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Disruption of neuronal morphology contributes to the pathology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here, we show that postnatal deletion of Cdh1, a cofactor of the anaphasepromoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) ubiquitin ligase in neurons [Cdh1 conditional knockout (cKO)], disrupts dendrite arborization and causes dendritic spine and synapse loss in the cortex and hippocampus, concomitant with memory impairment and neurodegeneration, in adult mice. We found that the dendrite destabilizer Rho protein kinase 2 (Rock2), which accumulates in the brain of AD patients, is an APC/C Cdh1 substrate in vivo and that Rock2 protein and activity increased in the cortex and hippocampus of Cdh1 cKO mice. In these animals, inhibition of Rock activity, using the clinically approved drug fasudil, prevented dendritic network disorganization, memory loss, and neurodegeneration. Thus, APC/C Cdh1 -mediated degradation of Rock2 maintains the dendritic network, memory formation, and neuronal survival, suggesting that pharmacological inhibition of aberrantly accumulated Rock2 may be a suitable therapeutic strategy against neurodegeneration.APC/C Cdh1 | Rock | dendrite | memory | neurodegeneration

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The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, launched in November 2009, is the European Space Agency's (ESA) second Earth Explorer Opportunity mission. The scientific objectives of the SMOS mission directly respond to the need for global observations of soil moisture and ocean salinity, two key variables used in predictive hydrological, oceanographic and atmospheric models. SMOS observations also provide information on vegetation, in particular plant available water and water content in a canopy, drought index and flood risks, surface ocean winds in storms, freeze/thaw state and sea ice and its effect on ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes and dynamics affecting large-scale processes of the Earth's climate system.Significant progress has been made over the course of the now 6-year life time of the SMOS mission in improving the ESA provided level 1 brightness temperature and level 2 soil moisture and sea surface salinity data products. The main emphasis of this paper is to review the status of the mission and provide an overview and performance assessment of SMOS data products, in particular with a view towards operational applications, and using SMOS products in data assimilation.Please note that this is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available on the publisher Web site.SMOS is in excellent technical condition with no limiting factors for operations beyond 2017. The instrument performance fulfils the requirements. The radio-frequency interference (RFI) contamination originates from man-made emitters on ground, operating in the protected L-band and adding signal to the natural radiation emitted by the Earth. RFI has been detected worldwide and has been significantly reduced in Europe and the Americas but remains a constraint in Asia and the Middle East. The mission's scientific objectives have been reached over land and are approaching the mission objectives over ocean.This review paper aims to provide an introduction and synthesis to the papers published in this RSE special issue on SMOS. Highlights► SMOS is in excellent technical conditions. ► No technical limits exist to operate the mission beyond 2017. ► New data products for operational users have been included in the SMOS portfolio. ► SMOS data are already used in data assimilation and operational forecasting systems. ► SMOS observed interannual changes have great potential for climate research.