A roundup of weekly science policy and related news.

National Academies report calls for overhaul.

As success rates drop, agency seeks to limit applications.

But companies may be reluctant to supply unapproved drugs.

Conventional computer ties D-Wave machine.

Ancient texts suggest Silk Road polymath inferred the existence of unknown continents.

Study lifts veil on journal price negotiations.

The trills and chirps of bats can be as complex and meaningful as bird song—and may be a closer analog for human speech.

A listing of books received at Science during the week ending 13 June 2014.

H3Africa is developing capacity for health-related genomics research in Africa

Fossils from Sima de los Huesos show a mixture of Neandertal and more ancient features. [Also see Research Article by Arsuaga et al.]

Understanding nanocrystal surfaces helps to direct their assembly into novel material architectures. [Also see Reports by Boneschanscher et al. and Zherebetskyy et al.]

Altruistic cell suicide model is challenged. [Also see Report by Malmgren Hill et al.]

An anti-inflammatory milieu promotes immune tolerance

Erasing knowledge of a quantum system changes its state. [Also see Report by Weisz et al.]

How two crow species maintain their identity raises questions about species concepts. [Also see Report by Poelstra et al.]

Seventeen skulls from at least 430 thousand years ago illuminate hominin evolutionary patterns in Pleistocene Europe. [Also see Perspective by Hublin]

A device that illustrates the principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics has been implemented with electrons. [Also see Perspective by Feldman]

A microscope based on a single spin of a diamond defect is used to observe magnetism dynamics.

Structured gold antennas are used to launch plasmons into graphene, engineer their wavefronts, and control their propagation.

Ultralow-density materials that deform through tension or compression rather than bending show much higher stiffness.

Metal-chalcogenide nanocrystals undergo necking and large-scale atomic rearrangements when forming a surface lattice. [Also see Perspective by Boles and Talapin]

The surfaces of lead sulfide nanocrystals capped with an organic acid can also bear hydroxyl groups. [Also see Perspective by Boles and Talapin]

An analysis reveals how the very low terminal differentiation rates in adipocytes are maintained.

An enzyme linked to cell death in animal cells protects yeast cells from misfolded protein aggregates. [Also see Perspective by Kampinga]

Turning up the noise in HIV gene expression can help HIV drugs be more effective.

Screening individual cancer cells within a brain tumor may help to guide treatment and predict prognosis.

Development of an AIDS-like animal disease model after serial passage of HIV-1 in pigtailed macaques is shown.

A crystal structure shows how botulinum neurotoxin crosses the host intestinal epithelial barrier, causing toxicity.

Gray hooded crow and black carrion crow genomes reveal the effects of hybridization on keeping the species separate. [Also see Perspective by de Knijff]

On this week's show: The cultural evolution of mind reading and a roundup of stories from our daily news site.

A weekly roundup of information on newly offered instrumentation, apparatus, and laboratory materials of potential interest to researchers.