Seven days: 5–11 July 2013

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Jasons quest ends NASA last week decommissioned the long-running ocean-observation satellite Jason-1, following a terminal system failure. The successful mission had exceeded its nominal lifetime by more than six years. Equipped with instruments that measured tiny changes in sea-level heights, the satellite has orbited Earth more than 53,500 times since its 2001 launch. French and US ground stations lost contact with Jason-1 on 21 June, and subsequent attempts to repair its last remaining transmitter proved unsuccessful. A technically advanced successor mission, Jason-2, has been in orbit since 2008; Jason-3 is scheduled for launch in 2015.

Polio vaccines Countries in and near the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia and Yemen, have launched emergency polio-immunization campaigns in response to an ongoing outbreak. The outbreak, traced to viruses from northern Nigeria, is centred in the Banaadir region of Somalia, which includes Mogadishu. Officials from the World Health Organization have recorded 48 cases of polio in Somalia and Kenya since April.

Jean Revillard/Rezo.ch/SOLAR IMPULSE

Solar plane completes coast to coast The first aeroplane to fly day and night powered only by solar energy landed in New York city on 6July after completing its 5,650-kilometre journey across the United States. The Solar Impulse HB-SIA (pictured on an April test flight) took off on 3May from Moffett Field in Mountain View, California, and stopped at four cities along the way (see go.nature.com/bfmrwe). Andr Borschberg, chief executive and co-founder of Swiss non-profit company Solar Impulse, co-piloted the plane with Bertrand Piccard, one of the first people to fly a balloon non-stop around the world. The aircraft has 12,000 photovoltaic cells on its surface, and stores energy in batteries weighing 400 kilograms more than 25% of the planes weight.

Record warming More nations reported new record temperatures in the 2000s than in any other decade since modern records began in 1850, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). A report released by the organization on 3July also shows that the decade had the highest land and sea temperatures in both hemispheres with the combined average estimated to be 14.47C, which is 0.21C above the 19912000 average. This rate of warming is unprecedented, says WMO secretary-general Michel Jarraud.

MERS preparations The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on 5July plans to convene an emergency committee to consult on the MERS coronavirus. So far, 80 MERS cases have been recorded, with 44 deaths. Although the disease pattern remains stable, the WHO created the panel pre-emptively to guide the agency should conditions worsen or a major outbreak occur. The committee will discuss by teleconference this week whether MERS should be considered a public-health emergency of global concern, requiring international action.

Stem-cell patents Patents covering the derivation of human embryonic stem cells were challenged by consumer advocacy groups and scientists on 2July. Consumer Watchdog and the Public Patent Foundation filed a brief with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, renewing their unsuccessful 2006 challenge to patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The new challenge cites a recent US Supreme Court decision, which ruled that unmodified genes cannot be patented because they occur naturally.

Carbon market lift The European Parliament has approved a plan intended to temporarily raise prices for carbon-emissions permits in Europes carbon-trading market. The 3July vote would withhold the release of some permits to emit carbon dioxide, which have flooded the market since the recession. Politicians hope the shortage will boost prices and spur investment in low-carbon energy. The plan must still be approved by ministers of the European Unions member states. See go.nature.com/ztctzc for more.

Routine genomics The UK government has set up an organization to bring genome sequencing into routine health care, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said on 5July. Genomics England, which is owned by the Department of Health, will arrange sequencing and analysis of genomes, initially focusing on those of people with lung and paediatric cancers, rare diseases or infections. The effort follows the announcement last December that the government would commit 100million (US$150million) to sequence the genomes of up to 100,000 patients over the next five years.

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Seven days: 5–11 July 2013