Browse Articles

Memory retrieval followed by extinction training has been shown to erase fear memories. Flavellet al. show that this approach also erases appetitive memories in rats and results from a modification of memory reconsolidation, which could be useful for the treatment of drug addiction.

Nanofluidic diodes are utilized for the rectification of ionic transport, but their rectifying properties cannot be altered after the devices are made. Here, a field-effect reconfigurable nanofluidic diode is reported in which the forward direction and the degree of rectification can be modulated by a gate voltage.

The interfaces between complex oxides can play host to a range of interesting electronic phenomena. Xieet al. demonstrate that the electronic properties at the LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃interface can be tuned upon application of common polar solvents such as acetone, ethanol and water.

Hoop-shaped aromatic hydrocarbons can be considered as finite models of single-wall carbon nanotubes. Hitosugiet al. describe the bottom-up synthesis of a macrocyclic tetramer of chrysene, and show that its persistent rotational isomers are finite models of chiral nanotubes.

The Early Palaeoproterozoic saw glaciations and a rise in atmospheric oxygen, but the link between these two changes is poorly understood. Here, osmium isotope records from sedimentary rocks indicate synchronicity between an episode of increasing oxygen and a glacial transition.

Molecular probes that can detect aqueous sulphides could help to elucidate their roles in biological signalling. Qianet al. develop two sulphide-selective fluorescent probes and demonstrate their ability to image free sulphide in living cells.

In non-NMDA glutamate receptors, intersubunit contacts within agonist binding domains affect functional desensitization. Now, NMDA receptor activation, but not desensitization, is shown to involve rearrangements at the heterodimer interface, suggesting that the intersubunit contacts of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors may have distinct functional roles.

The Golgi membrane is fragmented during mitosis and is subsequently fused following cell division and this process is known to be controlled by ubiquitination. In this study, the ubiquitin ligase HACE1 is shown to be targeted to the Golgi membrane and is required for fusion after the completion of mitosis.

Radiomitigating compounds could be used to protect against ionizing radiation. In this study, mitochondria-targeted oleic and stearic acid derivatives are shown to inhibit pro-apoptotic oxidative events, prevent cell death, and protect mice against lethal doses of radiation.

Ampullary organs are involved in electroreception, but whether these are derived from placodes, thickened ectoderm, is unclear. In this study, the ampullary organs of the primitive ray-finned fish,Polyodon spathula, are shown to develop from lateral line placodes, suggesting that this is the ancestral state in bony fishes.

The folding of multidomain proteins can involve metastable intermediate states. Here, a single-molecule FRET based method is developed and used to identify six metastable states in the folding landscape of the three-domain protein adenylate kinase.

During development, waves of gene expression are required for segmentation of the body axis. In this study, repeated splitting of a wave of hedgehog gene expression is shown during segmentation of the spiderAchaearanea tepidariorum.

The fusion of satellite cells to muscle fibres during adult life is required for both muscle growth and regeneration but it is unknown whether non-muscle cells contribute to this process. Now, Dellavalle and colleagues show that pericytes, cells associated with the vasculature can contribute to both growth and regeneration of muscle fibres.

Modelling of chaos and oscillations is usually done indirectly and quantitatively by fitting models to a finite number of data-points. Here, a qualitative framework is developed where the characteristics of the underlying dynamical system are directly specified, revealing new properties of such systems.

The generation of human cell lines using somatic cell nuclear transfer has been difficult to achieve. In this study, Egliet al. show that while mouse eggs reprogram somatic cells within hours, human eggs arrest after nuclear transfer which may be due to a lack of genome transcription.

The ability to control the charge and spin of single molecules at metal interfaces underpins the concept of molecular electronics. Mugarzaet al. examine these properties using scanning tunnelling microscopy, and uncover their influence on the magnetism and transport properties of the molecule/metal systems.

The role of phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate in exocytosis is unclear. This study shows that inhibition of the p110δ isoform of PI3-kinase promotes a transient increase in phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate, leading to a potentiation of exocytosis in chromaffin cells.

Simple routes to self-assembling magnetic materials are elusive. Tew and colleagues produce copolymers containing cobalt complexes, which phase separate to give ferromagnetic properties at room temperature following heat treatment.

Nanocrystals are used in light-emitting diodes and solar cells, but their charge transport in films is unclear. Here, the study of PbS nanocrystal films reveals the role of mid-gap states in their charge transport, suggesting different design needs for devices operated in dark (transistors) versus light (solar cells) conditions.

Advanced biofuels with comparable properties to petroleum-based fuels could be microbially produced from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study,Escherichia coliis engineered to produce bisabolene, the immediate precursor of bisabolane, a biosynthetic alternative to D2 diesel.