This press release is copyright Nature.
VOL.451 NO.7181 DATED 21 FEBRUARY 2008
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Infectious disease: Predicting future outbreaks **Press Briefing**
Mars: Understanding its water flow
Diabetes: Sugars regulate insulin signalling
Evolutionary Biology: A photosynthetic parasite
Chemistry: Reacting the unreactable
Structural biology: Defining an anti-HIV protein
Tectonics: Deep mantle penetration events
And finally… Bend me, break me
· Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
· Geographical listing of authors
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[1] Infectious disease: Predicting future outbreaks (pp 990-993; N&V)
Global resources to fight emerging diseases are poorly allocated and the majority of scientific and surveillance effort focuses on the wrong countries, according to new research. Analysis of hundreds of diseases over 64 years provides a basis for predicting where infectious diseases are most likely to originate.
Emerging infectious diseases are a major threat to health: AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), drug-resistant bacteria and Ebola virus are among the more recent examples. By identifying emerging disease ‘hotspots’, the thinking goes, it should be possible to spot health risks at an early stage and prepare strategies to contain them.
Kate Jones and colleagues investigate over 300 examples of emerging diseases between 1940 and 2004. Their research, published in Nature this week, suggests that hotspots can be accurately mapped to socio-economic, environmental and ecological factors. The data show that the surveillance effort, and much current research spending, is concentrated in developed economies, yet the risk maps point to developing countries as the more likely source of new diseases.
CONTACT
Kate Jones (Institute of Zoology, London, UK)
Please contact through:
Alice Henchley (Press Officer, Zoological Society of London, UK)
Tel: +44 20 7449 6361; E-mail: [email protected]
Peter Daszak (Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York, NY, USA) Co-author
Tel: +1 212 380 4474; E-mail: [email protected]
Additional media contact:
Anthony M. Ramos (Consortium for Conservation Medicine, Wildlife Trust, New York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 212 380 4469; E-mail: [email protected]
Mark Woolhouse (University of Edinburgh, UK) N&V author
Tel: +44 131 650 5456; E-mail: [email protected]
A telephone briefing related to this paper will take place UNDER STRICT EMBARGO on:
Tuesday 19 February at 1500 London time (GMT) / 1000 US Eastern time
For participants calling from the United Kingdom: 0845 359 0170
For participants calling from outside the United Kingdom: +44 20 3003 2666
Conference password: Nature Press Briefing
The authors will speak about their research followed by questions from the media
[2] Mars: Understanding its water flow (pp 973-976)
Scientists have recreated the landscape of martian stepped deltas here on Earth, in order to understand how water flow shaped the surface of the red planet. Their analysis, presented in Nature this week, shows that the distinct morphology of the deltas could only have originated from a single basin-filling event on a timescale of tens of years.
Some martian deltas and alluvial fans have a distinctive ‘stair-like’ topography that could have been formed by various processes, such as volcanic flows, erosive wave action, or repeated alluvial fan deposition. Estimates for the time span of martian hydrologic events based on morphological studies are uncertain and currently range from decades to millions of years.
Erin Kraal and colleagues combine observations of the surface landscape of Mars with physical modelling from sand flume studies. They show that the distinct morphology of martian stepped deltas could only have originated from a single basin-filling event on a very short timescale of just tens of years and may have required an amount of water comparable to that discharged by large terrestrial rivers, such as the Mississippi. The findings suggest that the stepped fans formed by sudden release of water from subsurface storage rather than surface precipitation.
CONTACT
Erin Kraal (Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA, USA)
Tel: +1 540 231 9120; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Diabetes: Sugars regulate insulin signalling (pp 964-969)
An enzyme known to attach sugar to proteins in cells is revealed to have a role in insulin resistance in mice in Nature this week. Overexpression of the enzyme in the livers of mice causes insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia, underscoring the pivotal contribution of sugar modifications to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
The study of Ronald Evans and colleagues uncovers that O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) harbours a new type of lipid-binding site, and that, on insulin stimulation, OGT is recruited to the plasma membrane of the cell by the lipid phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate. There, OGT specifically decorates proteins from the insulin signalling pathway with sugars, impeding their activity and dampening the insulin response.
The work indicates that nutritional cues may regulate insulin signalling through OGT and suggests that modification of the OGT pathway may be linked to insulin resistance, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
CONTACT
Ronald Evans (The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 858 453 4100; E-mail: [email protected]
[4] Evolutionary Biology: A photosynthetic parasite (pp 959-963; N&V)
Scientists have identified a new type of Apicomplexa uniquely containing photosynthetic elements. The discovery of this organism could provide a model for studying the evolution of parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria.
The Apicomplexa are a large group of protists, characterized by the presence of a component called the apicoplast, which is a target for malaria treatment. They are unicellular, spore-forming, and exist as parasites of animals. Many Apicomplexa contain remnants of photosynthetic ‘chloroplasts’, which absorb light and use it in conjunction with water and carbon dioxide to produce sugars. Unlike their plant and algae counterparts, however, these parasites do not possess actual photosynthetic properties - it is thought that their photosynthetic genes were lost during evolution and development.
In Nature this week, Dee Carter and colleagues isolate and characterize a protist that is related to the Apicomplexa but contains a photosynthetic chloroplast. This discovery provides an ideal model to study the evolution of the Apicomplexa. Because this organism can be cultured independent of a host in the laboratory, the authors suggest that it could also be useful in screens for anti-parasite drugs targeting the apicoplast.
CONTACT
Dee Carter (University of Sydney, Australia)
Tel: +61 2 9351 5383; E-mail: [email protected]
Patrick Keeling (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada) N&V author
Tel: +1 604 822 4906; E-mail: [email protected]
[5] Chemistry: Reacting the unreactable (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature06740
***This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 20 February at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included it on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 21 February, but at a later date. ***
Small organic molecules that catalyse chemical reactions have recently come to prominence, but some apparently simple substrates have refused to react under their influence. In Nature this week Benjamin List and colleagues devise effective conditions for Mannich reactions with acetaldehyde.
Traditionally, catalysts for organic chemical reactions have either been enzymes or metal complexes. But small organic molecules, known as organocatalysts, have recently burst on to the scene. Organocatalysts have proved useful in a wide range of transformations, including a carbon–carbon bond-forming process known as the Mannich reaction. But these reactions always failed when the simplest possible substrate, acetaldehyde, was used.
In the paper, the team outline effective conditions for Mannich reactions with acetaldehyde, greatly expanding the chemical ‘toolkit’ of organic chemists. The research will prove especially useful for making chiral, biologically active compounds.
CONTACT
Benjamin List (Max-Planck-Institut, Muelheim an der Ruhr, Germany)
Tel: +49 208 3062410; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] Structural biology: Defining an anti-HIV protein (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature06638
***This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 20 February at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included it on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 21 February, but at a later date. ***
Understanding the structure of proteins involved in inhibiting HIV-1 infection could help in the battle against the disease, and this week in Nature researchers take a crucial step in this direction. The structure of this DNA deaminase will help researchers to understand the functions of related molecules that interact with pathogens such as HIV-1.
Reuben Harris and colleagues report the nuclear magnetic resonance structure of a domain of APOBEC3G - a single-strand DNA deaminase that inhibits the replication of HIV-1 and other retroviruses. The work contributes towards defining the whole protein and its interaction with the viral protein Vif, which could benefit the development of AIDS therapeutics that modulate this battle between host and pathogen.
CONTACT
Reuben Harris (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA)
Tel: +1 612 624 0457; E-mail: [email protected]
[7] Tectonics: Deep mantle penetration events (pp 981-984; N&V)
Insights into processes occurring deep in subduction zones are provided in a report in Nature this week, with evidence for how and when downgoing oceanic plates get recycled into the lower mantle. The report, by Saskia Goes and colleagues, shows that sometimes plates subduct up to twice as fast as predicted by models, and surprisingly this occurs for relatively young and buoyant plates. This contrast between older and younger subducting plates may provide a mechanism that buffers the speed of plate motion.
The subduction of cold, dense, oceanic crust into the Earth’s mantle is a key process in plate tectonics, but the degree to which a plate may be recycled into the lower mantle is unclear. Some downgoing slabs seem to reach into the deep mantle, whereas others seem to ‘stagnate’ in the upper mantle - about 660 kilometres below the Earth’s surface. How and when such slabs sink into the deep mantle have implications for the thermal and chemical evolution of our planet.
Saskia Goes and colleagues studied recent plate motions at the Earth’s main subduction zones. They compared these observations with predictions from numerical models of subduction and plate density. They infer that older plates, which retreat significantly as they subduct, tend to lie down flat above the transition to the high-viscosity lower mantle, whereas younger slabs, which deform more readily, buckle instead of retreating, thus enabling them to pile up and sink into the lower mantle.
CONTACT
Saskia Goes (Imperial College London, London, UK)
Tel: +44 20 759 46434; E-mail: [email protected]
Scott King (Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, VA, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 540 231 6521; E-mail: [email protected]
[8] And finally… Bend me, break me (pp 977-980; N&V)
A simple but remarkable material that heals once broken is presented in Nature this week. The new material displays rubber-like behaviour, but, unlike a rubber band, once snapped, all is not lost.
Standard rubbers can stretch by several hundred per cent compared with other solid materials. To create a similar material, but one that also mends itself when fractured, Ludwik Leibler and colleagues use different groups of molecules that link together via hydrogen bonds. The molecules associate to form a ‘supramolecular rubber’ containing both chains and cross-links. Not only can it be stretched to several times its original length, it can self-heal when the surfaces are brought together at room temperature for a few minutes.
Their new material is made from simple ingredients - fatty acids and urea - and once synthesized, it is readily reprocessed. In its current form, supramolecular rubber has slow strain recovery and ‘creeps’ under stress, but by adjusting the starting ingredients, a spectrum of properties should become attainable.
CONTACT
Ludwik Leibler (Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution, Paris, France)
Tel: +33 1 40 79 5125; E-mail: [email protected]
Additional media contact:
Muriel Ilous (Direction de la communication, CNRS, Paris, France)
Tél: +33 1 44 96 43 09; E-mail : [email protected]
Takuzo Aida (University of Tokyo, Japan) N&V author
Tel: +81 3 5841 7251; E-mail: [email protected]
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE…
[9] Energetic neutral atoms as the explanation for the high-velocity hydrogen around HD 209458b (pp 970-972)
[10] HIF-independent regulation of VEGF and angiogenesis by the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1a (pp 1008-1012)
[11] A PtdIns4, 5P2-regulated nuclear poly(A) polymerase controls expression of select mRNAs (pp 1013-1017)
ADVANCE ONLINE PUBLICATION
***These papers will be published electronically on Nature's website on 20 February at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included them on this release to avoid multiple mailings they will not appear in print on 21 February, but at a later date. ***
[12] A peptide deformylase–ribosome complex reveals mechanism of nascent chain processing
DOI: 10.1038/nature06683
[13] Hax1-mediated processing of HtrA2 by Parl allows survival of lymphocytes and neurons
DOI: 10.1038/nature06604
[14] The inflammasome recognizes cytosolic microbial and host DNA and triggers an innate immune response
DOI: 10.1038/nature06664
GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS…
The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. For example, London: 4 - this means that on paper number four, there will be at least one author affiliated to an institute or company in London. 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
Camperdown: 4
Clayton: 7
Darlington: 4
Hobart: 4
Kingston: 4
Launceston: 4
St Lucia: 4
Townsville: 4
AUSTRIA
Graz: 9
CANADA
Alberta: 14
Ottawa: 14
FRANCE
Floirac: 9
Lyon: 9
Paris: 8
GERMANY
Heidelberg: 12
Mulheim an der Ruhr: 5
ITALY
Palermo: 9
NETHERLANDS
Utrecht: 2
SWEDEN
Kiruna: 9
SWITZERLAND
Basel: 12
Bern: 9
Epalinges: 14
Zurich: 7, 12
UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham: 3
London: 1, 7
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Alabama
Birmingham: 3
California
La Jolla: 3
Georgia
Athens: 1
Massachusetts
Boston: 6, 10
Cambridge: 10, 12
Charlestown: 3
Minnesota
Minneapolis: 6
New Jersey
Nutley: 3
New York
New York: 1
Palisades: 1
Rhode Island
Providence: 1
Tennessee
Memphis: 13
Virginia
Blacksburg: 2
Wisconsin
Madison: 11
PRESS CONTACTS…
For North America and Canada
Katie McGoldrick, Nature Washington
Tel: +1 202 737 2355; E-mail: [email protected]
For Japan, Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan
Mika Nakano, Nature Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; E-mail: [email protected]
For the UK/Europe/other countries not listed above
Katherine Anderson, Nature London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; E-mail [email protected]
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