1547 NIH’s Collins steps down:
‘I won’t miss the nasty politics’
Geneticist’s 12-year tenure marked
by funding increases, new initiatives,
and battling the COVID-19 pandemic
By J. Kaiser1548 With double pulsar, theory
of gravity passes toughest test yet
Study 16 years in the making
shows how gravity distorts
orbits and slows down photons
By D. Clery1549 Early migration may have
spread Celtic languages
Ancient DNA reveals 3000-year-old
influx of people from France to Britain
By A. GibbonsFEATURES
1550 Amazon delivery
A rainforest expedition brings
COVID-19 vaccines to some of Brazil’s
most remote and vulnerable groups
By S. Moutinho1532 24 DECEMBER 2021 • VOL 374 ISSUE 6575 science.org SCIENCE
ILLUSTRATION: STEPHANIE ABRAMOWICZ/DINOSAUR INSTITUTE, NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTYINSIGHTS
PERSPECTIVES
1554 Early and fast rise of
Mesozoic ocean giants
A whale-sized ichthyosaur shows how
fast these reptiles evolved
By L. L. Delsett and N. D. Pyenson
RESEARCH ARTICLE p. 15781555 Magnetic control in the terahertz
Strong magnon-phonon coupling
may help develop superfast optical drives
By D. M. Juraschek and P. Narang
REPORT p. 16081557 A new tool to probe
SARS-CoV-2 variants
Virus-like particles offer a new
way to investigate genetic variation
in SARS-CoV-
By B. A. Johnson and V. D. Menachery
REPORT p. 16261558 Teaching natural enzymes
new radical tricks
Cytochromes P450 were engineered
to conduct abiotic, stereoselective
radical reactions
By Y. Zhang and P. Dydio
REPORT p. 16121559 Fibrin sparks inflammation
in the oral mucosa
Fibrin deposits in the oral mucosa
trigger neutrophil activation and bone
destruction By T. Vicanolo and A. Hidalgo
RESEARCH ARTICLE p. 15751561 COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough
infections
Vaccine efficacy wanes over time but
can be fully restored with a booster dose
By R. K. Gupta and E. J. TopolPOLICY FORUM
1563 Enabling commercial success
of industrial biotechnology
Commercial-scale research translation
has been muted By B. W. Biggs et al.BOOKS E T A L.
1566 Revisiting paleontology’s
greatest hits
An otherwise solid dinosaur primer
does little to convey the changing face
of the field By R. Black1567 Dispatches from the front lines
A new film documents the fraught
first days of the COVID-
pandemic in New York City
By R. S. Krauss24 DECEMBER 2021 • VOLUME 374
ISSUE 6575CONTENTS
1554 & 1578
NEWS
IN BRIEF
1540 Areas to watch: What’s coming
up in 2022
IN DEPTH
1543 Early lab studies shed light on
Omicron’s behavior
Some data hint the new variant may be
milder—but most scientists reserve judgment
By G. Vogel and K. Kupferschmidt
1544 Omicron sparks a vaccine
strategy debate
Current boosters, variant-specific
shots, and universal coronavirus vaccines
all have fans By J. Cohen
1546 Will global vaccine shortfalls
end in 2022?
Novavax vaccine authorization
bolsters COVAX’s optimistic new supply
forecast By J. Cohen