Table of contents
Volume 450 Number 7168 pp319-456
(this content only available online) indicates content that is available online only
Editorials
The heat is on p319
At December's climate-change meeting, everyone can agree on one thing: it is make-or-break time.
doi:10.1038/450319a
Enhancing, not cheating p320
A broad debate about the use of drugs that improve cognition for both the healthy and the ill is needed.
doi:10.1038/450320a
Prescription for change p320
Health research in Italy is in desperate need of a fresh start.
doi:10.1038/450320b
News
Pakistan's universities take up protest p324
Scientists demonstrate against state of emergency.
Ehsan Masood
doi:10.1038/450324a
Merck settles Vioxx lawsuits for $4.85 billion p324
But drug firm maintains it was not at fault over arthritis drug.
Meredith Wadman
doi:10.1038/450324b
HIV vaccine may raise risk p325
Infection rates increase in some trial participants.
Heidi Ledford
doi:10.1038/450325a
The price of power p326
The price of oil is hovering at around US$100 a barrel, a psychologically powerful level that experts and analysts once discussed in purely theoretical terms. John Deutch, a chemistry professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and former director of the US Central Intelligence Agency under President Clinton, gives his thoughts on the issue.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/450326a
Graphic detail Countries with highest CO2-emitting power sectors (Tonnes per year) p327
World's most CO2 emitting power stations revealed.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/450327a
Panel negotiates climate 'synthesis report' p327
IPCC summarizes science data in 100 pages for policy-makers.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/450327b
Snapshot: Light relief p329
Jellyfish add a touch of glass to the ceiling.
Nick Thomas
doi:10.1038/450329a
Brain waves reveal intensity of pain p329
Neural signal offers objective measure of subjective experience.
Kerri Smith
doi:10.1038/450329b
Light wormholes could wire space invisibly p330
Invisible channels offer optical collusion.
Philip Ball
doi:10.1038/450330a
Sidelines p331
Scribbles on the margins of science.
doi:10.1038/450331a
New Jersey rebuffs loan to fund stem-cell research p332
doi:10.1038/450332a
Accelerator will bring antiproton beam online p332
doi:10.1038/450332b
Knowledge gaps pour cold water on sea fertilization p332
doi:10.1038/450332c
Patient privacy rules hamper US research p332
doi:10.1038/450332d
Cap on overheads may put universities off defence p332
doi:10.1038/450332e
Lunar pole captured on Moon video p332
doi:10.1038/450332f
Column
Party of OnePolitical climate p333
American legislators are getting started on the first laws to tackle greenhouse-gas emissions. But Congress has a long way to go, says David Goldston.
David Goldston
doi:10.1038/450333a
Business
Worth its weight in platinum p334
Booming mineral prices leave car makers scrambling to eke more catalytic performance out of precious metals. Jeff Tollefson reports.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/450334a
Pullback from proteins p335
doi:10.1038/450335a
Tag team p335
doi:10.1038/450335b
Flu drug fall p335
doi:10.1038/450335c
Market watch p335
Quirin Schiermeier
doi:10.1038/450335d
News Features
Climate politics: Showdown in a sunburnt country p336
Climate is shaping up as an issue in the 24 November Australian elections, as Stephen Pincock reports.
doi:10.1038/450336a
Climate politics: Beyond Bush p340
The next US president could lead the country into meaningful action on controlling greenhousegas emissions, but only if he, or she, can seize the moment. Jeff Tollefson reports.
doi:10.1038/450340a
Climate politics: The first cut p342
For the first time, the US Congress has begun crafting comprehensive legislation to tackle global warming. Nature brought together five experts with various backgrounds to discuss the current political climate as the United States moves towards mandatory emissions caps.
doi:10.1038/450342a
Climate politics: What every president should know p345
If you want to lead the free world, you'd better know your physics. That's the lesson from a popular undergraduate class, called 'Physics for future presidents', taught by Richard A. Muller at the University of California, Berkeley. Here he sets some typical questions. An interactive version of this quiz with extended answers is online at http://www.nature.com/news/specials/climatepolitics/index.html.
doi:10.1038/450345a
Correspondence
Independent evidence backs call for a badger cull p346
David King
doi:10.1038/450346a
Kyoto: talks must include key aspects of science p346
Aynsley Kellow
doi:10.1038/450346b
Kyoto: no time to rearrange deckchairs on the Titanic p346
John Schellnhuber
doi:10.1038/450346c
Commentary
Who has the ear of the president? p347
50 years after the appointment of the first presidential science adviser, the White House is flooded with scientific information. Roger Pielke Jr suggests how the next administration might develop ways to use it best.
doi:10.1038/450347a
See also: Editor's summary
Books and Arts
A sixth mass extinction? p349
Past species losses have much to teach us about current and future declines due to human activity.
Chris D. Thomas reviews Terra: Our 100-Million-Year-Old Ecosystem — and the Threats that Now Put it at Risk by Michael Novacek
doi:10.1038/450349a
Prescient marine champion p350
Ken Collins reviews The Human, the Orchid and the Octopus: Exploring and Conserving our Natural World by Jacques Cousteau & Susan Schiefelbein
doi:10.1038/450350a
Human distilleries p350
Robert P. Crease reviews Rethinking Expertise by Harry Collins & Robert Evans
doi:10.1038/450350b
Blurring our edges p351
Judy Illes reviews Enhancing Evolution: The Ethical Case for Making Better People by John Harris and Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime by Aubrey de Grey & Michael Rae
doi:10.1038/450351a
Archimedes' secrets revealed p352
Brian Clegg reviews The Archimedes Codex by Reviel Netz & William Noel
doi:10.1038/450352a
Exhibition: The liquid of life p353
Josie Glausiusz reviews Water: H2O=Life
doi:10.1038/450353a
Essay
Science & politicsUse the calm between the storms p354
To save lives and livelihoods, natural and social scientists must work with decision-makers and politicians in the time between natural disasters as well as during them.
Steve Sparks
doi:10.1038/450354a
See also: Editor's summary
News and Views
Structural biology: A receptor unlocked p355
G-protein-coupled receptors govern many biological functions, yet little is known about the molecular basis of their activity. The structure of a prominent example of these receptors is now revealed.
Stephen R. Sprang
doi:10.1038/450355a
See also: Editor's summary
Planetary science: Isotopic lunacy p356
The Moon could have been derived from a well-mixed disk of rock vapour that was produced after the early Earth collided with another planet. This persuasive idea offers a fresh perspective on the history of both bodies.
Alex N. Halliday
doi:10.1038/450356a
Epigenetics: Reversing the 'irreversible' p357
"Do not speak — unless it improves on silence" is generally wise advice, and is even vital for a subset of essential genes. New studies describe how, when appropriate, the silence of these genes is broken.
Richard S. Jones
doi:10.1038/450357a
Carbon cycle: Quick burial at sea p360
The amount of river-borne carbon that is buried upon reaching the sea affects Earth's atmospheric composition. A study of rivers draining the Himalaya shows that carbon burial may occur more efficiently than was thought.
Caroline A. Masiello
doi:10.1038/450360a
Microbiology: Pathogen drop-kick p361
To set the scene for its replication, the bacterium Legionella pneumophila exploits its host cells' Rab1 protein. This pathogen seems to use minimal resources to mimic the normal cycle of Rab1 activity.
Suzanne Pfeffer
doi:10.1038/450361a
See also: Editor's summary
50 & 100 Years Ago p362
doi:10.1038/450362a
Quantum optics: Kittens catch phase p362
The most sensitive phase-measuring instrument yet uses quantum trickery and a scaled-down version of the notorious Schrödinger's cat. It means that more sensitive devices for metrology and imaging could be on the way.
Jonathan P. Dowling
doi:10.1038/450362b
See also: Editor's summary
Clarification p363
doi:10.1038/450363a
Brief Communications Arising
Anti-correlation of summer/winter monsoons? pE7
De'er Zhang & Longhua Lu
doi:10.1038/nature06338
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (360K)
Yancheva et al. reply pE8
Gergana Yancheva, Norbert R. Nowaczyk, Jens Mingram, Peter Dulski, Georg Schettler, Jörg F. W. Negendank, Jiaqi Liu, Daniel M. Sigman, Larry C. Peterson & Gerald H. Haug
doi:10.1038/nature06339
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (360K)
Record of winter monsoon strength pE10
Houyun Zhou, Huazheng Guan & Baoquan Chi
doi:10.1038/nature06408
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (94K)
Yancheva et al. reply pE11
Gergana Yancheva, Norbert R. Nowaczyk, Jens Mingram, Peter Dulski, Georg Schettler, Jörg F. W. Negendank, Jiaqi Liu, Daniel M. Sigman, Larry C. Peterson & Gerald H. Haug
doi:10.1038/nature06409
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (94K)
Articles
Legionella pneumophila proteins that regulate Rab1 membrane cycling p365
Alyssa Ingmundson, Anna Delprato, David G. Lambright & Craig R. Roy
doi:10.1038/nature06336
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (477K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Pfeffer
Portability of paddle motif function and pharmacology in voltage sensors p370
AbdulRasheed A. Alabi, Maria Isabel Bahamonde, Hoi Jong Jung, Jae Il Kim & Kenton J. Swartz
doi:10.1038/nature06266
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (770K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Atomic structure of a voltage-dependent K+ channel in a lipid membrane-like environment p376
Stephen B. Long, Xiao Tao, Ernest B. Campbell & Roderick MacKinnon
doi:10.1038/nature06265
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,485K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Crystal structure of the human 
2 adrenergic G-protein-coupled receptor p383
Søren G. F. Rasmussen, Hee-Jung Choi, Daniel M. Rosenbaum, Tong Sun Kobilka, Foon Sun Thian, Patricia C. Edwards, Manfred Burghammer, Venkata R. P. Ratnala, Ruslan Sanishvili, Robert F. Fischetti, Gebhard F. X. Schertler, William I. Weis & Brian K. Kobilka
doi:10.1038/nature06325
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,097K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Sprang
Letters
A runaway collision in a young star cluster as the origin of the brightest supernova p388
Simon F. Portegies Zwart & Edward P. J. van den Heuvel
doi:10.1038/nature06276
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (157K)
See also: Editor's summary
Pulsational pair instability as an explanation for the most luminous supernovae p390
S. E. Woosley, S. Blinnikov & Alexander Heger
doi:10.1038/nature06333
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (224K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Entanglement-free Heisenberg-limited phase estimation p393
B. L. Higgins, D. W. Berry, S. D. Bartlett, H. M. Wiseman & G. J. Pryde
doi:10.1038/nature06257
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (346K)
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Dowling
'Trapped rainbow' storage of light in metamaterials p397
Kosmas L. Tsakmakidis, Allan D. Boardman & Ortwin Hess
doi:10.1038/nature06285
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (632K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Generation of single optical plasmons in metallic nanowires coupled to quantum dots p402
A. V. Akimov, A. Mukherjee, C. L. Yu, D. E. Chang, A. S. Zibrov, P. R. Hemmer, H. Park & M. D. Lukin
doi:10.1038/nature06230
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (382K) | Supplementary information
Efficient organic carbon burial in the Bengal fan sustained by the Himalayan erosional system p407
Valier Galy, Christian France-Lanord, Olivier Beyssac, Pierre Faure, Hermann Kudrass & Fabien Palhol
doi:10.1038/nature06273
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (975K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Masiello
Cooperation and conflict in quorum-sensing bacterial populations p411
Stephen P. Diggle, Ashleigh S. Griffin, Genevieve S. Campbell & Stuart A. West
doi:10.1038/nature06279
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (250K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
SMRT-mediated repression of an H3K27 demethylase in progression from neural stem cell to neuron p415
Kristen Jepsen, Derek Solum, Tianyuan Zhou, Robert J. McEvilly, Hyun-Jung Kim, Christopher K. Glass, Ola Hermanson & Michael G. Rosenfeld
doi:10.1038/nature06270
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,141K) | Supplementary information
See also: News and Views by Jones
Neural substrates of awakening probed with optogenetic control of hypocretin neurons p420
Antoine R. Adamantidis, Feng Zhang, Alexander M. Aravanis, Karl Deisseroth & Luis de Lecea
doi:10.1038/nature06310
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (503K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
A synaptic memory trace for cortical receptive field plasticity p425
Robert C. Froemke, Michael M. Merzenich & Christoph E. Schreiner
doi:10.1038/nature06289
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (381K) | Supplementary information
BAI1 is an engulfment receptor for apoptotic cells upstream of the ELMO/Dock180/Rac module p430
Daeho Park, Annie-Carole Tosello-Trampont, Michael R. Elliott, Mingjian Lu, Lisa B. Haney, Zhong Ma, Alexander L. Klibanov, James W. Mandell & Kodi S. Ravichandran
doi:10.1038/nature06329
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (947K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Identification of Tim4 as a phosphatidylserine receptor p435
Masanori Miyanishi, Kazutoshi Tada, Masato Koike, Yasuo Uchiyama, Toshio Kitamura & Shigekazu Nagata
doi:10.1038/nature06307
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,142K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
SIRT1 regulates the histone methyl-transferase SUV39H1 during heterochromatin formation p440
Alejandro Vaquero, Michael Scher, Hediye Erdjument-Bromage, Paul Tempst, Lourdes Serrano & Danny Reinberg
doi:10.1038/nature06268
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (840K) | Supplementary information
Molecular basis of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase II activity p445
Elisabeth Lehmann, Florian Brueckner & Patrick Cramer
doi:10.1038/nature06290
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (664K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Corrigendum
Positive darwinian selection at the imprinted MEDEA locus in plants p450
Charles Spillane, Karl J. Schmid, Sylvia Laoueillé-Duprat, Stéphane Pien, Juan-Miguel Escobar-Restrepo, Célia Baroux, Valeria Gagliardini, Damian R. Page, Kenneth H. Wolfe & Ueli Grossniklaus
doi:10.1038/nature06439
Naturejobs
ProspectProspects p451
Research parks are sprouting up all over North America. Is there a downside?
Gene Russo
doi:10.1038/nj7168-451a
Region
Allowing an élite p452
Dropping the dogma that all are equal is letting Germany's centres of excellence flourish. Quirin Schiermeier meets the new leaders.
Quirin Schiermeier
doi:10.1038/nj7168-452a
Highlights
Opportunities: The National Institutes of Health
doi:10.1038/nj0190
Spotlight
Spotlight on Germany
doi:10.1038/nj0191
