NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 22 August 2010
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below. Its use is granted only for journalists and news media receiving it directly from the Nature journals.
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Medicine: A new target against addiction
Materials: Culturally combinatorial
Medicine: Nucleic acids protect monkeys against the Ebola virus
Genetics: Variants associated with esophageal and gastric cancers
Nature: A critical gene for cortical development
Geoscience: Methane-eating moss
And finally…Geoscience: Older age for the Solar System
· 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] Medicine: A new target against addiction
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2200
Inhibiting the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH-2)—a natural enzyme in the body—may have therapeutic potential against cocaine addiction, according to an article in this week’s Nature Medicine.
Despite many studies of the neurobiology of drug addiction, there is no effective treatment for cocaine addiction. ALDH-2 is known to reduce the level of acetaldehyde, a molecule that accumulates after alcohol abuse to trigger the symptoms of a hangover. Lina Yao and her colleagues show that an inhibitor of ALDH-2 prevents rats from self-administering cocaine. The inhibitor acts by indirectly decreasing the production and release of dopamine, a molecule critical for the rewarding effects of cocaine and other drugs.
Crucially, the inhibitor not only prevented cocaine self-administration, but also relapse—the return to the addictive state after a period of improvement. As relapse is often a health problem as serious as the original addiction, the therapeutic potential of ALDH-2 inhibitors warrants serious consideration.
Author contact:
Lina Yao (Gilead Sciences, Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 650 384 8500; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Materials: Culturally combinatorial
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2812
Clonal growth of human stem cells from a single dissociated cell, and without the need for added animal and other components, is reported online this week in Nature Materials. This rapid and quantitative method could lead to the easy generation of cloned cultures of clinically important single cells, opening up the possibility for use in gene manipulation and for various therapeutic purposes.
Daniel Anderson and colleagues describe a high-throughput combinatorial array method for analysing hundreds of polymer substrates to find structure–function relationships between the chemistry of the substrate surface and the response of the stem cell. They discovered culture substrates that can be used to clonally expand fully dissociated single human pluripotent stem cells — that is, that have the ability to differentiate into any cell type — and induced pluripotent stem cells in an environment without feeder cells and animal components. Avoiding usage of these additional components may reduce the risk of immune rejection problems.
Author contact:
Daniel Anderson (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 258 6843; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Medicine: Nucleic acids protect monkeys against the Ebola virus
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2202
Nucleic acid analogs often used to modify gene expression—called morpholino oligomers—can protect primates from the lethal effect of the Ebola virus, according an article published this week in Nature Medicine. Though not tested in humans, these findings may highlight a potential for therapies in humans.
No vaccines or therapeutics exist to counter the highly pathogenic Ebola and the related Marburg viruses, which cause viral hemorrhagic fever.
Sina Bavari and her colleagues now show that injection of morpholino oligomers directed against viral genes kept rhesus monkeys from dying after infection with the Ebola or Marburg virus. Importantly, the monkeys were protected even if the morpholinos were administered one hour after exposure to the viruses, highlighting the potential of the approach as a therapeutic strategy in an emergency setting.
Author contact:
Sina Bavari (USAMRIID, Fort Detrick, MD, USA)
Tel: +1 301 619 4246; E-mail: [email protected]
[4] & [5] Genetics: Variants associated with esophageal and gastric cancers
DOI: 10.1038/ng.648
DOI: 10.1038/ng.649
Genetic variants associated with both esophageal and gastric cancer are reported in two studies published this week in Nature Genetics. This suggests there may be some shared mechanism in pathogenesis of these two common cancers.
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cancer each show the highest prevalence in regions of Asia, and are two of the most common cancers found in China. Li-Dong Wang and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for ESCC in a combined 9,053 cases from China. They identify two genomic regions associated with ESCC, and find that both regions are also associated with gastric cancer in 2,766 gastric cancer cases.
In an independent companion study, Christian Abnet and colleagues report genome-wide association studies for ESCC and gastric cancers, conducted in parallel, in a total 2,240 gastric cancer cases and 2,115 ESCC cases from five independent studies in China. The authors identified one of the same genomic regions found by Wang and colleagues as associated with both ESCC and gastric cancer.
Author contacts:
Li-Dong Wang (Xinxiang Medical University, Henan, China) Author paper [4]
Tel: +86 37166 658 335; E-mail: [email protected]
Christian Abnet (National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA) Author paper [5]
Tel: +1 301 594 1511; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] Nature: A critical gene for cortical development
DOI: 10.1038/nature09327
A gene that is crucial for the development of the human cerebral cortex is described in this week’s Nature.
Recessive mutations in WDR62 can cause a variety of seemingly disparate brain abnormalities, including abnormally small brains and unusually thickened convolutions of the cerebral cortex. So defects in cortical development previously thought to be distinct may in fact have a single underlying cause, Murat Günel and colleagues speculate. The gene seems to be active within the nuclei of neural progenitors, indicating that these cortical abnormalities may occur during development as progenitors proliferate and give rise to cortical neurons.
Pinpointing the genetic abnormalities underlying malformations of cortical development has proved difficult, as the disorders are characterized by genetic heterogeneity, small family sizes and diagnostic classifications that may not reflect the underlying molecular cause. This study uses whole-exome sequencing — the selective sequencing of the coding regions of the human genome — to identify the WDR62 mutations, highlighting the power of this technique to identify novel disease-linked genes.
Author contact:
Murat Günel (Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA)
Tel: +1 203 737 2096; E-mail: [email protected]
[7] Geoscience: Methane-eating moss
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo939
Methane-consuming bacteria form associations with mosses growing in peat bogs around the globe, potentially reducing methane emissions from the bogs, suggests a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Peat bogs release large quantities of methane — a potent greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere, a contribution that is expected to increase in a warmer world.
Huub Op den Camp and colleagues measured methane consumption in mosses collected from peat bogs around the globe. They found that all mosses consumed methane, owing to a symbiotic association with methane-eating bacteria living within them. They also noted that the capacity of the mosses to soak up methane increased with temperature.
The researchers therefore suggest that the symbiosis could counteract projected increases in the release of methane from peat bogs under global warming.
Author contact:
Huub Op den Camp (Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
Tel: +31 243 652 657; E-mail: [email protected]
[8] And finally…Geoscience: Older age for the Solar System
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo941
The Solar System could be up to two million years older than previously thought, reports a paper published online this week in Nature Geoscience. The revised older age comes from an analysis of a relict mineral contained within a meteorite — called a mineral inclusion — found in northwest Africa.
Such inclusions are among the oldest solid materials formed following the birth of the Sun, and dating of this material can provide one of the most precise estimates of the age of the formation of the Solar System. Audrey Bouvier and Meenakshi Wadhwa use a dating technique relying on lead isotopes to determine the age of this particular inclusion. They find that the inclusion formed 4,568.2 million years ago — between 0.3 and 1.9 million years earlier than previous estimates.
This age makes the inclusion the oldest material from the Solar System that has been dated so far.
Author contact:
Audrey Bouvier (Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA)
Tel: +1 480 965 7762; 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 BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[9] Draft genome sequence of the oilseed species Ricinus communis
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1674
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[10] Cytoskeletal keratin glycosylation protects epithelial tissue from injury
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2091
[11] A kinetochore-independent mechanism drives anaphase chromosome separation during acentrosomal meiosis
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2093
[12] Coupling between clathrin-dependent endocytic budding and F‑BAR-dependent tubulation in a cell-free system
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2094
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[13] Methylation of FEN1 suppresses nearby phosphorylation and facilitates PCNA binding
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.422
[14] Genome instability due to ribonucleotide incorporation into DNA
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.424
NATURE CHEMISTRY (http://www.nature.com/nchem)
[15] A combinatorial approach to the identification of self-assembled ligands for rhodium-catalysed asymmetric hydrogenation
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.800
[16] Bridging-ligand-substitution strategy for the preparation of metal–organic polyhedra
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.803
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[17] A large and complex structural polymorphism at 16p12.1 underlies microdeletion disease risk
DOI: 10.1038/ng.643
[18] ChIP-Seq identification of weakly conserved heart enhancers
DOI: 10.1038/ng.650
NATURE GEOSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/ngeo)
[19] Skill in streamflow forecasts derived from large-scale estimates of soil moisture and snow
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo944
[20] Significant sink of ocean eddy energy near western boundaries
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo943
[21] Pervasive oxygenation along Late Archaean ocean margins
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo942
[22] An integrated perspective of the continuum between earthquakes and slow-slip phenomena
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo940
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[23] The Jmjd3-Irf4 axis regulates M2 macrophage polarization and host responses against helminth infection
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1920
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[24] Colour-barcoded magnetic microparticles for multiplexed bioassays
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2815
[25] Band-like temperature dependence of mobility in a solution-processed organic semiconductor
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2825
[26] Electronic transport in polycrystalline graphene
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2830
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[27] Inhibitors of leucine-rich repeat kinase-2 protect against models of Parkinson’s disease
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2199
NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[28] Analysis of microtubule dynamic instability using a plus end growth marker
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1493
[29] An antibiotic selection marker for nematode transgenesis
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1494
[30] Rapid selection of transgenic C. elegans using antibiotic resistance
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1495
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)
[31] Boron nitride substrates for high-quality graphene electronics
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2010.172
[32] Ultrasensitive detection of force and displacement using trapped ions
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2010.165
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[33] Narp regulates homeostatic scaling of excitatory synapses on parvalbumin-expressing interneurons
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2621
[34] Dnmt3a regulates emotional behavior and spine plasticity in the nucleus accumbens
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2619
[35] Pias3-dependent SUMOylation controls mammalian cone photoreceptor differentiation
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2618
[36] Chronic monoacylglycerol lipase blockade causes functional antagonism of the endocannabinoid system
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2616
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[37] Coherent dynamics of macroscopic electronic order through a symmetry-breaking transition
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1738
[38] The Peregrine soliton in nonlinear fibre optics
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1740
[39] Visualization of charge transport through Landau levels in graphene
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1745
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[40] Structural basis for selective activation of ABA receptors
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1898
[41] Identification and mechanism of ABA receptor antagonism
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1887
[42] 14-3-3 adaptor proteins recruit AID to 5′-AGCT-3′–rich switch regions for class switch recombination
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1884
[43] A paralog of lysyl-tRNA synthetase aminoacylates a conserved lysine residue in translation elongation factor P
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1889
*********************************************************************
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
Canberra: 38
Sydney: 32
AUSTRIA
Seibersdorf: 7
CANADA:
Burnaby: 29
CHINA
Anhui: 4
Beijing: 4, 5
Fujian: 4
Guangdong: 4
Hebei: 4
Henan: 4
Huhhot: 4
Jiangsu: 4
Ningxia: 4
Shaanxi: 4
Shandong: 4
Shanghai: 4, 5
Shanxi: 4, 5
Sichuan: 4
Xinjiang: 4
Yunnan: 4
Zhejiang: 4
FINLAND
Tampere: 38
Turku: 10
FRANCE
Besancon: 38
Cachan: 38
Dijon: 38
Orsay: 37
Pessac: 29
GERMANY
Freiburg: 15
Goettingen: 9
Ulm: 10, 42
HUNGARY
Budapest: 42
IRELAND
Dublin: 38
ITALY
Bari: 17
JAPAN
Hyogo: 23
Nagasaki: 23
Osaka: 23, 35
Tokyo: 23, 43
Tsukuba: 31
Yokohama: 43
NETHERLANDS
Den Burg: 7
Nijmegen: 7
Utrecht: 7, 34
NIGERIA
Ibadan: 9
SAUDI ARABIA
Thuwal: 41
SINGAPORE
Singapore: 5, 41
SLOVENIA
Ljubljana: 37
SOUTH AFRICA
Pretoria: 32
SOUTH KOREA
Daejeon: 42
Seoul: 2, 10, 24
Suwon: 31
SPAIN
Barcelona: 17, 30
SWEDEN
Umea: 14
SWITZERLAND
Zurich: 28
TURKEY
Ankara: 6
Istanbul: 6
Izmir: 6
Kayseri: 6
UNITED KINGDOM
Cambridge: 25
Newcastle: 21
Nottingham: 2
Oxford: 20
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Alabama
Birmingham: 27
Arizona
Tempe: 8, 21
Tucson: 13
California
Albany: 9
Berkeley: 18, 26
Duarte: 13
Irvine: 42
La Jolla: 18, 28, 36, 42
Los Angeles: 34
Palo Alto: 1
Riverside: 21, 40, 41
San Diego: 11
San Francisco: 12, 18, 28
Stanford: 37
Walnut Creek: 18
Colorado
Boulder: 32
Connecticut
New Haven: 6, 12
District of Columbia
Washington: 27
Florida
Jacksonville: 27
Tallahassee: 34
Georgia
Atlanta: 22, 42
Maryland
Baltimore: 9, 19, 27, 33, 35
Bethesda: 1, 5, 33
College Park: 9, 21
Fort Detrick: 3
Frederick: 5
Germantown: 3
Greenbelt: 19
Rockville: 9
Silver Spring: 5
Massachusetts
Boston: 28, 29
Cambridge: 2, 9, 12, 34
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 10
Grand Rapids: 41
Minnesota
Minneapolis: 5
Missouri
St Louis: 12, 17, 35
Nebraska
Lincoln: 9
New Jersey
Piscataway: 4
New York
Albany: 42
New York: 31, 34, 43
Rochester: 27
Stony Brook: 39
Upton: 39
North Carolina
Research Triangle: 14
Oregon
Corvallis: 3
South Carolina
Charleston: 1
Tennessee
Nashville: 5
Texas
College Station: 16
Dallas: 34
Virginia
Richmond: 36
Washington
Seattle: 17, 19, 22
Spokane: 17
Wisconsin
Madison: 17, 40
Milwaukee: 36, 40
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)
Michael Francisco
Tel: +1 212 726 9288; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Cell Biology (London)
Sowmya Swaminathan
Tel: +44 20 7843 4656; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemical Biology (Boston)
Sarah Daniels
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)
Sabbi Lall
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]
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