NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 29 October 2006
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
* Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Magnetic cooling demonstrated in a gas - Nature Physics
A step towards quantum networks - Nature Physics
Seeing the benefits of nanoceria - Nature Nanotechnology
A potential male contraceptive - Nature Medicine
Towards a complete human ‘epigenome’ - Nature Genetics
Small RNAs drive evolution - Nature Genetics
Genetic risk for schizophrenia and brain function - Nature Neuroscience
Knocking out false positives in interaction proteomics - Nature Methods
* Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
* Geographical listing of authors
PDFs of all the papers mentioned on this release can be found in the relevant journal’s section of http://press.nature.com. Press contacts for the Nature journals are listed at the end of this release.
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PLEASE CITE THE SPECIFIC NATURE JOURNAL AND WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO THE APPROPRIATE JOURNAL’S WEBSITE.
***********************************NATURE PHYSICS***************************
(http://www.nature.com/naturephysics <http://www.nature.com/naturematerials>)
[1] Magnetic cooling demonstrated in a gas
DOI: 10.1038/nphys443
The first experimental demonstration of magnetic refrigeration of a gas is reported in the November issue of Nature Physics. Magnetic refrigeration has been used since the 1930s to cool solid samples. Marco Fattori and colleagues now present evidence suggesting that the ‘new old’ method might also be a valuable tool for producing gases close to zero absolute temperature.
Magnetic refrigeration, also known as adiabatic demagnetization cooling, works by exposing suitable materials to a changing magnetic field. The process converts kinetic energy into magnetic energy, leading to a drop in temperature. In a solid, this typically involves lattice vibrations; in a gas, however, the coupling between the spin of the constituent particles - responsible for magnetism - and their motion is generally too weak to allow cooling to occur.
In the current study the authors show that in a gas made of chromium-52 atoms a coupling exists that is strong enough to allow efficient magnetic refrigeration. The researchers propose that a much broader class of gases might be amenable to adiabatic demagnetization cooling, and expect that the method could become a useful way to reach temperatures near absolute zero in gases - a temperature range that offers a rich assortment of exotic phenomena for physicists to explore.
Author contact:
Marco Fattori (University of Stuttgart, Germany)
Tel: +49 7116 856 78 93; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] A step towards quantum networks
DOI: 10.1038/nphys450
The operations of two remote quantum systems can be synchronized, according to research to be published in the December issue of Nature Physics. Jeff Kimble and colleagues report that they can synchronize operations in such a way that changes in one system are conditional on what happens in the other, giving a level of real-time control that has not previously been achieved.
Quantum networking plays a key role in a series of proposed quantum communication and information schemes that hold promise for secure information exchange, as well as the ability to solve certain tasks faster than any classical computer. The nodes of quantum networks - distributed over remote locations - host quantum objects like atoms, ions or molecules, whereas quantum channels allow information to be transmitted between the nodes, typically in the form of photons.
A practical quantum network requires synchronized operations to be performed on states stored in separated nodes. The authors address the specific task of producing a pair of identical photons from two quantum nodes. They make one node ready for emitting a single photon, but, before actually releasing the particle, wait for the other node to be ready. This significantly increases the probability that two photons are fired simultaneously, when compared with a situation without such conditional control. The authors believe that their technique could have important implications for the future development of quantum networks.
Author contact:
H. Jeff Kimble (California Institute of Technology, Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics, Pasadena, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 626 395 8342; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Physics to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[3] Long-range interactions between optical solitons
DOI: 10.1038/nphys445
[4] Entanglement and the foundations of statistical mechanics
DOI: 10.1038/nphys444
******************************NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY****************************
(<http://www.nature.com/nnano>)
[5] Seeing the benefits of nanoceria
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2006.91
An unlikely candidate could be used to treat various eye disorders and other diseases, according to research to be published in the November issue of Nature Nanotechnology. This compound, cerium oxide, is routinely used in automobile exhaust systems and for polishing glass and jewellery.
James McGinnis and co-workers injected the eyes of rats with cerium oxide nanoparticles and found that these can protect the retina against exposure to damaging levels of illumination. If injected after exposure, they also assisted recovery. This is because the nanoparticles neutralize the effects of compounds known as reactive oxygen intermediates - ROIs - although the mechanism underlying this process remains unclear.
The results indicate that cerium oxide nanoparticles may be effective in inhibiting cell death caused by ROIs, which is thought to be involved in various medical conditions affecting the eye, such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. The authors speculate that the particles might also be effective in treating a range of other degenerative diseases involving ROIs, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s and strokes.
Author contact:
James F McGinnis (University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, OK, USA)
Tel: +1 405 271 3692 (secretary); E-mail: [email protected]
Please note that the author is traveling in Argentina and it may be easiest to reach him there on +54 11 4348 5000 or by email.
Other papers from Nature Nanotechnology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[6] Mechanochemistry: targeted delivery of single molecules
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2006.92
[7] Parallel patterning of nanoparticles via electrodynamic focusing of charged aerosols
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2006.94
**********************************Nature MEDICINE**********************************
(<http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine>)
[8] A potential male contraceptive
DOI: 10.1038/nm1420
A study in the November issue of Nature Medicine reports that it is possible to induce infertility in rats by specifically targeting germ cell adhesion in the testis.
Throughout spermatogenesis, developing germ cells adhere to Sertoli cells - ‘nurse’ cells that nurture the developing sperm. If adhesion between these cell types is compromised, infertility can result in men. In the current study, C. Yan Cheng and colleagues disrupted the interaction between germ and Sertoli cells using a recently developed molecule - Adjudin - coupled to a mutant form of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which served to carry the molecule directly to the gonads.
Using this novel delivery approach, the authors induced infertility in adult rats using relatively low doses of the molecule with no obvious side effects. Future studies must now explore whether this approach is equally effective in men.
Author contact:
C. Yan Cheng (Population Council, Center for Biomedical Research, New York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 212 327 8738; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Medicine to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[9] Molecular ablation of ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction
DOI: 10.1038/nm1503
[10] Activated protein C inhibits tissue plasminogen activator-induced brain hemorrhage
DOI: 10.1038/nm1498
[11] Identification of a hormonal basis for gallbladder filling
DOI: 10.1038/nm1501
******************************NATURE GENETICS **************************
(<http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics>)
[12] Towards a complete human ‘epigenome’
DOI: 10.1038/ng1909
The DNA methylation profile of three human chromosomes is reported in a study to be published in the December issue of Nature Genetics, marking substantial progress towards a complete accounting of the human ‘epigenome’, the collection of modifications to the human genetic code that occur without changing the original DNA sequence.
DNA methylation refers to the chemical modification of DNA by the addition of methyl groups, which consist of one carbon and three hydrogen atoms. This process can affect the expression of nearby genes, usually silencing or switching them off, and is potentially an important factor in the development of some cancers when it occurs aberrantly. The Human Epigenome Project (a consortium that includes the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK; Epigenomics AG, Germany; and The Centre National de Génotypage <http://www.cng.fr/>, France), whose goal is to catalog all of the sites of methylation in the human genome in all major tissues, have now done so in 12 different tissues for chromosomes 6, 20 and 22.
In addition to providing the catalog as a publicly available resource for other investigators, the authors also report that there are only very small differences in the methylation patterns between male and females and between young and old individuals. Significant differences were observed between different tissues, however. Finally, by examining some of the corresponding regions in the mouse genome, they concluded that the pattern of methylation has been generally conserved during evolution, at least among mammals.
Author contacts:
Florian Eckhardt (Epigenomics AG, Berlin, Germany)
Tel: +49 302 434 5315; E-mail: [email protected]
Stephan Beck (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK)
Tel: +44 1223 494952; E-mail: [email protected]
[13] & [14] Small RNAs drive evolution
DOI: 10.1038/ng1914
DOI: 10.1038/ng1910
New evidence supporting the importance of a class of small RNA molecules in human evolution is reported in two papers to be published in the December issue of Nature Genetics. MicroRNAs are small single-stranded molecules consisting of 22 nucleotides, and are thought to regulate the expression of genes by preventing their translation into proteins. Although they were discovered only recently, microRNAs have now been found in many animal and plant genomes, and are predicted to number in the hundreds, or possibly thousands, in the human genome.
Applying a new sequencing technique reported last year, Ronald Plasterk and colleagues examined the complement of microRNAs in human fetal brain and adult chimpanzee brain. They identified 447 new microRNAs, which more than doubles the diversity of known microRNAs. More than half of the human microRNAs were conserved only in chimpanzees, and not found in other organisms, suggesting a recent evolutionary origin. As many as 8% were human-specific and this specificity may signal possible roles in the evolution of the human brain.
In the second paper, Kevin Chen and Nikolaus Rajewsky used publicly available data on variation in the human genome called single-nucleotide polymorphisms - SNPs. They were interested to know whether any SNPs occurred at microRNA target sites, and, if so, whether there was any evidence that natural selection was acting to maintain these target sites. They mapped 384 SNPs to microRNA target sites, and found that the variation in these sites between individuals was less than that observed in control regions, suggesting a selective pressure to conserve the sequences of these target sites. The authors were able to infer that 85% of these microRNA target sites are likely to be functional, and suggest that SNPs at such sites might be involved in human disease.
Author contacts:
Ronald Plasterk (Hubrecht Laboratory, Utrecht, The Netherlands) author [13]
Tel: +31 0 30 212 1800; E-mail: [email protected]
Nikolaus Rajewsky (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany) author [14]
Tel: +49 30 9406 2999; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Genetics to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[15] Hereditary pancreatitis caused by triplication of the trypsinogen locus
DOI: 10.1038/ng1904
**************************NATURE NEUROSCIENCE ***********************************
(<http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience>)
[16] Genetic risk for schizophrenia and brain function
DOI: 10.1038/nn1795
Variation in a gene linked with schizophrenia is associated with the occurrence of psychotic symptoms and cognitive deficits, along with reduced activity in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, reports a paper in the December issue of Nature Neuroscience.
The most notable symptoms of schizophrenia are delusions and hallucinations, but the full syndrome is preceded by milder psychotic behaviors and includes general cognitive deficits. Over a 10-year period, Jeremy Hall and colleagues studied young people with schizophrenic relatives, who were therefore at high risk of developing schizophrenia themselves, to assess the differences between individuals who develop symptoms and those who do not. They report that people with a variant of the neuregulin 1 - NRG1 - gene that has been previously associated with schizophrenia were more likely to develop psychotic symptoms, and to have low IQ scores, than those without the variant. Furthermore, they found that people with the risky neuregulin 1 variant showed lower activation in parts of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging - fMRI.
The findings of this study suggest that the behavioral and neural precursors of schizophrenia may have a significant genetic contribution. Further research is required to determine the causal nature of the relationship between the reduction in brain activation and the effects of both genetic variation and cognitive dysfunction.
Author contact:
Jeremy Hall (University of Edinburgh, UK)
Please contact the author through the University of Edinburgh Press Office:
Linda Menzies, Tel: +44 131 650 6382 / 2250; E-mail [email protected]
*********************************NATURE METHODS*****************************
(<http://www.nature.com/nmeth>)
[17] Knocking out false positives in interaction proteomics
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth972
A new method for identifying, with very high confidence, cellular proteins that naturally interact with each other is described in a paper published online this week in Nature Methods. By reducing the rate at which such protein interactions are falsely identified, the approach will help researchers construct more accurate ‘wiring diagrams’ that explain how proteins act together.
Matthias Mann and Matthias Selbach used antibody ‘baits’ immobilized on solid supports to fish out a target protein. Proteins that bind to the target protein under normal cellular conditions are thus also isolated along with the target protein itself. However, other proteins can cross-react with or nonspecifically bind to the antibody bait or solid support. These nonspecific interactions are also detected by the readout method and are known as false positives.
To control for this problem, the authors used a technique called RNA interference to knock out, or turn off, expression of the target protein in one population of cells. If the target protein is absent, only the nonspecific and cross-reactive binders will interact with the antibody bait. All of the isolated proteins from both the normal cell population and the knocked-out population are then identified by mass spectrometry. Proteins that are present in both cell populations are thus identified as false positives and discounted. This method is likely to become an important proteomic tool for studying human proteins, given the diverse range of antibodies and RNA interference reagents currently available.
Author contact:
Matthias Mann (Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsreid, Germany)
Tel: +49 89 8578 2557; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Methods to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[18] Direct observation of individual endogenous protein complexes in situ by proximity ligation
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth947
[19] Monitoring regulated protein-protein interactions using split TEV
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth967
****************************************************************************
Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
Nature (<http://www.nature.com/nature>)
[20] Following the signal sequence from ribosomal tunnel exit to signal recognition particle
DOI: 10.1038/nature05326
[21] Structure of the E. coli signal recognition particle bound to a translating ribosome
DOI: 10.1038/nature05182
[22] Klotho converts canonical FGF receptor into a specific receptor for FGF23
DOI: 10.1038/nature05315
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio <http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience>)
[23] Deconstructing fragment-based inhibitor discovery
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio831
Nature BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnolgy)
[24] Recombinant expression of selectively sulfated proteins in Escherichia coli
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1254
This article was published online on 22 October 2006 but did not appear in last week’s press release (it is not under embargo but the rest of the papers on this release remain under embargo until Sunday 29 October 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern time):
[25] Expression of artificial microRNAs in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana confers virus resistance
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1255
Nature IMMUNOLOGY (<http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology>)
[26] ADAM10 is a principal ‘sheddase’ of the low-affinity immunoglobulin E receptor CD23
DOI: 10.1038/ni1399
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (<http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology>)
[27] A Wnt-Axin2-GSK3β cascade regulates Snail1 activity in breast cancer cells
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1508
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (<http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol>)
[28] Structure of the Epstein-Barr virus major envelope glycoprotein
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1161
[29] The DEAD-box protein Ded1 unwinds RNA duplexes by a mode distinct from translocating helicases
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1165
This article was published online on 22 October 2006 but did not appear in last week’s press release (it is not under embargo but the rest of the papers on this release remain under embargo until Sunday 29 October 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern time):
[30] Three-dimensional structure of the KChIP1-Kv4.3 T1 complex reveals a cross-shaped octamer
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1164
*****************************************************************************
GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS
The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details.
BELGIUM
Liege: 6
Leuven: 26
Louvain-la-Neuve: 6
CHINA
Beijing: 28
FRANCE
Brest: 15
Clichy: 15
Nantes: 6
GERMANY
Aachen: 26
Berlin: 12, 20
Berlin-Buch: 14
Freising-Weihenstephan: 13
Goettingen: 19
Heidelberg: 19, 20
Kiel: 26
Martinsried: 17
Munich: 20
Stuttgart: 1
HUNGARY
Szeged: 28
ISRAEL
Haifa: 3
ITALY
Bari: 11
Bologna: 6
Rome: 8
Rozzano:
JAPAN
Fukuoka: 9
Gunma: 22
Kyoto: 26
Tokyo: 22
KOREA
Daejeon: 7
Gyeonggi-do: 7
Gyungsangbuk-do: 7
Kyoungki-do: 7, 27
Seoul: 7, 27
NETHERLANDS
Leidin: 21
Rijswijk: 13
Utrecht: 13
SWEDEN
Uppsala: 18
SWITZERLAND
Zurich: 21
TAIWAN
Taichung: 25
UKRAINE
Odessa: 7
UNITED KINGDOM
Bristol: 4
Cambridge: 12
Edinburgh: 16
Manchester: 20
Slough: 26
Stevenage: 26
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 30
La Jolla: 9, 24
Los Angeles: 28
Pasadena: 2
San Diego: 24
San Francisco: 23, 30
Colorado
Denver: 28
Florida
Orlando: 5
Maryland
Baltimore: 8
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 27
Detroit: 10
Grand Rapids: 11
New Jersey
Kenilworth: 26
New York
New York: 8, 14, 25, 26
Rochester: 10
North Carolina
Research Triangle Park: 26
Ohio
Cleveland: 9, 29
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City: 5
Texas
Dallas: 10
Virginia
Richmond: 26
Washington
Seattle: 26
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Helen Jamison (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: [email protected]
Ruth Francis (Senior Press Officer, Nature, London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4562; E-mail: [email protected]
For media inquiries relating to editorial content/policy for the Nature Research Journals, please contact the journals individually:
Nature Biotechnology (New York)
Peter Hare
Tel: +1 212 726 9284; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Cell Biology (London)
Bernd Pulverer
Tel: +44 20 7843 4892; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemical Biology (Boston)
Andrea Garvey
Tel: +1 617 475 9241, E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Genetics (New York)
Orli Bahcall
Tel: +1 212 726 9311; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Immunology (New York)
Laurie Dempsey
Tel: +1 212 726 9372; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Medicine (New York)
Juan Carlos Lopez
Tel: +1 212 726 9325; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Methods (New York)
Allison Doerr
Tel: +1 212 726 9393; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Nanotechnology (London)
Peter Rodgers
Tel: +44 20 7014 4019; Email: <[email protected]>
Nature Neuroscience (New York)
Sandra Aamodt (based in California)
Tel: +1 530 795 3256; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Physics (London)
Alison Wright
Tel: +44 20 7843 4555; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (New York)
Michelle Montoya
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]
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