Subject: Nature 16 August 2007 Volume 448 Number 7155, pp727-838

From: "Nature Alert"<[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:37:17 -0400 (EDT)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume 448 Number 7155 727-838

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Editorials
Research Highlights
News
News in Brief
Business
News Features
Correspondence
Books and Arts
News and Views
Review
Article
Letters
Naturejobs
Futures

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Editorials

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Mbeki's mistake p727
South Africa's government has removed the minister most closely associated with public discussion of the country's HIV epidemic. But it must stand by its promises to implement a fresh AIDS strategy.
doi:10.1038/448727a
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Division of labour p727
The European Research Council shouldn't be coy about saying who will get its first set of grants.
doi:10.1038/448727b
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Men [sic] p728
Our 1869 mission statement is out of date.
doi:10.1038/448728a
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Research Highlights

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Research highlights p730
doi:10.1038/448730a
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Correction p731
doi:10.1038/448731a
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News

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Not so secure after all p732
How safe are our microbiology labs?
Daniel Cressey
doi:10.1038/448732a
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Sidelines p732
doi:10.1038/448733a
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Dengue fever climbs the social ladder p734
Dengue fever was once a disease restricted to poor people in tropical areas. Its resurgence now threatens middle-class urbanites in cities such as Singapore. Ewen Callaway asks whether Asia's ever-growing wealth will propel a treatment or vaccine to market.
doi:10.1038/448734a
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Geneticist trades plants for politics p736
Nina Fedoroff begins as science and technology adviser to the US state department.
doi:10.1038/448736a
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Achievement index climbs the ranks p737
Hirsch measure can predict future success of researchers, says Hirsch.
Philip Ball
doi:10.1038/448737a
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Snapshot: Trouble in paradise p738
Bali's first human bird-flu victim.
David Cyranoski
doi:10.1038/448738a
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Transparency urged over research payments p738
Senator calls for public register of drug-company funds to doctors.
Erika Check
doi:10.1038/448738b
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News in Brief

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News in brief p739
doi:10.1038/448739a
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Correction p739
doi:10.1038/448739b
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Business

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Powerful incentives p741
Can an expanded loan guarantee programme dispel US power companies' hesitation about resuming construction of nuclear power plants? Geoff Brumfiel investigates.
doi:10.1038/448741a
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News Features

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Space exploration: Secrets of the martian soil p742
For 30 years scientists have believed that there are no organic molecules in the martian soil. Will NASA's Phoenix probe prove them right or wrong, asks Corinna Wu.
doi:10.1038/448742a
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See also: Editor's summary

Materials chemistry: Space invaders p746
Space exploration usually means leaving Earth's orbit. But chemists are now burrowing inside solids to open new vistas. Katharine Sanderson reports from the internal frontier.
doi:10.1038/448746a
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See also: Editor's summary

Correspondence

Top

Scientific bodies must take own action on emissions p749
Andrew Biggin
doi:10.1038/448749a
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Bush has not obstructed environmental protection p749
Granta Nakayama
doi:10.1038/448749b
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Chemical reaction to the many-worlds hypothesis p749
Pedro Cintas
doi:10.1038/448749c
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International research may leave women adrift p749
Asha Gopinathan
doi:10.1038/448749d
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Books and Arts

Top

The art of persuasion p751
Surprisingly, the rhetoric of the literary artist still has a place in persuasive scientific texts.
Steven Shapin reviews The Scientific Literature: A Guided Tour
doi:10.1038/448751a
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Material metaphors p752
Robert N. Proctor reviews Origins and Revolutions: Human Identity in Earliest Prehistory by Clive Gamble
doi:10.1038/448752a
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See also: Editor's summary

Science in culture: Left to digest p753
In ancient art, banqueters always recline on their left side — perhaps to aid digestion.
Paolo Mazzarello and Maurizio Harari
doi:10.1038/448753a
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See also: Editor's summary

News and Views

Top

Biological chemistry: Enzymes line up for assembly p755
Many enzymes have a series of catalytic sites, lined up like beads on a string. A previously unknown link in one of these molecular assembly lines involves an unexpected approach to a common biochemical reaction.
Nicholas M. Llewellyn and Jonathan B. Spencer
doi:10.1038/448755a
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See also: Editor's summary

Seismology: Talc at fault p756
The behaviour of the San Andreas fault varies along its length — it slips in some places and creeps in others. The discovery of the ultrasoft mineral talc in rocks from deep inside the fault could help to explain why.
Christopher Wibberley
doi:10.1038/448756a
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See also: Editor's summary

Biochemistry: Designer enzymes p757
Evolution has crafted thousands of enzymes that are efficient catalysts for a plethora of reactions. Human attempts at enzyme design trail far behind, but may benefit from exploiting evolutionary tactics.
Michael P. Robertson and William G. Scott
doi:10.1038/448757a
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Materials science: Metal turned to glass p758
In order to form a glass by cooling a liquid, the normal process of solid crystallization must be bypassed. Achieving that for a pure metal had seemed impossible — until pressure was applied to liquid germanium.
Gilles Tarjus
doi:10.1038/448758a
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See also: Editor's summary

Parkinson's disease: Pro-survival effects of PINK1 p759
However parkinsonism is initiated, the progressive symptoms are similarly devastating. So insights from analyses of gene mutations linked to these disorders should aid a better general understanding of them.
Asa Abeliovich
doi:10.1038/448759a
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Astrophysics: Photons from a hotter hell p760
Blazars are massive black holes sending out particle jets at close to the speed of light. Stupendously fast, intense bursts of highly energetic γ-rays indicate that the blazar environment is even more extreme than was thought.
Trevor Weekes
doi:10.1038/448760a
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50 & 100 Years Ago p761
doi:10.1038/448761a
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Computational biochemistry: Models of transition p762
Is it possible to determine the role of an enzyme from its structure? The latest findings suggest that it is, and prove the point by predicting the substrate for an enzyme of unknown function.
JoAnne Stubbe
doi:10.1038/448762a
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See also: Editor's summary

Earth science: Coastal catastrophe in Phoenicia p763
Tim Lincoln
doi:10.1038/448763a
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Correction p763
doi:10.1038/448763b
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Obituary: Anne McLaren (1927–2007) p764
Inspiring reproductive biologist and mammalian geneticist.
Azim Surani and Jim Smith
doi:10.1038/448764a
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Obituary: Donald Michie (1923–2007) p765
Father of artificial intelligence in Britain.
Margaret Boden
doi:10.1038/448765a
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Reviews

Top

The common biology of cancer and ageing p767
Toren Finkel, Manuel Serrano and Maria A. Blasco
doi:10.1038/nature05985
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary

Articles

Top

Structure-based activity prediction for an enzyme of unknown function p775
A computational approach is used to predict the function of an uncharacterized enzyme by docking high-energy intermediate forms of candidate metabolites into its purported binding site. The docking experiments predicted that the enzyme would be able to deaminate intermediates of 5-methylthioadenosine and S-adenosylhomocysteine, a prediction confirmed by biochemical experiments and examination of the X-ray crystal structure of the protein.
Johannes C. Hermann et al.
doi:10.1038/nature05981
Abstract | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Stubbe

Letters

Top

A turbulent wake as a tracer of 30,000 years of Mira’s mass loss history p780
Mira is one of a class of low-to-intermediate mass stars in the late stages of stellar evolution. This paper reports the discovery of an ultraviolet-emitting bow shock and turbulent wake extending over 2 degrees on the sky, arising from Mira's large space velocity and the interaction between its wind and the interstellar medium. This wind wake is a tracer of the last 30,000 years of Mira's mass-loss history.
D. Christopher Martin et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06003
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary

Generation of optical ‘Schrödinger cats’ from photon number states p784
This paper theoretically and experimentally demonstrates a protocol that allows the generation of arbitrarily large squeezed Schrödinger cat states, using homodyne detection and photon number states as resources. The protocol was implemented with light pulses containing two photons, producing a squeezed Schrödinger cat state with a negative Wigner function.
Alexei Ourjoumtsev, Hyunseok Jeong, Rosa Tualle-Brouri and Philippe Grangier
doi:10.1038/nature06054
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary

Vitrification of a monatomic metallic liquid p787
Recent theoretical insights into the factors controlling glass formation have been used to determine the experimental conditions for successful vitrification of metallic liquid germanium. Not only has the first monatomic metallic glass been created, but evidence for a rare liquid–liquid phase transition in this system has also been found.
M. H. Bhat et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06044
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Tarjus

Indirect radiative forcing of climate change through ozone effects on the land-carbon sink p791
The impact of projected changes in ozone levels on the land-carbon sink are estimated with the help of a global carbon cycle model, which accounts for interactions between ozone and carbon dioxide through stomatal closure. A significant suppression of the global land carbon sink as increases in ozone concentrations affect plant productivity is found. The resulting indirect radiative forcing by ozone effects on plants could contribute more to global warming than the direct radiative forcing.
S. Sitch, P. M. Cox, W. J. Collins and C. Huntingford
doi:10.1038/nature06059
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary

Talc-bearing serpentinite and the creeping section of the San Andreas fault p795
This paper reports the discovery of talc in cuttings of serpentinite collected during drilling of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth main hole in 2005. The frictional strength of talc at elevated temperatures is sufficiently low to meet the constraints on shear strength of the fault, and its inherently stable sliding behaviour is consistent with fault creep. Talc may therefore provide the connection between serpentinite and creep in the San Andreas fault.
Diane E. Moore and Michael J. Rymer
doi:10.1038/nature06064
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Wibberley

Female mate-choice drives the evolution of male-biased dispersal in a social mammal p798
Dispersal affects lifetime reproductive success, and in group-living mammals it is usually the males that disperse. Male-biased dispersal in the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) is the result of an adaptive response of males to female mate choice associated with inbreeding avoidance.
O. P. Höner et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06040
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
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Correlation between neural spike trains increases with firing rate p802
Deciphering a 'neural code' usually requires measurement of either the rate of spike (electrical impulses) production or the spike synchrony. However, these two measures are not independent, as higher rates are associated with higher synchrony. It is further shown that the connection between rate and synchrony enhances information coding.
Jaime de la Rocha et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06028
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF

LKB1 modulates lung cancer differentiation and metastasis p807
Mutations in the Lbk1 tumour suppressor gene are found in the squamous carcinoma subtype of non-small cell lung cancers for the first time. In a mouse model for lung cancer in which Lkb1 loss is combined with Kras mutations, more aggressive tumours arise than with Kras mutations alone and often these are classified as squamous carcinomas, thus Lkb1 loss modulates lung cancer differentiation.
Hongbin Ji et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06030
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary

Cdk1 is sufficient to drive the mammalian cell cycle p811
Mouse lacking all interphase Cdks (Cdk2, Cdk3, Cdk4 and Cdk6) undergo organogenesis and develop to midgestation, and individual cells lacking all 3 kinases are able to proliferate. However, Cdk1 is shown to be absolutely essential for cell division during the first stages of embryonic development.
David Santamaría et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06046
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF

Small self-RNA generated by RNase L amplifies antiviral innate immunity p816
RNA molecules in virus-infected cells trigger interferon production and initiate antiviral innate immunity. This paper shows that small RNA cleavage products from 'self' RNA, generated by the antiviral endonuclease RNas L, can initiate and amplify antiviral responses.
Krishnamurthy Malathi, Beihua Dong, Michael Gale, Jr and Robert H. Silverman
doi:10.1038/nature06042
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary

Break-induced replication and telomerase-independent telomere maintenance require Pol32 p820
Break-induced replication repair (BIR) of a DNA double-strand break requires Polα and Polδ to initiate replication, while Polε is needed to extend the replication patch. This BIR also uniquely requires Pol32, a Polδ subunit that is not necessary for normal replication.
John R. Lydeard, Suvi Jain, Miyuki Yamaguchi and James E. Haber
doi:10.1038/nature06047
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF

A transglutaminase homologue as a condensation catalyst in antibiotic assembly lines p824
AdmF catalyzes the formation of the first amide bond in andrimid biosynthesis, indicating that AdmF is a novel biosynthetic enzyme that acts as a stand-alone amide synthase between protein-bound, thiotemplated substrates in an antibiotic enzymatic assembly line. This constitutes the first report of a transglutaminase-like enzyme recruited for the assembly of an antibiotic.
Pascal D. Fortin, Christopher T. Walsh and Nathan A. Magarvey
doi:10.1038/nature06068
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Llewellyn & Spencer

Selection and evolution of enzymes from a partially randomized non-catalytic scaffold p828
New enzymatic activities can be evolved de novo (that is, without the need for prior mechanistic information) by using mRNA-display. Functional proteins were selected for from an in vitro translated protein library of high complexity and it was possible to isolate novel RNA ligases that exhibited rate enhancements of more than two million-fold.
Burckhard Seelig and Jack W. Szostak
doi:10.1038/nature06032
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF
See also: News and Views by Robertson & Scott

Naturejobs

Top

Prospect
US bill should give career opportunities in the physical sciences a boost. p833
Gene Russo
doi:10.1038/nj7155-833a
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Postdocs and Students
The seven-year itch p834
Sabbaticals offer scientists respite and a chance at reinvention. Hannah Hoag explores the year off.
Hannah Hoag
doi:10.1038/nj7155-834a
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Futures

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Succussion p838
A radical solution.
Steve Longworth
doi:10.1038/448838a
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Advance Online Publication

Top

15 August 2007
LETTER
Crystal structure of the MgtE Mg2+ transporter
Motoyuki Hattori, Yoshiki Tanaka, Shuya Fukai, Ryuichiro Ishitani & Osamu Nureki
doi:10.1038/nature06093
First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF | Supplementary information

12 August 2007
LETTERS
Loss of integrin αvβ8 on dendritic cells causes autoimmunity and colitis in mice
Mark A. Travis et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06110
First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF | Supplementary information

The structural basis for activation of plant immunity by bacterial effector protein AvrPto
Weiman Xing et al.
doi:10.1038/nature06109
First Paragraph | Full Text | PDF | Supplementary information

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| | Lab Assistant | | Kelly Scientific Resources | | US-OH-Miamisburg |
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| Postdoctoral Research Scientist | | The Mater Misericordiae Hospital | | Dublin, Ireland
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| Associate / Full Professor | | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center | | Houston, TX 77030
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| Associate Director | | U.S. Department of Energy | | Washington DC United States
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| Faculty Research Assistant | | Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, UMCES | | Solomons, MD 20688
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