Table of contents
Volume 461 Number 7264 pp569-686
(this content only available online) indicates content that is available online only
Editorials
Back on the map p569
Central and eastern European nations still lag behind Western countries in science. But they are slowly catching up.
doi:10.1038/461569a
See also: Editor's summary
Containing risk p569
The US Department of Homeland Security should not be put in charge of biodefence research.
doi:10.1038/461569b
Delimiting death p570
Procuring organs for transplant demands a realistic definition of life's end.
doi:10.1038/461570a
Research Highlights
Computational biology: Protein comets p572
doi:10.1038/461572a
Molecular evolution: A colourful history p572
doi:10.1038/461572b
Particle physics: Top quarks measure up p572
doi:10.1038/461572c
Immunology: T cells on the move p572
doi:10.1038/461572d
Biology: Antennae show the way p572
doi:10.1038/461572e
Geology: Killer quake p572
doi:10.1038/461572f
Climate change: Looming locusts p573
doi:10.1038/461573a
Neuroscience: Wake up to dementia p573
doi:10.1038/461573b
Atmospheric science: Menacing methane p573
doi:10.1038/461573c
Ecology: Survival tips p573
doi:10.1038/461573d
News
News briefing: 1 October 2009 p574
The week in science
doi:10.1038/461574a
Booming biosafety labs probed p577
US lawmakers and scientists at odds over how to regulate high-containment labs.
Meredith Wadman
doi:10.1038/461577a
Iranian ministers in plagiarism row p578
Nature investigation reveals duplications in papers by science and transport chiefs.
Declan Butler
doi:10.1038/461578a
Experts draw up ocean-drilling wish list p578
Researchers seek deeper understanding of crust formation.
Quirin Schiermeier
doi:10.1038/461578b
US agriculture research gets priority plan p580
Federal restructuring aims to lessen the influence of pork-barrel politics.
Lizzie Buchen
doi:10.1038/461580a
Instant climate model gears up p581
Simulation tool gives rapid feedback on implications of policy changes.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/461581a
Cellulosic ethanol hits roadblocks p582
The third of four weekly articles looks at how the financial crisis is slowing efforts to commercialize next-generation ethanol.
Roberta Kwok
doi:10.1038/461582a
Column
Innovation strategy p585
The Obama administration has good proposals but needs a more systematic approach, David Goldston argues.
David Goldston
doi:10.1038/461585a
News Features
Eastern Europe: Scaling the wall p586
The collapse of communism opened up the world to scientists from eastern Europe. Quirin Schiermeier talks to researchers about what changed.
doi:10.1038/461586a
Eastern Europe: Beyond the bloc p590
doi:10.1038/461590a
Correspondence
Call from China for joint nanotech toxicity-testing effort p593
Shuping Bi, Jing Zhang & Jiongjia Cheng
doi:10.1038/461593a
Consent: criteria should be drawn up for tissue donors p593
Bernard Lo & Bruce R. Conklin
doi:10.1038/461593b
Consent: a need for guidelines to reflect local considerations p593
Wendy Lipworth, Rob Irvine & Bronwen Morrell
doi:10.1038/461593c
Opinion
Science and the Stasi p594
The acquisition of scientific and technological secrets was at the heart of East Germany's foreign espionage operations before the fall of the Berlin Wall, reveals Kristie Macrakis.
Kristie Macrakis
doi:10.1038/461594a
See also: Editor's summary
Books and Arts
Showcasing the evidence for evolution p596
Laurence D. Hurst compares two seasoned authors' strategies for explaining the difference between evolution fact and fantasy — Richard Dawkins's thunder and Carl Zimmer's poise.
Laurence D. Hurst reviews The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins and The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution by Carl Zimmer
doi:10.1038/461596a
Taxonomy comes of age p597
Richard Lane reviews Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science by Carol Kaesuk Yoon
doi:10.1038/461597a
Q&A: Gustav Metzger on destruction p598
Gustav Metzger's monumental and technical artworks comment on the capacity of human society to obliterate itself. From displays that eat themselves with acid to liquid-crystal patterns projected onto performing bands such as The Who in the 1960s, he questions environmental degradation, nuclear war and capitalism. As a major retrospective of his work opens, Metzger argues that scientists should be more active in counteracting society's tendency to seek oblivion.
Emma Marris reviews Gustav Metzger: Decades 1959–2009
doi:10.1038/461598a
News and Views
Drug discovery: Propping up a destructive regime p599
The Wnt signalling pathway balances the opposing activities of two proteins to transmit signals within cells. An inhibitor that stabilizes one of these proteins reveals a new target for anticancer drug development.
Randall T. Peterson
doi:10.1038/461599a
See also: Editor's summary
Optics: Droplets set light in a spin p600
Fusilli pasta is made by extruding dough through an appropriately shaped hole. A new method for making similar shapes in the optical field of light involves passing laser beams through droplets of liquid crystals.
Miles Padgett
doi:10.1038/461600a
Palaeontology: Feathered dinosaurs in a tangle p601
A dramatic feathered dinosaur fossil from the Jurassic of China resolves a 'temporal paradox'. But it adds intriguing complications to the debates on the evolution of feathers and flight in birds.
Lawrence M. Witmer
doi:10.1038/461601a
See also: Editor's summary
Supramolecular chemistry: Molecular crystal balls p602
Sorcerers have long gazed into crystal balls to conjure up information. Chemists are also getting in on the act, using porous crystals to trap unstable reaction intermediates and to reveal their structures.
Seth M. Cohen
doi:10.1038/461602a
See also: Editor's summary
Behavioural ecology: Winged warnings p603
Alarm signals emitted by animals may not be all that they seem. But a good example has been identified in the whistling sound of a crested pigeon's wings when it takes flight in response to a predator.
Graeme D. Ruxton
doi:10.1038/461603a
Full Text | PDF (1,002K) | Supplementary information
50 & 100 years ago p604
doi:10.1038/461604b
Applied physics: Lasers go nano p604
Two experiments that produce laser light by exploiting the collective wave-like motion of free electrons on a metal surface bring the science and technology of lasers into the nanoland.
Francisco J. Garcia-Vidal & Esteban Moreno
doi:10.1038/461604a
See also: Editor's summary
Correction p605
doi:10.1038/461605a
Review
Untangling aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation in a buffered system p607
Bjorn Stevens & Graham Feingold
doi:10.1038/nature08281
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (569K)
See also: Editor's summary
Articles
Tankyrase inhibition stabilizes axin and antagonizes Wnt signalling p614
Deregulated Wnt pathway activity has been implicated in many cancers, making this pathway an attractive target for anticancer therapies. Here, a small molecule inhibitor of the Wnt pathway is identified and its direct target and mechanism of action are characterized, providing new insights into the physiological regulation of the Wnt pathway and new possibilities for targeted Wnt pathway therapeutics.
Shih-Min A. Huang, Yuji M. Mishina, Shanming Liu, Atwood Cheung, Frank Stegmeier, Gregory A. Michaud, Olga Charlat, Elizabeth Wiellette, Yue Zhang, Stephanie Wiessner, Marc Hild, Xiaoying Shi, Christopher J. Wilson, Craig Mickanin, Vic Myer, Aleem Fazal, Ronald Tomlinson, Fabrizio Serluca, Wenlin Shao, Hong Cheng, Michael Shultz, Christina Rau, Markus Schirle, Judith Schlegl, Sonja Ghidelli, Stephen Fawell, Chris Lu, Daniel Curtis, Marc W. Kirschner, Christoph Lengauer, Peter M. Finan, John A. Tallarico, Tewis Bouwmeester, Jeffery A. Porter, Andreas Bauer & Feng Cong
doi:10.1038/nature08356
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (731K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Peterson
Inhibitors selective for mycobacterial versus human proteasomes p621
Proteasome structure is extensively conserved across a broad range of organisms, so it is not surprising that inhibitors of all chemical classes tested have blocked both eukaryotic and prokaryotic proteasomes. However, certain oxathiazol-2-one compounds are now shown to kill non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis and act as selective inhibitors of the M. tuberculosis proteasome while largely sparing the human homologue.
Gang Lin, Dongyang Li, Luiz Pedro Sorio de Carvalho, Haiteng Deng, Hui Tao, Guillaume Vogt, Kangyun Wu, Jean Schneider, Tamutenda Chidawanyika, J. David Warren, Huilin Li & Carl Nathan
doi:10.1038/nature08357
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (650K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Letters
Universality of galactic surface densities within one dark halo scale-length p627
Mean dark matter surface density within one dark-halo scale-length was recently discovered to be constant across a wide range of galaxies. Here, the luminous matter surface density is reported to also be constant within one scale-length of the dark halo, such that although the total luminous-to-dark matter ratio is not constant, within one halo scale-length it is constant.
Gianfranco Gentile, Benoit Famaey, HongSheng Zhao & Paolo Salucci
doi:10.1038/nature08437
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (134K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Plasmon lasers at deep subwavelength scale p629
A key challenge is to realize ultracompact lasers that can directly generate coherent optical fields at the nanometre scale, far beyond the diffraction limit. Surface plasmons could be used to tightly confine light on very short lengthscales, but so far this approach has been hampered by ohmic losses at optical frequencies. The experimental demonstration of nanometre-scale plasmonic lasers is now reported, realized using a hybrid plasmonic waveguide — these lasers can generate optical modes a hundred times smaller than the diffraction limit.
Rupert F. Oulton, Volker J. Sorger, Thomas Zentgraf, Ren-Min Ma, Christopher Gladden, Lun Dai, Guy Bartal & Xiang Zhang
doi:10.1038/nature08364
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (449K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Garcia-Vidal & Moreno
X-ray observation of a transient hemiaminal trapped in a porous network p633
Although X-ray crystallography is the method of choice for the direct structural analysis of crystalline compounds, extending its use to the in situ mapping of chemical transformations involving unstable intermediates is challenging. Here this is achieved by using a porous network material as a 'reaction medium' to enable X-ray observations of reaction intermediates that are usually transient and non-isolable.
Takehide Kawamichi, Tsuyoshi Haneda, Masaki Kawano & Makoto Fujita
doi:10.1038/nature08326
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (661K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Cohen
Remote triggering of fault-strength changes on the San Andreas fault at Parkfield p636
Changes in fault strength over time can increase or decrease the likelihood of failure and the ultimate triggering of seismic events. Observation of the Parkfield area at the San Andreas fault over the years 1987–2008 now reveals two occasions — the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake and the 1992 Landers earthquake — where long-term changes in fault strength have probably been induced remotely by large seismic events.
Taka'aki Taira, Paul G. Silver, Fenglin Niu & Robert M. Nadeau
doi:10.1038/nature08395
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (483K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
A pre-Archaeopteryx troodontid theropod from China with long feathers on the metatarsus p640
The early evolution of the major groups of derived non-avialan theropods is not well understood, resulting in the 'temporal paradox' argument against the theropod hypothesis of avian origins. Here, a small theropod specimen collected from the earliest Late Jurassic of China is recovered that is referable to the Troodontidae, which are among the theropods most closely related to birds, thus refuting the 'temporal paradox'. Furthermore, the extensive feathering of the specimen sheds new light on the early evolution of feathers.
Dongyu Hu, Lianhai Hou, Lijun Zhang & Xing Xu
doi:10.1038/nature08322
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,365K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Witmer
Robust discrimination between self and non-self neurites requires thousands of Dscam1 isoforms p644
The tendency of branches from the same neuron (self-branches) to selectively avoid one another is known as self-avoidance. The expression of different isoforms of the Down Syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam) gene, which expresses a neuronal cell recognition protein of the immunoglobulin superfamily, ensures that repulsion is restricted to self-branches. Here, in Drosophila, the number of isoforms of Dscam1 required to prevent non-self branches from recognizing each other is determined.
Daisuke Hattori, Yi Chen, Benjamin J. Matthews, Lukasz Salwinski, Chiara Sabatti, Wesley B. Grueber & S. Lawrence Zipursky
doi:10.1038/nature08431
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (720K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Direct reprogramming of human neural stem cells by OCT4 p649
Although induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have been generated from mouse and human somatic cells by ectopic expression of four transcription factors, the expression of one of these four, Oct4, is sufficient to directly reprogram adult mouse neural stem cells to iPS cells. The generation of one-factor human iPS cells from human fetal neural stem cells by ectopic expression of OCT4 alone is now reported, demonstrating that OCT4 is sufficient to reprogram human neural stem cells to pluripotency.
Jeong Beom Kim, Boris Greber, Marcos J. Araúzo-Bravo, Johann Meyer, Kook In Park, Holm Zaehres & Hans R. Schöler
doi:10.1038/nature08436
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,285K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Discovery of Atg5/Atg7-independent alternative macroautophagy p654
Macroautophagy is the process by which defective proteins and entire organelles are sequestered in membrane compartments called autophagosomes, which ultimately fuse with lysosomes and undergo degradation. The genes Atg5 and Atg7 are believed to be essential for mammalian macroautophagy. Here it is shown, however, that under certain stress conditions mouse cells lacking Atg5 or Atg7 can still perform autophagy-mediated protein degradation through an alternative pathway.
Yuya Nishida, Satoko Arakawa, Kenji Fujitani, Hirofumi Yamaguchi, Takeshi Mizuta, Toku Kanaseki, Masaaki Komatsu, Kinya Otsu, Yoshihide Tsujimoto & Shigeomi Shimizu
doi:10.1038/nature08455
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,018K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Membrane-bound Fas ligand only is essential for Fas-induced apoptosis p659
Fas ligand (FasL) and its receptor Fas are critical for the shutdown of chronic immune responses and prevention of autoimmunity. FasL function is regulated by deposition in the plasma membrane and metalloprotease-mediated shedding, but it is unclear what the respective roles of these secreted and membrane-bound forms are. Gene-targeted mice that selectively lack either secreted FasL or membrane-bound FasL are now generated, shedding light on this problem.
Lorraine A. O' Reilly, Lin Tai, Lily Lee, Elizabeth A. Kruse, Stephanie Grabow, W. Douglas Fairlie, Nicole M. Haynes, David M. Tarlinton, Jian-Guo Zhang, Gabrielle T. Belz, Mark J. Smyth, Philippe Bouillet, Lorraine Robb & Andreas Strasser
doi:10.1038/nature08402
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (794K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Cooperative binding of two acetylation marks on a histone tail by a single bromodomain p664
The recognition of histone post-translational modifications by effector modules such as bromodomains is a key step in many chromatin-related processes. Although effector-mediated recognition of single post-translation modifications is well characterized, combinatorial readout of histones bearing multiple modifications is poorly understood. Here, a distinct mechanism of combinatorial readout for the mouse TAF1 homologue Brdt, a testis-specific member of the BET protein family, is reported.
Jeanne Morinière, Sophie Rousseaux, Ulrich Steuerwald, Montserrat Soler-López, Sandrine Curtet, Anne-Laure Vitte, Jérôme Govin, Jonathan Gaucher, Karin Sadoul, Darren J. Hart, Jeroen Krijgsveld, Saadi Khochbin, Christoph W. Müller & Carlo Petosa
doi:10.1038/nature08397
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (964K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Substrate interactions and promiscuity in a viral DNA packaging motor p669
In several viruses and bacteriophages, DNA transport in processes such as genome packaging is dependent on a subset of the ASCE superfamily of protein enzymes consisting of multimeric ringed pumps. Little is known, however, about how these motors engage their nucleic acid substrates. Here, the genome packaging motor of the Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage is studied, revealing that the full mechanochemical cycle of the motor involves two, rather different, phases.
K. Aathavan, Adam T. Politzer, Ariel Kaplan, Jeffrey R. Moffitt, Yann R. Chemla, Shelley Grimes, Paul J. Jardine, Dwight L. Anderson & Carlos Bustamante
doi:10.1038/nature08443
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,350K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
A human 5'-tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase that repairs topoisomerase-mediated DNA damage p674
The mechanism of topoisomerase action involves making a transient break in DNA, which, if it occurs near another DNA lesion, can persist, with the topoisomerase attached the 3' or 5' end by a phosphotyrosyl bond. If the DNA termini are not liberated from the topoisomerase, cancer and neurodegenerative disease may result. A human enzyme that cleaves 3'-phosphotyrosyl bonds has already been identified; a complementary enzyme that cleaves 5'-phosphotyrosyl bonds is now reported.
Felipe Cortes Ledesma, Sherif F. El Khamisy, Maria C. Zuma, Kay Osborn & Keith W. Caldecott
doi:10.1038/nature08444
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (576K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Naturejobs
NewsOlder but not wiser p681
Quality of peer reviewers' work slips as years pass.
Nicola Jones
doi:10.1038/nj7264-681a
Postdoc journal
A natural haven p681
The isolation of the lab makes me long for nature.
Sam Walcott
doi:10.1038/nj7264-681b
In Brief
CBI rallies industry p681
UK industry should have a hand in university science curricula, says report.
doi:10.1038/nj7264-681c
Indians fast in protest p681
Faculty strike in India over promotion rules.
doi:10.1038/nj7264-681d
Europe's research lagging p681
Regulations squelch European scientific innovation and collaboration, report says.
doi:10.1038/nj7264-681e
Careers and Recruitment
No place like home p682
Young Eastern European scientists are returning to their home countries to set up labs — with mixed success. Claire Ainsworth tracks their progress.
Claire Ainsworth
doi:10.1038/nj7264-682a
