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Systems biology: Molecular memoirs of a cellular family
A system that introduces random modifications to barcode sequences embedded in cells' DNA allows lineage relationships between cells to be discerned, while preserving the cells' spatial relationships.
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Biomaterials: Sharks shift their spine into high gear
It emerges that a dogfish shark's spine becomes stiffer as the fish swims faster, enabling the animal to swim efficiently at different speeds. The finding could also provide inspiration for the design of robotic biomaterials.
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Structural biology: Ion-channel mechanisms revealed
Structures of Slo1, a channel that conducts potassium ions out of cells, provide insight into the basis of its high conductance, and of its dual activation by calcium ions and increased membrane voltage.
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Metastasis: Pathways of parallel progression
Two studies in mice identify mechanisms by which tumour cells disseminate in very early breast cancer. Both show that these cells colonize distant tissues more efficiently than their later counterparts.
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Stem cells: Valine starvation leads to a hungry niche
The haematopoietic stem cells that rejuvenate blood depend on a dietary source of the amino acid valine — a finding that has been exploited to reduce the toxicity of bone-marrow transplantation in mice.
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Cryo-EM structure of the open high-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel
Two complementary studies present the full-length high-resolution structure of a Slo1 channel in the presence or absence of Ca2+ ions, in which an unconventional allosteric voltage-sensing mechanism regulates the Ca2+ sensor in addition to the voltage sensor’s direct action on the pore.
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Structural basis for gating the high-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel
Two complementary studies present the full-length high-resolution structure of a Slo1 channel in the presence or absence of Ca2+ ions, in which an unconventional allosteric voltage-sensing mechanism regulates the Ca2+ sensor in addition to the voltage sensor’s direct action on the pore.
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Early dissemination seeds metastasis in breast cancer
Two related papers show that cells disseminated from malignant lesions at early time points during tumorigenesis can contribute to metastases at distant organs and provide insights into the molecular basis of dissemination.
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mRNA quality control is bypassed for immediate export of stress-responsive transcripts
Heat shock drives the expression of transcripts that bypass mRNA quality control for direct export and translation, allowing cells to survive extreme situations at the cost of accuracy.
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Near-atomic-resolution cryo-EM analysis of the Salmonella T3S injectisome basal body
The authors report the structure of the assembled membrane spanning ring forming proteins of the Salmonella Typhimurium injectisome basal body, including the first atomic structure of a member of the secretin family of outer-membrane pores.
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Centennial-scale Holocene climate variations amplified by Antarctic Ice Sheet discharge
Records of iceberg-rafted debris and climate model simulations reveal that fluctuations in Antarctic Ice Sheet discharge may have amplified climate fluctuations during the Holocene.
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Chemical intervention in plant sugar signalling increases yield and resilience
Treatment with signalling precursors of trehalose-6-phosphate allows light-triggered release of trehalose-6-phosphate in Arabidopsis thaliana and increases the yield and drought resistance of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum).
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NLRC3 is an inhibitory sensor of PI3K–mTOR pathways in cancer
Mice deficient in the protein NLRC3 are highly prone to colitis and tumour development in the colon as NLRC3 suppresses the activation of mTOR signalling pathways that help drive tumorigenesis.
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Correlated fluorescence blinking in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures
A correlated blinking phenomenon is discovered in two-dimensional bilayer semiconductor heterostructures, whereby a bright emission state occurs in one monolayer while a dark state occurs in the other, and vice versa.
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Mechanism of early dissemination and metastasis in Her2+ mammary cancer
Two related papers show that cells disseminated from malignant lesions at early time points during tumorigenesis can contribute to metastases at distant organs and provide insights into the molecular basis of dissemination.
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Corrigendum: PI3Kγ is a molecular switch that controls immune suppression
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| Brief Communications Arising |
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Nature Outlook: Lysosomal Storage Disorders
Lysosomal storage disorders are individually rare but collectively common. The study of these diseases is not only leading to better treatments, but also revealing many of the secrets of this underappreciated organelle.
Access the Outlook >
Produced with support from:
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
Produced with support of a grant from:
Shire plc
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc | | |
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Polymers
Ros Daw, Claire Hansell, Magdalena Helmer |
Sustainable polymers from renewable resources
Yunqing Zhu, Charles Romain, Charlotte K. Williams |
Polymers with autonomous life-cycle control
Jason F. Patrick, Maxwell J. Robb, Nancy R. Sottos et al. |
Printing soft matter in three dimensions
Ryan L. Truby, Jennifer A. Lewis |
The rise of plastic bioelectronics
Takao Someya, Zhenan Bao, George G. Malliaras |
Mimicking biological functionality with polymers for biomedical applications
Jordan J. Green, Jennifer H. Elisseeff |
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The seahorse genome and the evolution of its specialized morphology OPEN
Here, the genome sequence of the tiger tail seahorse is reported and comparative genomic analyses with other ray-finned fishes are used to explore the genetic basis of the unique morphology and reproductive system of the seahorse.
Qiang Lin, Shaohua Fan, Yanhong Zhang et al. |
Electric-field-stimulated protein mechanics
A new method in which strong electric fields are applied to a protein crystal while collecting time-resolved X-ray diffraction patterns is able to follow the mechanical motions of all the constituent atoms, with implications for molecular biology and drug discovery.
Doeke R. Hekstra, K. Ian White, Michael A. Socolich et al. |
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Epigenetic stress responses induce muscle stem-cell ageing by Hoxa9 developmental signals
Changes in active chromatin marks in old activated satellite cells lead to Hoxa9 activation, which induces the expression of developmental pathway genes with a known inhibitory effect on satellite cell function and muscle regeneration in aged mice.
Simon Schwörer, Friedrich Becker, Christian Feller et al. |
Structure of CC chemokine receptor 2 with orthosteric and allosteric antagonists
The crystal structure of CCR2 chemokine receptor in a complex with two different antagonists—one orthosteric the other allosteric—which functionally cooperate to inhibit CCR2.
Yi Zheng, Ling Qin, Natalia V. Ortiz Zacarías et al. |
High-resolution mapping of global surface water and its long-term changes
A freely available dataset produced from three million Landsat satellite images reveals substantial changes in the distribution of global surface water over the past 32 years and their causes, from climate change to human actions.
Jean-François Pekel, Andrew Cottam, Noel Gorelick et al. |
Resolved images of a protostellar outflow driven by an extended disk wind
Observations of the outflow associated with the TMC1A protostellar system reveal that the ‘disk wind’ model correctly explains how material is ejected from protostars.
Per Bjerkeli, Matthijs H. D. van der Wiel, Daniel Harsono et al. |
Extensive degeneracy, Coulomb phase and magnetic monopoles in artificial square ice
All of the characteristics of the square-ice model are observed in an artificial square-ice system in which the two sublattices of nanomagnets are slightly vertically separated.
Yann Perrin, Benjamin Canals, Nicolas Rougemaille |
Neutralizing human antibodies prevent Zika virus replication and fetal disease in mice
Monoclonal Zika-virus-neutralizing human antibodies can protect against maternal–fetal transmission, infection and disease.
Gopal Sapparapu, Estefania Fernandez, Nurgun Kose et al. |
Receptor usage dictates HIV-1 restriction by human TRIM5α in dendritic cell subsets
Human TRIM5α restricts HIV-1 infection of Langerhans cells through a Langerin-dependent autophagy pathway.
Carla M. S. Ribeiro, Ramin Sarrami-Forooshani, Laurentia C. Setiawan et al. |
Intracellular allosteric antagonism of the CCR9 receptor
The crystal structure of the CCR9 chemokine receptor in complex with vercirnon at 2.8 Å resolution.
Christine Oswald, Mathieu Rappas, James Kean et al. |
A 17-gene stemness score for rapid determination of risk in acute leukaemia
A rapid gene signature test (LSC17) that captures stem cell expression programs in acute myeloid leukaemia patients at diagnosis is associated with therapy response and survival, facilitating initial treatment stratification.
Stanley W. K. Ng, Amanda Mitchell, James A. Kennedy et al. |
Accessing non-natural reactivity by irradiating nicotinamide-dependent enzymes with light
Photoexcitation of a catalytic enzyme’s co-factor is shown to change the reactivity of the enzyme, enabling it to carry out a non-natural enantioselective dehalogenation of lactone molecules.
Megan A. Emmanuel, Norman R. Greenberg, Daniel G. Oblinsky et al. |
Structure and regulation of the chromatin remodeller ISWI
The crystal structures of ISWI, the catalytic subunit of several chromatin remodelling complexes, and its complex with a histone H4 peptide are reported.
Lijuan Yan, Li Wang, Yuanyuan Tian et al. |
Structure of photosystem II and substrate binding at room temperature
The structures of three intermediate states of photosystem II, which is crucial for photosynthesis, have been solved at room temperature, shedding new light on this process.
Iris D. Young, Mohamed Ibrahim, Ruchira Chatterjee et al. |
Genome-wide changes in lncRNA, splicing, and regional gene expression patterns in autism
Gene expression analysis in brain tissue from individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests that the transcription factor SOX5 contributes to an ASD-associated reduction in transcriptional differences between brain areas and indicates that common transcriptomic changes occur in different forms of ASD.
Neelroop N. Parikshak, Vivek Swarup, T. Grant Belgard et al. |
Zika virus infection damages the testes in mice
Infection of male mice with Zika virus caused testicular and epididymal damage, reduction in sex hormone levels, destruction of germ and somatic cells in the testis, loss of mature sperm and reduction in fertility.
Jennifer Govero, Prabagaran Esakky, Suzanne M. Scheaffer et al. |
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