sciencemag.org SCIENCERESEARCH | IN SCIENCE JOURNALS
viral strain in the mouse appeared
to be dependent on a critical
amino acid change, Asn^501 t o Ty r
(N501Y), within the receptor-
binding domain of the viral spike
protein. The new mouse model
was used to study neutralizing
antibodies and a vaccine candi-
date against the virus. —PNK
Science, this issue p. 1603
GRAPHENE
Making metallic ribbons
In its usual two-dimensional
form, graphene does not have
an energy gap in its electronic
structure. However, one-
dimensional ribbons made of
the material are semiconduct-
ing and making them metallic
is tricky. Rizzo et al. developed
a strategy for synthesizing
metallic graphene nanoribbons
and demonstrated their metal-
licity using scanning tunneling
spectroscopy. These metallic
graphene nanoribbons may
be useful for exploring exotic
quantum phases in a single
dimension. —JS
Science, this issue p. 1597
CHEMICAL PHYSICS
Duality of roaming
mechanism in H 2 CO
The phenomenon of roaming
in chemical reactions (that is,
bypassing the minimum energy
pathway from unlikely geom-
etries) has attracted a great
deal of attention in the chemical
reaction dynamics community
over the past decade and still
demonstrates unexpected
results. Using velocity-map
imaging of state-selected H 2
products of H 2 CO photodissocia-
tion, Quinn et al. discovered the
bimodal structure of rotational
distribution of the other product
fragment, CO. Quasiclassical
trajectories showed that this
bimodality originates from two
distinctive reaction pathways that
proceed by the trans or cis con-
figuration of O–C–H···H, leading
to high or low rotational excita-
tions of CO, respectively. Whether
such a mechanism is present in
the many other chemical reac-
tions for which roaming reaction
pathways have been reported is
yet to be determined. —YS
Science, this issue p. 1592ALCOHOL ADDICTION
Tipsy microglia
binge on synapses
Alcohol abuse has detrimen-
tal cognitive and behavioral
consequences. Binge drinking
is associated with anxiety in
humans and, in mice, activates
resident phagocytic immune
cells in the brain called microg-
lia. Socodato et al. found that
a binge-drinking protocol in
male mice induced microglia to
selectively scavenge excitatory
synapses between neurons in
the prefrontal cortex. The loss of
these connections did not cause
neuronal death during the study
but instead depressed neuro-
transmission and increased
anxiety-like behaviors in the
mice. —LKF
Sci. Signal. 13 , eaba5754 (2020).CLIMATE CHANGE
Antarctic ice sheet
melting and climate
The massive West Antarctic Ice
Sheet (WAIS) is now melting at
an accelerated rate in response
to anthropogenic greenhouse
gas emissions, and exactly how
this will affect global climate
remains poorly understood.
Widely available predictive
global climate models do not
adequately account for ice sheet
physics. Using a newly devel-
oped model that incorporates
ice sheet thermodynamics,
Rogstad et al. explored the
potential effects of WAIS
melting on the global climate.
Their model not only predicts a
significantly greater increase in
subsurface ocean temperatures
near the WAIS margins than
earlier models but also suggests
that simultaneous decreases in
air and ocean surface tempera-
ture, as well as expanded sea ice,
will delay previously predicted
increases in global warming by
several decades. —KVH
Sci. Adv. 10.1126/
sciadv.aaz1169 (2020).IN OTHER JOURNALS Edited by Caroline Ash
and Jesse SmithCONSERVATIONDogs return to the show
T
he ancient dogs of Oceania include several lineages
with Asian ancestry that have since evolved across the
South Pacific for more than 3000 years. These include
the Australian dingo, but also many less well known
and mostly extinct varieties such as the New Zealand
kuri. New Guinea singing dogs comprise a small, and highly
inbred, population in captivity and are generally believed
to be extinct in the wild. Surbakti et al. bring a ray of hope
with their finding that populations of so-called highland wild
dogs living at high altitudes are indeed true New Guinea
singing dogs. Genomic analysis of samples collected from
several dogs show that they are derived from the same
lineage as the captive population but contain significantly
higher levels of genetic diversity. This finding brings hope for
both protection of the species in the wild and for invigorating
the captive population. —SNV
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 10.1073/pnas.2007242117 (2020).The New
Guinea singing
dog, named
for its distinctive
calls, has been
rediscovered in
the wild.
PHOTO: EDWARD MYLES/MINDEN PICTURES1580 25 SEPTEMBER 2020 • VOL 369 ISSUE 6511