Climate change in the North Pacific region over the past three centuries

The relatively short length of most instrumental climate records restricts the study of climate variability, and it is therefore essential to extend the record into the past with the help of proxy data. Only since the late 1940s have atmospheric data been available that are sufficient in quality and spatial resolution to identify the dominant patterns of climate variability, such as the Pacific North America pattern and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Here we present a 301-year snow accumulation record from an ice core at a height of 5,340 m above sea level-from Mount Logan, in northwestern North America. This record shows features that are closely linked with the Pacific North America pattern for the period of instrumental data availability. Our record extends back in time to cover the period from the closing stages of the Little Ice Age to the warmest decade in the past millennium. We find a positive, accelerating trend in snow accumulation after the middle of the nineteenth century. This trend is paralleled by a warming over northwestern North America which has been associated with secular changes in both the Pacific North America pattern and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.     

The genome sequence and structure of rice chromosome 1

The rice species Oryza sativa is considered to be a model plant because of its small genome size, extensive genetic map, relative ease of transformation and synteny with other cereal crops. Here we report the essentially complete sequence of chromosome 1, the longest chromosome in the rice genome. We summarize characteristics of the chromosome structure and the biological insight gained from the sequence. The analysis of 43.3 megabases (Mb) of non-overlapping sequence reveals 6,756 protein coding genes, of which 3,161 show homology to proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana, another model plant. About 30% (2,073) of the genes have been functionally categorized. Rice chromosome 1 is (G + C)-rich, especially in its coding regions, and is characterized by several gene families that are dispersed or arranged in tandem repeats. Comparison with a draft sequence indicates the importance of a high-quality finished sequence.