Nature Communications - 17 December 2014

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Advertisement A*STAR Research - Highlighting the best of research at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore's premier research organization Recent Highlights Depression: A link with folate during pregnancy  Nanoclusters: Carving out a golden opportunity  Cancer biology: Tumor-causing crosstalk  Download the A*STAR Research app now!      Weekly Content Alert 17 December 2014  Featured image: Edwards et al. study an eruption in far-eastern Russia and find that different lava types interact differently with the snow covering the volcano. Latest content: Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Reach the widest possible audience in the shortest possible time Scientific Reports is the home for rapidly published, highly visible open access research. Multi- disciplinary in scope, we?re open to all, publishing sound original research papers across the sciences without barriers to access.  What can we do for your research?       Latest Articles View all Articles     Evidence for zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions Hervé Cassard, Juan-Maria Torres, Caroline Lacroux, Jean-Yves Douet, Sylvie L. Benestad, Frédéric Lantier, Séverine Lugan, Isabelle Lantier, Pierrette Costes, Naima Aron, Fabienne Reine, Laetitia Herzog, Juan-Carlos Espinosa, Vincent Beringue and Olivier Andréoletti Scrapie, a form of prion disease that affects sheep and goats, is believed not to be transmissible to humans. Using transgenic mice expressing human prion protein as a model of cross-species prion transmission, the authors show that ovine scrapie may possess potential to be passed on to humans. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6821 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Bacteria can mobilize nematode-trapping fungi to kill nematodes OPEN Xin Wang, Guo-Hong Li, Cheng-Gang Zou, Xing-Lai Ji, Tong Liu, Pei-Ji Zhao, Lian-Ming Liang, Jian-Ping Xu, Zhi-Qiang An, Xi Zheng, Yue-Ke Qin, Meng-Qing Tian, You-Yao Xu, Yi-Cheng Ma, Ze-Fen Yu, Xiao-Wei Huang, Shu-Qun Liu, Xue-Mei Niu, Jin-Kui Yang, Ying Huang et al. Certain soil fungi form specialized cellular structures or 'traps' to feed on nematodes, which in turn eat bacteria. Here, the authors show that urea released from bacteria induces trap formation in the fungi and this promotes nematode elimination. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6776 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Microbiology  Propagation style controls lava–snow interactions B. R. Edwards, A. Belousov and M. Belousova How volcanoes and the cryosphere interact is of interest for understanding hazard mitigation at ice-clad volcanoes and for paleoclimate studies. Here, the authors provide quantitative details from an eruption in Kamchatka, demonstrating that two kinds of lava, ′a′a and pahoehoe, produced different snowpack responses. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6666 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Geology and geophysics  Effectively suppressing dissolution of manganese from spinel lithium manganate via a nanoscale surface-doping approach Jun Lu, Chun Zhan, Tianpin Wu, Jianguo Wen, Yu Lei, A. Jeremy Kropf, Huiming Wu, Dean J. Miller, Jeffrey W. Elam, Yang-Kook Sun, Xinping Qiu and Khalil Amine Dissolution of manganese from the cathode in lithium manganate based batteries is a major cause for the capacity decay. Here, the authors show a nanoscale surface-doping approach to mitigate the problem and to improve the battery capacity and cycleability. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6693 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Manifestation of unconventional biexciton states in quantum dots Gerald Hönig, Gordon Callsen, Andrei Schliwa, Stefan Kalinowski, Christian Kindel, Satoshi Kako, Yasuhiko Arakawa, Dieter Bimberg and Axel Hoffmann Artificial atoms usually constitute an orbital structure for trapped charge carriers. Here, Hönig et al. demonstrate that polarization fields and large charge carrier masses can dilute the common orbital conception and find a hybrid-biexciton molecule that enables anomalous spin configurations. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6721 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  BMP signalling regulates the pre-implantation development of extra-embryonic cell lineages in the mouse embryo Sarah J. L. Graham, Krzysztof B. Wicher, Agnieszka Jedrusik, Guoji Guo, Wishva Herath, Paul Robson and Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz BMP signalling is important in early post-implantation embryonic development. Here the authors perform mRNA sequencing of inside and outside cells of pre-implantation mouse embryos and show that BMP signalling is critical for the development of the two extra-embryonic lineages at this early stage. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6667 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Three-dimensional eukaryotic genomic organization is strongly correlated with codon usage expression and function Alon Diament, Ron Y. Pinter and Tamir Tuller The distribution of genes in eukaryotic genomes is not random. Here Diament et al. show, via a novel codon-based metric, that genes with shared function and similar expression levels tend to be close in the three-dimensional conformation of the yeast, a model plant species, mouse and human genomes. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6876 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  The Wilms’ tumour suppressor Wt1 is a major regulator of tumour angiogenesis and progression Kay-Dietrich Wagner, Julien Cherfils-Vicini, Naoki Hosen, Peter Hohenstein, Eric Gilson, Nicholas D. Hastie, Jean-François Michiels and Nicole Wagner The Wilms’ tumour suppressor Wt1 is highly expressed in vessels and stromal cells of human tumours, but not in adjacent healthy tissue. Here the authors show that Wt1 regulates Pecam-1 and c-kit and that deletion of Wt1 in endothelial, haematopoietic and myeloid suppressor cells leads to tumour regression. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6852 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Immunology  Direct experimental observation of stacking fault scattering in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite meso-structures E. Koren, A. W. Knoll, E. Lörtscher and U. Duerig Layer-stacking faults in graphite are thought to cause anomalous transport phenomena in high-quality samples of this material, but direct evidence is missing. Here, the authors measure stacking fault density in highly ordered pyrolytic graphite and link this to deviations from ohmic conduction. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6837 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Ultra-responsive soft matter from strain-stiffening hydrogels OPEN Maarten Jaspers, Matthew Dennison, Mathijs F. J. Mabesoone, Frederick C. MacKintosh, Alan E. Rowan and Paul H. J. Kouwer Few synthetic hydrogels are known to display strain-stiffening behaviour. Here, Jaspers et al. show how concentration, polymer length and temperature can be used to modify the mechanical properties of synthetic gels to access mechanically highly sensitive and responsive materials. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6808 Chemical Sciences  Physical Sciences  Materials science  Direct conversion of mouse and human fibroblasts to functional melanocytes by defined factors Ruifeng Yang, Ying Zheng, Ling Li, Shujing Liu, Michelle Burrows, Zhi Wei, Arben Nace, Meenhard Herlyn, Rutao Cui, Wei Guo, George Cotsarelis and Xiaowei Xu Some skin pigment disorders such as vitiligo are caused by the loss of melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in the skin. Here the authors present an approach to directly convert mouse and human dermal fibroblasts into functional melanocytes. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6807 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Medical research  Widom line and dynamical crossovers as routes to understand supercritical water P. Gallo, D. Corradini and M. Rovere Liquid and gas phases are indistinguishable at supercritical conditions. Here, Gallo et al. show that this convention is not precisely true for supercritical water on approaching its critical point due to the existence of the Widom line, which separates a liquid-like and a gas-like regime on its two sides. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6806 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Fluids and plasma physics  Enabling complex nanoscale pattern customization using directed self-assembly Gregory S. Doerk, Joy Y. Cheng, Gurpreet Singh, Charles T. Rettner, Jed W. Pitera, Srinivasan Balakrishnan, Noel Arellano and Daniel P. Sanders Block copolymers are frequently used as self-assembling materials for nanoscale patterns, but controlling assembly for complex patterning is challenging. Here, the authors integrate masking features into organic–inorganic guide patterns, enabling precise pattern customization by directed self-assembly. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6805 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Physical chemistry  Ultralight nanofibre-assembled cellular aerogels with superelasticity and multifunctionality Yang Si, Jianyong Yu, Xiaomin Tang, Jianlong Ge and Bin Ding Materials with ultra-low densities can display a range of useful properties, ranging from compressibility to sound absorption. Here, the authors report the fabrication of ultra-lightweight materials by the assembly of electrospun nanofibres into an aerogel and examine the mechanical properties. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6802 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  High mobility explains demand sharing and enforced cooperation in egalitarian hunter-gatherers OPEN Hannah M. Lewis, Lucio Vinicius, Janis Strods, Ruth Mace and Andrea Bamberg Migliano Contemporary hunter-gatherers share food in a cooperative behaviour called demand sharing. Here the authors show that populations of demand sharers who move freely between camps survive in the unpredictable environments typical of hunter-gatherers, while sedentary and non-sharing families die out. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6789 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Theoretical predictions for hot-carrier generation from surface plasmon decay OPEN Ravishankar Sundararaman, Prineha Narang, Adam S. Jermyn, William A. Goddard III and Harry A. Atwater A full theoretical understanding of plasmon decay into hot carriers will help in applications such as solar cells or photocatalysis. Here, the authors present a quantized plasmon model to calculate the hot-carrier distribution from plasmon decay and show its sensitivity to the band structure of the host metal. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6788 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Interfacial assembly of dendritic microcapsules with host–guest chemistry Yu Zheng, Ziyi Yu, Richard M. Parker, Yuchao Wu, Chris Abell and Oren A. Scherman Self-assembly is an attractive route to the formation of functional materials. Here the authors report a droplet-based microfluidic method to assemble supramolecular polymer capsules composed of two different layered shells, capable of orthogonal storage of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic guests. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6772 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Organic chemistry  Physical chemistry  All-dielectric metasurface analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency Yuanmu Yang, Ivan I. Kravchenko, Dayrl P. Briggs and Jason Valentine Electromagnetically induced transparency—an effect in atomic physics caused by interference between transitions—has found analogues in other areas, like nanophotonics. Yang et al. exploit this effect in an all-dielectric metasurface to produce high-Q-factor resonances ideal for refractive index sensing. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6753 Physical Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  High quality-factor optical nanocavities in bulk single-crystal diamond Michael J. Burek, Yiwen Chu, Madelaine S. Z. Liddy, Parth Patel, Jake Rochman, Srujan Meesala, Wooyoung Hong, Qimin Quan, Mikhail D. Lukin and Marko Lončar Single-crystal diamond is a promising material for applications in classical and quantum optics, but the lack of scalable fabrication remains an issue. Here, Burek et al. adapt angle-etching nanofabrication techniques to realize ring resonators and photonic crystal cavities in single crystal diamond with quality factors in excess of 105. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6718 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  An ecdysone-responsive nuclear receptor regulates circadian rhythms in Drosophila Shailesh Kumar, Dechun Chen, Christopher Jang, Alexandra Nall, Xiangzhong Zheng and Amita Sehgal The mammalian circadian clock is influenced by nuclear receptors such as Rev-Erb. Here Kumar et al. show that ecdysone-induced protein 75 (E75), a fly homologue of Rev-Erb, regulates circadian rhythms in Drosophila, and demonstrate that E75 protects the clock against environmental stressors. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6697 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  A dynamic supramolecular polymer with stimuli-responsive handedness for in situ probing of enzymatic ATP hydrolysis Mohit Kumar, Patrick Brocorens, Claire Tonnelé, David Beljonne, Mathieu Surin and Subi J. George Interesting changes in physical and optical properties can result from the binding of small molecules to supramolecular polymers. Here, the authors present an ATP assay, using a supramolecular helix to switch between left- and right-handed conformations on binding different adenosine phosphates. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6793 Chemical Sciences  Chemical biology  Materials science  A recoverable state of axon injury persists for hours after spinal cord contusion in vivo Philip R. Williams, Bogdan-Nicolae Marincu, Catherine D. Sorbara, Christoph F. Mahler, Adrian-Minh Schumacher, Oliver Griesbeck, Martin Kerschensteiner and Thomas Misgeld A potential therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury (SCI) is to maintain continuity of damaged axons after contusion, but the viability of such strategies depends on the degree to which initially injured axons can recover. Here the authors use morphological and molecular in vivo imaging after contusion SCI in mice, to show that injured axons persist in a metastable state for hours. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6683 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Characterizing inner-shell with spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction Hiroki Mashiko, Tomohiko Yamaguchi, Katsuya Oguri, Akira Suda and Hideki Gotoh Characterizing and understanding the profile of atomic spectral lines tells us a great deal about an atom’s properties. Here, the authors combine attosecond transient spectroscopy and the SPIDER technique to reconstruct the dipole oscillation phase of the auto-ionisation inner-shell transition in neon. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6599 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Transposable element islands facilitate adaptation to novel environments in an invasive species OPEN Lukas Schrader, Jay W. Kim, Daniel Ence, Aleksey Zimin, Antonia Klein, Katharina Wyschetzki, Tobias Weichselgartner, Carsten Kemena, Johannes Stökl, Eva Schultner, Yannick Wurm, Christopher D. Smith, Mark Yandell, Jürgen Heinze, Jürgen Gadau and Jan Oettler Genetic variation is key to species evolution. Here the authors sequence two phenotypically distinct populations of the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, and find accumulations of transposable elements correlating with genetic variation that may have a role in differentiation, adaptation and speciation. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6495 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Crystallographic and spectroscopic characterization and reactivities of a mononuclear non-haem iron(III)-superoxo complex Seungwoo Hong, Kyle D. Sutherlin, Jiyoung Park, Eunji Kwon, Maxime A. Siegler, Edward I. Solomon and Wonwoo Nam Non-haem iron superoxo species—proposed as key intermediates in catalytic activation of molecular oxygen—have proven difficult to structurally characterize. Here, the authors obtain crystallographic and spectral characterization of a non-haem iron(III)-superoxo species and subsequently study its reactivity. 16 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6440 Chemical Sciences  Biochemistry  Inorganic chemistry  Direct evidence for BBSome-associated intraflagellar transport reveals distinct properties of native mammalian cilia OPEN Corey L. Williams, Jeremy C. McIntyre, Stephen R. Norris, Paul M. Jenkins, Lian Zhang, Qinglin Pei, Kristen Verhey and Jeffrey R. Martens Loss of olfactory function is one of the many symptoms of the ciliopathy Bardet–Biedl syndrome. Williams et al. show that Bardet–Biedl proteins are components of intraflagellar transport particles within cilia, and directly visualize their trafficking in native mammalian olfactory neurons. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6813 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  Phosphorylation of LRRK2 by casein kinase 1α regulates trans-Golgi clustering via differential interaction with ARHGEF7 Ruth Chia, Sara Haddock, Alexandra Beilina, Iakov N. Rudenko, Adamantios Mamais, Alice Kaganovich, Yan Li, Ravindran Kumaran, Michael A. Nalls and Mark R. Cookson The kinase LRRK2 is implicated in Parkinson’s disease progression and is known to be phosphorylated. Chia et al. show that this phosphorylation is mediated by the kinase CK1a, and is required for the recruitment of LRRK2 to Golgi-derived vesicles, suggesting a role for this protein in Golgi maintenance. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6827 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Neuroscience  A tetrahelical DNA fold adopted by tandem repeats of alternating GGG and GCG tracts OPEN Vojč Kocman and Janez Plavec The VK1 sequence of the PLEKHG3 gene is expressed in the brain and is linked to the development of autism. Here, the authors present a structural analysis of this gene and found that due to its alternating GGG and GCG repeats, it folds into a tetrahelical structure distinct from G-quadruplexes. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6831 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Control of membrane gaps by synaptotagmin-Ca2+ measured with a novel membrane distance ruler OPEN Chao-Chen Lin, Jan Seikowski, Angel Pérez-Lara, Reinhard Jahn, Claudia Höbartner and Peter Jomo Walla Synaptotagmin-1 (syt-1) triggers fast synchronous neurotransmission mediated by fusion of synaptic vesicles with presynaptic membranes. Here Lin et al. use inter-membrane FRET combined with DNA rulers as calibration standards to quantify Ca2+-induced changes in membrane distances mediated by syt-1. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6859 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Evolution of hidden localized flow during glass-to-liquid transition in metallic glass Z. Wang, B. A. Sun, H. Y. Bai and W. H. Wang Glasses are known to have very slow flow behaviour on application of force, but the structural basis for this flow is currently unclear. Here Wang et al. use a dynamic mechanical analysis to study the flow phenomena in a La-based metallic glass. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6823 Physical Sciences  Fluids and plasma physics  Materials science  Constitutive and ligand-induced EGFR signalling triggers distinct and mutually exclusive downstream signalling networks Sharmistha Chakraborty, Li Li, Vineshkumar Thidil Puliyappadamba, Gao Guo, Kimmo J. Hatanpaa, Bruce Mickey, Rhonda F. Souza, Peggy Vo, Joachim Herz, Mei-Ru Chen, David A. Boothman, Tej K. Pandita, David H. Wang, Ganes C. Sen and Amyn A. Habib Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) elicits the signalling function after dimerization and activation of its kinase activity and perturbations in this pathway are often found in cancer. Here the authors describe two distinct and mutually exclusive modes of EGFR signalling due to a switch of EGFR-associated proteins with the ligand. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6811 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  Synthetic retinal analogues modify the spectral and kinetic characteristics of microbial rhodopsin optogenetic tools N. AzimiHashemi, K. Erbguth, A. Vogt, T. Riemensperger, E. Rauch, D. Woodmansee, J. Nagpal, M. Brauner, M. Sheves, A. Fiala, L. Kattner, D. Trauner, P. Hegemann, A. Gottschalk and J. F. Liewald Efforts to improve the performance of optogenetic tools for neuroscience research have mostly been focused on mutating the opsin backbones or mining-related algal genomes. Here the authors show that analogues of the chromophore, retinal, can be used for colour tuning of rhodopsins and altering their photocycle kinetics in several model organisms. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6810 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Neuroscience  STAT3 restrains RANK- and TLR4-mediated signalling by suppressing expression of the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc13 Huiyuan Zhang, Hongbo Hu, Nathaniel Greeley, Jin Jin, Allison J Matthews, Erika Ohashi, Mauricio S. Caetano, Haiyan S. Li, Xuefeng Wu, Pijus K. Mandal, John S. McMurray, Seyed Javad Moghaddam, Shao-Cong Sun and Stephanie S. Watowich The transcription factor STAT3 regulates production of inflammatory cytokines by modulating NF-κB signalling. Here the authors show that STAT3 is a transcriptional repressor of the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc13, modulating NF-κB by regulating Ubc13 abundance. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6798 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Dynamically controlling the emission of single excitons in photonic crystal cavities OPEN Francesco Pagliano, YongJin Cho, Tian Xia, Frank van Otten, Robert Johne and Andrea Fiore Controlling the coherent evolution of cavity quantum electrodynamics systems is key for future quantum networks. Here Pagliano et al. demonstrate dynamic control of the coupling of a single exciton to a photonic micro-resonator using electrical tuning of the exciton energy in a photonic crystal cavity diode. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6786 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Origin and elimination of photocurrent hysteresis by fullerene passivation in CH3NH3PbI3 planar heterojunction solar cells Yuchuan Shao, Zhengguo Xiao, Cheng Bi, Yongbo Yuan and Jinsong Huang Despite recent improvements in the efficiency of perovskite solar cells, the occurrence of photocurrent hysteresis can limit their performance. Shao et al. identify surface and grain boundary charge trap states as a major cause of hysteresis in these materials and show how it can be reduced by passivation. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6784 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Serotonergic neurons respond to nutrients and regulate the timing of steroid hormone biosynthesis in Drosophila OPEN Yuko Shimada-Niwa and Ryusuke Niwa Steroidal hormones play a major role in the transition from juvenile-to-adult stages of development. Here, Shimada-Niwa and Niwa show that production of one such hormone in the prothoracic gland of Drosophila melanogaster, is regulated by a subset of serotonergic neurons innervating the prothoracic gland. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6778 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  A fully atomistic computer simulation study of cold denaturation of a β-hairpin Changwon Yang, Soonmin Jang and Youngshang Pak Cold denaturation is the process by which globular proteins lose their structural integrity at sufficiently low temperatures. Here, the authors present an all-atom MD simulation of cold denaturation of the 16-mer hairpin peptide MrH1 using an explicit water model. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6773 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Arteries are formed by vein-derived endothelial tip cells OPEN Cong Xu, Sana S. Hasan, Inga Schmidt, Susana F. Rocha, Mara E. Pitulescu, Jeroen Bussmann, Dana Meyen, Erez Raz, Ralf H. Adams and Arndt F. Siekmann Sprouting of new blood vessels depends on the migration of endothelial tip cells into surrounding tissue. Here the authors reveal the existence of a distinct migratory signalling circuit that guides endothelial cells from developing veins to the leading tip position in developing arteries. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6758 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  A chromatin activity-based chemoproteomic approach reveals a transcriptional repressome for gene-specific silencing Cui Liu, Yanbao Yu, Feng Liu, Xin Wei, John A. Wrobel, Harsha P. Gunawardena, Li Zhou, Jian Jin and Xian Chen Immune cell pro-inflammatory gene expression is suppressed following prolonged stimulation. Using a chemoproteomic approach, the authors show that methyltransferase G9a forms a protein complex that promotes the transcriptional repressor activity of c-Myc to repress inflammation-induced gene expression. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6733 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Molecular biology  Steric engineering of metal-halide perovskites with tunable optical band gaps Marina R. Filip, Giles E. Eperon, Henry J. Snaith and Feliciano Giustino The performance of solar cells based on metal-halide perovskites has improved rapidly in recent years. First principles calculations and experiments performed by Filip et al. suggest new routes to controlling the band gap of these materials, which could enable further improvements in their performance. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6757 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Low MITF/AXL ratio predicts early resistance to multiple targeted drugs in melanoma Judith Müller, Oscar Krijgsman, Jennifer Tsoi, Lidia Robert, Willy Hugo, Chunying Song, Xiangju Kong, Patricia A. Possik, Paulien D. M. Cornelissen-Steijger, Marnix H Geukes Foppen, Kristel Kemper, Colin R. Goding, Ultan McDermott, Christian Blank, John Haanen, Thomas G. Graeber, Antoni Ribas, Roger S. Lo and Daniel S. Peeper Increased expression of MITF transcription factor is thought to promote melanoma progression and kinase inhibitor resistance. Here Muller et al. show that MITF loss is also common in melanomas and confers kinase inhibitor resistance due to upregulation of AXL and other receptor tyrosine kinases. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6712 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Medical research  Spatial control of functional properties via octahedral modulations in complex oxide superlattices E. J. Moon, R. Colby, Q. Wang, E. Karapetrova, C. M. Schlepütz, M. R. Fitzsimmons and S. J. May Structural properties have been a key factor that controls the electronic and magnetic behaviour at the interface of two oxide materials. Here the authors achieve a spatial control over these functional properties in oxides through the formation of octahedral superstructures in manganite superlattices. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6710 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Mutational landscape of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma Shanshan Zou, Jiarui Li, Huabang Zhou, Christian Frech, Xiaolan Jiang, Jeffrey S. C. Chu, Xinyin Zhao, Yuqiong Li, Qiaomei Li, Hui Wang, Jingyi Hu, Guanyi Kong, Mengchao Wu, Chuanfan Ding, Nansheng Chen and Heping Hu Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a fatal primary liver cancer with a known genetic component. Here the authors sequence the exomes of matched tumour and normal tissue from 103 ICC patients in China, and identify an ICC mutational profile associated with liver inflammation, fibrosis and cirrhosis. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6696 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Genetics  Atomic electric fields revealed by a quantum mechanical approach to electron picodiffraction OPEN Knut Müller, Florian F. Krause, Armand Béché, Marco Schowalter, Vincent Galioit, Stefan Löffler, Johan Verbeeck, Josef Zweck, Peter Schattschneider and Andreas Rosenauer Advances in electron microscopy are enabling ever smaller features to be probed, with the measurement of atomic electric fields standing as a major challenge. Towards that aim, Müller et al. present a simplified theoretical approach for enhancing the resolution in differential phase contrast microscopy. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6653 Biological Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Optical physics  Impact of oceanic-scale interactions on the seasonal modulation of ocean dynamics by the atmosphere OPEN Hideharu Sasaki, Patrice Klein, Bo Qiu and Yoshikazu Sasai Oceanic mesoscale eddies are thought to derive from internal ocean instability. Here, the authors present a high-resolution simulation of the North Pacific Ocean and show that mesoscale eddies are instead sustained by small-scale mixed-layer instabilities triggered by atmospheric forcing in winter. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6636 Earth Sciences  Oceanography  On the conditions of magma mixing and its bearing on andesite production in the crust Mickael Laumonier, Bruno Scaillet, Michel Pichavant, Rémi Champallier, Joan Andujar and Laurent Arbaret Andesites are a large part of the continental crust, but their origins remain enigmatic. Here, the authors update older mixing models via high-temperature experiments and thermal calculations, showing that homogeneous mixtures are only possible with high mafic fractions and during high magma flux. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6607 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  MinCD cell division proteins form alternating copolymeric cytomotive filaments Debnath Ghosal, Daniel Trambaiolo, Linda A. Amos and Jan Löwe MinC, MinD and MinE proteins form part of an oscillatory network that ensures bacteria divide precisely at their midpoints. Ghosal et al. show that MinC and MinD can form membrane-binding copolymers, and propose a mechanism by which these copolymers may regulate cytokinetic ring assembly. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6341 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Microbiology  The structural basis for receptor recognition of human interleukin-18 OPEN Naotaka Tsutsumi, Takeshi Kimura, Kyohei Arita, Mariko Ariyoshi, Hidenori Ohnishi, Takahiro Yamamoto, Xiaobing Zuo, Katsumi Maenaka, Enoch Y. Park, Naomi Kondo, Masahiro Shirakawa, Hidehito Tochio and Zenichiro Kato IL-18 is a member of the IL-1 family of proinflammatory cytokines. Tsutsumi et al. present a crystal structure of IL-18 bound to the extracellular domains of its heterodimeric receptor, providing insight into how its unusual specificity may be targeted pharmacologically. 15 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6340 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Immunology  Simultaneous downregulation of KLF5 and Fli1 is a key feature underlying systemic sclerosis Shinji Noda, Yoshihide Asano, Satoshi Nishimura, Takashi Taniguchi, Katsuhito Fujiu, Ichiro Manabe, Kouki Nakamura, Takashi Yamashita, Ryosuke Saigusa, Kaname Akamata, Takehiro Takahashi, Yohei Ichimura, Tetsuo Toyama, Daisuke Tsuruta, Maria Trojanowska, Ryozo Nagai and Shinichi Sato Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an incurable disease of unknown cause, characterized by vasculopathy, autoimmunity and fibrosis. Here the authors show that simultaneous decrease in two transcription factors, KLF5 and Fli1, underlies SSc development in mice and represents a signature trait of SSc patients. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6797 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  Sponges with covalently tethered amines for high-efficiency carbon capture Genggeng Qi, Liling Fu and Emmanuel P. Giannelis The most common carbon dioxide-capture technology is solution-based amine scrubbing, which suffers from high operational costs. Here, the authors report a family of solid amine sorbents, formed via cationic polymerization of oxazolines, and evaluate their carbon dioxide sorption performance. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6796 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  MORC1 represses transposable elements in the mouse male germline OPEN William A. Pastor, Hume Stroud, Kevin Nee, Wanlu Liu, Dubravka Pezic, Sergei Manakov, Serena A. Lee, Guillaume Moissiard, Natasha Zamudio, Déborah Bourc’his, Alexei A. Aravin, Amander T. Clark and Steven E. Jacobsen The Microrchidia (Morc) family of GHKL ATPases are important repressors of transposons and other DNA-methylated and silent genes in A. thaliana. Here, the authors show that MORC1 is responsible for repression and methylation of specific classes of transposons in the mouse male germline. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6795 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Time-resolved compression of a capsule with a cone to high density for fast-ignition laser fusion W. Theobald, A. A. Solodov, C. Stoeckl, K. S. Anderson, F. N. Beg, R. Epstein, G. Fiksel, E. M. Giraldez, V. Yu. Glebov, H. Habara, S. Ivancic, L. C. Jarrott, F. J. Marshall, G. McKiernan, H. S. McLean, C. Mileham, P. M. Nilson, P. K. Patel, F. Pérez, T. C. Sangster et al. One of the challenges in fast-ignition fusion is to laser-compress an asymmetric cone-in-shell target to a density at which it can be ignited by a second laser. Theobald et al. report the achievement of areal densities in excess of 300 mg cm−2, to a point at which ignition might soon be possible. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6785 Physical Sciences  Fluids and plasma physics  ε-Iron carbide as a low-temperature Fischer–Tropsch synthesis catalyst Ke Xu, Bo Sun, Jun Lin, Wen Wen, Yan Pei, Shirun Yan, Minghua Qiao, Xiaoxin Zhang and Baoning Zong ε-Iron carbide is a promising catalyst for low-temperature Fischer–Tropsch synthesis but is difficult to synthesize. Here, the authors report a rapid-quenching process for the synthesis of nanocrystalline ε-iron carbide, and evaluate the catalytic activity and selectivity of the material. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6783 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Clusterin facilitates stress-induced lipidation of LC3 and autophagosome biogenesis to enhance cancer cell survival OPEN Fan Zhang, Masafumi Kumano, Eliana Beraldi, Ladan Fazli, Caigan Du, Susan Moore, Poul Sorensen, Amina Zoubeidi and Martin E. Gleave The induction of autophagy under stress conditions such as chemotherapy is a contributing factor towards resistance to anticancer therapy. Here, Zhang et al. identify the molecular chaperone clusterin as an adaptor that facilitates lipidation of LC3 and autophagosome biogenesis. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6775 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  The CDC13-STN1-TEN1 complex stimulates Pol α activity by promoting RNA priming and primase-to-polymerase switch Neal F. Lue, Jamie Chan, Woodring E. Wright and Jerard Hurwitz The Cdc13-Stn1-Ten1 (CST) complex recognizes the G-strand of telomeres and functions in telomere protection and replication. Using purified components, the authors show that the Stn1 subunit of the CST complex stimulates RNA priming and the primase-to-polymerase switch by primase-Pol α in fungal and human systems. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6762 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Molecular biology  The long-chain alkane metabolism network of Alcanivorax dieselolei Wanpeng Wang and Zongze Shao The ability to degrade hydrocarbons, such as alkanes, is common among marine microbes but many details of this process are unclear. Here, Wang & Shao identify genes and proteins involved in alkane sensing, uptake and degradation in the marine bacterium Alcanivorax dieselolei. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6755 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Microbiology  An integrated epigenomic analysis for type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci in monozygotic twins OPEN Wei Yuan, Yudong Xia, Christopher G. Bell, Idil Yet, Teresa Ferreira, Kirsten J. Ward, Fei Gao, A. Katrina Loomis, Craig L. Hyde, Honglong Wu, Hanlin Lu, Yuan Liu, Kerrin S. Small, Ana Viñuela, Andrew P. Morris, María Berdasco, Manel Esteller, M. Julia Brosnan, Panos Deloukas, Mark I. McCarthy et al. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a highly heterogeneous disease with a strong genetic component. Here the authors examine genome-wide methylation patterns in T2D-discordant, T2D-concordant and healthy concordant monozygotic twin pairs, and identify DNA methylation signals that may represent new biomarkers or drug targets for T2D. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6719 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Quantum state-controlled directional spontaneous emission of photons into a nanophotonic waveguide OPEN R. Mitsch, C. Sayrin, B. Albrecht, P. Schneeweiss and A. Rauschenbeutel Nanoscale confinement in an optical fibre induces coupling between a photon’s spin and orbital angular momentum. Here, the authors use this effect to control the direction of photons spontaneously emitted from trapped caesium atoms into a nanofibre. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6713 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  A trident dithienylethene-perylenemonoimide dyad with super fluorescence switching speed and ratio Chong Li, Hui Yan, Ling-Xi Zhao, Guo-Feng Zhang, Zhe Hu, Zhen-Li Huang and Ming-Qiang Zhu Photoswitchable fluorophores hold promise for organic photonic devices. Here Li et al. report that a trident perylenemonoimide modified by diethienylethenes shows a large on/off ratio and high switching speed, which enables erasable fluorescence patterning, all-optical transistors and optical nanoimaging. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6709 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Organic chemistry  Competition between spontaneous symmetry breaking and single-particle gaps in trilayer graphene Y. Lee, D. Tran, K. Myhro, J. Velasco, N. Gillgren, C. N. Lau, Y. Barlas, J. M. Poumirol, D. Smirnov and F. Guinea Many-body interactions typically involve spontaneous symmetry breaking and the breakdown of simple single-particle models. Lee et al. now show that trilayer-graphene devices are a tunable platform for investigating the transition between these two regimes. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6656 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Featural and temporal attention selectively enhance task-appropriate representations in human primary visual cortex Scott G. Warren, Essa Yacoub and Geoffrey M. Ghose Humans tend to attend to specific visual features rather than particular locations in space. In this study, Warren et al. use brain imaging and computational modelling to show that the same well-studied processes associated with spatial attention can also explain selective attention in non-spatial domains. 12 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6643 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  TRPA1 is essential for the vascular response to environmental cold exposure OPEN Aisah A. Aubdool, Rabea Graepel, Xenia Kodji, Khadija M. Alawi, Jennifer V. Bodkin, Salil Srivastava, Clive Gentry, Richard Heads, Andrew D. Grant, Elizabeth S. Fernandes, Stuart Bevan and Susan D. Brain Blood flow in the skin of mammals changes in response to cold, but the mechanisms driving this response are unclear. Aubdool et al. show that the non-selective cation channel, TRPA1, is a vascular cold sensor and required for the vascular protective response to local cold exposure. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6732 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Transformation of intestinal stem cells into gastric stem cells on loss of transcription factor Cdx2 OPEN Salvatore Simmini, Monika Bialecka, Meritxell Huch, Lennart Kester, Marc van de Wetering, Toshiro Sato, Felix Beck, Alexander van Oudenaarden, Hans Clevers and Jacqueline Deschamps The adult gastro-intestinal tract harbours stem cells that differ in their differentiation programme and in the gene repertoire that they express. Here the authors show that single adult Lgr5-positive stem cells require Cdx2 to maintain their intestinal identity and are converted into pyloric stem cells in the absence of this transcription factor. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6728 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Assembling programmable FRET-based photonic networks using designer DNA scaffolds OPEN Susan Buckhout-White, Christopher M Spillmann, W. Russ Algar, Ani Khachatrian, Joseph S. Melinger, Ellen R. Goldman, Mario G. Ancona and Igor L. Medintz DNA is a useful molecule with which to construct nanomaterials with controllable functionalities. Here, the authors fabricate photonic wires by appending dye molecules at set positions along DNA structures, and show how FRET performance can be tuned by modifying dye separation. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6615 Physical Sciences  Biophysics  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Response-dependent dynamics of cell-specific inhibition in cortical networks in vivo OPEN Sami El-Boustani and Mriganka Sur Inhibitory neurons in the visual cortex alter the computations of target cells by exerting division or subtraction effects, but what determines these different functions is not clear. Here the authors use visual stimuli and optogenetics to show that the effects mediated by somatostatin-expressing and parvalbumin-expressing neurons are driven by their response mode and timing. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6689 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Electrically tunable nonlinear plasmonics in graphene nanoislands Joel D. Cox and F. Javier García de Abajo Plasmons in metallic nanostructures provide light enhancement that amplifies their nonlinear optical response. This study shows that graphene nanoislands also give rise to an amplified nonlinear polarizability that can be tuned electrically to surpass those of other nonlinear media by orders of magnitude. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6725 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Optical physics  Structural insights into 5′ flap DNA unwinding and incision by the human FAN1 dimer Qi Zhao, Xiaoyu Xue, Simonne Longerich, Patrick Sung and Yong Xiong FAN1 is a structure-specific nuclease that plays a major role in eliminating highly cytotoxic interstrand DNA crosslinks. Here, Zhao et al. present several crystal structures of FAN1 in complex with DNA substrates and biochemical analyses that establish how FAN1 functions to resolve interstrand DNA crosslinks. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6726 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Spartan deficiency causes genomic instability and progeroid phenotypes OPEN Reeja S. Maskey, Myoung Shin Kim, Darren J. Baker, Bennett Childs, Liviu A. Malureanu, Karthik B. Jeganathan, Yuka Machida, Jan M. van Deursen and Yuichi J. Machida Spartan/DVC1 is a translesion synthesis regulator with important roles in cellular DNA damage tolerance. Here, the authors report that Spartan is essential for DNA lesion bypass and that Spartan insufficiency in mice causes chromosomal instability, cellular senescence and early onset of age-related phenotypes. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6744 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Molecular biology  Geochemistry of silicate-rich rocks can curtail spreading of carbon dioxide in subsurface aquifers S. S. S. Cardoso and J. T. H. Andres Carbon sequestration will be vital in mitigating future climate change, and understanding how CO2 behaves in aquifers is important for developing technologies. Here, the authors suggest that silicate-rich rocks inhibit the transport of CO2, which may have consequences for future engineered storage facilities. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6743 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Controlling coherence via tuning of the population imbalance in a bipartite optical lattice OPEN M. Di Liberto, T. Comparin, T. Kock, M. Ölschläger, A. Hemmerich and C. Morais Smith Ultracold atoms in optical lattices are a versatile platform for modelling simplified physical systems. By tuning structural deformations in bipartite optical lattices, Di Liberto et al. induce superfluid-to-Mott-insulator phase transitions that may shed light on condensed-matter systems such as the cuprates. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6735 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Condensed matter  Roquin binding to target mRNAs involves a winged helix-turn-helix motif Anja Schuetz, Yasuhiro Murakawa, Eva Rosenbaum, Markus Landthaler and Udo Heinemann Roquin proteins mediate the degradation of mRNAs through the recognition of stem-loop structures present within their 3′ UTR. Here Schuetz et al. present the crystal structure of a Roquin domain and, through complementary biochemical analyses, provide insight into Roquin's mode of RNA binding through a winged helix-turn-helix motif. 11 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6701 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Molecular biology  Proteome adaptation in cell reprogramming proceeds via distinct transcriptional networks Marco Benevento, Peter D. Tonge, Mira C. Puri, Samer M. I. Hussein, Nicole Cloonan, David L. Wood, Sean M. Grimmond, Andras Nagy, Javier Munoz and Albert J. R. Heck During somatic cell reprogramming, the cell transits through intermediate states. Here, the authors perform an in-depth quantitative proteomic analysis of the reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells and observe two waves of proteome reorganisation. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6613 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Molecular biology  An epigenomic roadmap to induced pluripotency reveals DNA methylation as a reprogramming modulator OPEN Dong-Sung Lee, Jong-Yeon Shin, Peter D. Tonge, Mira C. Puri, Seungbok Lee, Hansoo Park, Won-Chul Lee, Samer M. I. Hussein, Thomas Bleazard, Ji-Young Yun, Jihye Kim, Mira Li, Nicole Cloonan, David Wood, Jennifer L. Clancy, Rowland Mosbergen, Jae-Hyuk Yi, Kap-Seok Yang, Hyungtae Kim, Hwanseok Rhee et al. Somatic cell reprogramming can induce distinct pluripotent states. Here the authors perform time-resolved whole-genome bisulfite sequencing during the reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts and report dynamic global DNA methylation changes. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6619 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Genetics  Molecular biology  Small RNA changes en route to distinct cellular states of induced pluripotency Jennifer L. Clancy, Hardip R. Patel, Samer M. I. Hussein, Peter D. Tonge, Nicole Cloonan, Andrew J. Corso, Mira Li, Dong-Sung Lee, Jong-Yeon Shin, Justin J. L. Wong, Charles G. Bailey, Marco Benevento, Javier Munoz, Aaron Chuah, David Wood, John E. J. Rasko, Albert J. R. Heck, Sean M. Grimmond, Ian M. Rogers, Jeong-Sun Seo et al. Somatic cell reprogramming can induce distinct pluripotent states. Here the authors perform time-resolved small RNA expression profiling during the reprogramming of mouse embryonic fibroblasts and observe that distinct miRNA milieus characterise alternate states of pluripotency. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6522 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Molecular biology  Connecting high-field quantum oscillations to zero-field electron spectral functions in the underdoped cuprates Andrea Allais, Debanjan Chowdhury and Subir Sachdev The nature of the so-called pseudogap phase exhibited by many cuprate superconductors is one of the most puzzling questions in the field of unconventional superconductivity. Allais et al. present a model that can reconcile some of the experimental observations at high and low fields. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6771 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Theoretical physics  Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase transcription by hnRNP K and DNA secondary structure Kasturi Banerjee, Meng Wang, Elizabeth Cai, Nana Fujiwara, Harriet Baker and John W. Cave Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase gene (Th) transcription is critical for specifying and maintaining the dopaminergic phenotype. Here the authors show that ribonucleoprotein hnRNP K regulates the Th transcription by binding GC-rich regions of the Th promoter that are prone to form DNA secondary structures. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6769 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  The evolution of photosynthesis in chromist algae through serial endosymbioses OPEN John W. Stiller, John Schreiber, Jipei Yue, Hui Guo, Qin Ding and Jinling Huang The chromalveolate hypothesis proposes that chromist algae became photosynthetic through a single endosymbiosis in a common ancestor. Here, Stiller et al. use a novel statistical approach to propose that instead, the major chromist algae arose as a result of three specific serial plastid transfers. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6764 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Cell dipole behaviour revealed by ECM sub-cellular geometry Kalpana Mandal, Irène Wang, Elisa Vitiello, Laura Andreina Chacòn Orellana and Martial Balland Cells probe and respond to their physical environment by exerting force on their surroundings. Here Mandal et al. grow cells in the same shape and area but on different adhesive patterns to show that they integrate information on extra-cellular matrix geometry at the whole-cell level. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6749 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Cell biology  Transcriptome analysis reveals dysregulation of innate immune response genes and neuronal activity-dependent genes in autism OPEN Simone Gupta, Shannon E. Ellis, Foram N. Ashar, Anna Moes, Joel S. Bader, Jianan Zhan, Andrew B. West and Dan E. Arking Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common, highly heritable neurodevelopmental condition characterized by marked genetic heterogeneity. In this study, the authors use RNA sequencing analyses to characterize differences in the transcriptome between autistic and typically developing brains. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6748 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Neuroscience  Atomic-scale structure and properties of highly stable antiphase boundary defects in Fe3O4 OPEN Keith P. McKenna, Florian Hofer, Daniel Gilks, Vlado K. Lazarov, Chunlin Chen, Zhongchang Wang and Yuichi Ikuhara Although Fe3O4 is widely investigated for a variety of applications, the relation between some defects and its properties remains poorly understood. Here, the authors use high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and simulations to determine the atomic structure of the common antiphase boundary defects. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6740 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  All-organic optoelectronic sensor for pulse oximetry Claire M. Lochner, Yasser Khan, Adrien Pierre and Ana C. Arias Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive means for measuring blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate, with typical sensors based on rigid electronics. Here, the authors develop a pulse oximeter based solely on organic materials, allowing flexible devices and hence increasing the potential sensing locations on the body. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6745 Biological Sciences  Applied physics  Bioengineering  Materials science  Oncogenic Kit signals on endolysosomes and endoplasmic reticulum are essential for neoplastic mast cell proliferation OPEN Yuuki Obata, Shota Toyoshima, Ei Wakamatsu, Shunichi Suzuki, Shuhei Ogawa, Hiroyasu Esumi and Ryo Abe Activating mutations of the tyrosine kinase Kit are commonly found in mast cell neoplasms and gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Here the authors show that mutant Kit, through the activation of PI3K and STAT3 pathways, elicits proliferative and survival signals from endolysosomes and from the endoplasmic reticulum. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6715 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  Laser-induced porous graphene films from commercial polymers Jian Lin, Zhiwei Peng, Yuanyue Liu, Francisco Ruiz-Zepeda, Ruquan Ye, Errol L. G. Samuel, Miguel Jose Yacaman, Boris I. Yakobson and James M. Tour The straightforward and scalable synthesis and patterning of graphene-based nanomaterials remains a technological challenge. Here, the authors use a CO2 infrared laser, under ambient conditions, to directly produce and pattern porous graphene films with three-dimensional networks from commercial polymer films. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6714 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Structure and properties of complex hydride perovskite materials Pascal Schouwink, Morten B. Ley, Antoine Tissot, Hans Hagemann, Torben R. Jensen, Ľubomír Smrčok and Radovan Černý Complex metal hydrides are of interest for applications such as hydrogen storage, solid-state phosphors and solid electrolytes. Here the authors present the synthesis and properties of 30 complex hydride compounds with a perovskite crystal structure, based on the BH4− anion and new synthesis protocols involving rare-earth elements. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6706 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  microTSS: accurate microRNA transcription start site identification reveals a significant number of divergent pri-miRNAs Georgios Georgakilas, Ioannis S. Vlachos, Maria D. Paraskevopoulou, Peter Yang, Yuhong Zhang, Aris N. Economides and Artemis G. Hatzigeorgiou microRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression for which the identification of promoter and primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) has been difficult. Here the authors describe microTSS, an algorithm that supports the precise identification of intergenic pri-miRNA transcription start sites. 10 December 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6700 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Molecular biology    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Postdoctoral Fellow City University of New York Associate Research Fellow University of Exeter Research Associate (Fixed Term) University of Cambridge PhD Fellowship Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) postdoctorals positions University Montpellier 1 Senior Computational Statistician Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics Postdoctoral Researcher Louisiana State University Postdoctoral Research Assistant Birkbeck University of London Postdoctoral Scholar University of California - San Francisco Research Technician Hospital for Special Surgery More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Systems Biology of Infection Symposium - 2nd Edition 06.09.15 Ascona, Switzerland More science events from     Advertisement Open for Submissions: 2013 IMPACT FACTOR 4.360 Translational Psychiatry is an online-only, open access journal exploring the translational pathway between research in neuroscience and conceptually novel treatments. 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