In science news around the world this week, 74 Chinese cities began measuring concentrations of harmful particulate matter, a Chinese government regulation toughening penalties for academic fraud took effect, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon agreed to pay $1.4 billion, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a case challenging government-funded research on human embryonic stem cells, and more.

Carl Woese, who revolutionized microbiology through his studies of single-celled microbes called archaea, and Rita Levi-Montalcini, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for her discovery of nerve growth factor, have died. The U.S. National Academy of Engineering announced that it will honor three teams for notable achievements in telecommunications, bioengineering, and engineering education.

Researchers discovered that though the pale wrinkles that adorn fingertips after an extended soaking may be unsightly, they help us get a stronger grip on slippery objects. In other news, a close look at fossils of a group of bipedal dinosaurs suggests that many of them shook their muscular, feather-adorned tails to gain attention during courtship. And this week's ScienceLIVE will look at some provocative new insights into tackling global warming, while this week's by the numbers features carbon dioxide emissions of the world's telecommunications infrastructure and the planets in the Milky Way galaxy.

The battle over the fiscal cliff is far from over for U.S. scientists.

A provocative new study looks at the influential 2004 paper that introduced the concept of climate "wedges"—and the sobering question of what it may take to stabilize and then phase-out emissions of global warming gases.

On New Year's Eve, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first new tuberculosis drug in more than 40 years.

Researchers have attempted to measure the degree to which the one-child policy has shaped the personalities of Chinese 20- and 30-somethings.

A highly respected mitochondrial biologist is behind an acerbic blog dedicated to unmasking scientific wrongdoing.

Having spent about $1 billion over the past decade, a U.S. study of environmental influences on children's health is still trying to define its methods. Critics say it has gone astray; advocates say it is on track at last.

What every academic and clinical researcher should know before signing up with an expert network firm and interacting with its clients.

What happened when a positive drug report led to a declining stock price? How one expert's opinion made an impact

Contesting the generally accepted models of predator-prey dynamics, Arditi and Ginzburg marshal evidence for their ratio-dependent alternative.

Rejecting dichotomous views of development, Goldhaber suggests that a synthesis of evolutionary psychology and developmental systems theory will resolve long-standing debates.

A listing of books received at Science during the week ending 04 January 2013.

How should research studying adolescent players of online educational games be conducted responsibly?

Femtosecond pulses from an x-ray laser are used to solve the room-temperature structure of a protein. [Also see Report by Redecke et al.]

JNK activity in adipose macrophages promotes inflammation and insulin resistance in mouse models of obesity. [Also see Report by Han et al.]

Nutrition, energy metabolism, and the plasticity of gene expression are linked through the action of epigenetic modifiers that are modulated by cellular metabolites. [Also see Reports by Shimazu et al. and Shyh-Chang et al.]

Films swollen by wet surfaces curl up and store mechanical energy that can be converted into electricity for powering small devices. [Also see Report by Ma et al.]

Hawk moths are specialized to recognize the odors from specific plants but can learn to recognize and follow other plant odors. [Also see Report by Riffell et al.]

A change in glutamate receptor expression in adult glial cells advances the current model of how glia regulate neuronal activity. [Also see Report by Sun et al.]

The evolution of a quantum system can be tracked via a series of partial measurements that leave the system in a pure state.

Exceptional carbon nanotube fibers are produced by a wet spinning process using longer nanotubes as feedstock.

Polymer actuators are manipulated by changing hydration conditions and show strong contractile forces. [Also see Perspective by Kim and Kwon]

A macrocycle threaded on a rod can catalytically insert several amino acids placed along its path into a peptide chain.

A porous material retains its framework shape after guest molecules desorb if its crystallites are sufficiently small.

The expression of metabotropic glutamate receptors in brain astrocytes is down-regulated in early postnatal development. [Also see Perspective by Grosche and Reichenbach]

Hawkmoths supplement their innate repertoire of attractive flower odors by learning new ones via an octopamine pathway. [Also see Perspective by Knaden and Hansson]

During brain development, epigenetic mechanisms allow tangentially migrating neurons to retain topographical organization.

Increased competition drives phenotypic adaptive specialization within Cyprinodon pupfishes in lakes in the Bahamas.

Ketone bodies, metabolites that accumulate during fasting, change gene expression by inhibiting histone deacetylases. [Also see Perspective by Sassone-Corsi]

A protein involved in histone methylation targets the meiotic recombination machinery to chromatin.

A kinase in macrophages is required for high-fat diet–induced metabolic changes and inflammation. [Also see Perspective by Ferrante Jr.]

Unusual threonine metabolism in mouse stem cells influences genetic reprogramming via altered histone methylation. [Also see Perspective by Sassone-Corsi]

In vivo crystallization and serial femtosecond crystallography reveal the structure of a sleeping sickness parasite protease. [Also see Perspective by Helliwell]

Listen to stories on China's one-child policy, anti-inflammatory therapy for chronic disease, selling expertise to investors and more.

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