Editorials

The constant gardeners p845

While pottering away in a garden near you, botanists are playing an increasingly sophisticated role in studying plant diversity. They should continue to broaden their scientific reach.

doi:10.1038/440845a

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More than the money p845

Technology-transfer offices are learning from their mistakes. So should the academics that they serve.

doi:10.1038/440845b

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Neglected neighbour p846

Venus Express will go some way towards correcting a strange disparity.

doi:10.1038/440846a

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Research Highlights

Research highlights p848

doi:10.1038/440848a

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News

Bird-flu experts question advice on eating poultry p850

How safe are chicken and eggs?

Declan Butler

doi:10.1038/440850a

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Patients warned about unproven spinal surgery p850

Critics attack Chinese treatment despite anecdotal successes.

David Cyranoski

doi:10.1038/440850b

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Sidelines p852

doi:10.1038/440852a

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Malaria breakthrough raises spectre of drug resistance p852

Yeast engineered to produce potent drug.

Narelle Towie

doi:10.1038/440852b

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Two telescopes join hunt for ET p853

Optical astronomers scan the sky for signs of life.

Tony Reichhardt

doi:10.1038/440853a

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Can super-antibody drugs be tamed? p855

As it becomes clear that the London clinical trial disaster was indeed the fault of the drug itself, Michael Hopkin looks at what went wrong, and whether there is any future for 'superagonist' antibody therapies.

doi:10.1038/440855a

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Japan revises its military plans for space p857

Government wants better spy satellites.

Ichiko Fuyuno

doi:10.1038/440857a

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News in brief p858

doi:10.1038/440858a

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News Features

Plant science: Gardens in full bloom p860

In a world of declining biodiversity, botanical gardens are coming into their own — both as storehouses of rare plants and skills, and increasingly as centres of molecular research. Emma Marris reports.

doi:10.1038/440860a

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Seismology: Breaking new ground p864

In 1906, a great earthquake destroyed San Francisco, and galvanized US seismologists. Naomi Lubick looks back at the event that changed the country's geological scene.

doi:10.1038/440864a

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Business

University challenge p867

Cambridge is revamping its approach to technology transfer — but will it work? Colin Macilwain reports.

doi:10.1038/440867a

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Correspondence

Industry: policing the 'dark side' of ecology p868

David Allsop

doi:10.1038/440868a

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Industry: speak up to stop its pressure on academia p868

Ralf Buckley

doi:10.1038/440868b

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Risks of a high-protein diet outweigh the benefits p868

Rosemary Stanton and Tim Crowe

doi:10.1038/440868c

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Local people may be the best allies in conservation p868

Douglas Sheil and Manuel Boissière

doi:10.1038/440868d

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Books and Arts

Real concerns, false gods p869

Invoking a wrathful biosphere won't help us deal with the problems of climate change.

Tyler Volk reviews The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is Fighting Back — And How We Can Still Save Humanity by James Lovelock

doi:10.1038/440869a

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Climbing Mount Schiehallion p870

Patricia Fara reviews Weighing the World: The Quest to Measure the Earth by Edwin Danson

doi:10.1038/440870a

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Thirsty work p871

doi:10.1038/440871a

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Weird, sexy and mind-blowing p871

Jim Al-Khalili reviews The Quantum Zoo: A Tourist's Guide to the Never-Ending Universe by Marcus Chown

doi:10.1038/440871b

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Science in culture: Eggs and exegesis p872

Putting the 'history' back into natural history.

Martin Kemp

doi:10.1038/440872a

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News and Views

Astrophysics: A whirling dervish p873

Vega is a fundamental reference star for astronomers. But it seems that our perceptions of it have been misconceived — rather than spinning slowly, the star is a rapid rotator seen pole-on.

Richard Gray

doi:10.1038/440873a

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Ageing: Chromatin unbound p874

Sir2 proteins slow ageing in yeast by locking chromatin — the DNA and proteins in chromosomes — into a stable, silent state. Inactivating a Sir2 family protein in mice causes premature ageing and genome instability.

Jan Vijg and Yousin Suh

doi:10.1038/440874a

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Conservation biology: Roads and genetic connectivity p875

The Ventura Freeway slices through wildlife habitat near Los Angeles. A case study shows how large highways such as this can seriously impede genetic exchange in large vertebrates.

Jared L. Strasburg

doi:10.1038/440875a

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Chemistry: A nose for sarin p876

Andrew Mitchinson

doi:10.1038/440876a

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Quantum physics: Equilibrium on hold p877

Startlingly, two atomic clouds confined to one dimension can be made to pass through each other repeatedly without ever coming to rest. Such non-equilibrium phenomena are fundamental, but experimentally elusive.

Henk T. C. Stoof

doi:10.1038/440877a

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Biogeochemistry: Methane and microbes p878

Microorganisms can carry out a wonderful range of chemical transformations. The anaerobic oxidation of methane seemed not to be among them. But it is — both with sulphate, and now it turns out, with nitrate.

Rudolf K. Thauer and Seigo Shima

doi:10.1038/440878a

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Biological imaging: The diffraction barrier broken p879

The conventional optical limitations of fluorescence microscopy have been defied, to achieve nanoscale resolution of individual vesicle organelles at the junctions of neuronal cells.

Garth J. Simpson

doi:10.1038/440879a

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Behavioural ecology: Grasshoppers don't play possum p880

When about to be eaten by frogs, certain grasshoppers assume a static, unwieldy pose that means they cannot be swallowed. Similar behaviours, interpreted as feigning death, may also be open to alternative explanations.

Graeme Ruxton

doi:10.1038/440880a

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Brief Communications

Evolution: A catfish that can strike its prey on land p881

This denizen of tropical swamps may shed light on how ancient fish were able to survive out of water.

Sam Van Wassenbergh, Anthony Herrel, Dominique Adriaens, Frank Huysentruyt, Stijn Devaere and Peter Aerts

doi:10.1038/440881a

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (283K) | Supplementary information

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Brief Communications Arising

Taxonomy: Sus bucculentus revisited pE7

Judith H. Robins, Howard A. Ross, Melinda S. Allen and Elizabeth Matisoo-Smith

doi:10.1038/nature04770

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (125K)

Articles

Asa Issie, Aramis and the origin of Australopithecus p883

Tim D. White, Giday WoldeGabriel, Berhane Asfaw, Stan Ambrose, Yonas Beyene, Raymond L. Bernor, Jean-Renaud Boisserie, Brian Currie, Henry Gilbert, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, William K. Hart, Leslea J. Hlusko, F. Clark Howell, Reiko T. Kono, Thomas Lehmann, Antoine Louchart, C. Owen Lovejoy, Paul R. Renne, Haruo Saegusa, Elisabeth S. Vrba, Hank Wesselman and Gen Suwa

doi:10.1038/nature04629

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (670K) | Supplementary information

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Chemokines enhance immunity by guiding naive CD8⁺ T cells to sites of CD4⁺ T cell–dendritic cell interaction p890

Flora Castellino, Alex Y. Huang, Grégoire Altan-Bonnet, Sabine Stoll, Clemens Scheinecker and Ronald N. Germain

doi:10.1038/nature04651

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (520K) | Supplementary information

Letters

Vega is a rapidly rotating star p896

D. M. Peterson, C. A. Hummel, T. A. Pauls, J. T. Armstrong, J. A. Benson, G. C. Gilbreath, R. B. Hindsley, D. J. Hutter, K. J. Johnston, D. Mozurkewich and H. R. Schmitt

doi:10.1038/nature04661

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (245K) | Supplementary information

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A quantum Newton's cradle p900

Toshiya Kinoshita, Trevor Wenger and David S. Weiss

doi:10.1038/nature04693

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (575K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Stoof

Parametric oscillation in vertical triple microcavities p904

C. Diederichs, J. Tignon, G. Dasbach, C. Ciuti, A. Lemaître, J. Bloch, Ph. Roussignol and C. Delalande

doi:10.1038/nature04602

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (700K) | Supplementary information

Management of singlet and triplet excitons for efficient white organic light-emitting devices p908

Yiru Sun, Noel C. Giebink, Hiroshi Kanno, Biwu Ma, Mark E. Thompson and Stephen R. Forrest

doi:10.1038/nature04645

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Deep origin and hot melting of an Archaean orogenic peridotite massif in Norway p913

Dirk Spengler, Herman L. M. van Roermund, Martyn R. Drury, Luisa Ottolini, Paul R. D. Mason and Gareth R. Davies

doi:10.1038/nature04644

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A microbial consortium couples anaerobic methane oxidation to denitrification p918

Ashna A. Raghoebarsing, Arjan Pol, Katinka T. van de Pas-Schoonen, Alfons J. P. Smolders, Katharina F. Ettwig, W. Irene C. Rijpstra, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Huub J. M. Op den Camp, Mike S. M. Jetten and Marc Strous

doi:10.1038/nature04617

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Nitrogen limitation constrains sustainability of ecosystem response to CO₂ p922

Peter B. Reich, Sarah E. Hobbie, Tali Lee, David S. Ellsworth, Jason B. West, David Tilman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Shahid Naeem and Jared Trost

doi:10.1038/nature04486

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Parental investment by skin feeding in a caecilian amphibian p926

Alexander Kupfer, Hendrik Müller, Marta M. Antoniazzi, Carlos Jared, Hartmut Greven, Ronald A. Nussbaum and Mark Wilkinson

doi:10.1038/nature04403

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Independent evolution of bitter-taste sensitivity in humans and chimpanzees p930

Stephen Wooding, Bernd Bufe, Christina Grassi, Michael T. Howard, Anne C. Stone, Maribel Vazquez, Diane M. Dunn, Wolfgang Meyerhof, Robert B. Weiss and Michael J. Bamshad

doi:10.1038/nature04655

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (334K) | Supplementary information

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STED microscopy reveals that synaptotagmin remains clustered after synaptic vesicle exocytosis p935

Katrin I. Willig, Silvio O. Rizzoli, Volker Westphal, Reinhard Jahn and Stefan W. Hell

doi:10.1038/nature04592

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (357K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Simpson

Production of the antimalarial drug precursor artemisinic acid in engineered yeast p940

Dae-Kyun Ro, Eric M. Paradise, Mario Ouellet, Karl J. Fisher, Karyn L. Newman, John M. Ndungu, Kimberly A. Ho, Rachel A. Eachus, Timothy S. Ham, James Kirby, Michelle C. Y. Chang, Sydnor T. Withers, Yoichiro Shiba, Richmond Sarpong and Jay D. Keasling

doi:10.1038/nature04640

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Reactive oxygen species have a causal role in multiple forms of insulin resistance p944

Nicholas Houstis, Evan D. Rosen and Eric S. Lander

doi:10.1038/nature04634

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (406K) | Supplementary information

IB kinase- is critical for interferon- production induced by Toll-like receptors 7 and 9 p949

Katsuaki Hoshino, Takahiro Sugiyama, Mitsuru Matsumoto, Takashi Tanaka, Masuyoshi Saito, Hiroaki Hemmi, Osamu Ohara, Shizuo Akira and Tsuneyasu Kaisho

doi:10.1038/nature04641

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (404K) | Supplementary information

The reversibility of mitotic exit in vertebrate cells p954

Tamara A. Potapova, John R. Daum, Bradley D. Pittman, Joanna R. Hudson, Tara N. Jones, David L. Satinover, P. Todd Stukenberg and Gary J. Gorbsky

doi:10.1038/nature04652

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (526K) | Supplementary information

Toxin-induced conformational changes in a potassium channel revealed by solid-state NMR p959

Adam Lange, Karin Giller, Sönke Hornig, Marie-France Martin-Eauclaire, Olaf Pongs, Stefan Becker and Marc Baldus

doi:10.1038/nature04649

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,118K) | Supplementary information

Naturejobs

What now for biotechnology? p963

Developing world offers opportunities for biotechnology.

Paul Smaglik

doi:10.1038/nj7086-963a

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Mentoring mismatch p964

Is your adviser not the role model or mentor of your dreams? Then take charge of the situation and find the right people. Kendall Powell plays matchmaker. More than one mentor may be necessary for postdocs and graduate students.

Kendall Powell

doi:10.1038/nj7086-964a

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Nikolaus Rajewsky, head of bioinformatics research, Max Delbrück Center, Berlin, Germany p966

Physicist-turned-bioinformatician heads back to Germany.

Dirk Steuerwald

doi:10.1038/nj7086-966a

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Mass uprising of women in science p966

Women scientist group benefits from some bad news.

Joanne Kamens & Karen Yee

doi:10.1038/nj7086-966b

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Selling the PhD p966

Graduate student steps outside comfort zone.

Katja Bargum

doi:10.1038/nj7086-966c

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Futures

Directed energy p968

More than just a flash in the pan.

Jeff Hecht

doi:10.1038/440968a

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