Correction
In the Editorial 'Price of freedom' (Nature485, 148; 2012), we stated that 'plenty of European scientists will be lost'. 'European scientists' should have been 'Europan science', as we meant to refer to science on the Jovian moon Europa. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 2:14pm
Rise of the coyote: The new top dog
Shape-shifting coyotes have evolved to take advantage of a landscape transformed by people. Scientists are now discovering just how wily the creatures are. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 2:14pm
Replication studies: Bad copy
In the wake of high-profile controversies, psychologists are facing up to problems with replication. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 2:14pm
Particle physics: Don't let furore over neutrinos blur results
Neutrinos have been in the news again — and not just because of the debate over last year's OPERA experiment at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy, the results of which gave rise to the mistaken claim that the particles could travel faster than Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Structure of the δ-opioid receptor bound to naltrindole
The opioid receptor family comprises three members, the µ-, δ- and κ-opioid receptors, which respond to classical opioid alkaloids such as morphine and heroin as well as to endogenous peptide ligands like endorphins. They belong to the G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, and are excellent therapeutic targets for pain control. The δ-opioid receptor (δ-OR) has a role in analgesia, as well as in other neurological functions that remain poorly understood. The structures of the µ-OR and κ-OR have recently been solved. Here we report the crystal structure of the mouse δ-OR, bound to the subtype-selective antagonist naltrindole. Together with the structures of the µ-OR and κ-OR, the δ-OR structure provides insights into conserved elements of opioid ligand recognition while also revealing structural features associated with ligand-subtype selectivity. The binding pocket of opioid receptors can be divided into two distinct regions. Whereas the lower part of this pocket is... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Structure of the nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor in complex with a peptide mimetic
Members of the opioid receptor family of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are found throughout the peripheral and central nervous system, where they have key roles in nociception and analgesia. Unlike the ‘classical’ opioid receptors, δ, κ and μ (δ-OR, κ-OR and μ-OR), which were delineated by pharmacological criteria in the 1970s and 1980s, the nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) peptide receptor (NOP, also known as ORL-1) was discovered relatively recently by molecular cloning and characterization of an orphan GPCR. Although it shares high sequence similarity with classical opioid GPCR subtypes (∼60%), NOP has a markedly distinct pharmacology, featuring activation by the endogenous peptide N/OFQ, and unique selectivity for exogenous ligands. Here we report the crystal structure of human NOP, solved in complex with the peptide mimetic antagonist compound-24 (C-24) (ref. 4), revealing atomic details of ligand–receptor recognition and selectivity. Compound-24 mimics the... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
KCTD13 is a major driver of mirrored neuroanatomical phenotypes of the 16p11.2 copy number variant
Copy number variants (CNVs) are major contributors to genetic disorders. We have dissected a region of the 16p11.2 chromosome—which encompasses 29 genes—that confers susceptibility to neurocognitive defects when deleted or duplicated. Overexpression of each human transcript in zebrafish embryos identified KCTD13 as the sole message capable of inducing the microcephaly phenotype associated with the 16p11.2 duplication, whereas suppression of the same locus yielded the macrocephalic phenotype associated with the 16p11.2 deletion, capturing the mirror phenotypes of humans. Analyses of zebrafish and mouse embryos suggest that microcephaly is caused by decreased proliferation of neuronal progenitors with concomitant increase in apoptosis in the developing brain, whereas macrocephaly arises by increased proliferation and no changes in apoptosis. A role for KCTD13 dosage changes is consistent with autism in both a recently reported family with a reduced 16p11.2 deletion and a subject... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Structural biology: How opioid drugs bind to receptors
The search for safe, non-addictive versions of morphine and other opioid drugs has just received a boost with the solving of the crystal structures of the receptors to which the drugs bind. See Articles p.321 & p.327, Letters p.395 & p.400 Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Reach and grasp by people with tetraplegia using a neurally controlled robotic arm
Paralysis following spinal cord injury, brainstem stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other disorders can disconnect the brain from the body, eliminating the ability to perform volitional movements. A neural interface system could restore mobility and independence for people with paralysis by translating neuronal activity directly into control signals for assistive devices. We have previously shown that people with long-standing tetraplegia can use a neural interface system to move and click a computer cursor and to control physical devices. Able-bodied monkeys have used a neural interface system to control a robotic arm, but it is unknown whether people with profound upper extremity paralysis or limb loss could use cortical neuronal ensemble signals to direct useful arm actions. Here we demonstrate the ability of two people with long-standing tetraplegia to use neural interface system-based control of a robotic arm to perform three-dimensional reach and grasp movements.... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Recent Northern Hemisphere tropical expansion primarily driven by black carbon and tropospheric ozone
Observational analyses have shown the width of the tropical belt increasing in recent decades as the world has warmed. This expansion is important because it is associated with shifts in large-scale atmospheric circulation and major climate zones. Although recent studies have attributed tropical expansion in the Southern Hemisphere to ozone depletion, the drivers of Northern Hemisphere expansion are not well known and the expansion has not so far been reproduced by climate models. Here we use a climate model with detailed aerosol physics to show that increases in heterogeneous warming agents—including black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone—are noticeably better than greenhouse gases at driving expansion, and can account for the observed summertime maximum in tropical expansion. Mechanistically, atmospheric heating from black carbon and tropospheric ozone has occurred at the mid-latitudes, generating a poleward shift of the tropospheric jet, thereby relocating the main... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Reach out to defend evolution
Creationists seize on any perceived gaps in our knowledge of evolutionary processes. But scientists can and should fight back, says Russell Garwood. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Drug discovery: In defence of the animal model
Jocelyn Rice points out perceived shortcomings of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mouse in modelling multiple sclerosis and in advancing effective human treatments for this disease (Nature484, S9; 2012; online only). However, her title ('Animal models: Not close enough') seems to Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Misplaced childhood
The US National Institutes of Health should rethink plans to limit a nationwide study of children. It must not miss a rare opportunity to probe the causes of childhood diseases. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Needless conflict
Independent experts should be kept from undue suspicion as well as undue influence. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Honest opinions
Proposals for a UK law on defamation highlight the power of scientific protest. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Earth science: Geomagnetism under scrutiny
New calculations show that the electrical resistance of Earth's liquid-iron core is lower than had been thought. The results prompt a reassessment of how the planet's magnetic field has been generated and maintained over time. See Letter p.355 Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Correction
In the News & Views article 'Cancer biology: The director's cut' by Antonio Gentilella and George Thomas (Nature485, 50–51; 2012), the messenger RNA transcript encoding YB1 was incorrectly referred to as a 59 TOP mRNA. The transcript should Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Planetary science: Planet-like asteroid
The giant asteroid Vesta resembles a planet more than it does other asteroids, according to Christopher Russell at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues. In six separate studies, the researchers report their analysis of data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, which has been Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Biology: Mammary chronicles
Josie Glausiusz celebrates an environmental history of the human breast. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Books in brief
Whether sprinting, swimming, lifting or leaping, elite athletes in action are phenomenal — and, as biochemist and sports scientist Chris Cooper shows in this pacy account, some are also assisted by performance-enhancing drugs. To understand a problem that is unlikely to disappear from sport completely, Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Light-induced liquid crystallinity
Liquid crystals are traditionally classified as thermotropic, lyotropic or polymeric, based on the stimulus that governs the organization and order of the molecular system. The most widely known and applied class of liquid crystals are a subset of thermotropic liquid crystals known as calamitic, in which adding heat can result in phase transitions from or into the nematic, cholesteric and smectic mesophases. Photoresponsive liquid-crystal materials and mixtures can undergo isothermal phase transitions if light affects the order parameter of the system within a mesophase sufficiently. In nearly all previous examinations, light exposure of photoresponsive liquid-crystal materials and mixtures resulted in order-decreasing photo-induced isothermal phase transitions. Under specialized conditions, an increase in order with light exposure has been reported, despite the tendency of the photoresponsive liquid-crystal system to reduce order in the exposed state. A direct, photo-induced... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Resolving the time when an electron exits a tunnelling barrier
The tunnelling of a particle through a barrier is one of the most fundamental and ubiquitous quantum processes. When induced by an intense laser field, electron tunnelling from atoms and molecules initiates a broad range of phenomena such as the generation of attosecond pulses, laser-induced electron diffraction and holography. These processes evolve on the attosecond timescale (1 attosecond ≡ 1 as = 10−18 seconds) and are well suited to the investigation of a general issue much debated since the early days of quantum mechanics—the link between the tunnelling of an electron through a barrier and its dynamics outside the barrier. Previous experiments have measured tunnelling rates with attosecond time resolution and tunnelling delay times. Here we study laser-induced tunnelling by using a weak probe field to steer the tunnelled electron in the lateral direction and then monitor the effect on the attosecond light bursts emitted when the liberated electron re-encounters... Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Ecology: Preserve Brazil's aquatic biodiversity
Brazil's aquatic biodiversity is under threat from a proposed law that aims to boost degraded fishery resources. If approved, the law — put forward by Nelson Meurer of the Brazilian National Congress — would allow the cultivation of non-native fish species in freshwater aquaculture cages, Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Microbiome: The critters within
Your gut microflora might be aiding and abetting diabetes. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Genetics: Fish heads and human disease
The expression level of a single gene can determine head size in zebrafish, mirroring a human anatomical feature associated with neurological disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. See Letter p.363 Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Atomic physics: Electrons get real
Strong laser fields allow electrons to tunnel out of atoms. The response of such electrons to a second laser field supports the idea that they start tunnelling at a time defined by a complex number, but exit atoms at a 'real' time. See Letter p.343 Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Correction
The story 'Graphene's silicon cousin' (Nature485, 9; 2012) should have said that silicon was deposited onto a silver surface heated to more than 200 °C. The silicon was heated to more than 1,000 °C. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Prevention: Nipped in the bud
While type 1 diabetes might be promising ground for a vaccine, the most effective way to avoid type 2 remains good old-fashioned diet and exercise. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Public Health: India's diabetes time bomb
Epigenetics and lifestyle are conspiring to inflict a massive epidemic of type 2 diabetes in the subcontinent. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Perspective: Testing failures
Promising drugs to treat diabetes stumble in the latter stages of clinical testing. Thomas Mandrup-Poulsen explains why — and how to fix it. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Going digital
Creating electronic textbooks requires ingenuity, teamwork and multimedia savvy. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Turning point: Mark Lawrence
After launching a career in Germany, sustainability institute director aims to help society by reducing pollution. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Ravages of time
The generation gap. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Diabetes in numbers
The number of people living with, and dying of, diabetes across the world is shocking: 90 million Chinese live with diabetes and 1.3 million died in 2011; 23% of Qatari adults have developed diabetes. Here we chart the extent of the global epidemic and present some of the implications for national governments by Tony Scully. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Q&A: Soundscape explorer
Bioacoustician Bernie Krause has travelled the world for decades to gather animal sounds for his Wild Sanctuary archive (www.wildsanctuary.com). Following the release of his book about this work, The Great Animal Orchestra, he talks about the calls of the wild. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Immunomodulators: Cell savers
In type 1 diabetes, the immune system goes haywire and depletes insulin-producing cells. Drugs that interfere with this process could one day reverse the disease's course. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Medical devices: Managed by machine
Artificial pancreases promise to take the decision-making — and human mistakes — out of managing type 1 diabetes. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Perspective: Rethink the immune connection
Recent research suggests that the fight against type 1 diabetes is focusing too narrowly on the adaptive immune system, says Carla Greenbaum. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Pathology: Cause and effect
Decades of study into the causes of diabetes have produced no definitive answers. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Photonics: Solar panel in the eye
Special glasses that fire near-infrared signals onto a device implanted into the retina could one day help to restore vision in blind people. This system would require fewer implanted components such as wires and coils to power the device than other proposed retinal prostheses.James Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Astronomy: Exoplanet signals ring true
Most candidate multi-planet systems spotted by the Kepler space telescope probably contain true exoplanets, according to a statistical analysis.Kepler spots potential planets beyond our Solar System by looking for tiny dips in brightness as the planets pass in front of their host stars. The Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Neuroscience: Anti-seizure drug boosts memory
One way to improve memory in people with a disorder that can precede Alzheimer's disease is to dampen activity in a part of the brain known as the hippocampus, rather than to boost it as previously thought.Michela Gallagher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Biomaterials: High-voltage plant proteins
Crystals of photosynthetic protein complexes extracted from plant cells can generate extraordinarily high voltages when placed on a conducting surface and stimulated by light.Each of the light-transducing complexes known as photosystem I can generate about 1 volt during photosynthesis in the plant. Nathan Nelson Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Messages from the early Universe
Bright and brief, γ-ray bursts hold clues to cosmic history. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Neuroscience: Brain-controlled robot grabs attention
Restoring voluntary actions to paralysed patients is an ambition of neural-interface research. A study shows that people with tetraplegia can use brain control of a robotic arm to reach and grasp objects. See Letter p.372 Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Astronomy: On the track of the transit
Owen Gingerich enjoys two histories of the expeditions that aimed to measure the passage of Venus across the face of the Sun. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Environment: Control electronic waste in India
Legislation that came into effect in India this month aims to deal with the environmental effects of electronic waste in the country. According to a government report, this waste stream has increased by a factor of more than five in seven years and is expected Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Sociology: The social sciences are already relevant
Luk Van Langenhove argues that the social sciences should be made more relevant (Nature484, 442; 2012). But the problem is rather that society remains largely unaware of the thousands of social-science studies produced every year that are relevant to global Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am
Child-study turmoil leaves bitter taste
Frustration mounts as ambitious US project is scaled back. Read more...
Nature - Issue - nature.com science feeds, May 16, 12:00am