Browse Articles

The genes encoding cryptochromes are implicated in regulating circadian rhythms in mammals. Ono and colleagues monitor circadian rhythms in cultured suprachiasmatic nucleus tissue from transgenic mice lacking cryptochromes, and find that circadian rhythms are present in neonates but not mature animals.

Mono-ADP-ribosylation is a recently discovered post-translational modification whose function remains unclear. Verheugd et al. show that the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase ARTD10 inhibits NF-κB activation by preventing the poly-ubiquitination of NEMO, suggesting a functional link between these two modifications.

A promising route towards molecular devices is the self-assembly of atoms or molecules on a surface. Here, Gruznev et al. show that the synthesis of unique geometries of C₆₀molecules on gold–indium-covered crystalline silicon is governed by moiré interference.

Diamond is of interest for optical and electronic applications owing to its unique mechanical and optical properties. Here, Rath et al. demonstrate the use of small nanometre-sized beams etched from diamond thin films for integrated photonic circuits.

Phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors are under development as anti-inflammatory drugs, however, their mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Komatsu et al. show that Rolipram, a specific inhibitor of PDE4, reduces inflammation in a model of middle ear infection by upregulating the deubiquitinase CYLD.

Many insects cling to surfaces by means of specific bristles on the tips of their legs. Peisker et al. show that in the beetle Coccinella septempunctatathe composition and stiffness of these bristles vary dramatically along their length, likely allowing for a better grip to uneven surfaces.

Carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) measured in marine and terrestrial substrates indicate large-scale changes in the global carbon cycle. Schubert and Jahren show that larger-amplitude CIEs measured in terrestrial substrates reflect increased carbon isotope fractionation by land plants under elevated atmospheric CO₂.

Studying the structural dynamics of clusters of just a handful of atoms is challenging. But by imaging a cluster of six silicon atoms trapped in a pore of a sheet of graphene with an electron microscope, Lee et al. observe the reversible switching of the cluster between different metastable structural states.

It is thought that only climate change drives temporal tree mortality increases in old forests. Here, Luo and Chen show that both forest dynamics and climate change drive temporal tree mortality increases in young and old forests, and that climate change-associated mortality increases are higher in the young forests.

Inhibition of return describes a mechanism in humans and monkeys whereby the visual detection of recently attended objects or locations is impaired. Gabay et al.find that inhibition of return is also present in archer fish, meaning that a fully developed cortex is not needed for this mechanism.

The ability to add and move individual atoms on a surface with a scanning tunnelling microscope enables precise control over the electronic quantum states of the surface. Schofield et al. show that removing hydrogen atoms from a passivated silicon surface can be used to generate and control such states.

The interactions of quasiparticles can be described by renormalizing their masses, such that some materials have a vanishingly small effective mass, whereas others have a very high effective mass. The observation by Vyalikh and colleagues of both extremes occurring on the surface and interior of the same material offers a new view of many-body interactions.

Recently, the NASA MESSENGER mission reported signatures of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in the magnetic environment of Mercury. Using global hybrid kinetic simulations, Paral and Rankin reproduce these observations, revealing a dawn–dusk asymmetry in the instability.

Klf5 is a transcription factor that regulates self-renewal of pluripotent stem cells. Here the authors test the function of Klf5 in somatic stem cells, and discover that it controls stem cell homing and adhesion by regulating endocytosis of beta integrins.

The atmosphere of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, consists of orange-yellow haze, but its formation and dynamics are not well understood. Here laboratory studies show that Titan’s lower atmosphere is photochemically active and the formation of complex prebiotic precursor molecules occurs at lower altitudes.

A model-independent protocol is developed for reconstructing a two-dimensional particle from multiparticle diffraction images. The method is verified experimentally with gold nanostructures, paving the way towards single-molecule imaging using high-intensity X-ray free-electron laser pulses.

GRASP proteins are thought to play a role in maintaining the stacked structure of the Golgi complex. Xiang et al. discover that depletion of GRASPs accelerates Golgi traffic, but reduces the complexity of Golgi protein glycosylation.

The transcription factor Ets2 is expressed in the extraembryonic ectoderm tropoblast during gastrulation. Here, the authors use Ets2 knock-out mice to show that Ets2 signalling is required for gastrulation, primitive streak elongation and development and the mesoderm epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

The spin states associated with nitrogen vacancies in diamond could be useful in the development of solid-state quantum information processing. Laraoui et al. resolve the temporal dynamics of spins associated with C-13 atoms near such vacancies to better understand and perhaps better exploit their behaviour.

Gamma oscillations act to synchronize neuronal activity and are implicated in cognitive processing. Using in vivo electrophysiology, Shinohara et al. find that gamma oscillations and associated structural changes are greater in right-sided hippocampi of enriched environment-reared rats.