This press release contains:
Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Fossils: The earliest-known Acheulian hand-axes
Astrophysics: Black holes buddy-up in galaxy formation
Biology: Links between genetic and metabolic risk factors
Cancer: Therapy goes viral
Astrophysics: Twinkle, twinkle, low-mass star
Neuroscience: How getting old affects brain function
Genetics: Chromosome 16 tips the scales
Microbiology: Ancient antibiotic resistance
Biogeochemistry: Nitrogen between a rock and a fertile place
Quantum mechanics: Gaining control of quantum systems
Physics: Advances in nanomembrane semiconductor development
And finally... Lizard genome cracks egg evolution
Geographical listing of authors
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[1] Fossils: The earliest-known Acheulian hand-axes (pp 82-85)
The world’s earliest-known stone tools from the Acheulian technology have been discovered at a site in the Turkana basin in modern Kenya. The crude, pick-like tools, which are described in this week’s Nature, are about 1.76 million years old, pre-dating the previous earliest record of Acheulian artefacts by some 350,000 years.
The oldest-known stone tools consist of simple flakes chipped roughly from a core, known as the Oldowan technology. These were succeeded by more sophisticated Acheulian tools — distinctive oval- and pear-shaped hand-axes, thought to be the signature technology of Homo erectus. Christopher Lepre and colleagues report the discovery of both Acheulian and Oldowan tools in a mudstone bed at a site near Lake Turkana in Kenya.
The co-occurrence of these two technologies in a single site indicates that the Acheulian was either imported from another yet-to-be-identified location or that it was developed by Oldowan hominins living in this area. As the earliest records of hominin sites outside Africa either lacked tools or preserved simpler, Oldowan-style artefacts, the work also implies that the first hominins to leave Africa might not have had Acheulian technology.
CONTACT
Christopher Lepre (Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 845 365 8521; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Astrophysics: Black holes buddy-up in galaxy formation (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature10364
*** This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 31 August at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern Time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included it on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 01 September, but at a later date. ***
Observations of a close pair of active massive black holes in a nearby spiral galaxy reported in Nature this week may provide clues on how the galaxy evolved.
Most models of galaxy formation and growth predict that they co-evolve with their nuclear massive black holes, through accretion and merging. Minor mergers of galaxies with a smaller companion should be a common occurrence, evolving into spiral galaxies with active black hole pairs; however, such events have thus far not been seen. Giuseppina Fabbiano and colleagues report the presence of two active massive black holes, separated by about 490 light years, in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3393. The active galactic nuclei are detected by X-ray imaging of luminous emission beamed from the galaxy, which is characteristic of an old central stellar population.
Taking into consideration the age of the stellar population and the shape of NGC 3393, and the closeness of the black holes, the authors suggest that this galaxy is the result of minor merger evolution.
CONTACT
Giuseppina Fabbiano (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Boston, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 331 9422; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Biology: Links between genetic and metabolic risk factors (pp 54-60)
Identifying genetically determined metabolic traits may uncover how genetic variants influence disease development and response to treatment, a study in this week’s Nature indicates.
Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many genetic markers of disease risk, the underlying biological processes are often poorly understood. Karsten Suhre and colleagues use genome-wide associations with non-targeted metabolomics, analyzing more than 250 biochemicals in 60 biochemical pathways.
They identify 37 genetic loci associated with blood metabolite concentrations, 25 of which had effect sizes that are unusually high for GWAS. These genetically determined intermediate traits are linked with the underlying biological processes. In two cases, the researchers established a direct functional link between a genetic variant, an intermediate metabolic trait and a disease-relevant endpoint.
The results provide new functional insights for genetic associations with complex diseases, such as cardiovascular and kidney disorders, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Future studies may draw on this research to map the association between genetic and metabolic diversity and their relationship to disease and treatment outcomes.
CONTACT
Karsten Suhre (Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Doha, Qatar)
Tel: +974 492 8482; E-mail: [email protected]
[4] Cancer: Therapy goes viral (pp 99-102; N&V)
A phase I clinical trial demonstrates efficient delivery of a cancer-targeting virus to tumour cells after a single injection. The findings are reported in Nature this week and represent a novel multi-functional platform for killing tumour cells without affecting normal tissues.
Oncolytic viruses are of interest in cancer therapy as they can selectively infect tumours and deliver genes encoding anticancer proteins. David Kirn and colleagues show that a poxvirus, JX-594, selectively infects, replicates and expresses transgene products within metastatic tumour cells. This dose-related effect is observed after just one intravenous injection. Moreover, there was no evidence that normal adjacent tissue was infected with the virus.
Although the trial was not designed to demonstrate clinical efficacy, the results suggest that JX-594 may elicit a clinical response in some patients.
CONTACT
David Kirn (Jennerex Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 415 281 8886; E-mail: [email protected]
Evanthia Galanis (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA) N&V author
E-mail: [email protected]
[5] Astrophysics: Twinkle, twinkle, low-mass star (pp 67-69; N&V)
A star with an extremely primitive chemical composition is described in Nature this week. This discovery could help the understanding of conditions in the early Universe and how they affected formation of the first stars.
The early Universe contained only hydrogen, helium and traces of lithium; heavier elements were subsequently created in stars and supernovae. Theory suggests that low-mass stars cannot form until the interstellar medium has been sufficiently enriched with elements heavier than helium. Carbon and oxygen are thought to be essential for low-mass star formation, as they can provide a means for cooling the proto-stellar clouds.
Elisabetta Caffau and colleagues describe a low-mass star without enrichment of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Simulations and spectrum synthesis reveal a chemical pattern typical of classical extremely metal-poor stars. Lithium is not detected, which implies that the stellar material must have reached temperatures above two million kelvin sometime in its history. These findings show that low-mass stars can be formed at very low metallicity (the mass fraction of elements heavier than helium).
CONTACT
Elisabetta Caffau (Universität Heidelberg, Germany)
Tel: +49 622 154 1787; E-mail: [email protected]
John Norris (Australian National University, Canberra, Australia) N&V author
Tel: +61 2 6125 8034; E-mail: [email protected]
[6] Neuroscience: How getting old affects brain function (pp 90-94; N&V)
The decline in neurogenesis and cognitive function observed during ageing can in part be attributed to age-related changes in blood-borne factors, a mouse study in this week’s Nature suggests.
Generation of new neurons in adults occurs in local microenvironments within the central nervous system (CNS). This process is thought to be driven both by cues from within the CNS and by external cues that are delivered to the system through the blood. Tony Wyss-Coray and colleagues demonstrate that exposing young mice to an old systemic environment, or to plasma from old mice, reduces neurological and cognitive function.
They identify chemokines whose levels are associated with reduced neurogenesis in old mice, and whose levels are increased in aging humans. Increasing systemic levels of one of these chemokines — eotaxin/CCL11 — in young mice inhibits adult neurogenesis and impairs learning and memory.
CONTACT
Tony Wyss-Coray (Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 650 852 3220; E-mail: [email protected]
Richard Ransohoff (Cleveland Clinic, OH, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 216 444 0627; E-mail: [email protected]
[7] Genetics: Chromosome 16 tips the scales (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature10406
*** This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 31 August at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern Time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included it on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 01 September, but at a later date. ***
Duplications of a short region on chromosome 16 are associated with an increased risk of being underweight, according to a report in Nature this week. Deletion of this same section has previously been associated with obesity, indicating a possible opposing causal link between being underweight and being obese.
Extremes at either end of the weight scale pose important health risks. Although a number of genetic variants have been associated with obesity, little is known about the genetic basis of being underweight. Jacques Beckmann and colleagues show that carriers of duplications of the locus 16p11.2 have notably lower postnatal weight and BMI compared with a reference population. Each of the observed associated characteristics is opposite of those reported in carriers of deletions at this locus. Moreover, these traits correlate with changes in transcript levels for genes within the duplication but not within the adjacent regions.
The authors conclude that severe obesity and being underweight could have mirror aetiologies, possibly through contrasting effects on energy balance.
CONTACT
Jacques Beckmann (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland)
Tel: +41 21 314 3775; E-mail: [email protected]
[8] Microbiology: Ancient antibiotic resistance (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature10388
*** This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 31 August at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern Time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included it on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 01 September, but at a later date. ***
Antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon than predates the modern selective pressure of antibiotic use for the treatment of human disease. An analysis of DNA from 30,000-year-old Beringian permafrost sediments, reported in Nature this week, recovers ancient antibiotic resistance genes.
The view that antibiotic resistance is a modern phenomenon has been challenged, but direct evidence to show that resistance evolved before clinical antibiotic use has been lacking. Using rigorously authenticated ancient bacterial DNA samples extracted from 30,000-year-old permafrost, Gerard Wright and colleagues detected genes conferring resistance to beta-lactam, tetracycline and glycopeptides antibiotics. Structure and function studies on one of these genes, conferring resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin, confirmed its similarity to modern variants.
These findings suggest that genetic antibiotic resistance elements originated before our use of antibiotics. Indeed, as natural antibiotics are thought to have originated up to 40 million years ago, resistance is expected to be similarly old.
CONTACT
Gerard Wright (McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada)
Tel: +1 905 525 9140 ext. 20230; E-mail: [email protected]
[9] Biogeochemistry: Nitrogen between a rock and a fertile place (pp 78-81; N&V)
A report in this week’s Nature shows that bedrock represents an important source of nitrogen for forests, and that forests growing above nitrogen-rich rocks can store more carbon than their impoverished counterparts.
Theory suggests that new nitrogen enters terrestrial ecosystems solely from the atmosphere. Sedimentary rocks contain huge amounts of nitrogen in forms thought to be inaccessible to overlying plant life. However, Scott Morford and colleagues demonstrate that bedrock contributes substantial amounts of nitrogen to temperate coniferous forests in northern California.
They measured the nitrogen concentration and isotopic composition of rocks, soil and leaves in two forest areas with around a ten-fold difference in the underlying bedrock nitrogen concentration. The nitrogen content of soils and forest foliage on nitrogen-rich bedrock is elevated by more than 50% compared with those on nitrogen-poor bedrock.
Nitrogen availability limits the productivity of many ecosystems, and this connection to the carbon cycle restricts the ability to naturally offset the effects of rising atmospheric CO2 emissions. Accordingly, the authors also find that the forests growing over nitrogen-rich bedrock contain around 42% more carbon in aboveground tree biomass and 60% more carbon in the upper soil than their nitrogen-poor counterparts. These results indicate that rock weathering can be an important source of nitrogen to some terrestrial ecosystems, and can be a key component in nitrogen and carbon cycling.
CONTACT
Scott Morford (University of California, Davis, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 530 752 1491; E-mail: [email protected]
Benjamin Houlton (University of California, Davis, CA, USA) co-author
Tel: +1 650 862 4144; E-mail: [email protected]
Randy Dahlgren (University of California, Davis, CA, USA) co-author
Tel: +1 530 752 2814; E-mail: [email protected]
Edward Schuur (University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 352 392 7913; E-mail: [email protected]
[10] Quantum mechanics: Gaining control of quantum systems (pp 73-77)
A technological advance that could enable the control of quantum systems is demonstrated in Nature this week. This research, which implements a real-time quantum feedback loop, represents a significant step towards the application of complex quantum information operations.
Feedback loops are central to most classical control procedures, enabling systems to be monitored and adjusted if necessary. However, using this approach in quantum states is not quite so easy because sensor measurements of the output disturb the system.
To overcome this problem, Serge Haroche and colleagues use weak measurements to detect single photons, demonstrating a real-time, stabilizing quantum feedback scheme. Their procedure generates on-demand photon number states (systems with a known number of photons). The feedback loop subsequently reverses the effects of decoherence-induced quantum jumps, thereby stabilizing the system and enabling measurements of the photon number.
The photon number states are prepared in a microwave field within a superconducting cavity. This field could be used as a quantum memory or to transport information between atoms.
CONTACT
Serge Haroche (CNRS and UPMC–Paris 6, ENS, Paris, France)
Tel: +33 1 44 32 34 20 or tel: +33 6 63 99 92 81; E-mail: [email protected]
[11] Physics: Advances in nanomembrane semiconductor development (pp 45-53)
Recent progress in the development of nanomembrane semiconductors has opened the door for expanded activities in this rapidly emerging field. A Review in this week’s Nature sums up the latest advances, discusses potential methods of overcoming technical barriers, and considers future opportunities for nanomembranes in fields such as electronics and optoelectronics.
Nanomembrane semiconductors — two-dimensional sheets about one molecule thick—could overcome the limitations of nanowires and nanotubes. Currently, semiconductors such as silicon, molybdenum disulphide, gallium arsenide and others can be made into nanomembranes. However, ways of producing new nanomembrane materials are needed, John Rogers and authors say.
They add that in some cases existing technologies can be adapted to achieve the desired membrane properties. Given the engineering challenges and the balance of associated costs, optimization of the synthetic process could involve a combination of strategies based on the requirements of the specific application.
Advanced electronic and optoelectronic devices have been reported with unique combinations of features difficult to achieve with existing nanomaterials. A particularly promising avenue is a range of applications in bio-integrated systems, with an ultimate goal of providing diverse functions in living systems, the authors conclude.
CONTACT
John Rogers (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA)
Tel: +1 217 244 4979; E-mail: [email protected]
[12] And finally... Lizard genome cracks egg evolution (AOP)
DOI: 10.1038/nature10390
*** This paper will be published electronically on Nature's website on 31 August at 1800 London time / 1300 US Eastern Time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included it on this release to avoid multiple mailings it will not appear in print on 01 September, but at a later date. ***
The genome sequence of the North American green anole lizard is published in Nature this week. The work, which reveals the first reptile genome sequence, could be important for understanding the evolution of the amniotic egg and of vertebrate evolution more generally.
The evolution of the amniotic egg allowed vertebrates to conquer terrestrial environments. Among amniotes, genome sequences are available for mammals and birds, but not for non-avian reptiles. Jessica Alföldi and colleagues report the sequence of Anolis carolinensis, the North American green anole lizard, filling an important gap in the coverage of amniotes. Comparative gene analysis shows that amniote egg proteins have evolved much more rapidly than other proteins.
Sex in anoles is known to be determined genetically but the form of its sex chromosomes (ZW like birds or XY like mammals) was uncertain. This study identifies an X chromosome in A. carolinensis and, although a Y chromosome was not identified, the authors speculate that the animal possesses both X and Y chromosomes given that male and female cells have the same number of chromosomes.
The work also identifies 11 opsin genes in A. carolinensis, with no mammalian homologues — this repertoire of genes may contribute to the excellent colour vision, including ultraviolet vision, of anoles.
CONTACT
Jessica Alföldi (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 714 7936; E-mail: [email protected]
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.
AUSTRIA
Graz: 7
Innsbruck: 3, 7
Salzburg: 6
Zwettl: 7
BELGIUM
Antwerp: 7
CANADA
Hamilton: 8
Edmonton: 8
Hamilton: 8
London: 4
Ottawa: 4
St John's: 7
Toronto: 7
Vancouver: 7
Whitehorse: 8
CHILE
Santiago: 5
CHINA
Shanghai: 7
ESTONIA
Tartu: 7
FINLAND
Espoo: 7
Helsinki: 7
Oulu: 7
FRANCE
Aix-en-Provence: 1
Amiens: 5, 7
Angers: 7
Bethune: 7
Bordeaux: 7
Caen: 7
Dijon: 7
Grenoble: 7
Le Chesnay: 10
Le Havre: 7
Lille: 7
Lyon: 7
Meudon: 5
Nancy: 7
Nanterre: 1
Nantes: 7
Nice: 5
Nimes: 7
Paris: 7, 8, 10
Reims: 7
Rennes: 7
Rouen: 7
St Etienne: 7
Strasbourg: 7
Talence: 1
Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy: 7
GERMANY
Düsseldorf: 7
Erlangen: 7
Freiburg: 3
Freising-Weihenstephan: 3
Garching: 5
Greifswald: 7
Heidelberg: 5
Lübeck: 3
Munich: 3
Neuherberg: 3, 7
Planegg-Martinsried: 3
ICELAND
Kopavogur: 7
Reykjavik: 7
ITALY
Florence: 2, 5, 7
Genova: 7
Padova: 5
San Giovanni Rotondo: 7
Siena: 7
Trieste: 5
NORWAY
Oslo: 7
QATAR
Doha: 3
SOUTH KOREA
Busan: 4
SPAIN
Barcelona: 7
Girona: 7
Malaga: 7
Tarragona: 7
SWEDEN
Stockholm: 7
Uppsala: 12
SWITZERLAND
Basel: 6
Bellinzona: 7
Bern: 7
Geneva: 7
Lausanne: 6, 7
Schwerzenbach: 7
THE NETHERLANDS
Nijmegen: 7
Utrecht: 7
UNITED KINGDOM
Harrow: 7
Hinxton: 3, 12
Leicester: 3
London: 3, 7
Newcastle Upon Tyne: 7
Oxford: 3, 7, 12
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Davis: 9
La Jolla: 6
Oakland: 12
Palo Alto: 6
Redwood City: 6
San Francisco: 4
Santa Cruz: 12
Stanford: 6, 12
Colorado
Aurora: 12
District of Columbia
Washington: 12
Georgia
Athens: 12
Illinois
Chicago: 1
Urbana: 11
Indiana
Bloomington: 12
Massachusetts
Boston: 2, 7, 12
Cambridge: 12
Michigan
East Lansing: 12
Mississippi
Mississippi State: 12
Montana
Billings: 4
North Carolina
Chapel Hill: 12
Durham: 3
Raleigh: 12
New Jersey
Piscataway: 1
New Mexico
Albuquerque: 12
New York
Bayside: 12
New York: 12
Palisades: 1
Rochester: 12
Oregon
Portland: 6
Pennsylvania
King of Prussia: 7
Philadelphia: 4
South Carolina
Charleston: 12
Greenville: 4
Washington
Seattle: 6
Wisconsin
Madison: 11
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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