NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 20 April 2008
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Epidemiology: Metabolism, diet and disease – Nature
Plant genetics: Evolution provides a cleanser for polluted soils – Nature
Greenhouse effect from tropospheric ozone – Nature Geoscience
Back-to-front West Nile vaccine – Nature Biotechnology
· 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************************************************
(http://www.nature.com/nature)
[1] Epidemiology: Metabolism, diet and disease
DOI: 10.1038/nature06882
Analysis of urine samples from some 4,630 individuals across four populations around the world demonstrates significant differences in metabolism both from country to country and within populations. The research, published online in Nature, looks at environmental interactions in populations and individuals which when combined with metabolic profiling offers the potential to find markers for heart disease risk.
Jeremy Nicholson and colleagues present a large-scale, multinational, population-based urinary metabolic profiling analysis from individuals participating in the INTERMAP study. The four populations are from China, Japan, UK and USA, and can also be divided into 17 subpopulations on the basis of age, sex and ethnicity. Each country is very different metabolically, but within a country there are big differences: for example, between north and south China, and between north and south USA. The team detected metabolites from gut microbial, dietary and host metabolism to classify people metabolically. They believe that their research may provide the basis for a new ‘metabolome-wide association’ approach in molecular epidemiology to help understand interactions between lifestyles, environment and genes, and how they determine major diseases. This study should also increase opportunity for novel biomarker discovery.
Author contact:
Jeremy Nicholson (Imperial College London, UK)
Tel: +44 207 594 3230; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Plant genetics: Evolution provides a cleanser for polluted soils
DOI: 10.1038/nature06877
A particular strain of the hardy weed Arabidopsis is one of the very few plants that can thrive on soils badly contaminated with heavy-metal waste. A paper online in this week’s Nature has worked out the genetic changes underlying this remarkable adaptation — findings that could be useful in the design of better technologies for bioremediation.
Arabidopsis halleri accumulates the pollutants in its leaf cells, enabling it to tolerate high concentrations of zinc and cadmium — something its close, and better known, relative A. thaliana is unable to do. Ute Kraemer and colleagues compared the genetic make-up of the two plant species and found that the metal-accumulating species has three copies instead of one of a gene called HMA4; the regulatory elements controlling these are also slightly different. The team showed that A. thaliana acquired metal tolerance when transplanted with HMA4 from A. halleri.
These cunning modifications apparently help the plant to survive under hostile conditions. HMA4 encodes a pump that uploads heavy-metal compounds from the soil into the root system, and probably originally evolved to rectify trace-metal deficiencies in the plant.
Author contact:
Ute Kraemer (University of Heidelberg, Germany)
Tel: +49 622 1545 1370; E-mail: [email protected]
****************************************NATURE GEOSCIENCE******************************************
(http://www.nature.com/ngeo)
[3] Greenhouse effect from tropospheric ozone
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo182
The greenhouse effect from tropospheric ozone measured between 45° S and 45° N is about 0.48 Watts per square metre for the year 2006, according to a paper published online this week in Nature Geoscience. The new data provide a critical observational constraint for radiative forcing used in climate model predictions.
Helen Worden and colleagues analysed infrared radiance measurements from NASA’s Aura satellite for clear-sky conditions over land and the oceans, along with estimates of atmospheric ozone and water vapour concentrations. They were thereby able to quantify the greenhouse effect from tropospheric ozone observationally. Earlier model results reported by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change range from 0.25 to 0.65 Watts per square metre for the radiative forcing from anthropogenic changes to tropospheric ozone.
Author contact:
Helen Worden (National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA)
Tel: +1 303 497 2912; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Geoscience to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[4] Submarine groundwater discharge revealed by 228Ra distribution in the upper Atlantic Ocean
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo183
*******************************************NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY*********************************
(http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[5] Back-to-front West Nile vaccine
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1400
A clever twist on the design of so-called DNA vaccines could provide improved protection against the dengue and West Nile viruses, suggests research published online this week in Nature Biotechnology.
As traditional vaccines containing small doses of weakened viruses can actually cause disease in rare cases, there are no approved vaccines to protect against the serious and potentially fatal diseases caused by these viruses. This safety concern can be eliminated using newer DNA vaccines, but it remains unclear whether these are able to stimulate our immune systems sufficiently to protect against viral infection.
Alexander Khromykh and colleagues show how to boost the potency of a DNA vaccine against West Nile virus by allowing infectious particles to be produced, but stopping their replication after one round of infection. They accomplish this by encoding the instructions for making live West Nile virus on a single DNA sequence that can be read in two different directions. In one direction, the cell’s enzymes translates these instructions into the coat protein used to package the genetic material of West Nile virus; in the other direction, the cell decodes the sequence into all the viral proteins except the coat protein.
Cells that take up the back-to-front DNA vaccine first stimulate the immune system just like a conventional DNA vaccine that doesn’t produce live, infectious virus. But because the coat protein produced in one direction can package the West Nile virus genome and other proteins encoded by the sequence in the other direction, a new population of viruses is produced that are released and infect adjacent cells, boosting immune stimulation. In the next cells, however, further infection is stopped as the viruses they contain lack coat protein necessary for packaging, therefore stopping the assembly of infectious virus.
The authors demonstrate protective responses to West Nile virus in mice and horses. The approach could also be effective in tackling other diseases caused by flaviviruses, such as dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Author contact:
Alexander Khromykh (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
E-mail: [email protected]
Please note the author is currently on sabbatical at Osaka University, Japan and is best reached by e-mail.
He may also be available on the following phone number:
Tel: +81 668 798 305
Additional contact for comment on paper:
Alan Barrett (University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA)
Tel: +1 409 772 6662; E-mail: [email protected]
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Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
NATURE PHOTONICS (http://www.nature.com/nphton)
[6] Tuning the scattering response of optical nanoantennas with nanocircuit loads
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2008.53
[7] Picosecond electron deflectometry of optical-field ionized plasmas
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2008.77
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[8] A global assembly line for cyanobactins
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.84
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[9] A molecular state of correlated electrons in a quantum dot
DOI: 10.1038/nphys944
[10] Anyonic interferometry and protected memories in atomic spin lattices
DOI: 10.1038/nphys943
[11] Probing quantum and thermal noise in an interacting many-body system
DOI: 10.1038/nphys941
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[12] Bulk superconductivity at 38K in a molecular system
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2179
[13] Probing the structure of heterogeneous diluted materials by diffraction tomography
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2168
[14] High-frequency micromechanical resonators from aluminium–carbon nanotube nanolaminates
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2181
[15] A sensitivity-enhanced field-effect chiral sensor
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2167
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)
[16] Label-free detection of DNA hybridization based on hydration-induced tension in nucleic acid films
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2008.91
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[17] Mast cell activators: a new class of highly effective vaccine adjuvants
DOI: 10.1038/nm1757
[18] Drug-induced cure drives conversion to a stable and protective CD8+ T central memory response in chronic Chagas disease
DOI: 10.1038/nm1744
[19] A GRK5 polymorphism that inhibits beta-adrenergic receptor signaling is protective in heart failure
DOI: 10.1038/nm1750
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[20] Interpreting principal component analyses of spatial population genetic variation
DOI: 10.1038/ng.139
[21] SmcHD1, containing a structural-maintenance-of-chromosomes hinge domain, has a critical role in X inactivation
DOI: 10.1038/ng.142
[22] A structural-maintenance-of-chromosomes hinge domain–containing protein is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation
DOI: 10.1038/ng.119
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[23] Theta phase-specific codes for two-dimensional position, trajectory and heading in the hippocampus
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2106
[24] Cortical activity patterns predict speech discrimination ability
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2109
[25] Quantal noise from human red cone pigment
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2110
[26] Control of the establishment of aversive memory by calcineurin and Zif268
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2113
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[27] Restoration of lymphoid organ integrity through the interaction of lymphoid tissue–inducer cells with stroma of the T cell zone
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1605
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[28] Differential function of Tie2 at cell-cell contacts and cell-substratum contacts regulated by angiopoietin-1
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1714
[29] Angiopoietins assemble distinct Tie2 signalling complexes in endothelial cell–cell and cell–matrix contacts
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1715
[30] A pathway for phagosome maturation during engulfment of apoptotic cells
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1718
[31] A crucial role of a high mobility group protein HMGA2 in cardiogenesis
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1719
[32] Extensive fusion of haematopoietic cells with Purkinje neurons in response to chronic inflammation
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1720
[33] Myeloid and lymphoid contribution to non-haematopoietic lineages through irradiation-induced heterotypic cell fusion
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1721
[34] Intercellular transfer of the oncogenic EGFRvIII by microvesicles derived from tumour cells
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1725
[35] Root growth in Arabidopsis requires gibberellin/DELLA signalling in the endodermis
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1726
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[36] A role for ubiquitin in the spliceosome assembly pathway
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1401
[37] Phosphorylation of human PRP28 by SRPK2 is required for integration of the U4/U6-U5 tri-snRNP into the spliceosome
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1415
[38] Aminoacylation of tRNA with phosphoserine for synthesis of cysteinyl-tRNACys
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1423
NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[39] Modeling lymphangiogenesis in a 3D-culture system
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1205
[40] Straightforward ladder sequencing of peptides using a Lys-N metalloendopeptidase
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1204
[41] Fluorescent protein FRET pairs for ratiometric imaging of dual biosensors
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1207
[42] Monovalent, reduced-size quantum dots for imaging receptors on living cells
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1206
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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
Brisbane: 5, 21, 26
Melbourne: 21
Sydney: 21
AUSTRIA
Innsbruck: 10, 11
Vienna: 11, 22, 27
BELGIUM
Ghent: 35, 39
Leuven: 1, 39
Liege: 2, 39
CANADA:
Edmonton: 41
Hamilton: 34
Montreal: 34
Toronto: 34
Vancouver: 32
CHINA
Beijing: 1
FINLAND
Helsinki: 29, 39
Oulu: 29
FRANCE
Grenoble: 13
Montpellier: 35
Paris: 13
GERMANY
Bonn: 33
Garching: 7
Goettingen: 37
Heidelberg: 2, 11
Jena: 2
Karlsruhe: 39
Mannheim: 39
Muenster: 29
Potsdam: 2
Tubingen: 2
ITALY
Bari: 15
Lecce: 15
Modena: 9
Monterotondo: 33
Pisa: 9
JAPAN
Chiba: 31
Ibaraki: 31
Osaka: 28
Shiga: 1
Tokyo: 28, 31
NETHERLANDS
Utrecht: 40
NEW ZEALAND
Auckland: 26
SOUTH KOREA
Daejeon: 28, 29
Seoul: 14
SPAIN
Madrid: 16
SWEDEN
Lund: 33
Stockholm: 32
Umea: 35
SWITZERLAND
Basel: 27
Bern: 29
Epalinges: 27
Geneva: 22
St Gallen: 27
Zurich: 26, 30
UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham: 35
Durham: 12
Edinburgh: 12
Edgbaston: 35
Harpenden: 35
Liverpool: 12
London: 1, 21
Loughborough: 35
Oxford: 23, 33, 42
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Los Angeles: 20, 36
Pasadena: 3
Stanford: 14, 32
Colorado
Boulder: 3
Connecticut
New Haven: 11
Florida
Tallahassee: 41
Georgia
Athens: 18
Illinois
Chicago: 1, 20, 36
Evanston: 36
Maryland
Baltimore: 8, 19, 25
Massachusetts
Boston: 27, 29
Cambridge: 10, 11, 42
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 19
Missouri
Kansas City: 19
St Louis: 19, 25
New Jersey
Murray Hill: 9
Princeton: 4
New York
New York: 9, 27
North Carolina
Durham: 17
Ohio
Cincinnati: 19
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 6, 19, 38
South Carolina
Columbia: 4
Texas
Dallas: 24
Utah
Salt Lake City: 8, 25
Virginia
Charlottesville: 30
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Rachel Twinn (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 Geoscience (London)
Heike Langenberg
Tel: +44 20 7843 4042; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Immunology (New York)
Laurie Dempsey
Tel: +1 212 726 9372; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Materials (London)
Alison Stoddart
Tel: +44 20 7843 4593; 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 Photonics (Tokyo)
Oliver Graydon
Tel: +81 3 3267 8776; 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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