《Science》——Areas to Watch in 2014

12月20日出版的《科学》杂志展望2014年值得关注的科研领域，共4项，分别如下：

1. 中微子研究

2013年，科学家首次探测到来自太阳系外中微子，接下来，科学家将验证它们是否能够作为探测宇宙的有用工具。

相关报道：Physicists Snare a Precious Few Neutrinos From the Cosmos

1. Space ghosts

This year, physicists finally detected elusive particles called neutrinos coming from beyond our solar system. Now, the question is whether they will prove to be a useful tool for probing the universe. The observations from IceCube, a massive array of particle detectors sunk into 1 cubic kilometer of ice at the South Pole, completed a 40-year quest for cosmic neutrinos. But IceCube's main aim is to pinpoint their sources in the sky and usher in the field of neutrino astronomy, and it remains to be seen if it can collect enough of the ghostly particles for that. The IceCube team's first earnest attempt to map the neutrino sky should come within months, so scientists may soon know whether the array is big enough to serve as a neutrino telescope or whether something more is needed.

2. 临床基因组

2014年，越来越多的研究人员，甚至医生，会要求病人进行基因组测序，这将有助于诊断罕见疾病和确定癌症疗法。

相关报道：Steering Cancer Genomics Into the Fast Lane

Cancer Genetics With an Edge

2. Clinical genomes

In 2014, more and more researchers—and even some doctors—will be requesting a patient's entire genome sequence or a subset of it, the protein-coding DNA known as the exome. The results could help diagnose rare diseases and identify cancer treatments. Several studies will explore whether sequencing should become part of newborn screening and even guide the medical care of healthy people. In perhaps the most ambitious clinical sequencing project yet, the United Kingdom will embark on a 4-year plan to sequence the genomes of 100,000 patients, most of them with cancer and rare diseases, to guide their treatments. Looming over these efforts is a debate over whether patients should be notified when the sequencing reveals "incidental" results—medically important findings unrelated to their illness.

3. 探寻宇宙历史

“普朗克”探测器在2009年8月至2013年10月期间采集了相关天文数据，通过分析这些数据，欧洲宇航局研究人员有望在未来数月内绘出宇宙全景偏振图。

相关报道：Boxed In

3. Cosmic history, with a twist

The afterglow of the big bang—the so-called cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation—may soon yield another revelation about how the universe began. That primordial radiation could contain traces of gravity waves that rippled through the universe in the first sliver of a second. Those traces would take the form of swirling patterns in the polarization of the microwaves as the CMB is mapped across the sky. The swirls, called B modes, could yield clues to how the universe underwent a faster-than-light growth spurt known as inflation. Researchers with the European Space Agency's spacecraft Planck, which took data from August 2009 to October 2013, should release a polarization map of the whole sky within months. But some researchers say Planck may not have the resolution to spot the swirls and may get scooped by ground-based efforts.

4. 黑猩猩退休

黑猩猩正在陆续“离开”美国科研实验室。多家美国政府或科研机构以多种方式取消实验中使用黑猩猩。一些科学家将不得不转向其它实验动物，或者彻底放弃相关研究。

相关报道：Lawsuits Seek 'Personhood' for Chimpanzees

4. Bye-bye, chimps?

One way or another, chimpanzees may be leaving U.S. research labs. In June, the National Institutes of Health announced plans to retire all but 50 of its 360 research chimps and phase out much of the chimp research it supports. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, meanwhile, has recommended that captive chimps be listed as endangered, which would limit any research that isn't in their best interest. And just this month, an animal rights group known as the Nonhuman Rights Project launched a legal effort to have chimpanzees declared legal persons and freed from captivity. Its first three lawsuits, filed in three New York courts, were dismissed, but it plans to appeal (http://scim.ag/NHRPchimps). Scientists who study the animals may soon have to move on to other creatures—or abandon their research entirely.

（来源：科学网 www.sciencenet.cn）

（原文：《Science》）