Volume 543 Issue 7645, 16 March 2017

A British Library collection of regional words and phrases shows that language is still evolving.

The Nature journals continue journey towards greater rigour.

Amaya Moro-Martín is furious about Spanish government attempts to brand her and other exiled scientists as strategic partners.

The week in science: 10–16 March 2017.

Geologists unearth signs of major volcanic events stretching back 3 billion years.

University takes on US National Institutes of Health over animals used for Alzheimer’s research.

A rare find in land animals reveals a new way to glow.

To work out how the yeast genome evolved, bioengineers are recreating it.

Hundreds of researchers pick through clinical trial from a major blood-pressure study, to the dismay of some who collected the information.

The massive project will intercept γ-ray showers in an unexplored energy band.

Agricultural scientists look beyond synthetic chemistry to battle pesticide resistance.

Oil palm has a reputation as an environmental menace. Can the latest genetic research change that?

Action on soil sustainability must move beyond the farm and into the boardroom, urges Jess Davies.

Aaron Reeves surveys five books on the defining social, political and economic issue of our times.

Philip Ball finds himself caught up in artworks woven by thousands of South American spiders.

'Queen of carbon' and champion of women in science.

The masses of nearby spiral galaxies are dominated by invisible 'dark matter'. Surprisingly, galaxies in the distant Universe seem to contain comparatively little of it. See Letter p.397

Surgical repair of a detached retina involves the injection of a gas or silicone oil into the eye to hold the retina in place. The development of a gel with more-desirable properties than these substances might improve the success of this procedure.

The glycoprotein lipocalin 2 is released from the bones of mice in a nutrient-dependent manner and binds to receptors in the brain to suppress appetite. This is the first example of bone-derived signals mediating hunger. See Article p.385

A global analysis finds that nitrogen fertilizers could be used more efficiently if their international distribution across croplands was altered — a measure that would also decrease nitrogen pollution.

Aggregates are aberrant, non-functional forms of protein that often build up in cells in response to stress. Organelles called mitochondria have now been found to be active players in the clearance of these protein aggregates. See Letter p.443

The cellular response to low oxygen levels is regulated by a process in which one protein is ousted from a binding site by another. It emerges that protein disorder allows the displacement to occur remarkably efficiently. See Letter p.447

A review of mineral exploration data and demand forecasts suggests that new international governance links are needed to ensure efficient and responsible future sourcing of minerals for sustainable development.

Aerial and underwater survey data combined with satellite-derived measurements of sea surface temperature over the past two decades show that multiple mass-bleaching events have expanded to encompass virtually all of the Great Barrier Reef.

This paper describes molecular subtypes of cervical cancers, including squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma clusters defined by HPV status and molecular features, and distinct molecular pathways that are activated in cervical carcinomas caused by different somatic alterations and HPV types.

Osteoblast-derived LCN2 activates the melanocortin 4 receptor in neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus to suppress appetite, regulates insulin secretion and increases insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.

Detection of weak electrical signals by skates relies on functional coupling of specific calcium and potassium channels, which mediates oscillations in electrosensory cell membrane voltage.

The rotation velocities in the outer disks of six massive star-forming galaxies are shown to decrease with disk radius, owing to high baryonic mass fractions and large velocity dispersions.

A recently developed computational imaging technique, X-ray ptychographic tomography, is used to study integrated circuits, and a 3D image of a processor chip with a resolution of 14.6 nm is obtained.

Synthetic hydrogels are here created by enzyme-induced mineralization of hydrogel networks, yielding materials that are tough yet impressively stiff, with calcium phosphate particles distributed homogeneously throughout the network.

Compared to using conventional jet fuel, the use of a biofuel blend reduces aircraft engine particle emissions at cruising altitude by about 50–70 per cent.

A model of the conditions required for episodic tremor and accompanying slow slip to occur, near the megathrust seismogenic zone, reconciles seemingly contradictory observations.

Steranes in ancient rocks have been used as ‘molecular fossils’, but the very earliest records of steranes have been shown to be contaminants; here, the presence of two key sterol biosynthesis enzymes in eukaryotes and bacteria suggests at least one gene transfer between bacteria and the earliest eukaryotes occurred some 2.3 billion years ago.

The glycolytic activity of Paneth cells provides lactate, which is required by self-renewing intestinal stem cells for oxidative metabolism to activate p38 MAP kinase, ensuring regeneration of a mature crypt.

A selective class IIa histone deacetylase inhibitor induces anti-tumour immunity in a mouse model of mammary cancer through altered differentiation and recruitment of tumour-associated macrophages.

SZT2 recruits GATOR1 and GATOR2 to form a SZT2-orchestrated GATOR (SOG) complex at the lysosome that is essential for GATOR- and SESN-dependent nutrient sensing and mTORC1 regulation.

A protein complex composed of KPTN, ITFG2, C12orf66 and SZT2, named KICSTOR, is necessary for lysosomal localization of GATOR1, interaction of GATOR1 with the Rag GTPases and GATOR2, and nutrient-dependent mTORC1 modulation.

Proteins prone to aggregation in yeast are imported into mitochondria under stress conditions, suggesting that mitochondrial import and proteolysis may help to disaggregate proteins in the cytoplasm.

The intrinsically disordered CITED2 negative feedback regulator displaces the tightly bound hypoxia-inducible transcription factor HIF-1α from their common target TAZ1 through the formation of an intermediate ternary complex and thereby attenuates the hypoxic response.

Life in the field can be gruelling — and so it is up to team leaders to turn the research grind into an adventurous and valuable experience for everyone.

Research alliance seeks to stamp out biased practices.

Women in US academic administration earn less than men.

Sibling rivalry.