This press release contains:
--- Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Medicine: MRSA infection linked to a rare virulence determinant
Geoscience: Methane emissions from the Arctic Ocean
Immunology: Plan B for immunosurveillance
Climate Change: The effect of climate volatility on corn markets
--- Mention of papers to be published at the same time
--- Geographical listing of authors
PICTURES: To obtain artwork from any of the journals, you must first obtain permission from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in question (if not).
HYPE: We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected], citing the specific example.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Medicine: MRSA infection linked to a rare virulence determinant
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2692
An extremely rare genetic element has been linked to an epidemic wave of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in China, according to a report published online this week in Nature Medicine. This element may be a promising therapeutic target in treatment.
The molecular processes that underlie epidemic waves of MRSA are poorly understood. Michael Otto and his colleagues found that a genetic element, sasX, that can move around in a genome, has a key role in MRSA colonization and pathogenesis in the body. The presence of sasX substantially enhanced nasal colonization, lung disease and abscess formation, and helped the pathogen evade the immune system. The researchers also observed the recent spread of sasX from one strain to invasive clones from other strain types, suggesting that sasX is a quickly spreading determinant of MRSA pathogenicity.
Author contact:
Michael Otto (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, USA)
Tel: +1 301 443 5209; E-mail: [email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2] Geoscience: Methane emissions from the Arctic Ocean
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1452
The surface waters of the Arctic Ocean could represent an important source of methane, reports a study published online in Nature Geoscience this week. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and its budget is a key source of uncertainty in the modelling of future climate change.
Eric Kort and colleagues measured atmospheric methane concentrations over the remote Arctic Ocean, up to latitudes of 82° north. They detected high concentrations of methane close to the ocean surface, indicative of an oceanic source equivalent to that seen on the Siberian shelf. High concentrations were found over openings in the sea ice and in regions of fractional sea-ice cover.
The researchers suggest that the Arctic Ocean could represent an important and climatically sensitive methane source.
Author contact:
Eric Kort (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 857 998 1883; E-mail: [email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3] Immunology: Plan B for immunosurveillance
DOI:10.1038/ni.2282
Cells invoke a ‘plan B’ to alert immune cells when defects or viral infection causes the cells’ normal antigen processing pathways to go awry, according to a study published in Nature Immunology. These findings may have bearing in several autoimmune diseases, such as psoriasis, that are associated with this molecular system.
Peptides derived from aberrant tumor proteins, viruses, or other intracellular pathogens can be displayed by highly polymorphic molecules called MHCI – key components of the immune system. When specific immune cells recognize these complexes, it triggers them to kill the targeted cell. Hence many pathogens attempt to evade immune surveillance by inhibiting the protein processing pathway leading to peptide loading onto the MHC molecules.
Nilabh Shastri and colleagues find cells that monitor the functionality of ERAAP―an enzyme found in the endoplasmic reticulum that trims peptides loaded onto MHC binding pockets. Loss of ERAAP triggers cells to present a unique peptide, FL9, in conjunction with a non-classical MHC molecule, Qa-1. Specific T cells capable of recognizing this Qa-1–FL9 complex trigger an immune response by producing molecules that kill these Qa-1–FL9+ cells. The authors found that these Qa-1–FL9-responsive T cells are relatively abundant in mice where they can eliminate cells that become defective for ERAAP-mediated peptide processing.
Author contact:
Nilabh Shastri (University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 510 643 9197; E-mail: [email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[4] And finally…Climate Change: The effect of climate volatility on corn markets
DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1491
US corn price volatility exhibits higher sensitivity to near-term climate change than to energy policy influences or agriculture–energy market integration, reports a paper online in Nature Climate Change this week. This work represents one of the first attempts to quantify price effects of climate volatility, in particular in the context of related economic policy.
The proposed likelihood of increased occurrences of severe hot events in response to global greenhouse-gas concentrations poses a risk for field crops. It is unknown, however, whether increasing stress from climate extremes will influence yield volatility as well as yield levels. Noah Diffenbaugh and colleagues set out to explore this using projected twenty-first century changes in temperature and precipitation, and simulated responses of US corn yields to climatic conditions and economic factors. They found that overall climate change increases US corn price volatility from 43% in the historic period (1980–2000) to 177% in the future period (2020–2040). They then include in the analysis different oil price scenarios both in the presence of a biofuel mandate ― such as the US ethanol 2011–2012 ‘blend wall’ ― and without it. They found that without a biofuel mandate, price volatility response to climate change is smaller ― from 31% to 95% (high oil price) and from 32% to 109% (low oil price). However, in the presence of a biofuel mandate, the increase in volatility is much more pronounced ― from 37% to 192% (high oil price) and from 41% to 200% (low oil price).
They therefore conclude that the biofuel mandate, which has had a substantial impact on US corn price volatility during the past climates, may have an even greater impact under climate change in the near future. They note, however, that despite the substantial predicted impact on US corn price volatility, they anticipate a relatively small impact on food prices.
The authors caution that their work doesn’t consider the effects of consumer demand or corn producer activity on increased price risk ― the latter of whom may moderate their responses to price shocks. However, they conclude that their results indicate that energy markets and associated policy decisions could substantially exacerbate the impacts of climate change ― even for the relatively low levels of global warming that are likely to occur over the next decade.
Author contact:
Noah Diffenbaugh (Stanford University, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 650 725 7510; E-mail: [email protected]
***************************************************************************************************************
Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature)
[5] Stereospecific binding of a disordered peptide segment mediates BK channel inactivation
DOI: 10.1038/nature10994
[6] Evidence of non-random mutation rates suggests an evolutionary risk management strategy
DOI: 10.1038/nature10995
[7] A PPARg–FGF1 axis is required for adaptive adipose remodelling and metabolic homeostasis
DOI: 10.1038/nature10998
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[8] Performance comparison of benchtop high-throughput sequencing platforms
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2198
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[9] Reconstitution of clathrin-coated bud and vesicle formation with minimal components
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2478
[10] Kdm2b promotes induced pluripotent stem cell generation by facilitating gene activation early in reprogramming
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2483
[11] Id proteins synchronize stemness and anchorage to the niche of neural stem cells
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2490
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[12] Ultrasensitive regulation of anapleurosis via allosteric activation of PEP carboxylase
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.941
[13] YcaO domains utilize ATP to activate amide backbones during peptide cyclodehydrations
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.944
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE CHEMISTRY (http://www.nature.com/nchem)
[14] The mechanism of proton conduction in phosphoric acid
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1329
[15] Biomimetic radical polymerization via cooperative assembly of segregating templates
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1331
[16] Light-triggered self-construction of supramolecular organic nanowires as metallic interconnects
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1332
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE (http://www.nature.com/nclimate)
[17] Emergence of the carbon-market intelligence sector
DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1492
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[18] ISPD loss-of-function mutations disrupt dystroglycan O-mannosylation and cause Walker-Warburg syndrome
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2252
[19] Mutations in ISPD cause Walker-Warburg syndrome and defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2253
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE GEOSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/ngeo)
[20] Penetration of crustal melt beyond the Kunlun Fault into northern Tibet
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1449
[21] Pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from intracrustal faults following climatic warming
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1451
[22] Variations in earthquake rupture properties along the Gofar transform fault, East Pacific Rise
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1454
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[23] Constitutive MHC class I molecules negatively regulate TLR-triggered inflammatory responses via the Fps–SHP-2 pathway
DOI:10.1038/ni.2283
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[24] Effects of chemical bonding on heat transport across interfaces
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3303
[25] Exchange biasing of magnetoelectric composites
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3306
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[26] Leptin action through hypothalamic nitric oxide synthase-1–expressing neurons controls energy balance
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2724
[27] Lethal inflammasome activation by a multidrug-resistant pathobiont upon antibiotic disruption of the microbiota
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2729
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[28] Faster STORM using compressed sensing
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1978
[29] An image analysis toolbox for high-throughput C. elegans assays
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1984
[30] Systematic evaluation of factors influencing ChIP-seq fidelity
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1985
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)
[31] The ongoing proliferation of nano journals
DOI:10.1038/nnano.2012.53
[32] Tunable infrared plasmonic devices using graphene/insulator stacks
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.59
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[33] SUMOylation and phosphorylation of GluK2 regulate kainate receptor trafficking and synaptic plasticity
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3089
[34] Rac1 is essential in cocaine-induced structural plasticity of nucleus accumbens neurons
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3094
[35] Neurogenesis requires TopBP1 to prevent catastrophic replicative DNA damage in early progenitor
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3097
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATURE PHOTONICS (http://www.nature.com/nphoton)
[36] Wrinkles and deep folds as photonic structures in photovoltaics
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.70
[37] All-optical Compton gamma-ray source
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.82
[38] Structured illumination microscopy using unknown speckle patterns
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.83
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[39] Experimental delayed-choice entanglement swapping
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2294
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[40] Rapid oligomer formation of human muscle acylphosphatase induced by heparan sulfate
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2286
[41] The cryo-EM structure of the UPF–EJC complex shows UPF1 poised toward the RNA 3′ end
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2287
***************************************************************************************************************
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
Sydney: 15, 19
AUSTRIA
Vienna: 39
BELGIUM
Gosselies: 19
Leuven: 19
CANADA:
Toronto: 18, 19
Waterloo: 39
CHINA
Beijing: 20, 23
Nanchang: 5
Shanghai: 1, 23, 30
Wenzhou: 1
Yunnan: 11
Zhejiang: 31
COLOMBIA
Bogota: 2
CROATIA
Zagreb: 19
EGYPT
Cairo: 19
FRANCE
Marseille: 38
Montpellier: 30
Palaiseau: 37
Paris: 18
Strasbourg: 16
GERMANY
Garching: 39
Goettingen: 41
Hannover: 9
Heidelberg: 18
Kiel: 25
Martinsried: 41
Munich: 39
Stuttgart: 14
INDIA
Bangalore: 6
IRELAND
Dublin: 20
Galway: 20
ITALY
Florence: 40
Genoa: 11, 40
Naples: 11
Rovereto: 11
Udine: 40
JAPAN
Okinawa: 6
KUWAIT
Farwaniya: 19
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 19
Den Haag: 19
Groningen: 7
Maastricht: 19
Nijmegen: 19
Rotterdam: 19
SINGAPORE
Proteos:
Singapore: 30
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul: 36
SPAIN
Bizkaia: 41
Madrid: 41
SWEDEN
Uppsala: 29
TURKEY
Istanbul: 19
UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham: 8
Bristol: 33
Cambridge: 6, 19, 21, 40
Coventry: 15
East Kilbride: 21
Edinburgh: 21
Glasgow: 21
Leeds: 19
London: 6, 8, 17, 18
Norwich: 8
Rutland: 17
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Alaska
Anchorage: 22
California
Berkeley: 3, 27, 30
Davis: 31
La Jolla: 7
Los Angeles: 18
Pasadena: 1, 30
San Diego: 7
San Francisco: 1, 28
Stanford: 4
Colorado
Boulder: 2
Florida
Fort Walton Beach: 18
Georgia
Atlanta: 28
Illinois
Chicago: 18, 30
Urbana: 13, 24
Indiana
West Lafayette: 4
Iowa
Iowa City: 18
Maryland
Bethesda: 1
Massachusetts
Boston: 29, 30
Cambridge: 1, 22, 29, 34
Woods Hole: 22
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 26
Missouri
St Louis: 5
New Hampshire
Durham: 22
New Jersey
Princeton: 1, 12, 36
New Mexico
Los Alamos: 37
New York
New York: 11, 14, 26, 34
Yorktown Heights: 32
North Carolina
Chapel Hill: 10, 30, 34
Durham: 11
Ohio
Cincinnati: 34
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 36
University Park: 30
Tennessee
Knoxville: 14
Memphis: 35
Texas
Dallas: 30
Utah
Salt Lake City: 11
Wisconsin
Marshfield: 18
---
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]
Eiji Matsuda (Nature Tokyo)
Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; 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)
Rory Howlett
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)
Ray Parker
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)
Michelle Montoya
Tel: +1 212 726 9331; E-mail: [email protected]
---
About Nature Publishing Group (NPG):
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a publisher of high impact scientific and medical information in print and online. NPG publishes journals, online databases and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied sciences and clinical medicine.
Focusing on the needs of scientists, Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading weekly, international scientific journal. In addition, for this audience, NPG publishes a range of Nature research journals and Nature Reviews journals, plus a range of prestigious academic journals including society-owned publications. Online, nature.com provides over 5 million visitors per month with access to NPG publications and online databases and services, including Nature News and NatureJobs plus access to Nature Network and Nature Education’s Scitable.com.
Scientific American is at the heart of NPG’s newly-formed consumer media division, meeting the needs of the general public. Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US and the leading authoritative publication for science in the general media. Together with scientificamerican.com and 15 local language editions around the world it reaches over 3 million consumers and scientists. Other titles include Scientific American Mind and Spektrum der Wissenschaft in Germany.
Throughout all its businesses NPG is dedicated to serving the scientific and medical communities and the wider scientifically interested general public. Part of Macmillan Publishers Limited, NPG is a global company with principal offices in London, New York and Tokyo, and offices in cities worldwide including Boston, Buenos Aires, Delhi, Hong Kong, Madrid, Barcelona, Munich, Heidelberg, Basingstoke, Melbourne, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul and Washington DC. For more information, please go to www.nature.com.
