Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:title>Reconstructing ancestral bacteria</jats:title> <jats:p> The origin of the eubacteria and phylogenetic relationships between subgroups have been difficult to resolve. Applying a phylogenetic analysis and recent computational methods to the expanded diversity of bacterial sequences from metagenomic analyses, Coleman <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> infer the root of the eubacterial tree (see the Perspective by Katz). The root was determined without using the Archaea as an outgroup, to avoid the possibility of a false result due to long branch attraction. This method places the eubacterial root in the neighborhood of Fusobacteriota. Using this information, the authors reconstructed the eubacterial ancestor, identifying that this organism likely had a double-membrane cell envelope, flagellum-mediated motility, antiphage defense mechanisms, and diverse metabolic pathways. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abe0511">eabe0511</jats:related-article> ; see also p. <jats:related-article issue="6542" page="574" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="372">574</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Environmental impacts on gene networks</jats:title> <jats:p> A phenotype can be affected by genes interacting with other genes, the environment, or both other genes and the environment (a differential interaction). To better understand how these interactions function in yeast, Costanzo <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> mapped gene-gene interactions using single- and double-mutant deletions and temperature-sensitive alleles under 14 environmental conditions. Many deleted or temperature-sensitive nonessential genes affected yeast fitness both positively and negatively under at least one of the environmental conditions tested. In these cases, up to 24% of yeast genes were affected. A minority of these differential interactions point to previously unknown genetic connections across functional networks, informing on how genetic architecture responds to environmental variation. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf8424">eabf8424</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>A distinctive ancestor</jats:title> <jats:p> There has been much focus on the evolution of primates and especially where and how humans diverged in this process. It has often been suggested that the last common ancestor between humans and other apes, especially our closest relative, the chimpanzee, was ape- or chimp-like. Almécija <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> review this area and conclude that the morphology of fossil apes was varied and that it is likely that the last shared ape ancestor had its own set of traits, different from those of modern humans and modern apes, both of which have been undergoing separate suites of selection pressures. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abb4363">eabb4363</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Development of the human striatum revealed</jats:title> <jats:p> Deep in the brain, the striatum receives and coordinates inputs from other parts of the brain. Bocchi <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> surveyed molecular features as the striatum develops in the human brain. Single-cell surveys of long intergenic noncoding RNAs revealed a progenitor for medium spiny neurons and provide insight into evolutionary divergence of this critical part of the brain. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf5759">eabf5759</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>The value of dirty DNA</jats:title> <jats:p> Environmental DNA can identify the presence of species, even from the distant past. Surveying three cave sites in western Europe and southern Siberia, Vernot <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> identified nuclear DNA and confirmed that it is from the close relatives of anatomically modern humans—Neanderthal and Denisovan individuals. A phylogenetic analysis and modeling show that the DNA in sediment samples from several layers corresponds to previously studied skeletal remains. These results demonstrate that environmental data can be applied to study the population genetics of the extinct Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages, identifying a turnover of Neanderthal populations ∼100,000 years ago. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf1667">eabf1667</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:p>In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released a study that documented how women faculty in its School of Science were afforded fewer resources and opportunities than men—a discrepancy it attributed to unconscious biases that had marginalized women faculty “even in the light of obvious good will.” The report inspired policy changes at universities across the country that have made faculty resources more equitable. But a study released last month by MIT members (including the authors of this editorial) of the Boston Biotech Working Group (BBWG) now documents a similar problem at the interface of academia and industry: Fewer women than men faculty at MIT move their research discoveries into companies, and fewer serve as scientific advisers or on boards of directors. This disparity holds back women faculty and denies the full promise of innovation to the universities they work for, the biotech industry, and society at large.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Recent weeks have seen numerous calls for more investment in research and development (R&amp;D) in the United States. This is understandable with a new administration that is friendlier to science and with The Endless Frontier Act—a measure that could double the budget of the National Science Foundation in 5 years—under consideration in Congress. Proponents of the bill are heralding its potential to enhance America's competitiveness: A large part of the new money would go for “use-inspired” basic research aimed at economic growth. Although the new money for science would be long overdue, and there are provisions in the bill to try to extend its geographical benefit, care must be taken to ensure that funds are distributed more equitably than in the past. If science in the United States is truly to be an endless frontier, the benefits must extend equitably to all.</jats:p>

<jats:p>A roundup of weekly science policy and related news.</jats:p>