Science's Breakthrough of the Year: Watching evolution in action

Evolution has been the foundation and guiding theory of biology since Darwin gave the theory its proper scientific debut in 1859. But Darwin probably never dreamed that researchers in 2005 would still be uncovering new details about the nuts and bolts of his theory -- how does evolution actually work in the world of influenza genes and chimpanzee genes and stickleback fish armor? Studies that follow evolution in action claim top honors as the Breakthrough of the Year, named by Science and its publisher AAAS, the nonprofit science society.

In 2005, scientists piled up new insights about evolution at the genetic level and the birth of species, including information that could help us lead healthier lives in the future. Ironically, these often-startling discoveries occurred in a year when backers of "intelligent design" and other opponents of evolution sought to renew challenges to this fundamental concept.

This milestone, plus nine other research advances, make up Science's list of the top ten scientific developments in 2005, chosen for their profound implications for society and the advancement of science. Science's Top Ten list appears in the 23 December 2005 issue of the journal Science.

Many of this year's breakthrough studies followed evolution at the genetic level. In October this year, an international team of researchers unveiled a map of the chimpanzee genome. Scientists are already poring over the chimpanzee genome and another international effort, the biggest map to date of single-letter variations in the human genetic sequence, hoping to get a better glimpse of the human species' evolutionary history. The two studies give scientists new material for studying conditions from AIDS to heart disease, and may lay the groundwork for a future of personalized genetic medicine.

This year's sequencing of the 1918 pandemic flu virus could have a more immediate impact on medicine. The amazing story of flu genes preserved in permafrost and painstakingly reconstructed has a chilling coda: the deadly flu seems to have started out as purely a bird virus. Understanding the evolution of last century's deadly bird flu may help us predict and cope with the current bird flu threat.

Other studies showed how small changes in DNA can trigger dramatic evolutionary events. Researchers found that a single genetic change can be all it takes to turn one species into many, as in the case of the Alaskan stickleback fish that lost its armor and evolved from an ocean-loving species to a variety of landlocked lake dwellers.

Beyond the genome, researchers watched evolution in action among a number of animals, from caterpillars to crickets, and found that behavioral differences such as what to eat and when to mate may be enough to turn a single population into two species. These painstaking observations and other experiments showed that evolutionary studies are as relevant to 2005 as they were to 1859.

Science also salutes nine other scientific achievements of 2005.

Planetary Safaris: With spacecraft at or on the way to the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, a comet, an asteroid, Saturn, and the very edge of the solar system, planetary discovery soared in 2005. The high point in a year of highlights may be the landing of the European spacecraft Huygens on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Huygens' trip to Titan revealed a world where infrequent but drenching rains of liquid methane shape the land and participate in a fascinating hydrologic cycle.

A Rich Year for Plants: Several key molecular cues behind flowering and other plant mysteries and surprises came to light in 2005. For example, plant molecular biologists pinned down the identity of a signal that initiates the seasonal development of flowers. Other research focused on a gene involved in stimulating flowering, and another study highlighted a surprising cache of RNA.

The Nature of Neutron Stars: In 2005, new instruments yielded vivid insights into the most violent behaviors of neutron stars. A short, intense pulse of radiation from near the center of the Milky Way, recorded on 27 December 2004, may be the result of a short gamma ray burst -- a rapid merger of two ancient neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole.

Brain Wiring and Disease: Several studies in 2005 suggest that diseases such schizophrenia, Tourette syndrome, and dyslexia are rooted in "faulty wiring" of the brain's neural circuitry during development in the womb.

Where Did Earth Come From?: This year, researchers took another look at Earth rocks and meteorites that resemble the starting material of the solar system and found that their atoms were significantly different. So where did Earth get its building blocks? Some scientists now say early Earth materials come from a different part of the solar system, while others say parts of early Earth are just sunk deep in the planet, hidden from view.

Key Protein's Close-up: The most detailed molecular portrait to date of a voltage-gated potassium channel was unveiled in 2005. These channels, gatekeeper proteins that usher potassium ions in and out of cells, are as key to nerve and muscle functioning as transistors are to computers.

Changing Climate of Climate Change?: In 2005, evidence linking humans to global warming continued to accumulate and U.S. politicians began to take notice. From the warming of deep ocean waters and increased frequencies of the most intense tropical cyclones to continued reductions in ice cover in the Arctic Ocean and altered bird migratory patterns, scientific evidence for climate change built up in 2005 and non-scientists seem to have listened.

Cell Signaling Steps Up: Dynamic views of how cells respond to the chemical and environmental signals all around them took hold in 2005 thanks to efforts to track multiple inputs and outputs of cell signaling networks simultaneously. For example, researchers created a model of nearly 8,000 chemical signals involved in a network leading to programmed cell death.

ITER Lands in France: The struggle over the location of the world's first fusion reactor has ended -- the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will be built at Cadarache in southern France and not in Rokkasho, Japan. One aim of ITER is to generate fusion-powered electricity by recreating the power of the sun on Earth.

Science's Breakdown of the Year -- U.S. Particle Physics: With the cancellation of two major experiments and talk of an early closing for one of the three existing particle colliders, U.S. particle physics is Science's breakdown of 2005. As the U.S. program founders, particle physics research around the world could suffer. A bit of good particle physics news did emerge in 2005, however – researchers around the world remain committed to building the International Linear Collider, a multibillion-dollar global facility that may be the key to the future of particle physics.

Areas to watch in 2006: This year, Science's predictions for hot fields and topics in the upcoming year include drug and vaccine development for avian flu, RNA-interference in humans, high-temperature superconductors, the microbial family tree, detection of the merging of two neutron stars and ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays – the speediest atomic nuclei in the universe. Researchers will also be on the lookout for more evidence for the ivory-billed woodpecker and solid helium flowing like a liquid.

Source: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Related stories:

Higher temperatures helped new strain of West Nile virus spread
Higher temperatures helped a new strain of West Nile virus invade and spread across North America, according to a study published in the June 27 issue of the journal PLoS Pathogens.
Could new discovery about a shape-shifting protein lead to a mighty 'morpheein' bacteria fighter?
A small molecule that locks an essential enzyme in an inactive form could one day form the basis of a new class of unbeatable, species-specific antibiotics, according to researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Steroids in female mouse urine light up nose nerves of male mice
A group of steroids found in female mouse urine goes straight to the male mouse's head, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. They found the compounds activate nerve cells in the male mouse's nose with unprecedented effectiveness.
For barn swallows, feathers make the man, says study
A new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has shown the testosterone of male North American barn swallows skyrocketed early in the breeding season when their breast colors were artificially enhanced by researchers, indicating the clothes -- or in this case, the feathers -- make the man.
Storn winds blow in Jupiter's Little Red Spot
Using data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and two telescopes on or near Earth, an international team of scientists has found that one of the solar system’s largest and newest storms – Jupiter’s Little Red Spot – has some of the highest wind speeds ever detected on any planet.
Eccentric pulsar system challenges theories of binary formation
An ongoing sky survey using the Cornell-managed Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico has turned up a massive, fast-spinning binary pulsar with a mysterious elongated orbit, researchers say. The pulsar and its companion star challenge currently accepted views of binary pulsar formation and give researchers a new opportunity for understanding the fundamental properties of highly dense matter.
Geneticists trace the evolution of St. Louis encephalitis
Before West Nile virus arrived in this country, we had (and still have) a home-grown relative of this pathogen. An epidemic of unknown origin exploded around St. Louis, Missouri in the autumn of 1933, a disease that is now known to be transmitted by mosquitoes from birds to people. Now, a new analysis of the genome of St. Louis encephalitis completed at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is shedding light on the evolution of this virus.
Finding the right soliton for future networks
European researchers say their study of self-sustaining solitary light wave packets could result in a new generation of computers and optical telecommunications networks. Using light rather than electronic or magnetic devices to store and move data is quicker, more energy efficient and cost-effective, and cavity solitons could be the key to unlocking this technology.

News discussion:

General Science news