SCIENCE sciencemag.orgPHOTO: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS/NEWSCOM
including how to deal with Chinese espio-
nage at U.S. universities without stifling
global scientific cooperation.New rights for alleged harassers
#METOO | This year, the U.S. Department
of Education may finalize controver-
sial proposed rules that would reduce
universities’ liability for policing sexual
harassment and sexual assault and give
more rights to the accused. The regula-
tions, proposed in November 2018, would
change how institutions investigate such
allegations under the landmark 1972
law known as Title IX. They wouldn’t
be responsible for investigating most
off-campus incidents of harassment or
assault, and the standard of evidence
for confirming allegations of on-campus
misconduct could rise. The definition of
sexual harassment would be narrowed
from “unwelcome conduct of a sexual
nature” to “unwelcome conduct on the
basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive,
and objectively offensive that it effec-
tively denies a person equal access” to
education. And defendants’ lawyers will
be able to cross-examine accusers. The
department is accepting comments on the
proposals until 28 January.Seeking new physics in the muon
PARTICLE PHYSICS | By studying the
magnetism of a particle called the muon,
physicists hope to find results this year
that could point to new particles or forces,
something they have craved for decades.
Scientists at Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois,
are examining whether the muon—a
heavier and shorter-lived cousin of the
electron—is more magnetic than theory
predicts. The Muon g-2 experiment found
a hint of such an excess when it ran at
Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton,
New York, from 1997 to 2001. Physicists
moved the experiment’s 15-meter-wide
electromagnet to Fermilab in 2013,
upgraded the apparatus, and started to
record data in January 2018. A first result
could be one of the biggest stories in particle
physics this year, with the world’s biggest
atom smasher, Europe’s Large Hadron
Collider, idled for 2 years of upgrades.A fine-grained look inside cells
BIOPHYSICS | In cell biology, higher
resolution means more gets revealed. Now,
scientists are ready to use new combina-
tions of tools and techniques to provide
close-up looks at components inside
cells in unprecedented detail, and in 3D.
Already, researchers can analyze DNA,
proteins, RNA, and epigenetic marks in
single cells. This year, multidisciplinary
teams plan to combine those methods
with advances in cryoelectron tomography,
labeling techniques to trace molecules,
and other types of microscopy to see
subcellular structures and processes. For
example, a multifaceted technique for
imaging and staining DNA could shed
new light on how chromosomes fold. And
the blended methods could yield clearer
pictures at the molecular level of how cells
divide and change shape, and how gene
activity affects structure and function.Solar dimming gets a test
CLIMATE SCIENCE | A geoengineering
technique to curb global warming by
temporarily dimming the sun’s rays could
get its first, modest field experiment this
year. In solar geoengineering, vast amounts
of reflective aerosol particles would
be sprayed into the high atmosphere,
mimicking the cooling effects of volcanic
eruptions. The Stratospheric Controlled
Perturbation Experiment, led by climate
scientists at Harvard University, will test
the idea in a small, controlled way. If its
plans are approved by an advisory board,the team will loft a balloon into the strato-
sphere, where it will release 100 grams
of reflective particles—probably calcium
carbonate, the chalky ingredient in antacid
tablets. Flying back through the plume,
the balloon will observe its cooling effect.
Solar-radiation management, as it’s known,
is controversial. It does not reduce the
built-up carbon dioxide that drives climate
change and ocean acidification, and there’s
no accepted international governance.Divided we stand?
SCIENCE POLICY | You’ll need a Ouija
board to predict how U.S. science will fare
this year under a divided government, with
Democrats now in control of the House of
Representatives while Republicans retainthe Senate with President Donald Trump
in the White House. There are the known
flashpoints—Democrats challenging the
Trump administration on its environment
and energy policies, for example. Spending
cuts will be on the table as lawmakers
face tight budget caps mandated by a 2011
law. Then there are the what-ifs, including
whether the Supreme Court will throw out
a citizenship question on the 2020 census
and lawmakers can suspend partisan bick-
ering long enough to pass an infrastructure
package that would boost U.S. innova-
tion. A few science-savvy new members of
Congress hope to lend a hand.New GM mosquitoes take off
BIOTECHNOLOGY | The first release of
genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes in
Africa is set to happen in Burkina Faso
this year, an initial step in a planned “gene
drive” strategy against malaria. It will be
the first release of GM mosquitoes of the
genus Anopheles, which transmits the
parasite responsible for the disease. The
gene drive approach, under development at
the nonprofit consortium Target Malaria,
would spread mutations through the wildWith control of the U.S. House of Representatives,
Democrats will likely examine environmental policies.The RV Polarstern, shown
here on a 2013
polar research cruise,
will spend a winter
frozen in Arctic sea ice.4 JANUARY 2019 • VOL 363 ISSUE 6422 9
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