Reviews & Analysis

The fission of organelles called mitochondria has now been linked to the stress-sensor protein AMPK. When activated by stress, this protein phosphorylates the mitochondrial receptor protein MFF, which recruits the fission machinery.

Nanoparticles coated with fragments of the body's own proteins are shown to induce T cells of the immune system to adopt regulatory functions that suppress autoimmune reactions involving these self-antigens. See Article p.434

The discovery of sex-biased proliferation in the intestinal stem cells of fruit-fly midguts reveals that the organ's size is determined by a previously undefined, sex-specific molecular pathway. See Letter p.344

The force exerted by light on an object has been used to pair photons with quantum units of mechanical vibration. This paves the way for mechanical oscillators to act as interfaces between photons and other quantum systems. See Letter p.313

Satellite data have allowed scientists to generate a quantitative model to assess the response rates of different ecosystems to climate variability. The index provides a tool for comparing regional sensitivity and resilience. See Letter p.229

It emerges that ice discharge from a major ice sheet did not increase rapidly at the end of the most recent ice age. The finding points to steady, not catastrophic, ice-sheet loss and sea-level rise on millennial timescales. See Letter p.322

In Hirschsprung disease, the enteric nervous system (ENS) is missing from the distal bowel. It emerges that postnatal transplantation of stem-cell-derived ENS precursors can prevent death in a mouse model of the disease. See Letter p.105

A method has been devised that extends the resolution of X-ray crystal structures beyond the diffraction limit. This might help to improve the visualization of structures of proteins that form 'poorly diffracting' crystals. See Letter p.202

Cross-cultural experiments find that belief in moralistic, knowledgeable and punishing gods promotes cooperation with strangers, supporting a role for religion in the expansion of human societies. See Letter p.327

Planets develop from the disk of dust and gas that surrounds a newly formed star. Observations of gaps in the disks of four such systems have allowed us to start unravelling the processes by which planets form.

Injecting electrons that have been accelerated by a laser-powered plasma wave into a second plasma wave represents a two-step electron accelerator. With 100 such steps, collider applications become possible. See Letter p.190

The selective elimination of cells that have adopted an irreversible, senescent state has now been shown to extend the lifespan of mice and to ameliorate some age-related disease processes. See Article p.184

The response of electrons in atoms to ultrashort optical light pulses has been probed by measuring the ultraviolet light emitted by the atoms. This reveals that a finite time delay occurs before the response. See Letter p.66

Connective-tissue cells known as fibroblasts display an increasing spectrum of functions. Different fibroblast subtypes are now shown to either promote or suppress inflammation-associated intestinal cancers.

The part that the mouse gene Prdm9 plays in generating double-strand breaks in DNA has now been linked to its putative role in speciation, thanks to experiments that use a 'humanized' version of the gene. See Article p.171

A large phylogenomics study reveals that the symbiotic event that led to the emergence of organelles known as mitochondria may have occurred later in the evolution of complex cells than was thought. See Letter p.101

Newly mapped features on the floor of the Arctic Ocean suggest that the Arctic basin was once covered by a one-kilometre-thick, flowing ice shelf derived from large ice sheets in eastern Siberia, Arctic Canada and the Barents Sea.

The water-splitting reaction is a promising route to renewable energy. Catalytic hotspots, and the best sites for co-catalyst placement, have now been pinpointed in a water-splitting catalyst, guiding future catalyst design. See Letter p.77