| |
| |
Volume 505 Number 7484 |
|
| |
nature
|
|
The science that matters. Every week.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
| |
Realize your idea
The Merck Serono Innovation Cup 2014 offers postgradute students of life sciences and business administration programs a unique insight into the pharmaceutical industry. During a one-week summer camp, you get the chance to advance a novel Merck idea to a convincing business plan working with a team of your peers and experienced professionals. Apply now! |
| | |
|
|
| |
Jump to the content that matters to you
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
Localized sources of water vapour on the dwarf planet (1) Ceres
| |
Confirmation that water is present on Ceres — largest object in the
asteroid belt of our Solar System — is reported this week. The presence
of hydrated minerals on Cereus had suggested that water may be there
too. Now infrared spectra from ESA's Herschel Space Observatory provide
clear evidence that water vapour is venting from sources on Ceres at a
rate of at least 1026 molecules per second. This finding supports the
idea that some comet-like icy bodies have migrated into the asteroid
belt from beyond the notional 'snowline' dividing the early Solar
System into a 'dry' inner and 'icy' outer zones. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
Impacts of the north and tropical Atlantic Ocean on the Antarctic Peninsula and sea ice
| |
Some of the strongest climate warming seen in recent decades has
occurred in the Antarctic Peninsula. And in contrast to the overall
sea-ice decline over the Arctic, sea-ice around Antarctica has increased
in some areas and decreased in others. The causes of these phenomena
are unclear but Xichen Li and colleagues show here that sea-level
pressure changes in the Amundsen Sea — which affect temperature on the
Peninsula and sea-ice distribution — can be traced to sea-surface
temperature variations caused by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation,
a persistent driver of climate variability in the tropical and north
Atlantic. This suggests that projections of future climate change in
Antarctica should consider the influence of the Atlantic. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome
| |
We know that diet influences the composition of the gut microbiota in
the long term. Now a study of healthy volunteers switched to either
a plant- or animal-based diet shows that gut microbiome changes
rapidly, overwhelming pre-existing inter-individual differences in
microbiota composition within a single day to produce a gut ecology
typical of herbivorous and carnivorous mammals in general. The
carnivores' diet was associated with high levels of bile-tolerant
microbes, including the bacterium Bilophila wadsworthia which has
previously been linked to inflammatory bowel disease. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
In this week's podcast: the rebirth of a fraudster, drivers of forest diversity, and
why diamonds are a physicist's best friend. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Don’t rush to rehabilitate Hwang ▶
|
|
| |
Nature’s profile of a former fraudster’s attempts to regain respectability should not be taken as an endorsement of the researcher’s claims.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
A return to order ▶
|
|
| |
Members of the US Congress have taken a much-needed step to restore credibility.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
A question of time ▶
|
|
| |
Timekeeping is boosted by the advent of an optical clock based on strontium atoms.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Seven days: 17–23 January 2014 ▶
|
|
| |
The week in science: H7N9 flu makes a resurgence in China, comet-hunting Rosetta spacecraft wakes from hibernation, and Illumina claims $1,000 genome.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Sea drilling project launches ▶
|
|
| |
International expedition hopes to unravel mysteries of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most geologically important seas.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Cloning comeback ▶
|
|
| |
Ten years ago, Woo Suk Hwang rose to the top of his field before fraud and dodgy bioethical practices derailed his career. Can a scientific pariah redeem himself?
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Ecology: Protect the deep sea ▶
|
|
| |
Edward B. Barbier and colleagues call for governance and funds for deep-sea reserves and the restoration of ecosystems damaged by commercial interests.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Conservation: Rewilding Oz ▶
|
|
| |
Tim Flannery celebrates Germaine Greer's foray into natural science — a chronicle of her rainforest-restoration project in a corner of Queensland.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
De novo mutations in schizophrenia implicate synaptic networks ▶
|
|
| |
Menachem Fromer, Andrew J. Pocklington, David H. Kavanagh et al.
|
|
| |
The authors report the largest family-trio exome sequencing study of schizophrenia to date; mutations are overrepresented in genes for glutamatergic synaptic proteins and also genes mutated in autism and intellectual disability, providing insights into aetiological mechanisms and pathopshyisology shared with other neurodevelopmental disorders.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
The evolution of lncRNA repertoires and expression patterns in tetrapods ▶
|
|
| |
Anamaria Necsulea, Magali Soumillon, Maria Warnefors et al.
|
|
| |
Evolutionary study of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) repertoires and expression patterns in 11 tetrapod species identifies approximately 11,000 primate-specific lncRNAs and 2,500 highly conserved lncRNAs, including approximately 400 genes that are likely to have ancient origins; many lncRNAs, particularly ancient ones, are actively regulated and may function mainly in embryonic development.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
A polygenic burden of rare disruptive mutations in schizophrenia ▶
|
|
| |
Shaun M. Purcell, Jennifer L. Moran, Menachem Fromer et al.
|
|
| |
Exome sequence analysis of more than 5,000 schizophrenia cases and controls identifies a polygenic burden primarily arising from rare, disruptive mutations distributed across many genes, among which are those encoding voltage-gated calcium ion channels and the signalling complex formed by the ARC protein of the postsynaptic density; as in autism, mutations were also found in homologues of known targets of the fragile X mental retardation protein.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Pathogens and insect herbivores drive rainforest plant diversity and composition ▶
|
|
| |
Robert Bagchi, Rachel E. Gallery, Sofia Gripenberg et al.
|
|
| |
Suppressing fungi in a tropical forest plant community lowers diversity by reducing the negative effects of density on seedling recruitment, and removing insects increases seedling survival and alters plant community composition; this demonstrates the crucial role of pathogens and insects in maintaining and structuring tropical forest plant diversity.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
SRA- and SET-domain-containing proteins link RNA polymerase V occupancy to DNA methylation ▶
|
|
| |
Lianna M. Johnson, Jiamu Du, Christopher J. Hale et al.
|
|
| |
In Arabidopsis, the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway is important for establishing and maintaining DNA methylation — here Pol V is shown to depend on SUVH2 and SUVH9, where both of these proteins are proposed to bind specifically to methylated DNA to recruit Pol V, providing a self-reinforcing loop mechanism for maintenance of RNA-directed DNA methylation.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Within-group male relatedness reduces harm to females in Drosophila ▶
|
|
| |
Pau Carazo, Cedric K. W. Tan, Felicity Allen et al.
|
|
| |
Relatedness can affect fitness through modulation of intrasexual competition in Drosophila melanogaster; male competition and female harm are lower when three related males compete over an unrelated female than when three unrelated males compete, but when two brothers and an unrelated male compete, the unrelated male sires twice as many offspring as either brother, suggesting that minorities of unrelated competitors may be able to infiltrate coalitions of relatives.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Discovery and saturation analysis of cancer genes across 21 tumour types ▶
|
|
| |
Michael S. Lawrence, Petar Stojanov, Craig H. Mermel et al.
|
|
| |
Large-scale genomic analysis of somatic point mutations in exomes from tumour–normal pairs across 21 cancer types identifies most known cancer genes in these tumour types as well as 33 genes not known to be significantly mutated, and down-sampling analysis indicates that larger sample sizes will reveal many more genes mutated at clinically important frequencies.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Cell death by pyroptosis drives CD4 T-cell depletion in HIV-1 infection ▶
|
|
| |
Gilad Doitsh, Nicole L. K. Galloway, Xin Geng et al.
|
|
| |
Quiescent CD4 T cells in lymphoid tissues are shown to die after HIV-1 infection by caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis, a highly inflammatory form of programmed cell death; caspase 1 inhibitors, which are safe for human use, can rescue the cell death in vitro raising the possibility of new therapeutics targeting the host instead of the virus.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Architecture of the large subunit of the mammalian mitochondrial ribosome ▶
|
|
| |
Basil J. Greber, Daniel Boehringer, Alexander Leitner et al.
|
|
| |
Cryo-electron microscopy combined with chemical crosslinking and mass spectrometry is used to determine the structure of the large subunit of the mammalian mitoribosome; this structure provides detailed structural insight, particularly of the molecular architecture of the polypeptide exit site, which has been structurally remodelled during evolution, presumably to help facilitate the membrane insertion of the highly hydrophobic proteins encoded by the mitochondrial genome.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Mycorrhiza-mediated competition between plants and decomposers drives soil carbon storage ▶
|
|
| |
Colin Averill, Benjamin L. Turner, Adrien C. Finzi
|
|
| |
Ecosystem mycorrhizal type is shown to have a stronger effect on soil carbon storage than temperature, precipitation, clay content and primary production; ecosystems dominated by ectomycorrhizal and ericoid mycorrhizal fungi contain 70% more soil carbon per unit nitrogen than do ecosystems dominated by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
The genome of the recently domesticated crop plant sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) OPEN ▶
|
|
| |
Juliane C. Dohm, André E. Minoche, Daniela Holtgräwe et al.
|
|
| |
A full genome sequence is presented of sugar beet Beta vulgaris, the first plant belonging to Caryophyllales to have its genome sequenced; spinach was sequenced to enable inter-clade comparisons, and intraspecific variation was analysed by comparative genomics of a progenitor of all beet crops and additional sugar beet accessions.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Rare coding variants in the phospholipase D3 gene confer risk for Alzheimer’s disease ▶
|
|
| |
Carlos Cruchaga, Celeste M. Karch, Sheng Chih Jin et al.
|
|
| |
Whole-exome sequencing reveals that a rare variant of phospholipase D3 (PLD3(V232M)) segregates with Alzheimer’s disease status in two independent families and doubles risk for the disease in case–control series, and that several other PLD3 variants increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease in African Americans and people of European descent.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Oestrogen increases haematopoietic stem-cell self-renewal in females and during pregnancy ▶
|
|
| |
Daisuke Nakada, Hideyuki Oguro, Boaz P. Levi et al.
|
|
| |
Haematopoietic stem cells are found to be regulated differently in male and female mice — haematopoietic stem cells in females divide more frequently than in males in response to oestrogen and this difference depends on the ovaries but not the testes; using a genetic approach, it is shown that the effect is dependent on expression of oestrogen receptor-α (ERα) in stem cells.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
 |
| |
The 2014 Natureevents Directory is packed with valuable information covering a complete range of scientific events, conferences and courses from around the world.
|
| | |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
De novo mutations in schizophrenia implicate synaptic networks ▶
|
|
| |
Menachem Fromer, Andrew J. Pocklington, David H. Kavanagh et al.
|
|
| |
The authors report the largest family-trio exome sequencing study of schizophrenia to date; mutations are overrepresented in genes for glutamatergic synaptic proteins and also genes mutated in autism and intellectual disability, providing insights into aetiological mechanisms and pathopshyisology shared with other neurodevelopmental disorders.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
A polygenic burden of rare disruptive mutations in schizophrenia ▶
|
|
| |
Shaun M. Purcell, Jennifer L. Moran, Menachem Fromer et al.
|
|
| |
Exome sequence analysis of more than 5,000 schizophrenia cases and controls identifies a polygenic burden primarily arising from rare, disruptive mutations distributed across many genes, among which are those encoding voltage-gated calcium ion channels and the signalling complex formed by the ARC protein of the postsynaptic density; as in autism, mutations were also found in homologues of known targets of the fragile X mental retardation protein.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Discovery and saturation analysis of cancer genes across 21 tumour types ▶
|
|
| |
Michael S. Lawrence, Petar Stojanov, Craig H. Mermel et al.
|
|
| |
Large-scale genomic analysis of somatic point mutations in exomes from tumour–normal pairs across 21 cancer types identifies most known cancer genes in these tumour types as well as 33 genes not known to be significantly mutated, and down-sampling analysis indicates that larger sample sizes will reveal many more genes mutated at clinically important frequencies.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Cell death by pyroptosis drives CD4 T-cell depletion in HIV-1 infection ▶
|
|
| |
Gilad Doitsh, Nicole L. K. Galloway, Xin Geng et al.
|
|
| |
Quiescent CD4 T cells in lymphoid tissues are shown to die after HIV-1 infection by caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis, a highly inflammatory form of programmed cell death; caspase 1 inhibitors, which are safe for human use, can rescue the cell death in vitro raising the possibility of new therapeutics targeting the host instead of the virus.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Rare coding variants in the phospholipase D3 gene confer risk for Alzheimer’s disease ▶
|
|
| |
Carlos Cruchaga, Celeste M. Karch, Sheng Chih Jin et al.
|
|
| |
Whole-exome sequencing reveals that a rare variant of phospholipase D3 (PLD3(V232M)) segregates with Alzheimer’s disease status in two independent families and doubles risk for the disease in case–control series, and that several other PLD3 variants increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease in African Americans and people of European descent.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
An optical lattice clock with accuracy and stability at the 10−18 level ▶
|
|
| |
B. J. Bloom, T. L. Nicholson, J. R. Williams et al.
|
|
| |
In the search for stable and accurate atomic clocks, many-atom lattice clocks have shown higher precision than clocks based on single trapped ions, but have been less accurate; here, a stable many-atom clock is demonstrated that has accuracy better than single-ion clocks.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
A millisecond pulsar in a stellar triple system ▶
|
|
| |
S. M. Ransom, I. H. Stairs, A. M. Archibald et al.
|
|
| |
Precision timing and multiwavelength observations of a millisecond pulsar in a triple system show that the gravitational interactions between the bodies are strong; this allows the mass of each body to be determined accurately and means that the triple system will provide precise tests of the strong equivalence principle of general relativity.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Dislocations in bilayer graphene ▶
|
|
| |
Benjamin Butz, Christian Dolle, Florian Niekiel et al.
|
|
| |
Basal-plane dislocations, identified as fundamental defects in bilayer graphene by transmission electron microscopy and atomistic simulations, reveal striking size effects, most notably a pronounced buckling of the graphene membrane, which drastically alters the strain state and is of key importance for the material’s mechanical and electronic properties.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Impacts of the north and tropical Atlantic Ocean on the Antarctic Peninsula and sea ice ▶
|
|
| |
Xichen Li, David M. Holland, Edwin P. Gerber et al.
|
|
| |
Warming of the north and tropical Atlantic Ocean, which is associated in part with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (a leading mode of sea surface temperature variability), is shown to affect sea-level pressure in the Amundsen Sea, explaining the accelerated warming of and sea-ice redistribution around the Antarctic Peninsula.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
SciBX: Science-Business eXchange
Collection on Brown Fat
This special collection from SciBX: Science-Business eXchange provides an overview of the state of affairs on brown fat from the scientific, business and regulatory perspectives.
Sponsored by:
Ember Therapeutics
AstraZeneca |
| | |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
UK recruitment drive ▶ |
|
| |
Council launches PhD studentships in quantum technologies, energy and sustainability, and robotics.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Fit for purpose ▶ |
|
| |
Regular exercise helps with work–life balance, survey indicates.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Careers related news & comment |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
naturejobs.com Science jobs of the week
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
No matter what your career stage, student, postdoc or senior scientist, you will find articles on naturejobs.com to help guide you in your science career. Keep up-to-date with the latest sector trends, vote in our reader poll and sign-up to receive the monthly Naturejobs newsletter.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
• Natureevents Directory featured events |
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
natureevents directory featured events
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
Natureevents Directory is the premier resource for scientists looking for the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia. Featured across Nature Publishing Group journals and centrally at natureevents.com it is an essential reference guide to scientific events worldwide.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Nature Publishing Group | 75 Varick Street, 9th floor | New York | NY 10013-1917 | USA
Nature Publishing Group's offices:
Principal offices: London - New York - Tokyo
Worldwide offices: Basingstoke - Boston - Buenos Aires - Delhi - Hong Kong - Madrid - Melbourne - Munich - Paris - San Francisco
- Seoul - Washington DC
Macmillan Publishers Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 785998 and whose registered
office is located at Brunel Road, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
© 2014 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|