Table of contents
Volume 459 Number 7250 pp1033-1160
(this content only available online) indicates content that is available online only
Editorials
Cheerleader or watchdog? p1033
Science journalism is under threat. What can scientists do to help?
doi:10.1038/4591033a
Raising the standards p1033
A fledgling effort in China will show people what is happening on the environmental front.
doi:10.1038/4591033b
Orphan giant p1034
Strong advocacy is needed if progress is to be made against tuberculosis.
doi:10.1038/4591034a
Research Highlights
Animal biology: Birds of a feather p1036
doi:10.1038/4591036a
Astronomy: Honing the Hubble constant p1036
doi:10.1038/4591036b
Neurobiology: Sweet memories p1036
doi:10.1038/4591036c
Chemistry: The tiniest acid drop p1036
doi:10.1038/4591036d
Nanotechnology: Mass spec goes mechanical p1036
doi:10.1038/4591036e
Atmospheric science: Rain on physics p1036
doi:10.1038/4591036f
Biology: A light touch p1037
doi:10.1038/4591037a
Organic chemistry: Give and take p1037
doi:10.1038/4591037b
Genetics: Depression link revoked p1037
doi:10.1038/4591037c
Cognitive science: The tool becomes him p1037
doi:10.1038/4591037d
News
US human spacefaring questioned p1038
Review panel takes a hard look at NASA's goal of returning astronauts to the Moon.
Eric Hand
doi:10.1038/4591038a
New protein structures replace the old p1038
Dutch software to weed out errors in Protein Data Bank.
Katharine Sanderson
doi:10.1038/4591038b
Climate burden of refrigerants rockets p1040
Environmentalists push for tougher regulation of chemicals meant to help the ozone layer.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/4591040a
Deficit dooms Swedish gene institute p1040
Researchers face cutbacks and lay-offs.
Rex Dalton
doi:10.1038/4591040b
G8 cancels science parley p1041
Science ministers will no longer meet before main summit.
Alison Abbott
doi:10.1038/4591041a
Florida universities hit by funding crisis p1042
Stimulus money provides lifeline for cash-strapped public colleges.
Mark Schrope
doi:10.1038/4591042a
Biology society narrows Chinese rifts p1044
Scientific relations warm between Mainland China and Taiwan.
David Cyranoski
doi:10.1038/4591044a
Chemistry publisher in move from print journals p1045
doi:10.1038/4591045a
Researchers urge action on medical-isotope shortage p1045
doi:10.1038/4591045b
Climate projections taken to finest detail p1045
doi:10.1038/4591045c
EU legislation increases clinical-trial workloads p1045
doi:10.1038/4591045d
More financial woes for climate satellites p1045
doi:10.1038/4591045e
Journal of the century p1045
doi:10.1038/4591045f
News Features
Cyberinfrastructure: Feed me data p1047
The iPlant programme was designed to give plant scientists a new information infrastructure. But first they had to decide what they wanted, finds Heidi Ledford.
doi:10.1038/4591047a
Science journalism: Breaking the convention? p1050
Blogs and Twitter are opening up meetings to those not actually there. Does that mean too much access to science in the raw, asks Geoff Brumfiel.
doi:10.1038/4591050a
Correspondence
Interrogation: hard for psychologists to act as whistleblowers p1052
Michael R. Jackson
doi:10.1038/4591052a
Interrogation: our professional body forbids involvement p1052
Laurel Bass Wagner
doi:10.1038/4591052b
Free will: it's a normal biological property, not a gift or a mystery p1052
Robert O. Doyle
doi:10.1038/4591052c
Free will: emotions and consciousness could contribute p1052
Etienne Vermeersch
doi:10.1038/4591052d
How air capture could help to promote a Copenhagen solution p1053
Graciela Chichilnisky & Peter Eisenberger
doi:10.1038/4591053a
Planck's power lies in its unique instrument combination p1053
Nazzareno Mandolesi & Planck LFI co-investigators
doi:10.1038/4591053b
Essays
Science journalism: Toppling the priesthood p1054
In the first of three essays, Toby Murcott argues that the process of science needs to be opened up if journalists are to provide proper critique.
Toby Murcott
doi:10.1038/4591054a
Science journalism: Too close for comfort p1055
In the second of three essays, Boyce Rensberger tracks the progression of scientific correspondents from cheerleaders to watchdogs.
Boyce Rensberger
doi:10.1038/4591055a
Science journalism: The Arab boom p1057
As research increases in Arab countries, the media is stepping up to report on it. In the third of three essays, Nadia El-Awady says the local journalism has much room for improvement.
Nadia El-Awady
doi:10.1038/4591057a
Books and Arts
From rubber ducks to ocean gyres p1058
The tale of Curtis Ebbesmeyer's use of beachcombing to reveal patterns of ocean circulation conveys the romance of early marine science, but his lessons for today are serious, finds Simon Boxall.
Simon Boxall
doi:10.1038/4591058a
Cooking debate goes off the boil p1059
Pat Shipman reviews Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham
doi:10.1038/4591059a
Our changing body image p1060
Georgina Ferry reviews Assembling Bodies: Art, Science and Imagination
doi:10.1038/4591060a
Science journalism: From the newsroom p1061
The Washington Post's national environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin and its executive editor Marcus Brauchli discuss the future of science coverage in their newspaper.
Juliet Eilperin & Marcus Brauchli
doi:10.1038/4591061a
News and Views
Structural biology: Protein dynamics from disorder p1063
The functions of proteins are often crucially dependent on how they move, but measuring the absolute magnitudes of protein motions hasn't been possible. A spectroscopic method looks set to change all that.
Joel R. Tolman
doi:10.1038/4591063a
Granular media: Structures in sand streams p1064
An ingenious experiment that involves dropping a costly, high-speed video camera from a height of several metres reveals how free-falling streams of granular matter, such as sand, break up into grain clusters.
Detlef Lohse & Devaraj van der Meer
doi:10.1038/4591064a
See also: Editor's summary
Cell biology: A score for membrane fusion p1065
Intracellular membrane fusion has been mimicked in vitro using a mix of 17 purified proteins and lipid bilayers. This technical tour de force allows the study of how cells orchestrate and perform such fusion events.
Ruth N. Collins & Joshua Zimmerberg
doi:10.1038/4591065a
See also: Editor's summary
50 & 100 years ago p1067
doi:10.1038/4591067b
Planetary science: Enceladus with a grain of salt p1067
The observation that water plumes erupt from cracks on Saturn's moon Enceladus has fired speculation about a possible subsurface ocean. The latest searches for sodium salts point to the existence of such an ocean.
John Spencer
doi:10.1038/4591067a
See also: Editor's summary
Stem cells: The stress of forming blood cells p1068
The first heartbeat is an important moment in an embryo's life. The biomechanical forces created by pulsatile flow promote the formation of haematopoietic stem cells that equip the body with its mature blood cells.
Luc Pardanaud & Anne Eichmann
doi:10.1038/4591068a
See also: Editor's summary
Nuclear physics: Unexpected doubly magic nucleus p1069
Nuclei with a 'magic' number of both protons and neutrons, dubbed doubly magic, are particularly stable. The oxygen isotope 24O has been found to be one such nucleus — yet it lies just at the limit of stability.
Robert V. F. Janssens
doi:10.1038/4591069a
Review
Recent advances and emerging trends in plant hormone signalling p1071
Aaron Santner & Mark Estelle
doi:10.1038/nature08122
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (446K)
See also: Editor's summary
Articles
A soma-to-germline transformation in long-lived Caenorhabditis elegans mutants p1079
Although the soma ages during life, the germ line of multicellular organisms does not. Here it is shown that Caenorhabditis elegans mutants with increased longevity turn on gene expression programs in somatic tissue that are normally limited to the germ line; this may be the secret behind the increased health and lifespan of these mutant worms.
Sean P. Curran, Xiaoyun Wu, Christian G. Riedel & Gary Ruvkun
doi:10.1038/nature08106
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (655K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
GOLPH3 modulates mTOR signalling and rapamycin sensitivity in cancer p1085
A genome-wide screen has identified a frequent region of amplification on chromosome 5p13 in a number of cancer types. Functional studies now identify a protein localized to the Golgi apparatus, GOLPH3, as a novel oncogene affected by this amplification which can transform cells in vitro and lead to tumour formation in vivo. GOLPH3 overexpression activates the mTOR signalling pathway and renders cancer cells sensitive to the drug rapamycin.
Kenneth L. Scott, Omar Kabbarah, Mei-Chih Liang, Elena Ivanova, Valsamo Anagnostou, Joyce Wu, Sabin Dhakal, Min Wu, Shujuan Chen, Tamar Feinberg, Joseph Huang, Abdel Saci, Hans R. Widlund, David E. Fisher, Yonghong Xiao, David L. Rimm, Alexei Protopopov, Kwok-Kin Wong & Lynda Chin
doi:10.1038/nature08109
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,019K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Reconstitution of Rab- and SNARE-dependent membrane fusion by synthetic endosomes p1091
Eukaryotic cells contain membrane-bound organelles that can undergo fusion with each other in a regulated manner; this is thought to be mediated by SNAREs (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors). Here, the complete reconstitution of endosome fusion using Rab5 and SNARE proteins highlights the functional relationship between these two machineries.
Takeshi Ohya, Marta Miaczynska, Ünal Coskun, Barbara Lommer, Anja Runge, David Drechsel, Yannis Kalaidzidis & Marino Zerial
doi:10.1038/nature08107
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (703K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Collins & Zimmerberg
Letters
Sodium salts in E-ring ice grains from an ocean below the surface of Enceladus p1098
Saturn's moon Enceladus emits plumes of water vapour and ice particles from fractures near its south pole, raising the possibility of a subsurface ocean. Minor organic or siliceous components, identified in many ice grains, could be evidence of interaction between Enceladus' rocky core and liquid water; however it has been unclear whether the water is still present today or if it has frozen. Now, the identification of a population of E-ring grains that are rich in sodium salts suggests that the plumes originate from liquid water.
F. Postberg, S. Kempf, J. Schmidt, N. Brilliantov, A. Beinsen, B. Abel, U. Buck & R. Srama
doi:10.1038/nature08046
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (598K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Spencer
No sodium in the vapour plumes of Enceladus p1102
The discovery of water vapour and ice particles erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus fuelled speculation that an internal ocean was the source. The presence of sodium chloride is expected in a long-lived ocean in contact with a rocky core; however, a ground-based spectroscopic search for atomic sodium near Enceladus now places an upper limit on the mixing ratio in the vapour plumes orders of magnitude below expected ocean salinity. These observations are consistent with a variety of alternative eruption sources including a deep ocean, a freshwater reservoir, or ice.
Nicholas M. Schneider, Matthew H. Burger, Emily L. Schaller, Michael E. Brown, Robert E. Johnson, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Michele K. Dougherty & Nicholas A. Achilleos
doi:10.1038/nature08070
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (749K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Spencer
Optically controlled locking of the nuclear field via coherent dark-state spectroscopy p1105
A single electron spin trapped inside a semiconductor quantum dot forms the foundation for many proposed quantum logic devices, but the coherence is degraded by interactions with the lattice nuclear spins. Here, a means of suppressing the nuclear fluctuations is reported, enabling the electron spin coherence to be preserved much longer.
Xiaodong Xu, Wang Yao, Bo Sun, Duncan G. Steel, Allan S. Bracker, Daniel Gammon & L. J. Sham
doi:10.1038/nature08120
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (826K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
High-speed tracking of rupture and clustering in freely falling granular streams p1110
Freely falling granular streams break up into characteristic droplet patterns similar to liquid flows, but the clustering mechanism remains unresolved. Here, imaging and microscopy data reveal that tiny cohesive forces are responsible, corresponding to a granular surface tension some 100,000 times weaker than in ordinary liquids.
John R. Royer, Daniel J. Evans, Loreto Oyarte, Qiti Guo, Eliot Kapit, Matthias E. Möbius, Scott R. Waitukaitis & Heinrich M. Jaeger
doi:10.1038/nature08115
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,380K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Lohse & van der Meer
Enhanced carbon pump inferred from relaxation of nutrient limitation in the glacial ocean p1114
It has been suggested that the delivery of dust-borne iron to the glacial ocean could have increased primary productivity and enhanced deep-sea carbon export in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP), lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during glacial periods. But lower opal accumulation rates cast doubts on the importance of the EEP for glacial carbon dioxide drawdown. A silicon isotope record now provides support for an invigorated biological pump in this region during the last glacial period that could have contributed to glacial carbon dioxide drawdown.
L. E. Pichevin, B. C. Reynolds, R. S. Ganeshram, I. Cacho, L. Pena, K. Keefe & R. M. Ellam
doi:10.1038/nature08101
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (344K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
142Nd evidence for an enriched Hadean reservoir in cratonic roots p1118
The isotope 146Sm decays to 142Nd with a half-life of 103 million years, and therefore variations in the 142Nd/144Nd values of rocks resulting from Sm–Nd fractionation provide a sensitive monitor of the main silicate differentiation events that took place in early Earth. The measurement of low 142Nd/144Nd ratios in approximately 1.48 billion-year-old rocks from the Khariar complex in southeastern India now indicates that enriched Hadean reservoirs may be hidden within the roots of old cratons.
Dewashish Upadhyay, Erik E. Scherer & Klaus Mezger
doi:10.1038/nature08089
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (240K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Origins and evolutionary genomics of the 2009 swine-origin H1N1 influenza A epidemic p1122
Evolutionary analysis of swine-origin H1N1 influenza A virus provides evidence that it was derived from several viruses circulating in swine and that it possesses genes from avian, swine and human origin. Furthermore, transmission to humans may have occurred several months before recognition of the current outbreak.
Gavin J. D. Smith, Dhanasekaran Vijaykrishna, Justin Bahl, Samantha J. Lycett, Michael Worobey, Oliver G. Pybus, Siu Kit Ma, Chung Lam Cheung, Jayna Raghwani, Samir Bhatt, J. S. Malik Peiris, Yi Guan & Andrew Rambaut
doi:10.1038/nature08182
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,338K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Down's syndrome suppression of tumour growth and the role of the calcineurin inhibitor DSCR1 p1126
Individuals with Down's syndrome are known to have a lower rate of certain solid cancers. Now, a mouse model with one extra copy of Dscr1, a gene located on chromosome 21, is shown to display decreased tumour growth; this is thought to be via suppression of angiogenesis mediated by decreasing the activity of the calcineurin pathway.
Kwan-Hyuck Baek, Alexander Zaslavsky, Ryan C. Lynch, Carmella Britt, Yoshiaki Okada, Richard J. Siarey, M. William Lensch, In-Hyun Park, Sam S. Yoon, Takashi Minami, Julie R. Korenberg, Judah Folkman, George Q. Daley, William C. Aird, Zygmunt Galdzicki & Sandra Ryeom
doi:10.1038/nature08062
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (502K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Biomechanical forces promote embryonic haematopoiesis p1131
Following initiation of the heartbeat in vertebrate embryos, cells lining the aorta, the placental vessels, and the umbilical and vitelline arteries begin to form haematopoietic cells. Here it is shown that biochemical forces imposed on the vascular wall at this developmental stage strongly influence development of early blood cells and that abrogation of nitric oxide—a mediator of shear-stress-induced signalling—compromises haematopoietic potential in vitro and in vivo.
Luigi Adamo, Olaia Naveiras, Pamela L. Wenzel, Shannon McKinney-Freeman, Peter J. Mack, Jorge Gracia-Sancho, Astrid Suchy-Dicey, Momoko Yoshimoto, M. William Lensch, Mervin C. Yoder, Guillermo García-Cardeña & George Q. Daley
doi:10.1038/nature08073
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (482K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Pardanaud & Eichmann
Subcellular homeostasis of phytohormone auxin is mediated by the ER-localized PIN5 transporter p1136
The plant signalling molecule auxin is a key regulator of growth and development; PIN efflux carriers are asymmetrically localized on the plasma membrane and mediate directional auxin transport between cells. Here, an atypical member of the PIN family, PIN5 in Arabidopsis thaliana, is characterized, revealing that it is does not mediate intercellular transport of auxin, but is instead localized to the endoplasmic reticulum, where it presumably regulates intracellular levels of auxin.
Jozef Mravec,
Petr Sk
pa,
Aurélien Bailly,
Klára Hoyerová,
Pavel K
e
ek,
Agnieszka Bielach,
Jan Petrá
ek,
Jing Zhang,
Vassilena Gaykova,
York-Dieter Stierhof,
Petre I. Dobrev,
Kateina Schwarzerová,
Jakub Rolík,
Daniela Seifertová,
Christian Luschnig,
Eva Benková,
Eva Za
ímalová,
Markus Geisler
&
Jií Friml
doi:10.1038/nature08066
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (800K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Yurt, Coracle, Neurexin IV and the Na+,K+-ATPase form a novel group of epithelial polarity proteins p1141
Polarization of cells is critical for the development of multicellular organisms and defects in this process contribute to several diseases. Here, a novel protein pathway is identified that is important for polarity formation during early embryogenesis in Drosophila, and appears to be conserved in mammalian cells.
Patrick Laprise, Kimberly M. Lau, Kathryn P. Harris, Nancy F. Silva-Gagliardi, Sarah M. Paul, Slobodan Beronja, Greg J. Beitel, C. Jane McGlade & Ulrich Tepass
doi:10.1038/nature08067
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,440K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Structural insight into the autoinhibition mechanism of AMP-activated protein kinase p1146
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) senses cellular energy status to maintain a balance between ATP production and consumption, and has important roles in regulating cell growth and proliferation. Here, crystal structures of kinase and autoinhibitory domains from yeast AMPK subunits, together with biochemical data, reveal a mechanism for AMPK autoinhibition and suggest a model for allosteric activation by AMP.
Lei Chen, Zhi-Hao Jiao, Li-Sha Zheng, Yuan-Yuan Zhang, Shu-Tao Xie, Zhi-Xin Wang & Jia-Wei Wu
doi:10.1038/nature08075
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (776K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
dUTP incorporation into genomic DNA is linked to transcription in yeast p1150
High transcription rates in eukaryotic cells are associated with genomic instability, resulting in increased numbers of mutational events. In yeast, highly transcribed DNA is now shown to accumulate apurinic/apyrimidinic sites due to the removal of uracil, suggesting that the fidelity of DNA synthesis can be affected by the level of transcription.
Nayun Kim & Sue Jinks-Robertson
doi:10.1038/nature08033
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (375K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Erratum
Self-assembly of DNA into nanoscale three-dimensional shapes p1154
Shawn M. Douglas, Hendrik Dietz, Tim Liedl, Björn Högberg, Franziska Graf & William M. Shih
doi:10.1038/nature08165
Corrigendum
The missing memristor found p1154
Dmitri B. Strukov, Gregory S. Snider, Duncan R. Stewart & R. Stanley Williams
doi:10.1038/nature08166
Naturejobs
NewsGreen jobs growing, but destroying others? p1156
Clean-energy jobs seem to be growing fast, but critics are dubious.
Karen Kaplan
doi:10.1038/nj7250-1156a
Careers Q&A
Q&A p1157
Jeffrey Sturchio will continue to build bridges to health in his new role.
Jeffrey Sturchio
doi:10.1038/nj7250-1157a
Postdoc journal
Julia, you have to hustle p1157
No matter what you do, babies bring chaos.
Julia Boughner
doi:10.1038/nj7250-1157b
In Brief
US visa policy under fire p1157
Groups seek improved visa application process for United States.
doi:10.1038/nj7250-1157c
The best places to work p1157
Biotechs and universities rank highly for best places to work in information technology.
doi:10.1038/nj7250-1157d
Student gender bias p1157
More UK women are accepted to university than men, and fewer drop out.
doi:10.1038/nj7250-1157e
