NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 25 March 2007. This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
• Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Too much of a good thing? – Nature
Protein sensing in full colour – Nature Materials
Next-generation glass – Nature Materials
The shape of drugs to come – Nature Nanotechnology
Genetic variant associated with susceptibility to osteoarthritis – Nature Genetics
Brain cells seen in context – 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.
PICTURES: To obtain artwork from any of the journals, you must first obtain permission from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in question (if not).
NOTE: Once a paper is published, the digital object identifier (DOI) number can be used to retrieve the abstract and full text from the journal web site (abstracts are available to everyone, full text is available only to subscribers). To do this, add the DOI to the following URL: http://dx.doi.org/ (For example, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng730). For more information about DOIs and Advance Online Publication, see http://www.nature.com/ng/aop/.
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 *************************
(http://www.nature.com/nature)
[1] Biodiversity: Too much of a good thing?
DOI: 10.1038/nature05684
Giving plants excess nutrients can lead to long-term biodiversity loss, a study of experimental grasslands suggests. The paper, published online in Nature this week, suggests that human actions, such as over-enriching water with nutrients, can have detrimental impacts on ecosystem function.
W. Stanley Harpole and David Tilman altered the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and various cations in water used to irrigate an experimental grass plot in California, USA. When nutrients were plentiful, productivity went up but species number declined — the most successful species were those that could grow quickly and wipe out the competition. In contrast, when resources were limited, productivity decreased but biodiversity increased — the conditions favoured the existence of species adapted to cope with the various nutrient deficiencies.
The model also helps to explain the diversity changes seen in the long-running Park Grass Experiment at Rothamsted, UK, and parallels similar results seen in aquatic systems.
Author contacts:
W. Stanley Harpole (University of California, Irvine, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 949 742 2355; E-mail: [email protected]
David Tilman (University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA) Co-author
Tel: +1 612 625 5743; E-mail: [email protected]
******************** NATURE MATERIALS ************************
(http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[2] Protein sensing in full colour
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1869
A sensor for proteins that is so sensitive it can detect changes in concentration spanning more than five orders of magnitude is reported in the April issue of Nature Materials. Most biosensors rely on changes in the intensity of the fluorescence emitted, which is difficult to calibrate, but Nicholas Kotov and colleagues present a device where the wavelength of the emitted light shifts reversibly.
The device is based on gold nanoparticles that are attached to nanowires using molecular springs that carry protein-binding antibodies. As soon as the target protein attaches to the antibody, the molecular spring extends and moves the nanospheres further away from the nanowire — reducing the interaction between sphere and wire. This leads to noticeable changes in the wavelength of the light emitted from the nanowire, and this effect can therefore be used as a molecule-specific biosensor. The ease of calibration as well as the broad range of sensitivities suggests the potentially widespread use of this nanotechnology sensor in a large variety of biological applications.
Author contact:
Nicholas Kotov (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
Tel: +1 734 763 8768; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Next-generation glass
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1864
A glass that spontaneously forms from sugar and oil may be the starting point for a whole new class of materials with unique properties, according to an article published online this week in Nature Materials.
Carlos Co and colleagues explored oil as an alternative to water as the medium for forming emulsions. They put sugar in oil, along with some surface-active molecules, heated the mixture until the sugar melted, and then waited for the whole thing to cool down. The transparency and solid consistency of the glasses that form belie the inclusion of more than 50 volume percent of oil. The oil gives these materials liquid-like behaviour, which, combined with their solid-like characteristics, provide a whole new set of properties. The authors envisage that these glasses might find applications as sensors and optical devices, particularly in the pharmaceutical and food industry. But because they are so different from anything else, they could even inspire applications that do not yet exist.
Author contact:
Carlos Co (University of Cincinnati, OH, USA)
Tel: +1 513 556 2731; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Materials to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[4] Laser-shock compression of diamond and evidence of a negative-slope melting curve
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1863
[5] Composition and density of nanoscale calcium–silicate–hydrate in cement
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1871
******************* NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY ******************
[6] The shape of drugs to come
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.70
String-like nanoparticles similar to viruses circulate in the blood for ten times longer than their spherical counterparts, according to a paper to be published in the April issue of Nature Nanotechnology. This suggests that shape considerations may be important in designing better drug delivery vehicles for cancer treatment.
Dennis Discher and colleagues found that soft filamentous polymers can circulate for up to one week in mice and rats. This is unusually long compared with spherical nanoparticles or other rigid structures like carbon nanotubes, which are typically cleared from the body in hours. Circulation time depends on how the filaments fragment due to fluid flow and the way they interact with cells.
Author contact:
Dennis Discher (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA)
Tel: +1 215 898 4809; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Nanotechnology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[7] A virus-based biocatalyst
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.76
[8] High-performance electronics using dense, perfectly aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.77
************************ NATURE GENETICS *********************
(http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[9] Genetic variant associated with susceptibility to osteoarthritis
DOI: 10.1038/ng2005
A variant in a gene called GDF5 is associated with the risk of developing osteoarthritis, a study published online this week in Nature Genetics suggests. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 20 million people in the United States.
Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown and loss of the cartilage in one or more joints during ageing, leading to swelling, pain, and limited mobility. Shiro Ikegawa and colleagues analyzed variation across the GDF5 gene and found that one particular variant was significantly more frequent in two independent populations of Japanese individuals with osteoarthritis of the hip compared to disease-free individuals. The same variant was also found to be significantly more frequent in both Japanese and Chinese individuals suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee. Depending on the study, the variant conferred 30%–80% additional risk of developing the disease. The authors showed that this variant probably reduces the amount of GDF5 produced. As GDF5 is a protein that is secreted by cells and is known to be involved in cartilage development, lower levels of GDF5 may affect the maintenance of cartilage in joints.
Author contact:
Shiro Ikegawa (SNP Research Center, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan)
Tel: +81 3 5449 5393; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Genetics to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[10] Mitochondrial aspartyl-tRNA synthetase deficiency causes leukoencephalopathy with brain stem and spinal cord involvement and lactate elevation
DOI: 10.1038/ng2013
********************** NATURE METHODS **********************
[11] Brain cells seen in context
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth1036
A microscopic technique that allows imaging of large tissue samples such as brain sections or whole embryos at good resolution is presented online this week in Nature Methods.
Many biologists are looking for ways to use microscopes to examine ever smaller objects, but this comes at the cost of losing the bigger picture, researchers for example, can see a tiny section of the brain at high resolution but information about the connections between different regions are lost. Hans Ulrich Dodt and colleagues now present a technique that allows imaging of large volumes while retaining a high-enough resolution to still see subcellular structures – such as the dendrites of neurons – within a large brain volume.
Their method has two essential components. One is submerging the tissue in a solution that scatters light in the same way the tissue does which allows light a clear passage through the sample. The other is illumination with a sheet of light coming from two sources at opposite sides of the sample. This allows a rapid scanning of the tissue across its three-dimensional structure and fast image acquisition. This technique will be important not only for neuroscientists to image connectivity in the brain but also for developmental biologists who want to study whole embryos.
Author contacts:
Hans Ulrich Dodt (Max-Planck Institute, Munich, Germany)
Tel: +49 89 30622 344; E-mail: [email protected]
Jeff Lichtman (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA) Co author
Tel: +1 617 496 8943; E-mail: [email protected]
***************************************************************
Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[12] Probing quantum phases of ultracold atoms in optical lattices by transmission spectra in cavity quantum electrodynamics
DOI: 10.1038/nphys571
[13] Nearly ferromagnetic Fermi-liquid behaviour in YFe2Zn20 and high-temperature Ferromagnetism of GdFe2Zn20
DOI: 10.1038/nphys568
[14] Measurement of growing dynamical length scales and prediction of the jamming transition in a granular material
DOI: 10.1038/nphys572
[15] In situ evidence of magnetic reconnection in turbulent plasma
DOI: 10.1038/nphys574
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[16] Myelin-specific regulatory T cells accumulate in the CNS but fail to control autoimmune inflammation
DOI: 10.1038/nm1564
[17] Platelet TLR4 activates neutrophil extracellular traps to ensnare bacteria in septic blood
DOI: 10.1038/nm1565
Nature BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[18] An anti-infective peptide that selectively modulates the innate immune response
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1288
Nature IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[19] Smad7 binds to TAB2 and TAB3 adaptors to block recruitment of the kinase TAK1 to TRAF2
DOI: 10.1038/ni1451
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[20] HCLK2 is essential for the mammalian S-phase checkpoint and impacts on Chk1 stability
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1555
[21] Proteome analysis of soluble nuclear proteins reveals that HMGB1/2 suppress genotoxic stress in the polyglutamine disease
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1553
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[22] Mouse Piwi-interacting RNAs are 2’-O-methylated at their 3’ termini
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1218
[23] The 3’ termini of mouse Piwi-ineteracting RNAs are 2’-O-methylated
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1220
[24] A riboswitch selective for the queuosine precursor preQ1 contains an unusually small aptamer domain
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1224
[25] GABA production by glutamic acid decarboxylase is regulated by a dynamic catalytic loop
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1228
******************************************************************
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.
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne: 23
Parkville: 25
AUSTRIA
Innsbruck: 12
Vienna: 11
BELGIUM
Gent: 10
CANADA:
Canada: 17
Vancouver: 18
CHINA
Jiangsu: 9
FRANCE
Bruyeres le Châtel: 4
Palaiseau: 4
Strasbourg: 10
Villenave d’Ormon: 7
GERMANY
Berlin: 21
Garching: 7
Martinsried: 11
Munich: 11
Tubingen: 10
ITALY
Milan: 10
JAPAN
Kyoto: 9
Okayama: 9
Osaka: 9
Mie: 9
Tokyo: 9, 21, 23
KOREA
Busan: 2
Incheon: 19
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 10
Nijmegen: 7, 10
NEW ZEALAND
Wellington South: 16
RUSSIA
Moscow: 10
St Petersburg: 12
SWEDEN
Uppsala: 15
UNITED KINGDOM
Durham: 7
London: 15, 25
South Mimms: 20
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 15
Irvine: 1
Livermore: 4
Palo Alto: 16
Stanford: 16
Colorado
Golden: 3
Connecticut
New Haven: 24
Illinois
Evanston: 5
Urbana: 8
Indiana
West Lafayette: 8
Iowa
Ames: 13
Maryland
Bethesda: 10, 19
Gaithersburg: 5
Massachusetts
Boston: 16
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 2, 14
East Lansing: 24
Minnesota
St Paul: 1
New Jersey
Piscataway: 6
Ohio
Athens: 2
Cincinnati: 3
Oregon
Portland: 19, 24
Pennsylvania
Bethlehem: 8
Philadelphia: 6, 14, 22
Texas
Dallas: 24
Houston: 21
Washington
Seattle: 25
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Katherine Anderson (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; 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 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 Materials (London)
Maria Bellantone
Tel: +44 20 7843 4556; 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 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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