Nature Communications - 5 August 2015

Weekly Content Alert Nature Communications is now fully open access. Read more. 05 August 2015  Featured image: Zheng et al. show that blood vessel geometry and flow control the webbing of the adhesive blood protein von Willebrand factor. Latest content: Articles Corrigenda Erratum Retraction Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Nature Communications is now fully open access All new submissions if accepted, will be published open access and an article processing charge will apply. For more information visit the website. Visit our open access funding page or contact openaccess@nature.com to learn more on APC funding.     Nature Communications - now fully open access All new submissions, if accepted, will be published open access and an article processing charge (APC) will apply. For more information visit the website. Visit our open access funding page or contact openaccess@nature.com to learn more about APC funding.       Latest Articles View all Articles     Unique metabolites protect earthworms against plant polyphenols OPEN Manuel Liebeke, Nicole Strittmatter, Sarah Fearn, A. John Morgan, Peter Kille, Jens Fuchser, David Wallis, Vitalii Palchykov, Jeremy Robertson, Elma Lahive, David J. Spurgeon, David McPhail, Zoltán Takáts and Jacob G. Bundy Little is known about how detritivorous invertebrates cope with high levels of defensive plant polyphenols. Here, Liebeke et al. identify a new class of surface-active metabolites in earthworms exposed to high-polyphenol diets, and show that they play a protective role against precipitation of proteins. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8869 Biological Sciences  Chemical biology  Ecology  Zoology  Diet and specific microbial exposure trigger features of environmental enteropathy in a novel murine model OPEN Eric M. Brown, Marta Wlodarska, Benjamin P. Willing, Pascale Vonaesch, Jun Han, Lisa A. Reynolds, Marie-Claire Arrieta, Marco Uhrig, Roland Scholz, Oswaldo Partida, Christoph H. Borchers, Philippe J. Sansonetti and B. Brett Finlay Environmental enteropathy is a disorder of the small intestine that contributes to the persistence of childhood malnutrition worldwide. Here, Brown et al. show in mice that early-life malnourishment, in combination with exposure to commensal bacteria, remodels the small intestine to resemble features of the disease. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8806 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Microbiology  Rare coding variants and X-linked loci associated with age at menarche OPEN Kathryn L. Lunetta, Felix R. Day, Patrick Sulem, Katherine S. Ruth, Joyce Y. Tung, David A. Hinds, Tõnu Esko, Cathy E. Elks, Elisabeth Altmaier, Chunyan He, Jennifer E. Huffman, Evelin Mihailov, Eleonora Porcu, Antonietta Robino, Lynda M. Rose, Ursula M. Schick, Lisette Stolk, Alexander Teumer, Deborah J. Thompson, Michela Traglia et al. Previous studies have linked over 100 genomic loci to age-at-menarche but that work was restricted to common autosomal variation. Here, Lunetta et al. identify associations with rare protein-coding and X-linked variants, implicating new mechanisms that regulate puberty timing. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8756 Biological Sciences  Genetics  A paclitaxel-loaded recombinant polypeptide nanoparticle outperforms Abraxane in multiple murine cancer models Jayanta Bhattacharyya, Joseph J. Bellucci, Isaac Weitzhandler, Jonathan R. McDaniel, Ivan Spasojevic, Xinghai Li, Chao-Chieh Lin, Jen-Tsan Ashley Chi and Ashutosh Chilkoti The encapsulation of a drug into nanoparticles can be a useful way control and improve its efficacy. Here, the authors conjugate paclitaxel to recombinant chimeric polypeptides that self-assemble into therapeutic nanoparticles that outperform Abraxane in murine tumour models. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8939 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Nanotechnology  Arf6 regulates tumour angiogenesis and growth through HGF-induced endothelial β1 integrin recycling Tsunaki Hongu, Yuji Funakoshi, Shigetomo Fukuhara, Teruhiko Suzuki, Susumu Sakimoto, Nobuyuki Takakura, Masatsugu Ema, Satoru Takahashi, Susumu Itoh, Mitsuyasu Kato, Hiroshi Hasegawa, Naoki Mochizuki and Yasunori Kanaho Targetting tumour angiogenesis is a useful strategy to reduce tumour burden; however, the clinical benefits of anti-angiogenetic drugs are modest. Here, the authors show that HGFR signalling, which contributes to tumour angiogenesis, requires Arf6 and that blocking Arf6 can lead to reduced tumour growth in mice. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8925 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Harmonic force spectroscopy measures load-dependent kinetics of individual human β-cardiac myosin molecules OPEN Jongmin Sung, Suman Nag, Kim I. Mortensen, Christian L. Vestergaard, Shirley Sutton, Kathleen Ruppel, Henrik Flyvbjerg and James A. Spudich Single molecule methods for measuring load dependence are fundamental for molecular motor research. Here, Sung et al. introduce harmonic force spectroscopy, a method that randomly applies varying loads at high frequency, allowing the determination of load dependent parameters of human β-cardiac myosin at physiological ATP concentration. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8931 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Time reversal and charge conjugation in an embedding quantum simulator OPEN Xiang Zhang, Yangchao Shen, Junhua Zhang, Jorge Casanova, Lucas Lamata, Enrique Solano, Man-Hong Yung, Jing-Ning Zhang and Kihwan Kim Quantum simulation has the potential to enable experimentally studying problems which are not directly tractable in a laboratory or computationally. Here, the authors simulate the Majorana equation with a ytterbium ion, which requires them to simulate antiunitary and therefore unphysical operations. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8917 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Non-plasmonic nanoantennas for surface enhanced spectroscopies with ultra-low heat conversion OPEN Martín Caldarola, Pablo Albella, Emiliano Cortés, Mohsen Rahmani, Tyler Roschuk, Gustavo Grinblat, Rupert F. Oulton, Andrea V. Bragas and Stefan A. Maier Metallic nanoantennas can enhance and confine electromagnetic fields, however, localized heating hinders many applications. Here, Caldarola et al. demonstrate both high near-field enhancement and ultra-low heat conversion in the visible-near infrared region using silicon dimer nanoantennas with 20 nm gaps. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8915 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Optimal speed estimation in natural image movies predicts human performance OPEN Johannes Burge and Wilson S. Geisler Accurate motion perception depends on accurate estimation of retinal motion speed. Here, from natural image movies, the authors derive the optimal computational rules for estimating speed, and show that these computations predict both human speed discrimination performance and the tuning of speed-selective neurons. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8900 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Rescue of long-term memory after reconsolidation blockade OPEN Simon Trent, Philip Barnes, Jeremy Hall and Kerrie L. Thomas Recalled memories enter a labile state and are thought to be restabilized through reconsolidation. Here, the authors challenge the long-held notion that reconsolidation is a distinct memory process and demonstrate that the molecular events initiated at recall act instead to constrain premature extinction. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8897 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Droplets move over viscoelastic substrates by surfing a ridge OPEN S. Karpitschka, S. Das, M. van Gorcum, H. Perrin, B. Andreotti and J. H. Snoeijer The wetting on soft surfaces is less understood than that on rigid ones because it is challenging to quantify substrate deformation. Here, the authors monitor the deformation over a large range of droplet velocities, and propose a dynamical model that captures contact line motion and depinning. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8891 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Fluids and plasma physics  Crystal structure, biochemical and cellular activities demonstrate separate functions of MTH1 and MTH2 OPEN Megan Carter, Ann-Sofie Jemth, Anna Hagenkort, Brent D. G. Page, Robert Gustafsson, Julia J. Griese, Helge Gad, Nicholas C. K. Valerie, Matthieu Desroses, Johan Boström, Ulrika Warpman Berglund, Thomas Helleday and Pål Stenmark Dysfunctional redox regulation in cancer can damage dNTPs so inhibiting dNTP pool sanitizing enzymes, such as MTH1, is a potential cancer treatment. Here, Carter et al. characterize MTH2 (NUDT15) and show that it is not a dNTP sanitizer, and so is unlikely to influence the efficacy of MTH1 inhibitors. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8871 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cancer  Nonsynaptic junctions on myelinating glia promote preferential myelination of electrically active axons OPEN Hiroaki Wake, Fernando C. Ortiz, Dong Ho Woo, Philip R. Lee, María Cecilia Angulo and R. Douglas Fields The myelin sheath on vertebrate axons is critical for neural impulse transmission, but whether electrically active axons are preferentially myelinated by glial cells, is not clear. Here the authors show that cultured oligodendrocytes preferentially myelinate electrically active axons via a mechanism dependent on nonsynaptic vesicular release of glutamate. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8844 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  Nanoscale switch for vortex polarization mediated by Bloch core formation in magnetic hybrid systems OPEN Phillip Wohlhüter, Matthew Thomas Bryan, Peter Warnicke, Sebastian Gliga, Stephanie Elizabeth Stevenson, Georg Heldt, Lalita Saharan, Anna Kinga Suszka, Christoforos Moutafis, Rajesh Vilas Chopdekar, Jörg Raabe, Thomas Thomson, Gino Hrkac and Laura Jane Heyderman Magnetic vortices in thin ferromagnetic films possess a core with out-of-plane magnetization whose polarity can be manipulated by magnetic fields or currents for technological applications. Here, the authors demonstrate local control of the core polarity in NiFe films via an imprinted maze domain pattern. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8836 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Universal self-field critical current for thin-film superconductors OPEN E. F. Talantsev and J. L. Tallon In type-I superconductors the London penetration depth relates the self-field critical current density to the critical field. Here, the authors show that this relation extends to thin films of type-II superconductors, providing the chance to compute the penetration depth from critical current measurements. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8820 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Design of aqueous redox-enhanced electrochemical capacitors with high specific energies and slow self-discharge OPEN Sang-Eun Chun, Brian Evanko, Xingfeng Wang, David Vonlanthen, Xiulei Ji, Galen D. Stucky and Shannon W. Boettcher The energy density of electrochemical capacitors can be increased by using a redox-active electrolyte, but such capacitors often suffer from significant self-discharge and low operating voltage. Here, the authors report a new redox-active aqueous electrolyte to effectively tackle the problems. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8818 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Understanding complete oxidation of methane on spinel oxides at a molecular level Franklin Feng Tao, Jun-jun Shan, Luan Nguyen, Ziyun Wang, Shiran Zhang, Li Zhang, Zili Wu, Weixin Huang, Shibi Zeng and P. Hu The development of methane oxidation catalysts made of earth-abundant elements is an important challenge. Here, the authors report a cost-effective nickel-cobalt oxide which outperforms precious-metal-based alternatives, due to the combination of transition metal cations and surface oxygen vacancies. 04 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8798 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Negative emissions physically needed to keep global warming below 2 °C T. Gasser, C. Guivarch, K. Tachiiri, C. D. Jones and P. Ciais It is widely acknowledged that some form of carbon capture will be necessary to limit global warming to less than 2 °C, but to what extent remains unclear. Here, using climate-carbon models, the authors quantify the amount of negative emissions and carbon storage capacity required to meet this target. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8958 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Structural and mechanistic insights into phospholipid transfer by Ups1–Mdm35 in mitochondria OPEN Yasunori Watanabe, Yasushi Tamura, Shin Kawano and Toshiya Endo Phospholipid trafficking between membranes is essential to maintain the structural integrity and function of membrane-bound cellular compartments. Here the authors establish the structural basis for transport of phosphatidic acid between the outer and inner membranes of the mitochondria by the Ups1–Mdm35 lipid-transport complex. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8922 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Cell biology  An apoptosis-enhancing drug overcomes platinum resistance in a tumour-initiating subpopulation of ovarian cancer OPEN D. M. Janzen, E. Tiourin, J. A. Salehi, D. Y. Paik, J. Lu, M. Pellegrini and S. Memarzadeh Despite normalization of the CA125 serum biomarker at the completion of carboplatin therapy the vast majority of patients with high grade serous ovarian cancers relapse. Here, Janzen et al., identify a sub-population of tumor cells that are CA125 negative, cancer initiating and platinum resistant but readily eliminated with the addition of apoptosis enhancing drugs to carboplatin. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8956 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Medical research  The mechanochemistry of copper reports on the directionality of unfolding in model cupredoxin proteins OPEN Amy E. M. Beedle, Ainhoa Lezamiz, Guillaume Stirnemann and Sergi Garcia-Manyes In metalloproteins, a metal cofactor participates in the formation of the correct fold. Here the authors demonstrate—using single molecule force spectroscopy and the native copper centre as an embedded internal reporter—that the blue-copper proteins azurin and plastocyanin unfold via two independent competing pathways under force. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8894 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Nanotechnology  Physical chemistry  Detection of entanglement in asymmetric quantum networks and multipartite quantum steering OPEN D. Cavalcanti, P. Skrzypczyk, G. H. Aguilar, R. V. Nery, P.H. Souto Ribeiro and S. P. Walborn Quantum communications operate with shared multipartite entangled states, and this has to be certified in a setting where not all parties are trusted in the same way. Here the authors propose a method to certify multipartite entanglement in asymmetric scenarios and demonstrate it in an optical experiment. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8941 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Theoretical physics  Structure and vascular function of MEKK3–cerebral cavernous malformations 2 complex OPEN Oriana S. Fisher, Hanqiang Deng, Dou Liu, Ya Zhang, Rong Wei, Yong Deng, Fan Zhang, Angeliki Louvi, Benjamin E. Turk, Titus J. Boggon and Bing Su The protein kinase MEKK3 interacts with CCM2, which is associated with the predominantly cerebrovascular CCM disease. Here the authors use structural, biochemical, cell biology and in vivo techniques to show that regulation of Rho signalling by the CCM2:MEKK3 complex is needed to maintain neurovascular integrity. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8937 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Clinically relevant copy number variations detected in cerebral palsy OPEN Maryam Oskoui, Matthew J. Gazzellone, Bhooma Thiruvahindrapuram, Mehdi Zarrei, John Andersen, John Wei, Zhuozhi Wang, Richard F. Wintle, Christian R. Marshall, Ronald D. Cohn, Rosanna Weksberg, Dimitri J. Stavropoulos, Darcy Fehlings, Michael I. Shevell and Stephen W. Scherer Cerebral palsy (CP) is a heterogeneous disorder that has been historically attributed to environmental factors with genetic contributions being discovered more recently. Here the authors perform microarray-based analysis of copy number variations in a cohort of children with CP and their parents and find chromosomal abnormalities linked to the disease. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8949 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Neuroscience  Flexible lithium–oxygen battery based on a recoverable cathode OPEN Qing-Chao Liu, Ji-Jing Xu, Dan Xu and Xin-Bo Zhang Flexible energy storage systems usually have limited energy densities. Here the authors report a flexible lithium–oxygen battery with the cathode consisting of titanium dioxide nanowire arrays grown on carbon textiles, which displays high mechanical strength as well as promising electrochemical performance. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8892 Chemical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Physical chemistry  Quantitative interactome analysis reveals a chemoresistant edgotype OPEN Juan D. Chavez, Devin K. Schweppe, Jimmy K. Eng, Chunxiang Zheng, Alex Taipale, Yiyi Zhang, Kohji Takara and James E. Bruce Changes in protein–protein interactions result in changes to cellular phenotype. Here the authors use crosslinking mass spectrometry to derive a quantitative protein interaction network in drug-sensitive and -resistant HeLa cells, and uncover a chemoresistant ‘edgotype’. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8928 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Cancer  Cell biology  mRIN for direct assessment of genome-wide and gene-specific mRNA integrity from large-scale RNA-sequencing data OPEN Huijuan Feng, Xuegong Zhang and Chaolin Zhang With the rapid increase in the volume of publically available RNA-seq data, quality control is an increasingly important consideration. Here Feng et al. develop mRIN, a method to directly assess mRNA integrity, and show that RNA degradation in post-mortem samples has a strong impact on global expression profiles. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8816 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Genetics  Large-volume en-bloc staining for electron microscopy-based connectomics OPEN Yunfeng Hua, Philip Laserstein and Moritz Helmstaedter Large-scale dense reconstruction of neuronal circuits (or connectomics) requires methods for large-volume dense en-bloc electron microscopy (EM) staining. Here the authors develop a protocol for staining tissue blocks from mouse neocortex sized at least 1 mm in diameter, enabling correlated functional and structural circuit analyses. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8923 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Unlocking the energy capabilities of micron-sized LiFePO4 OPEN Limin Guo, Yelong Zhang, Jiawei Wang, Lipo Ma, Shunchao Ma, Yantao Zhang, Erkang Wang, Yujing Bi, Deyu Wang, William C. McKee, Ye Xu, Jitao Chen, Qinghua Zhang, Cewen Nan, Lin Gu, Peter G. Bruce and Zhangquan Peng Nanonization of battery electrode particles is a usual way to enhance their conductivity, but the decreased tap density is detrimental to battery performance. Here, the authors coat micron-sized lithium iron phosphate with a conducting polymer layer and demonstrate some excellent electrochemical properties. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8898 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Truncating mutation in the autophagy gene UVRAG confers oncogenic properties and chemosensitivity in colorectal cancers OPEN Shanshan He, Zhen Zhao, Yongfei Yang, Douglas O'Connell, Xiaowei Zhang, Soohwan Oh, Binyun Ma, Joo-Hyung Lee, Tian Zhang, Bino Varghese, Janae Yip, Sara Dolatshahi Pirooz, Ming Li, Yong Zhang, Guo-Min Li, Sue Ellen Martin, Keigo Machida and Chengyu Liang Some colon carcinomas with microsatellite instability carry a frameshift mutation in a tumour suppressor UVRAG. Here the authors show that mutant UVRAG triggers colorectal cancer by antagonizing the activity of normal UVRAG in autophagy and chromosomal stability, but also sensitizes the cancer to DNA damage-inducing chemotherapeutic drugs. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8839 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  Hail formation triggers rapid ash aggregation in volcanic plumes OPEN Alexa R. Van Eaton, Larry G. Mastin, Michael Herzog, Hans F. Schwaiger, David J. Schneider, Kristi L. Wallace and Amanda B. Clarke The behaviour of airborne fine ash during explosive volcanic eruptions is poorly understood. Here, the authors study hail formation during an eruption, proposing a mechanism of particle aggregation that leads to the fallout of fine ash and the occurrence of concentrically layered aggregates in volcanic deposits 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8860 Earth Sciences  Atmospheric science  Geology and geophysics  Climate-mediated diversification of turtles in the Cretaceous OPEN David B. Nicholson, Patricia A. Holroyd, Roger B. J. Benson and Paul M. Barrett Turtles are ectothermic vertebrates that have experienced major environmental perturbations. Here the authors show that the geographical distribution of turtles was mediated by climate throughout the Mezozoic and show an increase in diversity of non-marine turtles starting in the Early Cretaceous. 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8848 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Palaeontology  Hydrologically driven ecosystem processes determine the distribution and persistence of ecosystem-specialist predators under climate change OPEN Matthew J. Carroll, Andreas Heinemeyer, James W. Pearce-Higgins, Peter Dennis, Chris West, Joseph Holden, Zoe E. Wallage and Chris D. Thomas Climatic change is predicted to impact moisture-dependent ecosystems. Here Carroll et al. show that a combination of physical, biophysical and ecosystem processes determine the abundance and distribution of three bird species that feed on craneflies in blanket bogs. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8851 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Conformational states of the full-length glucagon receptor OPEN Linlin Yang, Dehua Yang, Chris de Graaf, Arne Moeller, Graham M. West, Venkatasubramanian Dharmarajan, Chong Wang, Fai Y. Siu, Gaojie Song, Steffen Reedtz-Runge, Bruce D. Pascal, Beili Wu, Clinton S. Potter, Hu Zhou, Patrick R. Griffin, Bridget Carragher, Huaiyu Yang, Ming-Wei Wang, Raymond C. Stevens and Hualiang Jiang et al. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of transmembrane signaling proteins in humans and exhibit diverse activation mechanisms. Here, the authors combine electron microscopy, hydrogen deuterium exchange and Molecular dynamics simulations to gain insight into the activation mechanism of the glucagon receptor. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8859 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Superconductivity-induced re-entrance of the orthorhombic distortion in Ba1−xKxFe2As2 OPEN A. E. Böhmer, F. Hardy, L. Wang, T. Wolf, P. Schweiss and C. Meingast The interplay between magnetic and superconducting phases is important to understand the physics of iron-based superconductivity. Here, the authors use thermodynamic measurements on Ba1−xKxFe2As2 single crystals to provide details of its phase diagram and the re-entrance of a C2 spin-density-wave phase. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8911 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Single-atom electron energy loss spectroscopy of light elements OPEN Ryosuke Senga and Kazu Suenaga Light atoms are hardly visible through standard microscopy techniques, because of their smaller scattering power and higher knock-on probability. Here, the authors present an approach to probe light atoms by means of electron energy loss spectroscopy, relying on inelastically scattered electrons. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8943 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  PTEN mediates Notch-dependent stalk cell arrest in angiogenesis OPEN Helena Serra, Iñigo Chivite, Ana Angulo-Urarte, Adriana Soler, James D. Sutherland, Amaia Arruabarrena-Aristorena, Anan Ragab, Radiance Lim, Marcos Malumbres, Marcus Fruttiger, Michael Potente, Manuel Serrano, Àngels Fabra, Francesc Viñals, Oriol Casanovas, Pier Paolo Pandolfi, Anna Bigas, Arkaitz Carracedo, Holger Gerhardt and Mariona Graupera et al. During the formation of vascular sprouts, Notch activation inhibits proliferation of the stalk ECs via unknown mechanism. Here the authors show that PTEN represents a critical mediator of Notch anti-proliferative response in stalk cells via its phosphatase-dependent and -independent activity. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8935 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Direct observation of multistep energy transfer in LHCII with fifth-order 3D electronic spectroscopy OPEN Zhengyang Zhang, Petar H. Lambrev, Kym L. Wells, Győző Garab and Howe-Siang Tan Photosynthesis is a complex process, involving the transfer of sunlight driven excitation energy to a reaction centre. Here, the authors directly observe the multistep excitation energy transitions in a light-harvesting complex using ultrafast fifth-order three-dimensional electronic spectroscopy. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8914 Physical Sciences  Biophysics  Optical physics  Physical chemistry  RTN1 mediates progression of kidney disease by inducing ER stress OPEN Ying Fan, Wenzhen Xiao, Zhengzhe Li, Xuezhu Li, Peter Y. Chuang, Belinda Jim, Weijia Zhang, Chengguo Wei, Niansong Wang, Weiping Jia, Huabao Xiong, Kyung Lee and John C. He ER stress is associated with the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and new CKD therapies are needed. Here the authors show that expression of Rtn1 can control severity of renal disease and that inhibition of its expression can attenuate ER stress and CKD. 31 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8841 Biological Sciences  Medical research  The geometric phase controls ultracold chemistry OPEN B. K. Kendrick, Jisha Hazra and N. Balakrishnan Ultracold reactions can give insights into reactions dynamics in the quantum regime. Here, the authors show that the geometric phase can have a dramatic effect on ultracold reactions, enhancing or suppressing rates by nearly two orders of magnitude in the reaction studied. 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8918 Chemical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Physical chemistry  Theoretical physics  High-performance n-type black phosphorus transistors with type control via thickness and contact-metal engineering OPEN David J. Perello, Sang Hoon Chae, Seunghyun Song and Young Hee Lee Black phosphorus p-type field-effect switching was previously demonstrated, but type control has proven difficult. Here, the authors create n-type black phosphorus Schottky field-effect transistors in which the polarity is controlled via contact-metal engineering and changing the flake thickness. 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8809 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Elucidating the role of disorder and free-carrier recombination kinetics in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films OPEN Chan La-o-vorakiat, Teddy Salim, Jeannette Kadro, Mai-Thu Khuc, Reinhard Haselsberger, Liang Cheng, Huanxin Xia, Gagik G. Gurzadyan, Haibin Su, Yeng Ming Lam, Rudolph A. Marcus, Maria-Elisabeth Michel-Beyerle and Elbert E. M. Chia In solar cells, the density and the mobility of charge carriers govern the device performance. Here the authors determine these quantities independently in perovskite films by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to study the influence of disorder and crystal structure as a function of temperature. 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8903 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Flow-driven assembly of VWF fibres and webs in in vitro microvessels OPEN Ying Zheng, Junmei Chen and José A. López 3D microvessels with complex geometries and intact endothelium can be built in vitro. Using these engineered microvessels, here the authors show that the generation of the pathologic meshwork of the blood protein von Willebrand factor is affected by vessel architecture, flow and the proteolytic activity of ADAMTS13. 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8858 Biological Sciences  Bioengineering  Cell biology  Medical research  Actin nucleation by WH2 domains at the autophagosome OPEN Amanda S. Coutts and Nicholas B. La Thangue Autophagy is a catabolic process whereby cellular components are degraded by the autophagosome, but the role of the actin cytoskeleton is not clear. Here Coutts and La Thangue show that the actin nucleator JMY is recruited to the autophagosome via binding LC3, and promotes actin nucleation that is required for autophagosome maturation. 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8888 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Chemically related 4,5-linked aminoglycoside antibiotics drive subunit rotation in opposite directions OPEN Michael R. Wasserman, Arto Pulk, Zhou Zhou, Roger B. Altman, John C. Zinder, Keith D. Green, Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova, Jamie H. Doudna Cate and Scott C. Blanchard Ratchet-like rotation of the small ribosomal subunit relative to the large is essential to the translation mechanism. Here, the authors show that chemically related aminoglycoside antibiotics have distinct impacts on the nature and rate of the subunit rotation process within the intact ribosome. 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8896 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Chemical biology  Band structure engineering via piezoelectric fields in strained anisotropic CdSe/CdS nanocrystals OPEN Sotirios Christodoulou, Fernando Rajadell, Alberto Casu, Gianfranco Vaccaro, Joel Q. Grim, Alessandro Genovese, Liberato Manna, Juan I. Climente, Francesco Meinardi, Gabriele Rainò, Thilo Stöferle, Rainer F. Mahrt, Josep Planelles, Sergio Brovelli and Iwan Moreels Quantum dots confine electrons to a nanometre length scale, and this gives rise to numerous quantum effects. Here, the authors directly control the excitonic structure of nanocrystal quantum dots by manipulating intra-particle piezoelectric fields. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8905 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Detecting anthropogenic footprints in sea level rise OPEN Sönke Dangendorf, Marta Marcos, Alfred Müller, Eduardo Zorita, Riccardo Riva, Kevin Berk and Jürgen Jensen The contribution of anthropogenic forcing to rising sea levels during the industrial era remains uncertain. Here, the authors provide a probabilistic evaluation and show that at least 45% of global mean sea level rise is of anthropogenic origin. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8849 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Oceanography  Single-trial dynamics of motor cortex and their applications to brain-machine interfaces OPEN Jonathan C. Kao, Paul Nuyujukian, Stephen I. Ryu, Mark M. Churchland, John P. Cunningham and Krishna V. Shenoy In online experiments with monkeys the authors demonstrate, for the first time, that incorporating neural dynamics substantially improves brain–machine interface performance. This result is consistent with a framework hypothesizing that motor cortex is a dynamical machine that generates movement. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8759 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Loss of ATM accelerates pancreatic cancer formation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition OPEN Ronan Russell, Lukas Perkhofer, Stefan Liebau, Qiong Lin, André Lechel, Fenja M Feld, Elisabeth Hessmann, Jochen Gaedcke, Melanie Güthle, Martin Zenke, Daniel Hartmann, Guido von Figura, Stephanie E Weissinger, Karl-Lenhard Rudolph, Peter Möller, Jochen K Lennerz, Thomas Seufferlein, Martin Wagner and Alexander Kleger Mutations in the serine/threonine kinase ataxia teleangiectasia mutated (ATM) have been linked to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cohorts. Here Russell et al. show that loss of ATM induces a greater number of proliferative precursor lesions in a mouse model, recapitulating many features of human PDAC subtypes. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8677 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Flash Joule heating for ductilization of metallic glasses OPEN I. V. Okulov, I. V. Soldatov, M. F. Sarmanova, I. Kaban, T. Gemming, K. Edström and J. Eckert Metallic glasses (MG) have higher yield strengths than crystalline alloys but at the same time are very brittle, which has hampered practical applications. Here, the authors use flash Joule heating to design a MG-matrix composite with a uniform distribution of ductile crystals, improving mechanical properties. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8932 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Deep and high-resolution three-dimensional tracking of single particles using nonlinear and multiplexed illumination OPEN Evan P. Perillo, Yen-Liang Liu, Khang Huynh, Cong Liu, Chao-Kai Chou, Mien-Chie Hung, Hsin-Chih Yeh and Andrew K. Dunn Existing single-particle tracking techniques are limited in terms of penetration depth, tracking range or temporal resolution. Here, Perillo et al. demonstrate three-dimensional particle tracking up to 200-μm depth, with 35-nm spatial localization and 50-μs resolution using multiplexed two-photon excitation. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8874 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  GABA signalling modulates plant growth by directly regulating the activity of plant-specific anion transporters OPEN Sunita A. Ramesh, Stephen D. Tyerman, Bo Xu, Jayakumar Bose, Satwinder Kaur, Vanessa Conn, Patricia Domingos, Sana Ullah, Stefanie Wege, Sergey Shabala, José A. Feijó, Peter R. Ryan and Matthew Gillham GABA is an important neurotransmitter in animals, and while it accumulates in plants under stress, its potential role in plant signalling was poorly understood. Here, Ramesh et al. show that GABA rapidly alters the activity of plant ALMT anion channels modifying root growth and stress tolerance. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8879 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Legionella suppresses the host unfolded protein response via multiple mechanisms OPEN Sean Treacy-Abarca and Shaeri Mukherjee The bacterium Legionella pneumophila, a causative agent of severe pneumonia, replicates inside an endoplasmic reticulum-like organelle in the host cells. Here, Treacy-Abarca and Mukherjee show that the pathogen dampens the host’s unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway by multiple mechanisms. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8887 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Microbiology  Micromotors with asymmetric shape that efficiently convert light into work by thermocapillary effects OPEN Claudio Maggi, Filippo Saglimbeni, Michele Dipalo, Francesco De Angelis and Roberto Di Leonardo The direct conversion of light into work allows the control of micromotors, but typically with low efficiencies and high power density requirements. Here, Maggi et al. demonstrate efficient thermocapillary propulsion of microgears on a liquid–air interface with wide-field, incoherent illumination. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8855 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Optical physics  14-3-3ζ coordinates adipogenesis of visceral fat OPEN Gareth E. Lim, Tobias Albrecht, Micah Piske, Karnjit Sarai, Jason T. C Lee, Hayley S. Ramshaw, Sunita Sinha, Mark A. Guthridge, Amparo Acker-Palmer, Angel F. Lopez, Susanne M. Clee, Corey Nislow and James D. Johnson 14-3-3 family proteins are adaptor proteins involved in various cellular functions. Here Lim et al. show that 14-3-3ζ regulates adipogenesis in vitro, and the formation of visceral fat in mice, by reducing autophagic degradation of the adipogenic master transcription factor C/EBP-δ. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8671 Biological Sciences  Medical research  An MTCH2 pathway repressing mitochondria metabolism regulates haematopoietic stem cell fate Maria Maryanovich, Yehudit Zaltsman, Antonella Ruggiero, Andres Goldman, Liat Shachnai, Smadar Levin Zaidman, Ziv Porat, Karin Golan, Tsvee Lapidot and Atan Gross Changes in the metabolic state of stem cells can trigger a shift from quiescence into cell cycle entry. Here Maryanovich et al. identify mitochondrial carrier homolog 2 (MCH2) as a negative regulator of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in haematopoietic stem cells, maintaining their homeostasis. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms8901 Biological Sciences  Cell biology    Nature communications JOBS of the week Research Associate Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Research Associate (Fixed Term) University of Cambridge PhD position (m / f) / Postdoctoral (m / f) Universitatsklinikum Ulm Research Associate in Mixed Methods University of Bristol Tenure-track Faculty Positions Washington University School of Medicine Tenure-track Junior Level Faculty Position Stanford University Postdoctoral Associate Yale University School of Medicine Bioinformatician The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) Postdoctoral position(s) INSERM - IMRB U955 - Team 10 More Science jobs from Nature communications EVENT The Annual Conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders 13.07.16 Amsterdam More science events from       Latest Corrigenda     Corrigendum: Grb2 monomer–dimer equilibrium determines normal versus oncogenic function Zamal Ahmed, Zahra Timsah, Kin M. Suen, Nathan P. Cook, Gilbert R. Lee IV, Chi-Chuan Lin, Mihai Gagea, Angel A. Marti and John E. Ladbury 03 August 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms9007 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology      Corrigendum: Parkinson-causing α-synuclein missense mutations shift native tetramers to monomers as a mechanism for disease initiation Ulf Dettmer, Andrew J. Newman, Frank Soldner, Eric S. Luth, Nora C. Kim, Victoria E. von Saucken, John B. Sanderson, Rudolf Jaenisch, Tim Bartels and Dennis Selkoe 30 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms9008 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  Neuroscience        Latest Erratum     Erratum: Characterization of functional methylomes by next-generation capture sequencing identifies novel disease-associated variants Fiona Allum, Xiaojian Shao, Frédéric Guénard, Marie-Michelle Simon, Stephan Busche, Maxime Caron, John Lambourne, Julie Lessard, Karolina Tandre, Åsa K Hedman, Tony Kwan, Bing Ge, null null, Kourosh R. Ahmadi, Chrysanthi Ainali, Amy Barrett, Veronique Bataille, Jordana T. Bell, Alfonso Buil, Emmanouil T. Dermitzakis et al. 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms9016 Biological Sciences  Genetics        Latest Retraction     Retraction: An actin-dependent spindle position checkpoint ensures the asymmetric division in mouse oocytes Aïcha Metchat, Manuel Eguren, Julius M. Hossain, Antonio Z. Politi, Sébastien Huet and Jan Ellenberg 29 July 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms9124 Biological Sciences  Cell biology      Advertisement An open access journal dedicated to highlighting the most important scientific advances in Parkinson's disease research, spanning the motor and non-motor disorders of Parkinson's disease. Part of the Nature Partner Journals series, npj Parkinson's Disease is published in partnership with the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Open for submissions.   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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