Cell

A newly discovered enzyme brings scientists one step closer to understanding how plants manufacture a molecule with potent medicinal properties. Plants of the genus Glycyrrhiza are best known as key ingredients in the popular treat licorice, but they also have a valuable place in the medicine cabinet.

Star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes are found to bridge the gap between global brain activity and localized circuits. Global network activity in the brain modulates local neural circuitry via calcium signaling in non-neuronal cells called astrocytes (Fig. 1), according to research led by Hajime Hirase of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute.

Volcanoes on the sea floor can grow and collapse in rapid pulses, reports a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Due to their inaccessible nature, little is known about the evolution of submarine volcanoes. This study provides insights into the frequency and rate at which such volcanoes can erupt and grow.

Pulses of warm ocean water that could reach far beneath the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf together with a smooth, steep bed beneath the ice sheet may affect the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, suggest two papers published this week in Nature and Nature Geoscience.

An abrupt cooling event in Europe about 2,800 years ago was linked to a sustained reduction in solar radiation, reports a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. The finding indicates that solar forcing may influence European climate over long, as well as short, timescales.

Latest News from Nature 22 April 2012

A pioneering error correction technique developed at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute holds promise for the development of next-generation computers

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Converting human skin cells into neurons more efficiently; Evolution in the oceans; Telling the good from the bad in the gut and Efficient genome-scale genetic engineering in bacteria

Latest news from Nature and the Nature journals 02 April 2012

A central regulator of the inflammatory response shows signs as an appealing target for therapies against autoimmune disease

Mutations in people with cancerous Lynch syndrome prevent a DNA mismatch repair protein from doing its job properly

The pH image sensor was invented by Kazuaki Sawada of Toyohashi University of Technology (Toyohashi Tech). The device enables two dimensional visualization of both the pH and optical imaging of chemical activity of solutions and cell activity.

Latest news from Nature 22 March 2012

At Toyohashi University of Technology the intriguing properties of graphene—a single atomic-layer of carbon—such as high electron mobility and fluorescence quenching are being exploited for biosensing and analysis of nucleotides, peptides, and proteins.

The latest microfluidic chip can generate microbubbles to break open cells for biochemical analysis

Researchers have devised a simple and inexpensive approach to making soft magnetic films for microwave applications

Dye-sensitized solar cells that use carbon nanotube thin films as transparent electrodes offer significant cost savings

Latest news for Nature journals 12 March 2012

Researchers have synthesized a fungal metabolite and derivatives that inhibit crucial enzymes related to cancers

A robust approach for preparing polymer-coated quantum dots may find use in a wide range of applications

Latest News from Nature Journals 27 February 2012

Latest News from Nature 23 February 2012

Latest news from Nature journals 20 February 2012

Latest news from Nature 16/02/2012

Latest News from Nature 12 february 2012

A new method to map nanostructures within materials may lead to biological imaging of the internal organization of cells

Latest news from Nature 8 February 2012

A collaborative anti-cancer research jointly conducted by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School and Nevada Cancer Institute has led to the development of a novel class of chemical inhibitors that specifically target cancer cells with pluripotency.

Clarification of metabolite regulation and distribution in a large, freshwater algal cell illuminates important aspects of general cell metabolism