Research Highlight |
Featured
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News |
Stem-cell therapies use immune system to repair broken hearts
Study in mice shows that a chemical can also improve the organs’ performance.
- David Cyranoski
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Article |
PGRMC2 is an intracellular haem chaperone critical for adipocyte function
Progesterone receptor membrane component 2 is required to transport haem from the mitochondria to the nucleus, where, in adipose tissue, it has roles in regulation of thermogenesis and glucose metabolism.
- Andrea Galmozzi
- , Bernard P. Kok
- & Enrique Saez
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Book Review |
From sci-fi reality to sound, jet stream to light speed: Books in brief
Andrew Robinson reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
- Andrew Robinson
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News & Views |
Histone lactylation links metabolism and gene regulation
Cells regulate gene expression in part through the chemical labelling of histone proteins. Discovery of a label derived from lactate molecules reveals a way in which cells link gene expression to nutrient metabolism.
- Luke T. Izzo
- & Kathryn E. Wellen
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Book Review |
Testosterone book sifts truths from tall tales
A look at hormone studies dissects fact from fake and questions interpretations — Randi Hutter Epstein reviews.
- Randi Hutter Epstein
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News & Views |
Brain-to-pancreas signalling axis links nicotine and diabetes
The discovery of a signalling axis that connects nicotine responses in the brain with glucose metabolism by the pancreas sheds light on why cigarette smoking increases the risk of diabetes.
- Giuseppe Bruschetta
- & Sabrina Diano
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Article |
Habenular TCF7L2 links nicotine addiction to diabetes
The transcription factor TCF7L2 mediates two important responses to nicotine in the medial habenula region of the rodent brain: aversion to nicotine, and regulation of blood sugar levels through a polysynaptic habenula–pancreas circuit.
- Alexander Duncan
- , Mary P. Heyer
- & Paul J. Kenny
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News & Views |
Alterations to the circadian clock make brain tumours vulnerable
The body’s circadian clock ensures the rhythmic expression of some genes across the day. The catalogue of genes under circadian control changes in an aggressive brain cancer — a discovery that might open up a new avenue for treatment.
- Guiomar Solanas
- & Salvador A. Benitah
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Books & Arts |
Psychedelic psychiatry, breast cancer, and a paean to the emperor penguin: Books in brief
Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
- Barbara Kiser
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News |
Biologists who decoded how cells sense oxygen win medicine Nobel
William Kaelin, Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza share the award for discoveries that are crucial for understanding diseases such as cancer.
- Heidi Ledford
- & Ewen Callaway
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News |
India pushes for alternatives to animals in biomedical research
Organs-on-a-chip and other technologies are becoming reliable models for testing drug efficacy and toxicity.
- Gayathri Vaidyanathan
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Article |
Treatment of type 2 diabetes with the designer cytokine IC7Fc
The chimeric cytokine IC7Fc combines the beneficial effects of the cytokines IL-6 and CNTF on weight loss and metabolism in mice, with no obvious side effects in mice and non-human primates.
- Maria Findeisen
- , Tamara L. Allen
- & Mark A. Febbraio
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Technology Feature |
Microbial chemistry gains fresh focus
The tools of chemical biology, genomics and data mining can yield insights into the metabolites of the microbiome.
- Esther Landhuis
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Article |
Structural insights into the mechanism of human soluble guanylate cyclase
Cryo-electron microscopy structures of human soluble guanylate cyclase in inactive and activated states shed light on the activation mechanism of this enzyme by nitric oxide.
- Yunlu Kang
- , Rui Liu
- & Lei Chen
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Letter |
Targeting cardiac fibrosis with engineered T cells
Adoptive transfer of CAR T cells against the fibroblast marker FAP reduces cardiac fibrosis and restores function after cardiac injury in mice, providing proof-of-principle for the development of immunotherapeutic treatments for cardiac disease.
- Haig Aghajanian
- , Toru Kimura
- & Jonathan A. Epstein
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Books & Arts |
Synthetic meat, racism at the poles, and the long road to the opioid crisis: Books in Brief
Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
- Barbara Kiser
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Outlook |
Working out with weed
Scientists investigate the counter-intuitive connections between exercise and cannabis.
- Tien Nguyen
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Letter |
The flight response impairs cytoprotective mechanisms by activating the insulin pathway
The release of tyramine during the flight response in nematodes activates the DAF-2/insulin–IGF pathway to downregulate cytoprotective mechanisms and shorten lifespan.
- María José De Rosa
- , Tania Veuthey
- & Mark J. Alkema
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Article |
BCAA catabolism in brown fat controls energy homeostasis through SLC25A44
The solute carrier transporter protein SLC25A44 regulates uptake of branched-chain amino acids in mitochondria of brown adipose tissue in which they are utilized for thermogenesis.
- Takeshi Yoneshiro
- , Qiang Wang
- & Shingo Kajimura
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News & Views |
Yeast cells handle stress by reprogramming their metabolism
Stressed yeast cells take up the amino acid lysine and reprogram their metabolism to free up supplies of a stress-relieving molecule. Lysine uptake therefore increases the tolerance of yeast cells to stress.
- Jens Nielsen
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News Feature |
How a revolutionary technique got people with spinal-cord injuries back on their feet
Electrical stimulation has promised huge gains for people with paralysis. Now comes the hard part — getting beyond those first steps.
- Cassandra Willyard
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News & Views |
Lymphatic vessels at the base of the mouse brain provide direct drainage to the periphery
A set of lymphatic vessels that wrap around the base of the mouse brain have been shown to drain fluid from the brain into the peripheral lymphatic system, and to exhibit a decline in function with ageing.
- Taija Mäkinen
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Books & Arts |
A saga of extinction, Tesla in his time, and explorations under the surface of skin: Books in brief
Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
- Barbara Kiser
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Article |
Neural signatures of sleep in zebrafish
Fluorescence-based polysomnography in zebrafish reveals two major sleep signatures that share features with those of amniotes, which suggests that common neural sleep signatures emerged in the vertebrate brain over 450 million years ago.
- Louis C. Leung
- , Gordon X. Wang
- & Philippe Mourrain
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Editorial |
Why calloused bare feet are a better fit than cushioned shoes
The hardened soles of those who live barefoot are still sensitive to what’s underneath.
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News & Views |
Metabolic signal curbs cancer-cell migration
Metastasis, the migration of tumour cells from their primary site, is associated with poor prognosis. A molecule made during cell metabolism limits metastasis, revealing that this metabolite restrains cancer progression.
- Lydia W. S. Finley
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Letter |
Foot callus thickness does not trade off protection for tactile sensitivity during walking
People who frequently walk barefoot have thicker and harder calluses than those who typically use footwear; however, in contrast to shoes, callus thickness does not trade-off protection for the ability to perceive tactile stimuli during walking.
- Nicholas B. Holowka
- , Bert Wynands
- & Daniel E. Lieberman
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News & Views |
Microbes make metabolic mischief by targeting drugs
Tests of whether a range of gut bacteria can metabolize a diverse group of drugs has revealed that all the microbes metabolized some drugs and that more than half of the drugs were metabolized.
- Kim Lewis
- & Philip Strandwitz
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News |
Whole-body PET scanner produces 3D images in seconds
The modified scanner also requires less radioactive exposure, vastly broadening its applications.
- Sara Reardon
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News & Views |
Why brown fat has a lot of nerve
Brown fat in mammals burns stored calories by producing heat, in a process that is controlled by nerves infiltrating this tissue. A protein that regulates innervation of brown fat and heat generation has been discovered.
- Rejji Kuruvilla
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Article |
Innervation of thermogenic adipose tissue via a calsyntenin 3β–S100b axis
The newly identified calsyntenin 3β protein has a role in the innervation of thermogenic fat through a mechanism of communication—which is unique to mammals—between thermogenic adipocytes and sympathetic neurons.
- Xing Zeng
- , Mengchen Ye
- & Bruce M. Spiegelman
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News |
Pig brains kept alive outside body for hours after death
Revival of disembodied organs raises slew of ethical and legal questions about the nature of death and consciousness.
- Sara Reardon
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News |
Snailfish is first animal from extreme ocean depths to get genome sequenced
Gene sequence from fish living in the Mariana Trench reveals clues to living life under pressure.
- Erin I. Garcia de Jesus
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News |
Astronaut twins study spots subtle genetic changes caused by space travel
Some initial effects of long-term spaceflight ebbed in the months after astronaut Scott Kelly returned to Earth.
- Alexandra Witze
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News & Views |
A mouse model for the most common form of heart failure
A mouse model that replicates the clinical features of the most common form of heart failure opens a window on the mechanisms underlying this disease, and could help scientists to explore future therapies.
- Dulguun Amgalan
- & Richard N. Kitsis
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Nature Podcast |
Podcast: Heart failure and vacuum field fluctuations
Hear the latest in science, brought to you by Benjamin Thompson and Charlotte Stoddart.
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Letter |
Structure of ATP citrate lyase and the origin of citrate synthase in the Krebs cycle
Crystal structures of ATP citrate lyase from bacteria, archaea and humans unravel how the enzyme directs the formation of the central metabolite acetyl-CoA, and shed light onto the evolutionary origins of the Krebs cycle.
- Koen H. G. Verschueren
- , Clement Blanchet
- & Kenneth Verstraete
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Letter |
A gut-to-brain signal of fluid osmolarity controls thirst satiation
Drinking behaviour in mice is regulated by a signal derived from the water and salt content of the gastrointestinal tract that is transmitted to forebrain neurons that control thirst via the vagus nerve.
- Christopher A. Zimmerman
- , Erica L. Huey
- & Zachary A. Knight
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Letter |
A potassium channel β-subunit couples mitochondrial electron transport to sleep
Sleep deprivation in Drosophila elevates reactive oxygen species in sleep-promoting neurons, leading to changes in potassium currents and spiking activity and thereby connecting energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and sleep.
- Anissa Kempf
- , Seoho M. Song
- & Gero Miesenböck
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Research Highlight |
Weekend lie-ins don’t compensate for week-long exhaustion
Catching up on sleep over the weekend doesn’t undo the negative metabolic effects of sleep deprivation.
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Article |
An integrative systems genetic analysis of mammalian lipid metabolism
The integration of liver and plasma quantitative lipidomic and proteomic data from 107 distinct mouse strains provides important insights into regulators of mammalian lipid metabolism.
- Benjamin L. Parker
- , Anna C. Calkin
- & Brian G. Drew
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Books & Arts |
The skeleton articulated
Jan Zalasiewicz enjoys Brian Switek’s exploration of how the human scaffold — and our ideas about it — evolved.
- Jan Zalasiewicz
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Books & Arts |
The shadow side of sport, cosmic cataclysms, and human culture underground: Books in brief
Barbara Kiser reviews five of the week’s best science picks.
- Barbara Kiser
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News & Views |
Fresh evidence overturns the identification of a factor involved in blood-vessel dilation
Nine years ago, the compound kynurenine was reported to be responsible for the dilation of blood vessels during a potentially fatal inflammatory condition. New evidence has now identified the true culprit.
- David A. Kass
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News & Views |
How broken sleep promotes cardiovascular disease
The link between sleep and cardiovascular disease is poorly understood. Findings in mice now show that disrupted sleep causes the brain to signal the bone marrow to boost white blood cell production, damaging blood vessels.
- Alan R. Tall
- & Sanja Jelic
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Nature Podcast |
Podcast: Atherosclerosis and disruptive science
Benjamin Thompson and Nick Howe bring you the latest science updates.
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Letter |
Singlet molecular oxygen regulates vascular tone and blood pressure in inflammation
Singlet molecular oxygen, produced by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 activity, gives rise to a signalling molecule that regulates arterial relaxation under inflammatory conditions.
- Christopher P. Stanley
- , Ghassan J. Maghzal
- & Roland Stocker
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Letter |
Sleep modulates haematopoiesis and protects against atherosclerosis
The fragmentation of sleep in Apoe−/− mice induces monocytosis and accelerated atherosclerosis due to a reduction in hypocretin that otherwise restricts bone marrow CSF1 availability.
- Cameron S. McAlpine
- , Máté G. Kiss
- & Filip K. Swirski
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