Nature Communications - 12 February 2014

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Weekly Content Alert 12 February 2014  Featured image: Vautard et al. show that the effect of European wind farms on regional climate is less significant than natural climate variability. Latest content: Articles Corrigendum Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology/Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, and Nature present: Genomics and Stem Cell Based Therapies: Shaping the Future of Personalized Medicine May 29-31, 2014 The Garden Hotel Guangzhou, China  Click here for more information or to register for this conference today!       Latest Articles View all Articles     Ruthenium-catalysed alkoxycarbonylation of alkenes with carbon dioxide Lipeng Wu, Qiang Liu, Ivana Fleischer, Ralf Jackstell and Matthias Beller The conversion of alkenes to esters is performed on a large scale worldwide, but relies on the use of toxic and flammable carbon monoxide. Here, the authors show a catalytic system where carbon dioxide—normally unreactive, but cheap and abundant—can be employed instead. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4091 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry  Regional climate model simulations indicate limited climatic impacts by operational and planned European wind farms Robert Vautard, Françoise Thais, Isabelle Tobin, François-Marie Bréon, Jean-Guy Devezeaux de Lavergne, Augustin Colette, Pascal Yiou and Paolo Michele Ruti Wind power installations have boomed across Europe in recent decades, yet the potentially negative impact of wind farms on climate remains largely untested. Vautard et al. parameterize operational and planned European wind farms in a regional climate model and show limited regional-scale climate impacts. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4196 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Integration of molecular and enzymatic catalysts on graphene for biomimetic generation of antithrombotic species Teng Xue, Bo Peng, Min Xue, Xing Zhong, Chin-Yi Chiu, Si Yang, Yongquan Qu, Lingyan Ruan, Shan Jiang, Sergey Dubin, Richard B. Kaner, Jeffrey I. Zink, Mark E. Meyerhoff, Xiangfeng Duan and Yu Huang Enzymatic mimics, capable of catalysing cascading reactions under physiological conditions, can be formed from integrating multiple components. Here, the authors report a graphene–haemin–glucose oxidase system capable of biomimetic generation of antithrombotic species from abundant glucose and L-arginine. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4200 Chemical Sciences  Biotechnology  Catalysis  Nanotechnology  Estimates of the changing age-burden of Plasmodium falciparum malaria disease in sub-Saharan Africa OPEN Jamie T. Griffin, Neil M. Ferguson and Azra C. Ghani Reduction in malaria transmission has changed the age pattern of malaria incidence. This study brings insights into the changes in age distributions of clinical malaria across Africa, with importance for improving within-population targeting of malaria control interventions. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4136 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Microbiology  Structural analysis of the transitional state of Arp2/3 complex activation by two actin-bound WCAs Malgorzata Boczkowska, Grzegorz Rebowski, David J. Kast and Roberto Dominguez The involvement of one or two nucleation-promoting factors in Arp2/3 complex activation is a matter of debate. Here Boczkowska et al. provide evidence that two nucleation-promoting factors are required, and propose a model of the 11-subunit transitional complex based on distance measurements by FRET. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4308 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Silicon-based broadband antenna for high responsivity and polarization-insensitive photodetection at telecommunication wavelengths Keng-Te Lin, Hsuen-Li Chen, Yu-Sheng Lai and Chen-Chieh Yu Small on-chip photodetectors are of promise for telecommunications applications. Here, Lin et al. demonstrate that metal trenches on a silicon chip enable highly sensitive photodetection at telecommunications wavelengths. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4288 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  A novel allosteric mechanism in the cysteine peptidase cathepsin K discovered by computational methods Marko Novinec, Matevž Korenč, Amedeo Caflisch, Rama Ranganathan, Brigita Lenarčič and Antonio Baici Allosteric sites are an increasingly used target for drug design. Here, the authors computationally predict an allosteric site in cathepsin K and subsequently identify a small-molecule allosteric modifier. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4287 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Chemical biology  Neonatal testosterone suppresses a neuroendocrine pulse generator required for reproduction Jean-Marc Israel, Jean-Marie Cabelguen, Gwendal Le Masson, Stéphane H. Oliet and Philippe Ciofi The milk-ejection reflex in mammals requires the coordinated bursting of oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus. Here, Israel et al. show that the rhythmic bursting behaviour displayed by these neurons is active in both male and female neonatal rats, but is inactivated in males after the first week of life. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4285 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Lactate-mediated glia-neuronal signalling in the mammalian brain OPEN F. Tang, S. Lane, A. Korsak, J. F. R. Paton, A. V. Gourine, S. Kasparov and A. G. Teschemacher The astrocytic release of the metabolite L-lactate is implicated in modulating neuronal activity in the brain. Here, the authors show that L-lactate released from astrocytes excites noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus and triggers the release of noradrenaline, increasing network excitability. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4284 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Reconstitution of a 10-gene pathway for synthesis of the plant alkaloid dihydrosanguinarine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Elena Fossati, Andrew Ekins, Lauren Narcross, Yun Zhu, Jean-Pierre Falgueyret, Guillaume A. W. Beaudoin, Peter J Facchini and Vincent J. J. Martin Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids are a group of plant secondary metabolites with important pharmaceutical applications. Here, the authors have reconstituted a 10-gene alkaloid pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, demonstrating the feasibility of producing commercially important alkaloids in microbial systems. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4283 Biological Sciences  Bioengineering  Biotechnology  All-optical phase modulation in a cavity-polariton Mach–Zehnder interferometer OPEN C. Sturm, D. Tanese, H.S. Nguyen, H. Flayac, E. Galopin, A. Lemaître, I. Sagnes, D. Solnyshkov, A. Amo, G. Malpuech and J. Bloch Quantum fluids such as cavity-polaritons show nonlinear optical properties of interest in applications such as quantum optics. Here, Sturm and colleagues demonstrate an optical control of the phase of a polariton flow, and make use of this to realize a compact exciton–polariton interferometer. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4278 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  ArabidopsisABCG14 protein controls the acropetal translocation of root-synthesized cytokinins Kewei Zhang, Ondrej Novak, Zhaoyang Wei, Mingyue Gou, Xuebin Zhang, Yong Yu, Huijun Yang, Yuanheng Cai, Miroslav Strnad and Chang-Jun Liu Cytokinins are a major group of plant hormones that control plant development and some of these hormone species are translocated from roots to shoots, but how they are transported in planta is unknown. Here, ABCG14 is shown to transport cytokinins from the roots of Arabidopsis to the shoots. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4274 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Weibull-distributed dyke thickness reflects probabilistic character of host-rock strength OPEN Michael Krumbholz, Christoph F. Hieronymus, Steffi Burchardt, Valentin R. Troll, David C. Tanner and Nadine Friese Understanding dyke thickness distributions is essential to quantify magma transport rates and improve eruption forecasting. Krumbholz et al. show that dyke thicknesses are Weibull-distributed and identify host-rock strength as the primary parameter that controls dyke emplacement. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4272 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Casimir-like forces at the percolation transition Nicoletta Gnan, Emanuela Zaccarelli and Francesco Sciortino Colloidal particles may experience a long-range force because of the confinement of solvent fluctuations. Gnan et al. show numerically that such Casimir-like effect also occurs when colloids are immersed in a chemical sol close to percolation, which provides an alternative way to tune colloidal interactions. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4267 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Physical chemistry  A new phyllopod bed-like assemblage from the Burgess Shale of the Canadian Rockies Jean-Bernard Caron, Robert R. Gaines, Cédric Aria, M. Gabriela Mángano and Michael Streng Burgess Shale-type deposits are critical to our understanding of the Cambrian diversity explosion. Here, Caron et al. report a new assemblage from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, British Columbia, with high diversity and abundance of soft-bodied taxa, providing new insights into the early diversification of metazoans. 11 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4210 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Palaeontology  Admixture facilitates genetic adaptations to high altitude in Tibet Choongwon Jeong, Gorka Alkorta-Aranburu, Buddha Basnyat, Maniraj Neupane, David B. Witonsky, Jonathan K. Pritchard, Cynthia M. Beall and Anna Di Rienzo The genes EGLN1 and EPAS1 are candidates for high-altitude adaptations in Tibetan populations. Here, Jeong et al. demonstrate that the two genes show evidence of high-altitude ancestry in the Tibetan genome, suggesting the importance of population admixture for adaptation. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4281 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Toward atomically-precise synthesis of supported bimetallic nanoparticles using atomic layer deposition Junling Lu, Ke-Bin Low, Yu Lei, Joseph A. Libera, Alan Nicholls, Peter C. Stair and Jeffrey W. Elam Synthesis of supported bimetallic nanoparticles often results in mixtures containing one or two metals. Here, the authors report a highly controlled method where one metal particle is initially formed on a support and the second metal is then grown exclusively on this metal surface. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4264 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Materials science  Fragile X mental retardation protein stimulates ribonucleoprotein assembly of influenza A virus Zhuo Zhou, Mengmeng Cao, Yang Guo, Lili Zhao, Jingfeng Wang, Xue Jia, Jianguo Li, Conghui Wang, Gülsah Gabriel, Qinghua Xue, Yonghong Yi, Sheng Cui, Qi Jin, Jianwei Wang and Tao Deng To successfully replicate and propagate, viruses hijack different components of the host cell machinery. Here, Zhou et al. identify the RNA-binding protein Fragile X mental retardation protein as a host factor involved in influenza A virus replication in host cells. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4259 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Immunology  Integrated circuit-based electrochemical sensor for spatially resolved detection of redox-active metabolites in biofilms Daniel L. Bellin, Hassan Sakhtah, Jacob K. Rosenstein, Peter M. Levine, Jordan Thimot, Kevin Emmett, Lars E. P. Dietrich and Kenneth L. Shepard The direct detection of metabolites secreted by cells can indicate how cellular dynamics affects population development. Here, the authors present an integrated circuit-based method for electrochemical imaging of redox-active signalling molecules with spatial resolution within bacterial colonies. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4256 Biological Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Biotechnology  Microbiology  Sequential pH-driven dimerization and stabilization of the N-terminal domain enables rapid spider silk formation Nina Kronqvist, Martins Otikovs, Volodymyr Chmyrov, Gefei Chen, Marlene Andersson, Kerstin Nordling, Michael Landreh, Médoune Sarr, Hans Jörnvall, Stefan Wennmalm, Jerker Widengren, Qing Meng, Anna Rising, Daniel Otzen, Stefan D. Knight, Kristaps Jaudzems and Jan Johansson The molecular mechanism by which rapid spider silk assembly occurs in the glands of spiders is challenging to investigate. Here, the authors perform site-directed mutagenesis of the N-terminal domain and propose a three-step mechanism that allows controlled aggregation of spidroins. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4254 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  A rat RNA-Seq transcriptomic BodyMap across 11 organs and 4 developmental stages OPEN Ying Yu, James C. Fuscoe, Chen Zhao, Chao Guo, Meiwen Jia, Tao Qing, Desmond I. Bannon, Lee Lancashire, Wenjun Bao, Tingting Du, Heng Luo, Zhenqiang Su, Wendell D. Jones, Carrie L. Moland, William S. Branham, Feng Qian, Baitang Ning, Yan Li, Huixiao Hong, Lei Guo et al. Gene expression is highly variable between tissues, and changes during development and with age. Here, the authors provide a comprehensive RNA-Seq analysis of the rat transcriptome, spanning eleven organs, four developmental stages and both sexes. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4230 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Medical research  Molecular biology  Large-scale solution synthesis of narrow graphene nanoribbons Timothy H. Vo, Mikhail Shekhirev, Donna A. Kunkel, Martha D. Morton, Eric Berglund, Lingmei Kong, Peter M. Wilson, Peter A. Dowben, Axel Enders and Alexander Sinitskii Theory predicts that graphene nanoribbons with width less than 2 nm exhibit bandgaps comparable to silicon, but the fabrication is challenging. Vo et al. report a bottom–up approach to synthesize bulk quantities of these materials with a bandgap of ~1.3 eV, potentially useful for electronic devices. 10 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4189 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Wavefront sensing reveals optical coherence B. Stoklasa, L. Motka, J. Rehacek, Z. Hradil and L. L. Sánchez-Soto The coherence of light is vital for applications like imaging and sensing, but is hard to measure with normal photodetectors. Stoklasa et al. show that, when combined with methods from quantum information processing, wavefront sensors can measure the complete coherence properties of a signal in a single-shot. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4275 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Large mesopelagic fishes biomass and trophic efficiency in the open ocean Xabier Irigoien, T. A. Klevjer, A. Røstad, U. Martinez, G. Boyra, J. L. Acuña, A. Bode, F. Echevarria, J. I. Gonzalez-Gordillo, S. Hernandez-Leon, S. Agusti, D. L. Aksnes, C. M. Duarte and S. Kaartvedt Mesopelagic fishes dominate the global fishes biomass, yet there exist major uncertainties regarding their global biomass. Irigoien et al. analyse acoustic data collected during a circumglobal cruise and show that biomass estimates should be raised by an order of magnitude. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4271 Earth Sciences  Ecology  Oceanography  The nucleoporin MEL-28 promotes RanGTP-dependent γ-tubulin recruitment and microtubule nucleation in mitotic spindle formation Hideki Yokoyama, Birgit Koch, Rudolf Walczak, Fulya Ciray-Duygu, Juan Carlos González-Sánchez, Damien P. Devos, Iain W. Mattaj and Oliver J. Gruss On mitotic exit, the nucleoporin MEL-28 binds to chromatin and seeds the formation of nuclear pore complexes. Here Yokoyama et al. show that upon mitotic entry, MEL-28 re-localizes to microtubules where it functions in assembling the mitotic spindle, revealing roles for MEL-28 throughout the cell cycle. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4270 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Hidden dental diversity in the oldest terrestrial apex predator Dimetrodon Kirstin S. Brink and Robert R. Reisz Early Permian sphenacodontid synapsids were the first terrestrial large-bodied apex predators. Here, Brink and Reisz show that sphenacodontids had a diverse dentition associated with the evolution of changes in feeding style at the onset of the first well established, complex terrestrial ecosystems. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4269 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Evolution  Palaeontology  Fractal design concepts for stretchable electronics Jonathan A. Fan, Woon-Hong Yeo, Yewang Su, Yoshiaki Hattori, Woosik Lee, Sung-Young Jung, Yihui Zhang, Zhuangjian Liu, Huanyu Cheng, Leo Falgout, Mike Bajema, Todd Coleman, Dan Gregoire, Ryan J. Larsen, Yonggang Huang and John A. Rogers Stretchable electrodes provide the foundation for many applications but optimising the architecture to balance performance and flexibility is challenging. Here, the authors show that fractal designs offer new opportunities to tune the mechanical properties of such structures. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4266 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Functional analysis of a de novo GRIN2A missense mutation associated with early-onset epileptic encephalopathy Hongjie Yuan, Kasper B. Hansen, Jing Zhang, Tyler Mark Pierson, Thomas C. Markello, Karin V. Fuentes Fajardo, Conisha M. Holloman, Gretchen Golas, David R. Adams, Cornelius F. Boerkoel, William A. Gahl and Stephen F. Traynelis N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are key regulators of neuronal excitability in the brain and NMDAR mutations are implicated in epilepsy. Here, the authors identify a NMDAR subunit mutation in a child with epileptic encephalopathy, and show that this mutation increases the activity of NMDAR channels. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4251 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Neuroscience  X-ray refinement significantly underestimates the level of microscopic heterogeneity in biomolecular crystals OPEN Antonija Kuzmanic, Navraj S. Pannu and Bojan Zagrovic The structural heterogeneity of a biomolecular crystal structure is typically captured using atomic B-factors, determined during structure refinement. Here, the authors use molecular dynamics to show that this strategy is flawed, and that crystallographic B-factors underestimate structural heterogeneity. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4220 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Axis-dependence of molecular high harmonic emission in three dimensions Limor S. Spector, Maxim Artamonov, Shungo Miyabe, Todd Martinez, Tamar Seideman, Markus Guehr and Philip H. Bucksbaum Molecules emit high harmonics when driven by strong laser fields. Here, Spector et al. measure how the harmonic spectrum and strength depend on the laser polarization direction in the molecular frame, which leads to a better understanding of the high harmonic process. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4190 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  Solar-induced direct biomass-to-electricity hybrid fuel cell using polyoxometalates as photocatalyst and charge carrier Wei Liu, Wei Mu, Mengjie Liu, Xiaodan Zhang, Hongli Cai and Yulin Deng The direct conversion of biomass to electricity is an important process. Here, the authors use polyoxometallates as both photocatalyst and charge carrier to generate electricity in a solar-powered hybrid fuel cell that can consume natural biomass, such as cellulose or wood powders, at low temperature. 07 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4208 Chemical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Nuclear magnetization in gallium arsenide quantum dots at zero magnetic field OPEN G. Sallen, S. Kunz, T. Amand, L. Bouet, T. Kuroda, T. Mano, D. Paget, O. Krebs, X. Marie, K. Sakoda and B. Urbaszek Optical control of nuclear spin polarization in semiconductor quantum dots is promising for applications in NMR imaging. Sallen et al. report efficient dynamic nuclear polarization at zero magnetic field in strain-free gallium arsenide quantum dots with Knight fields dominating the nuclear quadrupole effects. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4268 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optogenetic astrocyte activation modulates response selectivity of visual cortex neurons in vivo OPEN Gertrudis Perea, Aimei Yang, Edward S. Boyden and Mriganka Sur Astrocytes regulate activity within neuronal networks. Here, the authors use photostimulation to activate astrocytes in the mouse visual cortex, and find that this increases excitatory and inhibitory neuronal synaptic transmission via activation of type 1a metabotropic glutamate receptors. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4262 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Visualizing autophosphorylation in histidine kinases Patricia Casino, Laura Miguel-Romero and Alberto Marina The phosphorylation of proteins is a common mechanism for signal transduction. Here, the authors present a structural analysis of a histidine kinase in the process of autophosphorylation, helping to elucidate the catalytic mechanism. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4258 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Molecular biology  Observation of a universal donor-dependent vibrational mode in graphene A. V. Fedorov, N. I. Verbitskiy, D. Haberer, C. Struzzi, L. Petaccia, D. Usachov, O. Y. Vilkov, D. V. Vyalikh, J. Fink, M. Knupfer, B. Büchner and A. Grüneis It has been suggested that it might be possible to induce superconductivity in graphene by increasing the electron–phonon coupling through doping. A systematic ARPES study conducted by Fedorov et al. finds that all donor atoms induce an unexpected vibrational mode, with the strongest generated by calcium. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4257 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Dynamic localization of electronic excitation in photosynthetic complexes revealed with chiral two-dimensional spectroscopy Andrew F. Fidler, Ved P. Singh, Phillip D. Long, Peter D. Dahlberg and Gregory S. Engel Nonlinear chiral optical activity is difficult to measure because of weak signal amidst strong achiral background. Here, the authors perform a nonlinear chiral two-dimensional spectroscopic mapping of light-harvesting complex 2 during photoexcitation and observe exciton delocalization. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4286 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Optical physics  Monolayer behaviour in bulk ReS2 due to electronic and vibrational decoupling Sefaattin Tongay, Hasan Sahin, Changhyun Ko, Alex Luce, Wen Fan, Kai Liu, Jian Zhou, Ying-Sheng Huang, Ching-Hwa Ho, Jinyuan Yan, D. Frank Ogletree, Shaul Aloni, Jie Ji, Shushen Li, Jingbo Li, F. M. Peeters and Junqiao Wu Monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides have emerged as interesting two-dimensional materials. Here, the authors show that in a new member of this family of compounds, rhenium disulphide, the layers in the bulk are vibrationally and electronically decoupled, so that they behave almost as monolayers. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4252 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Self-healing of quantum entanglement after an obstruction Melanie McLaren, Thandeka Mhlanga, Miles J. Padgett, Filippus S. Roux and Andrew Forbes Entanglement between photons is easily destroyed by losses in optical systems as light propagates through it. For entanglement of orbital angular momentum, McLaren et al. show that losses caused by obstructions in the beam path can be overcome if measurements are made in the Bessel basis. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4248 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Error-corrected quantum annealing with hundreds of qubits Kristen L. Pudenz, Tameem Albash and Daniel A. Lidar Quantum annealing is a quantum computational approach exploiting ground-state dynamics of a system to find optimal solutions. Pudenz et al. present an error correction scheme for quantum annealing and show that it provides improved performance on a quantum annealer with up to 344 superconducting flux qubits. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4243 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Ultrafast observation of critical nematic fluctuations and giant magnetoelastic coupling in iron pnictides Aaron Patz, Tianqi Li, Sheng Ran, Rafael M. Fernandes, Joerg Schmalian, Sergey L. Bud'ko, Paul C. Canfield, Ilias E. Perakis and Jigang Wang Anisotropy in the normal-state properties of the iron pnictides could be important to their exotic behaviour, but its cause is unclear. Femtosecond spectrometry of an iron-pnictide superconductor performed by Patz et al. reveals critical nematic fluctuations and unexpectedly large magnetoelastic coupling. 06 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4229 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Integrated optical auto-correlator based on third-harmonic generation in a silicon photonic crystal waveguide Christelle Monat, Christian Grillet, Matthew Collins, Alex Clark, Jochen Schroeder, Chunle Xiong, Juntao Li, Liam O'Faolain, Thomas F. Krauss, Benjamin J. Eggleton and David J. Moss The characterization of short light pulses is important for performance management in applications such as telecommunications and spectroscopy. Here, Monat et al. demonstrate a photonic crystal waveguide that, based on third-harmonic generation, delivers such auto-correlator functionality on a silicon chip. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4246 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Deterministic and electrically tunable bright single-photon source OPEN A. K. Nowak, S. L. Portalupi, V. Giesz, O. Gazzano, C. Dal Savio, P.-F. Braun, K. Karrai, C. Arnold, L. Lanco, I. Sagnes, A. Lemaître and P. Senellart Bright and tunable single-photon sources are essential for future quantum technologies. Here, the authors deterministically couple a quantum dot to a pillar structure that enables application of electric fields to provide a tunable single-photon source with a demonstrated extraction efficiency of 53%. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4240 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  A non-canonical function of telomerase RNA in the regulation of developmental myelopoiesis in zebrafish Francisca Alcaraz-Pérez, Jesús García-Castillo, Diana García-Moreno, Azucena López-Muñoz, Monique Anchelin, Diego Angosto, Leonard I. Zon, Victoriano Mulero and María L. Cayuela The telomerase reverse transcriptase promotes the development of haematopoietic cells in zebrafish independent of its telomere-lengthening activity. Here Alcaraz-Pérez et al. show that the telomerase RNA component regulates cell fate during zebrafish myelopoiesis also in a non-canonical manner. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4228 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Molecular biology  A disulphide-linked heterodimer of TWIK-1 and TREK-1 mediates passive conductance in astrocytes Eun Mi Hwang, Eunju Kim, Oleg Yarishkin, Dong Ho Woo, Kyung-Seok Han, Nammi Park, Yeonju Bae, Junsung Woo, Donggyu Kim, Myeongki Park, C. Justin Lee and Jae-Yong Park The physiological function of TWIK-1, a two-pore K+ channel family member, remains unclear. Here, Hwang et al. show that TWIK-1 forms a disulphide-linked heterodimer with TREK-1 to maintain passive conductance and glutamate release in astrocytes. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4227 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Neuroscience  A Polymerase Theta-dependent repair pathway suppresses extensive genomic instability at endogenous G4 DNA sites Wouter Koole, Robin van Schendel, Andrea E. Karambelas, Jane T. van Heteren, Kristy L. Okihara and Marcel Tijsterman Genomes contain tracts of tandem guanines, which can adopt stable G-quadruplex structures that obstruct replication fork movement. Here, Koole et al. describe a non-canonical polymerase Theta-dependent repair pathway that prevents genomic instability caused by these replication barriers. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4216 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Foxd1 is a mediator and indicator of the cell reprogramming process Makito Koga, Mitsuhiro Matsuda, Teruhisa Kawamura, Takahiro Sogo, Asako Shigeno, Eisuke Nishida and Miki Ebisuya The forkhead box transcription factor Foxo1 is required for the maintenance of pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells. Here Koga et al. show that expression of another forkhead box transcription factor, Foxd1, promotes and indicates successful reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4197 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Fluctuations in the electron system of a superconductor exposed to a photon flux OPEN P. J. de Visser, J. J. A. Baselmans, J. Bueno, N. Llombart and T. M. Klapwijk Electromagnetic radiation detectors based on superconducting resonators have a range of potential uses from astronomy to quantum computing. De Visser et al. demonstrate a superconductor detector with unprecedented sensitivity limited only by fluctuations in the electron system of the superconductor. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4130 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Microbial iron uptake as a mechanism for dispersing iron from deep-sea hydrothermal vents Meng Li, Brandy M. Toner, Brett J. Baker, John A. Breier, Cody S. Sheik and Gregory J. Dick Iron emitted from hydrothermal vents is stabilized by organic matter and dispersed into the world ocean, yet the pathways leading to iron–carbon interactions are unknown. Dick et al. propose that a new 'microbial iron pump' is responsible for converting hydrothermal iron into bioavailable forms. 05 February 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4192 Earth Sciences  Biogeochemistry  Oceanography    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Post Doctoral Researcher University of Cologne Postdoctoral fellow University of Texas - MD Anderson Cancer Center Research Associate Imperial College London Postdoctoral Research Fellow The University of Queensland Postdoctoral Research Scientist University of Oxford Postodoctoral Research Associates University of Massachusett Medical School Faculty Position Bilkent University Postdoctoral research fellow L'Institut de rythmologie et modélisation cardiaque PhD position TU Dresden - Cluster of Excellence 'Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden' (cfaed) Assistant Researcher Lund University More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT The Stem Cell Niche 18.05.14 Copenhagen, Denmark More science events from       Latest Corrigendum     Corrigendum: The oldest North American pachycephalosaurid and the hidden diversity of small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs David C. 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