Science - USA (2022-06-10)

1180 10 JUNE 2022 • VOL 376 ISSUE 6598 science.org SCIENCE

PHOTOS: (LEFT TO RIGHT ©VINCENT HILAIRE; KATYA TSVETKO

RESEARCH | IN SCIENCE JOURNALS

span and life span. However, they

are so hungry that they eat those

fewer calories in a limited period

of time and consequently spend

more time fasting than do ani-

mals for which access to food is

not restricted. Acosta-Rodriguez

et al. therefore designed experi-

ments in mice to control both

caloric intake and the timing of

their eating to see which factors

were the most important (see the

Perspective by Deota and Panda).

Caloric restriction extended life

span as expected, but it worked

best when feeding was restricted

so that the animals fasted for

at least 12 hours and when the

period in which the animals ate

corresponded to the active phase

of their circadian cycle. —LBR

Science, abk0297, this issue p. 1192;

s e e a l s o a d c 8 8 2 4 , p. 1 1 5 9

MARINE VIROME

Patterns and process in

RNA viruses

Viruses are suspected to be

lynchpins in ecosystem function,

but so far we can only guess at

their significance. DNA viruses are

increasingly being recognized as

significant components of biogeo-

chemical cycling in the oceans.

Dominguez-Huerta et al. explored

global patterns of marine RNA

virus occurrence by extracting

virus sequences from Tara Ocean

samples. Host prediction analysis

identified predominantly protist

and fungal hosts plus a few inver-

tebrates. Like double-stranded

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Distant access to

abortion

The US Supreme Court is

considering overturning Roe v

Wade, a 1973 ruling that legalized

abortion across the country.

If overturned, the decision to

maintain this essential health

service will be left to individual

states. One consequence for

patients living in southern

conservative states will be

long-distance travel to abortion

facilities in more liberal northern

and western states. Pleasants et

al. used the Google Ads Abortion

Access Study to examine preg-

nancy outcomes for individuals

considering an abortion. At

4-week follow-up, women who

lived farther from an abortion

facility (50+ miles) had signifi-

cantly higher odds of still being

pregnant because of the prohibi-

tive travel costs of traveling to

a clinic. A lack of local abortion

access could be far-reaching for

patients with underlying medical

conditions, and others will suffer

from the economic and mental

health burdens of continuing

unwanted pregnancies. —EEU

JAMA Netw. Open 5 , e2212065

(2022).

METABOLISM

Fast heat

Mammals, including humans,

have two types of body fat

named after their color: white

fat and brown fat. Most fat in

humans is white fat, which stores

energy. By contrast, brown fat

breaks down sugar and lipids

to generate heat when we are

exposed to cold temperatures.

The thermogenic process trig-

gers rapidly and happens partly

through the activation of a gene

called uncoupling protein 1

(Ucp1), which uncouples protons

moving down a mitochondrial

gradient from ATP synthesis,

thus allowing the energy to be

dissipated as heat. Wang et al.

have evidence to explain why

brown fat can produce heat so

quickly. A protein called DDB1

occupies the promoters of many

thermogenic genes, including

Ucp1, and releases a brake on

DNA viruses and their hosts, RNA

viruses showed marked depth

limitation but little latitudinal

change. Auxiliary metabolic

genes in the RNA virome indi-

cated that several eukaryote

plankton processes are affected

by viruses. A group of 11 RNA

viruses that significantly influ-

ence ocean carbon flux were

identified. —CA

Science, abn6358, this issue p. 1202

PARKINSON’S DISEASE

Big step forward for

Parkinson’s disease

Inhibition of the kinase LRRK2

has emerged as a promising

disease-modifying therapeutic

target for Parkinson’s disease.

Jennings et al. report evidence

that DNL201, a first-in-class

central nervous system–pen-

etrant LRRK2 kinase inhibitor,

reduces LRRK2 activity and

restores lysosomal function in

cellular and animal models. In

healthy volunteers and patients

with Parkinson’s disease,

DNL201 inhibited LRRK2 kinase

activity and demonstrated an

impact on lysosomal function

at doses that were safe and

generally well tolerated. These

findings provide support for

advancing the investigation of

LRRK2 inhibitors to late-stage

clinical studies in patients with

Parkinson’s disease (see the

Focus by Lewis). —OMS

Sci. Transl. Med. 14 , eabj2658 (2022);

see also abq7374 (2022).

IN OTHER JOURNALS Edited by Caroline Ash

and Jesse Smith

Surveys from the Tara Ocean’s research vessel, pictured here, provide insight into
global RNA virus abundance and distribution.