Nature view
Research highlights from the NPG family of journals.
Magnified magnetism
Increasing
the information density of magnetic media — such as computer hard disks —
requires reducing the dimensions of the magnetic domains that store the data.
The minimum size of a stable magnetic domain depends on several factors, one of
which is magnetic anisotropy — the energy required to tilt the magnetization
away from its preferred direction. In August's Nature Materials, Harald
Brune and colleagues report the discovery of a trick for increasing the magnetization
of small magnetic structures — at the expense of bigger ones. It seems that
magnetic edge atoms make all the difference. Wolfgang Kuch adds perspective in
a News and Views article.
article
The
remarkable difference between surface and step atoms in the magnetic anisotropy
of two-dimensional nanostructures
S. RUSPONI et
al.
Nature Materials 1, 546; August 2003
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news and views
Edge atoms do
all the work
W. KUCH
Nature Materials 1,
505; August 2003
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Genes, evolution and drug targets
Phylogenomics,
which advocates an evolutionary view of genomic data, is useful in the prediction
of protein function, structural elements and protein interactions. Evolutionary
analyses can also indicate new ways to view the overall space of gene products
in terms of their suitability for therapeutic intervention. In an article available
free online in August's Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, David Searls suggests
that
this view places an increased emphasis on the comprehensive analysis
of the evolutionary history of targets, the rate and nature of evolutionary change
that they have undergone, and their involvement in evolving pathways and networks.
review
Pharmacophylogenomics: genes, evolution and drug targets
D.
B. SEARLS
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 2, 613; August 2003
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Pharmacogenomics: the reality
Although
the impact of pharmacogenomics
on drug design, development and clinical trials
has been the subject of substantial analysis, less effort has been focused on
post-clinical-trial considerations. As the first products based on pharmacogenomics
emerge, economic and regulatory considerations will affect — and be affected
by — drug approval, licensing and delivery long before medicines are prescribed
by a physician. In July's Nature Biotechnology, Jai Shah provides a conceptual
analysis of the complex issues involved in stratification, drug licensing and
approval, and in the application of pharmacogenomics in the healthcare setting.
Shah also makes recommendations to ensure that economic and regulatory considerations
in this field — which involves a range of disciplines and factors —
are able to keep pace with scientific discoveries.
feature
Economic and regulatory considerations in pharmacogenomics
for drug licensing and healthcare
J. SHAH
Nature
Biotechnology 21, 747; July 2003
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The speckled nucleus
Speckles
are subnuclear structures that are enriched in pre-messenger RNA splicing factors.
In an article in Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology in August, Angus
Lamond and David Spector review recent studies of the structure, composition and
function of speckles, which have provided a basis for understanding the functional
compartmentalization of the nucleus and the organization of the gene-expression
machinery.
review
Nuclear speckles:
a model for nuclear organelles
A. I. LAMOND AND D.
L. SPECTOR
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 4, 605; August
2003
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'Combination Therapy' for improved control of Hypertension
Currently,
most patients in routine practice receive single agent drug therapy for blood
pressure control and consequently, of those, some 90% fail to achieve target blood
pressure of <140/85 mmHg. The emphasis of this paper is on the need for combination
therapy in the majority of patients. The authors discuss the effectiveness of
combining two of four hypertension drugs for the two categories of patients: Younger
(<55 yr) and Non-Black and Older (>55 yr) or Black.
article
Better blood pressure control: how to combine drugs
M.
J. BROWN, J. K. CRUICKSHANK, A. F. DOMINICZAK, G. A. MACGREGOR, N. R. POULTER,
G. I. RUSSELL, S. THOM AND B. WILLIAMS
Journal of Human Hypertension
17, 81; (2003)
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