nature

THIS WEEK

Editorials

Uncharted territory ▶

Political maps that seek to advance disputed territorial claims have no place in scientific papers. Researchers should keep relationships cordial by depoliticizing their work.

Positive spin ▶

Science lobbyists must boost the appeal of research to policy-makers.

The PSA position ▶

The US government must take a firm stance on whether prostate-cancer screening is justified.

World View

Genomic medicine has failed the poor ▶

A decade on from a landmark genetic-sequencing study, promised progress on typhoid fever has not materialized, says Stephen Baker.

Seven Days

Seven days: 14–20 October 2011 ▶

The week in science: stem-cell patents barred in Europe; Australia set for carbon tax; and full test of Indian Ocean tsunami warning system.

NEWS IN FOCUS

Angry words over East Asian seas ▶

Chinese territorial claims propel science into choppy waters.

US row threatens Chinese links ▶

Dispute intensifies over a ban on some types of scientific cooperation with China.

No quick fix for Haiti cholera ▶

As outbreak enters its second year, relief bodies move to roll out vaccine for the first time.

Vatican bids for Italian institute ▶

Debt and death hit San Raffaele research centre.

Lobbyists confront US budget crunch ▶

Money for advocacy is tight as federal cuts loom.

Seven billion and counting ▶

A look behind this month's global population landmark reveals a world in transition.

Spies to use Twitter as crystal ball ▶

US intelligence agency aims to forecast unrest by reading the runes of social media.

Features

Collaborative physics: String theory finds a bench mate ▶

The exotic theory of everything could shed light on the behaviour of real materials, thanks to an unexpected mathematical connection with condensed-matter physics.

Dam controversy: Remaking the Mekong ▶

Scientists are hoping to stall plans to erect a string of dams along the Mekong River.

COMMENT

Decline of violence: Taming the devil within us ▶

We are getting smarter, and as a result the world is becoming a more peaceful place, says Steven Pinker.

Research ethics: Treat donors as partners in biobank research ▶

Proposed rules to protect research subjects will impede progress, say Krishanu Saha and J. Benjamin Hurlbut. Instead, give donors more say in how samples are used.

Autumn Books

Evolution: Lies we tell ourselves ▶

Stuart West is inspired by Robert Trivers' evolutionary argument that self-deception is crucial to deceiving others effectively.

Particle physics: A question of mass ▶

The struggle to find a theory of the weak nuclear force reveals intriguing personalities, finds Edwin Cartlidge.

New in paperback ▶

Highlights from this season's releases

Fiction: Gaming, guns and virtual gold ▶

John Gilbey savours a fast-paced technological thriller based at the intersection of the real world and the cyber-universe.

Medicine: Sex and freedom ▶

W. F. Bynum applauds the life of a great educator who fought for parental choice.

Virology: Pathogenic passengers ▶

Edward C. Holmes welcomes a robust account of how viruses emerge and how pandemics can be prevented.

Technology: The inspiration exchange ▶

Chris Lintott assesses an idea that unites individual scientific expertise with collective intelligence.

Neuroscience: Capturing free will ▶

Jacek Debiec enjoys two complementary books charting the psychology and neuroscience of decision-making.

Correspondence

Research funds: Rid Russian science of corruption Mikhail Gelfand | Italian quake: critics' logic is questionable John E. Vidale | Italian quake: science rides politics Benedetto De Vivo

Obituary

Rudolf L. Mössbauer (1929–2011) ▶

A physicist who revitalized German science by creating a new type of spectroscopy.

Correction

Correction ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Motor antagonism exposed by spatial segregation and timing of neurogenesis ▶

Marco Tripodi, Anna E. Stepien & Silvia Arber

Walking is a key motor behaviour of limbed animals, executed by contraction of f...

Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans ▶

Eric L. Greer, Travis J. Maures, Duygu Ucar, Anna G. Hauswirth, Elena Mancini et al.

Chromatin modifiers regulate lifespan in several organisms, raising the question...

Verbal and non-verbal intelligence changes in the teenage brain ▶

Sue Ramsden, Fiona M. Richardson, Goulven Josse, Michael S. C. Thomas, Caroline Ellis et al.

Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a standardized measure of human intellectual capac...

Multiple routes to mammalian diversity ▶

Chris Venditti, Andrew Meade & Mark Pagel

The radiation of the mammals provides a 165-million-year test case for evolution...

A SUMOylation-defective MITF germline mutation predisposes to melanoma and renal carcinoma ▶

Corine Bertolotto, Fabienne Lesueur, Sandy Giuliano, Thomas Strub, Mahaut de Lichy et al.

So far, no common environmental and/or phenotypic factor has been associated wit...

Changes in plant community composition lag behind climate warming in lowland forests ▶

Romain Bertrand, Jonathan Lenoir, Christian Piedallu, Gabriela Riofrío-Dillon, Patrice de Ruffray et al.

Climate change is driving latitudinal and altitudinal shifts in species distribu...

RNAi promotes heterochromatic silencing through replication-coupled release of RNA Pol II ▶

Mikel Zaratiegui, Stephane E. Castel, Danielle V. Irvine, Anna Kloc, Jie Ren et al.

Heterochromatin comprises tightly compacted repetitive regions of eukaryotic chr...

Structural basis for a [4Fe-3S] cluster in the oxygen-tolerant membrane-bound [NiFe]-hydrogenase ▶

Yasuhito Shomura, Ki-Seok Yoon, Hirofumi Nishihara & Yoshiki Higuchi

Membrane-bound respiratory [NiFe]-hydrogenase (MBH), a H2-uptake e...

The crystal structure of an oxygen-tolerant hydrogenase uncovers a novel iron-sulphur centre ▶

Johannes Fritsch, Patrick Scheerer, Stefan Frielingsdorf, Sebastian Kroschinsky, Bärbel Friedrich et al.

Hydrogenases are abundant enzymes that catalyse the reversible interconversion o...

Temperature-scan cryocrystallography reveals reaction intermediates in bacteriophytochrome ▶

Xiaojing Yang, Zhong Ren, Jane Kuk & Keith Moffat

Light is a fundamental signal that regulates important physiological processes s...

ATM controls meiotic double-strand-break formation ▶

Julian Lange, Jing Pan, Francesca Cole, Michael P. Thelen, Maria Jasin et al.

In many organisms, developmentally programmed double-strand breaks (DSBs) formed...

Bidirectional resection of DNA double-strand breaks by Mre11 and Exo1 ▶

Valerie Garcia, Sarah E. L. Phelps, Stephen Gray & Matthew J. Neale

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination requires r...

Non-canonical inflammasome activation targets caspase-11 ▶

Nobuhiko Kayagaki, Søren Warming, Mohamed Lamkanfi, Lieselotte Vande Walle, Salina Louie et al.

Caspase-1 activation by inflammasome scaffolds comprised of intracellular nucleo...

Articles and Letters

The evolution of gene expression levels in mammalian organs ▶

David Brawand, Magali Soumillon, Anamaria Necsulea, Philippe Julien, Gábor Csárdi et al.

Changes in gene expression are thought to underlie many of the phenotypic differ...

PDGF signalling controls age-dependent proliferation in pancreatic β-cells ▶

Hainan Chen, Xueying Gu, Yinghua Liu, Jing Wang, Stacey E. Wirt et al.

Determining the signalling pathways that direct tissue expansion is a principal ...

Biomimetic self-templating supramolecular structures ▶

Woo-Jae Chung, Jin-Woo Oh, Kyungwon Kwak, Byung Yang Lee, Joel Meyer et al.

In nature, helical macromolecules such as collagen, chitin and cellulose are cri...

Primary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity ▶

Luke Gibson, Tien Ming Lee, Lian Pin Koh, Barry W. Brook, Toby A. Gardner et al.

Human-driven land-use changes increasingly threaten biodiversity, particularly i...

Corridors of migrating neurons in the human brain and their decline during infancy ▶

Nader Sanai, Thuhien Nguyen, Rebecca A. Ihrie, Zaman Mirzadeh, Hui-Hsin Tsai et al.

The subventricular zone of many adult non-human mammals generates large numbers ...

Primary motor cortex underlies multi-joint integration for fast feedback control ▶

J. Andrew Pruszynski, Isaac Kurtzer, Joseph Y. Nashed, Mohsen Omrani, Brenda Brouwer et al.

A basic difficulty for the nervous system is integrating locally ambiguous senso...

Targeted gene correction of α₁-antitrypsin deficiency in induced pluripotent stem cells ▶

Kosuke Yusa, S. Tamir Rashid, Helene Strick-Marchand, Ignacio Varela, Pei-Qi Liu et al.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) represent a unique opportunity for ...

Metabolic priming by a secreted fungal effector ▶

Armin Djamei, Kerstin Schipper, Franziska Rabe, Anupama Ghosh, Volker Vincon et al.

Maize smut caused by the fungus Ustilago maydis is a widespread disease characte...

A vascular niche and a VEGF–Nrp1 loop regulate the initiation and stemness of skin tumours ▶

Benjamin Beck, Gregory Driessens, Steven Goossens, Khalil Kass Youssef, Anna Kuchnio et al.

Angiogenesis is critical during tumour initiation and malignant progression. Dif...

Inhibition of miR-33a/b in non-human primates raises plasma HDL and lowers VLDL triglycerides ▶

Katey J. Rayner, Christine C. Esau, Farah N. Hussain, Allison L. McDaniel, Stephanie M. Marshall et al.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in westernized cou...

Crystal structure of a bacterial homologue of the bile acid sodium symporter ASBT ▶

Nien-Jen Hu, So Iwata, Alexander D. Cameron & David Drew

High cholesterol levels greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Abo...

Evolution of a new enzyme for carbon disulphide conversion by an acidothermophilic archaeon ▶

Marjan J. Smeulders, Thomas R. M. Barends, Arjan Pol, Anna Scherer, Marcel H. Zandvoort et al.

Extremophilic organisms require specialized enzymes for their exotic metabolisms...

Solutions for a cultivated planet ▶

Jonathan A. Foley, Navin Ramankutty, Kate A. Brauman, Emily S. Cassidy, James S. Gerber et al.

Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agric...

News & Views

Tumour biology: Skin-cancer stem cells outwitted ▶

Salvador Aznar Benitah

Neuroscience: Gone with the wean ▶

Jon I. Arellano & Pasko Rakic

50 & 100 years ago ▶

Chemical biology: Many faces of a cancer-supporting protein ▶

John F. Darby & Paul Workman

Brief Communications Arising

Few inputs can reprogram biological networks ▶

Franz-Josef Müller & Andreas Schuppert

Corrigendum

Modelling schizophrenia using human induced pluripotent stem cells ▶

Kristen J. Brennand, Anthony Simone, Jessica Jou, Chelsea Gelboin-Burkhart, Ngoc Tran et al.

Research Highlights

Evolution: Mole-rat's toothy tale | Neuroscience: Switch the pain for an itch | Reproduction: Molecular clues to infertility | Immunology: Vitamin D to fight tuberculosis | Cancer biology: Two-faced cancer gene | Virology: HIV meets its antibody match | Agricultural ecology: Organic farms flourish in the rain | Cancer: Gene signature links to drug target | Haematology: A way to save sickle cells| Materials: Blister pack of graphene

NEWS & COMMENT

Evolution: Lies we tell ourselves | New in paperback | Medicine: Sex and freedom | Virology: Pathogenic passengers | Neuroscience: Capturing free will | The PSA position | Research Ethics: Treat donors as partners in biobank research

More Biological Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

The crystal structure of an oxygen-tolerant hydrogenase uncovers a novel iron-sulphur centre ▶

Johannes Fritsch, Patrick Scheerer, Stefan Frielingsdorf, Sebastian Kroschinsky, Bärbel Friedrich et al.

Hydrogenases are abundant enzymes that catalyse the reversible interconversion o...

Bidirectional resection of DNA double-strand breaks by Mre11 and Exo1 ▶

Valerie Garcia, Sarah E. L. Phelps, Stephen Gray & Matthew J. Neale

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination requires r...

Articles and Letters

Crystal structure of a bacterial homologue of the bile acid sodium symporter ASBT ▶

Nien-Jen Hu, So Iwata, Alexander D. Cameron & David Drew

High cholesterol levels greatly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Abo...

Evolution of a new enzyme for carbon disulphide conversion by an acidothermophilic archaeon ▶

Marjan J. Smeulders, Thomas R. M. Barends, Arjan Pol, Anna Scherer, Marcel H. Zandvoort et al.

Extremophilic organisms require specialized enzymes for their exotic metabolisms...

News & Views

Chemical biology: Many faces of a cancer-supporting protein ▶

John F. Darby & Paul Workman

NEWS & COMMENT

Rudolf L. Mössbauer (1929–2011)

More Chemical Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities as the source of inhomogeneous mixing in nova explosions ▶

Jordi Casanova, Jordi José, Enrique García-Berro, Steven N. Shore & Alan C. Calder

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in binary stellar systems containin...

Changes in plant community composition lag behind climate warming in lowland forests ▶

Romain Bertrand, Jonathan Lenoir, Christian Piedallu, Gabriela Riofrío-Dillon, Patrice de Ruffray et al.

Climate change is driving latitudinal and altitudinal shifts in species distribu...

Articles and Letters

A mass transfer origin for blue stragglers in NGC 188 as revealed by half-solar-mass companions ▶

Aaron M. Geller & Robert D. Mathieu

In open star clusters, where all members formed at about the same time, blue str...

Efficient quantum computing using coherent photon conversion ▶

N. K. Langford, S. Ramelow, R. Prevedel, W. J. Munro, G. J. Milburn et al.

Single photons are excellent quantum information carriers: they were used in the...

Biomimetic self-templating supramolecular structures ▶

Woo-Jae Chung, Jin-Woo Oh, Kyungwon Kwak, Byung Yang Lee, Joel Meyer et al.

In nature, helical macromolecules such as collagen, chitin and cellulose are cri...

News & Views

Particle physics: Sterile neutrinos ▶

William C. Louis

Materials science: Deft tricks with liquid crystals ▶

Ivan I. Smalyukh

Astrophysics: Stars acquire youth through duplicity ▶

Christopher Tout

Brief Communications Arising

Liu et al. reply ▶

Yang-Yu Liu, Jean-Jacques Slotine & Albert-László Barabási

NEWS & COMMENT

Particle physics: A question of mass | Fiction: Gaming, guns and virtual gold | Technology: The inspiration exchange | Rudolf L. Mössbauer (1929–2011)

CAREERS

Distance learning: Online education

More Physical Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Changes in plant community composition lag behind climate warming in lowland forests ▶

Romain Bertrand, Jonathan Lenoir, Christian Piedallu, Gabriela Riofrío-Dillon, Patrice de Ruffray et al.

Climate change is driving latitudinal and altitudinal shifts in species distribu...

Articles and Letters

Aerobic bacterial pyrite oxidation and acid rock drainage during the Great Oxidation Event ▶

Kurt O. Konhauser, Stefan V. Lalonde, Noah J. Planavsky, Ernesto Pecoits, Timothy W. Lyons et al.

The enrichment of redox-sensitive trace metals in ancient marine sedimentary roc...

The role of dyking and fault control in the rapid onset of eruption at Chaitén volcano, Chile ▶

Charles Wicks, Juan Carlos de la Llera, Luis E. Lara & Jacob Lowenstern

Rhyolite is the most viscous of liquid magmas, so it was surprising that on 2|[t...

Solutions for a cultivated planet ▶

Jonathan A. Foley, Navin Ramankutty, Kate A. Brauman, Emily S. Cassidy, James S. Gerber et al.

Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agric...

Corrigendum

High-latitude controls of thermocline nutrients and low latitude biological productivity ▶

J. L. Sarmiento, N. Gruber, M. A. Brzezinski & J. P. Dunne

NEWS & COMMENT

Italian quake: critics' logic is questionable John E. Vidale | Italian quake: science rides politics Benedetto De Vivo

More Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶

Distance learning: Online education ▶

Internet-based degree programmes are gaining acceptance, but doubts remain about their suitability for graduate science.

The athletes of science ▶

Some researchers may recoil from metrics-based assessment. But they should know how others are keeping score, say Maria Pavlou and Eleftherios P. Diamandis.

Careers related news & comment

Positive spin | Lobbyists confront US budget crunch | Research Ethics: Treat donors as partners in biobank research | Research funds: Rid Russian science of corruption Mikhail Gelfand

Fellowship available in Cancer Research

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, US

Professor in Cellular Signaling Network Biology

Technical University of Denmark, Department of Systems Biology (CBS) DK

Senior Researcher - Genomics and Proteomics of Plants

CEITEC ‐ Central European Institute of Technology of Masaryk University Brno, CZ

Gastroenterology Faculty Position

University of Washington Medical Center Seattle, US

Translational Cancer Research for Basic Scientists Workshop

30.10.-04.11.11 MA, US