Nature Communications - 03 July 2013

Weekly Content Alert 03 July 2013  Featured image: Placzek et al. identify a subset of hypothalamic α-tanycytes as neural stem cells that divide in response to FGF. Latest content: Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement UCSD Clinical and Translational Research Institute and Nature Medicine present: Bench to Bedside 2013: Cancer Therapeutics November 4-6, 2013 Estancia La Jolla Hotel La Jolla, CA, USA Click here for more information or to register for this conference today!       Latest Articles View all Articles     The saccus vasculosus of fish is a sensor of seasonal changes in day length OPEN Yusuke Nakane, Keisuke Ikegami, Masayuki Iigo, Hiroko Ono, Korenori Takeda, Daisuke Takahashi, Maiko Uesaka, Meita Kimijima, Ramu Hashimoto, Natsumi Arai, Takuya Suga, Katsuya Kosuge, Tomotaka Abe, Ryosuke Maeda, Takumi Senga, Noriko Amiya, Teruo Azuma, Masafumi Amano, Hideki Abe, Naoyuki Yamamoto, Takashi Yoshimura The saccus vasculosus is a circumventricular organ of the hypothalamus of many jawed fish whose function has remained a mystery for more than 300 years. Here the authors provide evidence that the saccus vasculosus functions as a sensor of seasonal changes in day length. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3108 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Zoology  Asymmetric selection and the evolution of extraordinary defences Mark C. Urban, Reinhard Bürger and Daniel I. Bolnick Excessive and costly defensive traits sometimes evolve contrary to what is expected based on the individual fitness. Here the authors provide evidence that asymmetrical natural selection explains the evolution of excessive investments in defence against enemies, including autoimmune responses. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3085 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Evolution  Genetics  Direct measurement and modulation of single-molecule coordinative bonding forces in a transition metal complex Xian Hao, Nan Zhu, Tina Gschneidtner, Elvar Ö. Jonsson, Jingdong Zhang, Kasper Moth-Poulsen, Hongda Wang, Kristian S. Thygesen, Karsten W. Jacobsen, Jens Ulstrup and Qijin Chi The nature of metal–ligand interactions remains unclear in coordination chemistry. Hao et al. address this question using in situ electrochemically controlled atomic force microscopy, which can monitor and modulate the coordinative bonding in a transition metal complex at a molecular level. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3121 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Nanotechnology  Real-time observation of the charge transfer to solvent dynamics OPEN Fabrizio Messina, Olivier Bräm, Andrea Cannizzo and Majed Chergui Electron transfer from solute to solvent has a crucial role in chemistry, but this process has not yet been visualized in real time. Messina et al. provide the first real-time observation of the dynamic rearrangement of water cages around aqueous halides before full electron ejection. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3119 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Fluids and plasma physics  Strengthening effect of single-atomic-layer graphene in metal–graphene nanolayered composites Youbin Kim, Jinsup Lee, Min Sun Yeom, Jae Won Shin, Hyungjun Kim, Yi Cui, Jeffrey W. Kysar, James Hone, Yousung Jung, Seokwoo Jeon and Seung Min Han Suppressing the movement of dislocations is critical in enhancing the strength of crystalline metals. Kim et al. demonstrate in Cu– and Ni–graphene nanolayered systems that single-layer graphene is effective in suppressing dislocation movement, resulting in a maximum strength of 4.0 GPa. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3114 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Insights into the role of DNA methylation in diatoms by genome-wide profiling in Phaeodactylum tricornutum OPEN Alaguraj Veluchamy, Xin Lin, Florian Maumus, Maximo Rivarola, Jaysheel Bhavsar, Todd Creasy, Kimberly O'Brien, Naomi A. Sengamalay, Luke J. Tallon, Andrew D. Smith, Edda Rayko, Ikhlak Ahmed, Stéphane Le Crom, Gregory K. Farrant, Jean-Yves Sgro, Sue A. Olson, Sandra Splinter Bondurant, Andrew Allen, Pablo D. Rabinowicz, Michael R. Sussman, Chris Bowler, Leïla Tirichine Genome-wide maps of DNA methylation have so far been restricted to plants, animals and fungi. Here, the authors report the first whole-genome methylome of a stramenopile, the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornatum, and provide insight into the evolution of DNA methylation in eukaryotes. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3091 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Microbiology  CRISPR-Cas and restriction–modification systems are compatible and increase phage resistance Marie-Ève Dupuis, Manuela Villion, Alfonso H. Magadán and Sylvain Moineau CRISPR-Cas and restriction–modification are two distinct bacterial defence systems that protect against phage infection. Dupuis et al. demonstrate that Streptococcus thermophilus employs both systems simultaneously to cleave invading DNA, thereby providing enhanced phage resistance. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3087 Biological Sciences  Microbiology  Thymosin β4-sulfoxide attenuates inflammatory cell infiltration and promotes cardiac wound healing Mark A. Evans, Nicola Smart, Karina N. Dubé, Sveva Bollini, James E. Clark, Hayley G. Evans, Leonie S. Taams, Rebecca Richardson, Mathieu Lévesque, Paul Martin, Kevin Mills, Johannes Riegler, Anthony N. Price, Mark F. Lythgoe and Paul R. Riley Hydrogen peroxide attracts immune cells and induces wound inflammation. Evans et al. show that hydrogen peroxide also leads to the production of thymosin β4–sulfoxide in zebrafish wounds and in mouse hearts after myocardial infarction, where it acts as an anti-inflammatory factor that promotes wound healing. 02 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3081 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Medical research  Spatiotemporally controlled induction of autophagy-mediated lysosome turnover Yu-Hsien Hung, Lily Man-Wen Chen, Jin-Yi Yang and Wei Yuan Yang Lysosomes are the major degradative compartments within cells, but little is known about cellular mechanisms that control lysosome quality. Here Hung et al. show that lysosomes damaged by light-induced activation of a photosensitizer are selectively ubiquitinated and subsequently eliminated by autophagy. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3111 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Temperature and magnetic field dependence of a Kondo system in the weak coupling regime OPEN Yong-hui Zhang, Steffen Kahle, Tobias Herden, Christophe Stroh, Marcel Mayor, Uta Schlickum, Markus Ternes, Peter Wahl and Klaus Kern A lot of theoretical work on the Kondo effect has focused on spin 1/2 systems, but the characterization of a single-spin 1/2 atom or molecule in the weak coupling regime has been missing. Here, the authors close this gap with a scanning tunneling spectroscopy study of an organic radical on a gold surface. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3110 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  The thermodynamic patterns of eukaryotic genes suggest a mechanism for intron–exon recognition OPEN Marina N. Nedelcheva-Veleva, Mihail Sarov, Ivan Yanakiev, Eva Mihailovska, Miroslav P. Ivanov, Greta C. Panova and Stoyno S. Stoynov The thermodynamics of unwinding polynucleotide duplexes can be determined from energy changes for DNA and mRNA interactions. Here the authors show that the ratio between mRNA/DNA and DNA/DNA duplex stability upstream of the 3'- spice sites is a characteristic that can contribute to intron–exon recognition. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3101 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Optimization of non-periodic plasmonic light-trapping layers for thin-film solar cells Ragip A. Pala, John S. Q. Liu, Edward S. Barnard, Daulet Askarov, Erik C. Garnett, Shanhui Fan and Mark L. Brongersma Non-periodic plasmonic nanostructures can provide efficient light trapping for solar cells, but their optimization can be computationally hard. Pala et al. present a semi-analytical model that identifies possible arrangements quickly, providing insight to the optimal level of disorder needed. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3095 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Optical physics  Caesium accumulation in yeast and plants is selectively repressed by loss of the SNARE Sec22p/SEC22 Stephan Dräxl, Johannes Müller, Wei B. Li, Bernhard Michalke, Hagen Scherb, Burkhard A. Hense, Jochen Tschiersch, Ulrike Kanter and Anton R. Schäffner The active uptake of radiocaesium by plants via potassium transport systems results in contamination of food supplies. Here, the authors show that loss of the v-SNARE protein Sec22p/SEC22 specifically reduces the accumulation of C+ in yeast and plants by repressing its deposition to vacuoles. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3092 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Plant sciences  Liquid–liquid transition in a strong bulk metallic glass-forming liquid Shuai Wei, Fan Yang, Jozef Bednarcik, Ivan Kaban, Olga Shuleshova, Andreas Meyer and Ralf Busch The nature of liquid–liquid phase transitions remains inconclusive, because direct experimental evidence is limited by crystallization. Wei et al. observe it in a bulk metallic glass former, which is characterized by heat capacity maxima and sudden changes in both viscosity and local structures. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3083 Physical Sciences  Fluids and plasma physics  Ground tit genome reveals avian adaptation to living at high altitudes in the Tibetan plateau Yanhua Qu, Hongwei Zhao, Naijian Han, Guangyu Zhou, Gang Song, Bin Gao, Shilin Tian, Jinbo Zhang, Ruiying Zhang, Xuehong Meng, Yuan Zhang, Yong Zhang, Xiaojia Zhu, Wenjuan Wang, David Lambert, Per G. P. Ericson, Sankar Subramanian, Carol Yeung, Hongmei Zhu, Zhi Jiang, Ruiqiang Li, Fumin Lei Hume's ground tit (Parus humilis) was once thought to belong to the Corvidae family, which includes crows and jays. Qu et al. sequence and analyse Hume's ground tit genome, as well as two additional tits and a ground jay, and establish its evolutionary position as the world's largest tit. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3071 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  A spontaneous Cdt1 mutation in 129 mouse strains reveals a regulatory domain restraining replication licensing Philippe Coulombe, Damien Grégoire, Nikolay Tsanov and Marcel Méchali Cdt1 is part of a protein complex that regulates the initiation of DNA replication. Here Coulombe et al. identify a PEST-like regulatory domain in the N terminus of Cdt1 that prevents premature initiation of DNA synthesis during the cell cycle. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3065 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Surface-enhanced charge-density-wave instability in underdoped Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6+δ J. A. Rosen, R. Comin, G. Levy, D. Fournier, Z.-H. Zhu, B. Ludbrook, C. N. Veenstra, A. Nicolaou, D. Wong, P. Dosanjh, Y. Yoshida, H. Eisaki, G. R. Blake, F. White, T. T. M. Palstra, R. Sutarto, F. He, A. Fraño Pereira, Y. Lu, B. Keimer, G. Sawatzky, L. Petaccia, A. Damascelli As well as superconductivity, cuprate perovskites can exhibit many different exotic spin and charge ordering states. Adding to this, Rosen et al. identify a stark difference in the electronic structure of the cuprate Bi2201 between its surface and its bulk. 01 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2977 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Regulation of the DNA damage response on male meiotic sex chromosomes Lin-Yu Lu, Yi Xiong, Henry Kuang, Gautam Korakavi and Xiaochun Yu The XY body is a structure required for silencing of sex chromosomes, which is enriched in DNA damage response proteins during meiosis in male germ cells. Here, the authors identify differences between the regulation of the DNA damage response at the XY body and in somatic cells. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3105 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Atomic scale study of the life cycle of a dislocation in graphene from birth to annihilation O. Lehtinen, S. Kurasch, A.V. Krasheninnikov and U. Kaiser Dislocations are key in determining a variety of properties of crystalline materials, but are inherently difficult to study in three-dimensional structures. Here, Lehtinen et al. image the full life cycle of a dislocation in a two-dimensional graphene sheet, from birth to annihilation. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3098 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Microwave synthesizer using an on-chip Brillouin oscillator OPEN Jiang Li, Hansuek Lee and Kerry J. Vahala Microwaves are of interest for applications such as communications, radar and metrology. Here, Li et al. demonstrate an on-chip microresonator device for the generation of microwaves by optical means, instead of the usual electronic devices. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3097 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Phosphorylation of BLUS1 kinase by phototropins is a primary step in stomatal opening OPEN Atsushi Takemiya, Naoyuki Sugiyama, Hiroshi Fujimoto, Toshifumi Tsutsumi, Shota Yamauchi, Asami Hiyama, Yasuomi Tada, John M. Christie and Ken-ichiro Shimazaki Blue light stimulates stomatal opening in Arabidopsis by activating phototropins. By screening for mutants that lack this response, the authors isolate the protein kinase blus1, and show that its phosphorylation by phototropin-1 promotes guard cell signalling and stomatal opening. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3094 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Plant sciences  DNA repair choice defines a common pathway for recruitment of chromatin regulators Gwendolyn Bennett, Manolis Papamichos-Chronakis and Craig L. Peterson Chromatin regulators facilitate repair of DNA double-strand breaks in chromosomal DNA. The authors show that the recruitment of such chromatin regulators to DNA lesions is controlled by the choice of DNA repair pathway. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3084 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Histology and postural change during the growth of the ceratopsian dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis Qi Zhao, Michael J. Benton, Corwin Sullivan, P. Martin Sander and Xing Xu A few dinosaurs have been inferred to have shifted from quadrupedality to bipedality, or vice versa, during growth. Here Zhao et al. use a combination of limb measurements and analysis of limb bone cross-sections to infer a shift towards bipedality in the primitive ceratopsian Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3079 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Palaeontology  Valley spin polarization by using the extraordinary Rashba effect on silicon Kazuyuki Sakamoto, Tae-Hwan Kim, Takuya Kuzumaki, Beate Müller, Yuta Yamamoto, Minoru Ohtaka, Jacek R. Osiecki, Koji Miyamoto, Yasuo Takeichi, Ayumi Harasawa, Sebastian D. Stolwijk, Anke B. Schmidt, Jun Fujii, R. I. G. Uhrberg, Markus Donath, Han Woong Yeom and Tatsuki Oda In two-dimensional spin-polarized systems, the valleys in the conduction bands could be useful for spintronics applications if they can be efficiently spin polarized. Here, the authors exploit the Rashba effect to achieve 100% spin-polarized valleys on a silicon surface loaded with thallium. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3073 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Experimental signature of programmable quantum annealing Sergio Boixo, Tameem Albash, Federico M. Spedalieri, Nicholas Chancellor and Daniel A. Lidar Quantum annealing is the quantum computational equivalent of the classical approach to solving optimization problems known as simulated annealing. Boixo et al. report experimental evidence for the realization of quantum annealing processes that are unexpectedly robust against noise and imperfections. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3067 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Active structuring of colloidal armour on liquid drops OPEN Paul Dommersnes, Zbigniew Rozynek, Alexander Mikkelsen, Rene Castberg, Knut Kjerstad, Kjetil Hersvik and Jon Otto Fossum The self-assembly of colloidal structures at liquid interfaces finds immediate application in industry, such as food and drug encapsulations. Dommersnes et al. develop a technique to manipulate the distribution of colloidal particles adsorbed on drop surfaces under an applied electric field. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3066 Physical Sciences  Fluids and plasma physics  Materials science  Quantum simulation of low-temperature metallic liquid hydrogen OPEN Ji Chen, Xin-Zheng Li, Qianfan Zhang, Matthew I. J. Probert, Chris J. Pickard, Richard J. Needs, Angelos Michaelides and Enge Wang The melting temperature of hydrogen drops at high pressures, which suggests the possible emergence of a low-temperature liquid state of metallic hydrogen. Chen et al. confirm the existence of this phase in simulations and show how the quantum motion of the protons has a critical role in its stabilization. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3064 Physical Sciences  Fluids and plasma physics  Condensed matter  Structure of dual receptor binding to botulinum neurotoxin B Ronnie P-A Berntsson, Lisheng Peng, Min Dong and Pål Stenmark Botulinum neurotoxin B binds to two neuronal surface receptors, synaptotagmin II and ganglioside receptor GD1a. Berntsson et al. present the crystal structure of botulinum neurotoxin B in complex with both receptor proteins, demonstrating independent binding. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3058 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  Sex ratio biases in termites provide evidence for kin selection Kazuya Kobayashi, Eisuke Hasegawa, Yuuka Yamamoto, Kazutaka Kawatsu, Edward L. Vargo, Jin Yoshimura and Kenji Matsuura Kin selection predicts female-biased sex ratios in haplodiploid eusocial insects because sisters are more related to each other than to their brothers. Here the authors provide evidence that sex ratio bias also occurs in diploid eusocial insects, which do not show asymmetric relatedness. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3048 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Evolution  Induction and reversal of myotonic dystrophy type 1 pre-mRNA splicing defects by small molecules Jessica L. Childs-Disney, Ewa Stepniak-Konieczna, Tuan Tran, Ilyas Yildirim, HaJeung Park, Catherine Z. Chen, Jason Hoskins, Noel Southall, Juan J. Marugan, Samarjit Patnaik, Wei Zheng, Chris P. Austin, George C. Schatz, Krzysztof Sobczak, Charles A. Thornton and Matthew D. Disney Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is caused by defects in the alternative splicing of pre-mRNA. Childs-Disney and colleagues report two small molecules that either induce or reverse DM1-associated splicing defects by modulating the binding of pre-mRNA to muscleblind-like 1 protein. 28 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3044 Biological Sciences  Chemical biology  Molecular biology  Chemical vapour deposition growth of large single crystals of monolayer and bilayer graphene Hailong Zhou, Woo Jong Yu, Lixin Liu, Rui Cheng, Yu Chen, Xiaoqing Huang, Yuan Liu, Yang Wang, Yu Huang and Xiangfeng Duan The growth of high-quality graphene over large areas is essential for the realization of graphene-based electronic devices. Zhou et al. report a new pathway to grow single crystalline graphene of up to 5 mm in size, with very good electronic performance and high uniformity. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3096 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  α-Tanycytes of the adult hypothalamic third ventricle include distinct populations of FGF-responsive neural progenitors OPEN S.C. Robins, I. Stewart, D.E. McNay, V. Taylor, C. Giachino, M. Goetz, J. Ninkovic, N. Briancon, E. Maratos-Flier, J.S. Flier, M.V. Kokoeva and M. Placzek De novo neurogenesis occurs within the adult hypothalamus, suggesting the existence of a local neural stem cell niche. Here, the authors show that α-tanycytes lining the third ventricle are self-renewing multipotent neural stem cells, whose proliferation is dependent upon local FGF signalling. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3049 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Neuroscience  Kindlin-1 regulates mitotic spindle formation by interacting with integrins and Plk-1 Hitesh Patel, Judith Zich, Bryan Serrels, Colin Rickman, Kevin G. Hardwick, Margaret C. Frame and Valerie G. Brunton Kindlin-1 regulates integrin activation at cell adhesions. Here Patel et al. report that Kindlin-1 also localizes to centrosomes where it controls the formation of mitotic spindles in a manner that requires integrin activation and Kindlin-1 phosphorylation by the mitotic kinase Plk-1. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3056 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Homeostatic regulation of dendritic dynamics in a motor map in vivo Sandeep Kishore and Joseph R. Fetcho Various homeostatic mechanisms have been implicated in regulating neuronal excitability. Kishore and Fetcho study homeostatic mechanisms in zebrafish and find they regulate topographic patterns of dendritic dynamics within pools of motoneurons, that map onto ordered patterns of recruitment during behaviour. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3086 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Stimulated emission depletion-based raster image correlation spectroscopy reveals biomolecular dynamics in live cells Per Niklas Hedde, René M. Dörlich, Rosmarie Blomley, Dietmar Gradl, Emmanuel Oppong, Andrew C.B. Cato and G. Ulrich Nienhaus RICS is a fluorescence imaging technique used to reveal fast molecular dynamics inside living cells and tissues. Hedde et al. combine RICS with super-resolution STED microscopy (STED-RICS) to achieve an enhanced multiplexing capability and to extend the range of usable fluorophore concentrations. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3093 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Realistic control of network dynamics Sean P. Cornelius, William L. Kath and Adilson E. Motter Nonlinearity is a hallmark of complex networks, but has generally been regarded as an obstacle to controlling their behaviour. Here Cornelius et al. show how nonlinear dynamics can be harnessed to control a network and drive it to desired states. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2939 Biological Sciences  Systems biology  Integrated Mach–Zehnder interferometer for Bose–Einstein condensates OPEN T. Berrada, S. van Frank, R. Bücker, T. Schumm, J.-F. Schaff and J Schmiedmayer Atom interferometers exploit wave-particle duality and can be used as sensitive measurement devices. Berrada et al. present a Mach–Zehnder interferometer for Bose–Einstein condensates trapped on an atom chip and demonstrate enhanced performance using non-classical states. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3077 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Chemical and genetic validation of thiamine utilization as an antimalarial drug target OPEN Xie Wah Audrey Chan, Carsten Wrenger, Katharina Stahl, Bärbel Bergmann, Markus Winterberg, Ingrid B. Müller and Kevin J. Saliba The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum utilizes thiamine for the production of essential enzymatic cofactors. Chan et al. show that inhibition of thiamine utilization with oxythiamine inhibits proliferation of P. falciparum and reduces parasite growth in a mouse model of malaria infection. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3060 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Medical research  Microbiology  Spin-valley lifetimes in a silicon quantum dot with tunable valley splitting C. H. Yang, A. Rossi, R. Ruskov, N. S. Lai, F. A. Mohiyaddin, S. Lee, C. Tahan, G. Klimeck, A. Morello and A. S. Dzurak The presence of multiple minima, or valleys, in the conduction band of group IV semiconductors can be a problem for spin-based quantum computing, but can also enable alternative qubit implementations. Yang et al. demonstrate electrostatic control of the valleys' energy splitting in a silicon quantum dot. 27 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3069 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Sublinear binocular integration preserves orientation selectivity in mouse visual cortex Xinyu Zhao, Mingna Liu and Jianhua Cang In many species, inputs from two eyes are processed in the visual cortex of the brain. Zhao et al. obtain cellular recordings from mouse visual cortical neurons and find that they integrate their membrane potential responses sublinearly, and that this integration is required for binocular orientation tuning. 26 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3088 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  The crystal structure of multidrug-resistance regulator RamR with multiple drugs OPEN Suguru Yamasaki, Eiji Nikaido, Ryosuke Nakashima, Keisuke Sakurai, Daisuke Fujiwara, Ikuo Fujii and Kunihiko Nishino RamR is an important multidrug-resistance factor, however, its structure and the molecules to which it responds are hitherto unknown. Here, the authors report the crystal structures of RamR complexed with multiple drugs, revealing significant flexibility in its substrate-recognition region. 26 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3078 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Microbiology  Magnetoelectric control of frozen state in a toroidal glass Y. Yamaguchi and T. Kimura Ferrotoroidic order has long been suggested as the fourth form of ferroic orders, in addition to known ferroelastic, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic order. Yamaguichi and Kimura propose the existence of a new glass state in solids with ferrotoroidic order and demonstrate the concept in Ni0.4Mn0.6TiO3. 26 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3063 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Fundamental limitations for quantum and nanoscale thermodynamics Michal Horodecki and Jonathan Oppenheim The usual laws of thermodynamics that are valid for macroscopic systems do not necessarily apply to the nanoscale, where quantum effects become important. Here, the authors develop a theoretical framework based on quantum information theory to properly treat thermodynamics at the nanoscale. 26 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3059 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Coherent topological transport on the surface of Bi2Se3 Dohun Kim, Paul Syers, Nicholas P. Butch, Johnpierre Paglione and Michael S. Fuhrer Weak antilocalization is a signifier of electrical transport via topologically non-trivial surface states of a topological insulator, but it is often masked by dopant-induced scattering. Kim et al. overcome such difficulties to identify coherent transport via the topological surface states of bismuth selenide. 26 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3040 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Truly work-like work extraction via a single-shot analysis Johan Åberg Thermodynamics and information theory are closely related but the fundamental limitations of this relation are difficult to determine. Combining concepts from one-shot information theory, probability theory and statistical mechanics, the author quantifies extractable work in a non-equilibrium system. 26 June 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2712 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Post-doctoral fellow Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher Keele University Research Assistant University of Glasgow Research Fellowships University of Konstanz Postdoctoral position - Cancer Biology Karolinska Intitute Research Assistant The University of Bristol Research Assistant University of Oxford PhD Student Queen's University at Kingston Research Associate The Scripps Research Institute - Florida campus Research Technician Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary / Harvard Medical School More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Cancer Therapeutics 2013: From Bench to Bedside 04.11.13 La Jolla, USA More science events from     Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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