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The English mathematician Alan Turing was born on 23 June 1912 and died tragically aged only 41, yet his influence is still felt in many fields. In this issue marking the centenary of Turings birth, Nature hails him as one of the top scientific minds of all time (see pages 440 and 441). Computer specialists and those working in fields that have exploited computer science including Sydney Brenner (page 461) and Henry Markram (page 456) explain some aspects of this remarkable legacy. For more, go to www.nature.com/turing.
The week in science: Animals saved from chemical safety tests; fund launched to clean up methane and black-carbon emissions; and excitement over nanopore DNA sequencing.
Peter Diamandis is the founder of the non-profit X Prize Foundation, which aims to kick-start research and development to solve humanity's biggest challenges. On the publication this week of his book Abundance, co-authored with journalist Steven Kotler, he explains how technological and social progress will enable us to provide enough food, water and energy for all.
Cells package proteins into vesicles for secretion to the extracellular milieu. A study has now identified an enzyme that modifies the packaging machinery to encapsulate unusually large proteins, such as collagen. See Article p.495
Early data from the Planck space satellite provide information about dust in distant galaxies, as well as in the Milky Way, and on the properties of gas in some of the largest clusters of galaxies in the Universe.
A combination of two light-induced reactions has been used to attach peptides to a polymeric gel, and then to detach them from it. This feat opens up opportunities for studying the effects of signalling molecules on cell behaviour in vitro.
Quantum computing is plagued by noise and small errors. An approach based on topological techniques reduces the sensitivity to errors and boosts the prospects for building practical quantum computers. See Article p.489
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors mediate many physiological responses of the nervous system. Structures of two of these receptors yield insight into how they bind drugs and their mechanism of action. See Letters p.547 & 552
A genetic study of brain cancers in mice and humans reveals distinct mutations in primary tumours and their metastases, suggesting that the two disease 'compartments' may require different treatments.
Melting glaciers contribute to sea-level rise, but measuring their mass loss over time is difficult. An analysis of satellite data on Earth's changing gravity field does just that, and delivers some unexpected results.
Scientific reproducibility now very often depends on the computational method being available to duplicate, so here it is argued that all source code should be freely available.
The size of COPII vesicles is shown to be controlled by monoubiquitylation, with potential implications for cranio-lenticulo-sutural dysplasia and chylomicron retention disease.
Cryo-electron-microscopy reconstructions of eukaryotic and archaeal ribosomes bound by ABCE1 and Pelota suggest a conserved mechanism for ribosome recycling.
Observations of γ-rays from the Crab pulsar suggest that the energy of the pulsar wind changes from electromagnetic to kinetic over a relatively short distance close to the light cylinder of the pulsar.
The parameters critical in determining the behaviour of a fibrous medium wetted with a single liquid drop are identified as fibre flexibility, fibre geometry and drop volume.
Satellite measurements of Earth’s gravity field show that the mass loss of glaciers and ice caps contributed to sea level rise by approximately 0.4 millimetres per year between 2003 and 2010.
The conserved microRNA miR-34 regulates age-associated events and long-term brain integrity in Drosophila, providing a molecular link between ageing and neurodegeneration.
Adult muscle stem cells are used as a model system to show that the microRNA pathway, and specifically miR-489, is essential for the maintenance of the quiescent state of an adult stem-cell population by suppressing a key proliferation factor, Dek.
In a mouse model and in human medulloblastoma patients, the metastases in an individual have similar genomic alterations and DNA methylation patterns, but these patterns are highly divergent from those of the primary tumour, indicating that therapies will need to be tailored to fit the molecular alterations present in the primary tumour and/or the metastases.
A mouse model is developed in which the pro-apoptotic activity of DCC is silenced and the mice are more prone to intestinal tumour progression, giving insight into the role of DCC in human colorectal cancer.
In a mouse model of mammary carcinoma, loss of deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC) promotes metastasis formation, and in cell cultures derived from p53-deficient mouse mammary tumours DCC expression controls netrin-1-dependent cell survival, supporting the function of DCC as a context-dependent tumour suppressor that limits survival of disseminated tumour cells.
Crystal structures of menin in its free form and in complexes with MLL1 or with JUND, or with an MLL1–LEDGF heterodimer, show that menin contains a deep pocket that binds short peptides of MLL1 or JUND in the same manner, but produces opposite effects on transcription.
The X-ray crystal structure of the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, which is essential for the physiological control of cardiovascular function, is reported.
The X-ray crystal structure of the M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor bound to the bronchodilator drug tiotropium is reported; comparison of this structure with that of the M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor reveals key differences that could potentially be exploited to develop subtype-selective drugs.