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The Notch signaling pathway has a key role in shaping the developing heart. Guillermo Luxán et al. identify two human mutations in the gene encoding the Notch pathway protein MIB1 that cause a type of cardiomyopathy, left ventricular noncompaction. The authors show that mice lacking Mib1 in the myocardium have a similar type of cardiomyopathy and analyze how MIB1 deficiency leads to defective ventricular development.
Much of the current understanding of oxygen transport at the capillary level comes from mathematical models. Building on earlier work, Alexandre Parpaleix and his colleagues use two-photon phosphorescence lifetime microscopy to show how brain activity can be noninvasively imaged from measurements of oxygen dynamics in capillaries. They demonstrate the presence of an oxygen partial pressure (PO2) initial dip at the level of capillaries and show that tissue PO2 can be inferred from erythrocyte-associated transient values.
India has become a hotbed of clinical trials, but recent reports of safety lapses have prompted calls for better regulation in this area. Currently, trial requirements can be relaxed if doing so is in the 'public interest', but a clearer definition of what this means is needed before this provision should be used.
Several physiological and pathological events taking place postnatally in or around the pancreatic islets of Langerhans have been implicated in the initiation of type 1 diabetes. A new study highlights the contribution of neutrophils and how they, together with B1a cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), may start the autoimmune process (pages 65–73).
Cells and tissues are often subjected to stressful environments that challenge homeostasis and can include oxidative, nutrient or metabolic stress. Cell survival requires the recruitment of stress pathways that 'defend' the internal homeostatic environment of the cell. Recent studies indicate that activation of some of these existing pathways is beneficial to whole-body metabolism. Now, mice with a muscle-specific autophagy deficiency are shown to adapt to stress through a newly discovered endocrine pathway involving fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) (pages 83–92).
In December 2011, Stephen O'Brien stepped down as head of the US National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Genomic Diversity and took up a three-year, $5 million 'megagrant' in Russia through a program started a year earlier by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. O'Brien used his money to help launch the Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics at Saint Petersburg State University. On a trip back to the US, O'Brien spoke with Elie Dolgin about his new Russian center.
Recent headlines have promised that a 'universal flu vaccine' may be within reach, pointing to antibodies that offer broad protection in animal studies. But the scientists behind this effort had to first overcome great skepticism from their peers—as well as an imperfect laboratory test. Hannah Hoag reports on one virologist's 20-year effort to challenge the tenets of the field.
