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| | | Specials - Outlook: Epilepsy | | | | Some 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, yet, despite its prevalence, the condition attracts relatively little research funding. This Outlook supplement discusses the problems that have held back epilepsy research, and reports on the advances that hold out the promise of more rapid progress in the future. ▼ more | | | | | | | | | Amphibians acquire resistance to live and dead fungus overcoming fungal immunosuppression | The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, has been implicated in the declines of many amphibian species worldwide. There has been little evidence that amphibians can acquire resistance to this pathogen but now Jason Rohr and colleagues present experiments on several amphibian species that demonstrate that frogs can learn to avoid the pathogen, can overcome Bd-induced immunosuppression after repeated exposures, and can be immunized against it using dead pathogen. Using vaccines to induce resistance in captive-bred amphibians prior to a return to the wild could make it possible one day to repopulate areas that have seen catastrophic declines. | | | | | | | | | An optoelectronic framework enabled by low-dimensional phase-change films | Phase-change materials such as germanium-antimony-tellerium alloy are widely used in optical storage media such as DVDs and are also candidates for the next generation of electrically operated non-volatile memories. Harish Bhaskaran and collagues have now combined optical and electrical control in ultrathin phase-change films to produce a new type of optotelectronic framework that offers intriguing prospects for a new range of smart devices. Phases can be electronically switched to produce high-contrast colour changes that are readily visible on small, flexible, reflective and semitransparent displays and consume small amounts of energy similar to that used by electrochromic devices. | | | | | | | | | Strong contributions of local background climate to urban heat islands | It is often a few degrees warmer in a city than in the surrounding rural areas. This is commonly explained as a consequence of a lower rate of evaporative cooling in urban areas. But this study uses climate modelling to show that for cities across North America, the daytime urban heat island effect varies with the efficiency of heat convection between the land surface and the lower atmosphere. Aerodynamics also play a part: if urban areas are aerodynamically smoother than surrounding areas, urban heat dissipation is less efficient. The health impact of heatwaves means that mitigation of the heat island effect may be beneficial. The authors consider aerodynamic 'spoilers' impractical, but efforts to increase urban albedo, using reflective roofs for instance, might be worth pursuing. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In this week's podcast: the two STAP cell papers are retracted, a way to immunize fungus-afflicted frogs, and high-res displays for wearable technology. Plus, the best science news from outside Nature. | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brain fog ▶ | | | The criticism of Europe’s Human Brain Project by leading scientists reflects a messy management structure that is in urgent need of clear direction. | | | | | | | | Barriers to trust ▶ | | | An outbreak of Ebola highlights the difficulties of implementing public-health measures. | | | | | | | | Be concerned ▶ | | | A possible link between neonicotinoid pesticide use and a decline in bird numbers is worrying. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Seven days: 4–10 July 2014 ▶ | | | The week in science: NASA launches carbon-tracking satellite; European particle accelerators funded; and gloom over Caribbean coral reefs. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | History: Fifty years of EMBO ▶ | | | Georgina Ferry reflects on the evolution of the European Molecular Biology Organization, founded to help Europe to compete with the United States. | | | | | | | | | | | Summer books ▶ | | | As the wild blue yonder beckons and labs and classrooms empty, Nature's regular reviewers share their holiday reads. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Comprehensive molecular profiling of lung adenocarcinoma OPEN ▶ | | | An integrated transcriptome, genome, methylome and proteome analysis of over 200 lung adenocarcinomas reveals high rates of somatic mutations, 18 statistically significantly mutated genes including RIT1 and MGA, splicing changes, and alterations in MAPK and PI(3)K pathway activity. | | | | | | | | | | | Structure of an Rrp6–RNA exosome complex bound to poly(A) RNA ▶ | | | Elizabeth V. Wasmuth, Kurt Januszyk, Christopher D. Lima | | | The exosome complex contains two catalytic subunits which degrade RNA in either a distributive (Rrp6) or a processive (Rrp44) manner—previous structures indicated how RNA could be directed to Rrp44, but the path taken to Rrp6 was unclear; here the location of the Rrp6 catalytic domain and the RNA 3′ end are determined and it is found that the RNA lies in an opposite orientation from that of the Rrp44-containing exosome structure, suggesting that the fate of an RNA may be influenced by the manner in which cofactors present it. | | | | | | | | Ribosomal frameshifting in the CCR5 mRNA is regulated by miRNAs and the NMD pathway ▶ | | | Ashton Trey Belew, Arturas Meskauskas, Sharmishtha Musalgaonkar et al. | | | Programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting (−1 PRF) is a process by which a signal in a messenger RNA causes a translating ribosome to shift by one nucleotide, thus changing the reading frame; here −1 PRF in the mRNA for the co-receptor for HIV-1, CCR5, is stimulated by two microRNAs and leads to degradation of the transcript by nonsense-mediated decay and at least one other decay pathway. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Serial time-resolved crystallography of photosystem II using a femtosecond X-ray laser ▶ | | | Christopher Kupitz, Shibom Basu, Ingo Grotjohann et al. | | | Femtosecond X-ray pulses were used to obtain diffraction data on photosystem II, revealing conformational changes as the complex transitions from the dark S1 state to the double-pumped S3 state; the time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography technique enables structural determination of protein conformations that are highly prone to traditional radiation damage. | | | | | | | | Metastasis-suppressor transcript destabilization through TARBP2 binding of mRNA hairpins ▶ | | | Hani Goodarzi, Steven Zhang, Colin G. Buss et al. | | | Linear sequence elements within messenger RNAs are known to be targeted by regulatory factors such as microRNAs for degradation, a process that has been implicated in disease; now, non-linear regulatory structural elements within mRNAs are shown also to be targeted, with the resulting mRNA destabilization mediating breast cancer metastasis. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Selective transcriptional regulation by Myc in cellular growth control and lymphomagenesis ▶ | | | Arianna Sabò, Theresia R. Kress, Mattia Pelizzola et al. | | | Global transcriptional and epigenomic analyses in diverse cell types reveal that the primary action of Myc is to up- and downregulate transcription of distinct groups of genes, rather than to amplify transcription of all active genes; general RNA amplification, when observed, is better explained as an indirect consequence of Myc’s action on cellular physiology. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Abnormalities in human pluripotent cells due to reprogramming mechanisms ▶ | | | Hong Ma, Robert Morey, Ryan C. O'Neil et al. | | | Genome-wide analysis of matched human IVF embryonic stem cells (IVF ES cells), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and nuclear transfer ES cells (NT ES cells) derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) reveals that human somatic cells can be faithfully reprogrammed to pluripotency by SCNT; NT ES cells and iPS cells derived from the same somatic cells contain comparable numbers of de novo copy number variations, but whereas DNA methylation and transcriptome profiles of NT ES cells and IVF ES cells are similar, iPS cells have residual patterns typical of parental somatic cells. | | | | | | | | Aryl hydrocarbon receptor control of a disease tolerance defence pathway ▶ | | | Alban Bessede, Marco Gargaro, Maria T. Pallotta et al. | | | Initial exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces endotoxin tolerance, which reduces immunological reactions to LPS; here it is shown that primary LPS challenge is controlled by AhR, TDO2 and IL-10, whereas sustained effects require AhR, IDO1 and TGF-β, allowing for disease tolerance with reduced immunopathology in infections. | | | | | | | | NMDA receptor structures reveal subunit arrangement and pore architecture ▶ | | | Chia-Hsueh Lee, Wei Lü, Jennifer Carlisle Michel et al. | | | X-ray crystal structures are presented of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, a calcium-permeable ion channel that opens upon binding of glutamate and glycine; glutamate is a key excitatory neurotransmitter and enhanced structural insight of this receptor may aid development of therapeutic small molecules. | | | | | | | | Cooperating with the future ▶ | | | Oliver P. Hauser, David G. Rand, Alexander Peysakhovich et al. | | | An intergenerational cooperation game has been developed to study decision-making regarding resource use: when decisions about resource extraction were made individually the resource was rapidly depleted by a minority of defectors; the resource was sustainably maintained across generations, however, when decisions were made democratically by voting. | | | | | | | | Amphibians acquire resistance to live and dead fungus overcoming fungal immunosuppression ▶ | | | Taegan A. McMahon, Brittany F. Sears, Matthew D. Venesky et al. | | | The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been implicated in the decline of a large number of amphibian species; here it is shown that frogs can learn to avoid the pathogen, acquire resistance to it and be immunized against it using dead pathogen, findings that potentially offer a way in which resistant populations could be reintroduced into areas that have seen catastrophic declines. | | | | | | | | A dynamic model of bovine tuberculosis spread and control in Great Britain ▶ | | | Ellen Brooks-Pollock, Gareth O. Roberts, Matt J. Keeling | | | Bovine tuberculosis is a major economic burden on the cattle industry, and attempts to control it have been politically controversial; here farm movement and bovine tuberculosis incidence data are used to construct a mechanistic model and tease apart the factors contributing to epidemic bovine tuberculosis spread. | | | | | | | | Horizontal genome transfer as an asexual path to the formation of new species ▶ | | | Ignacia Fuentes, Sandra Stegemann, Hieronim Golczyk et al. | | | The formation of a new species can occur by an asexual mechanism by transfer of entire nuclear genomes between plant cells as shown by the creation of a new allopolyploid plant from parental herbaceous and woody plant species, this mechanism is a potential new tool for crop improvement. | | | | | | | | Cntnap4 differentially contributes to GABAergic and dopaminergic synaptic transmission ▶ | | | T. Karayannis, E. Au, J. C. Patel et al. | | | The molecular relationship between synaptic dysfunction and psychiatric disorders was investigated using a mouse model system; presynaptically localized Cntnap4 is required for the output of two disease-relevant neuronal subpopulations (cortical parvalbumin-positive GABAergic cells and midbrain dopaminergic neurons) and Cntnap4 mutants show behavioural abnormalities which can be pharmacologically reversed. | | | | | | | | Novel somatic and germline mutations in intracranial germ cell tumours ▶ | | | Linghua Wang, Shigeru Yamaguchi, Matthew D. Burstein et al. | | | Intracranial germ cell tumours are rare tumours affecting mainly male adolescents, mainly in Asia; here the authors identify frequent mutations in the KIT/RAS and AKT/mTOR signalling pathways as well as rare germline variants in JMJD1C, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies focusing on the inhibition of KIT/RAS activation and the AKT1/mTOR pathway. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brief Communications Arising | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Nature Outlook Stroke Research is focusing on ways to prevent loss of brain function following stroke, on developing new treatments to repair physical damage and on post-stroke management and rehabilitation programmes. Access the Outlook free online for six months. | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Comprehensive molecular profiling of lung adenocarcinoma OPEN ▶ | | | An integrated transcriptome, genome, methylome and proteome analysis of over 200 lung adenocarcinomas reveals high rates of somatic mutations, 18 statistically significantly mutated genes including RIT1 and MGA, splicing changes, and alterations in MAPK and PI(3)K pathway activity. | | | | | | | | Metastasis-suppressor transcript destabilization through TARBP2 binding of mRNA hairpins ▶ | | | Hani Goodarzi, Steven Zhang, Colin G. Buss et al. | | | Linear sequence elements within messenger RNAs are known to be targeted by regulatory factors such as microRNAs for degradation, a process that has been implicated in disease; now, non-linear regulatory structural elements within mRNAs are shown also to be targeted, with the resulting mRNA destabilization mediating breast cancer metastasis. | | | | | | | | | | | Selective transcriptional regulation by Myc in cellular growth control and lymphomagenesis ▶ | | | Arianna Sabò, Theresia R. Kress, Mattia Pelizzola et al. | | | Global transcriptional and epigenomic analyses in diverse cell types reveal that the primary action of Myc is to up- and downregulate transcription of distinct groups of genes, rather than to amplify transcription of all active genes; general RNA amplification, when observed, is better explained as an indirect consequence of Myc’s action on cellular physiology. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Amphibians acquire resistance to live and dead fungus overcoming fungal immunosuppression ▶ | | | Taegan A. McMahon, Brittany F. Sears, Matthew D. Venesky et al. | | | The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been implicated in the decline of a large number of amphibian species; here it is shown that frogs can learn to avoid the pathogen, acquire resistance to it and be immunized against it using dead pathogen, findings that potentially offer a way in which resistant populations could be reintroduced into areas that have seen catastrophic declines. | | | | | | | | A dynamic model of bovine tuberculosis spread and control in Great Britain ▶ | | | Ellen Brooks-Pollock, Gareth O. Roberts, Matt J. Keeling | | | Bovine tuberculosis is a major economic burden on the cattle industry, and attempts to control it have been politically controversial; here farm movement and bovine tuberculosis incidence data are used to construct a mechanistic model and tease apart the factors contributing to epidemic bovine tuberculosis spread. | | | | | | | | Cntnap4 differentially contributes to GABAergic and dopaminergic synaptic transmission ▶ | | | T. Karayannis, E. Au, J. C. Patel et al. | | | The molecular relationship between synaptic dysfunction and psychiatric disorders was investigated using a mouse model system; presynaptically localized Cntnap4 is required for the output of two disease-relevant neuronal subpopulations (cortical parvalbumin-positive GABAergic cells and midbrain dopaminergic neurons) and Cntnap4 mutants show behavioural abnormalities which can be pharmacologically reversed. | | | | | | | | Novel somatic and germline mutations in intracranial germ cell tumours ▶ | | | Linghua Wang, Shigeru Yamaguchi, Matthew D. Burstein et al. | | | Intracranial germ cell tumours are rare tumours affecting mainly male adolescents, mainly in Asia; here the authors identify frequent mutations in the KIT/RAS and AKT/mTOR signalling pathways as well as rare germline variants in JMJD1C, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies focusing on the inhibition of KIT/RAS activation and the AKT1/mTOR pathway. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jet acceleration of the fast molecular outflows in the Seyfert galaxy IC 5063 ▶ | | | C. Tadhunter, R. Morganti, M. Rose et al. | | | The observation of high-velocity warm molecular hydrogen in the galaxy IC 5063 supports the proposal that the powerful jets of particles launched by active galactic nuclei can both accelerate and heat the molecular outflows that influence the evolution of galaxies. | | | | | | | | Rapid formation of large dust grains in the luminous supernova 2010jl ▶ | | | Christa Gall, Jens Hjorth, Darach Watson et al. | | | The formation of dust in the dense circumstellar medium of the bright supernova 2010jl is at first rapid and produces very large grains, which resist destruction, whereas later the dust production rate increases, meaning its source is ejecta; this links early and late dust mass evolution in supernovae with dense circumstellar media. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | An optoelectronic framework enabled by low-dimensional phase-change films ▶ | | | Peiman Hosseini, C. David Wright, Harish Bhaskaran | | | Here stable colour changes induced by solid-state electrical switching of ultrathin films of a germanium–antimony–telluride alloy are demonstrated, adding to its established uses in data storage; possible applications include flexible and transparent displays. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Quantification of dissolved iron sources to the North Atlantic Ocean ▶ | | | Tim M. Conway, Seth G. John | | | A high-resolution oceanic section of dissolved iron stable isotope ratios reveals that the primary source of dissolved iron to the North Atlantic is atmospheric dust, while seafloor sediments and submarine volcanic vents also contribute significantly. | | | | | | | | Strong contributions of local background climate to urban heat islands ▶ | | | Lei Zhao, Xuhui Lee, Ronald B. Smith et al. | | | Climate modelling is used to show that for cities across North America, geographic variations in daytime urban heat islands—that is, the temperature differences between urban and adjacent rural areas—are largely explained by variations in the efficiency with which those areas convect heat to the lower atmosphere. | | | | | | | | Cooperating with the future ▶ | | | Oliver P. Hauser, David G. Rand, Alexander Peysakhovich et al. | | | An intergenerational cooperation game has been developed to study decision-making regarding resource use: when decisions about resource extraction were made individually the resource was rapidly depleted by a minority of defectors; the resource was sustainably maintained across generations, however, when decisions were made democratically by voting. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Epidemiology: The complexities of epilepsy ▶ | | | An estimated 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy. But research funding is low, treatment can fail and the mechanisms of the disease are a mystery. By Neil Savage. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Genetics: Complex expressions ▶ | | | Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders to affect the human brain. Many genetic aspects of the disease have been identified, but mechanisms remains elusive. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Food science: Fat chance ▶ | | | For children with epilepsy whose condition is resistant to medication, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet may help bring their seizures under control. | | | | | | | | Produced with support of an independent medical education grant from Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. | | | | | | | | |
| | | nature.com webcasts Macmillan Science Communication presents a custom webcast and Q&A on: Live-cell sorting by RNA markers: Unlocking the potential of native cells for use in downstream assays on Wedndesday 16 July. | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Column: A wake-up call ▶ | | | Graduate students must educate themselves and others about academia's dim job prospects, says Jessica Polka. | | | | | | | | 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
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