This press release contains:
--- Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Climate Change: Wind farms may affect local temperature
Nature: New tumour suppressing gene found for pancreatic cancer
Genetics: Susceptibility to Wilms tumor
And finally…Neuroscience: Controlling the impulse
---Geographical listing of authors
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[1] Climate Change: Wind farms may affect local temperature
DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1505
Large wind farms in certain areas in the United States may affect local weather and climate, reports a paper published online in Nature Climate Change this week. This finding helps us to understand more about the impacts of wind farms and could be important for developing efficient adaptation and management strategies to ensure long-term sustainability of wind power.
Carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels contributes greatly to global warming. As a result, many nations are moving towards cleaner sources of renewable energy such as wind turbines. To understand the potential impact of wind farms on weather and climate, a team led by Liming Zhou analysed satellite observations of regions around large wind farms in Texas for the period 2003–2011. The researchers found a night-time warming effect over wind farms of up to 0.72 °C per decade over the nine years period in which data was collected. Because the spatial pattern of warming mirrors the geographic distribution of wind turbines, they attribute the warming primarily to wind farms.
Although the warming effect reported in this study is local and is small compared to the strong background year-to-year land surface temperature change, the authors suggest that this work draws attention to an important scientific issue that requires further investigation.
Author contact:
Liming Zhou (State University of New York at Albany, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 518 442 4446; E-mail: [email protected]
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[2] Nature: New tumour suppressing gene found for pancreatic cancer
DOI: 10.1038/nature11114
A new tumour suppressor gene has been found in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. The study, reported in Nature this week, also shows that expression of the USP9X gene is low in human pancreatic cancers. These findings indicate that this gene may have important applications in patient prognosis and might provide treatment opportunities for pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains a disease with very poor prognosis and high death rates despite considerable progress in its characterization. To learn more about the molecular basis of this disease, David Tuveson and colleagues screened a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Their screen identifies frequent inactivation of Usp9x, a gene not previously associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. They go on to show that in human patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, reduced expression of USP9X is associated with poor survival after surgery and increased risk of metastasis.
The authors describe a pathway by which loss of Usp9x protects pancreatic cancer cells from programmed cell death and promotes pancreatic tumour development. They suggest that approaches that can modulate USP9X expression may be useful in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Author contact:
David Tuveson (Cancer Research UK, Cambridge, UK)
Tel: +44 1223 404300; E-mail: [email protected]
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[3] Genetics: Susceptibility to Wilms tumor
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2251
Genetic variants at two genomic regions are reported as associated with susceptibility to Wilms tumor in a study this week in Nature Genetics. Wilms tumor is the most common renal malignancy of childhood and this work provides insight into the factors that may influence susceptibility to this disease.
Nazneen Rahman and colleagues report a genome wide association study in 757 individuals with Wilms tumor and 1,879 controls, with two sets of replication in 769 cases and 2,814 controls, and then 719 cases and 1,037 controls. They identify common genetic variants at chromosome 2p24 and 11q14 that are associated with susceptibility to Wilms tumor.
Author contact:
Nazneen Rahman (Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, UK)
Tel: +44 208 722 4145; E-mail: [email protected]
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[4] And finally…Neuroscience: Controlling the impulse
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3092
Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance abuse have both been linked to more impulsive behavior, different brain networks are involved in ADHD and substance abuse in adolescents, reports a study in Nature Neuroscience.
Robert Whelan and his colleagues used fMRI to track brain activity in nearly 2,000 adolescents as they attempted to stop a movement in response to an unpredictable 'stop' signal. In general more impulsive people find this task harder, and drug users, as well as ADHD patients, take longer to respond to the 'stop' signal. The researchers found that the adolescents with ADHD symptoms and those who had used drugs or alcohol did the task equally well, but only the teenagers who used drugs or alcohol in early adolescence were more likely to have reduced activity centred around a brain area known as the orbitofrontal cortex. In contrast, activity in another brain area, the right inferior frontal cortex was modulated specifically by the use of illegal drugs, rather than tobacco and alcohol. The change in activity here correlated with how often illicit drugs were used, suggesting that this change may be caused by the repeated use of such drugs, rather than a pre-existing difference.
These results demonstrate how similar-seeming behaviour may actually reflect activity in quite different brain networks.
Author contact:
Robert Whelan (University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA)
Tel: +1 802 656 9879; E-mail: [email protected]
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[5] ZNRF3 promotes Wnt receptor turnover in an R-spondin-sensitive manner
DOI: 10.1038/nature11019
[6] RNF12 initiates X-chromosome inactivation by targeting REX1 for degradation
DOI: 10.1038/nature11070
[7] Glycolytic oligodendrocytes maintain myelin and long-term axonal integrity
DOI: 10.1038/nature11007
[8] Autistic-like behaviours and hyperactivity in mice lacking ProSAP1/Shank2
DOI: 10.1038/nature11015
[9] Topology of the human and mouse m6A RNA methylomes revealed by m6A-seq
DOI: 10.1038/nature11112
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NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
[10] Full-length RecE enhances linear-linear homologous recombination and facilitates direct cloning for bioprospecting
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2183
[11] Absolute quantification of somatic DNA alterations in human cancer
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2203
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NATURE CELL BIOLOGY
[12] Patchwork organization of the yeast plasma membrane into numerous coexisting domains
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2487
[13] Anti-apoptotic MCL-1 localizes to the mitochondrial matrix and couples mitochondrial fusion to respiration
DOI: 10.1038/ncb2483
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NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
[14] A selective inhibitor reveals PI3Kg-dependence of TH17 cell differentiation
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.957
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NATURE CHEMISTRY
[15] Engineering methylaspartate ammonia lyase for the asymmetric synthesis of unnatural amino acids
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1338
[16] Protein camouflage in cytochrome c–calixarene complexes
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1342
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NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
[17] Equatorial refuge amid tropical warming
DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1499
[18] Spatially and temporally consistent prediction of heavy precipitation from mean values
DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1497
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NATURE GENETICS
[19] Meta-analysis identifies six new susceptibility loci for atrial fibrillation
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2261
[20] Mutations in the RNA exosome component gene EXOSC3 cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia and spinal motor neuron degeneration
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2254
[21] Mutations in KANSL1 cause the 17q21.31 microdeletion syndrome phenotype
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2257
[22] Mutations in the chromatin modifier gene KANSL1 cause the 17q21.31 microdeletion syndrome
DOI: 10.1038/ng.2262
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NATURE GEOSCIENCE
[23] Caldera size modulated by the yield stress within a crystal-rich magma reservoir
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1453
[24] Volcanism in the Afar Rift sustained by decompression melting with minimal plume influence
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1455
[25] Asymmetric crustal growth on the Moon indicated by primitive farside highland materials
DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1458
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NATURE IMMUNOLOGY
[26] TGF-beta and retinoic acid induce the microRNA miR-10a, which targets Bcl-6 and constrains the plasticity of helper T cells
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2286
[27] Translational control of the activation of transcription factor NF-kappaB and production of type I interferon by phosphorylation of the translation factor eIF4E
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2291
[28] Clonal deletion and the fate of autoreactive thymocytes that survive negative selection
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2292
[29] TRIM28 prevents autoinflammatory T cell development in vivo
DOI: 10.1038/ni.2293
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NATURE MATERIALS
[30] Atomically controlled electrochemical nucleation at superionic solid electrolyte surfaces
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3307
[31] P2-type Nax[Fe1/2Mn1/2]O2 made from earth-abundant elements for rechargeable Na batteries
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3309
[32] A red metallic oxide photocatalyst
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3312
[33] Re-entrant melting as a design principle for DNA-coated colloids
DOI: 10.1038/nmat3314
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NATURE MEDICINE
[34] Interleukin-25 induces type 2 cytokine production in a steroid-resistant interleukin-17RB+ myeloid population that exacerbates asthmatic pathology
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2735
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NATURE METHODS
[35] A simple, versatile method for GFP-based super-resolution microscopy via nanobodies
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1991
[36] An optimized two-finger archive for ZFN-mediated gene targeting
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1994
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NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
[37] Nanoelectromechanical contact switches
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.40
[38] Red, green and blue lasing enabled by single-exciton gain in colloidal quantum dot films
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.61
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NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
[39] Calbindin controls release probability in ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3099
[40] Distinct roles for direct and indirect pathway striatal neurons in reinforcement
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3100
[41] Visual neurotransmission in Drosophila requires expression of Fic in glial capitate projections
DOI: 10.1038/nn.3102
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NATURE PHOTONICS
[42] Speckle-free laser imaging using random laser illumination
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.90
[43] Laser-driven acceleration of neutral particles
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.87
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NATURE PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[44] Atom-by-atom engineering and magnetometry of tailored nanomagnets
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2299
[45] Electric-field-induced ferromagnetic resonance excitation in an ultrathin ferromagnetic metal layer
DOI: 10.1038/nphys2298
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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
Brisbane: 2, 4
Clayton: 27
Liverpool: 2
Melbourne: 20
Sydney: 2
Westmead: 20
BELGIUM
Leuven: 8
CANADA:
Edmonton: 3
Montreal: 4, 27
Ottawa: 19, 27
Toronto: 4, 20
Winnipeg: 20
CHINA
Changsha: 10
CZECH REPUBLIC
Prague: 20
ETHIOPIA
Addis Ababa: 24
FRANCE
Evry: 4
Gif-sur-Yvette: 4
Orsay: 4
Paris: 4, 8, 22
Tours: 22
GERMANY
Aachen: 20, 30
Berlin: 4, 7, 8, 20
Bonn: 2, 30
Dresden: 2, 4, 10
Frankfurt: 8
Freiburg: 12
Goettingen: 7
Griefswald: 19
Hamburg: 44
Heidelberg: 4
Homburg: 7
Jena: 2
Juelich: 30, 44
Kiel: 7
Magdeburg: 8
Mannheim: 4
Martinsried: 12
Muenster: 8
Munich: 2, 19
Neuherberg: 19
Regensburg: 2
Saarbrucken: 10
Ulm: 8
ICELAND
Reykjavik: 19
IRELAND
Dublin: 4, 16, 27
Galway: 16
ISRAEL
Tel Aviv: 9
Tel Hashomer: 9
ITALY
Milan: 21
Rome: 21
Turin: 14
JAPAN
Fukushima: 25
Ibaraki: 25, 45
Kanagawa: 19, 25
Kyoto: 29, 31
Nagoya: 25
Osaka: 25, 45
Saitama: 45
Tokyo: 19, 25, 31
Tsukuba: 29, 30
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 2
Delft: 2
Geleen: 15
Groningen: 15, 19
Nijmegen: 2
Rotterdam: 6, 7, 19
NORWAY
Oslo: 18
SPAIN
Barcelona: 20
Santiago de Compostela: 20
SWEDEN
Lund: 19
Malmo: 19
SWITZERLAND
Basel: 5, 19
Epalinges: 28
Zurich: 7, 35
THAILAND
Chang Mai: 32
UNITED KINGDOM
Aberdeen: 3
Birmingham: 3
Bristol: 3, 24
Cambridge: 2, 3, 4, 14, 33
Cardiff: 3
Edinburgh: 7
Glasgow: 3
Leeds: 3, 24
Liverpool: 3
London: 3, 4, 16, 22, 24, 43
Newcastle: 3, 7
Nottingham: 3, 4
Oxford: 3
Sheffield: 3
Southampton: 3, 24
St Andrews: 32
Sussex: 4
Sutton: 3
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 23
Irvine: 20
Los Angeles: 11, 19, 20
San Diego: 1
San Francisco: 14, 40
Colorado
Aurora: 22
Boulder: 18
Connecticut
New Haven: 42
District of Columbia
Washington: 3, 20
Florida
Gainesville: 3
Miami: 7
Hawaii
Honolulu: 25
Illinois
Evanston: 37
Urbana: 1
Maryland
Baltimore: 2, 19
Bethesda: 13, 19, 26, 28
Camp Springs: 1
Frederick: 28
Massachusetts
Boston: 5, 11, 19
Cambridge: 5, 11, 19
Charlestown: 19
Framingham: 19
Waltham: 5
Watertown: 38
Woods Hole: 17
Worcester: 36
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 34
Minnesota
Minneapolis: 2, 19
Missouri
St Louis: 36
New York
Albany: 1
New York: 11, 27, 39
Rochester: 24
North Carolina
Winston-Salem: 19
Ohio
Cleveland: 19
Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh: 19
University Park: 19
Rhode Island
Providence: 25, 38
Tennessee
Memphis: 13
Nashville: 19
Texas
Dallas: 41
Houston: 19, 22, 27
Vermont
Burlington: 4
Washington
Seattle: 19, 34
Wisconsin
Madison: 2
URUGUAY
Salto: 27
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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]
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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]
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