Table of contents
Volume 449 Number 7162 pp507-636
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Editorials
Time for a fresh start p507
Fifty years after the momentous launch of Sputnik, Russia has yet to find a scientific system that is anything close to meeting its twenty-first century needs.
doi:10.1038/449507a
On the paper trail p508
The National Science Foundation's efforts to audit time-keeping could serve a useful purpose.
doi:10.1038/449508a
Living with the heat p508
Science and politics need to engage more than ever.
doi:10.1038/449508b
News
Researchers criticized for poor time-keeping p512
National Science Foundation is auditing what happens in the lab — and when.
Rex Dalton
doi:10.1038/449512a
Sidelines p514
doi:10.1038/449514a
Dogs help sniff out genes p514
Researchers unleash power of canine genome.
Ewen Callaway
doi:10.1038/449514b
Minimum telomere length defined for healthy cells p515
Mechanism for chromosome corruption also revealed.
Heidi Ledford
doi:10.1038/449515a
Water doesn't mind the gap p517
Gravity-defying liquid bridge makes a splash.
Eric Hand
doi:10.1038/449517a
Nukes: next generation not fit for certification p517
US design for nuclear weapons meets fresh disapproval.
Geoff Brumfiel
doi:10.1038/449517b
France lays plans for a green future p518
Broad consensus reached on environment policy.
Declan Butler
doi:10.1038/449518a
Snapshot: Return of the geysers p519
Steam spurts again in Russian valley after landslide.
Heidi Ledford
doi:10.1038/449519a
Cool reaction to Bush's climate summit p519
Emphasis on technology over emissions targets finds little favour.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/449519b
White House axes risk-assessment bulletin p521
doi:10.1038/449521a
Lack of inspection raises concerns over drug trials p521
doi:10.1038/449521b
Climate sceptic quits over 'lack of academic freedom' p521
doi:10.1038/449521c
Dawn mission to asteroid belt has lift-off at last p521
doi:10.1038/449521d
Bird-flu virus can pass from mother to unborn child p521
doi:10.1038/449521e
See-through frog offers inside information p521
doi:10.1038/449521f
Business
The carbon cycle ride p522
Carbon offset schemes in developing countries may be finding their feet after a rocky start, as Paroma Basu reports.
Paroma Basu
doi:10.1038/449522a
In brief p523
Solar panels going cheap
doi:10.1038/449523a
In brief p523
Firms form safety consortium
doi:10.1038/449523b
In brief p523
Amyris raises $70,000,000
doi:10.1038/449523c
Market watch p523
Colin Macilwain
doi:10.1038/449523d
News Features
Russian science: The battle for russia's brains p524
The Russian Academy of Sciences has resisted pressure from czarists and communists. Can it thwart the reforms planned by Putin's government? Quirin Schiermeier reports.
doi:10.1038/449524a
Russian science: What the scientists say p528
Russian researchers, and those who have worked in Russia, share their thoughts with Nature on the problems faced by the country's scientific system — and how they could be addressed.
doi:10.1038/449528a
Behavioural Genetics: A Question of Survival p532
International collaboration and a can-do spirit have allowed some Russian scientists to flourish. Alison Abbott watches an extraordinary field test for mutant mice in the Russian wilderness.
doi:10.1038/449532a
Correspondence
Biometrics: still much too unreliable for everyday use p535
David Moss
doi:10.1038/449535a
Biometrics: easy to steal, hard to regain identity p535
Andrew Watson
doi:10.1038/449535b
Organic synthesis remains relevant in drug discovery p535
Mukund M. Mehrotra
doi:10.1038/449535c
Ocean-drilling vessel should soon be afloat again p535
Steve Bohlen
doi:10.1038/449535d
Sic is not enough; historical wording should be changed p535
Sanya Samac
doi:10.1038/449535e
Commentary
Russian science: Breaking up is hard to do p536
Economist and former science minister Boris G. Saltykov sees opportunity for change and innovation in Russia.
doi:10.1038/449536a
See also: Editor's summary
Books and Arts
Russian science: A celebration of Sputnik's fiftieth birthday p538
The launch of the first satellite sparked rejoicing worldwide but frayed some nerves in the West.
William E. Burrows reviews Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries that Ignited the Space Age by Matthew Brzezinski
doi:10.1038/449538a
See also: Editor's summary
Russian science: ... Also out now p539
doi:10.1038/449539a
See also: Editor's summary
Russian science: Earth's fearful travelling companion p539
Giovanni F. Bignami reviews The Fever of '57 directed by David Hoffman and In the Shadow of the Moon directed by David Sington
doi:10.1038/449539b
The perpetual dance of continents p540
David Oldroyd reviews Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of our Planet by Ted Nield
doi:10.1038/449540a
Russian science: A dog's life p541
Laika, the doomed stray, has achieved a kind of immortality.
Martin Kemp
doi:10.1038/449541a
See also: Editor's summary
Essays
Russian science: The little ball made science bigger p542
When the Sputnik satellite went into orbit in 1957, it revolutionized the practice of international science and changed the demography of Western research.
Alexei Kojevnikov
doi:10.1038/449542a
See also: Editor's summary
Science & politics
How the mighty have fallen p543
In 1957, science advisers were brought into the White House as the President's Science Advisory Committee. Its demise has deprived the US government of invaluable counsel.
Richard Garwin
doi:10.1038/449543a
See also: Editor's summary
News and Views
Neuroscience: A local route to pain relief p545
Local anaesthetics stop pain, but block all other sensations too. In rats, one molecular delivery vehicle makes an unusual local anaesthetic specific for pain — provided a little spice is added to the mix first.
Edwin W. McCleskey
doi:10.1038/449545a
See also: Editor's summary
Atomic physics: Cold meeting at a junction p546
The Josephson effect is a macroscopic manifestation of quantum mechanics usually seen in superconductors. Observation of this effect in a gas of ultracold atoms demonstrates the underlying unity of solid and gaseous systems.
Charles A. Sackett
doi:10.1038/449546a
See also: Editor's summary
50 & 100 Years Ago p547
doi:10.1038/449547a
Development: Inflationary pressures p549
Blowing up a balloon seems straightforward: pump in gas and let the changing air pressure do the rest. But when it comes to blowing up nature's own balloons — lung airways — things are a little more complicated.
David Bryant & Keith Mostov
doi:10.1038/449549a
Materials science: Colloidal crystals find new order p550
A deft colloidal templating process allows simple-cubic crystals to be formed from more readily available complex precursors. It's a promising way to produce the regular crystals much in demand for photonics.
F. Schüth & F. Marlow
doi:10.1038/449550a
Autoimmune disease: Skin deep but complex p551
The antimicrobial peptide LL37 is essential for normal immune responses to infection or tissue injury. But in the autoimmune skin disorder psoriasis, LL37 propagates disease by forming complexes with host DNA.
Nicole Baumgarth & Charles L. Bevins
doi:10.1038/nature05893
See also: Editor's summary
Imaging technology: Harmonic pictures in a flash p553
Making films of atomic-scale processes as they happen makes huge demands on any imaging system. One approach combines the advantages of pulsed laser harmonics and computerized image reconstruction.
John Spence
doi:10.1038/449553a
Chemical biology: More charges against aggregation p555
Protein aggregation causes problems for biotechnology and leads to many fatal human diseases. But a grasp of the physical principles involved enables 'superproteins' to be designed that have exceptional solubilities.
Michele Vendruscolo & Christopher M. Dobson
doi:10.1038/449555a
Correction p555
doi:10.1038/449555b
Articles
Mesenchymal stem cells within tumour stroma promote breast cancer metastasis p557
Antoine E. Karnoub, Ajeeta B. Dash, Annie P. Vo, Andrew Sullivan, Mary W. Brooks, George W. Bell, Andrea L. Richardson, Kornelia Polyak, Ross Tubo & Robert A. Weinberg
doi:10.1038/nature06188
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,245K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells sense self-DNA coupled with antimicrobial peptide p564
Roberto Lande, Josh Gregorio, Valeria Facchinetti, Bithi Chatterjee, Yi-Hong Wang, Bernhard Homey, Wei Cao, Yui-Hsi Wang, Bing Su, Frank O. Nestle, Tomasz Zal, Ira Mellman, Jens-Michael Schröder, Yong-Jun Liu & Michel Gilliet
doi:10.1038/nature06116
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (598K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Baumgarth & Bevins
Recognition of DNA damage by the Rad4 nucleotide excision repair protein p570
Jung-Hyun Min & Nikola P. Pavletich
doi:10.1038/nature06155
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,054K) | Supplementary information
Letters
Extremely fast acceleration of cosmic rays in a supernova remnant p576
Yasunobu Uchiyama, Felix A. Aharonian, Takaaki Tanaka, Tadayuki Takahashi & Yoshitomo Maeda
doi:10.1038/nature06210
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (621K)
See also: Editor's summary
The a.c. and d.c. Josephson effects in a Bose–Einstein condensate p579
S. Levy, E. Lahoud, I. Shomroni & J. Steinhauer
doi:10.1038/nature06186
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (575K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Sackett
Fluctuating superconductivity in organic molecular metals close to the Mott transition p584
Moon-Sun Nam, Arzhang Ardavan, Stephen J. Blundell & John A. Schlueter
doi:10.1038/nature06182
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (491K)
Single artificial-atom lasing p588
O. Astafiev, K. Inomata, A. O. Niskanen, T. Yamamoto, Yu. A. Pashkin, Y. Nakamura & J. S. Tsai
doi:10.1038/nature06141
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (581K)
Persistence of full glacial conditions in the central Pacific until 15,000 years ago p591
P.-H. Blard, J. Lavé, R. Pik, P. Wagnon & D. Bourlès
doi:10.1038/nature06142
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (916K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
An epipodite-bearing crown-group crustacean from the Lower Cambrian p595
Xi-guang Zhang, David J. Siveter, Dieter Waloszek & Andreas Maas
doi:10.1038/nature06138
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,699K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Reconciling complexity with stability in naturally assembling food webs p599
Anje-Margriet Neutel, Johan A. P. Heesterbeek, Johan van de Koppel, Guido Hoenderboom, An Vos, Coen Kaldeway, Frank Berendse & Peter C. de Ruiter
doi:10.1038/nature06154
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (298K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Light adaptation in cone vision involves switching between receptor and post-receptor sites p603
Felice A. Dunn, Martin J. Lankheet & Fred Rieke
doi:10.1038/nature06150
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,332K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Inhibition of nociceptors by TRPV1-mediated entry of impermeant sodium channel blockers p607
Alexander M. Binshtok, Bruce P. Bean & Clifford J. Woolf
doi:10.1038/nature06191
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (429K)
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by McCleskey
Snapshots of nuclear pore complexes in action captured by cryo-electron tomography p611
Martin Beck,
Vladan Lu
i
,
Friedrich Förster,
Wolfgang Baumeister
&
Ohad Medalia
doi:10.1038/nature06170
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (642K) | Supplementary information
Crystal structure of T4 endonuclease VII resolving a Holliday junction p616
Christian Biertümpfel, Wei Yang & Dietrich Suck
doi:10.1038/nature06152
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,759K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
The structural basis of Holliday junction resolution by T7 endonuclease I p621
Jonathan M. Hadden, Anne-Cécile Déclais, Stephen B. Carr, David M. J. Lilley & Simon E. V. Phillips
doi:10.1038/nature06158
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (515K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Technology Features
Genomics: The personal side of genomics p627
Innovations in DNA sequencing and genotyping are opening doors for personal genomics. Nathan Blow explores these technological advances and their implications.
Nathan Blow
doi:10.1038/449627a
Genomics: Being Well Informed p627
doi:10.1038/449627b
Genomics: Truth and accuracy p628
doi:10.1038/449628a
Genomics: Chipping out our differences p629
doi:10.1038/449629a
Genomics: Table of suppliers p631
doi:10.1038/449631a
Naturejobs
ProspectsProspects p633
Career planning requires a good bit of introspection.
Paul Smaglik
doi:10.1038/nj7162-633a
Correction p633
doi:10.1038/nj7162-633b
Career View
Ren Wang, director, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Washington DC p634
Ren Wang has big ideas for his new post.
Virginia Gewin
doi:10.1038/nj7162-634a
Careers on the move p634
How important is mobility for young European scientists?
Emilia Danilowicz
doi:10.1038/nj7162-634b
Small advantages p634
As I search for the ideal job, I wonder if working at a small private college could be the right fit.
Moira Sheehan
doi:10.1038/nj7162-634c
Highlights
Highlight: Francophone
doi:10.1038/nj0182
Opportunities: The National Institutes of Health
doi:10.1038/nj0183
Spotlight
Spotlight on Germany
doi:10.1038/nj0184
Futures
ARGUS blinked p636
You're being watched.
Paul Di Filippo
doi:10.1038/449636a
See also: Editor's summary