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Volume 541 Issue 7635, 5 January 2017

The Milky Way and a Karl G. Jansky VLA dish antenna in Socorro, New Mexico. Shami Chatterjee et al. report the subarcsecond localization of the Arecibo-discovered fast radio burst FRB 121102, the only known repeating burst source, using high-time-resolution radio interferometric observations that directly image the bursts. FRBs are radio flashes of unknown physical nature with durations of milliseconds. Previous observations have lacked the resolution to uniquely identify a host or multi-wavelength counterpart. The localization of FRB 121102 reveals a persistent radio and optical source that is coincident with the bursts to within 100 milliarcseconds. The enigmatic persistent source could be a neutron star within its nebula in a distant host galaxy, a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus, or a previously unknown type of extragalactic source. Cover: Michael Spain / 500PX/National Geographic Creative.

Editorial

  • Debates over climate change and genome editing present the need for researchers to venture beyond their comfort zones to engage with citizens — and they should receive credit for doing so.

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World View

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Seven Days

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News

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Correction

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News

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News Feature

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Comment

  • Gary McDowell, Misty Heggeness and colleagues present census data showing how the biomedical workforce is fundamentally different to those of past generations – academia should study the trends, and adapt.

    • Misty L. Heggeness
    • Kearney T. W. Gunsalus
    • Gary McDowell
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Books & Arts

  • Robots, DNA and electricity bask in the limelight, as Blade Runner reboots, Kazakhstan gets energetic and a 'space tapestry' rolls out. It's quite a year — and key anniversaries hit, too, for Canada, the anthropology dynamo the Peabody Museum and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Nicola Jones reports.

    • Nicola Jones
    Books & Arts
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Correspondence

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News & Views

  • For almost a decade, astronomers have observed intense bursts of radio waves from the distant cosmos whose origins were unknown. The source of one such burst has now been identified, but this has only deepened the mystery. See Letter p.58

    • Heino Falcke
    News & Views
  • Structures of Slo1, a channel that conducts potassium ions out of cells, provide insight into the basis of its high conductance, and of its dual activation by calcium ions and increased membrane voltage. See Articles p.46 & p.52

    • Karl L. Magleby
    News & Views
  • Identification of a previously uncharacterized genetic disease highlights DNA repair as a shared mechanism in neurodegenerative disorders, and suggests potential therapeutic approaches to tackling them. See Letter p.87

    • Christopher A. Ross
    • Ray Truant
    News & Views
  • Tobacco plants have been manipulated to improve their adaptation to changes in light intensity. The engineered plants can use solar energy more safely and efficiently than their wild-type counterparts.

    • Alexander V. Ruban
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  • In chemical catalysis, spillover is the process in which hydrogen atoms are made from hydrogen molecules at one site and then added to other atoms or molecules at another. A study reveals details of this effect. See Letter p.68

    • Francisco Zaera
    News & Views
  • A system that introduces random modifications to barcode sequences embedded in cells' DNA allows lineage relationships between cells to be discerned, while preserving the cells' spatial relationships. See Letter p.107

    • Lauren E. Beck
    • Arjun Raj

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Article

  • Two complementary studies present the full-length high-resolution structure of a Slo1 channel in the presence or absence of Ca2+ ions, in which an unconventional allosteric voltage-sensing mechanism regulates the Ca2+ sensor in addition to the voltage sensor’s direct action on the pore.

    • Xiao Tao
    • Richard K. Hite
    • Roderick MacKinnon
    Article
  • Two complementary studies present the full-length high-resolution structure of a Slo1 channel in the presence or absence of Ca2+ ions, in which an unconventional allosteric voltage-sensing mechanism regulates the Ca2+ sensor in addition to the voltage sensor’s direct action on the pore.

    • Richard K. Hite
    • Xiao Tao
    • Roderick MacKinnon
    Article
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Letter

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Column

  • Events at which PhD students share experiences can pay dividends.

    • Theresa Mercer
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Futures

  • Body of evidence.

    • Thomas Broderick
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