nature

THIS WEEK

Editorials

Access all areas ▶

To create a sustainable, open research literature, governments need to find the finances to make it viable — and recognize that adding value to diversifying research outputs has its own costs.

Fertile union ▶

Scientists and politicians are working together to bring new reproductive techniques to Britain.

Notes on screen ▶

Computer tablets are changing the way that scientists record their experiments.

World View

Cultural history holds back Chinese research ▶

Confucius and Zhuang have produced a culture in China that values isolation and inhibits curiosity. Neither is good for science, says Peng Gong.

Seven Days

Seven days: 20–26 January 2012 ▶

The week in science: Tar-sands pipeline pulled; radioactive material stolen from nuclear plant under construction in Egypt; and decision on whether to ditch the leap second is postponed.

NEWS IN FOCUS

Caution urged for mutant flu work ▶

Public-health benefits of controversial research questioned.

UK sets sights on gene therapy in eggs ▶

Public consultation and safety assessment would pave the way for embryo manipulation to treat genetic diseases.

Research in Asia heats up ▶

US indicators reveal challenges and opportunities as science momentum shifts to China.

Candidates play to the right on science ▶

Rivals for the Republican nomination laud research but take a hard line on embryonic stem cells and climate.

French institute prepares for gene-therapy push ▶

Genethon relaunches itself as a force for translational medicine.

Features

Underwater archaeology: Hunt for the ancient mariner ▶

Armed with high-tech methods, researchers are scouring the Aegean Sea for the world's oldest shipwrecks.

Going paperless: The digital lab ▶

Lab-management software and electronic notebooks are here — and this time, it's more than just talk.

COMMENT

Climate policy: Oil's tipping point has passed ▶

The economic pain of a flattening supply will trump the environment as a reason to curb the use of fossil fuels, say James Murray and David King.

Science funding: Provocative questions in cancer research ▶

Harold Varmus and Ed Harlow explain how an innovative initiative is opening up neglected areas of oncology.

H5N1: Flu transmission work is urgent ▶

Yoshihiro Kawaoka explains that research on transmissible avian flu viruses needs to continue if pandemics are to be prevented.

Books and Arts

Nuclear physics: Arms and the man ▶

Martin Rees applauds a biography of the physicist who kickstarted the Pugwash Conferences for arms control.

Books in brief ▶

Cosmology: Plucked from the vacuum ▶

A tale of multiverses, cosmic inflation and dark energy grips Caleb Scharf.

Film: Science gets real at Sundance ▶

This year's crop of research-related films moves away from 'mad genius' mode, finds Jascha Hoffman.

Correspondence

Pause on avian flu transmission studies Ron A. M. Fouchier, Adolfo García-Sastre, Yoshihiro Kawaoka & 36 co-authors | Indigenous communities: Train local experts to help conserve forests Charles M. Peters, Miguel Alexiades & Sarah A. Laird | Informed consent: Biobank donors should have a say Brenda Spencer, Daria Koutaissoff & Hans-Anton Lehr

Obituary

James Crow (1916–2012) ▶

Population geneticist who studied mutation, selection and random drift.

Corrections

Correction ▶

Correction ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Conditional modulation of spike-timing-dependent plasticity for olfactory learning ▶

Stijn Cassenaer & Gilles Laurent

In the locust olfactory system, spike-timing-dependent plasticity acts as a synaptic ‘tag’ that labels only the synapses active in response to specific odorants, thus priming them for subsequent modulation of the plasticity rule.

Gated regulation of CRAC channel ion selectivity by STIM1 ▶

Beth A. McNally, Agila Somasundaram, Megumi Yamashita & Murali Prakriya

STIM1-mediated gating of CRAC channels occurs through a mechanism in which ion selectivity and gating are closely coupled, and the residue V102 is identified as a candidate for the channel gate.

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.

High-throughput decoding of antitrypanosomal drug efficacy and resistance ▶

Sam Alsford, Sabine Eckert, Nicola Baker, Lucy Glover, Alejandro Sanchez-Flores et al.

Five current human African trypanosomiasis drugs are used for genome-scale RNA interference target sequencing screens in Trypanosoma brucei, and reveal the transporters, organelles, enzymes and metabolic pathways that function to facilitate antitrypanosomal drug action.

Probing sporadic and familial Alzheimer’s disease using induced pluripotent stem cells ▶

Mason A. Israel, Shauna H. Yuan, Cedric Bardy, Sol M. Reyna, Yangling Mu et al.

Induced pluripotent stem cells are shown to be useful for studying phenotypes relevant to familial and sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, even though it can take decades for the disease to manifest in patients.

Plant biology: Equal-parenting policy ▶

Christopher J. Hale & Steven E. Jacobsen

Crystal structure of the channelrhodopsin light-gated cation channel ▶

Hideaki E. Kato, Feng Zhang, Ofer Yizhar, Charu Ramakrishnan, Tomohiro Nishizawa et al.

Channelrhodopsins are light-gated cation channels used in optogenetics; here, the high-resolution crystal structure of a channelrhodopsin from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is determined.

Adenylylation control by intra- or intermolecular active-site obstruction in Fic proteins ▶

Philipp Engel, Arnaud Goepfert, Frédéric V. Stanger, Alexander Harms, Alexander Schmidt et al.

FIC-domain-mediated adenylylation is controlled by inter- or intramolecular disturbance of the ATP binding site by an α-helix; such inhibition seems to be universal and conserved through evolution.

Structures of cytochrome P450 17A1 with prostate cancer drugs abiraterone and TOK-001 ▶

Natasha M. DeVore & Emily E. Scott

The structures of CYP17A1 with steroid inhibitors abiraterone or TOK-001 provide a better understanding of the enzyme’s catalytic capabilities and inhibition, and hence assist in understanding steroidogenic diseases and designing drugs to improve the treatment of prostate and other steroid-responsive cancers.

Maternal and paternal genomes contribute equally to the transcriptome of early plant embryos ▶

Michael D. Nodine & David P. Bartel

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of hybrid embryos show that in contrast to early animal embryogenesis, early plant embryogenesis is mostly under zygotic control.

Mutations in kelch-like 3 and cullin 3 cause hypertension and electrolyte abnormalities ▶

Lynn M. Boyden, Murim Choi, Keith A. Choate, Carol J. Nelson-Williams, Anita Farhi et al.

Exome sequencing identifies mutations in kelch-like 3 and cullin 3 as causes of a syndrome featuring high blood pressure and electrolyte abnormalities.

Articles and Letters

Endothelial and perivascular cells maintain haematopoietic stem cells ▶

Lei Ding, Thomas L. Saunders, Grigori Enikolopov & Sean J. Morrison

The cellular sources of stem cell factor, a major haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche cytokine required for HSC maintenance, are identified.

A PGC1-α-dependent myokine that drives brown-fat-like development of white fat and thermogenesis ▶

Pontus Boström, Jun Wu, Mark P. Jedrychowski, Anisha Korde, Li Ye et al.

In mice, expression of PGC1-α in muscles is shown to stimulate expression of FNDC5, which is cleaved and secreted in the circulation as the newly identified hormone irisin; on exercise, this hormone stimulates browning of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

X-ray structures of LeuT in substrate-free outward-open and apo inward-open states ▶

Harini Krishnamurthy & Eric Gouaux

The X-ray crystal structure of LeuT, the bacterial homologue of the neurotransmitter sodium symporter family, is reported in the outward-open and inward-open states.

Social networks and cooperation in hunter-gatherers ▶

Coren L. Apicella, Frank W. Marlowe, James H. Fowler & Nicholas A. Christakis

The social networks of Hadza hunter-gatherers are structurally similar to modern social networks and show signs of clustering in cooperative behaviour, which suggests that these networks may have contributed to the emergence of cooperation in early humans.

Purkinje neuron synchrony elicits time-locked spiking in the cerebellar nuclei ▶

Abigail L. Person & Indira M. Raman

Through a combination of intrinsic and synaptic properties, synchronous activation of a small number of Purkinje cells can set the spike timing of target neurons in the cerebellar nuclei.

Clonal evolution in relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia revealed by whole-genome sequencing ▶

Li Ding, Timothy J. Ley, David E. Larson, Christopher A. Miller, Daniel C. Koboldt et al.

The sequencing of AML genomes of eight patients before and after relapse reveals two major patterns of clonal evolution, with chemotherapy appearing to have a role in both patterns.

Exercise-induced BCL2-regulated autophagy is required for muscle glucose homeostasis ▶

Congcong He, Michael C. Bassik, Viviana Moresi, Kai Sun, Yongjie Wei et al.

Acute exercise is shown to induce autophagy in skeletal muscle of fed mice, indicating a possible mechanism for the beneficial metabolic effects of exercise.

Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry quantifies stem cell division and metabolism ▶

Matthew L. Steinhauser, Andrew P. Bailey, Samuel E. Senyo, Christelle Guillermier, Todd S. Perlstein et al.

Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry is used to investigate the ‘immortal strand hypothesis’, Drosophila lipid metabolism and human lymphopoiesis.

Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry reveals slow protein turnover in hair-cell stereocilia ▶

Duan-Sun Zhang, Valeria Piazza, Benjamin J. Perrin, Agnieszka K. Rzadzinska, J. Collin Poczatek et al.

Multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry is used to quantify protein turnover in animal stereocilia, showing that rapid turnover occurs only in stereocilia tips.

Molecular recognition of a single sphingolipid species by a protein’s transmembrane domain ▶

F.-Xabier Contreras, Andreas M. Ernst, Per Haberkant, Patrik Björkholm, Erik Lindahl et al.

A sphingomyelin-binding motif is identified in the membrane-spanning domain of p24, a COPI machinery protein.

Structure of the carboxy-terminal region of a KCNH channel ▶

Tinatin I. Brelidze, Anne E. Carlson, Banumathi Sankaran & William N. Zagotta

The function of the KCNH family of potassium channels is critical for the repolarization of the cardiac action potential and the regulation of neuronal excitability; here, the X-ray crystal structure of the cyclic-nuclotide-binding homology domain of the zebrafish ELK channel is reported.

News & Views

Neuroscience: Spikes timed through inhibition ▶

Javier F. Medina & Kamran Khodakhah

Social science: Hunter-gatherer cooperation ▶

Joseph Henrich

Stem cells: The right neighbour ▶

Ilya A. Shestopalov & Leonard I. Zon

Technology: A deeper peek into living organisms ▶

Francesca Cesari & Deepa Nath

Drug discovery: Chemical beauty contest ▶

Paul Leeson

50 & 100 years ago ▶

Plant biology: Equal-parenting policy ▶

Christopher J. Hale & Steven E. Jacobsen

Corrigendum

Selective killing of cancer cells by a small molecule targeting the stress response to ROS ▶

Lakshmi Raj, Takao Ide, Aditi U. Gurkar, Michael Foley, Monica Schenone et al.

Research Highlights

Animal behaviour: Snakes strangle with feeling | Immunology: Culprits in diabetic heart risk | Cancer: Tumour cells lend a hand | Cell biology: Manganese fights deadly toxin | Ecology: Ready for the toxic toads | Neurodevelopment: Mutation and infection to blame

NEWS & COMMENT

Fertile union | Caution urged for mutant flu work | UK sets sights on gene therapy in eggs | French institute prepares for gene-therapy push | Underwater archaeology: Hunt for the ancient mariner | Science funding: Provocative questions in cancer research | H5N1: Flu transmission work is urgent | Books in brief | Pause on avian flu transmission studies Ron A. M. Fouchier, Adolfo García-Sastre, Yoshihiro Kawaoka & 36 co-authors | Indigenous communities: Train local experts to help conserve forests Charles M. Peters, Miguel Alexiades & Sarah A. Laird | Informed consent: Biobank donors should have a say Brenda Spencer, Daria Koutaissoff & Hans-Anton Lehr | James Crow (1916–2012)

More Biological Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Gated regulation of CRAC channel ion selectivity by STIM1 ▶

Beth A. McNally, Agila Somasundaram, Megumi Yamashita & Murali Prakriya

STIM1-mediated gating of CRAC channels occurs through a mechanism in which ion selectivity and gating are closely coupled, and the residue V102 is identified as a candidate for the channel gate.

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.

Adenylylation control by intra- or intermolecular active-site obstruction in Fic proteins ▶

Philipp Engel, Arnaud Goepfert, Frédéric V. Stanger, Alexander Harms, Alexander Schmidt et al.

FIC-domain-mediated adenylylation is controlled by inter- or intramolecular disturbance of the ATP binding site by an α-helix; such inhibition seems to be universal and conserved through evolution.

Structures of cytochrome P450 17A1 with prostate cancer drugs abiraterone and TOK-001 ▶

Natasha M. DeVore & Emily E. Scott

The structures of CYP17A1 with steroid inhibitors abiraterone or TOK-001 provide a better understanding of the enzyme’s catalytic capabilities and inhibition, and hence assist in understanding steroidogenic diseases and designing drugs to improve the treatment of prostate and other steroid-responsive cancers.

Articles and Letters

A PGC1-α-dependent myokine that drives brown-fat-like development of white fat and thermogenesis ▶

Pontus Boström, Jun Wu, Mark P. Jedrychowski, Anisha Korde, Li Ye et al.

In mice, expression of PGC1-α in muscles is shown to stimulate expression of FNDC5, which is cleaved and secreted in the circulation as the newly identified hormone irisin; on exercise, this hormone stimulates browning of subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Pathway complexity in supramolecular polymerization ▶

Peter A. Korevaar, Subi J. George, Albert J. Markvoort, Maarten M. J. Smulders, Peter A. J. Hilbers et al.

Kinetic control of the self-assembly of the π-conjugated oligomer S-chiral oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (SOPV) reveals two competing pathways, leading to a kinetically favoured metastable product and a thermodynamically favoured stable product with opposite helicity, but the addition of a chiral tartaric acid changes the assembly process to produce only the desired metastable product.

Molecular recognition of a single sphingolipid species by a protein’s transmembrane domain ▶

F.-Xabier Contreras, Andreas M. Ernst, Per Haberkant, Patrik Björkholm, Erik Lindahl et al.

A sphingomyelin-binding motif is identified in the membrane-spanning domain of p24, a COPI machinery protein.

News & Views

Nanotechnology: Shape matters ▶

Sharon C. Glotzer

Drug discovery: Chemical beauty contest ▶

Paul Leeson

Corrigendum

Selective killing of cancer cells by a small molecule targeting the stress response to ROS ▶

Lakshmi Raj, Takao Ide, Aditi U. Gurkar, Michael Foley, Monica Schenone et al.

More Chemical Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Creation and diagnosis of a solid-density plasma with an X-ray free-electron laser ▶

S. M. Vinko, O. Ciricosta, B. I. Cho, K. Engelhorn, H.-K. Chung et al.

Experimental study of the interactions between intense X-rays and solid matter illustrate the generation of a solid-density plasma governed by electron–ion collisions; these results should inform future high-intensity X-ray experiments involving dense samples, such as X-ray diffractive imaging of biological samples, material science investigations, and the study of matter in extreme conditions.

Articles and Letters

Transiting circumbinary planets Kepler-34 b and Kepler-35 b ▶

William F. Welsh, Jerome A. Orosz, Joshua A. Carter, Daniel C. Fabrycky, Eric B. Ford et al.

Two double-sun exoplanets have been discovered by the Kepler spacecraft, establishing a new class of ‘circumbinary’ exoplanets and suggesting that at least several million such systems exist in our Galaxy.

Generation of scaled protogalactic seed magnetic fields in laser-produced shock waves ▶

G. Gregori, A. Ravasio, C. D. Murphy, K. Schaar, A. Baird et al.

Experimental simulations of galaxy-forming conditions using lasers show that the Biermann battery generates seed magnetic fields, which turbulence can amplify to affect galaxy evolution.

Light-cone-like spreading of correlations in a quantum many-body system ▶

Marc Cheneau, Peter Barmettler, Dario Poletti, Manuel Endres, Peter Schauß et al.

No limit to the speed of information propagation exists in non-relativistic quantum field theory, but finite-velocity transport of correlations is now found in a system of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice, aiding fundamental understanding of closed quantum systems far from equilibrium.

Atomic inner-shell X-ray laser at 1.46 nanometres pumped by an X-ray free-electron laser ▶

Nina Rohringer, Duncan Ryan, Richard A. London, Michael Purvis, Felicie Albert et al.

A femtosecond, high-intensity atomic X-ray laser with a photon energy of 849 electronvolts is produced in singly ionized neon by pumping using an X-ray free-electron laser.

Pathway complexity in supramolecular polymerization ▶

Peter A. Korevaar, Subi J. George, Albert J. Markvoort, Maarten M. J. Smulders, Peter A. J. Hilbers et al.

Kinetic control of the self-assembly of the π-conjugated oligomer S-chiral oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (SOPV) reveals two competing pathways, leading to a kinetically favoured metastable product and a thermodynamically favoured stable product with opposite helicity, but the addition of a chiral tartaric acid changes the assembly process to produce only the desired metastable product.

News & Views

Astronomy: A new class of planet ▶

John Southworth

Nanotechnology: Shape matters ▶

Sharon C. Glotzer

Laser science: Even harder X-rays ▶

Jon Marangos

Research Highlights

Physics: One molecule, one photon | Climate change: Warming, but not as much | Materials: Circuit, heal thyself

NEWS & COMMENT

Climate policy: Oil's tipping point has passed | Nuclear physics: Arms and the man | Books in brief | Cosmology: Plucked from the vacuum

CAREERS

Turning point: Rob McKay

More Physical Sciences ▶

RESEARCH

Latest Online

Creation and diagnosis of a solid-density plasma with an X-ray free-electron laser ▶

S. M. Vinko, O. Ciricosta, B. I. Cho, K. Engelhorn, H.-K. Chung et al.

Experimental study of the interactions between intense X-rays and solid matter illustrate the generation of a solid-density plasma governed by electron–ion collisions; these results should inform future high-intensity X-ray experiments involving dense samples, such as X-ray diffractive imaging of biological samples, material science investigations, and the study of matter in extreme conditions.

Research Highlights

Climate change: Warming, but not as much

NEWS & COMMENT

Climate policy: Oil's tipping point has passed | Indigenous communities: Train local experts to help conserve forests Charles M. Peters, Miguel Alexiades & Sarah A. Laird

CAREERS

Turning point: Rob McKay

More Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶

China: The gates are open ▶

There is a wealth of fellowships and postdoctoral openings in China for foreign researchers who aren't afraid of culture shock.

Turning point: Rob McKay ▶

The winner of New Zealand's Emerging Scientist prize tells how he achieved success despite a career hiatus.

Careers related news & comment

Access all areas | Research in Asia heats up | Going paperless: The digital lab | Science funding: Provocative questions in cancer research | Film: Science gets real at Sundance | Pause on avian flu transmission studies Ron A. M. Fouchier, Adolfo García-Sastre, Yoshihiro Kawaoka & 36 co-authors

Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spec Lab Manager

Northwestern University 

Stem Cell Biologist

UC-Davis 

Senior Specialist in Metabolomics instrumental analysis.

IMDEA Food Institute 

Postdoc in Advanced Steels for Wind Turbines

Technical University of Denmark, Department of Wind Energy 

Theoretical Course on RNA Structure and Function

27.02.-01.03.12 Trieste, Italy