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News & Views |
A microbe that uses crude oil to make methane
A microorganism that dwells in an underground oil reservoir has been found to degrade various petroleum compounds and use them to produce methane through a previously unreported biochemical pathway.
- Guillaume Borrel
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Article |
MicroRNA sequence codes for small extracellular vesicle release and cellular retention
MicroRNAs encode sorting sequences that determine whether they are secreted in exosomal vesicles to regulate gene expression in distant cells or retained in cells that produced them, with different sequences used by individual cell types.
- Ruben Garcia-Martin
- , Guoxiao Wang
- & C. Ronald Kahn
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Article |
A hormone complex of FABP4 and nucleoside kinases regulates islet function
Hormonal FABP4 is discovered to be a pivotal regulator of an adipose–beta-cell endocrine axis that coordinates energy status and metabolic organ function, and targeting this axis improved metabolic outcomes.
- Kacey J. Prentice
- , Jani Saksi
- & Gökhan S. Hotamisligil
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Article |
Structural basis of inhibition of the human SGLT2–MAP17 glucose transporter
Using cryogenic electron microscopy, the structure of the human SGLT2–MAP17 complex captured in the empagliflozin-bound state reveals the inhibitory mechanism of these anti-diabetic drugs.
- Yange Niu
- , Rui Liu
- & Lei Chen
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Outline |
The surgical solution to congenital heart defects
Some babies are born with hearts that have missing or malformed parts. A series of delicate operations can fix the damage and extend the lives of these children.
- Benjamin Plackett
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Outline |
How to repair a baby’s broken heart
Some babies are born with a rare disorder in which only one of the lower chambers of their heart works properly. These single-ventricle defects (SVDs) can be managed through a complex series of operations.
- Benjamin Plackett
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Outline |
Video: Babies with misshapen hearts
Babies born with one small or malformed ventricle can be treated with a series of surgeries, but new techniques could allow doctors to begin treatment from within the womb.
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Article |
Aldehyde-driven transcriptional stress triggers an anorexic DNA damage response
Endogenous formaldehyde accumulation reveals Cockayne syndrome in mice and stimulates production of the anorexiogenic peptide GDF15 in proximal tubule cells.
- Lee Mulderrig
- , Juan I. Garaycoechea
- & Ketan J. Patel
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Article |
IL-27 signalling promotes adipocyte thermogenesis and energy expenditure
Therapeutic administration of IL-27—serum levels of which are decreased in individuals with obesity—improves thermogenesis, protects against diet-induced obesity and ameliorates insulin resistance in mouse models of obesity.
- Qian Wang
- , Dehai Li
- & Zhinan Yin
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News & Views |
A mediator of metabolic signals influences puberty and growth
Variants of the melanocortin 3 receptor are associated with delayed puberty and reduced growth, suggesting that this receptor might integrate signals of metabolic status that affect body growth and sexual maturation.
- Alejandro Lomniczi
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Article |
MC3R links nutritional state to childhood growth and the timing of puberty
MC3R deficiency is associated with a delay in the onset of puberty, and a reduction in growth and lean mass.
- B. Y. H. Lam
- , A. Williamson
- & S. O’Rahilly
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Outlook |
Homing in on an oral link to inflammatory disease
The immunological effects of untreated gum disease can amplify risk of a range of disorders — but could also create opportunities for intervention.
- Michael Eisenstein
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Article |
Glycogen metabolism links glucose homeostasis to thermogenesis in adipocytes
Increased glycogen metabolism in adipocytes leads to expression of uncoupling protein 1, thereby linking glucose metabolism to thermogenesis.
- Omer Keinan
- , Joseph M. Valentine
- & Alan R. Saltiel
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News & Views |
Diet comparison suggests a lipid imbalance can slow tumour growth
Understanding how diet affects tumour growth could lead to better treatments. Analysis in mice reveals that a low-calorie diet, but not a ketogenic diet, slows the growth of pancreatic cancer. This effect is mediated by lipid changes.
- Giulia Salvadori
- & Valter D. Longo
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News & Views |
A two-step hormone-signalling mechanism that drives physical activity
In mice, the ovarian hormone oestradiol sensitizes neurons in a brain region called the hypothalamus to a melanocortin hormone that signals an energy surplus. Their dual activation increases physical activity.
- Stephanie L. Padilla
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News & Views |
Opioid peptide signal in the brain makes mice hungrier for reward
Release of opioid peptide in the brain leads food-deprived mice to eat more sugar than do mice that are well fed. This opioid signalling mechanism fine-tunes the reward value of food according to the animal’s state.
- Lola Welsch
- & Brigitte L. Kieffer
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News & Views |
Electroacupuncture activates neurons to switch off inflammation
Neurons that express a specific molecular marker are activated by ‘electroacupuncture’ stimulation. They can then mediate the treatment’s anti-inflammatory effects in a mouse model of the inflammatory condition sepsis.
- Luis Ulloa
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Nature Podcast |
How electric acupuncture zaps inflammation in mice
The neurons behind acupuncture’s effect on inflammation, and how antibiotics affect gut bacteria.
- Benjamin Thompson
- & Shamini Bundell
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Article |
Convergent somatic mutations in metabolism genes in chronic liver disease
Whole-genome sequencing analysis of somatic mutations in liver samples from patients with chronic liver disease identifies driver mutations in metabolism-related genes such as FOXO1, and shows that these variants frequently exhibit convergent evolution.
- Stanley W. K. Ng
- , Foad J. Rouhani
- & Peter J. Campbell
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Article |
Oestrogen engages brain MC4R signalling to drive physical activity in female mice
A subset of oestrogen-sensitive neurons integrate melanocortin and oestrogen signalling to rebalance energy allocation in female mice leading to reduced sedentary behaviour and decreasing obesity in oestrogen-depleted female mice
- William C. Krause
- , Ruben Rodriguez
- & Holly A. Ingraham
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Article |
A neuroanatomical basis for electroacupuncture to drive the vagal–adrenal axis
Neuroanatomical findings demonstrate why electroactupuncture at only specific acupoints can drive the vagal–adrenal axis and treat inflammation in mice.
- Shenbin Liu
- , Zhifu Wang
- & Qiufu Ma
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Article |
Structural basis of cytokine-mediated activation of ALK family receptors
Structural studies of the complex of anaplastic lymphoma kinase and leukocyte tyrosine kinase and their activating cytokines identify unique architectural features of the complex, and provide a novel mechanistic paradigm among receptor tyrosine kinases.
- Steven De Munck
- , Mathias Provost
- & Savvas N. Savvides
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Article |
Structure and assembly of the mammalian mitochondrial supercomplex CIII2CIV
SCAF1 is solely required for supercomplex CIII2CIV assembly and is not involved in the formation of the respirasome (supercomplex CICIII2CIV)
- Irene Vercellino
- & Leonid A. Sazanov
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Article
| Open AccessThalamic circuits for independent control of prefrontal signal and noise
Two different cell types in the mediodorsal thalamus have complementary roles in decision-making, with one type of mediodorsal projection amplifying prefrontal activity under low signal levels and one type suppressing it under high noise levels.
- Arghya Mukherjee
- , Norman H. Lam
- & Michael M. Halassa
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News & Views |
Evidence that overnight fasting could extend healthy lifespan
A feeding schedule of prolonged overnight fasting periods extends healthy lifespan in fruit flies by promoting night-time autophagy, a process in which material in cells is degraded and recycled.
- Stephen L. Helfand
- & Rafael de Cabo
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Article |
Circadian autophagy drives iTRF-mediated longevity
Circadian-regulated autophagy contributes to the health benefits of intermittent time-restricted feeding in Drosophila.
- Matt Ulgherait
- , Adil M. Midoun
- & Mimi Shirasu-Hiza
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Book Review |
A meander around many circulatory systems
Of hearts, and myriad other ways natural selection has hit on to sustain multicellular life.
- Henry Nicholls
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Research Highlight |
Humans walk efficiently even with their heads in the clouds
Exoskeleton-clad volunteers show that adapting to an energy-saving pace requires almost no attention.
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News Feature |
COVID vaccines and blood clots: what researchers know so far
Scientists are trying to understand why a small number of people develop a mysterious clotting disorder after receiving a COVID jab.
- Heidi Ledford
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News |
Gene errors, electric cars — the week in infographics
Nature highlights three key infographics from the week in science and research.
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News & Views |
Fructose in the diet expands the surface of the gut and promotes nutrient absorption
Feeding mice high-fructose corn syrup, a widely used sweetener in human diets, has been found to drive an increase in the surface area of the gut that is associated with enhanced absorption of dietary nutrients and weight gain.
- Patrícia M. Nunes
- & Dimitrios Anastasiou
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Article |
Dietary fructose improves intestinal cell survival and nutrient absorption
A high-fructose diet in mice improves the survival of intestinal epithelial cells, which leads to an increase in gut surface area, enhanced absorption of lipids and the promotion of tumour growth and obesity.
- Samuel R. Taylor
- , Shakti Ramsamooj
- & Marcus D. Goncalves
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News & Views |
A persistent look at how tumours evade therapy
Understanding how resistance to chemotherapy occurs could lead to better anticancer treatments. Persister cells in tumours can contribute to this resistance. A method to characterize these cells in detail sheds light on their origins.
- Karen Gomez
- & Raul Rabadan
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News & Views |
A brain signal that coordinates thought with metabolism
In a brain structure called the hippocampus, sharp wave-ripples — oscillatory hallmarks of an ‘offline’ mode of cognitive processing — have been found to predict dips in glucose concentrations in the body.
- Manfred Hallschmid
- & Jan Born
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News |
Doubts raised about cooling treatment for oxygen-deprived newborns
Widely-used technique is associated with increased mortality in low- and middle-income countries.
- Max Kozlov
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Article |
A metabolic function of the hippocampal sharp wave-ripple
Sharp wave-ripples from the hippocampus are shown to modulate peripheral glucose homeostasis in rats, offering insights into the mechanism that links sleep disruption and blood glucose regulation in type 2 diabetes.
- David Tingley
- , Kathryn McClain
- & György Buzsáki
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Review Article |
Exploring tissue architecture using spatial transcriptomics
This review describes the state of spatial transcriptomics technologies and analysis tools that are being used to generate biological insights in diverse areas of biology.
- Anjali Rao
- , Dalia Barkley
- & Itai Yanai
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Research Highlight |
An absorbing tale: poison dart frogs might have a ‘toxin sponge’
Experiments suggest that the frogs use internal proteins to soak up their own toxins.
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Article |
Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing
Hundreds of genetic loci associated with age at menopause, combined with experimental evidence in mice, highlight mechanisms of reproductive ageing across the lifespan.
- Katherine S. Ruth
- , Felix R. Day
- & John R. B. Perry
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Article
| Open AccessRewiring of the ubiquitinated proteome determines ageing in C. elegans
Global loss of targeted protein degradation with age results in harmful accumulation of specific proteins in worms.
- Seda Koyuncu
- , Rute Loureiro
- & David Vilchez
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News & Views |
How the amino acid leucine activates the key cell-growth regulator mTOR
Cells can tailor their growth to current conditions by sensing nutrients. The protein complex mTORC1 enables cell growth to be coordinated with the level of certain amino acids, and how it senses the amino acid leucine has now become clearer.
- Tibor Vellai
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Article |
Gut cytokines modulate olfaction through metabolic reprogramming of glia
Glial metabolic reprogramming by gut-derived cytokines in Drosophila results in lasting changes in the sensory system of an ageing organism
- Xiaoyu Tracy Cai
- , Hongjie Li
- & Heinrich Jasper
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Research Highlight |
Why a meat-free diet boosts health: protein levels might hit the spot
An analysis shows that the amino-acid profiles of vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets are similar.
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News & Views |
Deciphering metabolism, one microbe at a time
Small molecules produced and modified by gut microorganisms can influence human physiology. An atlas of metabolic outputs of diverse gut microbes offers new ways to decipher the microbial mechanisms behind their production.
- William F. Kindschuh
- & Tal Korem
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News |
‘Pregnant’ male rat study kindles bioethical debate in China
Researchers question the value of the experiment — which involved sewing together male and female rats and led to the birth of live young.
- Smriti Mallapaty
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Article |
Structure of a mammalian sperm cation channel complex
A structure of the sperm-specific CatSper complex features a number of additional components; together, these components and the CatSper complex are termed the CatSpermasome.
- Shiyi Lin
- , Meng Ke
- & Jianping Wu
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Article |
Asymmetric activation of the calcium-sensing receptor homodimer
Cryo-EM structures of human calcium-sensing receptor reveal intrinsic asymmetry in the receptor homodimer upon activation that is stabilized by calcimimetic drugs adopting distinct poses in the two protomers, priming one protomer for G-protein coupling.
- Yang Gao
- , Michael J. Robertson
- & Georgios Skiniotis
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Article |
Caloric restriction disrupts the microbiota and colonization resistance
Severe caloric restriction in humans leads to reversible changes in the gut microbiota that promote weight loss and the expansion of an enteric pathogen in mice.
- Reiner Jumpertz von Schwartzenberg
- , Jordan E. Bisanz
- & Peter J. Turnbaugh
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Article |
GluD1 is a signal transduction device disguised as an ionotropic receptor
The ionotropic glutamate delta receptors GluD1 and GluD2 form distinct neurexin–cerebellin complexes that differentially regulate postsynaptic glutamate receptor activities.
- Jinye Dai
- , Christopher Patzke
- & Thomas C. Südhof