Nature contents: 01 August 2013

Can't view this email? Click here to view in your browser.     Volume 500 Number 7460      nature •Visit Nature homepage •Subscribe to Nature •View Table of Contents The science that matters. Every week.               Scientists from Brazil and France create a consortium to study sickle cell anemia  Initiative intends to promote research focused on improving the diagnosis and treatment of blood-borne diseases  United Kingdom seeks more research collaboration with Brazil Sign up for FAPESP's free weekly newsletter to know the latest developments of Brazilian science       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       This week's highlights     Biological Sciences More Biological sciences ▼   Nanometre-scale thermometry in a living cell   A newly developed nanoscale thermometry technique uses quantum manipulation of nitrogen vacancy colour centres in diamond nanocrystals to achieve sub-degree resolution in living cells. By introducing both nanodiamonds and gold nanoparticles into a human embryonic fibroblast, the authors demonstrate temperature-gradient control and mapping at the subcellular level. These observations provide a powerful tool for biological, physical and chemical research and may lead to future medical applications.       Physical Sciences More Physical sciences ▼   Stretchable nanoparticle conductors with self-organized conductive pathways   Flexible electronics, neuroprosthetic and cardiostimulating implants and stretchable displays require high stretchability and conductivity, an unlikely combination. This paper reports polyurethane/gold nanoparticle composites that combine high conductivity and stretchability. The properties of the composites derive from dynamic self-organization of the nanoparticles under stress, and they have the added advantage of electronically tunable viscoelastic properties.       Earth & Environmental Sciences More Earth & Environmental sciences ▼   Feeding andesitic eruptions with a high-speed connection from the mantle   Philipp Ruprecht and Terry Plank model nickel zonation in primitive olivine crystals to show how recharge of magma chambers - underground reservoirs where magma resides en route from the upper mantle to the Earth's surface - occurs on timescales as short as the volcanic eruptions themselves. In an example from Irazú, the highest active volcano in Costa Rica, magmas apparently ascend from their source in the mantle through about 35 km of crust in months to years. Signs of volcanic unrest are typically monitored at the surface or upper crust, but this study indicates that tracking magma movement from the base of the crust to the surface prior to eruption might be feasible.                 Podcast & Video     In this week's podcast: This week, a tiny thermometer measures temperature inside cells, how humans evolved the ability to digest milk as adults, and what to expect from a career move to the Middle East. Plus, the best science outside Nature.         News & Comment Read daily news coverage▶ ▲top               THIS WEEK           Editorials                   The test for Abenomics ▶     Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been buoyed by election success, but he must show that his science policies take the opinions of researchers into account.             Forensics fiasco ▶     Inconsistent standards and a lack of research investment have left UK legal science in chaos.             World View                   Pakistan must seize the chance to revive its science ▶     The government of Nawaz Sharif needs to appoint a tough leader to deliver on its election promise of a research renaissance, says Ehsan Masood.             Seven Days                   Seven days: 26 July–1 August ▶     This week in science: NASA solar observatory releases first images, European food-safety head resigns, and pioneering sex researcher dies.             NEWS IN FOCUS           Labs vie for X-ray source ▶     California facilities respond to US panel's call for a powerful free-electron laser.             NIH mulls rules for validating key results ▶     US biomedical agency could enlist independent labs for verification.             Microbiome research goes without a home ▶     Scientists say core tools and expertise remain necessary.             Pilot projects bury carbon dioxide in basalt ▶     Two experiments test viability of sequestering emissions in porous layers of hard rock.             Feature                   Archaeology: The milk revolution ▶     When a single genetic mutation first let ancient Europeans drink milk, it set the stage for a continental upheaval.             COMMENT           Biology: Cell sex matters ▶     Male and female cells can behave differently — it is time that researchers, journals and funders took this seriously, says Elizabeth Pollitzer.             Books and Arts                   Ornithology: Feathered encounters ▶     Nicky Clayton enjoys a tribute to the enduring relationship between birds and humanity.             Environment: Blanking out the mess ▶     Edward Humes explores a study of the psychological dissociation plaguing our relationship with nature.             Books in brief ▶             Genomics: The big blueprint ▶     Gene Russo surveys a high-tech exhibition celebrating the double helix and the human genome sequence.             Correspondence                   Science communication: Reward research outreach in Japan Amane Koizumi, Yuko Morita, Shishin Kawamoto | Research evaluation: Flanders overrates impact factors Karen Stroobants, Simon Godecharle, Sofie Brouwers | Science prizes: Time-lapsed awards for excellence Ho Fai Chan, Benno Torgler | Conservation: Joint Indian initiative creates tiger corridor Sanjay Gubbi, H. C. Poornesha | Lab life: Comparing science and music is unsound Justin Jee             Obituary                   Kenneth Geddes Wilson (1936–2013) ▶     Nobel-prizewinning physicist who revolutionized theoretical science.               Biological Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Latest Online                   Structural biology: RNA exerts self-control ▶     Bhaskar Chetnani, Alfonso Mondragón             Biochemistry: Curbing the excesses of low demand ▶     Athel Cornish-Bowden             Avoiding chromosome pathology when replication forks collide ▶     Christian J. Rudolph, Amy L. Upton, Anna Stockum et al.     The site of collision between two chromosome replication forks can be used to reinitiate replication independent of an active origin, with potentially pathogenic effects.             Genetic programs in human and mouse early embryos revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing ▶     Zhigang Xue, Kevin Huang, Chaochao Cai et al.     Single-cell RNA sequencing and weighted gene co-expression network analysis are used to study transcriptome change in pre-implantation embryos and oocytes; this reveals a conserved genetic program between human and mouse but with different developmental specificity and timing, and conserved hub genes that may be key in pre-implantation development.             Anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to nitrate reduction in a novel archaeal lineage ▶     Mohamed F. Haroon, Shihu Hu, Ying Shi et al.     An anaerobic methanotroph (ANME-2d) can perform nitrate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane through reverse methanogenesis, using nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor, and nitrite produced by ANME-2d is reduced to dinitrogen gas through a syntrophic relationship with an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacterium.             Recovery from slow inactivation in K+ channels is controlled by water molecules ▶     Jared Ostmeyer, Sudha Chakrapani, Albert C. Pan et al.     A series of long molecular dynamics simulations shows that the K+ channel is sterically locked in the inactive conformation by buried water molecules bound behind the selectivity filter; a kinetic model deduced from the simulations shows how releasing the buried waters can elongate the timescale of the recovery period, and this hypothesis is confirmed using 'wet' biophysical experiments.             The toxicity of antiprion antibodies is mediated by the flexible tail of the prion protein ▶     Tiziana Sonati, Regina R. Reimann, Jeppe Falsig et al.     Biochemical and structural investigation of a model for prion-induced neurodegeneration—antibody binding to PrPC—reveals the role of the PrP flexible tail and reactive oxygen species in mediating toxicity.             Induction of intestinal stem cells by R-spondin 1 and Slit2 augments chemoradioprotection ▶     Wei-Jie Zhou, Zhen H. Geng, Jason R. Spence et al.     Evidence of crosstalk between the Robo/Slit and Wnt signalling pathways is provided, and R-spondin signalling is shown to enhance canonical Wnt signalling and increase the proliferation of intestinal stem cells.             Evolutionary origins of the avian brain ▶     Amy M. Balanoff, Gabe S. Bever, Timothy B. Rowe et al.     High-resolution computed tomography is used to compare cranial volumes of extant birds, the early avialan Archaeopteryx lithographica, and non-avian maniraptoran dinosaurs that are close to the origins of Avialae and avian flight; the cranial cavity of Archaeopteryx is not distinct from that of maniraptorans, suggesting that some non-avian maniraptorans may have had the neurological equipment required for flight.             Completion of the entire hepatitis C virus life cycle in genetically humanized mice ▶     Marcus Dorner, Joshua A. Horwitz, Bridget M. Donovan et al.     The entire hepatitis C virus life cycle can be recapitulated in an inbred mouse model, allowing preclinical assessment of antiviral therapeutics and vaccines.             Co-crystal structure of a T-box riboswitch stem I domain in complex with its cognate tRNA ▶     Jinwei Zhang, Adrian R. Ferré-D'Amaré     The co-crystal structure of the T-box tRNA-binding region, stem I, bound to tRNA is solved, showing that this region not only binds the anticodon, but also cradles the entire tRNA, forming an extended interface; the two T-loop motifs of stem I mediate interactions similar to those of RNase P and the large ribosomal subunit, even though the three species do not share a common evolutionary ancestor.             Pyrimidine homeostasis is accomplished by directed overflow metabolism ▶     Marshall Louis Reaves, Brian D. Young, Aaron M. Hosios et al.     Here, the authors identify a previously unknown regulatory strategy used by Escherichia coli to control end-product levels of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway: this involves feedback regulation of the near-terminal pathway enzyme UMP kinase, with accumulation of UMP prevented by its degradation to uridine through UmpH, a phosphatase with a previously unknown function.             Articles and Letters                   Myc-driven endogenous cell competition in the early mammalian embryo ▶     Cristina Clavería, Giovanna Giovinazzo, Rocío Sierra et al.     An in vivo genetic approach to generate mosaic expression of Myc in the mouse epiblast reveals evidence of cell competition, a tissue homeostasis mechanism first described in Drosophila by which viable but suboptimal cells are eliminated from metazoan tissues; during normal development Myc expression levels in the epiblast are heterogeneous, and endogenous cell competition refines the epiblast cell population through the apoptotic elimination of cells with low relative Myc levels.             Integrative genomics identifies APOE ε4 effectors in Alzheimer's disease ▶     Herve Rhinn, Ryousuke Fujita, Liang Qiang et al.     Whole transcriptome differential gene co-expression correlation analysis of cerebral cortex of APOE ε4 allele carriers and late-onset Alzheimer's disease patients reveals an APOE ε4 carrier transcription network pattern that resembles that of late-onset Alzheimer's disease and also identifies new genes of interest for further study.             The molecular logic for planarian regeneration along the anterior–posterior axis ▶     Yoshihiko Umesono, Junichi Tasaki, Yui Nishimura et al.     More than a century ago, Thomas Hunt Morgan attempted to explain the extraordinary regenerative ability of planarians such as Dugesia japonica, which can regenerate a complete individual even from a tail fragment, by proposing that two opposing morphogenetic gradients along the anterior–posterior axis are required for regeneration; here ERK and β-catenin signalling are shown to form these gradients.             Restoration of anterior regeneration in a planarian with limited regenerative ability ▶     James M. Sikes, Phillip A. Newmark     Although the capacity for tissue regeneration of planarians is exceptional, planarians with more limited regenerative capacities are known; this study of Procotyla fluviatilis, a planarian with restricted ability to replace missing tissues, shows that Wnt signalling is aberrantly regulated in regeneration-deficient tissues and that downregulation of Wnt signalling in these regions restores regenerative abilities, revealing that manipulating a single signalling pathway can reverse the evolutionary loss of regenerative potential.             Reactivating head regrowth in a regeneration-deficient planarian species ▶     S.-Y. Liu, C. Selck, B. Friedrich et al.     Although the capacity for tissue regeneration of planarians is exceptional, planarians with more limited regenerative capacities are known; here knocking down components of the Wnt signalling pathway rescues head regeneration in the regeneration-impaired planarian Dendrocoelum lacteum, revealing that manipulating a single signalling pathway can reverse the evolutionary loss of regenerative potential.             Dual-mode operation of neuronal networks involved in left–right alternation ▶     Adolfo E. Talpalar, Julien Bouvier, Lotta Borgius et al.     A group of transcriptionally defined spinal neurons, V0 neurons, are identified as necessary for the control of normal alternation of left and right limbs in mice.             AID stabilizes stem-cell phenotype by removing epigenetic memory of pluripotency genes ▶     Ritu Kumar, Lauren DiMenna, Nadine Schrode et al.     Fibroblasts deficient in the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) enzyme are shown to fail to stabilize in the pluripotent state, despite initiating the expression of pluripotency genes.             A stable transcription factor complex nucleated by oligomeric AML1–ETO controls leukaemogenesis ▶     Xiao-Jian Sun, Zhanxin Wang, Lan Wang et al.     A multiprotein complex containing AML1–ETO, the most common fusion protein found in acute myeloid leukaemia, is revealed and analysed in leukaemic cells, and a novel, functionally important protein-binding interface is identified.             Reshaping of the conformational search of a protein by the chaperone trigger factor ▶     Alireza Mashaghi, Günter Kramer, Philipp Bechtluft et al.     The bacterial chaperone named trigger factor is found to stabilize protein folding intermediates that eventually convert to the native state, suggesting that chaperones play a direct role in instructing protein folding.             Structural basis for the inhibition of bacterial multidrug exporters ▶     Ryosuke Nakashima, Keisuke Sakurai, Seiji Yamasaki et al.     The first inhibitor-bound X-ray crystal structures of the bacterial multidrug efflux transporter AcrB and its homologue MexB are presented, with the inhibitor shown to bind the transporter through a narrow hydrophobic pit, thereby preventing rotation of AcrB and MexB monomers.             Unusual base pairing during the decoding of a stop codon by the ribosome ▶     Israel S. Fernández, Chyan Leong Ng, Ann C. Kelley et al.     Here, the structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit and the 70S ribosome in complex with a messenger RNA with pseudouridine in the place of uridine reveals unexpected base pairing.             News & Views                   Regenerative biology: On with their heads ▶     András Simon             Alzheimer's disease: From big data to mechanism ▶     Vivek Swarup & Daniel H. Geschwind             Psychology: Spot the gorilla ▶     Sadaf Shadan             Cancer: Angiogenic awakening ▶     Neta Erez             Structural biology: RNA exerts self-control ▶     Bhaskar Chetnani, Alfonso Mondragón             Biochemistry: Curbing the excesses of low demand ▶     Athel Cornish-Bowden             Research Highlights                   Fisheries: Hazard lights for turtles | Zoology: Bee trade spreads parasites | Immunology: Antibody tutors travel | Palaeoanthropology: Sex determination for the Stone Age | Biological materials: How mussels flex for impact | Physiology: Temperature fits the bill | Genetics: Mice screened gene by gene         NEWS & COMMENT           Archaeology: The milk revolution | Biology: Cell sex matters | Ornithology: Feathered encounters | Environment: Blanking out the mess | Books in brief | Genomics: The big blueprint | Conservation: Joint Indian initiative creates tiger corridor | Microbiome research goes without a home             More Biological Sciences ▶               Chemical Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           News & Views                   50 & 100 Years Ago ▶           NEWS & COMMENT           Archaeology: The milk revolution             More Chemical Sciences ▶               Physical Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Latest Online                   Solar system: Saturn's tides control Enceladus' plume ▶     John Spencer             Articles and Letters                   An age difference of two billion years between a metal-rich and a metal-poor globular cluster ▶     B. M. S. Hansen, J. S. Kalirai, J. Anderson et al.     An absolute age of about ten billion years is determined for the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, which is about two billion years younger than the cluster NGC 6397 is thought to be, suggesting that metal-rich clusters like 47 Tucanae formed later than metal-poor clusters like NGC 6397.             Nanometre-scale thermometry in a living cell ▶     G. Kucsko, P. C. Maurer, N. Y. Yao et al.     A nanoscale thermometry technique that uses coherent manipulation of the electronic spin associated with nitrogen–vacancy colour centres in diamond makes it possible to detect temperature variations as small as 1.8 millikelvin in ultrapure samples and to control and map temperature gradients within living cells.             Stretchable nanoparticle conductors with self-organized conductive pathways ▶     Yoonseob Kim, Jian Zhu, Bongjun Yeom et al.     Stretchable conductors have many applications, from flexible electronics to medical implants; here polyurethane is filled with gold nanoparticles to give a composite with tunable viscoelastic properties arising from the dynamic self-organization of the nanoparticles under stress.             News & Views                   50 & 100 Years Ago ▶             Nanotechnology: Tiny thermometers used in living cells ▶     Konstantin Sokolov             Solar system: Saturn's tides control Enceladus' plume ▶     John Spencer             Erratum                   Erratum: Masses of exotic calcium isotopes pin down nuclear forces ▶     F. Wienholtz, D. Beck, K. Blaum et al.             Research Highlights                   Materials science: Odd performance under pressure | Optical physics: Images on a subatomic scale | Biological materials: How mussels flex for impact         NEWS & COMMENT           Archaeology: The milk revolution | Kenneth Geddes Wilson (1936–2013) | Labs vie for X-ray source             More Physical Sciences ▶               Earth & Environmental Sciences ▲top             RESEARCH           Latest Online                   Solar system: Saturn's tides control Enceladus' plume ▶     John Spencer             An observed correlation between plume activity and tidal stresses on Enceladus ▶     M. M. Hedman, C. M. Gosmeyer, P. D. Nicholson et al.     The plume at the south pole of Enceladus is several times brighter when that moon is near the apocentre of its eccentric orbit around Saturn than when it is near its orbital pericentre, showing that more material appears to be escaping from beneath Enceladus' surface at times when models predict its fissures should be under tension.             Anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to nitrate reduction in a novel archaeal lineage ▶     Mohamed F. Haroon, Shihu Hu, Ying Shi et al.     An anaerobic methanotroph (ANME-2d) can perform nitrate-driven anaerobic oxidation of methane through reverse methanogenesis, using nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor, and nitrite produced by ANME-2d is reduced to dinitrogen gas through a syntrophic relationship with an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacterium.             Articles and Letters                   Seasonal sea surface cooling in the equatorial Pacific cold tongue controlled by ocean mixing ▶     James N. Moum, Alexander Perlin, Jonathan D. Nash et al.     In the tropics, a strong seasonal cycle in sea surface temperature exists despite comparatively constant radiation inputs; turbulent mixing from below is now shown to control the cooling phase of the seasonal cycle in the equatorial Pacific 'cold tongue' at 140° W.             Feeding andesitic eruptions with a high-speed connection from the mantle ▶     Philipp Ruprecht, Terry Plank     Diffusion modelling of nickel in mantle melts beneath a volcano reveals the short timescales of magma movement from the base of the crust to the surface in the months to years before an eruption.             News & Views                   Climate science: Unequal equinoxes ▶     Shang-Ping Xie             Solar system: Saturn's tides control Enceladus' plume ▶     John Spencer             Research Highlights                   Fisheries: Hazard lights for turtles | Remote sensing: Counting carbon from above         NEWS & COMMENT           Environment: Blanking out the mess | Books in brief | Pilot projects bury carbon dioxide in basalt             More Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶               Careers & Jobs ▲top               Relocating: Middle Eastern promise ▶     Countries on the Arabian Peninsula are vying to attract young scientists to their universities.                   Too much hype ▶     Scientists have to promote their work. But they should fight the pull to oversell it, says Monika Maleszewska.                   Fashion rules in physics ▶     Trendy topics drive research pursuits.                   Grant popularity soars ▶     Slashed science budgets drive young researchers to seek EU funding.                   Art sales fund science ▶     Proceeds from selling research images support conference travel.             Careers related news & comment                   Seven days: 26 July–1 August | NIH mulls rules for validating key results Meredith Wadman | Biology: Cell sex matters Elizabeth Pollitzer | Science communication: Reward research outreach in Japan Amane Koizumi, Yuko Morita, Shishin Kawamoto | Science prizes: Time-lapsed awards for excellence Ho Fai Chan, Benno Torgler | Lab life: Comparing science and music is unsound Justin Jee               naturejobs.com Science jobs of the week       Research Technician     EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)            Postdoctoral Researcher     The Ohio State University College of Medicine            Research Associate     UCL            Junior Research / Travel Fellowships     The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund          No matter what your career stage, student, postdoc or senior scientist, you will find articles on naturejobs.com to help guide you in your science career. Keep up-to-date with the latest sector trends, vote in our reader poll and sign-up to receive the monthly Naturejobs newsletter.           • Natureevents Directory featured events           natureevents directory featured events         Enhanced rare cell analysis – Visualize the invisible     30.10.13 Germany, Cologne         Natureevents Directory is the premier resource for scientists looking for the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia. Featured across Nature Publishing Group journals and centrally at natureevents.com it is an essential reference guide to scientific events worldwide.               Futures                   The best of us ▶     Lee Hallison                 Your email address is in the Nature mailing list. You have been sent this Table of Contents Alert because you have opted in to receive it. You can change or discontinue your e-mail alerts at any time, by modifying your preferences on your nature.com account at: www.nature.com/nams/svc/myaccount (You will need to log in to be recognised as a nature.com registrant). For further technical assistance, please contact subscriptions@nature.com For other enquiries, please contact feedback@nature.com Nature Publishing Group | 75 Varick Street, 9th floor | New York | NY 10013-1917 | USA Nature Publishing Group's offices: Principal offices: London - New York - Tokyo Worldwide offices: Basingstoke - Boston - Buenos Aires - Delhi - Hong Kong - Madrid - Melbourne - Munich - Paris - San Francisco - Seoul - Washington DC Macmillan Publishers Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 785998 and whose registered office is located at Brunel Road, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. © 2013 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.