Table of contents
Volume 451 Number 7180 pp745-864
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Editorials
Nuclear security undervalued p745
The world's only agency for assuring global standards and security in nuclear installations needs an upgrade. This cannot be done on the cheap.
doi:10.1038/451745a
Genetics benefits at risk p745
A rogue senator needs to be bypassed.
doi:10.1038/451745b
Down on the farms p746
Efforts by the Ministry of Defence to block offshore wind farms is at odds with Britain's long-term security.
doi:10.1038/451746a
News
Atomic agency to give verdict on Iran p750
The International Atomic Energy Agency is wrapping up its inquiry into Iran's nuclear activities and is expected to report its findings on 20 February. Declan Butler analyses how close the state is to nuclear weapons capability.
Declan Butler
doi:10.1038/451750a
Chinese astronomers look to Antarctic p752
Frozen heights of Dome A to play host to observatory.
Rachel Courtland
doi:10.1038/451752a
Natural gas back in favour with US power companies p753
Coal gets cold shoulder as utilities anticipate carbon legislation.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/451753a
Lessons from the dark side p755
What role did German scientists and their funding organization play in supporting Nazi policies during 1933?45? In a bid to find out, Germany's research council, the DFG, sponsored a seven-year investigation into its own history that ended last month. One of the historians who led the study, Ulrich Herbert of the University of Freiburg, discusses the findings.
Alison Abbott
doi:10.1038/451755a
Sidelines p756
Scribbles on the margins of science.
doi:10.1038/451756a
From Russia with scintillation p756
The story of CERN's crucial crystals.
Geoff Brumfiel
doi:10.1038/451756b
Biofuels might create more emissions than they save p759
doi:10.1038/451759a
Collectors claim trade treaty is obstructive p759
doi:10.1038/451759b
Illumina unveils genome sequence of African male p759
doi:10.1038/451759c
Head of US environmental health agency resigns p759
doi:10.1038/451759d
Cash crisis puts Sunshine Project in the shade p759
doi:10.1038/451759e
Europe's lab finally arrives at the space station p759
doi:10.1038/451759f
News Features
Speed dating: You have 4 minutes to choose your perfect mate p760
What is the secret to finding the right partner? Two researchers are using unconventional techniques to find out. Matt Kaplan investigates the science of speed dating.
doi:10.1038/451760a
Profile: Meet Exhibit I p763
George Church has made a name for himself as an 'information exhibitionist'. Erika Check Hayden explores how the technological sage is turning his gaze to the next horizon — you.
doi:10.1038/451763a
Scientific publishing: Identity crisis p766
Chinese authors are publishing more and more papers, but are they receiving due credit and recognition for their work? Not if their names get confused along the way. Jane Qiu reports.
doi:10.1038/451766a
Correspondence
Students find out that bacteria can cheat too p768
Nel C. Venzon, Jr
doi:10.1038/451768a
European adventures did nothing for people of Egypt p768
Ninad Bondre
doi:10.1038/451768b
Funding cuts leave 'golden era' looking tarnished p768
Phil Bland
doi:10.1038/451768c
Future stars of the lab need realistic role models p768
Sarah C. Hubbard
doi:10.1038/451768d
Freeing more carbon will accelerate global warming p768
Neil Wilson
doi:10.1038/451768e
Books and Arts
A close look at conflict p769
Psychology, neuroscience and physiology are missing from a new sociological study of violence.
Margo Wilson & Martin Daly review Violence: A Micro-Sociological Theory by Randall Collins
doi:10.1038/451769a
The invisible revolution p770
Vincent Dusastre reviews Nanosciences: La Révolution Invisible by Christian Joachim & Laurence Plévert
doi:10.1038/451770a
Exhibition: Essence of creation p771
Isabelle Kaufmann reviews Genesis — The Art of Creation
doi:10.1038/451771a
Genomes evolve, but how? p771
Axel Meyer reviews The Origins of Genome Architecture by Michael Lynch
doi:10.1038/451771b
See also: Editor's summary
Festival: Neural networking in Manhattan p772
Giovanni Frazzetto reviews Brainwave festival
doi:10.1038/451772a
News and Views
Granular matter: Static in motion p773
Wind-blown desert sands can charge up spontaneously. But although sand flow and the forces on charged bodies are well studied separately, surprisingly little is known of what happens when the two combine.
Troy Shinbrot & Hans J. Herrmann
doi:10.1038/451773a
Evolutionary biology: A first for bats p774
Which came first as bats evolved — flight or echolocation? Newly described fossils favour the flight-first hypothesis. But these creatures may have been otherwise equipped for flying at night.
John Speakman
doi:10.1038/451774a
See also: Editor's summary
Astrophysics: A story of singular degeneracy p775
Astronomers have a choice of two models of how type Ia supernovae arise. The progenitor for one of these huge stellar explosions has now been discovered, bringing a definitive judgement a little closer.
Edward P. J. van den Heuvel
doi:10.1038/451775a
See also: Editor's summary
50 & 100 Years Ago p776
doi:10.1038/451776a
Molecular biology: Cohesin branches out p777
The cohesin complex — best known for its role in cell division — does not rest between divisions, and instead participates in regulating gene expression. How it does this is only now becoming clear.
Frank Uhlmann
doi:10.1038/451777a
See also: Editor's summary
Catalysis: The art of splitting water p778
Plants produce oxygen from water, but the same chemical reaction is hard to achieve synthetically. A new family of catalysts could breathe fresh life into the quest for artificial photosynthesis.
Thomas J. Meyer
doi:10.1038/451778a
Evolutionary biology: Darwin in the fossils p779
Adaptation by natural selection is thought to drive evolution. Although it has been difficult to confirm this process in the fossil record, evidence has been there all along: we just haven't been looking properly.
Andrew P. Hendry
doi:10.1038/451779a
Obituary: M. Judah Folkman (1933–2008) p781
Scientist, surgeon and creator of the field of angiogenesis research.
Michael Klagsbrun & Marsha A. Moses
doi:10.1038/451781a
Brief Communications Arising
Nitrogen saturation and net ecosystem production pE1
An De Schrijver, Kris Verheyen, Jan Mertens, Jeroen Staelens, Karen Wuyts & Bart Muys
doi:10.1038/nature06578
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (123K)
Ecologically implausible carbon response? pE1
Wim de Vries, Svein Solberg, Matthias Dobbertin, Hubert Sterba, Daniel Laubhahn, Gert Jan Reinds, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Per Gundersen & Mark A. Sutton
doi:10.1038/nature06579
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (123K)
Magnani et al. reply pE3
Federico Magnani, Maurizio Mencuccini, Marco Borghetti, Frank Berninger, Sylvain Delzon, Achim Grelle, Pertti Hari, Paul G. Jarvis, Pasi Kolari, Andrew S. Kowalski, Harry Lankreijer, Beverly E. Law, Anders Lindroth, Denis Loustau, Giovanni Manca, John B. Moncrieff, Vanessa Tedeschi, Riccardo Valentini & John Grace
doi:10.1038/nature06580
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (123K)
Articles
The genome of the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis and the origin of metazoans p783
Nicole King, M. Jody Westbrook, Susan L. Young, Alan Kuo, Monika Abedin, Jarrod Chapman, Stephen Fairclough, Uffe Hellsten, Yoh Isogai, Ivica Letunic, Michael Marr, David Pincus, Nicholas Putnam, Antonis Rokas, Kevin J. Wright, Richard Zuzow, William Dirks, Matthew Good, David Goodstein, Derek Lemons, Wanqing Li, Jessica B. Lyons, Andrea Morris, Scott Nichols, Daniel J. Richter, Asaf Salamov, JGI Sequencing, Peer Bork, Wendell A. Lim, Gerard Manning, W. Todd Miller, William McGinnis, Harris Shapiro, Robert Tjian, Igor V. Grigoriev & Daniel Rokhsar
doi:10.1038/nature06617
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (400K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Dual control of nuclear EIN3 by bifurcate MAPK cascades in C2H4 signalling p789
Sang-Dong Yoo, Young-Hee Cho, Guillaume Tena, Yan Xiong & Jen Sheen
doi:10.1038/nature06543
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (950K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Cohesin mediates transcriptional insulation by CCCTC-binding factor p796
Kerstin S. Wendt, Keisuke Yoshida, Takehiko Itoh, Masashige Bando, Birgit Koch, Erika Schirghuber, Shuichi Tsutsumi, Genta Nagae, Ko Ishihara, Tsuyoshi Mishiro, Kazuhide Yahata, Fumio Imamoto, Hiroyuki Aburatani, Mitsuyoshi Nakao, Naoko Imamoto, Kazuhiro Maeshima, Katsuhiko Shirahige & Jan-Michael Peters
doi:10.1038/nature06634
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,225K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Uhlmann
Letters
Discovery of the progenitor of the type Ia supernova 2007on p802
Rasmus Voss & Gijs Nelemans
doi:10.1038/nature06602
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (236K)
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by van den Heuvel
Giant magneto-elastic coupling in multiferroic hexagonal manganites p805
Seongsu Lee, A. Pirogov, Misun Kang, Kwang-Hyun Jang, M. Yonemura, T. Kamiyama, S.-W. Cheong, F. Gozzo, Namsoo Shin, H. Kimura, Y. Noda & J.-G. Park
doi:10.1038/nature06507
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (320K) | Supplementary information
Microfibre–nanowire hybrid structure for energy scavenging p809
Yong Qin, Xudong Wang & Zhong Lin Wang
doi:10.1038/nature06601
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,050K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Sound velocities of majorite garnet and the composition of the mantle transition region p814
T. Irifune, Y. Higo, T. Inoue, Y. Kono, H. Ohfuji & K. Funakoshi
doi:10.1038/nature06551
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (382K) | Supplementary information
Primitive Early Eocene bat from Wyoming and the evolution of flight and echolocation p818
Nancy B. Simmons, Kevin L. Seymour, Jörg Habersetzer & Gregg F. Gunnell
doi:10.1038/nature06549
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (5,795K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Speakman
Chaos in a long-term experiment with a plankton community p822
Elisa Benincà, Jef Huisman, Reinhard Heerkloss, Klaus D. Jöhnk, Pedro Branco, Egbert H. Van Nes, Marten Scheffer & Stephen P. Ellner
doi:10.1038/nature06512
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (352K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Removal of phospho-head groups of membrane lipids immobilizes voltage sensors of K+ channels p826
Yanping Xu, Yajamana Ramu & Zhe Lu
doi:10.1038/nature06618
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,808K)
A modular switch for spatial Ca2+ selectivity in the calmodulin regulation of CaV channels p830
Ivy E. Dick, Michael R. Tadross, Haoya Liang, Lai Hock Tay, Wanjun Yang & David T. Yue
doi:10.1038/nature06529
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (1,164K) | Supplementary information
Co-option of a default secretory pathway for plant immune responses p835
Chian Kwon, Christina Neu, Simone Pajonk, Hye Sup Yun, Ulrike Lipka, Matt Humphry, Stefan Bau, Marco Straus, Mark Kwaaitaal, Heike Rampelt, Farid El Kasmi, Gerd Jürgens, Jane Parker, Ralph Panstruga, Volker Lipka & Paul Schulze-Lefert
doi:10.1038/nature06545
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (524K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Two levels of protection for the B cell genome during somatic hypermutation p841
Man Liu, Jamie L. Duke, Daniel J. Richter, Carola G. Vinuesa, Christopher C. Goodnow, Steven H. Kleinstein & David G. Schatz
doi:10.1038/nature06547
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (694K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
The structural basis of protein acetylation by the p300/CBP transcriptional coactivator p846
Xin Liu, Ling Wang, Kehao Zhao, Paul R. Thompson, Yousang Hwang, Ronen Marmorstein & Philip A. Cole
doi:10.1038/nature06546
PDB code
3D view
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (794K) | Supplementary information
The X-ray crystal structure of RNA polymerase from Archaea p851
Akira Hirata, Brianna J. Klein & Katsuhiko S. Murakami
doi:10.1038/nature06530
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (657K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Technology Features
Stem Cells: In search of common ground p855
With the number of stem-cell lines rapidly increasing, technology developers are working to improve systems for culturing and efficient differentiation — all with an eye on the clinic. Nathan Blow reports.
Nathan Blow
doi:10.1038/451855a
See also: Editor's summary
Stem Cells: Beyond the flat world p856
doi:10.1038/451856a
See also: Editor's summary
Stem Cells: A new path to pluripotency p858
doi:10.1038/451858a
See also: Editor's summary
Stem cells: Table of suppliers p859
doi:10.1038/451859a
See also: Editor's summary
Naturejobs
ProspectProspects p861
Graduate students strive to unionize, to their advantage and potentially their detriment.
Gene Russo
doi:10.1038/nj7180-861a
Career View
Alex Dehgan, senior scientist and policy adviser, US Department of State, Washington DC p862
Diverse experiences in Madagascar, Iraq and Afghanistan prepared new adviser to the state department for his post.
Virginia Gewin
doi:10.1038/nj7180-862a
Lab links with southern states p862
Oak Ridge expands mentor protégé programme.
Virginia Gewin
doi:10.1038/nj7180-862b
Serial postdoc p862
Kicking the postdoc habit.
Jon Yearsley
doi:10.1038/nj7180-862c
Highlights
Opportunities: The National Institutes of Health
doi:10.1038/nj0195
Futures
The champagne award p864
Planning for the future.
Gregory Benford
doi:10.1038/451864a
