Articles

A detailed assessment of near-shore temperature changes is needed for improved forecasts of the consequences of coastal warming. Here, changes in coastal sea surface temperature are estimated, showing that although 71% of the world's coastlines are warming, the rates of change have varied spatially.

The exact speed of spoken word processing by our brain is still unknown. Using MEG to compare brain responses to words and pseudowords, MacGregoret al. show that lexical processing occurs 50 ms after acoustic information is presented, suggesting that our brain's access to word information is near-instantaneous.

Perturbation of the cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel, Na_V1.5, by drugs or inherited mutation can underlie and trigger cardiac arrhythmias. Here, the role of the Na_V1.5 carboxy terminus in channel inactivation is investigated, and structural details of an arrhythmia associated H6 mutant are reported.

Interpolar microtubules were thought to be indispensable for eukaryotic cell division. Here, Akera and colleagues demonstrate that the second division of meiosis in yeast can occur in the absence of interpolar microtubules, and identify the forespore membrane as a force producing structure in cell division.

Grain boundaries in graphene degrade its properties, and large single-crystal graphene is desirable for electronic applications of graphene. Gaoet al. develop a method to produce millimetre-sized hexagonal single-crystal graphene grains, and films composed of the grains, on platinum by chemical vapour deposition.

TLRs have a role in innate immunity and TLR4 recognizes lipopolysaccharide on the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. Now, Doyle and colleagues show that a transmembrane protein TMED7, similar to aDrosophilahomologue, can negatively control TLR4 signalling, suggesting a conserved role in innate immunity.

Influenza vaccines are updated frequently to accommodate changing influenza antigenicity. Here, the authors develop a new computational method for predicting the antigenicity of H3N2 influenza strains based on the HA sequence.

Irreparable DNA damage leads to apoptosis or senescence. Hewittet al. show that, in response to genotoxic or oxidative stress, DNA damage occurs predominantly at telomere associated foci, which accumulate with age in vivo, irrespective of telomerase activity.

Animals track odour trails to find food, a mate or to steer clear of danger. Bhalla and colleagues combine behavioural and physiological measurements to show that rats can track surface-borne odours with near-optimal sampling and are able to predict the path direction on encountering a bifurcation.

Intracellular temperature mapping has not previously been achieved. Now, a fluorescent polymeric thermometer has been developed that can be used in combination with fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy to allow thermometry with spatial and temperature resolutions of 200 nm and 0.18–0.58 ° C.

Testosterone-dependent traits are thought to give an honest signal of male immune function, however, the exact effects remain unclear. This study shows a positive relationship between testosterone, facial attractiveness and the immune response to a hepatitis B vaccine, which is moderated by naturally co-occurring cortisol.

Minimising reflection from the interface between materials is an important goal for optical devices such as solar cells or photodetectors. Spinelliet al. show almost total loss of reflection over a broad spectral range from a silicon surface using periodic arrays of sub-wavelength silicon nanocylinders.

Light scattering from nanoscale objects can be dramatically enhanced in the proximity of optical antennas. Here, by studying the amplitude and phase of the light scattered from a tip located at the hot spot of an antenna, the underlying electromagnetic mechanism of this enhancement is resolved.

Radiative interactions between oscillators in optical systems produce new optical properties. Here, radiative coupling in a Bragg-fashioned, stacked arrangement of plasmonic structures yields a tunable photonic band gap of up to one octave at optical frequencies.

HOX9AandMEIS1are key oncogenes in MLL-rearranged leukaemia. miRNA-196b is shown here to directly suppress their expression and delay MLL-fusion-mediated leukaemia, but to also cause an aggressive leukaemia phenotype when expressed ectopically, suggesting that it targets tumour suppressors as well.

Light-emitting diodes in the form of nanocrystals offer promise for environmental and biomedical diagnostics. Brovelliet al. present a method for realizing mechanically robust and chemically stable nanocrystals emitting light in the ultraviolet range.

It is unclear whether pathogens can advantageously exploit the host's immune response. UsingCandida albicans, the authors show that host IL-17A binds to the fungi and induces nutrient starvation and autophagy, which eventually leads to enhanced biofilm formation and resistance to the hosts' defence.

GALgenes enhance their own transcription via the transcription factor Gal4p, and the number of Galp4 sites in a promoter is expected to strengthen the feedback. In this study, Hsuet al. show that instead the feedback loops are activated by genes that have frequent bursts of expression and fast RNA decay kinetics.

The peripheral stalks of rotary ATPases counteract torque generated by rotation of the central stalk during ATP synthesis or hydrolysis. Stewartet al.report the crystal structure of an A-type ATPase/synthase peripheral stalk and identify bending and twisting motions that permit the radial wobbling of the headgroup.

Humans understand actions by making inferences about the person's intentions. Comparing humans with chimpanzees, this study shows that humans refer to the actors' faces more than chimpanzees do when observing goal-directed actions, indicating that humans view actions by integrating information from the actor.