Science - 31 January 2020

SCIENCE sciencemag.org

PHOTO: JEAN SCHWEITZER ENERGY PICTURES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

experimental data generated

with these reagents. Frohner et al.

found that monoclonal antibod-

ies raised against the catalytic

subunit of protein phosphatase

2A, one of which is used in a com-

mercial assay kit, were sensitive

to posttranslational modifica-

tions and cross-reacted with

related phosphatases (see the

Focus by Janes). Schüchner et

al. found that the recognition of

Myc-tagged proteins by a widely

used Myc-specific monoclonal

antibody varied depending on

sequences adjacent to the tag.

These studies highlight the need

for careful validation of antibody-

based assays. —AMV

Sci. Signal. 13 , eaax6490, eaaz8130,

eaax9730 (2020).

SOCIAL SCIENCE

Resilient misinformation

in a crisis

Countering the public’s belief in

false or unsupported claims may

require more than corrective,

factual information. Carey et al.

analyzed results from a nation-

ally representative survey in

Brazil and show that corrective

information campaigns did not

reduce commonly held con-

spiracy theories relating to Zika

and failed to effect preventive

behavior for yellow fever. Efforts

to counter misperceptions about

the Zika virus also had the unin-

tended consequence of reducing

the accuracy of other beliefs

about the disease. This work

demonstrates the resilience of

public health misperceptions

and the need for tested strate-

gies to combat such erroneous

information. —AC

Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.aaw7449

(2020).

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

A cool way to use isotopes

Thermal management of

electronics requires materials

that can efficiently remove heat.

Several promising materials

have been found recently, but

diamond remains the bulk mate-

rial with the highest thermal

conductivity. Chen et al. found

that isotopically pure cubic

CANCER IMMUNOLOGY

MAIT cells and tumor

immunity

Mucosal-associated invariant T

(MAIT) cells are immune cells

that recognize host microbial

metabolites presented by major

histocompatibility complex

class I–related protein 1 (MR1).

During bacterial infection, acti-

vation of MAIT cells leads to the

elimination of the infected cells.

However, the role of MAIT cells

in other disease states is less

clear. For example, MAIT cells

have been reported to be pres-

ent in human tumors, but the

boron nitride has an ultrahigh

thermal conductivity, 75% that

of diamond. Using only boron-11

or boron-10 allows the crystal

vibrations that carry heat to

move more efficiently through

the material. This property could

be exploited for better regulating

the temperature of high-power

devices. —BG

Science, this issue p. 555

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Convergent coupling

Metal-catalyzed coupling of

two flat aromatic rings is one of

the most versatile and widely

applied chemical reactions.

Efforts to extend this proto-

col to alkyl-alkyl coupling are

complicated by the prospect of

forming two different three-

dimensional configurations

at each carbon center, cor-

responding to four possible

products. Huo et al. now report

that a chiral nickel catalyst can

convergently link two mirror-

image pairs of alkyl reactants

into just one product (see the

Perspective by Xu and Watson).

The specific reaction couples

propargylic halides to zinc-acti-

vated aliphatic amides. —JSY

Science, this issue p. 559;

see also p. 509

CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

Speedy crystallography

Electron backscatter diffraction

is one standard technique for

determining crystal struc-

ture, typically of materials or

geological samples. However,

this method requires structural

guesses and user input that are

often time consuming or incor-

rect. Kaufmann et al. developed

a general methodology using a

convoluted neural network that

automatically determines the

crystal structure quickly and

with high accuracy. After the

network is exposed to a training

set, it can identify the crystal

structure without any additional

input most of the time, provid-

ing a method for eliminating

some of the guesswork from

crystal structure determina-

tion. —BG

Science, this issue p. 564

PUBLIC HEALTH

Causal evidence for effects

of driving on health

D

riving is associated with reduced physical activity

and weight gain, but identifying a causal link is dif-

ficult because people typically choose to drive or not.

Anderson et al. tracked the health of citizens in Beijing,

China, who entered into a randomized lottery for a

permit to be eligible to own a car. By taking advantage of this

natural experiment, the authors found that lottery winners

used less public transit, walked less, cycled less, and, among

older adults, gained weight. These results have implications

for the health consequences of increased automobile use,

particularly in cities. —TSR BMJ 367 , 16491 (2019).

Older drivers in Beijing, China, gain more weight

than their nondriving counterparts.

IN OTHER JOURNALS Edited by Caroline Ash

and Jesse Smith

31 JANUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6477 523

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