Volume 518 Issue 7540, 26 February 2015

Details of a climate-change sceptic’s links to the energy industry make worrying reading.

The use of technologies that objectively measure pain must be carefully monitored.

For science to realize its potential in the Muslim world, attitudes need to change at a societal level, not just an individual one, says Dyna Rochmyaningsih.

Researchers online react to a survey showing mixed feelings about news and social media.

The week in science: Head of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change resigns; Europe’s graphene project is on track; new killer virus discovered in United States.

UK launches effort to track children from birth, months after US counterpart closes.

London biomedical powerhouse fears that proposed route will disrupt delicate science experiments.

DeepMind computer provides new way to investigate how the brain works.

Guidelines should assist in diagnosis of brain disease seen in retired American footballers.

Graphical guide to the NASA missions that will provide the first close looks at Ceres and Pluto.

Leslie and Eliot Young have spent their lives studying Pluto. Now they are gearing up for the biggest event of their careers.

Brain-scanning techniques promise to give an objective measure of whether someone is in pain, but researchers question whether they are reliable enough for the courtroom.

Establish principles for rapid and responsible data sharing in epidemics, urge Nathan L. Yozwiak, Stephen F. Schaffner and Pardis C. Sabeti.

Charles Seife digs into three studies of the wild new world of big data.

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

Andrew Robinson finds that a study of arid places and their peoples reveals untold riches.

Geochemist who quantified the carbon cycle.

An artificial-intelligence system uses machine learning from massive training sets to teach itself to play 49 classic computer games, demonstrating that it can adapt to a variety of tasks. See Letter p.529

A study of two Balkan ethnic groups living in close proximity finds that traditional knowledge about local plant resources helps communities to cope with periods of famine, and can promote the conservation of biodiversity.

Many experiments have probed the mechanisms by which transplanted stem cells give rise to all the cell types of the blood, but it emerges that the process is different in unperturbed conditions. See Letter p.542

Astronomers have discovered an extremely massive black hole from a time when the Universe was less than 900 million years old. The result provides insight into the growth of black holes and galaxies in the young Universe. See Letter p.512

The 'no-cloning' theorem of quantum mechanics forbids the perfect copying of properties of photons or electrons. But quantum teleportation allows their flawless transfer — now even for two properties simultaneously. See Letter p.516

The m⁶A structural modification of RNA regulates gene expression. It has now been found to mediate an unusual control mechanism: by altering the structure of RNA, m⁶A allows a regulatory protein to bind to that RNA. See Letter p.560

A whole-genome sequencing analysis of 100 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas has discovered known and newly identified genetic drivers of pancreatic cancer; these genetic alterations can be classified into four subtypes, which raises the possibility of improved targeting of clinical treatments.

The emRiboSeq sequencing method is used to track polymerase activity genome-wide in vivo; despite Okazaki fragment processing, DNA synthesized by error-prone polymerase-α (Pol-α) is retained in vivo and comprises ∼1.5% of the genome, establishing Pol-α as an important source of genomic variability and providing a mechanism for site-specific variation in nucleotide substitution rates.

The crystal structure of the RAG1–RAG2 heterotetramer forms a Y-shaped structure, with each arm containing a RAG1–RAG2 heterodimer; the overall structure is reminiscent of hairpin-forming transposases, attesting to its evolutionary history as a specialized form of a transposition activity.

Observations of an ultraluminous quasar, SDSS J010013.02+280225.8, at redshift z = 6.30 show that the object has an optical and near-infrared luminosity a few times greater than those of previously known quasars at z > 6; the black hole that drives the quasar has a mass about 12 billion times that of the Sun.

The quantum teleportation of composite quantum states of a single photon encoded in both spin and orbital angular momentum is achieved, with a teleportation fidelity above the classical limit, by quantum non-demolition measurement assisted discrimination of the Bell states describing the entanglement of the two degrees of freedom.

The temperature-sensitive miscibility of hydrocarbon, silicone and fluorocarbon liquids is used to establish a one-step method of making three- and four-phase complex emulsions with highly controllable morphologies that can be alternated between encapsulated and Janus configurations by varying the balance of interfacial tensions.

Examination of amateur observations of Mars shows atmospheric plumes 200 to 250 kilometres high that are observed in the morning but not in the evening over a period of more than a week; our current understanding of Martian atmospheric dynamics and plume formation cannot account for the creation of such enormous plumes.

An artificial agent is developed that learns to play a diverse range of classic Atari 2600 computer games directly from sensory experience, achieving a performance comparable to that of an expert human player; this work paves the way to building general-purpose learning algorithms that bridge the divide between perception and action.

A tissue with many of the defining features of vertebrate cellular cartilage is shown to form transiently in larvae of the invertebrate chordate amphioxus, indicating that the origin of the vertebrate head skeleton depended not on evolution of a new skeletal tissue, as is commonly thought, but on the spread of this tissue throughout the head.

How socially transmitted behaviours spread and persist is shown in a wild animal population, revealing an effect of social conformity.

Inducible genetic labelling of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and linked mathematical modelling show that at least 30% of all HSCs are productive, and that adult haematopoiesis is largely sustained by ‘short-term’ downstream stem cells that operate near self-renewal in the steady state; HSC fate mapping provides a quantitative model for better understanding of HSC functions in health and disease.

To determine the origin of adult tissue-resident macrophages, a mouse lineage tracing study has revealed that these cells derive from erythro-myeloid progenitors in the yolk sac that are distinct from fetal and adult haematopoietic stem cells.

Somatic TP53 mutations are highly prevalent in therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, which arise as complications of cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy; although it was believed that these TP53 mutations are directly induced by cytotoxic therapy, new data indicate that they predate cytotoxic therapy and that haematopoietic progenitors harbouring these pre-existing mutations may selectively expand after exposure to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

The core promoters of developmental and housekeeping genes are shown to have distinct specificities for different enhancer sequences in Drosophila, and this specificity separates developmental and housekeeping gene regulatory programs across the genome.

The binding motifs for many RNA-binding proteins are normally buried within structured regions; now, the N⁶-methyladenosine modification is shown to act as a switch to remodel these regions, expose the motif, and thereby facilitate binding of RNA-binding proteins.

The scientific design of low-energy sustainable buildings is moving into the mainstream.

Clouded view.

Amid the trillions of microbes that live in the intestines, scientists have found a few species that seem to play a key role in keeping us healthy

Effective interventions may come before all the research is in

Evidence that genes shape the microbiome may point to new treatments for common diseases

Synthetic biology may lead to the creation of smart microbes that can detect and treat disease

The microbiome may yield a new class of psychobiotics for the treatment of anxiety, depression and other mood disorders

The Hadza of Tanzania offer a snapshot of the co-adaptive capacity of the gut ecosystem

The human body plays host to a vast and diverse microbial community. From metabolic regulation to immunologic maintenance, the microbiome performs functions vital to our health. Innovations in the Microbiomedistils the most critical Insights from the recent explosion in microbiome research. As science continues to unravel the host–microbiome relationship, clues are emerging for the treatment of disease.