1460 17 DECEMBER 2021 • VOL 374 ISSUE 6574 science.org SCIENCE
RESEARCH | IN OTHER JOURNALS
Halorhodospira, which is found in
the most saline of these lakes, not
only has to survive extraordinarily
stressful conditions of the prevail-
ing chemistry, temperature, and
light, but is also hunted down
by another microbe. Unusually,
this ultrasmall organism has
been successfully cultured and
observed to attach to cell walls
of the halobacterium. By sipping
its host’s cytoplasm (it is related
to Vampiricoccus spp.), it gains
most of the metabolic precur-
sors it needs. Despite its genetic
minimalism, this type of vampire
bacterium may constitute up
to half of the Earth’s bacterial
diversity. —CA
Environ. Microbiol. 10.1111/
1462-2920.15823 (2021).
PLANT ECOLOGY
Cumulative impacts of
tree pathogens
Invasive pests and pathogens
are an increasing problem for
tree species, especially in tem-
perate forests heavily disturbed
by human activities. Many tree
species are hosts to unique com-
munities of obligate associated
species (particularly inverte-
brates), which are also at risk on
the demise of their host. The risk
to biodiversity extends further if
two host species are lost at once:
Mitchell et al. found that the loss
of associated species of oak
(Quercus spp.) and ash (Fraxinus
excelsior) in the United Kingdom
is likely to be greater than the
sum of the obligate associates,
potentially affecting hundreds of
species. These findings call for
particular attention to be paid to
the management of forest land-
scapes where multiple dominant
tree species are threatened.
—AMS
J. Ecol. 10.1111/
1365-2745.13798 (2021).COSMIC DUST
Disappearing interstellar
silicon carbide
Grains of stardust condense in
the outflows from old asymptotic
giant branch (AGB) stars. Infrared
observations of carbon-rich
AGB stars show strong emission
from silicon carbide (SiC) grains,
but such emissions have never
been observed in the interstellar
medium (ISM). Chen et al. used
density functional theory and
astrochemical rate calculations
to determine whether SiC grains
could be destroyed by oxygen-
ation reactions in the diffuse ISM.
They found that the reaction
proceeds efficiently and withoutan energy barrier, but the rate is
too low to overcome SiC produc-
tion by AGB stars. Some unknown
process must be consuming SiC
grains in the ISM or hiding them
from observation. —KTS
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 10.1093/
mnras/stab3175 (2021).HYDROGELS
Clearer and cleaner
Many materials have been
adapted to use sunlight to
degrade pollutants or remove
accumulated dirt, for example,
but these uses have largely
been limited to photocatalytic
reactions at a surface. For
water purification, it would be
far more effective and efficient
to be able to use materials
in bulk form. Kuckhoff et al.
designed a hydrogel based on
a high-transmittance acryl-
amide copolymerized with a
photocatalytic unit containing
benzothiadioazole at the 2%
level. The material can degrade
organic pollutants, including rho-
damine B, methyl phenyl sulfide,
and the herbicide glyphosate, as
well as inorganic chromium VI
compounds. Test volumes up to
a half liter showcased the ability
to degrade these compounds
throughout the hydrogel mate-
rial, which can be recovered anddehydrated for transport and
repeated use. —MSL
Chem. Mater. 10.1021/
acs.chemmater.1c02180 (2021).STEM WORKFORCE
15,000 years
of peer review
Scientific publishing relies heavily
on the peer review system. Peer
review often is done voluntarily,
as part of scholarly service.
Researchers provide comments
to improve manuscripts and
judge their quality, which requires
highly specialized knowledge.
Using publicly available data,
Aczel et al. determined that,
globally, researchers spent more
than 100 million hours in 2020 on
peer review, equivalent to more
than 15,000 years. In the United
States, the estimated monetary
value of voluntary peer review
was more than 1.5 billion dollars.
Although these data emphasize
the massive amount of voluntary
time that researchers provide to
scientific publishing, the authors
stress that these numbers are
likely underestimates and discuss
the importance of considering
alternative ways of structur-
ing and paying for peer review.
—MMc
Res. Integr. Peer Rev. 6 , 14 (2021).CLIMATE CHANGEThe bright side
H
uman-induced climate change is
already wreaking havoc in ecosys-
tems. Even if we ceased all fossil fuel
activities today, much damage has
already been done. However, not all
may be lost. Pittman et al. modeled stream
systems emerging from the melting of gla-
ciers in the mountainous Pacific Northwest
region of the United States and identified
those with the potential for salmon habitat
and colonization under a range of climate-
warming scenarios. The authors found
that glacier retreat could create more than
6000 kilometers of new salmon habitat, a
third of which would be suitable for spawn-
ing. These emerging habitats present a rare
opportunity for proactive conservation.
—SNV Nat. Commun. 12 , 6816 (2021).PHOTO: TYLER HULETT/GETTY IMAGESGlacial melt under climate change
may provide a rare benefit by
providing more habitat for migrant
fish such as salmon.