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This press release is copyright Nature.
VOL.471 NO.7336 DATED 03 MARCH 2011
This press release contains:
Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Cancer: Getting to grips with resistance
Astrophysics: How the Sun loses its spots
Climate science: Local impact of insolation on climate variation
Quantum physics: Another role for Bose–Einstein condensates
And finally… The double life of annelid worms
Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
Notification of retraction
Geographical listing of authors
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[1] & [2] Cancer: Getting to grips with resistance (pp 104-114)
A newly identified mechanism that helps explain why some tumours are resistant to specific anti-cancer drugs could help improve patient care and drug design.
Two Nature papers demonstrate how, in certain cancers, loss or deletion of the tumour suppressor FBW7 blocks degradation of the pro-survival protein MCL1. Ingrid Wertz and colleagues show that in ovarian cancer, the mechanism is activated during mitotic arrest and determines response to antitubulin chemotherapeutics such as Taxol and vincristine. Wenyi Wei and colleagues find that in T-lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), the mechanism determines the response of drugs targeting the BCL2 family of cell suicide proteins.
Loss of the FBW7 tumour suppressor is found in various cancers, including breast and colon cancer. So treating these patients with antitubulin or BCL2-targeted cancer drugs may be of limited value, the studies indicate. Furthermore, analysing levels of FBW7 and MCL1 could offer a simple molecular diagnostic test to identify which patients are likely to benefit from these therapies. These findings may possibly apply to other types of cancer in which FBW7 is lost, in addition to ovarian cancer and T-ALL.
CONTACT
Ingrid Wertz (Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, CA, USA) Author paper [1]
Tel: +1 650 467 6841; E-mail: [email protected]
Wenyi Wei (Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA) Author paper [2]
Tel: +1 617 735 2495; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Astrophysics: How the Sun loses its spots (pp 80-82)
The unusually prolonged minimum in solar sunspot activity at the end of the last solar cycle finds an explanation in Nature this week. According to magnetic dynamo simulations reported by Dibyendu Nandy and colleagues, the answer lies in variations in the speed of the equatorward flow of plasma in the Sun’s interior.
The Sun’s magnetic activity varies periodically, exhibiting an ~11-year cycle that can be monitored by observing the frequency and location of sunspots. As well as being of fundamental interest, the solar cycle is relevant to conditions on and near the Earth, through its effects on the Sun’s radiative output, its radio flux, and the cosmic-ray flux reaching the inner Solar System.
Towards the end of solar cycle 23, which had peaked in 2001, the Sun’s activity entered a prolonged minimum, characterized by a very weak polar magnetic field and an unusually large number of days without sunspots. Nandy and colleagues used a mathematical model of the Sun’s magnetic dynamo to simulate 210 sunspot cycles, while varying the speed of the north–south (‘meridional’) circulation of plasma. The results show that a fast meridional flow in the first half of a cycle, followed by a slower flow in the second half, leads to a deep sunspot minimum, and can reproduce the observed characteristics of the cycle 23 minimum.
CONTACT
Dibyendu Nandy (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India)
Tel: +91 974 860 6215; E-mail: [email protected]
[4] Climate science: Local impact of insolation on climate variation (pp 91-94; N&V)
A theory of climate change may be challenged by new findings reported in Nature this week.
The Milankovitch theory — the basis of current thinking — states that glacial to interglacial climate change is driven by variations in the amount of incoming solar radiation (insolation) received by high northern latitudes during summer, and that these northern influences in turn control Antarctic climate. Local Antarctic insolation, however, may be more closely synchronized with orbital effects than previously thought.
Thomas Laepple and colleagues report that Antarctic temperature variation, calculated by analysing ice cores, is not entirely governed by Northern Hemisphere insolation. Instead, the temperatures vary according to local insolation that has been weighted by seasonal snow accumulation patterns. Therefore, the Antarctic ice core records may not, in themselves, provide sufficient support for the Milankovitch theory.
CONTACT
Thomas Laepple (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany)
This author is currently based in Boston, MA, USA.
Tel: +1 617 495 5941; E-mail: [email protected]
Gerrit Lohmann (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany) Co-author
Tel: +49 471 4831 1758; E-mail: [email protected]
Martin Werner (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany) Co-author
Tel: +49 471 4831 1882; E-mail: [email protected]
Koji Fujita (Nagoya University, Japan) N&V author
Tel: +81 52 789 3479; E-mail: [email protected]
[5] Quantum physics: Another role for Bose–Einstein condensates (pp 83-86; N&V)
The repertoire of ultracold atomic gases as quantum simulators of electronic systems expands still further this week, with the realization of a phenomenon known as spin–orbit coupling in a Bose–Einstein condensate. This achievement, published in this week’s Nature, sets the stage for exploring exotic quantum systems such as topological insulators.
Quantum systems of ultracold atoms, such as Bose–Einstein condensates, can provide precisely controllable ‘scale models’ for investigating the complex behaviours of electrons in condensed-matter systems. Spin–orbit coupling — the interaction between a quantum particle’s spin and its momentum — is ubiquitous in electronic systems. In crystalline solids, it underlies the exotic behaviour of zero-magnetic-field topological insulators, and is important for spintronics applications. But until now, spin–orbit coupling has not been achieved in neutral atoms, or in any system of bosonic (integer-spin) particles.
Ian Spielman and colleagues have engineered spin–orbit coupling in a Bose–Einstein condensate of neutral rubidium atoms by using lasers to create a momentum-sensitive coupling between two internal atomic ‘spin’ states. Because the spin–orbit interaction relies on the laser field, its strength can be adjusted at will. This capability, the absence of the material imperfections that plague condensed-matter systems, and the ability to extend the present results to fermionic (half-integer-spin) atoms, should make ultracold atomic gases an ideal test-bed for the further study of topological insulators and other novel systems.
CONTACT
Ian Spielman (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA)
Tel: +1 301 975 8664; E-mail: [email protected]
Michael Chapman (Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 404 894 5223; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] And finally… The double life of annelid worms (pp 95-98; N&V)
Most annelids (segmented worms) can be divided into two major groups, Sedentaria and Errantia, reports a phylogenomic analysis published in Nature this week. Members of the former clade are specialised for a sedentary lifestyle, whereas the latter are adapted for a more active lifestyle, the study shows.
The annelids comprise one of the largest and most diverse animal phyla but their evolutionary relationships are poorly understood. A 150-year-old hypothesis proposed the division of most annelids into Errantia and Sedentaria based on their morphology and mode of life but this theory was dismissed in the 1970s because it was said to be an arbitrary grouping.
Torsten Struck and colleagues conducted a phylogenomic analysis of 34 annelid taxa and found that the division of annelids into Errantia and Sedentaria is, in fact, well supported by genetic data. Errantia, such as the marine worm Platynereis, are more mobile and active, which correlates with their increased sensory perception and motility. Sedentaria, such as the sand-dwelling Capitella, meanwhile, have fewer head and body appendages, which suits their more sessile lifestyle. The findings suggest that details of anatomy and life history have influenced the evolution of this important animal group.
CONTACT
Torsten Struck (University of Osnabrück, Germany)
Tel: +49 541 969 3450; E-mail: [email protected]
Detlev Arendt (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany) N&V author
Tel: +49 6221 387624; E-mail: [email protected]
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE…
[7] Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? (pp 51-57)
[8] Copy number variation and selection during reprogramming to pluripotency (pp 58-62; N&V)
[9] Somatic coding mutations in human induced pluripotent stem cells (pp 63-67; N&V)
[10] HDACs link the DNA damage response, processing of double-strand breaks and autophagy (pp 74-79; N&V)
[11] Quantum Metropolis sampling (pp 87-90)
[12] A tension-induced mechanotransduction pathway promotes epithelial morphogenesis (pp 99-103
[13] X chromosome dosage compensation via enhanced transcriptional elongation in Drosophila (pp 115-118)
[14] The RAG2 C terminus suppresses genomic instability and lymphomagenesis (pp 119-123)
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NOTIFICATION OF RETRACTION
Mediation of pathogen resistance by exudation of antimicrobials from roots
DOI: 10.1038/nature09809
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ADVANCE ONLINE PUBLICATION
***These papers will be published electronically on Nature's website on 02 March at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern Time as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included them on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 03 March, but at a later date. ***
[15] MHC class II transactivator CIITA is a recurrent gene fusion partner in lymphoid cancers
DOI: 10.1038/nature09754
[16] A rapid mechanism to remobilize and homogenize highly crystalline magma bodies
DOI: 10.1038/nature 09799
[17] Functional complementation between FADD and RIP1 in embryos and lymphocytes
DOI: 10.1038/nature 09878
[18] Catalytic activity of the caspase-8–FLIPL complex inhibits RIPK3-dependent necrosis
DOI: 10.1038/nature 09852
[19] RIP3 mediates the embryonic lethality of caspase-8-deficient mice
DOI: 10.1038/nature09857
[20] Structure and mechanism of the hexameric MecA–ClpC molecular machine
DOI: 10.1038/nature 09780
[21] Chromosome length influences replication-induced topological stress
DOI: 10.1038/nature 09791
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[22] Duplications of the neuropeptide receptor gene VIPR2 confer significant risk for schizophrenia
DOI: 10.1038/nature09884
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
Parkville: 1
AUSTRIA
Vienna: 11
BRAZIL
Sao Paulo: 7
CANADA
Sherbrooke: 11
Toronto: 8, 18, 19
Vancouver: 15
CHILE
Santiago: 22
CHINA
Beijing: 20
Zhejiang: 17
FINLAND
Helsinki: 8
Tampere: 8
Turku: 8
FRANCE
Illkirch: 12
Orléans: 16
GERMANY
Berlin: 6
Bonn: 8
Bremerhaven: 4
Garching: 11
Hannover: 11
Leipzig: 6
Mainz: 6
Osnabrück: 6
Potsdam: 6
INDIA
Kolkata: 3
IRELAND
Dublin: 22
ITALY
Milan: 10
JAPAN
Fukuoka: 2
Tokyo: 21
Yokohama: 21
MEXICO
Mexico City: 5
NETHERLANDS
Groningen: 15
SPAIN
Barcelona: 9
SWEDEN
Stockholm: 21
UNITED KINGDOM
London: 14
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Arizona
Phoenix: 22
Tucson: 15
California
Berkeley: 7, 10
La Jolla: 9, 18, 22
Santa Cruz: 12
South San Francisco: 1
Connecticut
New Haven: 14
Georgia
Atlanta: 19
Illinois
Abbott Park: 1
Chicago: 22
Maine
Bar Harbor: 2
Maryland
Bethesda: 15
Gaithersburg: 5
Rockville: 9
Massachusetts
Boston: 2, 9, 13
Brockton: 22
Cambridge: 3, 9
Charlestown: 2
Worcester: 17
Montana
Bozeman: 3
New York
Bronx: 15
Cold Spring Harbor: 22
Ithaca: 13
New York: 10, 14, 22
North Carolina
Durham: 7
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 17
Rhode Island
Providence: 13
Tennessee
Memphis: 18
Texas
Houston: 14, 22
Washington
Seattle: 16, 22
Wisconsin
Madison: 9
PRESS CONTACTS…
From North America and Canada
Neda Afsarmanesh, Nature New York
Tel: +1 212 726 9231; 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
Rebecca Walton, Nature, London
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; E-mail: [email protected]
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