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 News & Comment    Biological Sciences    Chemical Sciences
 
 Physical Sciences    Earth & Environmental Sciences    Careers & Jobs
 
 
 

This week's highlights

 
 

Specials - Insight: Coastal Regions

 
 

Coastal regions are home to billions of people worldwide, but our intense use is placing them under pressure. This Insight explores some of the factors shaping coastal systems, including flooding by tropical cyclones, ice loss in Greenland, wetland stability, carbon cycling in the coastal ocean, seaweed tides, offshore groundwater reserves and coastal defence in the face of global change.

more

 
 
 

Physical Sciences

More Physical sciences
 
Highly polarized light from stable ordered magnetic fields in GRB 120308A
 

On 8 March 2012 NASA's Swift satellite identified the γ-ray burster GRB120308A, initially as a single pulse of γ-rays lasting about 100 seconds. The LaPalma-based Liverpool Telescope, responding automatically to the Swift discovery, identified the optical afterglow and was able to track the evolution of polarized light during the crucial early minutes of the outburst. Those results, presented here, provide a tantalizing glimpse of the physics of the jets of material ejected in a γ-ray

 
 
 

Earth & Environmental Sciences

More Earth & Environmental sciences
 
Late-twentieth-century emergence of the El Niño propagation asymmetry and future projections
 

The extreme El Niño climate events of 1982 and 1997 were associated with eastward propagating warm anomalies and led to unusual weather conditions and widespread environmental disruption. In contrast, during moderate El Niños unusually warm waters persist in the eastern equatorial Pacific and La Niña upwellings of cool waters are evident, both features tending to propagate westward. A new analysis shows that this asymmetry can be linked to variations in upper ocean currents, and that the asymmetry is stronger in a warming world as the equatorial currents and the trade winds are expected to weaken. In scenarios of future warming, eastward propagating 'super' El Niños double in frequency — and could cause widespread disruption.

 
 
 

Biological Sciences

More Biological sciences
 
Immunosuppressive CD71+ erythroid cells compromise neonatal host defence against infection
 

During the first few weeks after birth, infants are highly susceptible to disseminated infection. This vulnerability is commonly attributed to intrinsic defects of the neonates' immune cells, but this study presents evidence that host defences are in fact compromised by active immune suppression. Immune cell activation is suppressed in neonate mice by the action of a subset of red blood cells, thereby protecting against harmful inflammation that might be triggered by colonization with the commensal microbes to which the newborn is suddenly exposed. This same suppression has the unfortunate consequence that resistance to infection is also reduced.

 
 
 

Podcast & Video

 
 

In this week's podcast: DNA from an ancient human relative, the origins of the moon, and the dangers of following the herd when it comes to peer review.

 
 
 
 
News & Comment Read daily news coverage top
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

THIS WEEK

 
 
 
 
 

Editorials

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Call the cops ▶

 
 

The long arm of the law has reached into an investigation of alleged scientific misconduct in Italy, and should perhaps stretch still farther.

 
 
 
 
 
 

The FDA and me ▶

 
 

Medical testing firms find it is in their best interests to cooperate with regulators.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Lecture notes ▶

 
 

A physics course that hooked a generation reminds us that teachers need support.

 
 
 
 
 
 

World View

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

How sexual harassment changed the way I work ▶

 
 

As a flurry of interest in workplace discrimination subsides, efforts to raise awareness and eliminate abuses continue, says Kathleen Raven.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Seven Days

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Seven days: 29 November–5 December 2013 ▶

 
 

The week in science: Sun-grazer comet fragments; controversial study on GM maize retracted; and China launches a Moon rover.

 
 
 
 
 
 

NEWS IN FOCUS

 
 
 
 
 

Iran hit by drug shortage ▶

 
 

Sanctions cause increasing shortfall in medicines and vaccines.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Hominin DNA baffles experts ▶

 
 

Analysis of oldest sequence from a human ancestor suggests link to mystery population.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Image search triggers Italian police probe ▶

 
 

Method for checking global literature leads to investigation of cancer researcher.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Bacteria evade detection net ▶

 
 

Slothful response from regulators and manufacturers means antibiotic resistance is missed.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Museums hunt for relics from genomics’ early days ▶

 
 

Collectors band together to salvage cast-off equipment.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Features

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Global health: One million deaths ▶

 
 

What researchers are learning from an unprecedented survey of mortality in India.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Geology: North America's broken heart ▶

 
 

A billion years ago, a huge rift nearly cleaved North America down the middle. And then it failed. Researchers may be getting close to finding out why.

 
 
 
 
 
 

COMMENT

 
 
 
 
 

Planetary science: Lunar conspiracies ▶

 
 

Current theories on the formation of the Moon owe too much to cosmic coincidences, says Robin Canup. She calls for better models and a mission to Venus.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Books and Arts

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

In retrospect: The Feynman Lectures on Physics ▶

 
 

Rob Phillips celebrates the US physicist's seminal series as it nears its 50th anniversary.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Education: Genetics in the schoolroom ▶

 
 

Erika Check Hayden ponders a call for schools to embrace genetic information as a priority.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Correspondence

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Climate science: Take more care over glacier facts Alex S. Gardner | Sustainable management: Recycle waste for nourishing soils Johannes Lehmann | Gut microbiota: Please pass the microbes Jeff Leach | Research: All journals need to correct errors Jonathan D. Linton | Fifty years: Doctor Who and the ageing enigma Faisal R. Ali

 
 
 
 
 
 

Obituary

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Leonard Herzenberg (1931–2013) ▶

 
 

Immunologist who pioneered cell-sorting technology.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Correction

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Correction ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Specials - Insight: Coastal Regions top
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Coastal regions ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

North Atlantic warming and the retreat of Greenland's outlet glaciers ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

Coastal flooding by tropical cyclones and sea-level rise ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

Tidal wetland stability in the face of human impacts and sea-level rise ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

The changing carbon cycle of the coastal ocean ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

Offshore fresh groundwater reserves as a global phenomenon ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

Ecosystem-based coastal defence in the face of global change ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 

Green and golden seaweed tides on the rise ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Biological Sciences top
 
 
 
 
 
 

RESEARCH

 
 
 
 
 

Latest Online

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Cancer: A suppression switch ▶

 
 

Hanna Starobinets, Jayanta Debnath

 
 
 
 
 
 

Neuroscience: Faster than kiss-and-run ▶

 
 

Soyoun Cho, Henrique von Gersdorff

 
 
 
 
 
 

Structural mechanism of ligand activation in human GABAB receptor ▶

 
 

Yong Geng, Martin Bush, Lidia Mosyak et al.

 
 

Crystallographic structural analysis of bound states of the GBR1 and GBR2 subunits of human GABAB receptor shows that both subunits adopt an open conformation at rest — represented by the apo and antagonist-bound structures — and that only GBR1 closes in the activated state — represented by the agonist-bound structure.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Ultrafast endocytosis at mouse hippocampal synapses ▶

 
 

Shigeki Watanabe, Benjamin R. Rost, Marcial Camacho-Pérez et al.

 
 

Sustained neurotransmission requires recycling of synaptic vesicles, but the proposed mechanisms have been controversial; here a ‘flash-and-freeze’ method for electron microscopy reveals a new ultrafast form of endocytosis that is actin- and dynamin-dependent and occurs within 100 milliseconds of stimulation.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Biochemical reconstitution of topological DNA binding by the cohesin ring ▶

 
 

Yasuto Murayama, Frank Uhlmann

 
 

Many DNA processes require chromosomes to be held together by a ring-shaped complex called cohesin, but despite the importance of this protein, its interaction with DNA has not been reproduced in vitro; here, using purified yeast proteins, cohesin loading is successfully recapitulated, offering mechanistic insight into how the loader complex mediates topological cohesin binding.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Mechanism of farnesylated CAAX protein processing by the intramembrane protease Rce1 ▶

 
 

Ioannis Manolaridis, Kiran Kulkarni, Roger B. Dodd et al.

 
 

The crystal structure of an archaeal Rce1 protein has been determined; this protein represents a novel type of intramembrane protease, with a distinct architecture and catalytic site.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Efficient ethanol production from brown macroalgae sugars by a synthetic yeast platform ▶

 
 

Maria Enquist-Newman, Ann Marie E. Faust, Daniel D. Bravo et al.

 
 

Saccharomyces cerevisiae bearing engineered alginate and mannitol catabolic pathways can ferment sugars from brown macroalgae to produce ethanol, potentially allowing the use of brown macroalgae as a viable feedstock for the production of biofuels and renewable chemicals.

 
 
 
 
 
 

HMGA2 functions as a competing endogenous RNA to promote lung cancer progression ▶

 
 

Madhu S. Kumar, Elena Armenteros-Monterroso, Philip East et al.

 
 

HMGA2 promotes lung cancer progression in mice and humans; in mouse and human lung cancer cells, HMGA2 competes with mRNAs like TGFBR3 for the let-7 microRNA family, and in human non-small-cell lung cancer tissue, expression levels of HMGA2 and TGFBR3 are correlated, suggesting that HMGA2 functions both as a protein-coding gene and as a non-coding RNA.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Modelling the effects of subjective and objective decision making in scientific peer review ▶

 
 

In-Uck Park, Mike W. Peacey, Marcus R. Munafò

 
 

A mathematical modelling study assesses the role of peer behaviour and ‘herding’ behaviour in aggregating information through the peer-review process; peer review works best when reviewers exercise intermediate levels of subjectivity.

 
 
 
 
 
 

A mitochondrial genome sequence of a hominin from Sima de los Huesos ▶

 
 

Matthias Meyer, Qiaomei Fu, Ayinuer Aximu-Petri et al.

 
 

A full mitochondrial genome from a 400,000-year-old Middle Pleistocene hominin from Spain unexpectedly reveals a close relationship to Denisovans, a sister group to the Neanderthals, raising interesting questions about the origins of Neanderthals and Denisovans.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Role of Tet1 in erasure of genomic imprinting ▶

 
 

Shinpei Yamaguchi, Li Shen, Yuting Liu et al.

 
 

This study establishes an important role for the enzyme Tet1 in erasing genomic imprinting in vivo — mice with a knockout of paternal Tet1 give rise to progeny with imprinting defects and associated growth and development defects, which leads to early embryonic lethality; furthermore, analysis of the DNA methylation dynamics in reprogramming primordial germ cells (PGCs) suggests that Tet1 is required at a late stage of the reprogramming process, in the second wave of DNA demethylation in PGCs.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Perturbed neural activity disrupts cerebral angiogenesis during a postnatal critical period ▶

 
 

Christina Whiteus, Catarina Freitas, Jaime Grutzendler

 
 

In mice, chronic stimulation by repetitive sounds, whisker deflection, motor activity or seizures during a postnatal developmental critical period, leads to permanent reductions in brain microvascular density, an effect that impairs oxygen delivery to neurons but can be prevented by blocking nitric oxide signalling.

 
 
 
 
 
 

p53 status determines the role of autophagy in pancreatic tumour development ▶

 
 

Mathias T. Rosenfeldt, Jim O’Prey, Jennifer P. Morton et al.

 
 

In a mouse model of pancreatic tumours driven by Kras mutations, the outcome of suppressing autophagy is shown to depend on the status of p53: if p53 is intact, deletion of key autophagy genes blocks the progression of pre-cancerous lesions to aggressive carcinomas; however, in the absence of p53, loss of autophagy accelerates tumorigenesis, accompanied by deregulation of cancer cell metabolism.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Articles and Letters

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Activation and allosteric modulation of a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor ▶

 
 

Andrew C. Kruse, Aaron M. Ring, Aashish Manglik et al.

 
 

Very little is known about how a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) transitions from an inactive to an active state, but this study has solved the X-ray crystal structures of the human M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor bound to a high-affinity agonist in an active state and to a high-affinity agonist and a small-molecule allosteric modulator in an active state; the structures provide insights into the activation mechanism and allosteric modulation of muscarinic receptors.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Structure of the TRPV1 ion channel determined by electron cryo-microscopy ▶

 
 

Maofu Liao, Erhu Cao, David Julius et al.

 
 

A high-resolution electron cryo-microscopy structure of the rat transient receptor potential (TRP) channel TRPV1 in its ‘closed’ state is presented; the overall structure of this ion channel is found to share some common features with voltage-gated ion channels, although several unique, TRP-specific features are also characterized.

 
 
 
 
 
 

TRPV1 structures in distinct conformations reveal activation mechanisms ▶

 
 

Erhu Cao, Maofu Liao, Yifan Cheng et al.

 
 

Using a peptide toxin and small vanilloid agonists as pharmacological probes, high-resolution electron cryo-microscopy structures of rat TRPV1–ligand complexes are solved; these structures highlight conformational differences between TRP and voltage-gated ion channels in their active states, and suggest a dual gating mechanism that may account for the ability of members of the TRP channel superfamily to integrate diverse physiological signals.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Genetic incompatibilities are widespread within species ▶

 
 

Russell B. Corbett-Detig, Jun Zhou, Andrew G. Clark et al.

 
 

The role that epistasis — non-additive interactions between alleles — plays in shaping population fitness is investigated in Drosophila melanogaster; the raw material to drive reproductive isolation is found to be segregating contemporaneously within species and does not necessarily require the emergence of incompatible mutations independently derived and fixed in allopatry.

 
 
 
 
 
 

A melanocyte lineage program confers resistance to MAP kinase pathway inhibition ▶

 
 

Cory M. Johannessen, Laura A. Johnson, Federica Piccioni et al.

 
 

Expression of more than 15,500 genes individually in a melanoma cell line treated with RAF, MEK, ERK or combined RAF–MEK inhibitors reveals a cyclic-AMP-dependent melanocytic signalling network associated with drug resistance; this may represent a novel therapeutic target for melanoma treatment.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Oncogenic Nras has bimodal effects on stem cells that sustainably increase competitiveness ▶

 
 

Qing Li, Natacha Bohin, Tiffany Wen et al.

 
 

Oncogenic Nras in mouse haematopoietic stem cells can increase the probability of cell division in some cells and decrease it in others; this bimodal activity explains how this single pre-leukaemic mutation can increase proliferation without reducing competitiveness by clonally expanding the rapidly dividing cell population and also promoting long-term self-renewal of stem cells.

 
 
 
 
 
 

The protein quality control system manages plant defence compound synthesis ▶

 
 

Jacob Pollier, Tessa Moses, Miguel González-Guzmán et al.

 
 

Plants defend themselves against attackers by producing bioactive secondary metabolites such as triterpene saponins; here, the endoplasmic-reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) system is shown to control the activity of HMGR, the rate-limiting enzyme in the supply of the terpene precursor isopentenyl diphosphate, thereby preventing unrestrained saponin production and ensuring the integrity of plant development.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Histone deacetylase 3 coordinates commensal-bacteria-dependent intestinal homeostasis ▶

 
 

Theresa Alenghat, Lisa C. Osborne, Steven A. Saenz et al.

 
 

This work identifies a role for intestinal epithelial cell (IEC)-intrinsic expression of histone deacetylase 3 in regulating commensal-bacteria-dependent gene expression and intestinal homeostasis; IEC-specific HDAC3 deficiency gives rise to Paneth cell abnormalities, impaired intestinal barrier function, and increased DSS-induced intestinal inflammation in commensal-bacteria-containing, but not germ-free, mice.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Immunosuppressive CD71+ erythroid cells compromise neonatal host defence against infection ▶

 
 

Shokrollah Elahi, James M. Ertelt, Jeremy M. Kinder et al.

 
 

In neonatal mice, susceptibility to infection is due to an enriched subset of arginase-2-expressing CD71+ erythroid cells, which suppresses the systemic activation of immune cells, thereby protecting neonates against aberrant inflammation triggered by colonization with commensal microbes.

 
 
 
 
 
 

EHMT1 controls brown adipose cell fate and thermogenesis through the PRDM16 complex ▶

 
 

Haruya Ohno, Kosaku Shinoda, Kana Ohyama et al.

 
 

Brown adipose tissue-enriched lysine methyltransferase EHMT1 is an essential enzyme in the PRDM16–C/EBP-β transcriptional complex that controls brown adipose cell fate and energy metabolism.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Structural basis for the modular recognition of single-stranded RNA by PPR proteins ▶

 
 

Ping Yin, Quanxiu Li, Chuangye Yan et al.

 
 

Although the roles of pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins in RNA metabolism are well characterised, the mechanism by which they recognise specific single-stranded (ss)RNAs remains ill-understood; here X-ray crystal structures of maize PPR10 in the presence and absence of ssRNA provide details of the PPR10–ssRNA interaction.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Structure of LIMP-2 provides functional insights with implications for SR-BI and CD36 ▶

 
 

Dante Neculai, Michael Schwake, Mani Ravichandran et al.

 
 

These results reveal the first high-resolution structural analysis of LIMP-2 and, by homology modelling, the structure of SR-BI and CD36, members of the CD36 superfamily of scavenger receptor proteins.

 
 
 
 
 
 

News & Views

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Cancer: A suppression switch ▶

 
 

Hanna Starobinets, Jayanta Debnath

 
 
 
 
 
 

Neuroscience: Faster than kiss-and-run ▶

 
 

Soyoun Cho, Henrique von Gersdorff

 
 
 
 
 
 

Stem cells: Dual response to Ras mutation ▶

 
 

S. Haihua Chu, Scott A. Armstrong

 
 
 
 
 
 

Structural biology: Ion channel seen by electron microscopy ▶

 
 

Richard Henderson

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nobel 2013 Chemistry: Methods for computational chemistry ▶

 
 

Walter Thiel, Gerhard Hummer

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nobel 2013 Economics: Predicting asset prices ▶

 
 

Christopher Polk, John Y. Campbell

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nobel 2013 Physiology or medicine: Traffic control system within cells ▶

 
 

Susan Ferro-Novick, Nils Brose

 
 
 
 
 
 

Corrigendum

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Corrigendum: A Jurassic mammaliaform and the earliest mammalian evolutionary adaptations ▶

 
 

Chang-Fu Zhou, Shaoyuan Wu, Thomas Martin et al.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Research Highlights

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Ecology: Sharks never forget home | Geology: Clues to extinction in lava gases | Cancer: How cholesterol drives tumours | Neuroscience: Hormone boosts attractiveness | Molecular biology: RNAs leave yeast poised for action | Zoology: Stealthy sea horse uses its head | Virology: Chinese origin for US pig virus

 
 
 
 

NEWS & COMMENT

 
 
 
 
 

Hominin DNA baffles experts | Global health: One million deaths | Education: Genetics in the schoolroom | Gut microbiota: Please pass the microbes | Fifty years: Doctor Who and the ageing enigma | Leonard Herzenberg (1931–2013) | The FDA and me | Iran hit by drug shortage | Bacteria evade detection net | Museums hunt for relics from genomics’ early days

 
 
 
 
 
 

More Biological Sciences ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
nature.com webcasts
 
Macmillan Science Communication presents a custom webcast on: Highly-multiplexed Tissue Biomarker Analysis: A Practical Approach for Developmental Biology, Neuroscience and Oncology
 
Thursday December 12th at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET
 
 
Sponsored by: PerkinElmer 
 
 
 
 
Chemical Sciences top
 
 
 
 
 
 

RESEARCH

 
 
 
 
 

Articles and Letters

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Structural basis for the modular recognition of single-stranded RNA by PPR proteins ▶

 
 

Ping Yin, Quanxiu Li, Chuangye Yan et al.

 
 

Although the roles of pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins in RNA metabolism are well characterised, the mechanism by which they recognise specific single-stranded (ss)RNAs remains ill-understood; here X-ray crystal structures of maize PPR10 in the presence and absence of ssRNA provide details of the PPR10–ssRNA interaction.

 
 
 
 
 
 

News & Views

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Nobel 2013 Chemistry: Methods for computational chemistry ▶

 
 

Walter Thiel, Gerhard Hummer

 
 
 
 
 
 

Research Highlights

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Chemistry: Catalysts on the cheap

 
 
 
 
 

More Chemical Sciences ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Physical Sciences top
 
 
  !-- SUB HEADING -->
 
 
 

RESEARCH

 
 
 
 
 

Latest Online

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Strong neutrino cooling by cycles of electron capture and β decay in neutron star crusts ▶

 
 

H. Schatz, S. Gupta, P. Möller et al.

 
 

Cycles of electron capture and β decay involving neutron-rich nuclei at a typical depth of about 150 metres are found to cool the outer crust of a neutron star by emitting neutrinos while also thermally decoupling the surface layers from the deeper crust; this mechanism has been studied in other astrophysical environments, but has not hitherto been considered in neutron stars.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Articles and Letters

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Highly polarized light from stable ordered magnetic fields in GRB 120308A ▶

 
 

C. G. Mundell, D. Kopač, D. M. Arnold et al.

 
 

The immediate optical afterglow of the γ-ray burst GRB 120308A is highly polarized, showing that γ-ray bursts contain magnetized baryonic jets with large-scale uniform fields that can survive long after the initial explosion.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Olivine in an unexpected location on Vesta’s surface ▶

 
 

E. Ammannito, M. C. De Sanctis, E. Palomba et al.

 
 

Although olivine was expected to occur within the deep, south-pole basins of asteroid Vesta, which are thought to be excavated mantle rocks, spectral data from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft show that it instead occurs as near-surface materials in Vesta’s northern hemisphere.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Structural basis for the modular recognition of single-stranded RNA by PPR proteins ▶

 
 

Ping Yin, Quanxiu Li, Chuangye Yan et al.

 
 

Although the roles of pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins in RNA metabolism are well characterised, the mechanism by which they recognise specific single-stranded (ss)RNAs remains ill-understood; here X-ray crystal structures of maize PPR10 in the presence and absence of ssRNA provide details of the PPR10–ssRNA interaction.

 
 
 
 
 
 

News & Views

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Astrophysics: Magnetic fields in γ-ray bursts ▶

 
 

Maxim Lyutikov

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nobel 2013 Chemistry: Methods for computational chemistry ▶

 
 

Walter Thiel, Gerhard Hummer

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nobel 2013 Physics: Endowing particles with mass ▶

 
 

Ben Allanach, Jonathan Butterworth

 
 
 
 
 
 

Erratum

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Erratum: Reducing the contact time of a bouncing drop ▶

 
 

James C. Bird, Rajeev Dhiman, Hyuk-Min Kwon & Kripa K. Varanasi

 
 
 
 
 
 

Research Highlights

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Electronics: Power storage in stretchy fibres | Chemistry: Catalysts on the cheap | Materials science: Sticky surface switches on and off

 
 
 
 

NEWS & COMMENT

 
 
 
 
 

Lecture notes | Planetary science: Lunar conspiracies | In retrospect: The Feynman Lectures on Physics

 
 
 
 
 
 

More Physical Sciences ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Earth & Environmental Sciences top
 
 
 
 
 
 

RESEARCH

 
 
 
 
 

Latest Online

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Primitive layered gabbros from fast-spreading lower oceanic crust ▶

 
 

Kathryn M. Gillis, Jonathan E. Snow, Adam Klaus et al.

 
 

Drilling by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program has recovered primitive, modally layered, orthopyroxene-bearing cumulate rocks from the lower plutonic crust formed at a fast-spreading ridge, leading to a better-constrained estimate of the bulk composition of fast-spreading oceanic crust.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Articles and Letters

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Late-twentieth-century emergence of the El Niño propagation asymmetry and future projections ▶

 
 

Agus Santoso, Shayne McGregor, Fei-Fei Jin et al.

 
 

The El Niño propagation asymmetry (in which sea surface temperature anomalies propagate eastwards during an extreme El Niño event) is shown to be caused by the variations in upper ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific Ocean; increased occurrences of the propagation asymmetry may be a manifestation of global greenhouse warming.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Foundering of lower island-arc crust as an explanation for the origin of the continental Moho ▶

 
 

Oliver Jagoutz, Mark D. Behn

 
 

The calculated density and seismic structure of the two best-exposed island arc sections (Kohistan and Talkeetna) reveals that the foundering of the lower arc crust produces a sharp seismic discontinuity characteristic of the continental Mohorovičić discontinuity.

 
 
 
 
 
 

News & Views

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Planetary science: Shadows cast on Moon's origin ▶

 
 

Tim Elliott, Sarah T. Stewart

 
 
 
 
 
 

Research Highlights

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Geology: Clues to extinction in lava gases

 
 
 
 

NEWS & COMMENT

 
 
 
 
 

Geology: North America's broken heart | Planetary science: Lunar conspiracies | Climate science: Take more care over glacier facts

 
 
 
 
 
 

More Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nature Clinical Collection: Slowing down neurodegeneration

As the articles in this Clinical Collection illustrate, approaches to preventing or arresting neurodegeneration can take many forms, from lifestyle changes aimed at preserving the integrity of the brain, to pharmacological treatments and immunological interventions targeted at specific neurodegenerative disease mechanisms.
 
 
Produced with support of a grant from Teva Pharmaceuticals 
 
 
 
 
Careers & Jobs top
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Popular science: Get the word out ▶

 
 

Writing science books for the public is rewarding, but can take a lot of time — and financial gain is uncertain.

 
 
 
     
 
 
 

International impact ▶

 
 

Mobile scientists perform better than those who stay in their home nation.

 
 
 
     
 
 
 

Inequalities at work ▶

 
 

Policy reform needed to boost numbers of minority female science-faculty members.

 
 
 
     
 
 
 

Florida hiring push ▶

 
 

All-star scientists sought as part of university plan.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Careers related news & comment

 
     
 
 
 
 
 

Lecture notes | Seven days: 29 November–5 December 2013 | How sexual harassment changed the way I work Kathleen Raven | Image search triggers Italian police probe Alison Abbott | In retrospect: The Feynman Lectures on Physics Rob Phillips | Education: Genetics in the schoolroom Erika Check Hayden | Research: All journals need to correct errors Jonathan D. Linton | The FDA and me

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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