Nature view

Research highlights from the NPG family of journals.

Getting a grip: Antibacterial gloves

Simple surgical gloves may become a thing
of the past. This month's Nature Materials describes a new tri-layer structure for gloves that squirts out disinfectant if mechanically damaged — in the same way that cutting through an orange's peel squirts juice. Philippe Sonntag and colleagues designed the material, which consists of an inner elastomer layer with disinfectant-filled compartments sandwiched between two elastomeric boundary layers.

letters
Biocide squirting from an elastomeric tri-layer film
P. SONNTAG et al.
Nature Materials 3, 311; May 2004
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Bacterial evolution: Island hopping

In many bacterial pathogens, a mobile genetic element called a 'pathogenicity island' contributes to the bacteria's rapid evolution and change in virulence potential. Do genomic islands — the equivalent elements in non-pathogenic species — have a role in the evolution of these bacteria? In May's Nature Reviews Microbiology, Ulrich Dobrindt and colleagues discuss the latest research into how this horizontal gene transfer influences traits such as antibiotic resistance, symbiosis and general adaptation in commensal, symbiotic and environmental bacteria.

reviews
Genomic islands in pathogenic and environmental microorganisms
U. DOBRINDT et al.
Nature Reviews Microbiology 2, 414; May 2004
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Understanding the brain will require the collection and interpretation of vast amounts of data. This month's Nature Neuroscience includes
a series of Perspectives articles — available free online — on the new 'large-scale' neuroscience. This focus, sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health, critically appraises high-throughput methods such as proteomics, microarrays and multiple-electrode recording, and evaluates the current and future database resources that such studies require.

focus
Scaling up neuroscience
Nature Neuroscience 7, May 2004
www.nature.com/neuro

Resurrecting DNA

For a long time, studying ancient DNA was dependant on finding a well-preserved specimen, such as one that was trapped in amber or ice. The new technique of ancestral reconstruction allows us to dispense with such rare finds by inferring ancient sequences from extant ones, building them, making them express the protein and then testing the protein's function in the laboratory. As discussed by Joseph Thornton in May's Nature Reviews Genetics, this approach offers a powerful new way to empirically test hypotheses about the function of genes from the deep evolutionary past.

reviews
Resurrecting ancient genes: experimental analysis of extinct molecules
J. W. THORNTON
Nature Reviews Genetics 5, 366; May 2004
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Malaria-resistant mice

The course of infectious disease is determined not only by the virulence of the offending pathogen, but also by the complex genetics of its host. In a recent study published in Genes and Immunity, Min-Oo et al. begin to unravel the genetics of susceptibility to malaria. Using a mouse model infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi AS, the team identified a new locus, Char4, which appears to protect against the disease. Closer examination revealed that this protective effect is associated with pyruvate kinase deficiency, and may be a consequence of haemolytic anaemia. The authors speculate that this mechanism may yield new targets for the treatment of the disease in humans. This review is free online until the end of June.

full papers
Phenotypic expression of pyruvate kinase deficiency and protection against malaria in a mouse model
G. MIN-OO et al.
Genes and Immunity 5, 168; (May 2004)
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Home: The final frontier for second-hand smoke

The health risks of smoking tobacco indoors to both smokers and those around them are both extensive and well documented. Several states have reacted to these hazards by implementing restrictions on workplace smoking, including bans on smoking in bars and restaurants. The impact of smoking inside homes, however, has been largely absent from the realms of both scientific research and public policy. In a recent supplement to the Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, William W. Nazaroff and Brett C. Singer narrow this gap by quantifying the scope and the health effects of in-home smoking. The authors calculate levels of exposure to indoor air pollutants and carcinogens from household tobacco smoke for the 31 million nonsmokers living with at-home smokers, at least 16 million of which are juveniles.

research article
Inhalation of hazardous air pollutants from environmental tobacco smoke in US residences
WILLIAM W. NAZAROFF& BRETT C. SINGER
Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 14, S71 - S77
(April 2004)
| Abstract | Full Text (HTML/PDF) |

Pharmacogenetics and breast cancer therapies

Preliminary pharmacogenetic data strongly suggest an important role for the use of germline genetic information in individualized treatment and prevention of breast cancer. Early results indicate that patterns of gene expression determined on primary tumors may predict sensitivity or resistance to common breast cancer treatments. In the current issue of The Pharmacogenomics Journal, Vered Stearns and colleagues provide a comprehensive review of recent developments in breast cancer genetics research, while also presenting specific genes implicated in drug metabolism and response.

clinical implication
Pharmacogenetics in breast cancer treatment
V. STEARNS, N.E. DAVIDSON, AND D.A. FLOCKHART
The Pharmacogenomics Journal 4, 143-153; (May 2004),
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