functional assays of migration and prolif-
eration, western blotting, and signaling experiments
related to these studies is essential.
Please send curriculum vitae and names of three
references to: Ms. Karen Evans, College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons of Columbia University, P&S
17-401, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY
10032. Columbia University is an Affirmative Action/Equal
POSITIONS OPEN
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Auburn University
Assistant Professor, GENOMIC PHYSIOLO-
GIST. The Biological Sciences Department of Auburn
University invites applications for a tenure-track
position in genomic physiology. Candidates will be
expected to possess expertise in genomic/operomic
approaches to the study of integrated systems biol-
ogy as they are used to understand the genomic
responses that confer functionality and adaptation in
plants or animals. Researchers taking a comparative
or evolutionary approach to behavioral, environmen-
tal, or developmental responses are encouraged to
apply. Duties include teaching in the Department_s
existing programs in physiology at the undergrad-
uate and graduate levels, including a course in the
candidate_s area of specialization, and developing a
vigorous, extramurally funded research program. Can-
didates whose research is complementary to a newly
established Center for Environmental and Cellular
Signal Transduction are encouraged to apply.
A Ph.D. and minimum of two years of postdoc-
toral research are required. The candidate selected for this
position, which will begin in August 2006, must meet eligibility
requirements to work in the United States on date appointment
is scheduled to begin and must be able to communicate effectively
in English.
Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.
Applicants should submit curriculum vitae, state-
ments of research interests and teaching philosophy,
three representative reprints, and three letters of
reference to: Genomic Physiologist Search Com-
mittee Chair, Department of Biological Sciences,
101 Life Science Building, Auburn University,
Auburn, AL 36849. Review of applications will
begin on January 15, 2006, and continue until the
position is filled.
For more detailed information see websites:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/
biology/ or http://www.auburn.edu/cmb.
Auburn University is an Affirmative Action/Equal
FACULTY POSITION IN NEUROSCIENCE
New Princeton Institute
Princeton University is seeking to make the first of
several anticipated new faculty appointments in
neuroscience, as part of its new Institute in this area
and its growing focus on quantitative approaches to
understanding neural coding and dynamics. The
position is at the Assistant Professor level, to begin
in September 2006, for a Theorist in systems and/or
cognitive neuroscience. The appointment will be
joint between the Institute and a department ap-
propriate to the individual_s background and in-
terests, with possibilities including (but not limited
to) psychology, molecular biology, mathematics,
physics, electrical engineering or computer science.
Applicants should be prepared to teach both an un-
dergraduate and a graduate level course in neuro-
science. Please send curriculum vitae, a one-page
research description, and three letters of recommen-
dation to: Search Committee, Neuroscience Insti-
tute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544,
or e-mail: [email protected].
Materials should be submitted as soon as possible.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis,
and the search will remain open until the position is
filled. For information about applying to Princeton and
how to self-identify, please link to website: http://
web.princeton.edu/sites/dof/ApplicantsInfo.htm.
Princeton is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE to conduct
research on multiple myeloma. The applicant should
have Ph.D., and be motivated, organized, and able
to work independently. Knowledge of cell culture,
basic molecular biology, and computer skills are re-
quired. The applicant must have United States work
experience. Salary range is /36,000 to /42,000.
Submit curriculum vitae and two letters of recom-
mendation to: Dr. O. Batuman, State University
of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Cen-
ter, Box 20, Brooklyn, NY 11203 or e-mail:
[email protected].
DIRECTOR
Division of Graduate Education
National Science Foundation,
Arlington, Virginia
National Science Foundation_s (NSF) Di-
rectorate for Education and Human Resources
seeks candidates for the position of Director,
Division of Graduate Education (DGE). The
Division leads the National Science Founda-
tion_s efforts to attract the most talented
United States students into graduate studies,
and to support them in their quest to become
the leading scientists and engineers of the fu-
ture. Information about the Division_s activ-
ities may be found at website: http://www.
nsf.gov/ehr/dge/about.jsp.
Appointment to this Senior Executive Ser-
vice position may be on a career basis, on a
one-to-three year limited term basis, or by
assignment under the Intergovernmental Per-
sonnel Act (IPA) provisions.
Announcement S20060003A1, with posi-
tion requirements and application procedures
are posted on NSF_s home page at website:
http://www.nsf.gov/about/career_opps/.
Applicants may also obtain the announce-
ments by contacting executive personnel staff at
telephone: 703-292-8755 (Hearing impaired
individuals may call TDD 703-292-8044).
Applications must be received by January 15,
2006. NSF is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Motor Neuron Center Faculty Recruitment
Columbia University Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease is
recruiting faculty with interests in motor neuron biology, ALS or SMA to join
a translational program involving basic and clinical research. We are
particularly keen to attract individuals using molecular, genetic, chemical,
cellular, electrophysiological and/or imaging approaches to the following
areas: cellular, axonal and synaptic aspects of neurodegeneration; CNS gene
therapy; motor control circuits; functional imaging of the spinal cord;
genetics of ALS; SMN biology; preclinical testing of therapeutic strategies;
and locomotion. We encourage applications for positions at the Assistant
Professor level, but will also consider applications from more senior
investigators for positions at the level of Associate or full Professor.
Columbia University currently has a world-renowned program in neuro-
biology and behavior and in medical and surgical neurology. The new Motor
Neuron Center aims to enhance interactions between basic and clinical
researchers in the field; Center members will have access to core facilities
including high-throughput screening. Faculty will have opportunities for
strong ties and academic appointments with the Center for Neurobiology
and Behavior, scientific departments and programs on Columbia campuses.
Applications for this round of recruitment are requested by January 20,
2006. A C.V., cover letter including statement of interests, and three letters
of reference under separate cover should be e-mailed care of Dr. Serge
Przedborski, [email protected]. In addition, please mail a hard copy
of these documents to:
Motor Neuron Center Search Committee
c/o: Dr. Serge Przedborski
Columbia University Medical Center
William Black Building
Room 302
650 West 168th Street
New York NY 10032
Columbia University takes affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunity.
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The Professorship of
Physical Chemistry
The Board of Electors to the Professorship of Physical
Chemistry invite applications for this Professorship,
which has fallen vacant on the retirement of Professor
Sir David King.
Applications are sought from individuals whose expertise
falls within any area of physical chemistry, and who have
an internationally leading track record of research.
Appointment will be from 1 October 2006 or as soon as
possible thereafter.
Further information may be obtained from the Academic
Secretary, University Offices, The Old Schools,
Cambridge CB2 1TT. E-mail: [email protected]
Applications should be sent, together with details of
current and future research plans, a curriculum vitae, a
publications list, contact details for three professional
referees and form PD18 (downloadable from
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/personnel/forms/
pd18), so as to reach him no later than 31 January 2006.
Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Jeremy
Sanders, Head of the Department of Chemistry
The University offers a range of benefits including attractive pension schemes, professional
development, family friendly policies, health and welfare provision, and staff discounts.
The University is committed to equality of opportunity.
POSITIONS OPEN
The Raymond F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding,
the Department of Agronomy, and the Plant Sci-
ences Institute seek to fill an ENDOWED PRO-
FESSORSHIP in plant breeding and genomics,
focused on developing crops as biorenewable resources
using molecular and conventional approaches. The
position will be part of a cluster of scientists focused
on using plant biomass for biorenewable products
and energy. The successful candidate will be expected
to develop a vigorous, extramurally funded research
program investigating plant composition and to
produce germplasm with improved yield and quality.
Research by the incumbent should further goals of
crop diversification to support rural economic de-
velopment and improved environmental stewardship.
Possible crops include, but are not limited to, maize,
sorghum, and switchgrass. Teaching and advising
graduate and undergraduate students and participa-
tion in the development of plant breeding and
genetics curricula is expected. Required qualifications:
Ph.D. in plant breeding, plant molecular biology,
genetics, or related field, strong statistical skills,
demonstrated evidence of research and teaching
proficiency, excellent written and oral communica-
tion skills, and experience working collaboratively
with researchers, processors, and consumers. Pref-
erred qualifications: A background in plant breeding
field methods and laboratory analyses, plant pathol-
ogy, entomology, and agronomic crop production.
Ability to work with farmers and industry partners.
Experience with industrial agricultural products
desirable. Salary: Commensurate with qualifications.
Application instructions: Applicants should sub-
mit a complete resume including e-mail address, grad-
uate transcripts, and names and contact information
of three references to: Dr. Steven Fales, Chair,
Department of Agronomy, 2101 Agronomy
Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.
FACULTY POSITION
Microbiology
The Department of Microbiology and Immunol-
ogy at Des Moines University, Osteopathic Medical
Center invites applicants for a tenure-track position
at the level of Assistant or Associate Professor. The
successful candidate must have a demonstrated ex-
pertise in teaching microbiology, particularly in the
area of pathogenic bacteriology. In addition, it is
expected that the individual develop an innovative
and extramurally funded research program using
contemporary approaches to study host-pathogen
interaction. Applicants should have a Ph.D. and rel-
evant postdoctoral experience. Rank and salary are
commensurate with training and experience. Appli-
cants should send curriculum vitae, a concise state-
ment of teaching and research interests, and the
names of three professional references to:
Microbiology Faculty Search
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Des Moines University
Osteopathic Medical Center
3200 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA, 50312
Visit website: http://www.dmu.edu. For full
consideration applications should be received by
January 30, 2006.
FACULTY POSITIONS
The University of Southern California
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
The University of Southern California (USC)/
Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Keck
School of Medicine at the University of Southern
California seeks applicants for faculty positions at the
Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor level in the
following areas of cancer research: apoptosis, autoph-
agy, cancer stem cells, DNA repair and stress re-
sponse which contributes to cancer progression and
drug resistance. Each applicant should send current
curriculum vitae, research plan, and three letters of
reference to: Dr. Amy Lee, University of Southern
California/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center,
1441 Eastlake Avenue, MC-9181, Los Angeles, CA
90089-9181. USC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
POSITIONS OPEN
The Agronomy Department at Iowa State Univer-
sity (ISU) seeks to fill a tenure-track ENDOWED
PROFESSORSHIP in crop genomics to apply
genomic data and related technological resources
toward the development of sustainable cropping sys-
tems. The successful candidate will provide leader-
ship and vision in the translation of genomic,
functional genomics, and computational technolo-
gies to crop improvement, and must demonstrate a
clear understanding of these modern technologies
and an ability to integrate them to link genotype and
phenotype. Possible research areas for the applica-
tion of modern genomics tools include, but are not
limited to, developing superior breeding theory,
understanding genetics and physiology of crop
performance, or developing gene-based sustainable
cropping systems. The successful candidate will con-
duct integrative interdisciplinary research with plant
molecular biologists, bioinformaticists, physiologists,
and plant breeders on crop(s) and biorenewable
resources of agronomic importance to Iowa and the
Midwest. Teaching and advising graduate and
undergraduate students is expected. Exceptional
opportunities for collaborative research exist with
ISU faculty and USDA-Agricultural Research Ser-
vice (ARS) scientists on the ISU campus who are
active in world-class programs for crop improve-
ment, bioinformatics and computational biology.
This Endowed Professorship complements a sub-
stantial commitment of resources by USDA-ARS for
plant genome database development and manage-
ment on the ISU campus. Required qualifications:
Ph.D. in plant genomics, plant breeding, plant
molecular biology, quantitative/population genet-
ics, crop physiology/ecology, plant bioinformatics,
or related field; and demonstrated evidence of
research and teaching proficiency. The incumbent
must have experience in collaborative and interdis-
ciplinary research and a proven capacity to integrate
information across levels of biology complexity.
Preferred qualifications: Experience using genome
databases and an understanding of whole plant phys-
iology and plant breeding. An excellent record of
extramural funding, mentoring graduate students,
and teaching. Salary: Commensurate with qualifica-
tions. Application instructions: Applicants should sub-
mit a complete resume including e-mail address,
graduate transcripts, and names and contact informa-
tion of three references to: Dr. Steven Fales, Chair,
Department of Agronomy, 2101 Agronomy Hall,
Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.
The Radiation Oncology Department of the
Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee
seeks a POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW for the NIH-
funded MCW Center for Medical Countermeasures
against Radiological Terrorism. This position will
enhance and develop the study of experimental radia-
tion nephropathy, particularly the role of chronic
oxidative stress. There will be collaboration with
other members of the Center, in drug development,
radiation physics, and normal tissue radiobiology of
lung, brain, and gastrointestinal tract. Experience in
molecular biology, biochemistry, and/or physiology
is desirable. Experience in radiobiology is preferred,
not required. Experience in writing for publication is
required, as is a passing grade on the Test of English
as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). This is a two year
appointment contingent on performance, with pos-
sibility of renewal. Contact e-mail: yvonnem@mcw.
edu for more information. MCW is an Affirmative
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION available Janu-
ary 1, 2006, to study Helicobacter pylori induction
of ulcers/cancer in animals using antibody and mi-
croarrays and realtime PCR. The Department features
outstanding core facilities and faculty (website:
http://www.sh.lsuhsc.edu/microbiology). Send
curriculum vitae, two letters of reference, and one
page statement of career aspirations to: Dr. David J.
McGee, e-mail: [email protected]. Louisiana State
University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action
Employer.
POSITIONS OPEN
GASTROINTESTINAL ONCOLOGIST
The University of Washington and
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The University of Washington School of Medicine
and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
(FHCRC) seek a full-time oncology faculty member
in the Clinician/Teacher pathway with an interest in
gastrointestinal or pancreatic malignancies. The pri-
mary appointment will be at the Assistant or Asso-
ciate Professor level with a joint appointment at the
FHCRC, if desired. The selected candidate should
be a M.D. with experience in clinical research plus a
major commitment to patient care and teaching.
The new clinical infrastructure, the Seattle Cancer
Care Alliance, is a dynamic, rapidly growing, well-
supported collaboration between the University of
Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center and Children_s Hospital and Regional Med-
ical Center.
Candidates should submit curriculum vitae, at
least four names for references, and a concise state-
ment of career goals, which should identify the
candidate_s area of clinical research. A letter of appli-
cation should be addressed to: Gastrointestinal
Oncology Search Committee, Attn: Dan Meenach,
Faculty Coordinator, FHCRC, 1100 Fairview
Avenue N., Mailstop D5-310, Seattle, WA
98109. The closing date for application is January
16, 2006.
The University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center are Affirmative Action, Equal Op-
portunity Employers. Both institutions are dedicated to the goal
of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and staff
committed to teaching and working in a multicultural en-
vironment and strongly encourage applications from women,
minorities, individuals with disabilities and covered veterans.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GENETICS
The University of Nebraska, Omaha announces a
tenure-track Assistant Professor position starting
August 2006. The position requires an earned Ph.D.
and postdoctoral experience. The successful can-
didate will contribute to an established degree pro-
gram in biotechnology through teaching, research,
and student advising. We seek a candidate that will
teach courses in the area of genetics and molecular
genetics and establish a vigorous research program.
For more information see website: http://www.
unomaha.edu/biology/. Screening of applications
will begin January 18, 2006, and continue until the
position is filled. Applications must be submitted
through the University human resources website:
http://careers.unomaha.edu and should include
curriculum vitae and statements of teaching and
research objectives. Have three letters of recommen-
dation sent to: William Tapprich, Chair, De-
partment of Biology, University of Nebraska,
Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68182-
0040. The University and Department are strongly com-
mitted to achieving diversity among faculty. We are particularly
interested in receiving applications from members of under-
represented groups and encourage women and persons of color
to apply.
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Supported
Canisius College has a two-year Interdisciplinary
Science Teacher-Scholar Postdoctoral Fellowship
available for fall 2006. The successful applicant will
join a team of faculty teaching introductory biology,
and one upper elective course in his/her area of
specialization during his/her second year. He/she will
join an on-going interdisciplinary or collaborative
research team or continue his/her own work (a small
research budget is included) and involve under-
graduates. Additional information may be found at
websites: http://www2.canisius.edu/dehn/
(this position), www.canisius.edu/biology (the De-
partment) or by contacting e-mail: dehn@canisius.
edu. Send a letter of application, current curriculum
vitae, a statement of teaching philosophy and research
interests, transcripts, and contact information for
references to: Dr. Paula Dehn, Professor and Chair
Biology, 2001 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14208 by
January 30, 2006.
2006 Microscopy
Courses
ANALYTICAL & QUANTITATIVE
LIGHT MICROSCOPY
May 4 - May 12, 2006
Application Deadline: January 26, 2006
This comprehensive course provides an in-depth
examination of the theory of image formation
and the application of video methods for
exploring subtle interactions between light and
the specimen.
OPTICAL MICROSCOPY & IMAGING
IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
Dates: to be announced
Application Deadline: to be announced
This course will enable the participant to obtain
and interpret microscope images of high quality
to perform quantitative optical measurements
and to produce video and digital records for
documentation and analysis.
For further information & applications, visit:
www.MBL.edu/education
or contact: Admissions Coordinator
[email protected], (508)289-7401
Women and minorities encouraged to apply.
The MBL is an EEO/Afrmative Action Institution.
Biological Discovery in Woods Hole MBL
Founded in 1888 as the Marine Biological Laboratory
Bioengineering Tenured or
Tenure-Track Professor(s)
The University of Maryland is about to launch
a department in Bioengineering that stresses
the engineering of cells, subcellular systems,
and systems of cells/integrated devices. At the
interface of engineering and the life sciences,
our program seeks to build quantitative sys-
tems approaches that will dene the molecular
underpinnings of health care envisioned for the
next generation. We will hire several faculty in
the next ve years and presently seek tenure-
track addition(s) at the Assistant Professor
level, although senior candidates with out-
standing records of research accomplishment
will be considered. The research area within
bioengineering is open, and individuals with
experimental research interests that include
electrophysiology, signal processing and
molecular imaging, drug delivery, protein
and metabolic engineering, systems biology,
or integrated medical devices are particularly
encouraged to apply.
Electronic applications are required. To apply
on-line, please visit http://www.bioe.umd.edu
and submit the following: (1) a complete cur-
riculum vitae, (2) statements of research
and teaching interest, (3) and the names and
addresses of at least three references.
Applications received prior to February 15,
2006 will receive earliest consideration.
The University of Maryland is an
Equal Opportunity/Afrmative Action
Employer. Women and minorities
are encouraged to apply.
FACULTY POSITION
CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCH
The Department of Molecular and Cellular
Pharmacology at the University of Miami
School of Medicine is seeking applications for
a TENURE-TRACK FACULTY POSITION
(rank open). Candidates must have a Ph.D.
and/or M.D. degree and have an established
record of research excellence. Applicants from
all areas of molecular/cellular biology and
biomedical research are welcome, but we are
particularly interested in research relating to
the cardiovascular system to complement
existing research efforts in this eld. Rank and
salary will be commensurate with experience.
Competitive laboratory space and start-up funds
will be offered.
Applicants should send electronic copies
of their CV, statement of current and future
research interests and the names and addresses
of three references to [email protected]
and hard copies to: Ms. Elba M. Lalor, Asst. to
the Chairman, Department of Molecular and
Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami
School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016189, Miami,
FL 33101.
An Equal Opportunity/Afrmative Action
Employer.
Bring your career concerns to
the table. Dialogue online with
professional career counselors
and your peers.
Visit ScienceCareers.org and start an online dialogue.
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What do you need to transition fromacademia to industry?
Should you do a postdoc in academia or in industry?
Science Careers Forum
Let a trusted resource like ScienceCareers.org help you
answer these questions. ScienceCareers.org has partnered
with moderator Dave Jensen and three well-respected advisers
who, along with your peers, will field career related questions.
COURSES & TRAINING
POSITIONS OPEN
EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS/GENOMICS
Harvard University
Department of Organismic
and Evolutionary Biology
The Department of Organismic and Evolutionary
Biology at Harvard University seeks to make an
appointment at the junior rank in the field of
evolutionary genetics/genomics. We seek an out-
standing scientist who will establish an empirical
research program and teach both undergraduate and
graduate students. The candidate would have the
opportunity to interact with faculty from other
departments in the faculty for arts and sciences as
well as at the Broad Institute/MIT and Harvard
Medical School. We are especially interested in
individuals who conduct rigorous, field and/or
laboratory-based tests of general problems associated
with the genetic basis of adaptations in natural
populations. We encourage applications from or
information about women and minority candidates.
Applicants should submit curriculum vitae, state-
ments of research and teaching interests and repre-
sentative publications, and should arrange for three
letters of reference to be sent to: Professor John
Wakeley, 2102 Biological Laboratories, Harvard
University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA,
02138. Nominations from third parties are also
welcome. Review of applications and nominations
will begin February 1, 2006.
Further information about the Department is avail-
able at its website: <http://www.oeb.harvard.edu>.
Harvard University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Op-
portunity Employer.
The University of Florida McKnight Brain Insti-
tute (MBI), Shands Cancer Center (UFSCC), the
Department of Neurological Surgery, and the De-
partment of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in
the College of Medicine are expanding our Neuro-
Oncology program with a focus on molecular
therapeutics. Positions are open for tenure-track
NEURO-ONCOLOGY RESEARCHERS having
a Ph.D. and/or M.D. degree, at the Assistant/
Associate/Full Professor levels. We are especially in-
terested in the fields of cancer stem cell biology,
immunology, and cell signaling with an eye toward
the development of new cellular and molecular
therapeutic approaches for brain cancer. Substan-
tial startup packages and endowments will support
the investigators to help build a program dedicated
to the development of new therapeutics for in-
vasive brain tumors. Additional information about
the research and educational programs in the MBI,
UFSCC and the Department are available at
websites: http://www.mbi.ufl.edu, www.ufscc.
ufl.edu and www.med.ufl.edu/pharm, respec-
tively. Applications consisting of curriculum vitae
and three letters of recommendation will be ac-
cepted until December 31, 2005. Please contact:
Dr. Dennis A. Steindler, Executive Director, The
Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Insti-
tute of the University of Florida, College of Med-
icine, P.O. Box 100015, Gainesville, FL, 32610.
E-mail [email protected]. This is an Equal Op-
portunity Institute.
PROFESSOR AND HEAD, Department of Vet-
erinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine
and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University,
College Station. A description of the Department
and a complete position description are available at
website: http://vtpb-www.cvm.tamu.edu. Can-
didates must have an earned doctoral degree in a
relevant scientific field and have demonstrated under-
standing of veterinary medicine. Applications should
include curriculum vitae and a letter describing the
candidate_s qualifications and administrative philoso-
phy, along with the names, addresses, telephone num-
bers, and e-mail addresses of four references. Send
applications electronically to: Dr. Deborah Kochevar,
Chair, Search Committee at e-mail: dkochevar@
cvm.tamu.edu. Application review will begin Febru-
ary 15, 2006, and will continue until the position is
filled. For questions, e-mail aforementioned address,
or call telephone: 979-845-3878. Affirmative Action/
Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.
POSITIONS OPEN
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN
STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS
A Postdoctoral Position is available immediately
to study the molecular mechanisms of antibiotic-
induced killing in Staphylococcus aureus. A Ph.D.
and experience with molecular/biochemical tech-
niques is required. The salary is commensurate with
experience and funding is available for three years.
Send curriculum vitae and three letters of recom-
mendation to: Kenneth W. Bayles, Department of
Pathology and Microbiology, University of Ne-
braska Medical Center, 986495 Nebraska Medi-
cal Center, Omaha, NE 68198-6495. Review of
applications will begin January 1, 2006, and will
continue until qualified applicants have been iden-
tified. More information on Dr. Bayles_ research
can be found at website: http://www.unmc.edu/
Pathology/facultypages/baylesbio.htm. University
of Nebraska Medical Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affir-
mative Action Employer. Minorities and women are encouraged
to apply.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR of biology, Universi-
ty of South Carolina, Sumter, tenure-track, begins fall
2006. Ph.D. in biology. Twelve hours per semester,
all undergraduate, expectations include excellence in
teaching and potential for research/scholarship. Abil-
ity to teach introductory biology courses, ecology/
evolution, and environmental science with accompany-
ing field work to majors and nonmajors. May apply
online at website: http://uscjobs.sc.edu or submit
application letter (should describe the applicant_s
record, philosophy of teaching, and professional goals
and interests), curriculum vitae, three current letters
of recommendation, copies of all undergraduate and
graduate transcripts, writing samples, and summary
of teaching evaluations, or other evidence of excel-
lence in teaching. Send materials to: Charles F.
Denny, Division of Science, Math and Engineer-
ing, University of South Carolina, Sumter, 200
Miller Road, Sumter, SC 29150-2498. Review of
credentials will begin immediately. Foreign nationals
indicate current United States immigration status. Affirmative
POSTDOCTORAL POSITION. This labora-
tory is interested in hiring a Postdoctoral Fellow
with a deep interest in all levels of protein func-
tion: structure, dynamics, ground and transition-state
structure and energetics, ligand-binding, allostery,
the conformational coupling of energetics, and
the higher-order organization of catalysis in the
cell. Our projects, many of which are structurally
grounded, include numerous enzymes that are
loosely centered around biomedically relevant issues
in sulfur metabolism, isoprenoid biosynthesis and
antibiotic development. Please send or e-mail your
resume and three letters of recommendation to:
Professor T.S. Leyh, Department of Biochem-
istry, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine,
Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus, 1300 Morris
Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. E-mail: leyh@
aecom.yu.edu. Equal Opportunity Employer.
BIOFILM MICROBIOLOGIST
Montana State University (MSU) seeks a Biofilm
Microbiologist for a tenure-track position that will
be a joint appointment in the Department of Micro-
biology and Center for Biofilm Engineering (CBE).
Responsibilities include teaching undergraduate and
graduate courses, developing a funded research pro-
gram, and contributing to the interdisplinary educa-
tion, industrial interaction, and collaborative research
programs of the CBE. For more information and to
apply please see our website: http//www.montana.
edu/level2/jobs.html. Screening of applications
begins January 16, 2006, and will continue until the
position is filled. MSU-Bozeman is an ADA/Affirmative
Action/Equal Opportunity/Vetarans Preference Employer.
POSITIONS OPEN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR/ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR. The Department of Internal Medi-
cine, Rheumatic Diseases Division at University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas is seek-
ing a Ph.D., M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. with a minimum
of five years of postgraduate experience to develop
and maintain an independent basic and/or transla-
tional research program in autoimmune diseases
including but not limited to systemic lupus ery-
thematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Candidates
should have a demonstrated record of scientific pro-
ductivity in the form of publications and extramural
funding. Current NIH funding is highly desirable.
This position is intended to provide current division
members with an additional opportunity for collab-
oration and program development. Training and su-
pervision of graduate and postgraduate trainees will
be required. The candidate_s credentials and expe-
rience will determine academic rank. Send letter of
interest (including description of research area and
future plans, curriculum vitae and names of three or
more references to:
David R. Karp, M.D, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chief
Rheumatic Diseases Division
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75390-8884
FACULTY POSITION
Molecular Biophysics
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
The Department of Biophysics and Biophysical
Chemistry (website: http://biophysics.med.jhmi.
edu) seeks outstanding candidates for the position of
Assistant Professor. Applications are sought in all
areas of molecular biophysics and biophysical chem-
istry, including structural biology. Priority will be
given to applications received by February 1, 2006.
Please submit curriculum vitae, a summary of cur-
rent and proposed research, and arrange to have
three letters of recommendation sent to:
Search Committee
Department of Biophysics
and Biophysical Chemistry
Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
WBSB 713
725 North Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21205-2185
Fax: 410-502-6910
The Johns Hopkins University is an Equal Opportunity
Employer.
The Department of Biology (website: http://
www.usd.edu/biol/) invites applications for an
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (nine-month, tenure-
track) in ecology. We seek an individual with a broad
background in ecology, interested in integrative and
collaborative research, who will develop a creative
externally funded research program, and exhibit
excellence in teaching/mentoring of undergraduate
and graduate students. Candidates whose research
explores questions above the population level, or with
interests in the ecology of wetlands, riparian zones, or
aquatic systems are especially encouraged. Ph.D.
required; postdoctoral, research/teaching experience
preferred. Salary commensurate with rank and qual-
ifications. Send a letter of application, curriculum
vitae, statement of research/teaching interests, and
contact information for three references to: Ecology
Search, Department of Biology, The University of
South Dakota, 414 East Clark Street, Vermillion,
SD 57069. Questions should be directed to: Dr.
D.A. Soluk (E-mail: [email protected]). Review of
applications begins January 14, 2006, and continues
until the position is filled. The University of South Dakota
is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed
to increasing the diversity of its faculty, staff and students.
II
U
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S
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W
Drew University
Residential School on Medicinal Chemistry:
Chemistry and Biology in Drug Discovery
Madison, New Jersey
_
June 12-16, 2006
T
he Residential School is a week-long graduate level course
organized to provide an accelerated program for medicinal
chemists and biologists who wish to broaden their knowl-
edge of small molecule drug discovery and preclinical develop-
ment. The course is focused on fundamental concepts that are
useful in drug discovery spanning initial target validation,
enzyme and receptor assays, high throughput screening, hit-to-
lead progression, lead profiling and modification, structure-based
drug design, QSAR, plasma protein binding, pharmacokinetics,
metabolism, drug delivery, toxicology and patents. Case histories
of recent successful drug discovery and development
programs will also be presented. Attendance is limited to 200
participants with preference given to applicants having five years
or less industrial experience.
A Special Topics Course on Designing Drugs with Optimal
In Vivo Activity After Oral Administration is also being
offered on June 19-20. This course, which is limited to 40 par-
ticipants, will cover topics relevant to the design of orally active
drugs including GI physiology, oral bioavailability, formulation,
prodrug strategies, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics,
intestinal and hepatic metabolism, biliary and renal clearance, and
appropriate case histories. Previous attendance at the Residential
School on Medicinal Chemistry is not a prerequisite for acceptance
to the Special Topics Course.
More information and application forms can be obtained
at www.depts.drew.edu/resmed or by contacting the
Residential Schools Office at Drew University,
Hall of Sciences, Room 319, Madison, NJ 07949, USA;
Phone: 973/408-3787, Fax: 973/408-3504,
Gene Expression & Signaling Gene Expression & Signaling
in the Immune System in the Immune System
April 26 - 30, 2006 April 26 - 30, 2006
Organized by:
Doreen Cantrell, University of Dundee
Richard Flavell, HHMI/Yale University
Rudolf Grosschedl, University of Munich
Stephen Smale, HHMI/UCLA Sch. of Med.
Topics include:
Stem Cells/Early
Developmental Decisions
Regulation of Lymphocyte Development
Control of Antigen
Receptor Gene Assembly
Antigen Receptor Signaling
Cell Death Innate Immunity
Cytokine Signaling Cell Activation
Speakers include: Shizuo Akira, Frederick
Alt, David Baltimore, Yehudit Bergman,
Meinrad Busslinger, Kathryn Calame,
Gerald Crabtree, Mark Davis, Sankar
Ghosh, Laurie Glimcher, Gillian Griffiths,
Cynthia Guidos, Douglas Hilton, Dimitris
Kioussis, Gary Koretzky, Michael Krangel,
Dan Littman, Tak Mak, Diane Mathis,
Ruslan Medzhitov, Matthias
Merkenschlager, Kenneth Murphy,
Cornelis Murre, Michael Neuberger,
Michel Nussenzweig, Klaus Rajewsky,
Anjana Rao, Steven Reiner, Tannishtha
Reya, Alexander Rudensky, David Schatz,
Mark Schlissel, Andrey Shaw, Harinder
Singh, Tadatsugu Taniguchi, Alexander
Tarakhovsky, Craig Thompson,
Jurg Tschopp, Ulrich von Andrian
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
POBox 100, Cold Spring Harbor NY 11743
Tel 516 367 8346 Fax 516 367 8845
[email protected] www.cshl.edu/meetings
Abstract Deadline: February 1, 2006
Genomes to Systems
Conference 2006
22-24 March 2006
Manchester, UK
Genomes to Systems is back with a
3-day programme of 16 academic
sessions from over 50 world-class
speakers, covering the full spectrum
of post-genomic disciplines.
Plenary speakers by:
Bernard Palsson (San Diego)
Denis Noble (Oxford)
Julie Ahringer (Cambridge)
Matthias Uhlen (Stockholm)
Michael Snyder (Yale)
The Conference includes an Exhibition,
Poster Sessions, Network Evening and
Technology Showcases.
Early-bird and Group discounts available
For the full programme and registration visit:
www.genomestosystems.org
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16 December 2005

Vol. 310 No. 5755

QPCR System includes expanded

QPCR System is still the most affordably priced four-color

is a registered trademark of Stratagene in the United States.

software, which makes it easy to control every stage of your

1735 www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 310 16 DECEMBER 2005

ISO 9001:2000 registered: Canada,

that the investigative team had coerced its

; a great low Annual Percentage

clusters with surface-bound and internalized elec-

) exchanger (center). Sodium

r; t has unit variance. Using

tat Condense Orme des

) that converged on and com-

cells are abundantly expressed

glial processes, particularly in transverse spinal

glia that contact CNS nodes in the rat optic

cells might be nec-

glial processes, resembling NG2

cells, converge onto and

processes (arrowheads, green)

cell (asterisk) whose

glial cells (asterisks, green) resembling oligodendrocyte

cells with stellate morphology. Bar, 15 mm. (F) GFAP

processes were observed

stellate cells. Bar, 14 mm.

glial processes (Fig. 4J). This observation

oligodendrocyte precursor-like cells

neuroglia described to con-

cells in the OMgp

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