This press release contains:
• Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Medicine: Making clinical diagnoses affordable
Geoscience: Nitrogen and climate
Genetics: Variants associated with asthma
Geoscience: Carbon emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs
Nature: Attractive improvements in data recording
Immunology: Tolerance inducer
And finally…Chemical Biology: Mussels stick to it
• 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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[1] Medicine: Making clinical diagnoses affordable
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2408
An inexpensive technology that would allow for early detection of infectious diseases in resource-limited and remote settings is presented in a new study published online this week in Nature Medicine.
A challenge for science and engineering is to develop technologies that improve human health in the poorest regions of the world, which may not have reliable access to lab areas for clinical testing.
Samuel Sia and his colleagues integrated new procedures for manufacturing, fluid handling and signal detection, into a single, economical, easy-to-use assay for infectious diseases—the “mChip” assay. The researchers tested the ‘mChip’ in Rwanda on hundreds of locally collected blood samples and found excellent performance in the diagnosis of HIV and syphilis using only one microliter of blood, with a sensitivity that rivals those of reference clinical assays performed in labs.
Author contact:
Samuel Sia (Columbia University, New York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 212 854 7549; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Geoscience: Nitrogen and climate
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1207
The climatic benefits of nitrogen additions to terrestrial ecosystems are offset by increased nitrous oxide emissions, reports a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Additions of reactive nitrogen to terrestrial ecosystems have more than doubled since 1860 as a result of human activities.
Sönke Zaehle and colleagues used a terrestrial biosphere model to examine the impact of human nitrogen additions to terrestrial ecosystems on climate. They show that nitrogen inputs accounted for about one fifth of the carbon sequestered by terrestrial ecosystems between 1996 and 2005, and for most of the increase in global nitrous oxide emissions in recent decades. They conclude that nitrogen-induced reductions in radiative forcing due to carbon sequestration are offset by nitrous oxide emissions.
Author contact:
Sönke Zaehle (Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany)
Tel: +49 364 157 6325; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] & [4] Genetics: Variants associated with asthma
DOI: 10.1038/ng.888
DOI: 10.1038/ng.887
Four new genetic variants associated with asthma are reported in two independent studies published online this week in Nature Genetics.
Over 300 million individuals worldwide are affected by asthma, which is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by wheezing attacks, difficulty breathing, coughing and chest tightness.
Dara Torgerson and colleagues report an analysis of 18,065 individuals of various ethnic groups and identify a new genetic locus associated with asthma at the gene PYHIN1. This association is specific to individuals of African ancestry.
In another study, Mayumi Tamari and colleagues analyzed 7,171 Japanese individuals with asthma and identified 3 susceptibility loci for asthma in this Asian population.
Author contacts:
Dara Torgerson (University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA) Author paper [3]
Tel: +1 415 514 9931; E-mail: [email protected]
Mayumi Tamari (RIKEN, Yokohama, Japan) Author paper [4]
Tel: +81 45 503 9616; E-mail: [email protected]
[5] Geoscience: Carbon emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1211
Newly established hydroelectric reservoirs in low latitudes are the largest hydropower contributors to emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane, reports a paper published online this week in Nature Geoscience. However, overall emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs are lower than previously thought.
From a meta-analysis of studies on 85 globally distributed reservoirs, Fábio Roland and colleagues note that carbon emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs decrease with reservoir age, and with latitude. They find that the highest emission rates occur in the Amazon region and conclude that locations of new reservoirs should be chosen carefully to minimize carbon emissions.
In an accompanying News & Views, Bernhard Wehrli writes: “The global greenhouse gas emission rates derived by [the researchers] […] represent only about 4% of the estimated global carbon emissions from inland waters. […] It would be premature to conclude that greenhouse gas emissions of hydropower operations could be dismissed as insignificant.”
Author contacts:
Fábio Roland (Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Brazil)
Tel: +55 32 3229 3206; E-mail: [email protected]
Bernhard Wehrli (Eawag, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland) N&V author
Tel: +41 41 349 21 17; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] Nature: Attractive improvements in data recording
DOI:
A device that enables simple and effective writing of magnetic data bits is described in Nature this week. The magnetic structure can be easily integrated in standard magnetic recording technology and could improve the way data is stored.
Modern computing technology is based on writing, storing and retrieving information encoded as magnetic bits. Materials with directionally dependent magnetoresistant properties ensure the stable storage of information. However, the same properties make it difficult to write information to such materials..
Pietro Gambardella and colleagues overcome this issue and demonstrate the reversal of magnetization of a thin cobalt layer by injecting an electronic current into the plane. This magnetic switch could facilitate simple and scalable reversible writing of magnetic memory elements, the authors suggest.
Author contact:
Pietro Gambardella (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain)
Tel +34 935 814 870; E-mail: [email protected]
[7] Immunology: Tolerance inducer
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2077
The enzyme IDO, which is known to play an immunosuppressive role in a variety of physio-pathologic conditions, including pregnancy, infection, allergy, and tumours, has been found to have an additional non-enzymatic function as a mediator of immune tolerance. The finding, reported online in Nature Immunology, clarifies the role of IDO as an inducer of long-term tolerance, such as maternal versus fetal tolerance during pregnancy, which was not completely explained by its enzymatic function.
Rapid induction of IDO by the immune mediator interferon-gamma and subsequent amino acid starvation in dendritic cells and effector T cells is known to avoid potentially harmful inflammatory responses in the host during microbial infection. Ursula Grohmann and colleagues show that in response to TGF-beta, another soluble immune mediator, IDO functions as a signaling protein to amplify feed-forward loops that maintain its own production and induce a long lasting tolerance-inducing phenotype in dendritic cells.
Author contact:
Ursula Grohmann (University of Perugia, Italy)
Tel: +39 075 585 7460; E-mail: [email protected]
[8] Chemical Biology: Mussels stick to it
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.630
The chemical basis for how mussels glue themselves onto rocks and other surfaces is reported in a study published online this week in Nature Chemical Biology.
Mussels and other sticky sea creatures serve as a source of inspiration for biomaterials researchers, as their ability to attach to surfaces is unparalleled by any manmade glues. Mussels are known to use a modified tyrosine amino acid, DOPA, as a key ingredient in their adhesive abilities, but the specific role of this amino acid remains murky. Part of the challenge of elucidating this question comes from the very success of the residue, as scientists who study these proteins often complain that the proteins stick to whatever surface is near, limiting experimental tests.
Herbert Waite, Jacob Israelachvili and colleagues have directly examined these proteins as they are secreted from mussels as well as in purified form, and find that two proteins, mfp-3 and mfp-6, work in tandem to achieve the strong interaction. Mfp-6 maintains the DOPA residues within mfp-3 in a reduced, electron-rich form that maximizes their stickiness.
Author contacts:
Herbert Waite (University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 805 893 2817; E-mail: [email protected]
Jacob Israelachvili (University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 805 893 8407; E-mail: [email protected]
Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same:
Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature)
[9] Different substrate-dependent transition states in the active site of the ribosome
DOI: 10.1038/nature10247
[10] FADD prevents RIP3-mediated epithelial cell necrosis and chronic intestinal inflammation
DOI: 10.1038/nature10273
[11] 14-3-3 proteins act as intracellular receptors for rice Hd3a florigen
DOI: 10.1038/nature10272
[12] A chronological framework for the British Quaternary based on Bithynia opercula
DOI: 10.1038/nature10305
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[13] Transcriptome sequencing across a prostate cancer cohort identifies PCAT-1, an unannotated lincRNA implicated in disease progression
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1914
[14] Dissecting the genome of the polyploid crop oilseed rape by transcriptome sequencing
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1926
[15] Cell-surface markers for the isolation of pancreatic cell types derived from human embryonic stem cells
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1931
[16] The genomic sequence of the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cell line
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1932
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[17] FOXO1 is an essential regulator of pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2293
[18] Cleavage of E-cadherin by ADAM10 mediates epithelial cell sorting downstream of EphB signaling
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2298
[19] Phagocytic activity of neuronal progenitors regulates adult neurogenesis
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2299
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[20] Amyloid-beta forms fibrils by nucleated conformational conversion of oligomers
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.624
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[21] Analysis of the coding genome of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
DOI: 10.1038/ng.892
[22] Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase diverts glycolytic flux and contributes to oncogenesis
DOI: 10.1038/ng.890
[23] Common variation at 10p12.31 near MLLT10 influences meningioma risk
DOI: 10.1038/ng.879
NATURE GEOSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/ngeo)
[24] Rupture of deep faults in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and uplift of the Longmen Shan
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1210
[25] Superficial simplicity of the 2010 El Mayor–Cucapah earthquake of Baja California in Mexico
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1213
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[26] Recognition of beta-linked self glycolipids mediated by natural killer T cell antigen receptors
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2076
[27] Autocrine IL-2 is required for secondary population expansion of CD8+ memory T cells
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2079
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[28] A lithium superionic conductor
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3066
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[29] Inhibition of Notch signaling ameliorates insulin resistance in a FoxO1-dependent manner
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2378
[30] Regulation of the MDM2-p53 pathway and tumor growth by PICT1 via nucleolar RPL11
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2392
[31] Circulating urokinase receptor as cause for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2411
NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[32] MiMIC: a highly versatile transposon insertion resource for engineering Drosophila melanogaster genes
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1662
[33] A photoswitchable orange-to-far-red fluorescent protein, PSmOrange
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1664
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)
[34] Nanomechanics of functional and pathological amyloid materials
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.102
[35] Direct laser writing of micro-supercapacitors on hydrated graphite oxide films
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.110
[36] Long-range electron tunnelling in oligo-porphyrin molecular wires
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.111
[37] Generation of protein lattices by fusing proteins with matching rotational symmetry
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.122
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[38] Infiltrating monocytes trigger EAE progression but fail to contribute to the resident microglia pool
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2887
[39] A critical period for auditory thalamocortical connectivity
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2882
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[40] Single- and two-particle energy gaps across the disorder-driven superconductor–insulator transition
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2037
[41] Spontaneous atomic-scale magnetic skyrmion lattice in two dimensions
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2045
[42] Arbitrarily shaped high-coherence electron bunches from cold atoms
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2052
[43] A Josephson quantum electron pump
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2053
***The following paper was published electronically on Nature Structural & Molecular Biology’s website on 26 July and is therefore no longer under embargo. The rest of the above articles on this release remain under embargo until 31 July at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern time ***
[44] Splicing enhances recruitment of methyltransferase HYPB/Setd2 and methylation of histone H3 lysine 36
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2123
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
Clayton: 27
Victoria: 27, 42
BARBADOS
St. Michael: 3
BELGIUM
Ghent: 10
BRAZIL
Minas Gerais: 5
Rio de Janeiro: 5
CANADA:
Burnaby: 38
Montreal: 5
Toronto: 17, 30
Vancouver: 38
CHINA
Beijing: 14, 24
Chengdu: 19, 24
Shenzhen: 16
Wuhan: 14, 24
Ya’an: 24
COSTA RICA
San Jose: 3
DENMARK
Copenhagen: 16, 23
Hoersholm: 16
Lyngby: 16
FRANCE
Gif-sur-Yvette: 2
Grenoble: 6
Lyon: 3
Marseille: 44
Nice: 25
Paris: 37
GERMANY
Berlin: 17
Bonn: 23
Cologne: 10
Essen: 23
Freiburg: 3
Goettingen: 9
Hamburg: 41
Heidelberg: 31
Jena: 2
Juelich: 41
Kiel: 41
Munich: 44
Ulm: 10
INDONESIA
Yogyakarta: 11
ITALY
Milan: 31
Modena: 7
Novara: 21
Perugia: 7
Pisa: 43
JAPAN
Akita: 30
Chiba: 30
Fukuoka: 30
Gifu: 4
Kanagawa: 4
Kyoto: 4
Maebashi: 30
Osaka: 4, 11, 30
Sapporo: 4
Shizuoka: 28
Suita: 30
Takayama: 11
Tokyo: 4, 28, 30
Tsukuba: 4, 28
Wakayama: 4
Yokohama: 4, 28
MEXICO
Mexico City: 3
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 1
Leiden: 12, 27
Utrecht: 7
NEW ZEALAND
Wellington: 43
PORTUGAL
Lisbon: 44
PUERTO RICO
San Juan: 3
RWANDA
Kigali: 1
SINGAPORE
Singapore: 31
SPAIN
Barcelona: 6, 18
Canary Island: 31
Oviedo: 36
Zaragoza: 36
SWEDEN
Linkoping: 5
Stockholm: 23
Umea: 23
Uppsala: 5
SWITZERLAND
Bellinzona: 7
UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham: 26
Bristol: 31
Cardiff: 36
Cambridge: 2, 12, 34
Coventry: 23
Durham: 12
Lancaster: 36
Leeds: 23
London: 3, 12
Norwich: 14
Oxford: 36, 37
Sutton: 23
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Alaska
Fairbanks: 24
Arizona
Tucson: 3
California
Berkeley: 32
La Jolla: 17, 20, 27
Los Angeles: 3
Pasadena: 25
San Diego: 15, 16
San Francisco: 3
Santa Barbara: 8
Stanford: 16, 31
Colorado
Denver: 26
Fort Collins: 13
Golden: 25
Connecticut
New Haven: 29
Delaware
Newark: 16, 35
District of Columbia
Washington: 3
Florida
Jacksonville: 4
Miami: 31
Illinois
Chicago: 3, 13, 21
Maryland
Baltimore: 3, 16, 32
Bethesda: 33
Massachusetts
Boston: 3, 4, 22, 31, 39
Cambridge: 22, 25, 34, 39
Woburn: 1
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 13
Detroit: 3
Missouri
St Louis: 3
New York
Bronx: 27, 33
Brooklyn: 31
Millbrook: 5
New York: 1, 17, 21, 29, 30, 31
North Carolina
Chapel Hill: 30
Research Triangle Park: 3
Winston-Salem: 3, 4
Ohio
Cleveland: 3
Columbus: 40
Tennessee
Memphis: 21
Texas
Galveston: 3
Houston: 32, 35
Vermont
Burlington: 4
Virginia
Charlottesville: 19
Wisconsin
Madison: 3
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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