NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 11 October 2009
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Neuroscience: Juggling with white matter
Genetics: Variants associated with blood cell traits
Immunology: Routing rogue bacteria for destruction
· 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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[1] Neuroscience: Juggling with white matter
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2412
Learning a complex task, such as juggling, which involves visual and movement processes results in changes in the connective white matter in the brain, reports a study published this week in Nature Neuroscience.
Grey matter in the brain mostly consists of the cell bodies of neurons, whereas white matter consists of the projections sent out by these cell bodies connecting neurons to each other. Although previous work had reported changes in the grey matter in brains of people learning to juggle, this study is the first demonstration of comparable changes in white matter connections.
To test the idea that practicing a new skill can actually cause changes in white matter, Jan Scholz and his colleagues scanned a group of subjects before and after six weeks of juggling training. They found changes in the parietal lobe of the brain, which has previously been linked to visual and movement functions.
Moreover, the authors found training-associated grey matter changes, some of which were localized to the same area as the white matter changes. This suggests that the training influenced the structure of both the neurons’ cell bodies and their projections. Both these changes were still apparent when subjects were scanned again four weeks after they had last juggled, showing that the changes are quite long lasting. However, there was no correlation between the magnitude of the grey and white matter changes, which led the team to propose that these may be relatively independent processes.
Author contact:
Jan Scholz (Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, UK)
Tel: +44 1865 222 799; E-mail: [email protected]
[2], [3], [4] & [5] Genetics: Variants associated with blood cell traits
DOI: 10.1038/ng.467
DOI: 10.1038/ng.466
DOI: 10.1038/ng.456
DOI: 10.1038/ng.462
Thirty-four new genetic regions are associated with blood cell traits, according to four independent studies published online in this week’s Nature Genetics. These studies provide new insights into genetic loci that regulate variation in blood cell traits.
The number and volume of blood cells are commonly measured in the clinic to help diagnose many diseases and manage treatment, including cancer and cardiovascular, metabolic, infectious, and immune disorders. Nicole Soranzo, Santhi Ganesh and colleagues analyzed the genomes and measured blood traits in nearly 50,000 individuals. Together, the studies report more than 25 new genetic variants that are associated with clinically relevant blood traits, including hemoglobin levels and number and volume of red and white blood cells and platelets.
Beben Benyamin, John Chambers, Jaspal Kooner and colleagues independently verified that the gene TMPRSS6 – also identified by Soranzo and Ganesh – is associated with blood hemoglobin levels. Since defects in TMPRSS6 have previously been linked to patients with iron-refractory iron-deficiency anemia, these findings show that TMPRSS6 is involved in control of iron levels in the general population as well.
Author contacts:
Nicole Soranzo (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK) Author paper [2]
Tel: +44 1223 494838; E-mail: [email protected]
Santhi Ganesh (National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA) Author paper [3]
Tel: + 1 301 402 7512; E-mail: [email protected]
Beben Benyamin (Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia) Author paper [4]
Tel: +61 733 620 169; E-mail: [email protected]
John Chambers (Imperial College London, UK) Author paper [5]
Tel: +44 20 8967 5245; E-mail: [email protected]
Jaspal S Kooner (Imperial College London, UK) Author paper [5]
Tel: +44 7970 666 777; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] Immunology: Routing rogue bacteria for destruction
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1800
A protein has been identified that is responsible for detecting and controlling bacteria that escape some other host defense mechanisms. This protein seems to be involved in the eradication of several highly pathogenic bacteria, as reported in this week’s Nature Immunology.
Although typically sequestered within an isolated compartment within the host cell, harmful bacteria including salmonella – varieties of which can cause typhoid fever and gastroenteritis in humans – occasionally escape this compartment and invade the host cell proper. For as yet undetermined reasons, these ‘escapee’ bacteria are often then coated with the host protein ubiquitin.
Felix Randow and colleagues found that the host protein NDP52 binds to these ubiquitin-coated bacteria and is required for the elimination of the invading bacteria. NDP52 seems to facilitate autophagy – a type of engulfment – of bacteria, by recruiting other host defense proteins. Additional work is needed to determine exactly how many varieties of pathogenic bacteria are controlled by NDP52.
Author contact:
Felix Randow (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK)
Tel: +44 1223 252986; E-mail: [email protected]
***************************************************************
Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature)
[7] SSB protein diffusion on single-stranded DNA stimulates RecA filament formation
DOI: 10.1038/nature08442
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[8] Live cell imaging distinguishes bona fide human iPS cells from partially reprogrammed cells
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1580
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[9] Tudor staphylococcal nuclease is an evolutionarily conserved component of the programmed cell death degradome
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1979
[10] UBE2S elongates ubiquitin chains on APC/C substrates to promote mitotic exit
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1983
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[11] LC/MS analysis of cellular RNA reveals NAD-linked RNA
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.235
NATURE CHEMISTRY (http://www.nature.com/nchem)
[12] Rectification and stability of a single molecular diode with controlled orientation
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.392
NATURE GEOSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/ngeo)
[13] Generation of banded iron formations by internal dynamics and leaching of oceanic crust
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo652
[14] Deep slab hydration induced by bending-related variations in tectonic pressure
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo656
[15] Sea-surface cooling at the Equator by subsurface mixing in tropical instability waves
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo657
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[16] Plasmonic nanorod metamaterials for biosensing
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2546
[17] On the origin of the open-circuit voltage of polymer–fullerene solar cells
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2548
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[18] Matrix-insensitive protein assays push the limits of biosensors in medicine
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2032
[19] Major histocompatibility complex genotyping with massively parallel pyrosequencing
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2038
NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[20] A general life-death selection strategy for dissecting protein functions
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1389
[21] High-resolution identification of balanced and complex chromosomal rearrangements by 4C technology
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1391
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)
[22] Ultrafast graphene photodetector
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.292
[23] Deterministic control of ferroelastic switching in multiferroic materials
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.293
[24] A route to brightly fluorescent carbon nanotubes for near-infrared imaging in mice
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.294
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[25] Presynaptic a2d-3 is required for synaptic morphogenesis independent of its Ca2+-channel functions
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2417
[26] Lhx2 specifies regional fate in Emx1 lineage of telencephalic progenitors generating cerebral cortex
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2427
[27] PDF-modulated visual inputs and Cryptochrome define diurnal behavior in Drosophila
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2429
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[28] Spin-resolved quantum interference in graphene
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1421
[29] Self-induced back-action optical trapping of dielectric nanoparticles
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1422
[30] Near-field cavity optomechanics with nanomechanical oscillators
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1425
[31] Universal quantum control of two-electron spin quantum bits using dynamic nuclear polarization
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1424
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[32]Rates of in situ transcription and splicing in large human genes
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1666
[33] Membrane promotes tBID interaction with BCLXL
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1671
[34 Structural insights into RNA processing by the human RISC-loading complex
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1673
[35] Structural insight into the mechanism and specificity of mammalian sialyltransferases
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1685
***************************************************************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: 4
BELGIUM
Diepenbeek: 17
CANADA:
Montreal: 16, 20
Ottawa: 2, 35
Vancouver: 28, 29, 35
CHINA
Suzhou: 24
DENMARK
Copenhagen: 18
FINLAND
Helsinki: 2, 9
Oulu: 5
Tampere: 9
FRANCE
Gif-sur-Yvette: 27
Marseille: 16
GERMANY
Dresden: 33
Garching: 31
Greifswald: 2, 3
Kiel: 2
Lubeck: 2
Munich: 2, 31
Neuherberg: 2, 3
Regensburg: 2
ICELAND
Kopavogur: 3
ISRAEL
Rehovot: 30
KOREA
Gyeonggi: 12
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 3, 4
Enschede: 23
Leiden: 3
Rotterdam: 3, 21
Utrecht: 21
RUSSIA
Moscow: 12
SPAIN
Barcelona: 2, 29
Valencia: 33
SWEDEN
Linkoping: 17
Stockholm: 9
Uppsala: 9
SWITZERLAND
Geneva: 3
Lausanne: 31
Zurich: 14
TAIWAN
Hsinchu: 23
THAILAND
Pathumthani: 34
UNITED KINGDOM
Cambridge: 2, 5, 6, 10
Durham: 9
Hinxton: 2, 3
Leeds: 2
Leicester: 2
London: 2, 3, 5, 6
Oxford: 1, 5
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Arizona
Tempe: 12
California
Berkeley: 23, 34
La Jolla: 26
Los Angeles: 3, 5
Stanford: 18, 24
Sunnyvale: 18
Connecticut
Branford: 19
New Haven: 34
District of Columbia
Washington: 2
Florida
Jacksonville: 16
Florida
Tampa: 12
Illinois
Chicago: 12
Urbana: 7, 19
Indiana
Bloomington: 13
Indianapolis: 19
Maryland
Baltimore: 3
Bethesda: 3
Hyattsville: 3
Massachusetts
Boston: 2, 3, 8, 25
Cambridge: 2, 7, 8, 11, 30
Framingham: 3
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 5
Missouri
St Louis: 4, 7
New Mexico
Albuquerque: 13
New York
Yorktown Heights: 22
Ohio
Cleveland: 32
Oregon
Corvallis: 15
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 2
University Park: 23
Tennessee
Oak Ridge: 23
Texas
Houston: 3
Vermont
Burlington: 3
Washington
Seattle: 2, 3, 15
Wisconsin
Madison: 13, 19
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]
Neda Afsarmanesh (Nature New York)
Tel: +1 212 726 9231; E-mail: [email protected]
Ruth Francis (Head of Press, 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)
Craig Mak
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 Chemistry (London)
Stuart Cantrill
Tel: +44 20 7014 4018; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Genetics (New York)
Myles Axton
Tel: +1 212 726 9324; 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)
Vincent Dusastre
Tel: +44 20 7843 4531; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Medicine (New York)
Juan Carlos Lopez
Tel: +1 212 726 9325; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Methods (New York)
Hugh Ash
Tel: +1 212 726 9627; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Nanotechnology (London)
Peter Rodgers
Tel: +44 20 7014 4019; Email: [email protected]
Nature Neuroscience (New York)
Kalyani Narasimhan
Tel: +1 212 726 9319; 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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