Editorials

More than one bad apple p835

A congressional investigation alleges that some researchers have failed to report all the drug-company money that they have received — and that universities may have been too slow to police them.

doi:10.1038/455835a

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Cut-throat savings p835

In an attempt to boost its struggling economy, Italy's government is focusing on easy, but unwise, targets.

doi:10.1038/455835b

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Meeting expectations p836

Scientists need to ask themselves if their meeting or conference is really necessary.

doi:10.1038/455836a

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Research Highlights

Molecular biology: Zebrafish cell zipcodes p838

doi:10.1038/455838a

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Chemistry: Prion progress p838

doi:10.1038/455838b

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Materials science: Iron option p838

doi:10.1038/455838c

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Nanotechnology: Leveraging antibiotics p838

doi:10.1038/455838d

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Chemistry: Sugar coated p838

doi:10.1038/455838e

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Chemical biology: Double trouble p838

doi:10.1038/455838f

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Molecular biology: It's all in the timing p839

doi:10.1038/455839a

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Neurobiology: Empowering the middleman p839

doi:10.1038/455839b

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Geosciences: Peatering out p839

doi:10.1038/455839c

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Parasitology: Hopping mad p839

doi:10.1038/455839d

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Journal Club

Journal club p839

Andrzej Pietrzykowski

doi:10.1038/455839e

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News

Mars missions face cost crunch p840

New law threatens Italian research jobs p840

No more third time lucky p841

Icelandic biotech feels the pinch p842

Dark energy: the quest for galaxies p843

Outcry at scale of inheritance project p845

The death of microarrays? p847

Snapshot: Green ham (no eggs) p848

Pakistan's education head is asked to resign p849

Europe plans fewer free emissions allowances p849

Harvard gift paves way for bioengineering institute p849

'Manipulated' stem-cell paper faces retraction p849

UN agency warns of biofuel production implications p849

Cassini makes successful swoop on Enceladus p849

News Features

Agriculture: Is China ready for GM rice? p850

Particle physics: Sam Ting's last fling p854

Palaeontology: School of rock p858

Correspondence

Britain should not abandon curiosity-driven research p861

Andy Fabian

doi:10.1038/455861a

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Editorial comment should accompany hot papers online p861

Vincent Detours

doi:10.1038/455861b

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Last chance to save one of world's most species-rich regions p861

Max Christian, Matt Finer & Carl Ross

doi:10.1038/455861c

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Autumn Books

Relics of the modern mind p863

Our enduring search for meaning in life explains the reverence with which the bones of seventeenth-century French philosopher René Descartes were worshipped, suggests Lisa Jardine.

Lisa Jardine reviews Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason by Russell Shorto

doi:10.1038/455863a

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New in paperback p863

doi:10.1038/455863b

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Psychology's pet subject p864

Clive Wynne reviews Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence — and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene Pepperberg

doi:10.1038/455864a

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How a hoax fooled the faithful p866

David Bodanis reviews The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York by Matthew Goodman

doi:10.1038/455866a

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Tale of a clockwork computer p867

Andrew Robinson reviews Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World's First Computer by Jo Marchant

doi:10.1038/455867a

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Liver satire delivers p868

Simon Ings reviews Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self

doi:10.1038/455868a

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Drug-fuelled counterculture p870

Arran Frood reviews Albion Dreaming: A Popular History of LSD in Britain by Andy Roberts

doi:10.1038/455870a

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A scientist's life for me p871

Forty years after the publication of James Watson's The Double Helix, Georgina Ferry asks why the life stories of so few scientists make it into the bookshops.

doi:10.1038/455871a

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Essays

India's rise to the Moon p874

Why does a developing nation have such an ambitious space programme? Subhadra Menon traces its foundations back to the work of one visionary physicist 60 years ago.

Subhadra Menon

doi:10.1038/455874a

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Meetings that changed the world: Santa Fe 1986: Human genome baby-steps p876

The 1980s saw plenty of discussion on sequencing the human genome. But, according to Charles DeLisi, one conference was crucial for converting an idea to reality.

Charles DeLisi

doi:10.1038/455876a

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News and Views

Structural biology: Clamour for a kiss p879

Precisely how proteins snake their way through channels in cell membranes is unclear. Complexes between the SecY channel and its motor protein, and the use of a 'molecular endoscope', provide fascinating clues.

Anastassios Economou

doi:10.1038/455879a

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Condensed-matter physics: Surviving the transition p880

Observations of the birth of a superfluid have uncovered details of the microphysics of phase transitions. Whether these results can be used to model such transitions in the early Universe is an open question.

Kristian Helmerson

doi:10.1038/455880a

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Earth science: Deducing a reducing mantle p881

Increasingly sophisticated techniques are being used to persuade ancient rocks to yield information about conditions on and in the early Earth — for instance, about the oxidation state of the mantle.

William F. McDonough

doi:10.1038/455881a

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Cancer: A ringleader identified p883

The childhood cancer neuroblastoma can either run in families or occur sporadically. Several studies find that the gene ALK is a chief offender in this disease, because its germline mutations mediate both forms.

Charis Eng

doi:10.1038/455883a

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Philosophy of science: Theories of almost everything p884

A provocative contribution to the logic of science extends the theorems of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing, and bears on thinking about prediction, the standard model of particles, and quantum gravity.

P.-M. Binder

doi:10.1038/455884a

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Molecular biology: Bound to splice p885

Messenger RNAs don't usually correspond exactly to DNA — portions of the primary transcript, known as introns, are removed by splicing. A study reveals new ways in which splicing can be regulated.

Bruce Futcher & Janet K. Leatherwood

doi:10.1038/455885a

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50 & 100 years ago p886

doi:10.1038/455886a

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Nano-optics: Optical antennas tuned to pitch p887

Mapping out the resonant modes of optical antennas is part of a largely unexplored terrain — but not any more, as a study that applies a luminescence technique to gold antennas demonstrates.

Lukas Novotny

doi:10.1038/455887a

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Oceanography: Ripples run deep p888

Tiny, wind-generated ripples on the sea surface can interact and produce pressure changes felt on the ocean floor. The same line of study points to a basic distinction between two types of surface wave.

Steve Elgar

doi:10.1038/455888a

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Articles

The cranial endoskeleton of Tiktaalik roseae p925

Jason P. Downs, Edward B. Daeschler, Farish A. Jenkins & Neil H. Shubin

doi:10.1038/nature07189

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,111K) | Supplementary information

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Identification of ALK as a major familial neuroblastoma predisposition gene p930

Yaël P. Mossé, Marci Laudenslager, Luca Longo, Kristina A. Cole, Andrew Wood, Edward F. Attiyeh, Michael J. Laquaglia, Rachel Sennett, Jill E. Lynch, Patrizia Perri, Geneviève Laureys, Frank Speleman, Cecilia Kim, Cuiping Hou, Hakon Hakonarson, Ali Torkamani, Nicholas J. Schork, Garrett M. Brodeur, Gian P. Tonini, Eric Rappaport, Marcella Devoto & John M. Maris

doi:10.1038/nature07261

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (930K)

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

Structure of a complex of the ATPase SecA and the protein-translocation channel p936

Jochen Zimmer, Yunsun Nam & Tom A. Rapoport

doi:10.1038/nature07335

• PDB code

  • 1M6N
  • 1TF2
  • 3DIN

• 3D view

  • 1M6N
  • 1TF2
  • 3DIN

Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,576K) | Supplementary information

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

Letters

A low-frequency radio halo associated with a cluster of galaxies p944

G. Brunetti, S. Giacintucci, R. Cassano, W. Lane, D. Dallacasa, T. Venturi, N. E. Kassim, G. Setti, W. D. Cotton & M. Markevitch

doi:10.1038/nature07379

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (470K) | Supplementary information

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Spontaneous vortices in the formation of Bose–Einstein condensates p948

Chad N. Weiler, Tyler W. Neely, David R. Scherer, Ashton S. Bradley, Matthew J. Davis & Brian P. Anderson

doi:10.1038/nature07334

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (592K) | Supplementary information

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

Quantum oscillations in an overdoped high-T_c superconductor p952

B. Vignolle, A. Carrington, R. A. Cooper, M. M. J. French, A. P. Mackenzie, C. Jaudet, D. Vignolles, Cyril Proust & N. E. Hussey

doi:10.1038/nature07323

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (528K)

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Bottom-up organic integrated circuits p956

Edsger C. P. Smits, Simon G. J. Mathijssen, Paul A. van Hal, Sepas Setayesh, Thomas C. T. Geuns, Kees A. H. A. Mutsaers, Eugenio Cantatore, Harry J. Wondergem, Oliver Werzer, Roland Resel, Martijn Kemerink, Stephan Kirchmeyer, Aziz M. Muzafarov, Sergei A. Ponomarenko, Bert de Boer, Paul W. M. Blom & Dago M. de Leeuw

doi:10.1038/nature07320

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

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Oxidation state of iron in komatiitic melt inclusions indicates hot Archaean mantle p960

Andrew J. Berry, Leonid V. Danyushevsky, Hugh St C. O'Neill, Matt Newville & Stephen R. Sutton

doi:10.1038/nature07377

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (294K) | Supplementary information

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

Pairs of cooperating cleaner fish provide better service quality than singletons p964

Redouan Bshary, Alexandra S. Grutter, Astrid S. T. Willener & Olof Leimar

doi:10.1038/nature07184

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (262K) | Supplementary information

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Somatic and germline activating mutations of the ALK kinase receptor in neuroblastoma p967

Isabelle Janoueix-Lerosey, Delphine Lequin, Laurence Brugières, Agnès Ribeiro, Loïc de Pontual, Valérie Combaret, Virginie Raynal, Alain Puisieux, Gudrun Schleiermacher, Gaëlle Pierron, Dominique Valteau-Couanet, Thierry Frebourg, Jean Michon, Stanislas Lyonnet, Jeanne Amiel & Olivier Delattre

doi:10.1038/nature07398

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (344K) | Supplementary information

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

Oncogenic mutations of ALK kinase in neuroblastoma p971

Yuyan Chen, Junko Takita, Young Lim Choi, Motohiro Kato, Miki Ohira, Masashi Sanada, Lili Wang, Manabu Soda, Akira Kikuchi, Takashi Igarashi, Akira Nakagawara, Yasuhide Hayashi, Hiroyuki Mano & Seishi Ogawa

doi:10.1038/nature07399

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (480K) | Supplementary information

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Activating mutations in ALK provide a therapeutic target in neuroblastoma p975

Rani E. George, Takaomi Sanda, Megan Hanna, Stefan Fröhling, William Luther II, Jianming Zhang, Yebin Ahn, Wenjun Zhou, Wendy B. London, Patrick McGrady, Liquan Xue, Sergey Zozulya, Vlad E. Gregor, Thomas R. Webb, Nathanael S. Gray, D. Gary Gilliland, Lisa Diller, Heidi Greulich, Stephan W. Morris, Matthew Meyerson & A. Thomas Look

doi:10.1038/nature07397

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (379K) | Supplementary information

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

The mode of Hedgehog binding to Ihog homologues is not conserved across different phyla p979

Jason S. McLellan, Xiaoyan Zheng, Glenn Hauk, Rodolfo Ghirlando, Philip A. Beachy & Daniel J. Leahy

doi:10.1038/nature07358

• PDB code

  • 3D1M

• 3D view

  • 3D1M

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (725K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary

A role for the two-helix finger of the SecA ATPase in protein translocation p984

Karl J. Erlandson, Stephanie B. M. Miller, Yunsun Nam, Andrew R. Osborne, Jochen Zimmer & Tom A. Rapoport

doi:10.1038/nature07439

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (539K) | Supplementary information

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

Conformational transition of Sec machinery inferred from bacterial SecYE structures p988

Tomoya Tsukazaki, Hiroyuki Mori, Shuya Fukai, Ryuichiro Ishitani, Takaharu Mori, Naoshi Dohmae, Anna Perederina, Yuji Sugita, Dmitry G. Vassylyev, Koreaki Ito & Osamu Nureki

doi:10.1038/nature07421

• PDB code

  • 2ZJS
  • 2ZQP

• 3D view

  • 2ZJS
  • 2ZQP

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (705K) | Supplementary information

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

The type IV mucolipidosis-associated protein TRPML1 is an endolysosomal iron release channel p992

Xian-Ping Dong, Xiping Cheng, Eric Mills, Markus Delling, Fudi Wang, Tino Kurz & Haoxing Xu

doi:10.1038/nature07311

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (995K) | Supplementary information

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Promoter-driven splicing regulation in fission yeast p997

Alberto Moldón, Jordi Malapeira, Natalia Gabrielli, Madelaine Gogol, Blanca Gómez-Escoda, Tsvetomira Ivanova, Chris Seidel & José Ayté

doi:10.1038/nature07325

First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (394K) | Supplementary information

See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Futcher & Leatherwood

Naturejobs

Prospects p1001

Financial pressures are forcing institutions to rethink their investments.

Gene Russo

doi:10.1038/nj7215-1001a

Full Text | PDF (142K)

Making a difference p1002

The demand for science skills in non-governmental organizations is rising. Paroma Basu, Jane Qiu and Kendall Powell report.

Paroma Basu, Jane Qiu & Kendall Powell

doi:10.1038/nj7215-1002a

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Maria Betti, director, Marine Environment Laboratories, International Atomic Energy Agency, Monaco p1004

Passion to eradicate pollution brings marine scientist to Monaco.

Virginia Gewin

doi:10.1038/nj7215-1004a

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Counting fish p1004

Government looking for mix of talents to help assess fisheries.

Karen Kaplan

doi:10.1038/nj7215-1004b

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One-man team p1004

Trying to team-up while working alone.

Jon Yearsley

doi:10.1038/nj7215-1004c

Full Text | PDF (85K)

Highlight: India

doi:10.1038/nj0230

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Opportunities: The National Institutes of Health

doi:10.1038/nj0231

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Futures

The cheap crusade p1006

Fight the system.

Rahul Kanakia

doi:10.1038/4551006a

Full Text | PDF (300K)