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This week's issue presents four papers from the Juno mission to Jupiter. Alberto Adriani and his colleagues report visible and infrared observations of Jupiter's polar regions, finding that distinct cyclones appear at both poles. The cover image, derived from Juno's JIRAM instrument, shows the central cyclone at the planet's north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. The colours represent radiant heat: the yellow (thinner) clouds are about −13 °C in brightness temperature, and the dark red (thickest) are around −83 °C. In a second paper, Luciano Iess and his colleagues used Doppler data to study Jupiter's gravitational field, revealing a north—south asymmetry arising from atmospheric flows. In the third paper, Yohai Kaspi and his colleagues analyse the uneven gravitational harmonics to show that atmospheric jet streams extend some 3,000 kilometres below cloud level, concluding that the mass of Jupiter's dynamical atmosphere is about 1% of Jupiter's total mass. And in the fourth paper, Tristan Guillot and his co-workers show that below the depth of 3,000 kilometres, Jupiter is rotating as a solid body. Cover image: NASA/SWRI/JPL/ASI/INAF/IAPS
Meta-analysis—the quantitative, scientific synthesis of research results—has been both revolutionary and controversial, with rapid advances and broad implementation resulting in substantial scientific advances, but not without pitfalls.
Group III/nitride semiconductors have been grown epitaxially on the superconductor niobium nitride, allowing the superconductor’s macroscopic quantum effects to be combined with the semiconductors’ electronic, photonic and piezoelectric properties.
Genome-wide data from 400 individuals indicate that the initial spread of the Beaker archaeological complex between Iberia and central Europe was propelled by cultural diffusion, but that its spread into Britain involved a large-scale migration that permanently replaced about ninety per cent of the ancestry in the previously resident population.
Genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe between 12000 and 500 bc reveals that the region acted as a genetic crossroads before and after the arrival of farming.
Thirst is regulated by hierarchical neural circuits in the lamina terminalis, and these integrate the instinctive need for water with consequent drinking behaviour to maintain internal water homeostasis.
Statistical analyses of a metagenomics-sequenced human cohort identify a relatively minor role for genetics in determining microbiome composition and show that several human phenotypes are as strongly associated with the gut microbiome as with host genetics.
Visible and infrared images obtained from above each pole of Jupiter by the Juno spacecraft reveal polygonal patterns of large cyclones; it is unknown how these cyclones evolved, or how they persist without merging.
Precise Doppler tracking of the Juno spacecraft in its polar orbit around Jupiter is used to determine the planet’s gravity harmonics, showing north–south asymmetry caused by atmospheric and interior flows.
The determination of Jupiter’s odd gravitational harmonics by the Juno spacecraft reveals that the observed jet streams extend to about three thousand kilometres below the cloud tops.
The determination of Jupiter’s even gravitational moments by the Juno spacecraft reveals that more than three thousand kilometres below the cloud tops, differential rotation is suppressed and the gas giant’s interior rotates as a solid body.
Superlattices consisting of alternating monolayer atomic crystals and molecular layers allow access to stable phosphorene monolayers with competitive transistor performance and to bulk monolayer materials with tunable optoelectronic properties.
The composition of natural calcium silicate perovskite, the fourth most abundant mineral in the Earth, found within a diamond indicates an origin from oceanic crust subducted deeper than 700 kilometres into the Earth’s mantle.
In a binary decision game in which players strategically help certain individuals but not others, simple moral principles maximize cooperation, even when including the historical reputations of players.
A global study of all bird species in mountainous areas shows that richness decreases predictably with elevation, whereas diversification rates increase.
An evolutionarily conserved alveolar epithelial progenitor lineage that derives from alveolar type 2 cells is responsive to Wnt signalling and acts as a major facultative progenitor in regenerating the distal lung.
The SMAD2 and SMAD3 protein interactome links TGFβ signalling to diverse effectors including m6A methyltransferase, which has a role in regulating differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells.
The biogenesis of piRNAs in the silkworm Bombyx is simpler than in Drosophila, with the exonucleases Trim and Nbr having no major role, and the endonuclease Zuc acting at the 3′ rather than the 5′ end.
In vitro experiments, using purified proteins and an assay that detects DNA unwinding, reveal the mechanism of activation of eukaryotic DNA replication.
An X-ray structure of the D2 dopamine receptor bound to the atypical antipsychotic drug risperidone reveals an extended binding pocket and indicates structural features that could be used to design drugs that specifically target the D2 receptor.