The facts never speak for themselves. As a result, scientists must learn to focus on presenting, or "framing," their messages in ways that connect with diverse audiences, say MATTHEW C. NISBET AND DIETRAM A. SCHEUFELE. Plus, see results of our reader poll about the importance of framing.

Will Panama's planned widening of the famed interocean canal spell ecologic trouble? We sent ANDREA GAWRYLEWSKI to Panama to investigate the effects of canal expansion on the area's ecology.

What can we learn from the in-process encyclopedia of how non-protein-coding sequences exert genetic control? MELISSA LEE PHILLIPS presents an overview of what roles microRNAs are playing in the body, and the experience of one lab studying these small but abundant regulatory RNAs. Plus, JOHN S. MATTICK explains why he believes most of the human genome is functional.

Whether drug companies like it or not, the FDA is pushing for patient-reported outcomes in trials. ED SILVERMAN asks: What is this data good for?