nature

THIS WEEK

Editorials

Flu papers warrant full publication ▶

Although more debate is needed, the benefits of publishing sensitive data outweigh the risks that have so far been made public.

Turing at 100 ▶

This year marks the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing. He deserves your attention.

Over the line ▶

Dishonesty, however tempting, is the wrong way to tackle climate sceptics.

World View

The man behind the machine ▶

Alan Turing is famous for many reasons. Andrew Hodges delves into why Turing's achievements took so long to be recognized.

Seven Days

Seven days: 17–23 February 2012 ▶

The week in science: Animals saved from chemical safety tests; fund launched to clean up methane and black-carbon emissions; and excitement over nanopore DNA sequencing.

NEWS IN FOCUS

Flu meeting opts for openness ▶

Controversial virus studies should be published and oversight of such work strengthened, conference concludes.

Growing pains for children's study ▶

Door-to-door recruitment abandoned for US project.

Editor's move sparks backlash ▶

Bioethicists are forced to consider their purpose as leading practitioner joins controversial stem-cell company.

Extra scrutiny for 'grandee grantees' ▶

An analysis by Nature reveals who holds the most grants from the US National Institutes of Health.

Physicists raid Tevatron for parts ▶

Fermilab icon plundered amid tight budgets and shifting scientific aims.

Wild flower blooms again after 30,000 years on ice ▶

Fruits hoarded by ancient ground squirrels give new life to prehistoric plants.

Features

Turing at 100: Legacy of a universal mind ▶

Computer modelling: Brain in a box ▶

Henry Markram wants €1 billion to model the entire human brain. Sceptics don't think he should get it.

COMMENT

Turing centenary: The dawn of computing ▶

Alan Turing's bridging of logic and machines laid the foundation for digital computers, says George Dyson.

Turing centenary: Life's code script ▶

Turing machines and cells have much in common, argues Sydney Brenner.

Turing centenary: Is the brain a good model for machine intelligence? ▶

To celebrate the centenary of the year of Alan Turing's birth, four scientists and entrepreneurs assess the divide between neuroscience and computing.

Turing centenary: Pattern formation ▶

We are only beginning to see the impact of Turing's influential work on morphogenesis, says John Reinitz.

Turing centenary: The incomputable reality ▶

The natural world's interconnectivity should inspire better models of the Universe, says Barry Cooper.

Books and Arts

Neuroscience: Powerful acts ▶

Giovanni Frazzetto explores how theatre exerts its psychological effects on the emotions.

Books in brief ▶

Infectious disease: Chronicles of a killer virus ▶

Just over 30 years after HIV/AIDS was first recognized, three accounts of its ravages intrigue Robin Weiss.

Q&A: The eternal optimist ▶

Peter Diamandis is the founder of the non-profit X Prize Foundation, which aims to kick-start research and development to solve humanity's biggest challenges. On the publication this week of his book Abundance, co-authored with journalist Steven Kotler, he explains how technological and social progress will enable us to provide enough food, water and energy for all.

Correspondence

Mutant flu: preparing for a pandemic Eric S. Starbuck | Mutant flu: assessing biosecurity risks Johannes Rath | Foreign drug trials: questionable use of chimpanzees John J. Pippin | Sugar: there's more to the obesity crisis Ron Boswell | Sugar: fruit fructose is still healthy John L. Sievenpiper, Russell J. de Souza & David J. A. Jenkins | Sugar: a problem of developed countries Christiani Jeyakumar Henry & Viren Ranawana | Sugar: other ‘toxic’ factors play a part Saleem H. Ali | Australia: small steps to control invasives Bruce L. Webber, John K. Scott & Raphael K. Didham | Australia: better solutions to wildfires Richard J. Hobbs | Australia: a case for Aboriginal rangers Clive R. McMahon | Australia: no price on cutting fire risk P. J. Nico de Bruyn & Andrew B. Davies

Correction

Clarification ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Ageing: Sorting out the sirtuins ▶

David B. Lombard & Richard A. Miller

Gain control by layer six in cortical circuits of vision ▶

Shawn R. Olsen, Dante S. Bortone, Hillel Adesnik & Massimo Scanziani

Layer six in the mouse primary visual cortex is a major mediator of cortical gain modulation and may be a node through which convergent inputs from several brain areas can regulate the earliest steps of cortical visual processing.

The translational landscape of mTOR signalling steers cancer initiation and metastasis ▶

Andrew C. Hsieh, Yi Liu, Merritt P. Edlind, Nicholas T. Ingolia, Matthew R. Janes et al.

Ribosome profiling reveals specialized translation of the prostate cancer genome by oncogenic mTOR signalling; stringent inhibition of mTOR signalling reduces prostate cancer invasion and metastasis in a mouse model.

The sirtuin SIRT6 regulates lifespan in male mice ▶

Yariv Kanfi, Shoshana Naiman, Gail Amir, Victoria Peshti, Guy Zinman et al.

The role of sirtuins in longevity is controversial, and little is known about mammalian sirtuins; now, male mice that overexpress SIRT6 are shown to have a longer lifespan than wild-type mice, unlike their female counterparts.

Strict evolutionary conservation followed rapid gene loss on human and rhesus Y chromosomes ▶

Jennifer F. Hughes, Helen Skaletsky, Laura G. Brown, Tatyana Pyntikova, Tina Graves et al.

The male-specific region of rhesus macaque and human Y chromosome (MSY) are sequenced and compared to the human MSY, showing that during the last 25 million years MSY gene loss in the rhesus and human lineages was limited to the youngest stratum (stratum 5), whereas gene loss in the older strata ceased more than 25 million years ago.

Circadian rhythms govern cardiac repolarization and arrhythmogenesis ▶

Darwin Jeyaraj, Saptarsi M. Haldar, Xiaoping Wan, Mark D. McCauley, Jürgen A. Ripperger et al.

Circadian rhythmicity of cardiac ion-channel expression and of an index of myocardial repolarization is under the control of Klf15, a clock-dependent oscillator that is required for generating transient outward potassium current, and deficiencies or excesses of which cause loss of rhythmic variation in myocardial and abnormal repolarization, and an enhanced susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias.

Sequencing of neuroblastoma identifies chromothripsis and defects in neuritogenesis genes ▶

Jan J. Molenaar, Jan Koster, Danny A. Zwijnenburg, Peter van Sluis, Linda J. Valentijn et al.

Whole-genome sequencing of neuroblastoma, a childhood tumour of the nervous system, shows that chromothripsis (a local shredding of chromosomes) and mutations in genes regulating neurite growth are associated with the most aggressive tumours.

The mechanism of OTUB1-mediated inhibition of ubiquitination ▶

Reuven Wiener, Xiangbin Zhang, Tao Wang & Cynthia Wolberger

OTUB1 is an atypical deubiquitinating enzyme which prevents ubiquitin attachment and is important in the DNA damage pathway; structural analysis of OTUB1 in complex with an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme reveals that the ability of OTUB1 to inhibit ubiquitin chain synthesis is regulated by an allosteric feedback mechanism.

Piezo proteins are pore-forming subunits of mechanically activated channels ▶

Bertrand Coste, Bailong Xiao, Jose S. Santos, Ruhma Syeda, Jörg Grandl et al.

Large transmembrane proteins of the Piezo family assemble as tetramers to form a new class of ion channel that can be activated by mechanical force.

Opposite effects of fear conditioning and extinction on dendritic spine remodelling ▶

Cora Sau Wan Lai, Thomas F. Franke & Wen-Biao Gan

In mouse frontal cortex, fear conditioning and extinction cause dendritic spine elimination and, respectively, formation to occur on the same dendritic branches in a cue- and location-specific manner.

Dysfunction of lipid sensor GPR120 leads to obesity in both mouse and human ▶

Atsuhiko Ichimura, Akira Hirasawa, Odile Poulain-Godefroy, Amélie Bonnefond, Takafumi Hara et al.

Mice deficient in the lipid sensor GPR120 develop obesity, glucose intolerance and fatty liver when fed a high-fat diet, and a loss-of-function variant in the GPR120 gene strongly contributes to increased obesity in human.

The role of Drosophila Piezo in mechanical nociception ▶

Sung Eun Kim, Bertrand Coste, Abhishek Chadha, Boaz Cook & Ardem Patapoutian

The Drosophila Piezo protein is shown to function in sensory neurons to transduce mechanical force in vivo.

Stability criteria for complex ecosystems ▶

Stefano Allesina & Si Tang

Analysis of stability criteria for different types of complex ecological network shows key differences between predator–prey interactions, which are stabilizing, and competitive and mutualistic interactions, which are destabilizing.

Repetitive motor learning induces coordinated formation of clustered dendritic spines in vivo ▶

Min Fu, Xinzhu Yu, Ju Lu & Yi Zuo

Repetitive activation of specific circuitry in the motor cortex during motor learning can induce new clusters of dendritic spines to form, which are preferentially stabilized during prolonged learning sessions.

Articles and Letters

Ubiquitin-dependent regulation of COPII coat size and function ▶

Lingyan Jin, Kanika Bajaj Pahuja, Katherine E. Wickliffe, Amita Gorur, Christine Baumgärtel et al.

The size of COPII vesicles is shown to be controlled by monoubiquitylation, with potential implications for cranio-lenticulo-sutural dysplasia and chylomicron retention disease.

Structural basis of highly conserved ribosome recycling in eukaryotes and archaea ▶

Thomas Becker, Sibylle Franckenberg, Stephan Wickles, Christopher J. Shoemaker, Andreas M. Anger et al.

Cryo-electron-microscopy reconstructions of eukaryotic and archaeal ribosomes bound by ABCE1 and Pelota suggest a conserved mechanism for ribosome recycling.

The microRNA miR-34 modulates ageing and neurodegeneration in Drosophila ▶

Nan Liu, Michael Landreh, Kajia Cao, Masashi Abe, Gert-Jan Hendriks et al.

The conserved microRNA miR-34 regulates age-associated events and long-term brain integrity in Drosophila, providing a molecular link between ageing and neurodegeneration.

Maintenance of muscle stem-cell quiescence by microRNA-489 ▶

Tom H. Cheung, Navaline L. Quach, Gregory W. Charville, Ling Liu, Lidia Park et al.

Adult muscle stem cells are used as a model system to show that the microRNA pathway, and specifically miR-489, is essential for the maintenance of the quiescent state of an adult stem-cell population by suppressing a key proliferation factor, Dek.

Clonal selection drives genetic divergence of metastatic medulloblastoma ▶

Xiaochong Wu, Paul A. Northcott, Adrian Dubuc, Adam J. Dupuy, David J. H. Shih et al.

In a mouse model and in human medulloblastoma patients, the metastases in an individual have similar genomic alterations and DNA methylation patterns, but these patterns are highly divergent from those of the primary tumour, indicating that therapies will need to be tailored to fit the molecular alterations present in the primary tumour and/or the metastases.

DCC constrains tumour progression via its dependence receptor activity ▶

Marie Castets, Laura Broutier, Yann Molin, Marie Brevet, Guillaume Chazot et al.

A mouse model is developed in which the pro-apoptotic activity of DCC is silenced and the mice are more prone to intestinal tumour progression, giving insight into the role of DCC in human colorectal cancer.

Deleted in colorectal carcinoma suppresses metastasis in p53-deficient mammary tumours ▶

Paul Krimpenfort, Ji-Ying Song, Natalie Proost, John Zevenhoven, Jos Jonkers et al.

In a mouse model of mammary carcinoma, loss of deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) promotes metastasis formation, and in cell cultures derived from p53-deficient mouse mammary tumours DCC expression controls netrin-1-dependent cell survival, supporting the function of DCC as a context-dependent tumour suppressor that limits survival of disseminated tumour cells.

The same pocket in menin binds both MLL and JUND but has opposite effects on transcription ▶

Jing Huang, Buddha Gurung, Bingbing Wan, Smita Matkar, Natalia A. Veniaminova et al.

Crystal structures of menin in its free form and in complexes with MLL1 or with JUND, or with an MLL1–LEDGF heterodimer, show that menin contains a deep pocket that binds short peptides of MLL1 or JUND in the same manner, but produces opposite effects on transcription.

Structure of the human M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor bound to an antagonist ▶

Kazuko Haga, Andrew C. Kruse, Hidetsugu Asada, Takami Yurugi-Kobayashi, Mitsunori Shiroishi et al.

The X-ray crystal structure of the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, which is essential for the physiological control of cardiovascular function, is reported.

Structure and dynamics of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor ▶

Andrew C. Kruse, Jianxin Hu, Albert C. Pan, Daniel H. Arlow, Daniel M. Rosenbaum et al.

The X-ray crystal structure of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor bound to the bronchodilator drug tiotropium is reported; comparison of this structure with that of the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor reveals key differences that could potentially be exploited to develop subtype-selective drugs.

News & Views

Cell biology: Collagen secretion explained ▶

David J. Stephens

Materials science: Cell environments programmed with light ▶

Matthias P. Lutolf

Structural biology: Muscarinic receptors become crystal clear ▶

Rebecca L. Kow & Neil M. Nathanson

Cancer genetics: Evolution after tumour spread ▶

Steven C. Clifford

Ageing: Sorting out the sirtuins ▶

David B. Lombard & Richard A. Miller

Brief Communications Arising

Geometry and scale in species–area relationships ▶

Henrique Miguel Pereira, Luís Borda-de-Água & Inês Santos Martins

Extinction and climate change ▶

Chris D. Thomas & Mark Williamson

He and Hubbell reply ▶

Fangliang He & Stephen P. Hubbell

Research Highlights

Evolution: Lilliputian lizards come to light | Biophysics: Claustrophobic DNA in tug of war | Cell signalling: Sideways activation | Biology: Immunity's circadian link | Stem-cell biology: Restore my beating heart | Genomics: Loss-of-function found in droves | Immunology: Immune system master switch | Zoology: Antifreeze's role in fish spread

NEWS & COMMENT

Flu papers warrant full publication | Flu meeting opts for openness | Growing pains for children's study | Editor's move sparks backlash | Extra scrutiny for 'grandee grantees' | Wild flower blooms again after 30,000 years on ice | Computer modelling: Brain in a box | Turing centenary: Life's code script | Turing centenary: Is the brain a good model for machine intelligence? | Turing centenary: Pattern formation | Neuroscience: Powerful acts | Books in brief | Infectious disease: Chronicles of a killer virus | Mutant flu: preparing for a pandemic Eric S. Starbuck | Mutant flu: assessing biosecurity risks Johannes Rath | Foreign drug trials: questionable use of chimpanzees John J. Pippin | Sugar: there's more to the obesity crisis Ron Boswell | Sugar: fruit fructose is still healthy John L. Sievenpiper, Russell J. de Souza & David J. A. Jenkins | Sugar: a problem of developed countries Christiani Jeyakumar Henry & Viren Ranawana | Sugar: other ‘toxic’ factors play a part Saleem H. Ali | Australia: small steps to control invasives Bruce L. Webber, John K. Scott & Raphael K. Didham | Australia: better solutions to wildfires Richard J. Hobbs | Australia: a case for Aboriginal rangers Clive R. McMahon | Australia: no price on cutting fire risk P. J. Nico de Bruyn & Andrew B. Davies

CAREERS

Turning point: Christopher Wilson

More Biological Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

The mechanism of OTUB1-mediated inhibition of ubiquitination ▶

Reuven Wiener, Xiangbin Zhang, Tao Wang & Cynthia Wolberger

OTUB1 is an atypical deubiquitinating enzyme which prevents ubiquitin attachment and is important in the DNA damage pathway; structural analysis of OTUB1 in complex with an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme reveals that the ability of OTUB1 to inhibit ubiquitin chain synthesis is regulated by an allosteric feedback mechanism.

Articles and Letters

Ubiquitin-dependent regulation of COPII coat size and function ▶

Lingyan Jin, Kanika Bajaj Pahuja, Katherine E. Wickliffe, Amita Gorur, Christine Baumgärtel et al.

The size of COPII vesicles is shown to be controlled by monoubiquitylation, with potential implications for cranio-lenticulo-sutural dysplasia and chylomicron retention disease.

Structural basis of highly conserved ribosome recycling in eukaryotes and archaea ▶

Thomas Becker, Sibylle Franckenberg, Stephan Wickles, Christopher J. Shoemaker, Andreas M. Anger et al.

Cryo-electron-microscopy reconstructions of eukaryotic and archaeal ribosomes bound by ABCE1 and Pelota suggest a conserved mechanism for ribosome recycling.

The same pocket in menin binds both MLL and JUND but has opposite effects on transcription ▶

Jing Huang, Buddha Gurung, Bingbing Wan, Smita Matkar, Natalia A. Veniaminova et al.

Crystal structures of menin in its free form and in complexes with MLL1 or with JUND, or with an MLL1–LEDGF heterodimer, show that menin contains a deep pocket that binds short peptides of MLL1 or JUND in the same manner, but produces opposite effects on transcription.

Structure of the human M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor bound to an antagonist ▶

Kazuko Haga, Andrew C. Kruse, Hidetsugu Asada, Takami Yurugi-Kobayashi, Mitsunori Shiroishi et al.

The X-ray crystal structure of the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, which is essential for the physiological control of cardiovascular function, is reported.

Structure and dynamics of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor ▶

Andrew C. Kruse, Jianxin Hu, Albert C. Pan, Daniel H. Arlow, Daniel M. Rosenbaum et al.

The X-ray crystal structure of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor bound to the bronchodilator drug tiotropium is reported; comparison of this structure with that of the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor reveals key differences that could potentially be exploited to develop subtype-selective drugs.

News & Views

Cell biology: Collagen secretion explained ▶

David J. Stephens

Materials science: Cell environments programmed with light ▶

Matthias P. Lutolf

Structural biology: Muscarinic receptors become crystal clear ▶

Rebecca L. Kow & Neil M. Nathanson

Research Highlights

Chemistry: Simple solution for tricky chemistry

NEWS & COMMENT

Turing centenary: Pattern formation

More Chemical Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Re-emerging superconductivity at 48 kelvin in iron chalcogenides ▶

Liling Sun, Xiao-Jia Chen, Jing Guo, Peiwen Gao, Qing-Zhen Huang et al.

Unexpectedly, in superconducting iron chalcogenides, a second, much higher, maximum in the superconducting transition temperature emerges under increasing pressure.

Articles and Letters

Experimental demonstration of topological error correction ▶

Xing-Can Yao, Tian-Xiong Wang, Hao-Ze Chen, Wei-Bo Gao, Austin G. Fowler et al.

Fault-tolerant manipulation of quantum bits is demonstrated experimentally on an eight-photon cluster state using topological error correction.

Abrupt acceleration of a ‘cold’ ultrarelativistic wind from the Crab pulsar ▶

F. A. Aharonian, S. V. Bogovalov & D. Khangulyan

Observations of γ-rays from the Crab pulsar suggest that the energy of the pulsar wind changes from electromagnetic to kinetic over a relatively short distance close to the light cylinder of the pulsar.

Wetting of flexible fibre arrays ▶

C. Duprat, S. Protière, A. Y. Beebe & H. A. Stone

The parameters critical in determining the behaviour of a fibrous medium wetted with a single liquid drop are identified as fibre flexibility, fibre geometry and drop volume.

Recent contributions of glaciers and ice caps to sea level rise ▶

Thomas Jacob, John Wahr, W. Tad Pfeffer & Sean Swenson

Satellite measurements of Earth’s gravity field show that the mass loss of glaciers and ice caps contributed to sea level rise by approximately 0.4 millimetres per year between 2003 and 2010.

Reviews and Perspectives

The case for open computer programs ▶

Darrel C. Ince, Leslie Hatton & John Graham-Cumming

Scientific reproducibility now very often depends on the computational method being available to duplicate, so here it is argued that all source code should be freely available.

News & Views

Astrophysics: First results from Planck observatory ▶

Uroš Seljak

Fluid mechanics: Mist opportunities ▶

Rosamund Daw

Materials science: Cell environments programmed with light ▶

Matthias P. Lutolf

Quantum computing: A topological route to error correction ▶

James D. Franson

Climate change: Shrinking glaciers under scrutiny ▶

Jonathan Bamber

Brief Communications Arising

Extinction and climate change ▶

Chris D. Thomas & Mark Williamson

He and Hubbell reply ▶

Fangliang He & Stephen P. Hubbell

Research Highlights

Astrophysics: Zombie star rising

NEWS & COMMENT

Turing at 100 | Over the line | The man behind the machine | Physicists raid Tevatron for parts | Wild flower blooms again after 30,000 years on ice | Turing at 100: Legacy of a universal mind | Computer modelling: Brain in a box | Turing centenary: The dawn of computing | Turing centenary: Is the brain a good model for machine intelligence? | Turing centenary: The incomputable reality | Q&A: The eternal optimist

CAREERS

Turning point: Christopher Wilson

More Physical Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Articles and Letters

Recent contributions of glaciers and ice caps to sea level rise ▶

Thomas Jacob, John Wahr, W. Tad Pfeffer & Sean Swenson

Satellite measurements of Earth’s gravity field show that the mass loss of glaciers and ice caps contributed to sea level rise by approximately 0.4 millimetres per year between 2003 and 2010.

News & Views

Climate change: Shrinking glaciers under scrutiny ▶

Jonathan Bamber

Brief Communications Arising

Geometry and scale in species–area relationships ▶

Henrique Miguel Pereira, Luís Borda-de-Água & Inês Santos Martins

Extinction and climate change ▶

Chris D. Thomas & Mark Williamson

He and Hubbell reply ▶

Fangliang He & Stephen P. Hubbell

NEWS & COMMENT

Over the line | Wild flower blooms again after 30,000 years on ice | Books in brief

More Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶

Education: Outside the box ▶

A European industrial doctorate could help students to break out of academia, but applied science is not for everyone.

Turning point: Christopher Wilson ▶

After finding virtual particles, a physicist turns to proteomics.

Careers related news & comment

Editor's move sparks backlash | Extra scrutiny for 'grandee grantees' | Physicists raid Tevatron for parts | Mutant flu: preparing for a pandemic Eric S. Starbuck

Postdoc in Computational Biology

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology 

Combining Chemical Biology and RNA Interference to Study Rho Signalling During Cell Division

King's College London 

Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Genotype-by-Sequence and Association Mapping in Oat

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 

Postdoctoral Fellow in Beta Cell Biology

Sanford Health/University of South Dakota 

Managing Immunogenicity Risk in Biopharmaceuticals

08.03.12 Palo Alto, US