Volume 543 Issue 7647, 30 March 2017

The country may lift its ban on the analysis of gene-coding regions in DNA samples.

The most vulnerable cancer patients are drawing the attention they deserve.

Policymakers in charge of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union have a duty to maintain benefits of collaboration, says James Wilsdon.

The week in science: 24–30 March 2017.

Physicists try to rebuild the laws of heat and energy for processes at a quantum scale.

Emphasis on innovation overshadowed by funding freeze for key research councils.

Global health charity is latest funder to start its own publishing ‘channel’ — and the European Commission is considering its own service.

The months between the Brexit vote and this week's triggering of Article 50 have been a turbulent time for scientists — and things show no sign of calming.

Beleaguered institution cancels presidential election two days before vote, and appoints acting chief.

Gut bacteria and altered metabolic pathways are suspects in mysterious disease.

Ichthyosaurs were some of the largest and most mysterious predators to ever prowl the oceans. Now they are giving up their secrets.

Epigenetic discoveries are fuelling renewed interest in the fusion proteins that have bedevilled cancer biologists.

Levi Garraway reflects on the three things that keep his compass true when the going gets tough.

An analysis of more than 50 collaborations shows the secrets of success, write Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld and colleagues from the Stakeholder Alignment Collaborative.

Richard Fortey questions the level of derring-do in an account of the life curatorial.

Marcus Munafò enjoys a stinging survey of unreliable findings in biomedical research.

Mark Pagel weighs up a study claiming that the origins of human language are rooted in gesture.

Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week's best science picks.

One of the most influential thinkers in economic theory.

Stem-cell divisions are thought to be essential to tumour growth. Targeted removal of a specific stem-cell population reveals its role in tumour development and in the growth of tumours formed by cell migration to distant sites. See Article p.676

An iron complex has been made that has a long-lived excited state and emits light at room temperature as a result of a charge-transfer process. This breakthrough might allow the production of cheap solar cells. See Letter p.695

The cell divisions that occur when a larva develops into an adult Caenorhabditis elegans worm were described in a cell-lineage map in 1977. The work has provided the foundation for many discoveries about developmental mechanisms.

Marine protected areas are being implemented at an accelerating pace, and hold promise for restoring damaged ecosystems. But glaring shortfalls in staffing and funding often lead to suboptimal outcomes. See Article p.665.

Subpopulations of neurons fire at specific geographical locations, providing a mental map of an animal's position in space. The finding that the circuitry can also support auditory maps sheds light on the neuronal structure of cognition. See Letter p.719

Do human consumption habits affect groundwater depletion as a result of international food trade? A global analysis indicates that they do, and shows which products and countries have the biggest impact. See Letter p.700

Modification of methyl groups attached to DNA alters gene expression, and mutations that deregulate this methylation are common in some leukaemias. Drugs that target aberrant methylation are emerging as promising therapeutics.

Planets and most asteroids revolve around the Sun in the same direction. But an asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit has been revolving in the opposite direction for about a million years. See Letter p.687

Our increasing understanding of non-covalent interactions involving aromatic systems is reviewed, and the use of these insights in the design of small-molecule catalysts and enzymes is surveyed.

Coherence observed in chemical and biological systems suggests that even in the presence of disorder and noise the phenomenon may yield transformative ways for improving function.

Energy–structure–function maps that describe the possible structures and properties of molecular crystals are developed, and these maps are used to guide the experimental discovery of porous materials with specific functions.

Although 71% of marine protected areas are benefiting fish populations, their effects are highly variable, with staff capacity proving to be the most important explanatory variable.

Use of a head-mounted miniature microscope in awake, behaving mice reveals that neural ensembles in the basal and lateral amygdala encode associations between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli in a way that matches models of supervised learning.

Ablation of Lgr5⁺ cancer stem cells does not result in regression of primary colorectal tumours, but prevents the formation and maintenance of metastasis in the liver.

LACTB modulates mitochondrial lipid metabolism and changes the differentiation state of breast cancer cells, thereby negatively affecting the growth of various tumorigenic, but not non-tumorigenic, cells both in vitro and in vivo.

Asteroid 2015 BZ₅₀₉ is a retrograde co-orbital asteroid of the planet Jupiter, stably orbiting in a sense opposite to that of Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun for around a million years.

A direct synthesis of high-aspect-ratio microporous zeolite nanosheets and the use of such nanosheets in separation membranes are described.

An iron complex is described that exhibits photoluminescence at room temperature, opening the way to the use of iron-based materials as low-cost, non-toxic light emitters and photosensitizers.

Global food consumption drives irrigation for crops, which depletes aquifers in some regions; here we quantify the volumes of groundwater depletion associated with global food production and international trade.

The transboundary health impacts of air pollution associated with the international trade of goods and services are greater than those associated with long-distance atmospheric pollutant transport.

A geologically informed model of the relationship between changing island area and species richness for the Hawaiian archipelago reveals the rates of species richness change for 14 endemic groups over their entire evolutionary histories without the need for fossil data or molecular phylogenies.

Whole-genome sequencing of normal blood cells sampled from 241 adults is used to infer mosaic point mutations that are likely to have arisen during early embryogenesis, providing insight into how early cellular dynamics may affect adult tissues.

Cells in the hippocampal–entorhinal circuit, which fire in response to navigational variables such as location or speed, are shown also to encode continuous, task-relevant but non-spatial variables such as sound frequency.

Evidence for the abundant presentation of class II neoantigens by a human B-cell lymphoma.

A new chimaeric mouse model of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer to efficiently test combination therapies in an autochthonous setting.

The selective allosteric ABL1 inhibitor ABL001 (asciminib) represents a new inhibitory mechanism for BCR–ABL1-driven malignancies, and its efficacy and evolving mechanisms of resistance do not overlap with those of other BCR–ABL1 kinase inhibitors.

Double electron–electron resonance and computer simulations are used to describe conformational dynamics in the ATP-binding cassette transporter Pgp, which has an important role in the clearance of xenobiotics and cancer resistance to chemotherapy.

Innovative techniques are giving researchers unprecedented access to the inner workings of the immune system.

Researchers who work for themselves can benefit from forming coalitions that provide both practical and psychological support.

Decimation ahead for university science programme if faculty members deported.

Apply to win one of 20 seven-year posts.

Evolution in action.

Dogs, cats and birds have lived alongside humans for thousands of years. Our interconnected lives offer physical and psychological benefits, as well as some risks.

Dogs and cats in temperate regions are encountering pathogens that once thrived only in the tropics. As the climate warms and pests migrate north, animals, and some humans, are facing new health risks.

The health of animals, humans and the environment will be better served by breaking down barriers, says Laura H. Kahn.

Once anathema, it now seems that a 'dirty' environment can enrich a baby's microbiome and lessen her or his likelihood of developing everything from obesity to asthma. Again, it seems that we can rely on man's best friend to help us out.

In the southern United States, heartworm parasites are acquiring resistance to preventives that once offered complete protection, raising concerns for dog owners.

A pathogen spread by domestic cats threatens the health of humans and livestock. Could a solution as simple as taking better care of cats help to combat the infection?

A warming Arctic is leaving people and wildlife vulnerable to disease outbreaks.

Ebola could pose a grave health threat to gorillas in Africa. Vaccination seems like a smart solution, but dosing the animals in the wild poses major challenges.