The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

Haem iron intake and risk of lung cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort

Background Epidemiological studies suggest that haem iron, which is found predominantly in red meat and increases endogenous formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds, may be positively associated with lung cancer. The objective was to examine the relationship between haem iron intake and lung cancer risk using detailed smoking history data and serum cotinine to control for potential confounding. Methods In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), 416,746 individuals from 10 countries completed demographic and dietary questionnaires at recruitment. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident lung cancer (n = 3731) risk relative to haem iron, non-haem iron, and total dietary iron intake. A corresponding analysis was conducted among a nested subset of 800 lung cancer cases and 1489 matched controls for whom serum cotinine was available. Results Haem iron was associated with lung cancer risk, including after adjustment for details of smoking history (time since quitting, number of cigarettes per day): as a continuous variable (HR per 0.3 mg/1000 kcal 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.07), and in the highest versus lowest quintile (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.02-1.32; trend across quintiles: P = 0.035). In contrast, non-haem iron intake was related inversely with lung cancer risk; however, this association attenuated after adjustment for smoking history. Additional adjustment for serum cotinine did not considerably alter the associations detected in the nested case-control subset. Conclusions Greater haem iron intake may be modestly associated with lung cancer risk.Peer reviewe

Biogeographic affiliation and centers of richness as predictors of elevational range-size patterns for Malesian flora

Our goal was to interrogate the idea that “mountain passes are higher in the tropics” by investigating ecological and biogeographic drivers of elevational range-sizes patterns among equatorial flora. We used herbarium records for 60 species-rich plant families, representing 18 535 species total, to estimate distributions over a 4500 m elevational gradient. For each family, we estimated the change in average range-sizes with increasing elevation (i.e. Rapoport\u27s rule, abbreviated as ERR) and quantified 15 metrics of familial richness distribution, evolutionary age, and biogeographic affiliation. We visualized covariation across families using phylogenetic principal components analysis (pPCA). We then evaluated how family-level ERR slopes correlated with each metric individually, as well as when using multivariate techniques to reduce dimensionality. We hypothesized that if long term climate stability over millions of years promotes habitat specialization, then among taxa with longer-term tropical affiliations, we would expect smaller range-sizes within lowland forests, with greater range-size expansion towards higher elevations, expressed as a positive ERR slope. Conversely, variation in growing conditions should promote larger, relatively consistent, range-sizes at all sections of an elevational gradient, expressed as a neutral ERR slope. Our results support this corollary because of the dichotomy of ERR slopes observed in relation to the elevational distribution of richness and historical biogeographic positioning. We found that families with greater Sundaland endemism, or richness that was restricted to tropical lowland forests, had positive ERR slopes. Families with stronger Sahul affiliation, or montane centered richness, had shallower, neutral, or negative ERR slopes, as did clades with temperate origins. Families with Wallacea affiliation, broader latitudinal or elevational distributions, cosmopolitanism, greater richness, or older evolutionary age had mixed results. We conclude that the relative steepness of an ERR slope is an indicator of a taxonomic group\u27s tolerance of habitat variation and vulnerability to contemporary climate change

Edaphic specialization and vegetation zones define elevational range-sizes for Mt Kinabalu regional flora

Identifying physical and ecological boundaries that limit where species can occur is important for predicting how those species will respond to global change. The island of Borneo encompasses a wide range of habitats that support some of the highest rich- ness on Earth, making it an ideal location for investigating ecological mechanisms underlying broad patterns of species distribution. We tested variation in richness and range-size in relation to edaphic specialization and vegetation zone boundaries using 3060 plant species from 193 families centered around the elevational gradient of Mt Kinabalu, Borneo. Across species, average range-size increased with elevation, consis- tent with Rapoport’s rule. However, plants associated with ultramafic soil, which is low in nutrient and water availability and often has high concentrations of heavy metals, had larger range-sizes and greater richness than expected along the elevational gradi- ent, as compared to a null model with randomization of edaphic association. In con- trast, non-ultramafic species had smaller range-sizes and lower richness than expected. These results suggest that tolerance of resource limitation may be associated with wider range-sizes, whereas species intolerant of edaphic stress may have narrower range-sizes, possibly owing to more intense competition in favorable soil types. Using elevation as a predictor of average range-sizes, we found that piece-wise models with breakpoints at vegetation zone transitions explained species distributions better than models that did not incorporate ecological boundaries. The greatest relative increases in range-size with respect to elevation occurred mid-elevation, within the montane cloud forest vegeta- tion zone. Expansion of average range-size across an area without physical boundar- ies may indicate a shift in ecological strategy and importance of biotic versus abiotic stressors. Our results indicate that elevational range-size patterns are structured by ecological constraints such as species’ edaphic association, which may limit the ability of species to migrate up or down mountains in response to climate change

SLIMMER (FHL1B/KyoT3) Interacts with the Proapoptotic Protein Siva-1 (CD27BP) and Delays Skeletal Myoblast Apoptosis*

The fhl1 gene encoding four-and-a-half LIM protein-1 (FHL1) and its spliced isoform, SLIMMER, is mutated in reducing body myopathy, X-linked myopathy with postural muscle atrophy, scapuloperoneal myopathy, and rigid spine syndrome. In this study we have identified a novel function for SLIMMER in delaying skeletal muscle apoptosis via an interaction with the proapoptotic protein Siva-1. Siva-1 was identified as a SLIMMER-specific-interacting protein using yeast two-hybrid screening, direct-binding studies, and glutathione S-transferase pulldown analysis of murine skeletal muscle lysates. In C2C12 skeletal myoblasts, SLIMMER and Siva co-localized in the nucleus; however, both proteins exhibited redistribution to the cytoplasm following the differentiation of mononucleated myoblasts to multinucleated myotubes. In sections of mature skeletal muscle from wild type mice, SLIMMER and Siva-1 co-localized at the Z-line. SLIMMER and Siva-1 were also enriched in Pax-7-positive satellite cells, muscle stem cells that facilitate repair and regeneration. Significantly, SLIMMER delayed Siva-1-dependent apoptosis in C2C12 myoblasts. In skeletal muscle sections from the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, SLIMMER and Siva-1 co-localized in the nucleus of apoptotic myofibers. Therefore, SLIMMER may protect skeletal muscle from apoptosis