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Editorials

We are all Iranians p11

イラン国民の間に生じた市民権を守ろうとする運動には、政治とは離れた国際的支援が必要で、各国の学界、非政府組織などが力を貸すべきだ。

doi:10.1038/460011a


Time for early action p12

地球の温暖化を阻止するため、二酸化炭素削減以外のさまざまな対策にも早めに取り組むべきだ。

doi:10.1038/460012a


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Research Highlights

Geosciences: Losing Louisiana p14

doi:10.1038/460014a


Cancer biology: Double agent p14

doi:10.1038/460014b


Neuroscience: Early bird learns the tune p14

doi:10.1038/460014c


Physiology: Ground control p14

doi:10.1038/460014d


Ecology: Putting height on the map p14

doi:10.1038/460014e


Evolutionary development: The birth of a thymus p14

doi:10.1038/460014f


Biology: Shell shocker p15

doi:10.1038/460015a


Chemistry: Fire boxed p15

doi:10.1038/460015b


Astronomy: Little neighbours p15

doi:10.1038/460015c


Genomics: Murky associations p15

doi:10.1038/460015d


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Journal Club

Journal club p15

Subhajyoti De

doi:10.1038/460015e


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News

African science drops down G8 agenda p16

Researchers lament poor progress on commitments to developing nations.

Natasha Gilbert

doi:10.1038/460016a


Chief scientist quits California stem-cell agency p17

Departure raises questions over leadership at flagship centre.

Erika Check Hayden

doi:10.1038/460017a


Snapshot: Vanishing meadows p17

The dire state of seagrass.

Daniel Cressey

doi:10.1038/460017b


How to fix a broken heart? p18

Clues about how human hearts form hint at routes to cell-based therapies.

Monya Baker

doi:10.1038/460018a


Italians sue over stem cells p19

Government's exclusion of human embryonic cells from funding call sparks anger.

Alison Abbott

doi:10.1038/460019a


Budget request tackles habitat changes p20

US wildlife agency bids to revitalize research with focus on effects of global warming.

Roberta Kwok

doi:10.1038/460020a


Lawsuit puts flu-vaccine contract in doubt p21

Biotech company sued by creditors.

Heidi Ledford

doi:10.1038/460021a


UK Met Office hit by cuts to climate project p21

Defence ministry slashes programme budget by a quarter.

Olive Heffernan

doi:10.1038/460021b


Indian university system overhauled p22

National commission set to regulate higher education.

K. S. Jayaraman

doi:10.1038/460022a


Impasse at talks leaves whales high and dry p23

doi:10.1038/460023a


Key polar research centres sign up to cooperative deal p23

doi:10.1038/460023b


Recession deals a glancing blow to nanomaterials p23

doi:10.1038/460023c


African institutions gain support networks p23

doi:10.1038/460023d


Soundbites: Talking climate targets p23

doi:10.1038/460023e


Heritage alert for Central American reef p23

doi:10.1038/460023f


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Column

Don't cry politicization p24

To call biomedical research proposals political distorts the issue, says David Goldston.

David Goldston

doi:10.1038/460024a


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News Features

Nuclear energy: The hybrid returns p25

Slotting a fusion reactor into the heart of a nuclear fission plant could accelerate the development of waste-free nuclear energy. So why are all the designs still on paper, asks Ed Gerstner.

doi:10.1038/460025a


Atmospheric science: Climate's smoky spectre p29

With their focus on greenhouse gases, atmospheric scientists have largely overlooked lowly soot particles. But black carbon is now a hot topic among researchers and politicians. Jeff Tollefson investigates.

doi:10.1038/460029a


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Correspondence

Invitation to help compile an index of biodiversity in cities p33

Lena Chan & Ahmed Djoghlaf

doi:10.1038/460033a


We must reverse the Bush legacy of stem-cell problems p33

Christopher Thomas Scott, Jason Owen-Smith & Jennifer McCormick

doi:10.1038/460033b


The pleasure and importance of printed journals p33

François Diederich

doi:10.1038/460033c


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Books and Arts

When DNA goes on trial p34

The science of DNA profiling is firm, but the way that the adversarial justice system interprets probability can cause controversy, argues Peter Gill.

doi:10.1038/460034a


Evolutionary embryos p35

doi:10.1038/460035a


Stuffed spectacular p36

doi:10.1038/460036a


Evolution's influence on art nouveau p37

doi:10.1038/460037a


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News and Views

発生生物学: 細胞からみた再生

Developmental biology: A cellular view of regeneration p39

How the salamander regrows an entire limb after injury has flummoxed the wisest of scientists. A closer look at the cells involved in limb regeneration shows that remembering past origins may be crucial for this feat.

Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado

doi:10.1038/460039a


生物地球化学: 気候に及ぼす植物の力

Biogeochemistry: Climatic plant power p40

Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide constrain vegetation types and thus also non-biological uptake during rock weathering. That's the reasoning used to explain why CO2 levels did not fall below a certain point in the Miocene.

Yves Goddéris & Yannick Donnadieu

doi:10.1038/460040a


免疫学: 免疫記憶の代謝スイッチ

Immunology: A metabolic switch to memory p41

Two therapeutic drugs have been found to enhance memory in immune cells called T cells, apparently by altering cellular metabolism. Are changes in T-cell metabolism the key to generating long-lived immune memory?

Martin Prlic & Michael J. Bevan

doi:10.1038/460041a


ナノオプティクス: 一緒に押し出される光子

Nanooptics: Photons pushed together p42

Photons don't interact well with each other, which is a real headache for researchers developing all-optical transistors for computing applications. But a single molecule can mediate photon–photon affairs.

Michel Orrit

doi:10.1038/460042a


細胞生物学: そんなに「おかしくない二人」

Cell biology: The not-so-odd couple p44

Actively dividing cells do so at a risk — with each division, chromosome ends tend to shorten. Pairing proteins that promote cell division with a chromosome-end repair factor is a smart way to solve this problem.

Sarah E. Millar

doi:10.1038/460044a


応用物理学: 情報の漏洩

Applied physics: A leak of information p45

As capacitors, the ubiquitous components of electronic circuitry, get smaller, keeping them insulating is a challenge. But that's not necessarily bad news — some conductivity might be just the thing for data storage.

Pavlo Zubko & Jean-Marc Triscone

doi:10.1038/460045a


追悼: Robert Furchgott氏(1916〜2009)

Obituary: Robert Furchgott (1916–2009) p47

Nobel laureate who pioneered research into nitric oxide.

Solomon H. Snyder

doi:10.1038/460047a


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Progress

細胞: 人工多能性幹細胞(iPS細胞)樹立を考察するエリートモデルと確率モデル

Elite and stochastic models for induced pluripotent stem cell generation p49

Shinya Yamanaka

doi:10.1038/nature08180


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Articles

医学: ファンコニ貧血の誘導多能性幹細胞に由来する、疾患の修正された造血前駆細胞

Disease-corrected haematopoietic progenitors from Fanconi anaemia induced pluripotent stem cells p53

The generation of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) is thought to hold great therapeutic potential. Here, somatic cells from Fanconi anaemia patients are reprogrammed to pluripotency after correction of the genetic defect, generating patient-specific iPS cells.

Ángel Raya, Ignasi Rodríguez-Pizà, Guillermo Guenechea, Rita Vassena, Susana Navarro, María José Barrero, Antonella Consiglio, Maria Castellà, Paula Río, Eduard Sleep, Federico González, Gustavo Tiscornia, Elena Garreta, Trond Aasen, Anna Veiga, Inder M. Verma, Jordi Surrallés, Juan Bueren & Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte

doi:10.1038/nature08129


発生: アホロートルの外肢再生では細胞がその由来組織の記憶を維持している

Cells keep a memory of their tissue origin during axolotl limb regeneration p60

By using an integrated GFP transgene to track the major limb tissues during limb regeneration in the salamander Ambystoma mexicanum (the axolotl), it has been possible to demonstrate that each limb tissue produces a different set of progenitors with restricted potential. Thus, the blastema—the collection of cells that regenerates the diverse tissues of the limb—is composed of a heterogeneous collection of restricted progenitor cells instead of dedifferentiated pluripotent cells, as previously thought.

Martin Kragl, Dunja Knapp, Eugen Nacu, Shahryar Khattak, Malcolm Maden, Hans Henning Epperlein & Elly M. Tanaka

doi:10.1038/nature08152


発生: テロメラーゼは標的遺伝子を含むクロマチンに会合してWntシグナル伝達を調節する

Telomerase modulates Wnt signalling by association with target gene chromatin p66

The genetic pathways controlling stem cells are frequently dysregulated during tumorigenesis, with either stimulation of Wnt/beta-catenin signalling or overexpression of telomerase sufficient to activate epidermal stem cells in vivo. Here, the telomerase protein component TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) is shown to have a role as a transcriptional modulator of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, revealing a significant level of integration between the two pathways.

Jae-Il Park, Andrew S. Venteicher, Ji Yeon Hong, Jinkuk Choi, Sohee Jun, Marina Shkreli, Woody Chang, Zhaojing Meng, Peggie Cheung, Hong Ji, Margaret McLaughlin, Timothy D. Veenstra, Roel Nusse, Pierre D. McCrea & Steven E. Artandi

doi:10.1038/nature08137


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Letters

宇宙: 銀河 ESO 243-49にある太陽質量の500倍を超える中質量ブラックホール

An intermediate-mass black hole of over 500 solar masses in the galaxy ESO 243-49 p73

Ultraluminous X-ray sources are extragalactic objects located outside the nucleus of the host galaxy with bolometric luminosities exceeding 1039 erg s-1. These extreme luminosities imply the presence of an accreting black hole with a mass of approx102–105 solar masses, but the existence of such intermediate mass black holes is in dispute. A variable X-ray source with an implied mass of approx500 solar masses is now reported in the galaxy ESO 243–49.

Sean A. Farrell, Natalie A. Webb, Didier Barret, Olivier Godet & Joana M. Rodrigues

doi:10.1038/nature08083


光学: 単一分子の光トランジスター

A single-molecule optical transistor p76

The transistor is the most fundamental building block in present-day technologies. For the purpose of quantum information processing schemes and for the development of a 'quantum computer', photons are attractive information carriers because of their speed and robustness against decoherence. However, their robustness also prevents them from being easily controlled; despite this, experiments now show the realization of a quantum optical transistor.

J. Hwang, M. Pototschnig, R. Lettow, G. Zumofen, A. Renn, S. Götzinger & V. Sandoghdar

doi:10.1038/nature08134


物性: 強誘電状態の非破壊読み出しのための巨大トンネル電気抵抗

Giant tunnel electroresistance for non-destructive readout of ferroelectric states p81

As alternative technologies for non-volatile memory elements are looked at, the utilization of ferroelectric layers to read-write upon is seen as promising. However, it is plagued by several problems, including a destructive readout process. Now, by using a thin layer of BaTiO3 put under intense strain, it has been shown possible to read out the polarization state of the material without destroying it.

V. Garcia, S. Fusil, K. Bouzehouane, S. Enouz-Vedrenne, N. D. Mathur, A. Barthélémy & M. Bibes

doi:10.1038/nature08128


気候: 過去2,400万年にわたる大気中二酸化炭素の減少制限における陸生植物の役割

The role of terrestrial plants in limiting atmospheric CO2 decline over the past 24 million years p85

It is thought that the Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations did not fall below about 200–250 parts per million during the past 24 million years despite the drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide by high rates of global silicate rock weathering. Simulations of terrestrial and geochemical carbon cycles now suggest that limited vegetation activity in regions of active mountain ranges effectively diminished biotic-driven silicate rock weathering and thereby provided a negative feedback mechanism to stabilize carbon dioxide concentrations.

Mark Pagani, Ken Caldeira, Robert Berner & David J. Beerling

doi:10.1038/nature08133


地球: ファンデフーカ海嶺の下部地殻内部で拡大軸近傍にあるメルトシルの反射地震探査による画像化

Seismic reflection images of a near-axis melt sill within the lower crust at the Juan de Fuca ridge p89

The style of accretion of the lower oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges is disputed, with some models proposing that the lower oceanic crust is accreted from melt sills intruded at multiple levels within the lower crust. However, seismic images of such sills have been elusive; here, deep crustal seismic reflections off the southern Juan de Fuca ridge are interpreted as originating from a molten sill presently forming within the lower oceanic crust.

J. Pablo Canales, Mladen R. Nedimovic acute, Graham M. Kent, Suzanne M. Carbotte & Robert S. Detrick

doi:10.1038/nature08095


脳: ヒト視覚野における迅速な自然情景カテゴリー化の神経学的機序

Neural mechanisms of rapid natural scene categorization in human visual cortex p94

Human beings are able to rapidly detect the presence of object categories such as animals or vehicles, even when a scene is presented very briefly. The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging during an object categorization task now indicates that the rapid detection of categorical information in natural scenes is mediated by a category-specific biasing mechanism in object-selective cortex that operates across the visual field.

Marius V. Peelen, Li Fei-Fei & Sabine Kastner

doi:10.1038/nature08103


医学: 結核菌のアデニル酸シクラーゼによるマクロファージへのサイクリックAMP輸送

Cyclic AMP intoxication of macrophages by a Mycobacterium tuberculosis adenylate cyclase p98

Mycobacterium tuberculosis induces a cyclic AMP (cAMP) burst within infected macrophages that influences cell signalling, but the underlying mechanism for this increase in cAMP remains unclear. It is now shown that it is produced by a bacterial adenylate cyclase that facilitates delivery of bacterial-derived cAMP into the macrophage cytoplasm, presumably enhancing virulence through the activation of downstream signalling pathways.

Nisheeth Agarwal, Gyanu Lamichhane, Radhika Gupta, Scott Nolan & William R. Bishai

doi:10.1038/nature08123


免疫: 脂肪酸代謝の調節によりCD8 T細胞の記憶を増強する

Enhancing CD8 T-cell memory by modulating fatty acid metabolism p103

On antigen stimulation, CD8 T cells undergo a developmental program characterized by expansion and then contraction of antigen-specific effector (TE) populations, followed by the persistence of long-lived memory (TM) cells. During this transition, CD8 T cells are now shown to switch from glucose metabolism to fatty acid metabolism by a TRAF6-dependent mechanism.

Erika L. Pearce, Matthew C. Walsh, Pedro J. Cejas, Gretchen M. Harms, Hao Shen, Li-San Wang, Russell G. Jones & Yongwon Choi

doi:10.1038/nature08097


免疫: mTORは記憶CD8 T細胞の分化を調節する

mTOR regulates memory CD8 T-cell differentiation p108

Inducing effective memory T-cell responses is a major goal of vaccines against chronic infections and tumours. Here, mTOR, the mammalian target for the immunosuppressive drug rapamycin, is shown to enhance the quantity and quality of virus-specific CD8 T cells in mouse and non-human primate models.

Koichi Araki, Alexandra P. Turner, Virginia Oliva Shaffer, Shivaprakash Gangappa, Susanne A. Keller, Martin F. Bachmann, Christian P. Larsen & Rafi Ahmed

doi:10.1038/nature08155


発生: ヒトISL1心臓前駆細胞はさまざまな多能性心臓血管系細胞系譜を生み出す

Human ISL1 heart progenitors generate diverse multipotent cardiovascular cell lineages p113

Studying the mechanisms underlying the diversification of human heart cell lineages has been hampered by the lack of genetic tools to purify early cardiac progenitors and define their developmental potential. By using independent transgenic and gene-targeting approaches in human embryonic stem cell lines, it has now been possible to show that populations of these primordial progenitors are capable of self-renewal and expansion prior to differentiation into the three major cell types in the heart.

Lei Bu, Xin Jiang, Silvia Martin-Puig, Leslie Caron, Shenjun Zhu, Ying Shao, Drucilla J. Roberts, Paul L. Huang, Ibrahim J. Domian & Kenneth R. Chien

doi:10.1038/nature08191


細胞: LIFシグナル伝達経路の並列回路が、マウスES細胞の多能性を維持している

A parallel circuit of LIF signalling pathways maintains pluripotency of mouse ES cells p118

The Jak–Stat3 pathway is known to mediate leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) signals, maintaining pluripotency in mouse embryonic stem cells; however, it is unclear how LIF signals are linked to the core circuitry of pluripotency-associated transcription factors. Here it is shown that two LIF signalling pathways are each connected to the core circuitry by different transcription factors, indicating that there are parallel pathways controlling pluripotency.

Hitoshi Niwa, Kazuya Ogawa, Daisuke Shimosato & Kenjiro Adachi

doi:10.1038/nature08113


細胞: ショウジョウバエの全ゲノムサイレンシングで捕えられた保存されたアポトーシスエフェクター

Genome-wide silencing in Drosophila captures conserved apoptotic effectors p123

Caspases, and the proximal regulators of caspases, are central to the core machinery of apoptosis. The results of a genome-wide silencing screen in Drosophila—using a strategy combining a library of double-stranded RNAs together with a chemical antagonist of Inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs)—now reveals a set of validated targets necessary for cell death provoked by several stimuli, as well as a new effector for apoptosis, Tango7.

Su Kit Chew, Po Chen, Nichole Link, Kathleen A. Galindo, Kristi Pogue & John M. Abrams

doi:10.1038/nature08087


細胞: 多能性因子Oct4はCtcfと相互作用し、X染色体の対合と計数の制御も行う

The pluripotency factor Oct4 interacts with Ctcf and also controls X-chromosome pairing and counting p128

During both stem cell differentiation and X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) of mouse embryonic stem cells, chromatin undergoes epigenetic reprogramming. XCI and cell differentiation are tightly coupled, with the blocking of one process compromising the other. The pluripotency factor, Oct4, is now shown to regulate XCI, and is the first identified factor that links both processes.

Mary E. Donohoe, Susana S. Silva, Stefan F. Pinter, Na Xu & Jeannie T. Lee

doi:10.1038/nature08098


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Naturejobs

Careers Q&A

Pierluigi Nicotera p135

Founding director of the new German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn, Germany.

doi:10.1038/nj7251-135a


Postdoc journal

The simple life p135

Motherhood has its benefits

Joanne Isaac

doi:10.1038/nj7251-135b


In Brief

Competitive edge p135

Federal legislators worry that US research universities are losing their edge.

doi:10.1038/nj7251-135c


Brain research p135

Federal grant sets up neuroplasticity centre at Stanford.

doi:10.1038/nj7251-135d


Green economy p135

A green economy will create jobs and battle climate change.

doi:10.1038/nj7251-135e


Careers and Recruitment

Multiple fates p136

Despite the economic downturn, US universities are seeking faculty members with stem-cell expertise. That doesn't mean times are easy. Monya Baker investigates.

Monya Baker

doi:10.1038/nj7251-136a


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Futures

A Breederax for Dalia p140

All play and no work is a recipe for disaster.

Janett L. Grady

doi:10.1038/460140a


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