testing these vaccines are already ongoing. —KLM Science, this issue p. 237 PALEOBIOLOGY The platypus’s sixth sense cost it its teeth The platypus, Ornithorhyncus anatinus, has an electromechani- cal sensory apparatus in its bill. The sixth sense endowed by its remarkable bill allows the platypus to detect prey in murky 192 14 OCTOBER 2016 • VOL 354 ISSUE 6309 sciencemag.org SCIENCE waters with its eyes closed. Using comparative morphology and imaging techniques, Asahara et al. mapped the enlarged infraorbital canal that contains all the nerves and vessels that supply the bill. It seems that the evolution of this anatomical arrangement has limited space for the roots of teeth in modern platypuses. Platypuses can still “chew” their prey with horny pads. —SN Sci. Adv. 10.1126.sciadv.1601329 (2016). SOLAR CELLS Improving the stability of perovskite solar cells Inorganic-organic perovskite solar cells have poor long-term stability because ultraviolet light and humidity degrade these materials. Bella et al. show that coating the cells with a water- proof fluorinated polymer that contains pigments to absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it in the visible range can boost cell efficiency and limit photodeg- radation. The performance and stability of inorganic-organic perovskite solar cells are also limited by the size of the cations required for forming a correct lattice. Saliba et al. show that the rubidium cation, which is too small to form a perovskite by itself, can form a lattice with cesium and organic cations. Solar cells based on these materi- als have efficiencies exceeding Edited by Caroline Ash IN SCIENCE JOURNALS RESEARCH 20% for over 500 hours if given environmental protection by a polymer coating. —PDS Science, this issue pp. 203 and 206 VACCINES A DNA vaccine candidate for Zika The ongoing Zika epidemic in the Americas and the Caribbean urgently needs a protective vaccine. Two DNA vaccines com- posed of the genes that encode the structural premembrane and envelope proteins of Zika virus have been tested in monkeys. Dowd et al. show that two doses of vaccine given intramuscularly completely protected 17 of 18 ani- mals against Zika virus challenge. A single low dose of vaccine was not protective but did reduce viral loads. Protection correlated with serum antibody neutralizing activity. Phase I clinical trials Platypuses use an electrical sixth sense to seek prey. Loss of forest diversity leads to a loss of productivity. PHOTOS: (FROM TOP) GREG ASNER, CARNEGIE AIRBORNE OBSERVATORY; JOHNCARNEMOLLA/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Van der Waals materials for nanophotonics Basov et al., p. 195 FOREST ECOLOGY Global biodiversity and productivity T he relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity has been explored in detail in herbaceous vegetation, but patterns in forests are far less well understood. Liang et al. have amassed a global forest data set from >770,000 sample plots in 44 countries. A positive and consistent relationship can be discerned between tree diversity and ecosystem productivity at landscape, country, and ecoregion scales. On average, a 10% loss in biodiversity leads to a 3% loss in productivity. This means that the economic value of maintaining biodiversity for the sake of global forest productivity is more than fivefold greater than global conservation costs. —AMS Science, this issue p. 196 Published by AAAS
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RESEARCH - Science · polymer coating. —PDS Science, this issue pp. 203 and 206 VACCINES A DNA vaccine candidate for Zika The ongoing Zika epidemic in the Americas and the Caribbean
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testing these vaccines are already
ongoing. —KLM
Science, this issue p. 237
PALEOBIOLOGY
The platypus’s sixth sense cost it its teethThe platypus, Ornithorhyncus