Science - 16 September 2022

136 Pages·2022·34 MB·English

The past and future of the Testing the strength of weak Target RNA–guided RNA and protein
monkeypox virus social ties cleavage by Craspase
pp. 1252 & 1261 pp. 1256 & 1304 p. 1278
$15
16 SEPTEMBER 2022
science.org
GROUNDWATER
OF LIFE

Subsurface capture of seasonal
rainfall supports Bangladeshi
agriculture
pp. 1258 & 1315
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CONTENTS
FEATURES
1252 Moving target
The global monkeypox outbreak is giving the
virus an unprecedented opportunity to adapt
to humans. Will it change for the worse?
By K. Kupferschmidt
16 SEPTEMBER 2022 • VOLUME 377 • ISSUE 6612
PERSPECTIVE p. 1261
INSIGHTS
PERSPECTIVES
1256 Weak ties, failed tries, and success
A large-scale study provides a causal
test for a cornerstone of social science
By D. Wang and B. Uzzi
REPORT p. 1304
1258 The “water machine” of Bengal
A data-driven and policy-supported strategic
use of aquifers for irrigation is needed to
maximize their benefits By A. Mukherji
REPORT p. 1315
1259 Replication timing and genetic
instability
Synchronized activation of DNA replication
origins induces genetic instability in lymphoma
By M. Méchali
RESEARCH ARTICLE p. 1277
1261 Monkeypox: The consequences of
neglecting a disease, anywhere
A disease anywhere can spread everywhere,
if neglected By O. Tomori and D. Ogoina
1252 & 1261
NEWS STORY p. 1252
1263 Loyal gut microbes
Bacterial strains in the gut microbiota
diversified as humans spread across the globe
NEWS 1247 Polio returns in rich countries,
By A. H. Moeller
but big outbreaks are unlikely
REPORT p. 1328
As New York state declares an
CE emergency, experts are far 1264 How Saturn got its tilt and its rings
OUR IN BRIEF more worried about a resurgence The destruction of a hypothetical moon may
CIENCE S 1242 News at a glance iBny l Lo.w R-oinbceortmse countries hReESlpE eAxRpClHai nA RthTIeC oLrEi gpi.n 1 2o8f 5both By M. El Moutamid
S/S
NFECTION I1N24 D4 EEPurToHpe ’s energy crisis hits 1im24p8e rRile Gcroeradt sSaalilnt iLtayk aend low water P12O6L6 IRCiYsk Fs OofR dUeMco upling from China
OR I science hard Drought spurs efforts to restore on low-carbon technologies
NTRE F Supercomputing and accelerator centers sBhy rEin. Kkiinntgis lcahke’s water supplies For most technologies, the cure is likely worse
CE struggle with surging gas and electricity than the disease By M. R. Davidson et al.
N AGENCY prices By J. Kwan 1m2i5s0si oNnA tSaAk’se sa satimer oid deflection BOOKS ET AL.
O 1245 Private venture tackles Long Covid,
CTI Target’s structure will sway 1270 Whom is real science for?
OTE aims to test drugs soon outcome of upcoming Skip the metaphors—physics needn’t be diluted
H PR Initiative to explore whether coronavirus test collision, simulations show for nonexperts to achieve real understanding
HEALT lingers in patients By J. Couzin-Frankel By Z. Savitsky By A. E. Motter
N/ PODCAST
PPLETO 1s2e4xu6a Ul h.Sa.r Aansstamrecntitc Program has ignored 1251 Reviewers award higher marks 1m2a7n1a Dgeorsi aaln ddi vdeorns’ittsy for achieving
A
AZEL Decades of complaints have gone unheeded when a paper’s author is famous A pair of sociologists turn to data to determine
O: by NSF and contractors managing operations, “Matthew effect” is powerful, unusually how to diversify organizations’ upper ranks
HOT employees say By J. Mervis large study finds By J. Brainard By E. H. Chang
P
SCIENCE science.org 16 SEPTEMBER 2022 • VOL 377 ISSUE 6612 1239
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CONTENTS
LETTERS 1285 Gas giant planets
1272 A genomics revolution in amphibian Loss of a satellite could explain Saturn’s 1354
taxonomy By C. Dufresnes and D. Jablonski obliquity and young rings J. Wisdom et al.
PERSPECTIVE p. 1264
1272 Comprehensive support for diversity
in STEM By T. Mourad and G. Middendorf 1290 Signal transduction
Lysosomal GPCR-like
1273 Ecological footprint of Russia’s protein LYCHOS signals cholesterol
Ukraine invasion By M. Zheleznyak et al. sufficiency to mTORC1
H. R. Shin et al.
1273 In memoriam
1298 Structural biology
Structural basis for strychnine
RESEARCH
activation of human bitter 1319 Quantum simulation
taste receptor TAS2R46 W. Xu et al. Direct geometric probe of singularities
in band structure C. D. Brown et al.
REPORTS
IN BRIEF
1323 Organic chemistry
1304 Social networks
1274 From Science and other journals Halogen-atom and group transfer reactivity
A causal test of the strength of
enabled by hydrogen tunneling
weak ties K. Rajkumar et al.
RESEARCH ARTICLES T. Constantin et al.
PERSPECTIVE p. 1256
1277 Cancer genetics
1328 Microbiome
DNA replication timing directly regulates 1311 Evolution
Codiversification of gut microbiota with
the frequency of oncogenic chromosomal Exceptional preservation of organs in
humans T. A. Suzuki et al.
translocations M. Peycheva et al. Devonian placoderms from the Gogo
PERSPECTIVE p. 1263
RESEARCH ARTICLE SUMMARY; FOR FULL TEXT: lagerstätte K. Trinajstic et al.
DOI.ORG/10.1126/SCIENCE.ABJ5502 1333 Nanophotonics
PERSPECTIVE p. 1259 1315 Groundwater Few-cycle vacuum squeezing in
The Bengal Water Machine: Quantified
nanophotonics R. Nehra et al.
1278 CRISPR freshwater capture in Bangladesh
Craspase is a CRISPR RNA-guided, M. Shamsudduha et al.
RNA-activated protease C. Hu et al. PERSPECTIVE p. 1258; PODCAST DEPARTMENTS
1241 Editorial
High seas treaty within reach
By K. M. Gjerde et al.
1354 Working Life
The meaning of home By D. Boglaienko
ON THE COVER
The irrigation of rice fields by smallholder
farmers in Bangladesh, like the one in Sylhet
pictured here, has transformed this densely
populated, once famine-prone land to a food- R
secure nation over the past three decades. CKE
This type of agriculture depends on ground- UBE
NE
water withdrawals made RT
possible by subsurface BE
O
recharge by the highly X; R
U
seasonal rainfall. This D
RE
cfaoy cochdlea p nsrguoisdntuga cicntlsiiom inrar uitgena.d tSeeerde RK TIMES/
O
pages 1258 and 1315. W Y
Photo: K. M. Asad HE NE
1263 & 1328 N/T
A
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Gordon Research Conferences................1338 M
Science Careers .......................................1343 ADA
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1240 16 SEPTEMBER 2022 • VOL 377 ISSUE 6612 science.org SCIENCE
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EDITORIAL
High seas treaty within reach
T
he ocean is Earth’s greatest climate mitigator, but empowering participation in decision-making, and en- Kristina M. Gjerde
it cannot do its work without biodiversity. Yet, abling sufficient capacity, technology, and financial re- is the senior high
accelerating climate change, unsustainable fish- sources. Richer nations have yet to commit to delivering seas adviser of the
ing, and widespread plastic and other pollutants, the capacity building, technology, and funds necessary Ocean Team at the
combined with increased resource demands, are to assist developing nations, such as small island states, International Union
threatening life throughout our global ocean. to fully participate in the treaty. Facilitating individual for Conservation of
This is particularly acute in the two-thirds of the and collective responses to stresses on the global ocean,
Nature, Cambridge,
ocean (the high seas and seabed below) located beyond which these less technologically equipped nations did
MA, USA. kgjerde@
national boundaries, and as such, no state can solve little to cause, is essential.
eip.com.pl
these problems alone. Since 2018, member states of The next several months offer a narrowing window
the United Nations have been crafting an international to find solutions. The treaty is an opportunity to foster
Harriet
treaty to protect high-seas biodiversity and to ensure mutually beneficial partnerships that acquire scientific
Harden-Davies
that human pressures are kept to a level that sustains information and leverage technology to monitor cu-
is the director
this variety. Last month, the fifth and supposedly final mulative impacts on the global ocean. As the ocean is
of the Nippon
session of the UN Intergovernmental Conference fell interconnected, all nations have the right and respon-
Foundation Ocean
short of this goal. Unfortunately, disagreements on sibility to act as stewards of the ocean commons now
fundamental issues meant that nego- and for future generations. The cur- Voices Programme,
tiators ran out of time. Achieving a rent treaty draft offers an innovative University of
timely treaty requires resuming the pathway for this collective steward- Edinburgh,
“…at risk are
dialogue as soon as possible with ship: strategic environmental as- Edinburgh Climate
more visible public and political sup- sessments of marine ecosystems and Change Institute,
vital ecosystem
port to surmount remaining hurdles. activities that are regionally focused, Edinburgh, UK.
These little-known negotiations at an ecologically meaningful scale. harriet.harden-
services that
should compel a sense of urgency That is, by bringing together inter- [email protected]
because at risk are vital ecosystem ested states, scientific institutions,
keep Earth’s
services that keep Earth’s climate sectoral organizations (such as bod- Kahlil Hassanali
livable. Existing regional and global ies for regional fisheries, interna- is a research officer
organizations for managing fishing, climate livable.” tional shipping, and seabed mining), at the Institute
shipping, or deep-sea mining lack a financial institutions, civil society,
of Marine Affairs,
global focus on marine biodiversity and other stakeholders, these as-
Chaguaramas,
that the new treaty could provide. sessments could forge a common
Trinidad and Tobago.
The good news is that despite the delay, negotiators understanding while also redressing gaps in capacity.
khassanali@ima.
made meaningful progress. This includes accepting key The results could guide coherent climate-resilient man-
gov.tt
principles and approaches to advance ecosystem-based agement that includes networks of protected areas for
management, recognizing roles for science as well as safeguarding life in a dynamic ocean.
traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local Scientists can play a role by calling on world leaders
communities, and agreeing to establish key institutions to promptly produce a treaty that will inject science-
such as regular meetings of the states parties to main- based decision-making, equity, and stewardship into
tain progress. Yet negotiators face many daunting di- the heart of how the vast majority of Earth’s ocean is
vides. They have to find an acceptable balance between managed. New activities, from geoengineering to deep-
state autonomy and collective action to effectively sea mining, are being proposed to address the climate
manage marine protected areas, review environmental emergency that could imperil high-seas biodiversity.
impact assessments, and hold each other accountable Nations will require sound assessment and accountable
for harm. Also debated is how to more equitably share decision-making processes so that such new approaches
benefits derived from marine genetic resources. Poten- do not cause more harm than good. By finalizing the
tially valuable genetic material from marine life has treaty soon, ideally in 2022, world leaders can further
prospective applications in agriculture, industry, and reaffirm faith in the power of global multilateral pro-
biomedicine and can inform research, assessments, and cesses and steer all countries together through the chal-
monitoring of the ocean. lenges of a changing ocean and planet.
Equity—both within and across generations—is at the –Kristina M. Gjerde, Harriet Harden-Davies,
heart of sharing the benefits of marine genetic material, Kahlil Hassanali
10.1126/science.ade8437
SCIENCE science.org 16 SEPTEMBER 2022 • VOL 377 ISSUE 6612 1241
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NEWS
“They need to acknowledge their role in spreading
disinformation, and choose a different path.”
University of California, Santa Barbara, energy policy expertLeah Stokes,
to Grist about her research on utility companies’ role in climate change denialism.
observation that jibes with previous predic-
IN BRIEF
tions that the star’s looping magnetic field
Edited by Shraddha Chakradhar
lines sometimes crash into rarer straight
ones, causing straight lines of emanating
POLICY plasma to develop a telltale kink known as
a switchback. Scientists had previously seen
First ARPA-H director named
evidence of switchbacks in magnetic field
data, but the images of them reported last
P resident Joe Biden has picked Renee Wegrzyn, an applied week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
are a first. The findings support the idea that
biologist with a background in industry and government, to
slower solar winds arise from switchbacks in
head his new agency for biomedical innovation, the Advanced looping magnetic field lines. The work could
Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Wegrzyn, 45, help scientists better predict the impact of
served 4 years as a program manager in the biological tech- powerful solar storms on Earth, which can
wreak havoc on communications systems
nologies office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects
and navigational equipment.
Agency, the model for ARPA-H, where she led programs in synthetic
biology and gene editing. She is currently vice president of business
Racism’s effects in real time
development at the Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks, which focuses on
cell engineering; she also has expertise in biosecurity. ARPA-H, which RACISM | A study testing an innovative
way to assess racism’s impact on health
has a $1 billion budget this year, was created by Congress in March
has found stress hormone levels in saliva
to develop cutting-edge medical technologies and is currently part of spike almost immediately after someone
the National Institutes of Health. experiences a racist interaction. In a
pilot study, researchers had 12 Black
participants in the United States collect
their saliva four times a day over
Cancer treatment tackles lupus The Sun’s kinky magnetism 4 days. Over the same period, participants
used a phone app to record perceived
IMMUNOTHERAPY | Suggesting a new ASTRONOMY | New images from the discrimination and microaggressions—
way to battle certain autoimmune condi- European Solar Orbiter may shed light on such as being mistaken for a service
tions, five people with lupus have been mysterious shifts in the Sun’s magnetic field worker because of their race. Levels of
successfully treated with engineered and could help explain why the solar wind cortisol—a hormone released during
immune cells. A team in Germany reports blows at two different speeds. In March, emotional distress—increased in the
this week in Nature Medicine that the the spacecraft spotted an S-shaped vortex participants’ saliva the morning after they
patients—four women and a man who of ejecting plasma in the Sun’s corona—an reported racial discrimination events,
had serious organ complications from the the team reports this week in PLOS ONE. 022)
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tkhidenire iym ppraoibrleedm osr, giamnp fruonvcetdi oonr, rseuscohlv aesd . Women faculty paid less RBITER/E
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The patients also discontinued other drugs SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY | Echoing previ- OLAR
they were taking, such as immune suppres- ous findings, women faculty members, A/S
sants. The researchers note that although even those with a stellar publication AS
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promising, CAR-T therapy needs to be stud- record, are paid less than their male A &
ied in more people with lupus over time to The Sun’s magnetic fluxes might help explain the colleagues, a new study has found. After GE: ES
ensure it’s safe and effective. solar wind’s different speeds. examining publicly available salary data MA
I
1242 16 SEPTEMBER 2022 • VOL 377 ISSUE 6612 science.org SCIENCE
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IN FOCUS Among this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners is this
portrait of a southern right whale calf off New Zealand’s coast. After circling
and inspecting photographer Richard Robinson, the calf reportedly returned
for a second look. New Zealand’s right whale population had been hunted to
near-extinction, but recent protections have helped revive it from a group with
13 breeding females to more than 2000 animals. The contest is developed
and produced by the Natural History Museum in London.
for more than 2300 tenured or tenure- near the places on the list. “Having our BY THE NUMBERS
track professors who work in science, collections information reflect diversity
Dug up and deforested
technology, engineering, and math fields and inclusion values is important,” says
at 17 research-intensive U.S. universi- Carol Butler, assistant director for col- Just four countries accounted for 81% of
ties, researchers identified a gender pay lections for the Smithsonian Institution’s tropical forest loss caused by industrial
gap that persists even after accounting National Museum of Natural History. mining as of 2019, according to a study
for factors such as the average pay in a The museum will change hundreds of published this week in the Proceedings of the
department and an individual’s h-index, a instances in its online database, mostly National Academy of Sciences. The largest
metric that reflects how many papers they for plant specimens collected at sites with contributor, Indonesia, digs mainly coal,
have published and how many times those the offensive names. DOI will continue to whereas others mine gold and aluminum ore.
papers have been cited. Among faculty accept suggestions for other names that Forest losses have dropped 45% since 2014,
members with a relatively high h-index of need changing. mainly because of declining prices for the
49, for instance, women were paid roughly mined materials and coal mining restrictions
$6000 less per year than their male counter- Sexual assaults’ hidden costs in Indonesia. Overall, agriculture remains a
parts. The authors of the study, which is in bigger cause of deforestation.
022) press at Scientometrics and available as a HEALTH CARE | People seeking emergency
CREDITS: (PHOTO) © RICHARD ROBINSON/WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR; (GRAPHIC) K. FRANKLIN/SCIENCE; (DATA) S. GILJUM ET AL., PNAS, 119 (38) E2118273119 (2 pueUGIufaUftttiuunirihhnxnrnpspErono.ceaateesdOSdddnmiel ptmtdtu UeaaGsr .oer cN r i ttdiaR.isdtafooeesnSnioshaoAc r nnl.e tStdtrm eo Pta sghgi( toraerevn HiDao ee sedqtntegerYt vliaO hue 6ueretwseA Rberh isI5or|rm tae m)e.e 0on gynU fdssS Tl a romafeneea.i peaSphnrmfsmraesecpe e. ise rteN fracfnoeh. Gc odnae wakDrsahMtirct ene,scs.tfeeaG uo,o i ssu Fiep rftvClalpecrveeshkytoae trtaeyeade u arg e eDbr cuAtutenn,pi eeui micpmrepmsmki anmraa1vba lyseees0alleeeya .o,n st H rr0n Saw vbc cttsimag0usha eocuiieoc et arldamecetsilfrn vntl e o munofaaaetemcs ilhgsns wlyanil bnsstee,gi,edd oemoto csa ewtt,ir ,mtm hsen teie-ieehlgednel ss en cbLdv1inwhaposEwwshn6etaivreeeiieonrheuotgsx %re opaoigsr bulodeuhrtbrpeaeekl e a uryaelaoyn erfaliy a,gseroslnt fn tkrc netpdet m hlv$egietdhf lx.cuenachri o ,3 eeudoe SanohbJtgowr7n al ituomem lea0asles htiiluodcnserpnnsln0 eeheyvwgr hrerdc.gawdla in e eoaeepa-sP esrispiahiarpd—issc,xrnct,t l o alsao ahepwhyssoc tmardulorge heoef atiu1atf xnl cnnraimi1ti rtm lnushsMoaoyh3es tn 2geeaaenn d ,owef b0pe0 d lostratfr wtd hee0da gt 1u eahtmiiyie 9yeee0oi nsnnpced t,k s lsm amidhidaacfyeo.n anroyiuuri a mne u’nesve trttenrtdnhdu .i li hxre ascthTd i aTibe$p resoavucauhmtdgjhcxe4enral evaeeona usrer5ladce tln iaurNyea0hsytb o elghc gr al 0yeneiftaw aayeilre o w ,lclrtl g,hl ahs. shyloe eoalsoo ent — r h d Deforestation within mining areas (km)2 11106844220000000000000002000–OSGBI0nurhtd4ahraoziennnirlaa2em0si0ea5–09 2010–14 2015–19
SCIENCE science.org 16 SEPTEMBER 2022 • VOL 377 ISSUE 6612 1243
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Energy budgets at the Dutch
IN DEPTH Low-Frequency Array are
stretched to the breaking point.
EUROPE
Europe’s energy crisis hits science hard
Supercomputing and accelerator centers struggle with surging gas and electricity prices
By Jacklin Kwan COVID-19 pandemic. Power stations that had bigger concern. If supplies are restricted, the
been shut down could not ramp up in time to facility may have to shut down again, for up
S oon after Jessica Dempsey became di- meet renewed demand, says Jonathan Stern, to 6 months—which would not only curtail
rector of the Netherlands Institute for who studies natural gas at the Oxford Insti- ongoing experiments for hundreds of users,
Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) in De- tute for Energy Studies. Russia’s invasion of but also delay calls for future ones, he says.
cember 2021, she was forced to focus Ukraine in February worsened the situation. “So, you’re effectively losing not 6 months,
not on the stars, but on the electric bill. Sanctions and Russian retaliation crimped but maybe 12, maybe even 18 months.”
ASTRON operates the Low-Frequency supplies of Russian natural gas, which gener- There’s a similar concern at DESY, Ger-
Array (LOFAR), which relies on large com- ates electricity and heats buildings, pushing many’s largest accelerator center. DESY has
puter clusters to process radio astronomy European gas prices to more than 10 times bought enough energy in advance to last into
data. They consume about 2000 megawatt- their average historical values. 2023 but might not be able to use those sup-
hours per year—the equivalent of 800 house- Early science casualties came in January, plies if the German government imposes na-
holds. When Dempsey sought to renew even before the Ukraine war, when Lumius, tional energy restrictions, says Wim Leemans,
ASTRON’s energy contracts this summer, she an energy contractor in the Czech Repub- who leads DESY’s accelerator programs.
was shocked to find costs had tripled from lic, declared bankruptcy, driving up energy Leemans says DESY is exploring options
2021 levels. She now plans to seek emergency prices for many Czech universities and re- to run its machines at lower energies. For
energy funding from the Dutch government; search facilities. IT4Innovations, a national example, it could turn down its synchrotron,
without it, she may have to scale back obser- supercomputing center, was compelled to a circular particle accelerator that produces
vations. “It’s certainly an existential crisis if run its most powerful supercomputer at one- bright x-rays for imaging proteins and mate-
these [price] increases continue,” she says. third of its capacity—creating delays for the rials, so that it only generates lower energy
Surging energy prices are hitting Europe 1500 users who used it for climate modeling “soft” x-rays. That way it could continue to
hard—and not just households. Institutes and drug discovery. ELI Beamlines, a Czech serve some users, he says. But its two large
that operate energy-hungry supercomputers, facility that hosts high-power laser beams, linear accelerators, used to produce laserlike
accelerators, and laser beamlines are also had to shut down operations for a few weeks. pulses of x-ray light, would need to be shut
struggling—and may be harbingers for the By May, the Czech government had agreed down completely if the restrictions are se-
rest of science. If prices continue to soar this to bail out both facilities until the end of vere. They rely on superconducting modules
fall and winter, “The impact for science is 2023, but their fate remains uncertain. that need constant power-hungry cooling,
N
going to be significant,” says Martin Freer, a Roman Hveˇzda, ELI Beamlines deputy direc- Leemans says. “We cannot say, ‘Well, we’re O
R
nuclear physicist who directs the University tor, worries the government will declare a only going to run some parts of the machine.’” R/AST
of Birmingham’s energy institute. state of emergency, which could restrict the Reducing operations would hurt impor- OFA
The primary cause of the crisis is a rebound gas the facility needs to heat its buildings. tant research, he adds. During the pandemic, O: L
from an economic slowdown during the But electricity to power the beamlines is the vaccinemaker BioNTech used DESY’s x-ray HOT
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NEWS
facilities to reveal how the SARS-CoV-2 virus COVID-19
uses its surface protein, spike, to dock with
Private venture tackles Long
human cells. Other DESY researchers study
materials used in solar panels and batteries.
“It will have ramifications for slowing down Covid, aims to test drugs soon
innovations, right at the moment when we
need them the most,” Leemans says.
Big legacy machines may be hard to re-
Initiative to explore whether coronavirus lingers in patients
start after a shutdown, adds Anke-Susanne
Müller, who heads accelerator physics and
technology at the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology. Turning off vacuums may dam- By Jennifer Couzin-Frankel NIH said in a statement it welcomes the
age delicate systems, stopping the flow of private initiative because “the public can
water in cooling systems may cause corro- A new, privately funded venture an- only benefit from multiple research efforts.”
sion, and older control electronics might nounced last week has recruited more However, NIH also called RECOVER “un-
not turn on again. “If you suddenly switch than 20 top scientists and is pouring precedented” in scale and crucial to giving
a component off, they might not easily come $15 million raised so far into Long researchers “a fighting chance at identifying
back,” she says. Covid research. It plans to explore the underlying mechanisms of Long COVID.”
CERN, the world’s largest particle physics whether lingering virus causes symp- LCRI was born after several patient ad-
laboratory, in Switzerland, is also nervously toms and to launch clinical trials as soon vocates with Long Covid and a professional
watching the energy crisis unfold. CERN as possible. The scientist who spearheaded background in technology startups ap-
purchases energy from the French grid years the Long Covid Research Initiative (LCRI), proached Proal early this year. “The enormity
in advance, but now the concern is supply. microbiologist Amy Proal at the nonprofit of the problem really outweighs the size of
“For this autumn, it is not a price issue, it’s PolyBio Research Foundation, says the goal the response,” says one, Henry Scott-Green,
an availability issue,” says Serge Claudet, is to bring in $100 million, with half of that a Google product manager. The Centers for
chair of CERN’s energy management panel. going to trials. Disease Control and Prevention estimates
CERN uses 1.3 terawatt-hours of energy That sum will still be dwarfed by the behe- that nearly one in five people who contracted
annually, roughly the equivalent of 250,000 moth RECOVER initiative at the National In- COVID-19 may have persistent symptoms,
households. French energy authorities might stitutes of Health (NIH), which has more than which can include fatigue and brain fog.
order CERN to not operate at times when $1 billion to fund Long Covid projects. But So far, LCRI has received $15 million from
the electric grid is least stable—typically RECOVER has come under fire for its slug- investors including the Chan Soon-Shiong
mornings and evenings. If frequent, those gish pace. Proal and others say new strategies Family Foundation; more commitments are
requests could significantly reduce CERN’s are needed to distribute funds faster and to expected soon, Proal says. That first batch of
data output, Claudet says. He says CERN embrace higher risk, higher payoff research. funding will support basic research by partic-
may have to shut down smaller accelerators “We need a spark, we need a philan- ipating scientists. They will focus on whether
in order to sustain the Large Hadron Col- thropic organization that has a risk toler- SARS-CoV-2 persists in Long Covid patients
lider, the world’s most powerful accelerator. ance much greater than NIH,” says E. John and drives their symptoms. Studies include
Even with energy procured for the short Wherry, an immunologist at the University a hunt for virus in intestinal, nerve, vascular,
term, Claudet says CERN’s budgets will be of Pennsylvania who is part of LCRI and has and other tissues, including those procured
stretched to pay for it. “This is a financial advised on RECOVER grants. Wherry com- from autopsies. Researchers will also dig
concern because the energy prices on the pares NIH money to the bonds in an inves- deep into immune cell behavior that may re-
market are very high, up to 10 times higher.” tor’s portfolio—“lumbering, slow-changing flect viral persistence.
Stern predicts it will take at least 2 years things that give you the core of what you If virus lingers in the body, antiviral thera-
for prices to fall to typical levels. Meanwhile, need.” But sometimes, “bonds are not going pies might reduce symptoms. Proal hopes the
peak prices will depend on the severity of to be the tool you use,” he says. collaborative can soon begin clinical trials
Europe’s winter and whether Asian coun- of such therapies, and that its scientists can
tries bid against Europe for global supplies nail down the kind of biomarkers drug com-
of liquid natural gas. Stern says it’s unclear panies crave for assessing a candidate treat-
whether governments will keep research ment, such as immune signatures or other
labs afloat, or prioritize aiding industry. measures in blood.
Smaller research laboratories in universities NIH has said that it, too, expects to launch
may be left to fend for themselves, he says. several Long Covid trials this fall. Those in-
Freer warns of real-world consequences. volved in LCRI—and often RECOVER as well—
He gives the example of accelerators at Bir- stress they want to complement each other,
R POST miminaggihnagm— pthroagt rparmosd utchea ti swotooupleds efoitrh emr endieceadl nano t LwCoRrkI amt ecrmobsse rp uarnpdo sens.e uDraovpihdy sPiuotlorignisot,
VE to be suspended, run at a loss, or pass on at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
N
HE DE their costs to local hospitals. “It’s going to be Sinai who is also on a RECOVER sub-
G/T a challenging time to get through,” he says. committee, has criticized the NIH initiative
AN “It may mean, like with COVID, there will be but now hopes at least for détente. “No mat-
H
G C a hiatus in science programs.” j ter … what’s gone before, we need to swallow
N
OU our pride and work together.” j
HY
O: Jacklin Kwan is a science communications graduate
HOT student at Imperial College London. An 18-year-old hospitalized with Long Covid. With reporting by Jocelyn Kaiser.
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McMurdo Station “is the training ground for bad
behavior,” according to a new report.
momentum in the fall of 2019, after a rape
survivor began sharing her story with col-
leagues. The survivor’s courage, Grundberg
says, “led to other people being brave, too.
And so I sat in my office for days, and had
person after person after person come and
talk to me.”
Grundberg and the Ice Allies compiled a
folder of more than two dozen cases, which
they forwarded to NSF after removing identi-
fying features and getting the survivors’ per-
mission. At the same time, the woman who
had come forward about her rape started to
receive unfavorable performance reviews.
Within weeks she was fired and flown home.
Those events compelled the Ice Allies to
emerge from the shadows. In early 2020 they
set up a table outside the dining room in the
station’s main building to collect signatures
on a petition urging NSF and the contractors
to take sexual harassment more seriously.
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY It asked for better training, a clear channel
for reporting assaults, psychological support
U.S. Antarctic Program has
for survivors, and evidence that disciplinary
actions had been taken when warranted. “It
ignored sexual harassment is inexcusable that such a forward-looking
institution”—referring to NSF—has “fallen
behind in taking such common-sense mea-
sures,” the petition concluded.
Decades of complaints have gone unheeded by NSF
More than 200 people signed the petition.
and contractors managing operations, employees say Stephanie Short, NSF’s head of Antarctic
logistics, says that plea and other informal
reports led NSF to commission the LDSS
By Jeffrey Mervis Science about their frustration with how report. “It was important to us not only to
sexual harassment has been allowed to fes- understand where the challenges were, but
W hen a report last month docu- ter. “The unwritten rule ever since I started where we needed to focus resources to start
mented pervasive sexual harass- in the 1990s has been to keep your mouth to address any challenges,” Short says.
ment in the U.S. Antarctic Program, shut … or you will be blacklisted,” says Elaine Grundberg also kept her Leidos bosses
many polar researchers and USAP Hood, who resigned in July after more than in the loop. “I wanted them to know that
employees said it confirmed their 20 years in corporate communications for a [sexual harassment] is a rampant problem
own experiences of being assaulted, series of lead contractors. down here,” she says. “And I wanted them to
ignored, and sometimes punished for speak- The report, by Leading and Dynamic Ser- explain what they were doing to address it.”
ing out. They also said the 25 August report vices and Solutions (LDSS), doesn’t quantify Grundberg says her barrage of emails and
wasn’t the first time the National Science the extent of the sexual misconduct but of- phone calls led superiors to decide she wasn’t
Foundation (NSF), which manages the pro- fers stark anecdotal accounts. “Every woman a team player. On 28 July 2020 Leidos sent
gram through contracts to private companies I knew down there had an assault or harass- her a memo saying she was being terminated
and commissioned the report, had been told ment experience,” one interviewee said. for “an inability to meet job expectations.”
about the problem. Since 2019, an informal and fluctuating Leidos declined comment. But Grundberg’s
“There are a million examples of guys be- network of USAP employees called the Ice former colleagues say her dismissal was a
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the program. “But what really pissed me off of discrimination against USAP employees— dos’s Michael Raabe, director of the ASC CH
was that leadership has spent the past 2 de- many of them young women in a culture contract, cited the company’s “deep con- RZE
WA
cades laughing it off and retaliating against dominated by older men. cern with the findings … and our commit- N
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anybody who has tried to make things better.” One veteran member of McMurdo lead- ment to ensuring all its [job] sites are a RSS
A
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lead contractor for the Antarctic Support station manager after many years working selves of “multiple reporting channels,” O: L
Contract (ASC) awarded by NSF. All told in Antarctica. The group’s efforts gained including Raabe himself, an anonymous HOT
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