Warmth projected for subsurface oceans

Summaries of newsworthy papers: Geoscience: Warmth projected for subsurface oceans; Medicine: The myelin fix; Geoscience: Metal-rich mud; Generation of dopaminergic neurons from fibroblasts

This press release contains a summaries of newsworthy papers:

Geoscience: Warmth projected for subsurface oceans
Medicine: The myelin fix
Geoscience: Metal-rich mud
And finally…Nature: Generation of dopaminergic neurons from fibroblasts

Mention of papers to be published at the same time
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.

[1] Geoscience: Warmth projected for subsurface oceans
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1189

Over the course of the twenty-first century, the subsurface oceans surrounding the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are projected to warm by 1.7–2 °C and 0.5–0.6 °C, respectively, concludes a study published online in Nature Geoscience. The projected warming could lead to substantial increases in ice loss, and hence also sea level.

Jianjun Yin and colleagues analysed simulations for the twenty-first century with 19 state-of-the-art climate models based on a mid-range emission scenario. They find that at depths between about 200 and 500m, the oceans around both ice sheets are projected to warm substantially beyond the temperature changes observed so far.

Warming around Greenland is simulated to be twice as large as the global average, whereas warming near Antarctica is only half as large.

Author contact:
Jianjun Yin (University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA)
Tel: +1 520 626 7453; E-mail: [email protected]

[2] Medicine: The myelin fix
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2373

The upregulation of the death receptor 6 (DR6), in the brain could be inhibiting brain repair in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). These results, published online this week in Nature Medicine, could potentially lead to new a therapeutic approach for multiple sclerosis.

In multiple sclerosis, patients exhibit massive demyelination—where the protective layer on axons is damaged—which is one of the reasons for the neurological dysfunction that characterizes the disease.
Sha Mi and colleagues found that DR6 was upregulated in brain tissue from those who suffered from MS. The authors found similar results in a rat model of the disease.

They believe that DR6 seems to act by killing off immature oligodendrocytes—support cells in the brain—that could otherwise repair the damaged myelin. By using antibodies to block DR6 in the rat model of MS, they find that oligodendrocytes could repair the myelin and ameliorate neurological dysfunction.

Author contact:
Sha Mi (Biogen Idec, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 679 3843; E-mail: [email protected]

[3] Geoscience: Metal-rich mud
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1185

Deep-sea mud is a highly promising giant resource for rare-earth elements and the metal yttrium, according to a study published online in Nature Geoscience this week.

World demand for rare-earth elements and yttrium — crucial for electronic equipment and green energy technologies — is rapidly increasing. Yasuhiro Kato and colleagues analysed the composition of more than 2,000 samples of seafloor sediments in the Pacific Ocean. The sediments contained high concentrations of rare-earth elements and yttrium.

The researchers estimate that an area of just one square kilometre, surrounding one of the sampling sites, could provide one-fifth of the current annual world consumption of these elements.

Author contact:
Yasuhiro Kato (University of Tokyo, Japan)
Tel: +81 3 5841 7022; E-mail: [email protected]

[4] And finally…Nature: Generation of dopaminergic neurons from fibroblasts
DOI: 10.1038/nature10284

Direct conversion of mouse and human fibroblasts into functional dopaminergic neurons using just three transcription factors is demonstrated in Nature this week. These findings might have future therapeutic applications, such as in regenerative therapies for Parkinson’s disease and related disorders.
In an attempt to bypass the pluripotent step for cell transplantation therapies, Vania Broccoli and colleagues identify three transcription factors that can produce dopaminergic cells directly from mouse and human fibroblasts.

The three factors induce dopaminergic neuronal conversion in prenatal and adult fibroblasts from healthy donors and patients with Parkinson’s disease. The function of the induced cells is consistent with that of brain dopaminergic neurons. These results add to ongoing efforts to generate functional neuronal cells independently of pluripotent stem cells, which might lead to the development of tumours.

Author contact:
Vania Broccoli (San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy)
Tel: +39 0226434616; 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)

[5] Coordination of DNA replication and histone modification by the Rik1–Dos2 complex
DOI: 10.1038/nature10161

[6] Architecture of the Mediator head module
DOI: 10.1038/nature10162

NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)

[7] COPI acts in both vesicular and tubular transport
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2273

[8] A SNX3-dependent retromer pathway mediates retrograde transport of the Wnt sorting receptor Wntless and is required for Wnt secretion
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2281

[9] The SCF–Fbxw5 E3-ubiquitin ligase is regulated by Plk4 and targets HsSAS-6 to control centrosome duplication
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2282

NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)

[10] Small molecule displacement of a cryptic degron causes conditional protein degradation
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.598

[11] Hydrophobic tagging induced degradation of HaloTag fusion proteins
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.597

NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)

[12] A transition zone complex regulates mammalian ciliogenesis and ciliary membrane composition
DOI: 10.1038/ng.891

[13] Extensive genomic and transcriptional diversity identified through massively parallel DNA and RNA sequencing of eighteen Korean individuals
DOI: 10.1038/ng.872

[14] A genome-wide association study identifies two new lung cancer susceptibility loci at 13q12.12 and 22q12.2 in Han Chinese
DOI: 10.1038/ng.875

[15] Variation in the DEPDC5 locus is associated with progression to hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C virus carriers
DOI: 10.1038/ng.876

NATURE GEOSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/ngeo)

[16] Sedimentary underplating at the Cascadia mantle-wedge corner revealed by seismic imaging
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1195

NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)

[17] The transcription factor NR4A1 (Nur77) controls bone marrow differentiation and the survival of Ly6C– monocytes
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2063

[18] The orphan nuclear receptor SHP acts as a negative regulator in inflammatory signaling triggered by Toll-like receptors
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2064

NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)

[19] Controlled enhancement of spin-current emission by three-magnon splitting
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3053

Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)

[20] Caspase 3-mediated stimulation of tumor cell repopulation during cancer radiotherapy
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2385

NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)

[21] A large-scale method to measure absolute protein phosphorylation stoichiometries
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1636

[22] Megapixel digital PCR
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1640

[23] Functional ultrasound imaging of the brain
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1641

[24] Two-photon polarization microscopy reveals protein structure and function
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1643

NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)

[25] Interfacial phase-change memory
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.96

[26] Electrically pumped waveguide lasing from ZnO nanowires
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.97

[27] Thick lead-free ferroelectric films with high Curie temperatures through nanocomposite-induced strain
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.98

Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)

[28] Zinc alleviates pain through high-affinity binding to the NMDA receptor NR2A subunit
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2844

[29] Owl's behavior and neural representation predicted by Bayesian inference
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2872

[30] A unique CaMKIIb signaling pathway at the centrosome regulates dendrite patterning in the brain
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2857

[31] Laminin-332 coordinates mechanotransduction and growth cone bifurcation in sensory neurons
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2873

[32] Potent amyloidogenicity and pathogenicity of Abeta43
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2858

Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)

[33] Nodal quasiparticle meltdown in ultrahigh-resolution pump–probe angle-resolved photoemission
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2027

[34] Predicting the density-scaling exponent of a glass-forming liquid from Prigogine–Defay ratio measurements
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2031

[35] Extreme-ultraviolet pump–probe studies of one-femtosecond-scale electron dynamics
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2033

[36] Quantum superposition of a single microwave photon in two different ’colour’ states
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2035

Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)

[37] Selective removal of promoter nucleosomes by the RSC chromatin-remodeling complex
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2072

[38] Crystal structure of g-tubulin complex protein GCP4 provides insight into microtubule nucleation
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2083

[39] Genomic-scale epigenetic reprogramming during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2084

[40] DNA secondary structures and epigenetic determinants of cancer genome evolution
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2089

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.

BELGIUM
Antwerp: 32

CANADA:
Burnaby: 16
London: 17
Toronto: 20
Vancouver: 22

CHINA
Beijing: 14
Dalian: 26
Guangzhou: 14
Hefei: 6
Nanjing: 14
Shanghai: 14, 20, 26
Shenyang: 14
Wuhan: 14

CZECH REPUBLIC
Ceske Budejovice: 24
Nove Hrady: 24
Praha: 8, 24

DENMARK
Roskilde: 34

FRANCE
Grenoble: 6
Illkirch: 28
Paris: 23, 28, 29
Toulouse: 30, 38

GERMANY
Berlin: 31
Cologne: 31
Freiburg: 31
Garching: 35
Hannover: 9
Heidelberg: 9
Munster: 19
Regensburg: 37

GREECE
Crete: 35

ITALY
Genova: 4
Milan: 4
Napoli: 7
Trieste 4:

JAPAN
Hiroshima: 15
Hokkaido: 15
Hyogo: 25
Kanagawa: 3, 4
Kyoto: 32
Nagasaki: 32
Osaka: 15
Saitama: 32
Shiga: 32
Tokyo: 3, 15
Tsukuba: 25, 33
Yokohama: 15

NETHERLANDS
Utrecht: 8

POLAND
Lodz: 17

SOUTH KOREA
Daejeon: 18
Goyang-si: 13
Gwangju: 18
Seoul: 13, 18

SPAIN
Valencia: 12

SWITZERLAND
Lausanne: 9
Zurich: 8

UNITED KINGDOM
Bristol: 8
Cambridge: 19, 27
London: 12

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Arizona
Tucson: 1
California
Berkeley: 5, 33, 34
La Jolla: 6, 17
Los Angeles: 18
Riverside: 26
San Francisco: 12, 38
Santa Cruz: 37
Stanford: 6, 10, 22, 37
Colorado
Aurora: 20
Boulder: 1, 36
Denver: 7
Fort Collins: 20
Connecticut
New Haven: 11
District of Columbia
Washington: 34
Florida
Orlando: 26
Georgia
Atlanta: 39
Indiana
Indianapolis: 6, 11
Maryland
Baltimore: 39
Chevy Chase: 12
Rockville: 13
Massachusetts
Boston: 7, 13, 21, 30, 40
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 12
New Jersey
Princeton: 1
New Mexico
Albuquerque: 16
Los Alamos: 27
New York
Bronx: 29
Cold Spring Harbor: 5
Ithaca: 7
New York: 6, 24
North Carolina
Durham: 12
Ohio
Cleveland: 2
Pennsylvania
Haverford: 17
Pittsburgh: 6
University Park: 27
Texas
College Station: 27
Houston: 18
Washington
Seattle: 7
Wisconsin
Madison: 27

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)
Elissa Bolt
Tel: +1 617 475 9241, E-mail: [email protected]

Nature Chemistry (London)
Stuart Cantrill
Tel: +44 20 7014 4018; E-mail: [email protected]

Nature Climate Change (London)
Olive Heffernan
Tel: +44 20 7014 4009; 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 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)
Sabbi Lall
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]

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Published: 03 Jul 2011

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