Volume 547 Issue 7664, 27 July 2017

There are now vast opportunities to study the effects on young minds.

The younger generation uses technology in the same ways as older people — and is no better at multitasking.

Science should abandon its assembly-line mentality and rebuild for quality, not quantity, argues Michele Pagano.

The week in science: 21–27 July 2017.

Scientists will look into the heart of Surtsey, an island created 50 years ago by a volcanic eruption.

National security community examines the risks and benefits of technology to quickly spread genetic modifications.

Transplanted cells offer middle-aged rodents an increased lifespan.

Business-focused funding agency Innovate UK is driving British efforts to commercialize research.

Crowding antennas closer together may affect the Square Kilometre Array's ability to observe the early Universe.

With major spaceflight milestones behind it, China is working to build an international reputation for space science.

Scientists of all stripes must work with measurement experts so that studies can be compared, urge Martyn Sené, Ian Gilmore and Jan-Theodoor Janssen

Michael Mann views the US statesman's second film probing climate change.

As the world is reshaped by another industrial revolution, Gareth Stedman Jones revisits Karl Marx's opus.

Hair-like sensors are suspected to aid fish navigation in complex environments. Laboratory experiments and computational simulations reveal how these sensors can detect water flow to direct the swimming responses of fish. See Letter p.445

A nanoscale magnetic device that mimics the behaviour of neurons has been used to recognize audio signals. Such a device could be adapted to tackle tasks with greater efficiency than conventional computers. See Letter p.428

A sophisticated analysis in mice of how inputs to neurons from other neurons are distributed across individual cells of the brain's visual cortex provides information about how mammalian vision is processed. See Letter p.449

An innovative combination of chemical synthesis, theory and spectroscopy could simplify determination of the structures of naturally occurring, biologically active molecules, which are often leads for drug discovery. See Letter p.436

Polio has almost been eradicated. A field study demonstrates that a combination of focused science and epidemiology, and community-based integrated health approaches, are required to finish the job.

In vivo CRISPR screening reveals that loss of Ptpn2 increases the response of tumour cells to immunotherapy and increases IFNγ signalling, suggesting that PTPN2 inhibition may potentiate the effect of immunotherapies that invoke an IFNγ response.

Analysis of parental allele-specific chromatin accessibility genome-wide in mouse zygotes and morula embryos, and investigation of the epigenetic mechanisms underlying these allelic sites, identifying maternal H3K27me3 as a DNA methylation-independent mechanism for genomic imprinting.

The prompt optical flash produced by the γ-ray burst GRB 160625B is highly linearly polarized, suggesting that it is produced by fast-cooling synchrotron radiation in a large-scale magnetic field.

Spoken-digit recognition using a nanoscale spintronic oscillator that mimics the behaviour of neurons demonstrates the potential of such oscillators for realizing large-scale neural networks in future hardware.

The electronic nematic phase in copper oxide superconductors is found over a broad range of temperature and doping but is not aligned with the crystal axes.

Experimental and computed nuclear magnetic resonance data and an iterative synthetic strategy have revealed the correct structures of the baulamycins, potentially important antimicrobial compounds, allowing them to be chemically synthesized.

Deforestation increases the odds of a species being threatened by extinction, and this effect is disproportionately strong in relatively intact landscapes, suggesting that efforts are needed to protect intact forest landscapes and prevent a new wave of extinctions.

In the absence of visual information, larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) use their mechanosensory lateral line to perform rheotaxis by using flow velocity gradients as navigational cues.

Mapping the organization of excitatory inputs onto the dendritic spines of individual mouse visual cortex neurons reveals how inputs representing features from the extended visual scene are organized and establishes a computational unit suited to amplify contours and elongated edges.

Therapy-resistant cancer cell states identified across diverse contexts are selectively vulnerable to ferroptotic cell death induced by inhibition of lipid peroxidase pathways converging on GPX4.

The cysteine protease CPR-4, a cathepsin B homologue, is identified as a radiation-induced bystander effect (RIBE) factor in nematodes in response to ultraviolet or ionizing radiation, and causes inhibition of cell death and increased embryonic lethality.

Heterochromatin formation involves histone H3 methylation, with H3K9me2 defining a distinct heterochromatin state that is transcriptionally permissive and can couple with RNAi, and the transition to non-permissive H3K9me3 required for the epigenetic heritability of heterochromatin.

Crystal structures of the human cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB₁) bound to the agonists AM11542 and AM841 reveal notable structural rearrangements upon receptor activation, and this flexibility may be a common feature among other G-protein-coupled receptors.

The lysosomal potassium channel TMEM175 has a tetrameric structure unlike that of the canonical potassium channels, with an hourglass-shaped pore in which isoleucine residues have a key role in channel selectivity.

After tackling the genomes of bacteria and yeast, synthetic biologists are setting their sights on rewriting those of more complex organisms, including humans.

Small transgressions can quickly breed resentment among labmates — so be sure to learn the unspoken rules of the lab.

Leadership skills need to be nurtured early in a career, say Toddi A. Steelman and Jeffrey J. McDonnell.

US PhD awards hit record high.

A global success?