Science - 2020 05 08

2020·35.13 MB·English

CONTENTS
577 Harnessing multiple models
for outbreak management
Expert elicitation methods and a structured
decision-making framework will help account
8 MAY 2020 • VOLUME 368 • ISSUE 6491 for risk and uncertainty By K. Shea et al.
PERSPECTIVES
580 Tree planting is not a
simple solution
Tree planting must be carefully planned and
implemented to achieve desired outcomes
By K. D. Holl and P. H. S. Brancalion
PODCAST
582 Quantum resonances near
absolute zero
Ultralow-energy atom-molecule
collisions reveal quasi-bound state quantum
resonances By T. Yang and X. Yang
REPORT p. 626
583 Closing the science gap in
3D metal printing
X-ray imaging and modeling reveal
how metal powders absorb energy and can
create defects By A. T. Polonsky and T. M. Pollock
REPORT p. 660
584 Sending copper where
it is needed most
Elesclomol improves survival in a mouse
564
model of Menkes disease By S. Lutsenko
REPORT p. 620
NEWS 566 Without fossil fuels, reactors 586 Drones become even
churn out chemicals more insect-like
Mosquitoes’ exceptional sensitivity
Prospects brighten for making fertilizer,
to sound and airflow inspires
plastics with solar and wind power
new collision avoidance technology
ATL. IN BRIEF By R. F. Service By J. Young and M. Garratt
OC. N 558 News at a glance 567 Paperwork mistakes ensnare REPORT p. 634
R
GRAPHIC: V. ALTOUNIAN/SCIENCE; (IMAGES) W. SURYA ET AL., BIOCHIM. BIOPHYS. ACTA 1860, 1309 (2018); D. WRAPP ET AL., SCIENCE, 367, 1260 (2020); E. O. SAPHIRE ET AL., SCIENCE 293, 1155 (2001); M. D. HARTMANN, PACAD. SCI. U.S.A. 106, 16950 (2009); ORIENTATIONS OF PROTEINS IN MEMBRANES DATABASE I5gCCo5sSwB5sMpP5pPrBaNttOrryyraro6666ohoaieioiai ssmgDAni1246Gnl mscnpntleD itC. ’ s. en ae t N rtarGAaVCT-fAt doEes aepo tcthIhidphSpv bseoHacegrPoeerTeiepb u o cresalBu aa rTsoimddzlenrr rsy wnlfv naalezalruoHe yoretoaMsnselcstcfrw owrevcocd nieee.aifme ec o nr W’J adcitisysii nmrf.en tros a e e ciCrd ecormed rtceeooooeprh o mtsoa arumnplBiien dopoexnzaa eyrafuienen nsmn nsbioJvnm n mna-a di.arii mnFe v Cndr seitrpia cusida oapc nogracsns nshhprJtubln iotok oe.ooep siiedCrntblsonbreolieo aol zo isn hmnlbed ,aec s ehiintva ce moooil slrp ifsas us ivt ynaf shio rvg faruae itsrt IP5oPipBhGsfF5MitBnnooeupy7ry7eNeEOffore 4n rbe0mlaCoE uuvaAmtLl nl.. reiSesen itIsAgTPM nIintnnhnatshiseCreiUatc eIc chnpuenpid iYentecaTegnrGcRnuahs esgtenit t gserte i EuchF sda ti—msava HhremshnSlOuni eid ea onedpndii iRxnienstgc T srerAp pndor o eUorgnto.sce fv pshfmBreSoybMeore oaesroctit uaaanlot s ihpnheysnretmoceoe adnsslrhxonbe t oyBif t ns igasiuf syonebo tcuk gcJsme arehtnh.it mt sebeMbioett nlrraw ueeia nccjtrgloiievetnsorbeidp,o sndr—giuisrraeenu sdg sefo f fro rts 5MpR5dTmB5GmB5Aw5AoBuflEyye 99988rhapsOi eam ocPat32179BNicnattceruvO O ah i . .tono he icKTnTAC-TRsPeardfnl Kotdtha lw.haiT mn eufkgiacwKbs teeoS ieepmireschaheldra onu’. iu s ceat rclsewiirE6wm iedcceylahei cdrt4irans Tt ckmulpiaiui ig9lhan snta ir lrl ncn eui nn peleBAeragdpaegri’ t,otn yh yt dJLrnn Bi wc sd UenltfNtoeogcy.ies ihep.a Pv.h cSmee Stae.Jtalme niiro .Dh..v mrao msossMG eei.elf ec npoPisod a u .tsxwp. ela nus Mf yna Pi haaca tB s i boah (pvecnoyrayt1lnialeia cndte rvtpy9Sr rootdodcn oi r.tii1dm s lo aaoshJtKa 8 fyheinngpe. oa– srnc,rP ora tly2aa.te ri bnArmmh0ntreir tded2sskaih ansc k0iecmtgira t)se aiorcelefa n ing
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 8 MAY 2020 • VOL 368 ISSUE 6491 547
Published by AAAS
CONTENTS
SPECIAL SECTION
EARLY LIFE IMMUNOLOGY
INTRODUCTION ON THE COVER
598 The immune system’s first steps
Illustrated mosaic of
a mother with child,
REVIEWS
assembled from
600 Prenatal development
various immune cell
of human immunity J.-E. Park et al.
types. The develop-
604 Microbial–host molecular ing immune system
interacts with and is
exchange and its functional
influenced by several
consequences in early mammalian life
factors, including
S. C. Ganal-Vonarburg et al.
the mother’s cells (and her commensal
608 Contributions of maternal and microbiota) in utero and after birth. This
fetal antiviral immunity in congenital special issue celebrates recent advances
disease L. J. Yockey et al. in early life immunology, which will help
inform strategies to combat both child-
612 Vaccination strategies to hood infections and immune disorders
enhance immunity in neonates in later life. See page 598.
T. R. Kollmann et al. Illustration: Charis Tsevis
LETTERS REPORTS 654 Asteroids
594 Research opportunities 626 Ultracold chemistry Sample collection from asteroid
in pandemic lockdown Imaging the onset of the resonance (162173) Ryugu by Hayabusa2: Implications
By R. Saraswat and D. A. Saraswat regime in low-energy NO-He collisions for surface evolution T. Morota et al.
T. de Jongh et al.
595 The inherent challenges of 660 3D printing
PERSPECTIVE p. 582
classifying senescence Controlling interdependent
By A. Zhavoronkov 630 Coronavirus meso-nanosecond dynamics and
A highly conserved cryptic epitope defect generation in metal
595 Response in the receptor binding domains of 3D printing S. A. Khairallah et al.
By S. R. G. Calimport et al. SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV PERSPECTIVE p. 583
M. Yuan et al.
596 Technical Comment abstracts 665 Chemical physics
634 Bioinspired robots Intermolecular vibrational energy
Aerodynamic imaging by mosquitoes transfer enabled by microcavity
RESEARCH inspires a surface detector strong light–matter coupling
for autonomous flying vehicles B. Xiang et al.
T. Nakata et al.
PERSPECTIVE p. 586
IN BRIEF DEPARTMENTS
638 Coronavirus
616 From Science and other journals 551 Editorial
An investigation of transmission
Combination prevention for COVID-19
control measures during the first 50 days
RESEARCH ARTICLES of the COVID-19 epidemic in China By Myron S. Cohen and Lawrence Corey
619 Coronavirus H. Tian et al.
553 Editorial
Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 transmission
suggests epidemic control with digital 642 Colloids Beat COVID-19 through innovation
By Pierre Azoulay and Benjamin Jones
contact tracing L. Ferretti et al. Emergence of complexity in
RESEARCH ARTICLE SUMMARY; FOR FULL TEXT: hierarchically organized chiral particles
674 Working Life
DX.DOI.ORG/10.1126/SCIENCE.ABB6936 W. Jiang et al.
A Ph.D. on hold—indefinitely
620 Biomedicine 649 Synthetic biology By Kara Fikrig
Elesclomol alleviates Menkes pathology and Light-powered CO fixation in a chloroplast
OCK mortality by escorting Cu to cuproenzymes in mimic with natura2l and synthetic parts Science Staff .............................................550
RST mice L. M. Guthrie et al. T. E. Miller et al. New Products ............................................669
UTTE PERSPECTIVE p. 584 PERSPECTIVE p. 587 Science Careers .........................................670
H
07/S
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SCIENCE sciencemag.org 8 MAY 2020 • VOL 368 ISSUE 6491 549
Published by AAAS
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550 8 MAY 2020 • VOL 368 ISSUE 6491 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
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EDITORIAL
Combination prevention for COVID-19
T
he coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pan- tiviral agents reduce the HIV viral load to a point where Myron S. Cohen
demic has produced the fear and disorder inevi- infected people no longer transmit. This approach, which is a professor in
tably provoked by emerging pathogens. As such, uses combinations of powerful antiretroviral agents, is the Department of
it should also inspire consideration of our expe- now the mainstay of HIV prevention worldwide. Medicine, Division of
rience with HIV over the past 40 years. As with For SARS-CoV-2, we have leapt into a cacophony of Infectious Diseases,
HIV, the road to reducing infections with severe clinical trials of drug candidates with differing degrees and The Institute for
acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS- of plausibility. Preliminary results from a large ran-
Global Health and
CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19), and attendant morbidity domized controlled trial show that the antiviral drug
Infectious Diseases at
and mortality, requires medical and nonmedical strate- remdesivir substantially reduced the duration of hos-
the University of North
gies. The most important lesson learned from tackling pitalization for COVID-19. To date, COVID-19 testing
Carolina at Chapel
HIV is to use a combination of prevention strategies. results have been used primarily for patient isolation,
Hill, Chapel Hill, NC,
The first step to stopping the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has contact tracing, and quarantine. But effective therapies
USA. mscohen@med.
already been taken—behavioral changes. This reflects a will lend great urgency for the universal availability of
unc.edu
rapid but imperfect understanding of the transmission rapid and reliable testing for SARS-CoV-2 infection, so
of this virus. At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, that treatment can be provided when indicated.
Lawrence Corey
changes in sexual behavior, condom promotion, and gov- Long-acting antiviral agents and monoclonal anti-
ernment interventions (closing “hotspots” of HIV trans- bodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2 may become impor- is a professor in
mission such as bathhouses) made tant nonvaccine pharmacologic tools the Vaccine and
a difference. For SARS-CoV-2, masks for prevention. Antiviral agents that Infectious Disease
and gloves, hand hygiene, and “shel- “HIV has taught prevent replication of SARS-CoV-2 Division at the
ter in place” mandates have already could be used as pre-, peri-, or postex- Fred Hutchinson
demonstrated benefits. More efficient posure prophylaxis. Several different Cancer Research
us that multiple
behavioral intervention requires bet- potent monoclonal antibody combi- Center, Seattle, WA,
ter understanding of the rules govern- nations designed to treat and prevent and a Professor of
concomitant
ing SARS-CoV-2 transmission. What SARS-CoV-2 will enter clinical trials Laboratory Medicine
are the risks from exposure to respi- in June 2020. and Medicine at
prevention
ratory droplets, airborne virus, and Ultimately, a safe and effective the University of
surface contamination? What concen- vaccine is crucial for preventing Washington, Seattle,
strategies are
tration of SARS-CoV-2 is required for COVID-19. Vaccine efforts started
WA, USA. lcorey@
transmission? Evidence suggests that immediately after the discovery
fredhutch.org
essential.”
SARS-CoV-2 transmission is greatest of SARS-CoV-2. Numerous vaccine
very early in infection prior to devel- candidates have been identified, and
opment of symptoms—the same les- early-phase vaccine studies of several
sons learned from HIV. Given this rule are underway. Proof of vaccine efficacy
of transmission, biomedical prevention strategies that will require large trials with 6000 to 12,000 participants
provide reliable protection become essential. And as has or more in each study. Because SARS-CoV-2 is moving
proven true for HIV, directing prevention to people at the around the planet, clinical research teams must prepare
highest risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection or the worst disease for trials where incident infections occur (a sufficient “at-
outcomes will be an important consideration. tack rate”). We cannot predict the time of availability or
Historically, antiviral therapies that reduce the severity degree of efficacy of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine with precision,
of infection have preceded the development of biomedi- but most trials in development are designed to demon-
cal approaches to prevent onward transmission (although strate 60 or 70% prevention efficacy, not 100% protection.
interruption of viral replication also offers a prevention HIV has taught us that multiple concomitant preven-
benefit). The first HIV treatment, azidothymidine (AZT), tion strategies are essential. Behavioral changes to reduce
extended life by up to 18 months, providing hope that HIV SARS-CoV-2 spread must be accepted as the “new nor-
infection could be transformed from a death sentence mal.” The COVID-19 toolbox must include safe and effec-
to a treatable disease. Reduced risk of mother-to-child tive interventions whose values have been proven through
transmission by AZT was the first biomedical prevention robust scientific methods honed over decades. Ongoing
against HIV transmission. This success was the precur- research in each prevention domain must be sustained.
sor to “pre-exposure prophylaxis.” AZT also launched We simply cannot depend on any single “magic bullet.”
research focused on “treatment as prevention” where an- –Myron S. Cohen and Lawrence Corey
10.1126/science.abc5798
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EDITORIAL
Beat COVID-19 through innovation
A
s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread, In the United States, funding for R&D must be fortified, Pierre Azoulay
public health and economic well-being are in- as recently called for by the Task Force on American In- is a professor at
creasingly in conflict. Governments are prioritiz- novation and 17 other organizations. Also, a principal in- the Sloan School
ing public health, but the current solution—social vestigator already receiving public funding should be able of Management at
isolation—is costly as commerce remains shut to receive immediate support to work on COVID-19 with the Massachusetts
down. Restarting economies could rekindle the minimal application burden and decisions within 1 week. Institute of
pandemic and cause even worse human suffering. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has taken some
Technology,
Innovation can help societies escape the untenable choice first steps with emergency procedures to supplement ex-
Cambridge, MA,
between public and economic health. The world needs isting grants, but these efforts need to draw on additional
USA, and a research
effective vaccines, therapies, or other solutions. But how labs and talent, and to accelerate review. The marginal
associate at the
do we achieve these solutions, and achieve them quickly? investment through the NIH, at $3 billion, appears mod-
National Bureau of
Innovation policy can accelerate advances, with est in size, equating to the U.S. GDP loss in just 4 hours.
Economic Research,
high returns. In the United States, COVID-19 has re- Globally, researchers with relevant expertise are essential
Cambridge, MA, USA.
duced gross domestic product (GDP) by ~30%. What workers; they should have access to their labs and addi-
[email protected]
if additional investment in research and development tional resources to engage in the COVID-19 battle.
(R&D) could bring forward an effective vaccine by just Government support for private sector R&D should
Benjamin Jones
1 day? If this investment costs less than the daily loss in be delivered at great speed. A “Pandemic R&D Program”
is a professor at
GDP ($18 billion in the United States could deploy loans that are forgivable
alone), it would pay for itself. Even later, based on actual investment in the Kellogg School
large incremental funding to support COVID-19–related innovations, thus of Management
“COVID-19
R&D will be miniscule in scale com- ensuring that financial constraints do at Northwestern
pared to the $2.8 trillion the U.S. gov- not slow down solutions. More sup- University,
presents...
ernment is spending to compensate port could come through supplement- Evanston, IL, USA,
for the economic shutdown. ing the R&D tax credit system, which and a research
a brutal choice
What principles should guide gov- already exists in the United States and associate at the
ernment innovation policy to battle other countries. National Bureau of
between
COVID-19? It is critical to support In June 1940, the U.S. government Economic Research,
many independent avenues of re- created the National Defense Re- Cambridge,
search. Outcomes from R&D invest- economic and search Committee (NDRC), composed MA, USA.
ments are uncertain. Many avenues of eminent scientists and innovators bjones@kellogg.
will be dead ends, so many different public health.” in the public and private sectors, with
northwestern.edu
paths—each corresponding to an in- the mandate to achieve innovations
dependent effort—should be pursued. related to the war effort. This leader-
Consider funding 10,000 such efforts. ship structure drove the rapid devel-
Even if each had only a 0.1% chance of producing an ad- opment of numerous technologies, including weapons
vance in prevention, treatment, or infection control, the systems but also antimalarial drugs and penicillin man-
probability of at least five such advances would be 97%. ufacturing. A COVID-19 Defense Research Committee
By contrast, if efforts crowd into only a few prospects, could similarly be empowered to coordinate and fund
the odds of collective failure can become overwhelming. solutions to the pandemic. This group would track R&D
This innovative push must draw widely on talent. Re- efforts, create a public clearinghouse documenting the
search talent is plentiful, but many laboratories and teams avenues pursued, fund innovations and the scaling of
are now shuttered and dispersed by the pandemic. Private successful advances, and streamline bureaucracy. The
investment gravitates toward marketable solutions, but new vaccine effort, Operation Warp Speed, moves in
key insights are likely to come from asking “why” ques- this direction. But we also need efforts beyond vaccines.
tions (for example, basic research into the pathophysiol- COVID-19 presents the world with a brutal choice be-
ogy of the disease) and not simply from “shovel ready” tween economic and public health. Innovation invest-
drug development projects. Moreover, good ideas often ments are essential to avoiding that choice—yet tiny in
come from unexpected corners. Useful solutions may be cost compared to current economic losses and other
discovered outside biomedicine, including through engi- emergency programs. Even the slight acceleration of
neering disciplines and information technology. advances will bring massive benefits.
What would a bold innovation policy agenda look like? –Pierre Azoulay and Benjamin Jones
10.1126/science.abc5792
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NEWS
Physicians, nurses, and police officers in Mumbai, India, are showered with flower petals by helicopter on 3 May to thank them for handling the country’s COVID-19 cases.
IN BRIEF Edited by Erik Stokstad
DISPATCHES FROM THE PANDEMIC
NIH funds new COVID-19 tests Oxford researchers. The Oxford COVID-19 including closing schools and restricting
Government Response Tracker project has travel. The Oxford group is also tracking
DIAGNOSTICS | The U.S. National Institutes charted the “stringency” of governments’ progress on steps needed to safely lift offi- KER
C
of Health (NIH) has announced a $1.5 bil- responses to the pandemic since January. cial lockdowns, such as adequate capacity RA
lion initiative to speed breakthroughs in The composite score, updated regularly, is to detect and isolate all cases of COVID- SE T
N
diagnostic tests for the virus that causes based on various social distancing policies, 19 regardless of severity. As of 1 May, no PO
COVID-19. Proposals can use any technol- NT RES
ogy to detect an active infection and will be Behind the curve ME
N
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speed, reliability, and accuracy—and ease it continued to impose laxer restrictions than other nations that had reached similar numbers. D-19
of use, for example by detecting the virus COVI
D
in saliva or exhaled breath. NIH is already China South Korea United States Germany United Kingdom Italy OR
arocucegphtliyn 1g0 p0r odpiaogsnaolss taincsd perxopjeeccttss tfoor a uppp rtoov e 100 DATA) OXF
three rounds of development, officials said CE; (
last week. NIH anticipates backing a handful 80 As of 29 February CIEN
of those projects to full commercial develop- As of 31 March 31 March: 164,620 U/S
mcaepnatc.i tTyh feo rp rtoesgtrianmg uapim tos t1o0 0in-fcorleda bsey tlhatee U .S. dex HIC) X. LI
saCm10ute o mntmnhtmeeeilyr leU, i ryoin.son Bius vtuk eegetrsi psAvtistetl iya acm na owl efW. e;P“ eIIeik’ tlmdlt sbso ,bny nau o’N trdt g coigaahvogr eiMenmn ohgebsdo tetwioircc. ” ashm lae uvxecp he rt Stringency in 6400 30 April: 1,039,909 ADE/AP PHOTO; (GRAP
K
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20 SH
Stringency of U.S. response lags ANI
AJ
R
POLICY | The United States leads the world 0 OTO)
in COVID-19 cases, but its policy response PH
lags far behind many other countries, 1 10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 DITS: (
according to an analysis by University of Reported COVID-19 cases CRE
558 8 MAY 2020 • VOL 368 ISSUE 6491 sciencemag.org SCIENCE
Published by AAAS
country had satisfied the criteria recom- ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
mended by the World Health Organization.
Northern Europe braces for drought
Only about 20 are close, the researchers
said, and that group does not include the
United States, where several states last week N orthern Europe is facing a drought for the third year in a row. In
began to ease their lockdowns.
April, across much of Germany, no measurable rain fell until the
last few days of the month. In the Netherlands, 2020 is on track
Museums seek pandemic artifacts
to be worse than the record-setting drought year of 1976. In the
HISTORY OF SCIENCE | The COVID-19 Czech Republic, authorities are warning of the worst drought
pandemic is a long way from being history,
in 500 years. Meteorologists are hoping for rain, but even a wet
but museums in multiple countries are
summer won’t be enough to relieve the stress on the region’s forests,
already interested in preserving images,
publications, and artifacts chronicling German experts said at a press briefing on 5 May. Because the soil is so
the outbreak. Curators hope to document dry, heavy rains run off and can’t replenish groundwater supplies. With
daily life during the lockdown by preserv-
climate change expected to increase temperature and dryness, farmers
ing masks, information signs, and other
and foresters should plant crops and tree species that are better suited
pandemic paraphernalia. The five member
institutions of the Science Museum Group to long-term dry and hot conditions, they said.
in the United Kingdom have launched
a search for items related to COVID-19
research, medical treatment, and the public
health response. Those museums began Epstein’s Harvard ties detailed flashing beacon, both filed in 2018. The
their hunt in March, before they closed for language in U.S. patent laws and federal
social distancing, and have taken care not #METOO | Harvard University main- regulations assumes an inventor is a
to distract health care workers, accord- tained a campus office for disgraced person, the patent office noted in its rul-
ing to a statement released last week. The financier Jeffrey Epstein after his 2008 ing, which followed similar decisions in
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum conviction on sex charges involv- Europe and the United Kingdom. On its
of American History, meanwhile, is develop- ing a minor, according to a report website, AIP argues that interpretation
ing its own plan for amassing a pandemic the university released on 1 May. forces humans to falsely take credit for
collection. Have something to donate? You It estimates Epstein made more conceptions made by machine.
can reach Science Museum Curators at than 40 visits to the office maintained
[email protected] for him by quantitative biologist Nearest black hole found
and the Smithsonian at [email protected]. Martin Nowak, whose Program for
Evolutionary Dynamics received ASTRONOMY | The closest black hole to
Antiviral drug shows promise $6.5 million from Epstein before the Earth has been found 1000 light-years
conviction. In 2008, Harvard pro- away—just down the road in galactic
CLINICAL RESEARCH | The experimen- hibited researchers from accepting terms. Only a few dozen black holes in
tal drug remdesivir accelerated recovery further donations from him. But the our galaxy have revealed themselves
from COVID-19 in the first large, carefully report says Epstein introduced Nowak by gorging on gas and dust that glow
controlled clinical trial of patients hospital- and George Church, a geneticist in x-rays. But theorists think hundreds
ized with the disease. Remdesivir, made by at Harvard Medical School, to donors of millions more are hidden from view,
Gilead Sciences, cripples a viral enzyme. who between 2010 and 2015 gave simply because they emit no light. In
Patients who received the drug recovered them $7.5 million and $2 million, recent years, astronomers have found
from COVID-19 in an average of 11 days respectively. (The donors deny that candidates by looking for stars that
versus 15 in patients who received a placebo, Epstein directed their donations.) In wobble, pulled by an invisible orbit-
according to the National Institute of Allergy 2013, the report says, several faculty ing companion. Using this technique,
and Infectious Diseases, the trial’s sponsor. members asked Harvard to consider researchers studying the nearby system
The patients treated with remdesivir also accepting Epstein donations again, but HR 6819, which consists of two binary
had a lower mortality rate—8% versus 11.6% their request was declined. stars, this week announced a third
for the placebo—but this trend did not reach partner—a black hole weighing four
statistical significance. The study began on AI can’t be named inventor times the mass of the Sun. The next
21 February and enrolled 1063 patients at nearest confirmed black hole is three
68 sites in the United States, Europe, and ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | A computer times farther.
Asia. “It’s a promising signal, but we do program cannot be named an inventor,
not need to get hyperexcited—this is not a the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Polymath Robert May dies
home run,” says Carlos del Rio, an infectious affirmed last week. The office denied a
disease clinician at Emory University, which final appeal by patent lawyers with the IN MEMORIUM | Robert May, a physi-
participated in the trial. On 1 May, the U.S. international Artificial Inventor Project cist whose career spanned ecology,
Food and Drug Administration authorized (AIP) to name DABUS, an artificial math, and public policy, has died at
emergency use of remdesivir for severe cases. intelligence program developed by age 84. Raised in Australia, May began
researcher Stephen Thaler. It was listed his career studying superconductivity
SCIENCEMAG.ORG/TAGS/CORONAVIRUS as inventor in a pair of patent applica- at the University of Sydney. Later, at
Read additional Science coverage of the pandemic. tions for interlocking canisters and a Princeton University and the University
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 8 MAY 2020 • VOL 368 ISSUE 6491 559
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NEWS | IN BRIEF
of Oxford, he made major contributions Did cattle semen revive disease? Genes trace ancient Andeans
in epidemiology and population ecology,
including showing how, contrary to intu- ANIMAL HEALTH | An epidemic of blue- ANCIENT DNA | The most comprehensive
ition, diverse ecosystems can be unstable. tongue disease that has been ravaging study of ancient human DNA from South
May served as a blunt-spoken science European sheep and cattle since 2015 may America paints a broad picture of genetic
adviser to the U.K. government from 1995 have been caused by infected semen used continuity in the face of cultural change. An
to 2000, when controversy over geneti- in cattle breeding. The livestock virus international team studied DNA from the
cally modified crops was rife and during mysteriously turned up in Europe for the remains of 89 individuals who lived between
an outbreak of mad cow disease. May was first time in 2006, sparking an outbreak 9000 and 500 years ago and were part of the
president of the Royal Society from 2000 that cost farmers billions of euros until Inca, Moche, and other ancient societies in
to 2005, and he served for 10 years on the vaccinations ended it 4 years later. But South America. The researchers found that
U.K. Committee on Climate Change. the disease re-emerged in 2015. Now, people of the Central Andes—what is primar-
researchers report in PLOS Biology that ily Peru today—became isolated 9000 years
the genome of the virus currently circu- ago and remained genetically distinct. Even
THREE QS
lating is remarkably like some samples during the rise and fall of several cultures
A forensics sequel collected before 2010. Because the virus over the past 2000 years, this group, centered
mutates when it circulates, that simi- in the Andean highlands, was not replaced
A 5-year-old initiative to bring greater larity suggests the virus was frozen for by new groups, the team reports this week
statistical rigor to crime laboratory years—most likely in semen. EU regula- in Cell. That genetic stability contrasts with
analysis of fingerprints, shoeprints, and tions require that semen be tested for tumultuous events in Eurasia at this time,
other forensic evidence has won bluetongue when it is shipped between where genetic studies have found evidence of
$20 million in funding from the National countries, but not when used domestically. repeated invasions and replacements.
Institute of Standards and Technology to
continue its work for another 5 years. The
Center for Statistics and Applications in Red-sided garter
Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) includes more snakes hang out
than 60 researchers from six universities. after emerging from
Director Alicia Carriquiry, a statistician at hibernation.
Iowa State University, told Science about
her vision for the center’s second chapter.
Q: What has changed since
the center launched?
A: I think the community of practitioners
has come to understand that, first of all,
we’re not here to tell them they’re doing
everything wrong. We’re here to see
whether we can help them do their job
better, and develop tools for them to use.
Q: Which advances make you proudest?
A: We’ve built enormous databases
that are carefully constructed, very well
documented, and searchable, and we’ve
put all these data in the public domain.
For example, one of the databases has
250,000 images of the bottoms of shoes.
We have some pretty good algorithms to
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
look at the question of source—do these
two pieces of evidence have a common A common snake buddies up
source? CSAFE 2.0 is going to try to start
S nakes and other reptiles are considered solitary creatures that come together
some serious piloting [in forensic labs].
for mating and hibernating but not much else. Garter snakes tend to be a lot
Q: Could forensic scientists eventually more social, comparative psychologists have discovered. Some of these harm-
take charge of their own statistics? less American serpents are extroverts and prefer large groups, whereas others
A: We can always dream! At the very tend to be loners, Noam Miller and his graduate student Morgan Skinner at RES
least, you want forensic scientists to be Wilfrid Laurier University reported last month inBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. CTU
cognizant of issues such as uncertainty, And many individual garter snakes have “friends”—snakes they spend much of their N PI
the need to measure variability … and time with—the pair found. Because snakes are difficult to track in the wild, Skinner MINDE
tphoein nto wtihoenr eo fy poruo mbaabyi lnitoy.t I uf nwdee grestta tnod t hheo w mtraocnkitinogre hdo ywo uthnegy e aarsrtaenrgne gda trhteerm ssnealkveess (aTfthearm hne orpeshhisu sffirletadl itsh seiirrt aploiss)it iino nasn tewniccleo sau re, ORDEY/
to do statistics, but you understand why day. The social structures of the snakes “are in some ways surprisingly similar to UW C
statistics is important, I think that would those of mammals, including humans,” Skinner says. O: H
OT
be a good place. H
P
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IN DEPTH
Researchers with the EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology took samples from bats in southern China in order to identify viruses that might harm humans.
COVID-19
NIH move to ax bat coronavirus grant draws fire
Controversy comes amid global calls for China to allow independent probe of virus origins
By Meredith Wadman and Jon Cohen derstanding the current pandemic and pre- grant. About $600,000 went to Shi to col-
venting futures ones, says Gerald Keusch, a lect blood, urine, and other samples from
T he research community is reacting former director of NIH’s Fogarty Interna- bats in China and to sequence viruses found
with alarm and anger to the National tional Center who is now at Boston Univer- in them, with the goal of identifying corona-
Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) abrupt sity. Other researchers note that work done viruses that might infect humans. (Shi’s
decision to kill a grant that helped on the canceled grant allowed testing of the team has amassed some 15,000 samples
support research in China on how antiviral drug remdesivir, which is showing from bats.) The funding enabled blood test-
coronaviruses—such as the one caus- promise in treating COVID-19. ing of people who live near bat caves in
ing the current COVID-19 pandemic—move NIH would not comment on why it can- southern China, revealing that nearly 3% of
from bats to humans. celed the grant to the EcoHealth Alliance, them had been infected with coronaviruses
The unusual 24 April move occurred a nonprofit in New York City that originating in bats.
shortly after President Donald Trump runs global research collabora- The project also produced re-
alleged—without providing evidence—that tions. But in emails reviewed by Science’s search tools, including genetic se-
the pandemic virus had escaped from a Science, Michael Lauer, NIH’s COVID-19 quences of two coronaviruses that
Chinese laboratory supported by the NIH deputy director for extramural re- coverage have now been used to test rem-
is supported
grant, and vowed to end the funding. The search, suggested the Wuhan Insti- desivir. “Our work on remdesivir
by the
episode came as calls mounted for China tute of Virology (WIV), a partner absolutely would not have moved
Pulitzer Center.
to allow an independent investigation, per- on the grant, had not “taken all ap- forward” without the alliance’s
haps led by the United Nations. “The whole propriate precautions to prevent the release research, says virologist Mark Denison of
world wants the exact origin of the virus to of pathogens.” He also wrote that the grant Vanderbilt University, who launched the
be clarified,” German Minister of Foreign did not “align” with NIH priorities. But NIH studies that led to the drug’s current use.
Affairs Heiko Maas said on 4 May. offered no support for either statement, and In 2019, the grant was renewed after
Many scientists are skeptical of the labo- Lauer called claims that the pandemic virus receiving an outstanding score from peer
ratory escape theory, and the Chinese viro- had escaped from WIV just “allegations.” reviewers. The researchers received an ad-
logist at the heart of the allegation rejects The termination disrupts a long-standing ditional $292,000, none of which went to
CE the idea. Critics of NIH’s decision, mean- collaboration. For 15 years, the grant’s prin- Shi, Daszak says. The team planned to do
AN while, say it represents an unacceptable in- cipal investigator, EcoHealth Alliance Presi- more human, wildlife, and lab-based stud-
ALLI trusion of politics into the agency’s grants dent Peter Daszak, has collaborated with Shi ies to pinpoint hot spots in southern China
H
ALT process and possibly violated its rules. Zhengli, a leading WIV virologist, to study where the risk is highest for a bat corona-
OHE “This is a horrible precedent” and “the bat coronaviruses. In 2014, the National virus to jump to humans. “The reason our
C
O: E most counterproductive thing I could Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant was renewed for 5 years is because
HOT imagine” given the work’s relevance to un- awarded the alliance a $3.1 million, 5-year our work is so important,” Daszak says.
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SCIENCE sciencemag.org 8 MAY 2020 • VOL 368 ISSUE 6491 561
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