How whales bite off more than they can chew and more of the latest research news from Nature

Discovery of a sensory organ in the jaws of rorqual whales might provide clues about how these large creatures feed. According to a report in this week’s Nature, the organ seems to be involved in coordinating a number of processes — from prey detection to jaw movements — that facilitates lunge feeding.

This press release contains:

---Summaries of newsworthy papers:

Animal behaviour: How whales bite off more than they can chew

Materials science: Improving solar cells

Comment: The hidden costs of flexible fertility

Immunology: Understanding adverse reactions to drugs

Earth science: A discontinuity in the Earth’s magma production 2.5 billion years ago

Quantum physics: Metastable states in Fermi gases

And finally... Walking out of the water

---Geographical listing of authors

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[1] Animal behaviour: How whales bite off more than they can chew (pp 498-501)

Discovery of a sensory organ in the jaws of rorqual whales might provide clues about how these large creatures feed. According to a report in this week’s Nature, the organ seems to be involved in coordinating a number of processes — from prey detection to jaw movements — that facilitates lunge feeding. This organ may have had a role in driving the evolution of extremely large body sizes observed in today’s rorqual whales, such as the blue whale.

Rorqual whales feed by lunging and gulping substantial volumes of prey-laden water, a process that is unique among mammals. Several specialized features assist lunge feeding, such as throat pleats that can expand to hold large volumes of water, but details of how the feeding process works have remained elusive. Nicholas Pyenson and colleagues identify a sensory organ present in several rorqual species that they suggest has a crucial role in coordinating lunge feeding. They propose that this organ detects the presence of prey, prompts the whale to open its jaws and allows the throat to expand to full capacity.

This model provides an example of how aquatic and marine animals have evolved solutions to the challenges of feeding in the water while maintaining large body sizes.

CONTACT
Nicholas Pyenson (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA)

Tel: +1 202 633 1366; E-mail: [email protected]

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[2] Materials science: Improving solar cells (pp 486-489; N&V)

Improvements to a class of photovoltaic devices called dye-sensitized solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, are reported in Nature this week. A modification to the electrically conductive component of the cells ― the electrolyte ― overcomes problems that affect the long-term performance and durability of dye-sensitized solar cells. The new cells have efficiencies that approach those of the best conventional dye-sensitized solar cells.

Dye-sensitized solar cells have relatively high conversion efficiencies for solar energy and are low-cost and promising alternatives to conventional solid-state photovoltaic devices. However, the liquid electrolyte used in these cells can leak or cause corrosion, potentially leading to degradation of device performance over time. Mercouri Kanatzidis and colleagues have improved these cells by replacing the liquid electrolyte with a solid-state electrolyte. The solid-state cells show a conversion efficiency of around 10%, a value close to that of the highest reported performance in conventional dye-sensitized solar cells.

The authors speculate that further optimization of these devices could improve conversion efficiencies, exceeding those of liquid-electrolyte dye-sensitized solar cells.

CONTACT
Mercouri Kanatzidis (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA)
Tel: +1 847 467 1541; E-mail: [email protected]

Thomas Mallouk (Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 814 863 9637; E-mail: [email protected]

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Comment: The hidden costs of flexible fertility (p 441)

Should society pay billions of Euros to clean widely used pharmaceuticals from water supplies, or should we put up with environmental damage to rivers and lakes? A public debate about drug residues and water pollution is urgently needed ahead of upcoming European legislation, argue environmental scientists Richard Owen and Susan Jobling in a Comment piece in this week’s Nature.

The European Union (EU) plans later this year to vote on environmental regulation of the active ingredient in the contraceptive pill, ethinyl estradiol, as part of its Water Framework Directive. This chemical, along with other, naturally occurring oestrogens, is excreted and ends up in rivers, estuaries and lakes, where it can affect the reproductive cycles of fish. If agreed, the proposals will set a precedent for regulating pharmaceuticals in the environment that damage aquatic life when present at extremely low concentrations. The costs of such a clean-up are huge ― estimated at €30 billion for England and Wales alone. And industry and governments are unlikely to back that degree of expenditure in the current financial situation.

Owen and Jobling are concerned that the public is not being consulted ― the EU discussions are going on behind closed doors. They argue that an open debate needs to happen now before groundbreaking policy decisions are made that affect us all.

CONTACT

Richard Owen (University of Exeter, UK)
Tel: +44 7500 782033; E-mail: [email protected]

Susan Jobling (Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK)
Tel: +44 7932 066351; E-mail: [email protected]

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[3] Immunology: Understanding adverse reactions to drugs (AOP)

DOI: 10.1038/nature11147

A potential molecular mechanism underlying immunological-based adverse reactions to certain drugs is discussed in Nature this week. Certain small-molecule drugs cause adverse reactions by binding to specific proteins with immune function, known as human leukocyte antigens (HLA). The study suggests that some forms of HLA may be susceptible to modification by small-molecule drugs, leading to changes in immune response that can result in adverse reactions.

Jamie Rossjohn and colleagues investigate hypersensitivity to the widely used HIV drug, abacavir, which causes a severe systemic reaction exclusively in patients with a distinct form of HLA called HLA-B*57:01. They find that abacavir binds with high specificity to HLA-B*57:01, changing the shape and properties of this protein. As a result, this altered protein triggers an altered immunological response and leads to abacavir hypersensitivity syndrome. The authors also show that a similar response is induced by the anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine, which is associated with hypersensitivities in patients with HLA-B*15:02.

These findings indicate that there is a general mechanism underlying HLA-linked hypersensitivities to small drugs, although the authors note that this may not account for all HLA-associated drug reactions.

CONTACT
Jamie Rossjohn (Monash University, Clayton, Australia)

Tel: +61 3 9902 9236; E-mail: [email protected]

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[4] Earth science: A discontinuity in the Earth’s magma production 2.5 billion years ago (pp 490-493; N&V)

A correlation between changes in formation depth and composition of magmas within the Earth and the rise of atmospheric oxygen on the Earth is reported in this week’s Nature. The results reveal a period of rapid and profound geochemical change around 2.5 billion years ago that roughly coincides with the timing of the Great Oxidation Event.

Brenhin Keller and Blair Schoene present a comprehensive analysis of geochemical evolution of continental rocks through the Earth’s history, using a database of about 70,000 samples. They document a long-term secular change in the rock record consistent with cooling of the Earth, but they also discover a discontinuity in this record about 2.5 billion years ago. This discontinuity also appears in models of changing crustal thickness at this time. The observed changes in geochemistry and inferred crustal thickness roughly coincide with the timing of the Great Oxidation Event. The authors speculate that their results could provide a link between deep Earth geochemical processes and the rise of atmospheric oxygen.

CONTACT
C. Brenhin Keller (Princeton University, NJ, USA)
Tel: +1 607 351 9811; E-mail: [email protected]

William White (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA) N&V author
Tel: +1 607 255 7466; E-mail: [email protected]

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[5] & [6] Quantum physics: Metastable states in Fermi gases (AOP; N&V)

DOI: 10.1038/nature11065

DOI: 10.1038/nature11151

Detection of theoretically predicted quasiparticles known as repulsive polarons that have eluded previous experiments is reported in two studies published in Nature this week. Researchers alter the conditions within an ultracold gas to tune the atomic interaction, allowing the repulsive quasiparticles to exist for long enough to be detected. Such relatively long-lived repulsive polarons hold promise for the creation of exotic quantum phases, such as an unusual form of ferromagnetism.

The realization of quasiparticles in systems with strong repulsive interactions is of fundamental interest in the field of quantum physics, but their observation is challenging because they are intrinsically unstable. Ultracold Fermi gases provide a test bed to explore such many-body physics. By optimizing the interparticle spacing, Rudolf Grimm and colleagues manage to create and characterize repulsive polarons in a system of ultracold potassium impurities interacting with a Fermi sea of lithium atoms.

In a related but complementary study, Michael Köhl and colleagues study both attractive and repulsive Fermi polarons in a two-dimensional, spin-imbalanced Fermi gas of potassium atoms.
The studies confirm the existence of repulsive polarons and open up the possibility of realizing novel physical states in ultracold fermionic systems.

CONTACT
Rudolf Grimm (University of Innsbruck, Austria) Author paper [6]
Tel: +43 512 507 6300; E-mail: [email protected]

Michael Köhl (University of Cambridge, UK) Author paper [7]
Tel: +44 1223 337479; E-mail: [email protected]

Peter Hannaford (Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia) N&V author
Tel: +61 3 9214 5164; E-mail: [email protected]

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[7] And finally... Walking out of the water (AOP)

DOI: 10.1038/nature11124

Reconstruction of the skeleton of an early four-limbed aquatic animal provides insights into an important step in vertebrate evolution — the transition from swimming to walking. Modification of limbs and joints altered the ways in which these creatures, known as tetrapods, could move. Modelling of the limb movements of the reconstructed Ichthyostega skeleton, reported in Nature this week, suggests that the evolution of limbs did not directly coincide with the onset of walking.

To shed light on the evolution of movement in early tetrapods, Stephanie Pierce and colleagues studied a well known example, Ichthyostega. This animal has an unusual skeleton, including a very robust ribcage, a spine that has been adapted for up-and-down rather than lateral movement as in other tetrapods, and paddle-like limbs that seem to be unsuitable for walking.This has led to questions about how it moved. By scanning fossils ofIchthyostega the authors created a three-dimensional skeleton from which they calculated the range of movement in limb joints. The computer modelling suggests that Ichthyostega could not walk; the data indicate that these early tetrapods lacked the necessary motion for lifting their bodies off the ground and moving their limbs in a walking pattern.

The authors find that Ichthyostega most likely shuffled on land using hindlimb movements similar to that seen in seals. Taken together, these results indicate that changes in the way that such creatures moved may have been gradual.

CONTACT
Stephanie Pierce (The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK)

Tel: +44 1707 666485; E-mail: [email protected]

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[8] Rab5 is necessary for the biogenesis of the endolysosomal system in vivo (pp 465-470)

[9] Tunable ion–photon entanglement in an optical cavity (pp 482-485)

[10] Cryptic peroxisomal targeting via alternative splicing and stop codon read-through in fungi (pp 522-525)

[11] Site-specific DICER and DROSHA RNA products control the DNA-damage response
DOI: 10.1038/nature11179

[12] The let-7-Imp axis regulates ageing of the Drosophila testis stem-cell niche
DOI: 10.1038/nature11061

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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. 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.

AUSTRALIA
Clayton: 3
Brisbane: 3
Parkville: 3
West Melbourne: 3

AUSTRIA
Innsbruck: 5, 9

CANADA
Vancouver: 1

DENMARK
Aarhus: 5

GERMANY
Braunschweig: 9
Dortmund: 8
Dresden: 8
Hannover: 9
Karlsruhe: 11
Marburg: 10

ISRAEL
Haifa: 12

ITALY
Milan: 11
Pavia: 11

JAPAN
Yokohama: 11

RUSSIA
Moscow: 8

SPAIN
Castelldefels: 5

UK
Cambridge: 6, 7
Cardiff: 3
Hatfield: 7

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
La Jolla: 12
District of Columbia
Washington: 1
Illinois
Evanston: 2
Massachusetts
Boston: 8
Cambridge: 8, 12
New Jersey
Princeton: 4
New York
Cold Spring Harbor: 12
New York: 11
Ohio
Cleveland: 1
Washington
Olympia: 1
Seattle: 1

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Eiji Matsuda, 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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Published: 23 May 2012

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