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This press release is copyright Nature.
VOL.457 NO.7231 DATED 12 FEBRUARY 2009
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Genomes: Going ape
Developmental biology: Blood cell ‘birth’ caught on camera
Nanotechnology: Petite press breaks the mould
Stem cells: Gene influences stem cell fate
· Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
· Geographical listing of authors
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[1] Genomes: Going ape (pp 877-881)
The first comparative map of four primate genomes is published in Nature this week. The map is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of all human segmental duplications, and will appear in the 12 February issue, which marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin.
Evan Eichler and colleagues show that around one-third of the segmental duplication — which has fundamental roles in both genomic disease and gene evolution — is human-specific and another third is variable in copy number between the species. They also found that the ancestral branch leading to humans and the African great apes shows acceleration of these duplications at a time when other mutational processes, such as single-base-pair mutation, were slowing. This apparent burst of activity may be the result of changes in the number of breeding individuals in the population, generation time, or imply a period of genomic destabilization.
CONTACT
Evan Eichler (University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA)
Tel: +1 206 543 9526; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Developmental biology: Blood cell ‘birth’ caught on camera (pp 896-900)
A new imaging technique has enabled researchers to watch single embryonic endothelial cells give rise to blood cells. The method, described in this week’s Nature, helps settle the controversy of which cell type gives rise to blood in the embryo, as well as providing a useful cell tracking tool for biologists.
Timm Schroeder and colleagues developed the technology, which enables the fate, morphology and molecular profile of a cultured cell to be tracked in real time over days. They studied thousands of endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, and saw that a subset were able to form blood cells.
CONTACT
Timm Schroeder (Helmholtz Zentrum, Munich, Germany)
Tel: +49 89 3187 3758; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Nanotechnology: Petite press breaks the mould (pp 868-872)
A new method for imprinting onto materials on the nanometre scale has been developed. The procedure, described in this week’s Nature, should aid the production of high density storage devices, such as CDs and DVDs.
Jan Schroers and colleagues made their moulds from amorphous metal, which is tougher and easier to process than the more conventional silicon. They produced moulds sporting features as small as 13 nanometres, including tiny tweezers, forceps and gears. These were then used for imprinting onto polymers and other amorphous metals.
The new moulds are also reusable — features can be erased and the mould re-sculpted — so they may also find use in the manufacture of high density rewritable devices.
CONTACT
Jan Schroers (Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA)
Tel: +1 203 432 4346; E-mail: [email protected]
[4] Stem cells: Gene influences stem cell fate (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature07726
***This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 11 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 12 February, but at a later date. ***
Postnatal stem cells need the MII1 gene switched on if they are to form neurons, a Nature paper reveals. Understanding the mechanisms that guide stem cells to become one cell type or another is important if the cells are to be used therapeutically.
Gene expression is regulated, at least in part, by the structure of chromatin — the complex of nucleotides and protein that make up chromosomes. It’s known that MII1 influences chromatin structure, and Arturo Alvarez-Buylla and colleagues now show that MII1 is essential for neural stem cells to form neurons, but not the supportive, non-neuronal glial cells found in the postnatal brain.
CONTACT
Arturo Alvarez-Buylla (University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 415 514 2348; E-mail: [email protected]
[5] Cancer: Urine clues for prostate cancer (pp 910-914; N&V)
A potential biomarker for cancer has been identified in urine. The study published this week in Nature suggests that the molecule sarcosine may be an important indicator of prostate cancer progression and spread.
Arul Chinnaiyan and colleagues profiled the metabolites present in the urine of prostate cancer patients compared with that of healthy individuals. They found that sarcosine — a derivative of the amino acid glycine — was present at higher levels in the urine of patients with aggressive prostate cancer. The team went on to show that simply adding sarcosine to cultures of benign prostate cells was enough to turn them into invasive cancer cells capable of spread, indicating that the molecule may have an important role in disease.
This is the first time a marker for prostate cancer has been detected in urine, and with further research could make for easier and less invasive testing. The researchers hope that their findings could one day be used to aid prostate cancer diagnosis and may offer new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.
CONTACT
Arul Chinnaiyan (University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
This author can be contacted through:
Nicole Fawcett (University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
Tel: +1 734 764 2220; E-mail: [email protected]
Cory Abate-Shen (Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA) N&V co-author
Tel: +1 212 851 4731; E-mail: [email protected]
Michael M. Shen (Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA) N&V co-author
Tel: +1 212 851 4723; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] Commentary: Should scientists study ‘race’ and IQ? (pp 786-789)
The question of the extent to which genetics is responsible for group differences in intelligence has a controversial past. From the nineteenth century to the present day, getting involved in the debate has made or broken the careers of many scientists. Views have shifted over time, but the question still stands. Should scientists devote their time to studying possible links between intelligence and ‘race’ or gender?
In a Commentary in this week’s Nature, Steven Rose argues that the question is fundamentally misguided. He reasons that “the categories of intelligence are not definable within the framework required for natural science research” and that, in any case, “we lack the theoretical or technical tools to study them”. Ultimately, he questions how the fruits of such research could ever be put to good use.
On the other side, Stephen Ceci and Wendy Williams argue that it is a question of free speech and is both morally defensible and important for the pursuit of truth. “When scientists are silenced… we risk losing a generation of desperately needed research”, they write.
Both parties will have opportunity to respond to each other and continue the debate online at http://tinyurl.com/askwhp, where we also invite contributions from our readers.
CONTACT
Steven Rose (Open University, UK)
Tel: +44 190 865 2125; E-mail: [email protected]
Stephen Ceci (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 607 273 0039; E-mail: [email protected]
Wendy Williams (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 607 273 0039; E-mail: [email protected]
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE…
[5] Life without a wall or division machine in Bacillus subtilis (pp 849-853)
[6] ChIP-seq accurately predicts tissue-specific activity of enhancers (pp 854-858)
[7] Tunable delay of Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen entanglement (pp 859-862; N&V)
[8] Magma-compensated crustal thinning in continental rift zones (pp 873-876)
ADVANCE ONLINE PUBLICATION
***These papers will be published electronically on Nature's website on 11 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 12 February, but at a later date. ***
[9] Comprehensive polymorphism survey elucidates population structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
DOI: 10.1038/nature07670
[10] Population genomics of domestic and wild yeasts
DOI: 10.1038/nature07743
[11] IFNa activates dormant haematopoietic stem cells in vivo
DOI: 10.1038/nature07815
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.
DENMARK
Copenhagen: 8
FRANCE
Strasbourg: 9
GERMANY
Hannover: 11
Heidelberg: 11
Langen: 11
Neuherberg: 2
ITALY
Bari: 1
JAPAN
Kobe: 2
SPAIN
Barcelona: 1
Valencia: 4
SWEDEN
Gothenburg: 10
SWITZERLAND
Lausanne: 11
TAIWAN
Tao-Yuan: 4
UNITED KINGDOM
Ascot: 10
Birmingham: 7
Cambridge: 10
Liverpool: 10
Manchester: 10
Newcastle: 5
Nottingham: 10
Norwich: 10
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 6
La Jolla: 6
San Francisco: 4
Stanford: 4
Walnut Creek: 6
Connecticut
New Haven: 3
Massachusetts
Cambridge: 10
Gaithersburg: 7
Missouri
St Louis: 1
New Hampshire
Hanover: 4
New Jersey
Princeton: 9
Washington
Seattle: 1
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From North America and Canada
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Tel: +1 212 726 9231; E-mail: [email protected]
Katie McGoldrick, Nature Washington
Tel: +1 202 737 2355; E-mail: [email protected]
From Japan, Korea, China, Singapore and Taiwan
Mika Nakano, Nature Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; E-mail: [email protected]
From the UK/Europe/other countries not listed above
Jen Middleton, Nature London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; E-mail [email protected]
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