Nature contents: 01 November 2012

Can't view this email? Click here to view in your browser.     Volume 491 Number 7422      nature •Visit Nature homepage •Subscribe to Nature •View Table of Contents The science that matters. Every week.                       A*STAR Research - Highlighting the best of research at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore's premier research organization Recent Highlights Cell biology: Lighting up neural stem cells | Immunology: Matching mice and men | Data storage: Going with the grain The new print edition of A*STAR Research is now available!             Jump to the content that matters to you View Table of Contents ▶ ▼ News & Comment   ▼ Biological Sciences   ▼ Chemical Sciences   ▼ Physical Sciences   ▼ Earth & Environmental Sciences   ▼ Careers & Jobs                 Following New York storms affecting our production, the HTML version of this week's issue of Nature online is missing references and some web links are not active. These pages will be corrected as soon as possible. The print and PDF versions are unaffected. Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, Nature               This week's highlights     Specials - Outlook: Autism     As recently as the mid-1990s, autism was thought to be a rare disorder that led to severe mental disability. But since then its reported incidence has ballooned; it is now thought to encompass conditions that vary widely in character and severity. Still, its causes, treatments, and even definition remain to be pieced together. ▼ more       Chemical Sciences More Chemical sciences ▼   Colloids with valence and specific directional bonding   Chemists routinely use atoms that can form directional bonds to assemble complex and useful molecular structures. Larger colloidal particles have proved less conducive to rational assembly because they lack specific directional bonds. This paper describes a way around this problem that could lead to the creation of a rich variety of technologically useful micro-structured colloidal materials. The method creates a new type of bond by placing 'sticky patches' at precisely controlled locations on the surface of colloidal particles.       Earth & Environmental Sciences More Earth & Environmental sciences ▼   Combined pesticide exposure severely affects individual- and colony-level traits in bees   Exposure to field-level amounts of two common pesticides, neonicotinoid and pyrethroid, are shown to reduce the effectiveness of foraging behaviour in bumblebees, with knock-on effects on brood care and colony productivity. Current guidelines only test the effects of pesticides on bees for up to 96 hours, and do not consider exposure to multiple pesticides. This work emphasizes the importance of performing longer tests and investigating the effects of combined exposure when assessing the risks of pesticide use.                   High quality BD reagents are now more affordable Lower pricing on BD Biosciences reagents means that you don't have to sacrifice quality. Now the consistency and reliability of BD flow cytometry reagents are more affordable, including thousands of proven products and innovative new brilliant dyes. Find the right product for your needs here. bdbiosciences.com/reagents                 Biological Sciences More Biological sciences ▼   Vaccine-induced CD81 T cells control AIDS virus replication   Indian rhesus macaques expressing the Mamu-B*081 molecule, structurally similar to the human leukocyte antigen class I molecule HLA-B*27, show a measure of control of a highly pathogenic variant of the SIV virus. This system provides a model for rare human HIV-infected individuals that achieve so-called elite control over the virus. David Watkins and colleagues show that vaccine-induced CD8+ T cells directed against three T-cell epitopes can control replication of SIV in Mamu-B*081 macaques. This work suggests pointers to the development of vaccines capable of achieving long-term control over the AIDS virus.       Podcast & Video     In this week's podcast: This week, redheads at greater risk of cancer, a new bird family tree ruffles feathers, and sequencing a single cell.         News & Comment Read daily news coverage▶ ▲top             THIS WEEK           Editorials                   Murky manoeuvres ▶     Scientific reform promised to give Italy's scientists the respect and autonomy they deserve, and political posturing must not be allowed to tip the burgeoning system off balance.             Bad press ▶     Japan's media have played a large part in exacerbating the effects of a fraud.             Fight the power ▶     Independence of academic institutions is crucial if nations are to rebuild.             Nature metrics ▶             World View                   How women scientists fare in the Arab world ▶     Rana Dajani argues that true equality for women scientists requires recognition of their family roles as well.             Seven Days                   Seven days: 26 October–1 November 2012 ▶     The week in science:  Fisheries fund deal disappoints, Siemens sells solar business and China lifts ban on new nuclear reactors.           NEWS IN FOCUS           L'Aquila verdict row grows ▶     Global backlash greets sentencing of Italian scientists who assessed earthquake risk.             Sahara solar plan loses its shine ▶     Siemens' decision to pull out of DESERTEC reignites doubts.             NIH faces chimp housing quandary ▶     Dozens of chimpanzees retired from research may have to continue to live in lab-like conditions.             Theorists bridge space-time rips ▶     Framework offers starting point to explaining how particles cope with fluctuations in gravity.             Hepatitis E vaccine debuts ▶     Success of Chinese biotech partnership raises hopes for prevention of overlooked diseases.             Bid to curb fried-food chemical goes cold ▶     Acrylamide levels still too high in Europe's food, says report.             Features                   Science in the developing world: Eritrea's shattered science ▶     An impoverished African nation was making promising strides in medicine — before the government clamped down on its foreign partnerships.             Genomics: The single life ▶     Sequencing DNA from individual cells is changing the way that researchers think of humans as a whole.           COMMENT           Model organisms: There's more to life than rats and flies ▶     The tiny number of model organisms constrains research in ways that must be acknowledged and addressed, warns Jessica Bolker.             Genetic tests: Politics and fetal diagnostics collide ▶     Without better regulation, non-invasive prenatal genetic tests will be targeted by US anti-abortion lobbyists, argues Jaime S. King.             Policy: Base sustainable development goals on science ▶     Gisbert Glaser urges the United Nations' working group to do their research.             Books and Arts                   Neuroscience: Found in translation ▶     Charles Fernyhough enjoys a bold exploration of how the mind extracts meaning from what we read or hear.             Books in brief ▶             History: Realms of gold ▶     Jennifer Rampling relishes a masterful take on the age-old allure of alchemy.             Geography: Going all the way ▶     Andrew Robinson follows the feet, wheels, ships and space stations that have circled the globe.             Correspondence                   Publishing: Handful of papers dominates citation Albert-László Barabási, Chaoming Song & Dashun Wang | Nomenclature: Call to register new species in ZooBank Gary Rosenberg, Frank-T. Krell & Richard Pyle | Conservation: Problems enforcing Ecuador ecology law Kelly Swing & Luis Sempértegui | Structural genomics: Open collaboration is key to new drugs Markus Gruetter           Correction                   Correction ▶                         BMG LABTECH - The Microplate Reader Company PHERAstar FS - The Gold Standard for HTS epigenetic assays - Cut time & costs with the fastest, most sensitive microplate reader. Perform histone modification assays (methylation, acetylation, deacetylation, ubiquitylation, phorphorylation & sumoylation), as well as DNA methylation, & small interfering RNAs with the PHERAstar FS.               Biological Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Latest Online                   Vascular biology: Nitric oxide caught in traffic ▶     Mark T. Gladwin & Daniel B. Kim-Shapiro             Cancer: Complexion matters ▶     Mizuho Fukunaga-Kalabis & Meenhard Herlyn             Evolutionary biology: Birds of a feather ▶     Robert E. Ricklefs & Mark Pagel             An ultraviolet-radiation-independent pathway to melanoma carcinogenesis in the red hair/fair skin background ▶     Devarati Mitra, Xi Luo, Ann Morgan, Jin Wang, Mai P. Hoang et al.     Individuals with the red hair/fair skin phenotype usually carry a polymorphism in the gene encoding the melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) that results in the production of pigment containing a high pheomelanin-to-eumelanin ratio; here it is shown in a mouse model that inactivation of Mc1r promotes melanoma formation in the presence of the Braf oncogene, thus suggesting that pheomelanin synthesis is carcinogenic by an ultraviolet-radiation-independent mechanism.             Endothelial cell expression of haemoglobin &agr; regulates nitric oxide signalling ▶     Adam C. Straub, Alexander W. Lohman, Marie Billaud, Scott R. Johnstone, Scott T. Dwyer et al.     This study presents a new model for the regulation of nitric oxide signalling in endothelial cells; the oxidation state of endothelial haemoglobin &agr;, controlled by cytochrome B5 reductase 3, regulates nitric oxide bioactivity and diffusion towards its vascular smooth muscle targets.             The global diversity of birds in space and time ▶     W. Jetz, G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. O. Mooers     The authors analyse the tempo and geography of diversification for all 10,000 species of birds: diversification has sped up over time, bursts are spread out across the tree and across the world, and high rates are not concentrated in the tropics.             Structure of the Mediator head module ▶     Laurent Larivière, Clemens Plaschka, Martin Seizl et al.     The crystal structure of the Mediator head module from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is solved at 3.4 Å resolution.             Synaptic amplification by dendritic spines enhances input cooperativity ▶     Mark T. Harnett, Judit K. Makara, Nelson Spruston, William L. Kath & Jeffrey C. Magee     Dendritic spines operate as high-impedance input structures that amplify local synaptic depolarization to enhance electrical interaction among coactive inputs.             Impaired intrinsic immunity to HSV-1 in human iPSC-derived TLR3-deficient CNS cells ▶     Fabien G. Lafaille, Itai M. Pessach, Shen-Ying Zhang, Michael J. Ciancanelli, Melina Herman et al.     Neurons and oligodendrocytes differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of patients with inherited TLR3 and UNC-93B deficiencies are found to be more susceptible to infection by HSV-1 than control cells because they fail to induce a normal interferon response, whereas neural stem cells and astrocytes are not susceptible.             A map of visual space in the primate entorhinal cortex ▶     Nathaniel J. Killian, Michael J. Jutras & Elizabeth A. Buffalo     Examination of spatial representations in the entorhinal cortex of monkeys performing a visual memory task reveals individual neurons that emit action potentials when the monkey fixates multiple discrete locations in the visual field, and suggests that entorhinal cortex neurons encode space during visual exploration, even without locomotion.             Layered reward signalling through octopamine and dopamine in Drosophila ▶     Christopher J. Burke, Wolf Huetteroth, David Owald, Emmanuel Perisse, Michael J. Krashes et al.     Dopamine is synonymous with reward in mammals but associated with aversive reinforcement in insects, where reward seems to be signalled by octopamine; here it is shown that flies have discrete populations of dopamine neurons representing positive or negative values that are coordinately regulated by octopamine.             Articles and Letters                   An integrated map of genetic variation from 1,092 human genomes  OPEN ▶     The 1000 Genomes Project Consortium     This report from the 1000 Genomes Project describes the genomes of 1,092 individuals from 14 human populations, providing a resource for common and low-frequency variant analysis in individuals from diverse populations; hundreds of rare non-coding variants at conserved sites, such as motif-disrupting changes in transcription-factor-binding sites, can be found in each individual.             Generation of functional thyroid from embryonic stem cells ▶     Francesco Antonica, Dominika Figini Kasprzyk, Robert Opitz, Michelina Iacovino, Xiao-Hui Liao et al.     Transient overexpression of the transcription factors NKX2-1 and PAX8 in a murine cell model is shown to direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells towards a thyroid follicular cell lineage; the resulting three-dimensional thyroid follicles created by subsequent thyrotropin treatment show hallmarks of thyroid function in vitro and rescue thyroid function in vivo when transplanted into athyroid mice, adding to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying thyroid development.             Spontaneous network formation among cooperative RNA replicators ▶     Nilesh Vaidya, Michael L. Manapat, Irene A. Chen, Ramon Xulvi-Brunet, Eric J. Hayden et al.     In models of early life it has been suggested that life and evolution would be more easily achieved if RNA molecules could interact, rather than function independently; here an in vitro system is designed with several RNA fragments that can assemble into a ribozyme, showing that cooperative networks formed by these fragments outcompete self-catalytic RNA fragments.             Combined pesticide exposure severely affects individual- and colony-level traits in bees ▶     Richard J. Gill, Oscar Ramos-Rodriguez & Nigel E. Raine     Chronic exposure of bumblebees to two pesticides (a neonicotinoid and a pyrethroid) independently and in combination, at concentrations approximating field-level exposure, impairs natural foraging behaviour and increases worker mortality, with knock-on effects for brood development and colony success.             Intrinsically determined cell death of developing cortical interneurons ▶     Derek G. Southwell, Mercedes F. Paredes, Rui P. Galvao, Daniel L. Jones, Robert C. Froemke et al.     The cell death of inhibitory neurons, which originate far from the cortical areas to which they migrate during embryonic development, is determined autonomously rather than by competition for trophic signals from other cell types.             In vivo genome editing using a high-efficiency TALEN system ▶     Victoria M. Bedell, Ying Wang, Jarryd M. Campbell, Tanya L. Poshusta, Colby G. Starker et al.     Although zebrafish is an important animal model for basic vertebrate biology and human disease modelling, rapid targeted genome modification has not been possible in this species; here a technique based on improved artificial transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) allows precise sequence modifications at pre-determined genomic locations.             Host–microbe interactions have shaped the genetic architecture of inflammatory bowel disease ▶     Luke Jostins, Stephan Ripke, Rinse K. Weersma, Richard H. Duerr, Dermot P. McGovern et al.     A meta-analysis of previous genome-wide association studies of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two most common forms of inflammatory bowel disease, with a combined total of more than 75,000 cases and controls, finds that most loci contribute to both phenotypes and other immune-mediated disorders.             Codon-usage-based inhibition of HIV protein synthesis by human schlafen 11 ▶     Manqing Li, Elaine Kao, Xia Gao, Hilary Sandig, Kirsten Limmer et al.     Schlafen proteins are produced in response to interferon signalling, which can be activated by retroviral infection; this study shows that human schlafen 11 inhibits the late stages of HIV-1 production by binding non-specifically to tRNAs, thus preventing the expression of viral proteins.             Vaccine-induced CD8+ T cells control AIDS virus replication ▶     Philip A. Mudd, Mauricio A. Martins, Adam J. Ericsen, Damien C. Tully, Karen A. Power et al.     Indian rhesus macaques are vaccinated with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-restricted CD8+ T-cell epitopes, and these vaccinated animals are shown to mediate elite control of virus replication.             The molecular basis of phosphate discrimination in arsenate-rich environments ▶     Mikael Elias, Alon Wellner, Korina Goldin-Azulay, Eric Chabriere, Julia A. Vorholt et al.     Ultrahigh-resolution X-ray crystallography study of a phosphate-binding protein from Pseudomonas fluorescens yields insight into how phosphate ions essential for life are discriminated from the arsenate ions inimical to it, even in arsenate-rich environments.             The spatial architecture of protein function and adaptation ▶     Richard N. McLaughlin Jr, Frank J. Poelwijk, Arjun Raman, Walraj S. Gosal & Rama Ranganathan     A high-throughput mutagenesis study in a PDZ domain shows that biochemical function and adaptation primarily originate from a collectively evolving amino acid network within the structure termed a protein sector.             News & Views                   Ecology: Bumblebees and pesticides ▶     Juliet L. Osborne             Neuroscience: Sleep to oblivion ▶     Sadaf Shadan             Origins of life: The cooperative gene ▶     James Attwater & Philipp Holliger             Vascular biology: Nitric oxide caught in traffic ▶     Mark T. Gladwin & Daniel B. Kim-Shapiro             Cancer: Complexion matters ▶     Mizuho Fukunaga-Kalabis & Meenhard Herlyn             Evolutionary biology: Birds of a feather ▶     Robert E. Ricklefs & Mark Pagel             Corrigendum                   Corrigendum: Comprehensive genomic characterization of squamous cell lung cancers ▶     The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network             Corrigendum: Reconstructing Native American population history ▶     David Reich, Nick Patterson, Desmond Campbell et al.             Research Highlights                   Cancer: Predictor pairs images and genes | Microbiology: Bacteria beaten by bacteria | Climate-change ecology: Plankton diversity loss looms | Biosensors: Naked-eye ELISA developed | Microbiology: Cheating yeast finish last | Palaeontology: Palaeoflamingo nest found | Animal behaviour: Bears show knack for numbers         NEWS & COMMENT           Epigenetics: Reading the second genomic code | Bad press | NIH faces chimp housing quandary | Hepatitis E vaccine debuts | Bid to curb fried-food chemical goes cold | Genomics: The single life | Model organisms: There's more to life than rats and flies | Neuroscience: Found in translation | Books in brief | Geography: Going all the way | Nomenclature: Call to register new species in ZooBank Gary Rosenberg, Frank-T. Krell & Richard Pyle | Structural genomics: Open collaboration is key to new drugs Markus Gruetter             More Biological Sciences ▶                         Miami 2013 Winter Symposium: The Molecular Basis of Metabolism and Nutrition February 10-13, 2013 - Miami, FL, USA For more information and to register, visit: http://www.nature.com/natureconferences/miami/mws2013               Chemical Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Articles and Letters                   Colloids with valence and specific directional bonding ▶     Yufeng Wang, Yu Wang, Dana R. Breed, Vinothan N. Manoharan, Lang Feng et al.     A general method of creating colloidal particles that can self-assemble into ‘colloidal molecules’ is described: surface patches with well-defined symmetries are functionalized using DNA with single-stranded sticky ends and imitate hybridized atomic orbitals to form highly directional bonds.             Spontaneous network formation among cooperative RNA replicators ▶     Nilesh Vaidya, Michael L. Manapat, Irene A. Chen, Ramon Xulvi-Brunet, Eric J. Hayden et al.     In models of early life it has been suggested that life and evolution would be more easily achieved if RNA molecules could interact, rather than function independently; here an in vitro system is designed with several RNA fragments that can assemble into a ribozyme, showing that cooperative networks formed by these fragments outcompete self-catalytic RNA fragments.             The spatial architecture of protein function and adaptation ▶     Richard N. McLaughlin Jr, Frank J. Poelwijk, Arjun Raman, Walraj S. Gosal & Rama Ranganathan     A high-throughput mutagenesis study in a PDZ domain shows that biochemical function and adaptation primarily originate from a collectively evolving amino acid network within the structure termed a protein sector.             News & Views                   Origins of life: The cooperative gene ▶     James Attwater & Philipp Holliger             More Chemical Sciences ▶               Physical Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Latest Online                   Astrophysics: Cosmic explosions in the young Universe ▶     Stephen J. Smartt             Superluminous supernovae at redshifts of 2.05 and 3.90 ▶     Jeff Cooke, Mark Sullivan, Avishay Gal-Yam, Elizabeth J. Barton, Raymond G. Carlberg et al.     The identification of two superluminous supernovae at redshifts of 2.05 and 3.90 extends the present technological redshift limit on supernova detection and presents the possibility of studying the deaths of the first stars to form after the Big Bang.             Articles and Letters                   Colloids with valence and specific directional bonding ▶     Yufeng Wang, Yu Wang, Dana R. Breed, Vinothan N. Manoharan, Lang Feng et al.     A general method of creating colloidal particles that can self-assemble into ‘colloidal molecules’ is described: surface patches with well-defined symmetries are functionalized using DNA with single-stranded sticky ends and imitate hybridized atomic orbitals to form highly directional bonds.             Observation of spatially ordered structures in a two-dimensional Rydberg gas ▶     Peter Schauß, Marc Cheneau, Manuel Endres, Takeshi Fukuhara, Sebastian Hild et al.     High-resolution, in situ imaging of Rydberg atoms in a Mott insulator reveals the emergence of spatially ordered excitation patterns with random orientation but well-defined geometry.             Fault healing promotes high-frequency earthquakes in laboratory experiments and on natural faults ▶     Gregory C. McLaskey, Amanda M. Thomas, Steven D. Glaser & Robert M. Nadeau     Laboratory experiments and seismological observations show that increased fault healing causes a disproportionately large amount of high-frequency seismic radiation to be produced during fault rupture, which may help to explain recent observations of large megathrust earthquakes.             News & Views                   Materials science: Self-assembly gets new direction ▶     Matthew R. Jones & Chad A. Mirkin             Asteroids: Dark and stormy weather ▶     Beth Ellen Clark             Optics: Nanotube holograms ▶     Stéphane Larouche & David R. Smith             Astrophysics: Cosmic explosions in the young Universe ▶     Stephen J. Smartt             Research Highlights                   Astronomy: Picking out a predatory pulsar         NEWS & COMMENT           Sahara solar plan loses its shine | Theorists bridge space-time rips             More Physical Sciences ▶               Earth & Environmental Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Latest Online                   Accelerated disassembly of IgE–receptor complexes by a disruptive macromolecular inhibitor ▶     Beomkyu Kim, Alexander Eggel, Svetlana S. Tarchevskaya, Monique Vogel, Heino Prinz et al.     The interaction between IgE and its receptor FcεRI underlies many allergic responses; here the structure and mechanism of a newly engineered DARPin inhibitor is presented, revealing that it not only blocks the receptor–ligand interaction but also dissociates already-formed complexes.             Articles and Letters                   Distinctive space weathering on Vesta from regolith mixing processes ▶     C. M. Pieters, E. Ammannito, D. T. Blewett, B. W. Denevi, M. C. De Sanctis et al.     Whereas space weathering of some airless bodies, such as the Moon, occurs through the accumulation on regolith of nanophase metallic particles, spectroscopic data show that space weathering of the asteroid Vesta occurs through the small-scale mixing of diverse surface components, which gradually generates locally homogenized upper regolith.             Dark material on Vesta from the infall of carbonaceous volatile-rich material ▶     T. B. McCord, J.-Y. Li, J.-P. Combe, H. Y. McSween, R. Jaumann et al.     From spectra and images of Vesta, it is suggested that the dark patches on Vesta are formed of infalling hydrated carbonaceous material and the bright patches are uncontaminated Vesta soil.             Fluvial response to abrupt global warming at the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary ▶     Brady Z. Foreman, Paul L. Heller & Mark T. Clementz     The fluvial response in western Colorado to the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum involves a large increase in sediment flux that lasted much longer than the vegetation, monsoon and carbon dioxide changes of the thermal maximum.             The elusive Hadean enriched reservoir revealed by 142Nd deficits in Isua Archaean rocks ▶     Hanika Rizo, Maud Boyet, Janne Blichert-Toft, Jonathan O’Neil, Minik T. Rosing et al.     Excesses of 142Nd previously found in 3.7-billion-year-old rocks from Isua, southwest Greenland, imply their derivation from a depleted mantle formed in the Hadean eon; the signature of a complementary Hadean enriched reservoir is now reported in 3.4-billion-year-old mafic dykes found in Isua.             Fault healing promotes high-frequency earthquakes in laboratory experiments and on natural faults ▶     Gregory C. McLaskey, Amanda M. Thomas, Steven D. Glaser & Robert M. Nadeau     Laboratory experiments and seismological observations show that increased fault healing causes a disproportionately large amount of high-frequency seismic radiation to be produced during fault rupture, which may help to explain recent observations of large megathrust earthquakes.             Combined pesticide exposure severely affects individual- and colony-level traits in bees ▶     Richard J. Gill, Oscar Ramos-Rodriguez & Nigel E. Raine     Chronic exposure of bumblebees to two pesticides (a neonicotinoid and a pyrethroid) independently and in combination, at concentrations approximating field-level exposure, impairs natural foraging behaviour and increases worker mortality, with knock-on effects for brood development and colony success.             News & Views                   Ecology: Bumblebees and pesticides ▶     Juliet L. Osborne             Asteroids: Dark and stormy weather ▶     Beth Ellen Clark             50 & 100 Years Ago ▶             Research Highlights                   Climate-change ecology: Plankton diversity loss looms | Climate: Tailored geoengineering         NEWS & COMMENT           L'Aquila verdict row grows | Policy: Base sustainable development goals on science | Conservation: Problems enforcing Ecuador ecology law Kelly Swing & Luis Sempértegui             More Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶               Special - Technology Feature ▲top               Epigenetics: Reading the second genomic code ▶     Transient changes to the genome make its code more complex to interpret but they still put a gleam in the eye of drug and technology developers.                Special - Nature Outlook: AutismFree Access ▲top               Autism ▶     Herb Brody             Epidemiology: Complex disorder ▶     Researchers are digging into the myriad causes of autism to refine its definition and find elusive biological signatures.              Genetics: Searching for answers ▶     Solving the riddle of autism genetics will require looking beyond the growing list of candidate genes to epigenetics and personalized medicine.              Child development: The first steps ▶     Because infants born into families with autism are more likely to develop the condition, studying them might lead to ways to diagnose people in the general population earlier.              Adulthood: Life lessons ▶     We know little about autism past adolescence, but a well-studied generation of children with autism will change that.              Diagnosis: Redefining autism ▶     Draft diagnostic guidelines are raising concerns that mild forms of the disorder may no longer be recognized.              Treatments: In the waiting room ▶     After years of making do with drugs developed for other conditions, doctors and scientists are eagerly pursuing drugs that target the social symptoms of autism.              Perspective: Imaging autism ▶     Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed, says Nicholas Lange.              Culture: Diverse diagnostics ▶     The study of autism around the globe must account for a variety of behavioural norms in different societies.              Perspective: Brain scans need a rethink ▶     Head movement can bias brain imaging results, undermining a leading theory on the cause of autism, say Ben Deen and Kevin Pelphrey.          Sponsors                     Nature Arabic Edition allows Arabic speakers throughout the world to access top quality science news and comment from Nature, as well as summaries of all the research papers from the leading multidisciplinary journal. 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