Nature Communications - 30 July 2014

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Weekly Content Alert 30 July 2014  Featured image: Hynes et al. show that defective viruses can act as 'vaccines' for bacteria, rendering them immune to subsequent viral infections. Latest content: Review Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Nature Genetics in association with the Wellcome Trust are pleased to present: The Genomics of Common Diseases 2014 September 17-20, 2014 Bolger Center, Potomac, MD, USA  Click here for more information or to register for this conference today!        Latest Review View all Reviews     Ferroelectric tunnel junctions for information storage and processing Vincent Garcia and Manuel Bibes Computer memory based on ferroelectric polarization is a promising alternative to technologies based, for example, on magnetism. Here, Garcia and Bibes review how ferroelectric tunnel junctions, where ferroelectric polarization controls electrical resistance, could improve the performance of these devices. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5289 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology        Latest Articles View all Articles     Observation of a quantum Cheshire Cat in a matter-wave interferometer experiment OPEN Tobias Denkmayr, Hermann Geppert, Stephan Sponar, Hartmut Lemmel, Alexandre Matzkin, Jeff Tollaksen and Yuji Hasegawa One of the paradoxical phenomena of quantum mechanics is the quantum Cheshire Cat, consisting of the apparent spatial separation of a particle and one of its properties. Denkmayr et al. use neutron interferometry to prepare and evaluate the Cheshire Cat state of a neutron and its magnetic moment. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5492 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Theoretical physics  Audience preferences are predicted by temporal reliability of neural processing OPEN Jacek P. Dmochowski, Matthew A. Bezdek, Brian P. Abelson, John S. Johnson, Eric H. Schumacher and Lucas C. Parra Encephalographic brain recordings are often used to characterize neuronal dynamics at the network level in relation to specific behaviours. Here, Dmochowski et al. show that neural activity from a few individuals viewing popular media can predict population-level neural activity in thousands of individuals. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5567 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Individual diet has sex-dependent effects on vertebrate gut microbiota OPEN Daniel I. Bolnick, Lisa K. Snowberg, Philipp E. Hirsch, Christian L. Lauber, Elin Org, Brian Parks, Aldons J. Lusis, Rob Knight, J. Gregory Caporaso and Richard Svanbäck Diet variations can alter gut microbial composition, but the potential influence of host genetic factors on these effects is unclear. Here, the authors show, in humans and in natural and laboratory fish populations, that such effects are dependent on the host's sex, a genetically determined factor. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5500 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Microbiology  Zoology  Myocardium-derived angiopoietin-1 is essential for coronary vein formation in the developing heart OPEN Yoh Arita, Yoshikazu Nakaoka, Taichi Matsunaga, Hiroyasu Kidoya, Kohei Yamamizu, Yuichiro Arima, Takahiro Kataoka-Hashimoto, Kuniyasu Ikeoka, Taku Yasui, Takeshi Masaki, Kaori Yamamoto, Kaori Higuchi, Jin-Sung Park, Manabu Shirai, Koichi Nishiyama, Hiroyuki Yamagishi, Kinya Otsu, Hiroki Kurihara, Takashi Minami, Keiko Yamauchi-Takihara et al. The secreted ligand Angiopoietin-1 is essential for embryonic blood vessel development and adult vascular homeostasis. Here the authors show, using conditional knockout mice, that myocardium-derived Angiopoietin-1 is required for the formation of coronary veins, but not arteries. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5552 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Photocarrier relaxation pathway in two-dimensional semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides Daichi Kozawa, Rajeev Kumar, Alexandra Carvalho, Kiran Kumar Amara, Weijie Zhao, Shunfeng Wang, Minglin Toh, Ricardo M. Ribeiro, A. H. Castro Neto, Kazunari Matsuda and Goki Eda Two-dimensional semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides strongly absorb visible light. Kozawa et al. study the photocarrier relaxation in mono- and bilayer MX2 samples and find that loss of photocarriers by direct recombination becomes a second-order process when excitation is in resonance with band nesting. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5543 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Low-density three-dimensional foam using self-reinforced hybrid two-dimensional atomic layers Soumya Vinod, Chandra Sekhar Tiwary, Pedro Alves da Silva Autreto, Jaime Taha-Tijerina, Sehmus Ozden, Alin Cristian Chipara, Robert Vajtai, Douglas S. Galvao, Tharangattu N. Narayanan and Pulickel M. Ajayan Low-density foams offer a number of attractive properties as compared to bulk materials. Here, the authors report a three-dimensional foam structure composed of stacked graphene oxide layers reinforced by hexagonal boron nitride, causing enhanced mechanical integrity. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5541 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Prefrontal cortex reactivity underlies trait vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress Sunil Kumar, Rainbo Hultman, Dalton Hughes, Nadine Michel, Brittany M. Katz and Kafui Dzirasa Connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala (AMY) is implicated in responses to stress and regulation of affect. Here, the authors show that stress is regulated by changes in PFC–AMY coherence, PFC oscillatory activity and AMY oscillatory activity across the 2–7 Hz frequency band. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5537 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Light focusing in the Anderson regime Marco Leonetti, Salman Karbasi, Arash Mafi and Claudio Conti Anderson localization is a regime where diffusion is inhibited, leading to the localization of waves. Here, Leonetti et al. use wavefront shaping to achieve focusing in disordered optical fibres in the Anderson regime and demonstrate efficient focusing action. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5534 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Metal-templated chiral Brønsted base organocatalysis Jiajia Ma, Xiaobing Ding, Ying Hu, Yong Huang, Lei Gong and Eric Meggers Octahedral chiral-at-metal complexes have chirality based on the metal centre, but reactivity occurs at the organic ligands. Here, the authors report such a complex as a highly active Brønsted base catalyst, with loadings down to 0.02 mol% for asymmetric Michael additions and 0.257 mol% for aza-Henry reactions. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5531 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry  Short-lived charge-transfer excitons in organic photovoltaic cells studied by high-field magneto-photocurrent Ayeleth H. Devir-Wolfman, Bagrat Khachatryan, Bhoj R. Gautam, Lior Tzabary, Amit Keren, Nir Tessler, Z. Valy Vardeny and Eitan Ehrenfreund Organic magneto-transport is of interest due to numerous potential applications, including solar cells. Here, the authors study high-field magneto-photocurrent to analyse charge-transfer excitons in organic photovoltaic cells, showing that spin-mixing mechanisms are operational over 8 Teslas. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5529 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Experimental demonstration of delayed-choice decoherence suppression Jong-Chan Lee, Hyang-Tag Lim, Kang-Hee Hong, Youn-Chang Jeong, M. S. Kim and Yoon-Ho Kim Delayed-choice experiments in quantum physics delay decisions about observation of wave or particle behaviour of a system until it has entered the measurement apparatus. Analogously, Lee et al. present a delayed-choice decoherence suppression scheme that suppresses decoherence after the decoherence itself has occurred. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5522 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Cementing proteins provide extra mechanical stabilization to viral cages M. Hernando-Pérez, S. Lambert, E. Nakatani-Webster, C. E. Catalano and P. J. de Pablo Some viruses possess 'decoration' proteins, such as gpD in lambda phage, that stabilize the viral particles in poorly understood ways. Here the authors show that gpD incorporation into lambda particles provides mechanical reinforcement and increased resistance to punctual deformations and collisions. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5520 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Molecular biology  Virology  Broad temperature plateau for thermoelectric figure of merit ZT>2 in phase-separated PbTe0.7S0.3 H. J. Wu, L.-D. Zhao, F. S. Zheng, D. Wu, Y. L. Pei, X. Tong, M. G. Kanatzidis and J. Q. He Obtaining highly efficient thermoelectric materials relies on a high ZT, and on this value being consistently high over a wide temperature range. Here, the authors demonstrate a phase-separated PbTe-based material that exhibits a ZT of >2 from 673 to 923 K, and a resultantly high average ZT of 1.56 between 300 and 900 K. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5515 Physical Sciences  Materials science  NEDD4 ubiquitinates TRAF3 to promote CD40-mediated AKT activation Di-Feng Fang, Kun He, Na Wang, Zhi-Hong Sang, Xin Qiu, Guang Xu, Zhao Jian, Bing Liang, Tao Li, Hui-Yan Li, Ai-Ling Li, Tao Zhou, Wei-Li Gong, Baoli Yang, Michael Karin, Xue-Min Zhang and Wei-Hua Li The costimulatory molecule CD40 expressed on B cells has an important role in B cell-mediated immunity but some aspects of CD40-mediated signalling remain unknown. Here the authors show that the ubiquitin ligase NEDD4 is a part of a CD40 signalling complex required for CD40-induced Akt activation. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5513 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Strain-engineered manufacturing of freeform carbon nanotube microstructures M. De Volder, S. Park, S. Tawfick and A. J. Hart Reproducing complex surface geometries for high-performance composite materials is very desirable, although current synthesis methods are limited. Here, the authors present a technique to produce large-area freeform microstructures via strain-engineered growth of patterned vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5512 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Functionally diverse dendritic mRNAs rapidly associate with ribosomes following a novel experience Joshua A. Ainsley, Laurel Drane, Jonathan Jacobs, Kara A. Kittelberger and Leon G. Reijmers Dendritic protein synthesis is implicated in synaptic plasticity and memory storage. Ainsley et al., develop a method for collecting ribosome-bound mRNAs from mouse brain dendrites, and use RNA sequencing to characterize dendritic mRNAs that bind to ribosomes after mice experience a novel environment. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5510 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Neuroscience  Direct optical sensing of single unlabelled proteins and super-resolution imaging of their binding sites Marek Piliarik and Vahid Sandoghdar The development of biosensors with improved sensitivity for the detection of biological molecules presents obvious possibilities for improved diagnostic tools in healthcare. Here, the authors present a technique for the label-free detection and super-resolution imaging of single proteins. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5495 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Optical physics  Poking cells for efficient vector-free intracellular delivery Ying Wang, Yang Yang, Li Yan, So Ying Kwok, Wei Li, Zhigang Wang, Xiaoyue Zhu, Guangyu Zhu, Wenjun Zhang, Xianfeng Chen and Peng Shi The incorporation of foreign objects into cells can be used in various avenues of biological research, although crossing the cell membrane can be challenging. Here, the authors use a diamond nanoneedle array for enhanced delivery of various particles into cells, including neurons. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5466 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Nanotechnology  Photo-antagonism of the GABAA receptor OPEN Martin Mortensen, Favaad Iqbal, Arun P. Pandurangan, Saad Hannan, Rosemary Huckvale, Maya Topf, James R. Baker and Trevor G. Smart The GABAA receptor has an important role in brain function. Here Mortenson et al. design and synthesize photoactivatable compounds based on the GABAA antagonist gabazine and show that these can be used to inactivate the receptor, to identify new residues at the GABA binding site and can be adapted for trafficking studies. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5454 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Manifestation of magnetic quantum fluctuations in the dielectric properties of a multiferroic Jae Wook Kim, Seunghyun Khim, Sae Hwan Chun, Y. Jo, L. Balicas, H. T. Yi, S.-W. Cheong, N. Harrison, C. D. Batista, Jung Hoon Han and Kee Hoon Kim Although quantum fluctuations of the spins occur on a local scale, they can have a macroscopic impact on the properties of magnets. Here, the authors observe the macroscopic influence of magnetic quantum fluctuations on the dielectric properties of a multiferroic oxide. 29 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5419 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Receptor-interacting protein 140 attenuates endoplasmic reticulum stress in neurons and protects against cell death Xudong Feng, Kelly A. Krogh, Cheng-Ying Wu, Yi-Wei Lin, Hong-Chieh Tsai, Stanley A. Thayer and Li-Na Wei Uncontrolled calcium release from the endoplasmic reticulum results in cell death and toxicity. Here, the authors show that in neurons, stress induces the export of receptor-interacting protein 140 from the nucleus to the cytosol where it interacts with IP3Receptor, preventing its opening and the detrimental effects of calcium release. 28 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5487 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  Interlocked loops trigger lineage specification and stable fates in the Drosophila nervous system Hakima Flici, Pierre B. Cattenoz, Orban Komonyi, Pietro Laneve, Berra Erkosar, Omer F. Karatas, Heinrich Reichert, Sara Berzsenyi and Angela Giangrande Proteins known as fate determinants trigger specific transcriptional programs that drive the progression from multipotent precursors towards specific cellular identities. Here the authors study the regulation of the glial determinant, Gcm, and its role in the lineage specification of neural precursors in Drosophila. 28 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5484 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Neuroscience  A moiré deflectometer for antimatter OPEN S. Aghion, O. Ahlén, C. Amsler, A. Ariga, T. Ariga, A. S. Belov, K. Berggren, G. Bonomi, P. Bräunig, J. Bremer, R. S. Brusa, L. Cabaret, C. Canali, R. Caravita, F. Castelli, G. Cerchiari, S. Cialdi, D. Comparat, G. Consolati, H. Derking et al. Measuring forces on antimatter is vital to testing our understanding of fundamental physics. Towards this aim, Aghion et al. present a method to measure the deflection of antiprotons based on an atom optical tool, the moiré deflectometer, which could be extended to future antihydrogen gravity measurements. 28 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5538 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Particle physics  High-temperature superfluidity with indirect excitons in van der Waals heterostructures M. M. Fogler, L. V. Butov and K. S. Novoselov Superfluidity typically occurs at cryogenic temperatures. But Fogler et al. predict that an excitonic superfluid could emerge at much higher temperatures, perhaps even approaching room temperature, in a heterostructure of atomically thin layers of molybdenum disulphide and hexagonal boron nitride. 28 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5555 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Ionic field effect and memristive phenomena in single-point ferroelectric domain switching Anton V. Ievlev, Anna N. Morozovska, Eugene A. Eliseev, Vladimir Ya Shur and Sergei V. Kalinin The switching of ferroelectric domains can be used for applications such as information storage. Here, the authors demonstrate that a broad range of domain morphologies can be induced by the tip of a scanning probe microscope, which can be explained by the dynamics of surface charge screening. 28 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5545 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Threading plasmonic nanoparticle strings with light OPEN Lars O. Herrmann, Ventsislav K. Valev, Christos Tserkezis, Jonathan S. Barnard, Setu Kasera, Oren A. Scherman, Javier Aizpurua and Jeremy J. Baumberg Optical assembly of nanoparticle structures could open new avenues for manufacturing nanomaterials and devices. Herrmann et al. show the plasmon-induced laser threading of gold nanoparticle strings, enabling them to fabricate precisely assembled 12-nm wide conducting chains. 28 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5568 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Large enhancement in neurite outgrowth on a cell membrane-mimicking conducting polymer Bo Zhu, Shyh-Chyang Luo, Haichao Zhao, Hsing-An Lin, Jun Sekine, Aiko Nakao, Chi Chen, Yoshiro Yamashita and Hsiao-hua Yu Bioelectronic devices for cell electrical stimulation and nerve regeneration can be hampered by nonspecific binding of proteins and cells. Here, the authors present a membrane biomimetic conducting polymer that is cell selective, and thus may be useful in neural tissue engineering. 25 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5523 Biological Sciences  Materials science  Neuroscience  Multi-protein assemblies underlie the mesoscale organization of the plasma membrane OPEN Sinem K. Saka, Alf Honigmann, Christian Eggeling, Stefan W. Hell, Thorsten Lang and Silvio O. Rizzoli Although many proteins adopt uneven distributions in the plasma membrane, it is not clear how these nanoscale heterogeneities relate to the general protein patterning of the membrane. Saka et al. use click chemistry to reveal the mesoscale organization of membrane proteins into multi-protein assemblies. 25 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5509 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Cell biology  Majorana modes and p-wave superfluids for fermionic atoms in optical lattices A. Bühler, N. Lang, C.V. Kraus, G. Möller, S.D. Huber and H.P. Büchler The observation of Majorana modes is one of the great challenges in the field of cold atomic gases. Here Bühler et al. propose an experimentally realistic setup for the realization of p-wave superfluids supporting Majorana fermions at lattice dislocations. 25 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5504 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Theoretical physics  Josephson parametric phase-locked oscillator and its application to dispersive readout of superconducting qubits Z.R. Lin, K. Inomata, K. Koshino, W.D. Oliver, Y. Nakamura, J.S. Tsai and T. Yamamoto Parametric phase-locked oscillators were first developed in the 1950s as a way of electrically storing and controlling information. Lin et al. now show that a modern version of this concept using superconducting circuits enables high-fidelity, single-shot and non-destructive measurement of a qubit. 25 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5480 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Host iron status and iron supplementation mediate susceptibility to erythrocytic stage Plasmodium falciparum Martha A. Clark, Morgan M. Goheen, Anthony Fulford, Andrew M. Prentice, Marwa A. Elnagheeb, Jaymin Patel, Nancy Fisher, Steve M. Taylor, Raj S. Kasthuri and Carla Cerami It remains unclear why iron deficiency can protect from malaria infection. Here the authors show that iron-deficient microcytic erythrocytes are less efficiently infected by Plasmodium falciparum parasites and that iron supplementation increases the proportion of young erythrocytes more susceptible to infection. 25 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5446 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Microbiology  Diverse and divergent protein post-translational modifications in two growth stages of a natural microbial community OPEN Zhou Li, Yingfeng Wang, Qiuming Yao, Nicholas B. Justice, Tae-Hyuk Ahn, Dong Xu, Robert L. Hettich, Jillian F. Banfield and Chongle Pan Characterizing post-translational modifications of proteins in microbial communities is challenging. Here, the authors identify and quantify a great number and diversity of such modifications in two growth stages of a natural microbial biofilm. 25 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5405 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Microbiology  Chemically induced Jahn–Teller ordering on manganite surfaces Zheng Gai, Wenzhi Lin, J. D. Burton, K. Fuchigami, P. C. Snijders, T. Z. Ward, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, J. Shen, Stephen Jesse, Sergei V. Kalinin and Arthur P. Baddorf The surface of complex oxides can show properties very different to the bulk. Here, the authors observe unexpected surface Jahn–Teller ordering on the surface of La5/8Ca3/8MnO3 thin films that can be traced to the pattern of oxygen adatoms. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5528 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Arrayed lipid bilayer chambers allow single-molecule analysis of membrane transporter activity OPEN Rikiya Watanabe, Naoki Soga, Daishi Fujita, Kazuhito V. Tabata, Lisa Yamauchi, Soo Hyeon Kim, Daisuke Asanuma, Mako Kamiya, Yasuteru Urano, Hiroaki Suga and Hiroyuki Noji The development of small volume chamber arrays has greatly facilitated high throughput biological assays of soluble proteins. Here, Watanabe et al. adapt this approach to develop an arrayed lipid bilayer chamber system for single molecule level measurements of membrane transporter activity. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5519 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  PINK1 deficiency sustains cell proliferation by reprogramming glucose metabolism through HIF1 Raquel Requejo-Aguilar, Irene Lopez-Fabuel, Emilio Fernandez, Luis M. Martins, Angeles Almeida and Juan P. Bolaños Loss of function of the kinase PINK1 is associated with familial early-onset Parkinson's disease and impaired clearance of damaged mitochondria. Here the authors show that the resulting oxidative stress activates the hypoxia regulator HIF1α, resulting in increased glycolysis and cell proliferation. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5514 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  Reconstituting ring-rafts in bud-mimicking topography of model membranes OPEN Yong-Sang Ryu, In-Ho Lee, Jeng-Hun Suh, Seung Chul Park, Soojung Oh, Luke R. Jordan, Nathan J. Wittenberg, Sang-Hyun Oh, Noo Li Jeon, Byoungho Lee, Atul N. Parikh and Sin-Doo Lee Budding processes on cell membranes involve distortions of surface geometry, driven by the sorting of membrane components. Here, the authors model a budding process and observe spontaneous reordering of materials in the areas of high curvature, especially around bud-necks, producing ring-raft type structures. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5507 Biological Sciences  Bioengineering  Biophysics  A highly abundant bacteriophage discovered in the unknown sequences of human faecal metagenomes OPEN Bas E. Dutilh, Noriko Cassman, Katelyn McNair, Savannah E. Sanchez, Genivaldo G. Z. Silva, Lance Boling, Jeremy J. Barr, Daan R. Speth, Victor Seguritan, Ramy K. Aziz, Ben Felts, Elizabeth A. Dinsdale, John L. Mokili and Robert A. Edwards Metagenomic studies of microbial communities often report DNA sequences from unidentified viruses. Here, Dutilh et al. analyse metagenomic data to reveal the complete genome of an abundant, ubiquitous virus from human faeces, and predict that the virus infects bacteria of the Bacteroides group. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5498 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Virology  Retrieving the intracellular topology from multi-scale protein mobility mapping in living cells OPEN Michael Baum, Fabian Erdel, Malte Wachsmuth and Karsten Rippe Numerous obstacles posed by cellular subcompartments and structures constrain protein transport in the cell. Here, Baum et al. map the intracellular topology from a diffusing protein's point of view by measuring the diffusive movements of fluorescently labelled reporter proteins in living cells on multiple time and length scales. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5494 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Modest CaV1.342-selective inhibition by compound 8 is β-subunit dependent OPEN Hua Huang, Cheng Yang Ng, Dejie Yu, Jing Zhai, Yulin Lam and Tuck Wah Soong Compound 8-1-(3-chlorophenethyl)-3-cyclopentylpyrimidine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione was previously reported to be a selective inhibitor of the CaV1.3 calcium channel. Now, Huang et al. demonstrate that selectivity towards CaV1.3 relative to CaV1.2 is dependent on the type of β-subunit and CaV1.3 splice variant assayed. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5481 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Diastereodivergent organocatalytic asymmetric vinylogous Michael reactions Xin Li, Min Lu, Yun Dong, Wenbin Wu, Qingqing Qian, Jinxing Ye and Darren J Dixon Controlling relative and absolute stereochemical configurations in reactions creating multiple stereocentres at remote positions is a highly challenging task. Here, the authors report such control using complimentary, non-enantiomeric organocatalysts for addition to α, β-unsaturated ketones. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5479 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry  A sugar phosphatase regulates the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway in malaria parasites Ann M. Guggisberg, Jooyoung Park, Rachel L. Edwards, Megan L. Kelly, Dana M. Hodge, Niraj H. Tolia and Audrey R. Odom The malaria parasite uses the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway to synthesize crucial isoprenoid metabolites. Here the authors identify and characterize a sugar phosphatase that regulates the MEP pathway by indirectly regulating the levels of isoprenoid precursors. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5467 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Microbiology  Adaptation in bacterial CRISPR-Cas immunity can be driven by defective phages Alexander P. Hynes, Manuela Villion and Sylvain Moineau The bacterial 'adaptive' immune system known as CRISPR-Cas destroys foreign DNA molecules, such as viral genomes, to which the cells have previously been exposed. Here, Hynes et al. show that this gain of immunity is favoured by exposure to defective viruses, a result reminiscent of vaccination. 24 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5399 Biological Sciences  Microbiology  Virology  Designed synthesis of large-pore crystalline polyimide covalent organic frameworks Qianrong Fang, Zhongbin Zhuang, Shuang Gu, Robert B. Kaspar, Jie Zheng, Junhua Wang, Shilun Qiu and Yushan Yan Covalent organic frameworks are a potentially useful class of materials, although they are currently synthesized using relatively few reactions. Here, the authors show that the imidization reaction can be used to prepare a series of large pore polyimide frameworks with high surface area and thermal stability. 23 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5503 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Helicobacter pylori CagA promotes Snail-mediated epithelial–mesenchymal transition by reducing GSK-3 activity Da-Gyum Lee, Hyun Sil Kim, Yeo Song Lee, Shin Kim, So Young Cha, Ichiro Ota, Nam Hee Kim, Yong Hoon Cha, Dong Hyun Yang, Yoonmi Lee, Gyeong-Ju Park, Jong In Yook and Yong Chan Lee Gastric cancer is associated with H. pylori infection and these tumours frequently show features of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, the authors show that the H. pylori virulence protein, CagA, reduces the activity of GSK3b, which leads to the stabilization of Snail, a protein that induces EMT. 23 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5423 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  An infectious bat-derived chimeric influenza virus harbouring the entry machinery of an influenza A virus Mindaugas Juozapaitis, Étori Aguiar Moreira, Ignacio Mena, Sebastian Giese, David Riegger, Anne Pohlmann, Dirk Höper, Gert Zimmer, Martin Beer, Adolfo García-Sastre and Martin Schwemmle An uncharacterized influenza A-like virus (H17N10) has been detected in bats. Here the authors show that flu viruses containing certain H17N10 genes can infect human cells and mice, but do not exchange genes with other viruses, indicating that H17N10 transmission to humans is not very likely. 23 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5448 Biological Sciences  Microbiology  Virology  Action-value comparisons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex control choice between goal-directed actions OPEN Richard W. Morris, Amir Dezfouli, Kristi R. Griffiths and Bernard W. Balleine In humans, choice between actions depends on the ability to compare action–outcome values. Here, the authors show that action–outcome values are compared on the basis of the relative advantage of a particular action over alternative actions, which takes place in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the brain. 23 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5390 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  A variational eigenvalue solver on a photonic quantum processor OPEN Alberto Peruzzo, Jarrod McClean, Peter Shadbolt, Man-Hong Yung, Xiao-Qi Zhou, Peter J. Love, Alán Aspuru-Guzik and Jeremy L. O'Brien Quantum computers promise to efficiently solve problems that would be practically impossible with a normal computer. Peruzzo et al. develop a variational computation approach that uses any available quantum resources and, with a photonic quantum processing unit, find the ground-state molecular energy of He–H+. 23 July 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms5213 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Postdoctoral Fellow Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) PhD Position Otto-Von-Guericke University Magdeburg Research Fellow University of Exeter Junior Research / Travel Fellowships 2015 The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund Research Associate University of Massachusetts PhD Student Positions Medical University of Graz, Austria University Research Fellowship The Royal Society Postdoctoral Fellowship Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Two Postdoctoral Positions University of Copenhagen Dean, School of Energy and Environment City University of Hong Kong More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Tumour Models London 2014 02.12.14 London, UK More science events from       Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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