Nature 27 March 2008 Volume 452 Number 7186, pp387-502

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Volume 452 Number 7186 pp387-502		This alert is sponsored by
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Editorials		Top
1917-2008: A Space Optimist p387 Arthur C. Clarke's technological prescience deserves to be honoured; his endless optimism needs to be cherished. doi:10.1038/452387a Full Text | PDF
Critical journalism p387 Science coverage is on the wane when public scrutiny of science is more important than ever. doi:10.1038/452387b Full Text | PDF
A reprogramming rush p388 Stem-cell research is in danger of falling foul of haste. doi:10.1038/452388a Full Text | PDF
Research Highlights		Top
Research highlights p390 doi:10.1038/452390a Full Text | PDF
Journal Club		Top
Journal club p391 Moty Heiblum doi:10.1038/452391a Full Text | PDF
News		Top
£130-million cut to grants hits UK physical scientists p392 Researchers fear job cuts. Daniel Cressey doi:10.1038/452392a Full Text | PDF
String theorists hope to classify the cosmos p392 Dimensions of space-time used to order potential universes. Geoff Brumfiel doi:10.1038/452392b Full Text | PDF
Sidelines p393 Scribbles on the margins of science. doi:10.1038/452393a Full Text | PDF
Bagged and boxed: it's a frog's life p394 As many amphibians face the very real threat of being completely wiped out by disease, climate change and pollution, Emma Marris looks at a controversial approach to save some of them in glass boxes. doi:10.1038/452394a Full Text | PDF
Laptops track Earth's shakes, rattles and rolls p397 A geoscientist devises a way to boost computing power. Erik Vance doi:10.1038/452397a Full Text | PDF
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Veto blocks Kansas coal plants — for now p398 doi:10.1038/452398a Full Text | PDF
Science debate looking less likely in Philadelphia p398 doi:10.1038/452398b Full Text | PDF
Valuable bacterial archive destroyed p398 doi:10.1038/452398c Full Text | PDF
China declares ambitious alternative-energy plans p399 doi:10.1038/452399a Full Text | PDF
Faculty protest at sale of Canadian observatory p399 doi:10.1038/452399b Full Text | PDF
Joint drug venture to end after 30 years p399 doi:10.1038/452399c Full Text | PDF
Outstanding mentors in Germany p399 doi:10.1038/452399d Full Text | PDF
News Features		Top
Chemistry: The photon trap p400 Chemists have long wanted to recreate photosynthesis in the lab — and to improve on its efficiency at converting sunlight into fuel. Katharine Sanderson reports on their latest efforts. doi:10.1038/452400a Full Text | PDF
Biodiversity: Frozen futures p404 The 'Doomsday vault' buried in the Arctic ice will provide a backup for the world's seeds. But more needs to be done to safeguard food diversity, says Michael Hopkin. doi:10.1038/452404a Full Text | PDF
Stem cells: 5 things to know before jumping on the iPS bandwagon p406 Induced pluripotent stem cells look just like embryonic stem cells, but are easier to create and free of the heavy ethics baggage. David Cyranoski separates fact from fiction in a burgeoning field. doi:10.1038/452406a Full Text | PDF
Correspondence		Top
Canadian government is committed to science p409 Jim Prentice doi:10.1038/452409a Full Text | PDF
Call for a centralized grant proposal repository p409 Noam Y. Harel doi:10.1038/452409b Full Text | PDF
Unfair statistics take the bloom off St Louis p409 Scott Jacques doi:10.1038/452409c Full Text | PDF
Books and Arts		Top
View from the top p411 From prisoner-of-war to head of Europe's space agency, astrophysicist Reimar Lüst reflects on his career. Stefan Klein reviews Der Wissenschaftsmacher doi:10.1038/452411a Full Text | PDF
Exhibition: Industrial paint's artistic legacy p412 Christopher Turner reviews Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today doi:10.1038/452412a Full Text | PDF
Exhibition: How faces share feelings p413 Jascha Hoffman reviews The Search for Universals in Human Emotion: Photographs from the New Guinea Expedition doi:10.1038/452413a Full Text | PDF
Exhibition: An eye for detail p413 Jenny Meyer reviews Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters: Women of Art and Science doi:10.1038/452413b Full Text | PDF
Hidden treasures: Florence's botanical collection p414 Italy's first centralized museum of plants was one of the early flowerings of the unification movement. Alison Abbott reports on an important scientific legacy. doi:10.1038/452414a Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
News and Views		Top
Catalysis: Triumph of a chemical underdog p415 In the fable of the tortoise and the hare, the reptilian slowcoach beats its fleet-footed rival in a race. A zinc catalyst recreates this story by giving a less reactive chemical group a turn of speed over a rival group. Gorka Peris and Scott J. Miller doi:10.1038/452415a Full Text | PDF
Circadian rhythms: Stem cells traffic in time p416 Circadian activity in the brain regulates the movement of blood stem cells into and out of the bone marrow. Perhaps this process is testing the suitability of these cell 'tenants' for their new home — the remodelling bone. David T. Scadden doi:10.1038/452416a Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Astronomy: Starbursts near and far p417 Observations of intensely bright star-forming galaxies both close by and in the far Universe seem to emphasize their similarities. But look a little closer, and telling differences emerge. Yu Gao doi:10.1038/452417a Full Text | PDF
50 & 100 Years Ago p417 doi:10.1038/452417b Full Text | PDF
Nanoelectronics: Spin surprise in carbon p419 Spintronics is an emerging branch of electronics that exploits electrons' spin, rather than charge. In carbon nanotubes, the coupling of this spin with electron motion could offer a desirable way to control quantum information. Arne Brataas doi:10.1038/452419a Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Neuroscience: Strength in numbers p420 To store information, the brain modulates synapses, which mediate communication between neurons. A closer look hints that subcellular changes in response to groups of synapses facilitate this process. Nelson Spruston doi:10.1038/452420a Full Text | PDF
Analytical chemistry: Do-it-yourself microfluidics p421 Tim Lincoln doi:10.1038/452421a Full Text | PDF
Obituary: Joshua Lederberg (1925–2008) p422 Decisive discoveries in bacterial genetics. Baruch S. Blumberg doi:10.1038/452422a Full Text | PDF
Article		Top
Genetics of gene expression and its effect on disease p423 In this paper gene expression is treated as a quantitative trait in both blood and adipose tissue, and associations between specific genetic loci and body mass index are identified using a molecular network approach. Valur Emilsson et al. doi:10.1038/nature06758 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Variations in DNA elucidate molecular networks that cause disease p429 Standard approaches to identify the genetic changes that lead to disease are reversed by examination of genetic networks for perturbations that are associated with disease states, and following up candidate genes from there. This begins with three genes in mice that lead to obesity when mutated, demonstrating that complex genetic–environmental traits can be dissected with this new approach. Yanqing Chen et al. doi:10.1038/nature06757 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Compartmentalized dendritic plasticity and input feature storage in neurons p436 A newly discovered mechanism for synaptic plasticity whereby higher-order information can be stored in the forward propagation of local dendritic branch spikes is described. It is reported that coupling between branches and the soma is not static as previously thought, but that an associative form of branch plasticity allows neurons to encode the spatio-temporal correlation of inputs. Attila Losonczy, Judit K. Makara and Jeffrey C. Magee doi:10.1038/nature06725 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: News and Views by Spruston
Haematopoietic stem cell release is regulated by circadian oscillations p442 Circulating haematopoetic stem cells and their progenitors exhibit robust circadian fluctuations, peaking 5 hours after the initiation of light and reaching a nadir 5 hours after darkness. Circadian oscillations are markedly altered when mice are subjected to continuous light or to a 'jet lag' (defined as a shift of 12 h). Data also suggests that circadian, neurally driven haematopoetic stem cells release during the animal's resting period may promote regeneration of the stem cell niche, and possibly of other tissues. Simón Méndez-Ferrer, Daniel Lucas, Michela Battista & Paul S. Frenette doi:10.1038/nature06685 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Scadden
Letters		Top
Coupling of spin and orbital motion of electrons in carbon nanotubes p448 Based on a detailed set of electronic transport measurements on high-quality, clean single-walled carbon nanotubes, direct signatures of electron spin-orbit coupling are observed. The findings may lead to new design principles for the realization of qubits in nanotubes. Furthermore, the observed spin-orbit coupling may prove to be a valuable tool as a mechanism for all-electrical control of spins in carbon nanotubes. F. Kuemmeth, S. Ilani, D. C. Ralph and P. L. McEuen doi:10.1038/nature06822 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Brataas
Proline-catalysed Mannich reactions of acetaldehyde p453 Organocatalysts are useful in a wide range of useful transformations, including a carbon–carbon bond forming process known as the Mannich reaction. But these reactions always failed when the simplest possible substrate, acetaldehyde, was used. This paper has now filled this gap in the market by devising effective organocatalytic conditions for Mannich reactions with acetaldehyde, greatly expanding the chemical 'toolkit' of organic chemists. Jung Woon Yang, Carley Chandler, Michael Stadler, Daniela Kampen & Benjamin List doi:10.1038/nature06740 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Tracing the stepwise oxygenation of the Proterozoic ocean p456 Molybdenum and total organic carbon data from black shales is used to gain insights into the redox state of the ocean. The data suggests mild oxidative weathering of the continents before ~2,200 Myr ago, but weathering becomes more persistent and vigorous at ~2,150 Myr ago, 200 million years after the initial rise in atmospheric oxygen. Limited availability of molybdenum after 1,800 Myr ago may have acted as a negative nutrient feedback limiting the spatial and temporal extent of sulphidic conditions. C. Scott et al. doi:10.1038/nature06811 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Lower-crustal intrusion on the North Atlantic continental margin p460 Near the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, the majority of basalt is intruded into the continent–ocean transition, rather than extruded onto the surface. This melt is intruded into the lower-crust as sills, which cross-cut the continental fabric, rather than as an 'underplate' of 100% melt, as has often been assumed. R. S. White et al. doi:10.1038/nature06687 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
The first hominin of Europe p465 The discovery of a human lower jaw associated with stone tools and animal bones from the Sima del Elefante in northern Spain is reported. The finds have been dated to between 1.1 and 1.2 million years using a variety of dating techniques, making the site the oldest and most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe. Eudald Carbonell et al. doi:10.1038/nature06815 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Pleiotropic scaling of gene effects and the 'cost of complexity' p470 As more genetic sequence data are generated, evolutionary biology questions about inheritance and phenotypes can be examined with sophisticated analyses. This paper examines pleiotropy, or multiple effects from one genetic mutation, on the skeletal characteristics of mice. It is concluded there is no 'cost of complexity' for higher organisms. Günter P. Wagner et al. doi:10.1038/nature06756 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
The Drosophila pheromone cVA activates a sexually dimorphic neural circuit p473 Despite marked behavioural differences between the sexes, surprisingly few anatomic features have been observed that differentiate the male and female brain in any species. But this study unveils a sexual dimorphism in the neuronal circuit responding to a pheromone, which induces different courtship behaviours in male and female fruitflies. The single neuron tracing technique that has been developed to do so should be useful to study the nervous systems of other genetically tractable species. Sandeep Robert et al. doi:10.1038/nature06808 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
Molecular identification of a retinal cell type that responds to upward motion p478 A transgenic molecular marking method is used to identify a class of mouse OFF retinal ganglion cells that selectivity respond to upwards motion and have a distinctive corresponding asymmetric morphology. In-Jung Kim et al. doi:10.1038/nature06739 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
CO2 regulator SLAC1 and its homologues are essential for anion homeostasis p483 One of two related studies that describe the identification of a protein which is an essential component for S type anion channel function and is required for stomatal closure in response to a variety of physiological and stress stimuli including carbon dioxide and ozone Juntaro Negi et al. doi:10.1038/nature06720 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
SLAC1 is required for plant guard cell S-type anion channel function p487 One of two related studies that describe the identification of a protein which is an essential component for S type anion channel function and is required for stomatal closure in response to a variety of physiological and stress stimuli including carbon dioxide and ozone. Triin Vahisalu et al. doi:10.1038/nature06608 Abstract | Full Text | PDF See also: Editor's summary
SIRT6 is a histone H3 lysine 9 deacetylase that modulates telomeric chromatin p492 The Sir2 family member SIRT6 is an NAD dependent, histone H3 lysine 9 deacetylase enzyme that modulates telomeric chromatin and is required for stable association of WRN, the factor that is mutated in Werner Syndrome. Eriko Michishita et al. doi:10.1038/nature06736 Abstract | Full Text | PDF
Naturejobs		Top
Prospect Prospects p497 Disease prevention should be fertile ground for researchers — if policy–makers catch up with the experts. Gene Russo doi:10.1038/nj7186-497a Full Text | PDF
Special Report The art of self-defence p498 Vaccines are no longer 'worthy but dull'. A heady mix of funding and breakthroughs is bringing this once-quiet area to life, says Virginia Gewin. Virginia Gewin doi:10.1038/nj7186-498a Full Text | PDF
Futures		Top
Acting up p502 Never work with children or animals. Elizabeth Counihan doi:10.1038/452502a Full Text | PDF
Advance Online Publication		Top
26 March 2008
Sequence- and target-independent angiogenesis suppression by siRNA via TLR3 Mark E. Kleinman et al. doi:10.1038/nature06765 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
LNA-mediated microRNA silencing in non-human primates Joacim Elmèn et al. doi:10.1038/nature06783 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
Retinotopic order in the absence of axon competition Nathan J et al. doi:10.1038/nature06816 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
TGF-beta-induced Foxp3 inhibits TH17 cell differentiation by antagonizing RORbold gammat function Liang Zhou et al. doi:10.1038/nature06878 Abstract | Full Text | PDF
23 March 2008
Control of Treg and TH17 cell differentiation by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor Francisco J. Quintana et al. doi:10.1038/nature06880 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
The genome of the model beetle and pest Tribolium castaneum Stephen Richards et al. doi:10.1038/nature06784 Abstract | Full Text | PDF
REST maintains self-renewal and pluripotency of embryonic stem cells Sanjay K. Singh, Mohamedi N. Kagalwala, Jan Parker-Thornburg, Henry Adams & Sadhan Majumder doi:10.1038/nature06863 Abstract | Full Text | PDF
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor links TH17-cell-mediated autoimmunity to environmental toxins Marc Veldhoen et al. doi:10.1038/nature06881 First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
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