SCIENCE science.orgPHOTO: AYAL MARGOLIN XINHUA/EYEVINE /REDUX
European Molecular Biology Organization,
an appointment announced in July 2021.Rx for COVID-19 falsehoods
PUBLIC OPINION | Some of the most widely
trafficked misinformation about COVID-
is finding fewer believers, a study suggests.
A survey in November 2021 by researchers
at the University of Pennsylvania found that
74% of 1800 U.S. adults correctly identified
as false a statement that COVID-19 vac-
cines change people’s DNA; two-thirds said
a claim the vaccines cause infertility was
probably or definitely false. For both, that’s
less than in earlier polls by the university’s
Annenberg Public Policy Center, and the
researchers think accurate media report-
ing and statements by health authorities
may explain the increases. The changes
are welcome because the false statements
have helped dissuade some people from
receiving the vaccines, said Kathleen Hall
Jamieson, the center’s director.Ancient head lice offer DNA source
ARCHAEOLOGY | For millennia, head lice
have afflicted humans, including the elite, as
shown by evidence from mummies. Now, astudy reports that the ancient parasites offer
archaeologists a valuable new tool. Studying
the heads of mummies found in Argentina,
an international team extracted human
DNA and environmental DNA from the hard
natural glue, or cement, that lice secrete to
attach their eggs to human hair. The work,
reported in the 28 December 2021 issue of
Molecular Biology and Evolution, suggests
the cement preserves DNA and offers an
alternative to extracting DNA from ancient
teeth and bones, which requires destructive
sampling. Analysis of DNA from lice cement
on the eight Argentine mummies, which are
about 1500 years old, revealed details about
migration patterns of people in that era. The
researchers also detected the earliest known
presence of the Merkel cell polyomavirus,
which causes skin cancer.USDA unveils GM food label
BIOTECHNOLOGY | The U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) has created a new
consumer label for genetically engineered
food, “bioengineered,” that is intended to
reduce confusion—but which advocates
for transparency fault as flawed and
deceptive. Previously, states were free to
decide whether to require labeling of foodscontaining genetically modified ingredi-
ents, such as soybeans altered to resist
herbicides. But a 2016 law directed USDA
to create a national labeling standard.
Environmental groups complain that the
new rule, which took effect on 1 January,
has loopholes. For example, the label is
only required if bioengineered DNA is
detectable, but it’s often undetectable in oil
and starch. And foods need not be labeled
if the proportion of genetically modified
ingredients is less than 5%.Pandemic infants show delays
DEVELOPMENT | Babies born at two New
York City hospitals in 2020 during the
COVID-19 pandemic showed significant
delays in development at 6 months of
age compared with prepandemic babies,
says a small study published this week.
Compared with 62 infants born at one of
the hospitals before the pandemic, the
227 pandemic-era infants scored signifi-
cantly lower on measures of gross and fine
motor skills, as reported by their moth-
ers using a standardized assessment tool.
The children also lagged on a measure of
personal and social development, but not on
measures of communication and problemANIMAL HEALTHResearchers probe bird flu epidemic hitting Europe, Israel
A
growing epidemic of avian flu is afflicting wild birds and has caused major losses of domes-
tic fowl in parts of Europe and Asia in recent weeks, with thousands of animals dead or
culled to slow the spread. The virus, A(H5N1), had been detected in poultry in 16 European
countries as of early December 2021, with most cases in Italy. In the United Kingdom,
which is facing its worst outbreak ever, farmers have killed more than half a million fowl. In
Israel, the deaths of more than 6000 cranes are a sign of “the most serious damage to wildlife
in the history of the country,” said Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg
last week. Researchers at Hebrew University are using GPS receivers attached to birds to
assess the risk of the virus spreading in Israel’s Hula Valley, where more than 30,000 common
cranes (Grus grus) spend the winter. The virus, which causes highly pathogenic avian influenza,
spreads easily among bird species, and migratory flocks carry it vast distances. It rarely
jumps to humans, but can be lethal if it does. As of 13 December 2021, only China said it had
detected human illnesses, reporting 13 cases to the World Health Organization.7 JANUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6576 7Workers wearing protective gear retrieve dead cranes (background) in Israel’s Hula Nature Reserve.