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| | | | | Engineering the third wave of biocatalysis | In this review, Bornscheuer et al. survey recent advances in biocatalysis — the use of enzymes or microbes to perform synthetic chemistry. We are, they say, witnessing the 'third wave' of biocatalysis, in which dramatic new activities can now be engineered into enzymes. Applications likely to benefit include the synthesis of important commodity chemicals and advanced pharmaceutical intermediates. | | | | | | | | | Topology of the human and mouse m6A RNA methylomes revealed by m6A-seq | DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that influences gene expression. RNA methylation also occurs, but is less well studied. This study shows that methylation at the N6 position in adenosone in mRNA (m6A) is common, and is found preferentially around stop codons and in unusually long exons. | | | | | | | | | Patterning by controlled cracking | A team based in South Korea has developed a technique that harnesses crack initiation, propagation and termination to create patterns in a silicon nitride thin film deposited on top of a silicon substrate. This concept opens up new possibilities for nanofabrication and patterning using fracture mechanics in applications such as nanotechnology and micro-scale fluidic devices. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | In this week's podcast: what to do with plutonium stockpiles, and what happens when you eat irradiated venison. Plus, a linguistic spat and mini-mammals in the news chat. | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | With transparency comes trust ▶ | | | International development experts say that the Millennium Villages Project's claims of progress should be interpreted with caution. | | | | | | | | Misplaced protest ▶ | | | Rothamsted's genetically engineered wheat should be allowed to grow. | | | | | | | | Price of freedom ▶ | | | The latest mission to Jupiter highlights the benefits and pitfalls of collaboration. | | | | | | | | | | | Beware the creeping cracks of bias ▶ | | | Evidence is mounting that research is riddled with systematic errors. Left unchecked, this could erode public trust, warns Daniel Sarewitz. | | | | | | | | | | | Seven days: 4–10 May 2012 ▶ | | | The week in science: Japan switches off its last nuclear power reactor; South Korea passes carbon-trading laws; and French-Algerian physicist Adlène Hicheur is sentenced to prison for plotting terror attacks. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Q&A: Nature's digitizer ▶ | | | Media designer Scott Snibbe creates software apps and interactive science-museum installations, and was executive producer of the 2011 Biophilia project by singer–songwriter Björk. As he prepares to lecture at the Sónar International Festival of Advanced Music and New Media Art in São Paulo, Brazil — where his visuals will accompany Björk's performance of Biophilia — he talks about provoking wonder. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cardiac angiogenic imbalance leads to peripartum cardiomyopathy ▶ | | | Ian S. Patten, Sarosh Rana, Sajid Shahul, Glenn C. Rowe, Cholsoon Jang et al. | | | Evidence from mice and humans indicates that peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a vascular disease caused by excessive anti-angiogenic signalling in the peripartum period of pregnancy and that pre-eclampsia and multiple gestation are important risk factors for the development of PPCM. | | | | | | | | Human gut microbiome viewed across age and geography ▶ | | | Tanya Yatsunenko, Federico E. Rey, Mark J. Manary, Indi Trehan, Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello et al. | | | The human gut microbiome from a large cohort of more than 500 indivduals living on three continents with three distinct cultures is analysed, emphasizing the effect of host age, diet and environment on the composition and functional repertoire of fecal microbiota. | | | | | | | | Brain-wide neuronal dynamics during motor adaptation in zebrafish ▶ | | | Misha B. Ahrens, Jennifer M. Li, Michael B. Orger, Drew N. Robson, Alexander F. Schier et al. | | | Neural activity is recorded at the cellular level, throughout the brain of larval zebrafish, while the animals interact with a virtual environment and adapt their motor output to changes in visual feedback; this is used to derive candidates of functional elements driving motor learning. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Melanoma genome sequencing reveals frequent PREX2 mutations ▶ | | | Michael F. Berger, Eran Hodis, Timothy P. Heffernan, Yonathan Lissanu Deribe, Michael S. Lawrence et al. | | | Whole-genome sequencing of 25 metastatic melanomas and matched germline DNA in humans reveals that the highest mutation load is associated with chronic sun exposure, and that the PREX2 gene is mutated in approximately 14 per cent of cases | | | | | | | | The complex of tmRNA–SmpB and EF-G on translocating ribosomes ▶ | | | David J. F. Ramrath, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Kristian Rother, Daniela Wittek, Markus Pech et al. | | | Stalled bacterial ribosomes can be rescued by interaction with SmpB protein and a highly structured transfer-messenger RNA, and a cryo-electron microscopy map of this complex now shows how EF-G-dependent translocation of this non-canonical ligand is facilitated by conformational changes in the ribosome and the transfer-messenger RNA. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Topology of the human and mouse m6A RNA methylomes revealed by m6A-seq ▶ | | | Dan Dominissini, Sharon Moshitch-Moshkovitz, Schraga Schwartz, Mali Salmon-Divon, Lior Ungar et al. | | | N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent internal modification in messenger RNA; here the human and mouse m6A modification landscape is presented in a transcriptome-wide manner, providing insights into this epigenetic modification. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Patterns and rates of exonic de novo mutations in autism spectrum disorders ▶ | | | Benjamin M. Neale, Yan Kou, Li Liu, Avi Ma’ayan, Kaitlin E. Samocha et al. | | | Exome sequencing of 175 autism spectrum disorder parent–child trios reveals that few de novo point mutations have a role in autism spectrum disorder and those that do are distributed across many genes and are incompletely penetrant, further supporting extreme genetic heterogeneity of this spectrum disorder. | | | | | | | | Sporadic autism exomes reveal a highly interconnected protein network of de novo mutations ▶ | | | Brian J. O’Roak, Laura Vives, Santhosh Girirajan, Emre Karakoc, Niklas Krumm et al. | | | Exome sequencing on a large cohort of parent–child trios with sporadic autism spectrum disorders shows that de novo point mutations are mainly paternal in origin and positively correlate with paternal age, and identifies a highly interconnected network formed from the products of the most severe mutations. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Systematic discovery of structural elements governing stability of mammalian messenger RNAs ▶ | | | Hani Goodarzi, Hamed S. Najafabadi, Panos Oikonomou, Todd M. Greco, Lisa Fish et al. | | | Secondary structures, or pairing of complementary sequences within RNA, can regulate the binding of proteins that affect transcript stability, splicing, localization, and translation; a computational approach has now been used to discover secondary structures that affect global RNA stability through the binding of specific RNA binding proteins. | | | | | | | | | | | Engineering the third wave of biocatalysis ▶ | | | U. T. Bornscheuer, G. W. Huisman, R. J. Kazlauskas, S. Lutz, J. C. Moore et al. | | | Over the past ten years, protein engineering has established biocatalysis as a practical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional forms of catalysis both in the laboratory and in industry. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Gut Microbiota Web Collection A growing number of conditions are now linked to dysbiosis of the gut microbiota (such as IBD, cancer and obesity). This Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology collection considers the gut microbiota's role in health and disease as well as innovative health-care approaches that target this microbial 'organ'. FREE online for a limited time. | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The complex of tmRNA–SmpB and EF-G on translocating ribosomes ▶ | | | David J. F. Ramrath, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Kristian Rother, Daniela Wittek, Markus Pech et al. | | | Stalled bacterial ribosomes can be rescued by interaction with SmpB protein and a highly structured transfer-messenger RNA, and a cryo-electron microscopy map of this complex now shows how EF-G-dependent translocation of this non-canonical ligand is facilitated by conformational changes in the ribosome and the transfer-messenger RNA. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Systematic discovery of structural elements governing stability of mammalian messenger RNAs ▶ | | | Hani Goodarzi, Hamed S. Najafabadi, Panos Oikonomou, Todd M. Greco, Lisa Fish et al. | | | Secondary structures, or pairing of complementary sequences within RNA, can regulate the binding of proteins that affect transcript stability, splicing, localization, and translation; a computational approach has now been used to discover secondary structures that affect global RNA stability through the binding of specific RNA binding proteins. | | | | | | | | | | | Engineering the third wave of biocatalysis ▶ | | | U. T. Bornscheuer, G. W. Huisman, R. J. Kazlauskas, S. Lutz, J. C. Moore et al. | | | Over the past ten years, protein engineering has established biocatalysis as a practical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional forms of catalysis both in the laboratory and in industry. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The suppression of star formation by powerful active galactic nuclei ▶ | | | M. J. Page, M. Symeonidis, J. D. Vieira, B. Altieri, A. Amblard et al. | | | Observations at submillimetre and X-ray wavelengths show that rapid star formation was common in the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei when the Universe was 2–6 Gyr old, but that the most vigorous star formation is not observed around powerful black holes, thereby confirming a key prediction of models in which an active galactic nucleus expels the interstellar medium of its host galaxy. | | | | | | | | | | | Patterning by controlled cracking ▶ | | | Koo Hyun Nam, Il H. Park & Seung Hwan Ko | | | Propagating cracks—normally associated with material failure and viewed as undesirable—can be controlled in a film/substrate system, opening up new possibilities for nanofabrication and atomic-scale patterning. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Brief Communications Arising | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Kim et al. reply ▶ | | | Seungchul Kim, Jonghan Jin, Young-Jin Kim, In-Yong Park, Yunseok Kim et al. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Earth-like sand fluxes on Mars ▶ | | | N. T. Bridges, F. Ayoub, J-P. Avouac, S. Leprince, A. Lucas et al. | | | Satellite images of a Martian dune field reveal unexpectedly high sand fluxes, suggesting rates of landscape modification similar to those on Earth. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture ▶ | | | Verena Seufert, Navin Ramankutty & Jonathan A. Foley | | | A meta-analysis assessing the relative yields of organic and conventional agriculture shows that organic yields are on average lower, but that the magnitude of the difference is dependent on context. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | | Enterprising science ▶ | | | Graduate students and postdocs are often best placed to turn basic research into entrepreneurial gold, argues Peter Fiske. | | | | | | | | | | | Mobility boost ▶ | | | European student group calls for funding to support mobility. | | | | | | | | | | | Best practice ▶ | | | Agreement to improve UK research careers yields some positives. | | | | | | | | | | | More US success ▶ | | | Technology-transfer model best for inventors who need commercialization support. | | | | | | | | | | | Careers related news & comment | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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