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The 50th anniversary of an astonishing scientific hypothesis deserves celebration. So too do the truly astounding tales of a literary genre that anticipated it.
Fifty years ago, a physics student dissatisfied with the standard view of quantum mechanics came up with a radical new interpretation. Mark Buchanan reports on the ensuing debate.
Time machines, spaceships, atomic blasters — the icons of science fiction tend to come from the physical sciences. But science fiction has a biological side too, finding drama and pathos in everything from alien evolution to the paradoxes of consciousness. Nature brought together four science-fiction writers with a background in the biological sciences to talk about life-science fiction.
Whether ancient or new, in distant galaxies or our own cosmic back-yard, stars have dramatic similarities that hint at remarkably robust formative processes.
The thermodynamics of ancient clays on Mars seems inconsistent with the idea that a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide caused a warm, wet era in the planet's early history. What did cause it remains an enigma.
The genome of one bacterium has been successfully replaced with that of a different bacterium, transforming one species into another. This development is a harbinger of whole-genome engineering for practical ends.
The inability to efficiently deliver small interfering RNAs to target organs hinders their therapeutic application. So a demonstration of siRNA delivery to a notoriously difficult organ — the brain — is very exciting indeed.
The latest turn in studies of mimicry in the animal world involves great tits as predators and almonds as prey. When it comes to being unpalatable, it seems that some mimics may neither flatter nor deceive.
T cells of the immune system recognize lipids, as well as peptides, extending our ideas about such target antigens. A crystal structure of a T-cell receptor docked to antigen shows how a sugar controls lipid recognition.
Attachment of a piece of viral protein to a small RNA achieves transfer of the RNA into neuronal cells in cell culture. This was also able to deliver an antiviral siRNA specifically into the brains of mice infected with encephalitis and achieve 80% protection. This study opens a new potential line of treatment for neuronal disease.
Attachment of a piece of viral protein to a small RNA achieves transfer of the RNA into neuronal cells in cell culture. This was also able to deliver an antiviral siRNA specifically into the brains of mice infected with encephalitis and achieve 80% protection. This study opens a new potential line of treatment for neuronal disease.
High resolution surface images of Hyperion, Saturn's largest known, irregularly shaped satellite are presented. These reveal a unique sponge-like appearance at scales of a few kilometres, with a high surface density of relatively well-preserved 2–10 km-sized craters.
The surface of Hyperion has a large region of high albedo with the signature of H2O ice and another zone of albedo about a factor of four lower. Observations of the surface in the ultraviolet and near-infrared spectral regions with two optical remote sensing instruments on the Cassini spacecraft detail that the low-albedo material has spectral similarities and compositional signatures that link it with the surface of Phoebe.
A plasmon of low energy that was therefore thought to be impossible to support on a metal surface is observed; the underlying bulk electrons would simply destroy it. It is found that this new plasmon, which has an acoustic, linear dispersion (energy dependence on momentum), can exist due to a particular, non-local aspect, of its energy structure.
The apparent absence of carbonates and the low escape rates of carbon dioxide are indicative of an early Martian atmosphere with low levels of carbon dioxide. Calculations of aqueous equilibria of phyllosilicates that were recently observed on Mars now suggest low partial pressure of carbon dioxide at the time. This implies that other greenhouse gases may have played a key role in sustaining a warm and wet climate on early Mars.
Although batesian and müllerian mimicry were identified 100 years ago, the dynamics of mimicry between unequally defended prey remain unresolved. This paper experimentally tests the contrasting theories, demonstrating that unequally defended (even edible) mimics gain survival benefits from their association with one another.
This manuscript provides A first description of a new spontaneous mouse mutant, called pale tremor, with a retrotransposon inserted into the gene encoding the phosphatidylinositol-3,5-bisphosphate 5-phosphatase (PtdIns(3,5)P2) Fig4. The phenotype includes early neurodegeneration, abnormal pigmentation, altered phosphoinositide levels, and the presence of large vacuoles in affected cells.
The discovery and purification of a new neurotrophic factor, conserved dopamine neurotrophic Factor (CDNF), is reported. Like the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor GDNF, CDNF can prevent degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.
Cell signalling requires efficient Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores through Ca2+ release channels, and it has been hypothesized that counter movement of ions across the sarcoplasmic reticulum neutralizes the transient negative potential generated by Ca2+ release. This paper identifies two trimeric intracellular cation channel subtypes that that could serve a critical role in such charge compensation.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are produced through a set of cleavages within a longer RNA, one of the nucleases involved in this process is Drosha. A subset of miRNAs (mirtrons) are matured through an alternative pathway that is Drosha-independent. These mirtrons may be the early ancestors of the majority of miRNAs that were expressed once Drosha function emerged.
Methylation of histone lysine residues can be reversed through the action of demethylases such as JMJD2A. Structures of JMJD2A bound to various methylated histone H3 peptides offer insight into the recognition mechanisms and specificity of histone demethylases.
The X-ray structures of ferredoxin–thioredoxin reductase (FDR) in its one- and two-electron-reduced intermediate states and four complexes in the pathway are solved, including the ternary ferredoxin–FTR–thioredoxin complex. These results provide a structural framework for understanding the mechanism of disulphide reduction by an iron-sulphur enzyme.
Women and under-represented minorities are earning historically high numbers of science doctorates in the United States. So why aren't they making it to the professorial ranks? Kendall Powell investigates.
Across Europe, women in science are typically outnumbered by men at every level. Magdalena Wutte explores how institutions, networking organizations and women themselves can help correct the imbalance.
