Table of contents
Volume 458 Number 7242 pp1077-1212
(this content only available online) indicates content that is available online only
Editorials
Time to act p1077
Without a solid commitment from the world's leaders, innovative ways to combat climate change are likely to come to nothing.
doi:10.1038/4581077a
Authorship policies p1078
We are clarifying the duties of lead authors and making author-contribution statements mandatory.
doi:10.1038/4581078a
Research Highlights
Fluid dynamics: Dynamics of a dance p1080
doi:10.1038/4581080a
Chemistry: Fuel from thin air p1080
doi:10.1038/4581080b
Biochemistry: DNA base maker p1080
doi:10.1038/4581080c
Stem-cell biology: New stem-cell formula p1080
doi:10.1038/4581080d
Photonics: E-ink goes colour p1080
doi:10.1038/4581080e
Chemical biology: Getting the glow p1081
doi:10.1038/4581081a
Materials: Improving on nature p1081
doi:10.1038/4581081b
Genomics: X-linked mysteries p1081
doi:10.1038/4581081c
Climate: Ground truths p1081
doi:10.1038/4581081d
News
Swine flu goes global p1082
New influenza virus tests pandemic emergency preparedness.
Declan Butler
doi:10.1038/4581082a
California in clean-fuel drive p1083
State rule says biofuels aren't so green.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/4581083a
Japan goes for the sun p1084
Government pushes to regain national lead in solar-energy research.
David Cyranoski
doi:10.1038/4581084a
Basic researchers protest UK budget p1084
Reallocations threaten undirected fundamental research.
Geoff Brumfiel & Natasha Gilbert
doi:10.1038/4581084b
Obama says more money p1085
President promises rise in research and development funds.
Jeff Tollefson
doi:10.1038/4581085a
Funding cut for US nuclear waste dump p1086
Yucca Mountain's end would leave the country with few alternatives for a long-term repository.
Amanda Leigh Mascarelli
doi:10.1038/4581086a
Brain imaging skewed p1087
Double dipping of data magnifies errors in functional MRI scans.
Alison Abbott
doi:10.1038/4581087a
Fake Facebook pages spin web of deceit p1089
Stem-cell scientists are caught up in fictional friend network — but no-one knows why.
Lucas Laursen
doi:10.1038/news.2009.398
Close shave for Austrian science budget p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090a
Nobel laureate celebrates her centenary p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090b
Japan cuts red tape holding up stem-cell work p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090c
New UK coal must be partly 'clean' p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090d
Texas agencies sue over national disease lab p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090e
Researchers rally to support animal studies p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090f
Correction p1090
doi:10.1038/4581090g
News Features
Climate crunch: A burden beyond bearing p1091
The climate situation may be even worse than you think. In the first of three features, Richard Monastersky looks at evidence that keeping carbon dioxide beneath dangerous levels is tougher than previously thought.
doi:10.1038/4581091a
Sucking it up p1094
It's simple to mop carbon dioxide out of the air, but it could cost a lot of money. In the second of three features on the carbon challenge, Nicola Jones talks with the scientists pursuing this strategy.
doi:10.1038/4581094a
Great white hope p1097
Geoengineering schemes, such as brightening clouds, are being talked about ever more widely. In the third of three features, Oliver Morton looks at how likely they are to work.
doi:10.1038/4581097a
Correspondence
Stem-cell treatments for spinal-cord injury may be worth the risk p1101
Jesse Owens
doi:10.1038/4581101a
A lesson or two from a regional economic argument p1101
Daniel Schaffer
doi:10.1038/4581101b
Romanian funding cuts call for more stringent criteria p1101
Tudor Luchian
doi:10.1038/4581101c
Commentary
Overshoot, adapt and recover p1102
We will probably overshoot our current climate targets, so policies of adaptation and recovery need much more attention, say Martin Parry, Jason Lowe and Clair Hanson.
doi:10.1038/4581102a
Essay
The worst-case scenario p1104
Stephen Schneider explores what a world with 1,000 parts per million of CO2 in its atmosphere might look like.
Stephen Schneider
doi:10.1038/4581104a
Spring Books
Could climate change capitalism? p1107
Economist Nicholas Stern's latest book is a rare and masterly synthesis of climate-change science and economics. His 'global deal' could change capitalism for the better, says Robert Costanza.
Robert Costanza
doi:10.1038/4581107a
New in Paperback p1107
doi:10.1038/4581107b
Why inequality is fatal p1109
Michael Sargent reviews The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better by Richard Wilkinson & Kate Pickett
doi:10.1038/4581109a
Fiction beyond the grave p1110
Jascha Hoffman reviews Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
doi:10.1038/4581110a
Genes, games and the sexes p1111
John Odling-Smee reviews The Genial Gene: Deconstructing Darwinian Selfishness by Joan Roughgarden and Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origin of Mutual Understanding by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
doi:10.1038/4581111a
Managing nature as Earth warms p1112
Jessica J. Hellmann reviews Heatstroke: Nature in an Age of Global Warming by Anthony D. Barnosky
doi:10.1038/4581112a
Tales of top models p1113
Andrew F. Read reviews Pavlov's Dogs and Schrödinger's Cat: Scenes From the Living Laboratory by Rom Harré
doi:10.1038/4581113a
A billionaire's vision for India p1114
L. K. Sharma reviews Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation by Nandan Nilekani
doi:10.1038/4581114a
An eye on the Universe p1116
Joachim Wambsganss reviews Einstein's Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe by Evalyn Gates
doi:10.1038/4581116a
News and Views
Climate change: Too much of a bad thing p1117
There are various — and confusing — targets to limit global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases. Estimates based on the total slug of carbon emitted are possibly the most robust, and are worrisome.
Gavin Schmidt & David Archer
doi:10.1038/4581117a
See also: Editor's summary
Cell biology: Another way to get rid of fat p1118
When starved, cells resort to breaking down their assets — proteins, lipids and even whole organelles. An investigation of lipid metabolism indicates that one process — autophagy — targets all three cellular components.
Rudolf Zechner & Frank Madeo
doi:10.1038/4581118a
See also: Editor's summary
X-ray astronomy: When appearances are deceptive p1119
The sharpest X-ray image ever obtained of a portion of the Milky Way resolves a seemingly diffuse X-ray emission into discrete sources. These sources are likely to be stars of the 'garden variety' in the Sun's vicinity.
Michael Shull
doi:10.1038/4581119a
See also: Editor's summary
Miniature devices: Voyage of the microrobots p1121
Nanobots — tiny robots that can be injected into the body to perform medical procedures — are the stuff of science fiction. Swimming microrobots propelled by artificial flagella bring that fantasy closer to reality.
Metin Sitti
doi:10.1038/4581121a
Ecology: Speciation affects ecosystems p1122
Evidence that speciation and adaptive radiation can change the properties of an ecosystem is a reminder of the pressing need to integrate ecosystems science and evolutionary biology.
Ole Seehausen
doi:10.1038/4581122a
See also: Editor's summary
Solid-state physics: Lost magnetic moments p1123
A neat study gives clear-cut evidence that when a wire made of a magnetic material such as iron is squashed to the atomic scale, the material's magnetism disappears via an exotic physical process.
Richard Korytár & Nicolás Lorente
doi:10.1038/4581123a
See also: Editor's summary
Neuroscience: A social hub for worms p1124
There are more connections in the human brain than there are stars in the Milky Way, so scientists use simple organisms to search for universal neural-circuit motifs. Their latest find is a neuron for social behaviour.
Shawn R. Lockery
doi:10.1038/4581124a
See also: Editor's summary
Correction p1125
doi:10.1038/4581125a
Progress
Cytoplasmic functions of the tumour suppressor p53 p1127
Douglas R. Green & Guido Kroemer
doi:10.1038/nature07986
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (204K)
See also: Editor's summary
Articles
Autophagy regulates lipid metabolism p1131
Description of a novel function for autophagy in regulating lipid metabolism, called 'macrolipophagy', in which lipid droplets and autophagic components associate during starvation and inhibition of autophagy increases lipid storage in lipid droplets. A critical role of autophagy in regulating lipid metabolism is identified, and may provide a new approach to prevent lipid accumulation in disease.
Rajat Singh, Susmita Kaushik, Yongjun Wang, Youqing Xiang, Inna Novak, Masaaki Komatsu, Keiji Tanaka, Ana Maria Cuervo & Mark J. Czaja
doi:10.1038/nature07976
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (910K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Zechner & Madeo
Structural basis for leucine-rich nuclear export signal recognition by CRM1 p1136
The crystal structure of CRM1 in complex with a substrate called snurportin 1 is presented. Snurportin 1 binds CRM1 in a bipartite manner by means of an amino-terminal leucine-rich nuclear export signal (LR-NES) and its nucleotide-binding domain. Further analysis reveals a second NES epitope in the nucleotide-binding domain of snurportin 1, and multipartite recognition of individually weak NES epitopes may be a common feature of CRM1 binding.
Xiuhua Dong, Anindita Biswas, Katherine E. Süel, Laurie K. Jackson, Rita Martinez, Hongmei Gu & Yuh Min Chook
doi:10.1038/nature07975
PDB code
3D view
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (1,207K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Letters
Discrete sources as the origin of the Galactic X-ray ridge emission p1142
Its source has been a mystery since the discovery 25 years ago of the Galactic ridge X-ray emission. The gravitational well of the Galactic disk cannot hold the hot gas generating the X-ray glow and no other single source of energy that is large enough exists, but perhaps the hot plasma is bound to a multitude of faint sources. Here most of the diffuse-seeming X-ray emission is resolved into discrete sources, probably accreting white dwarfs and coronally active stars.
M. Revnivtsev, S. Sazonov, E. Churazov, W. Forman, A. Vikhlinin & R. Sunyaev
doi:10.1038/nature07946
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (480K)
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Shull
Serial time-encoded amplified imaging for real-time observation of fast dynamic phenomena p1145
Ultrafast real-time optical imaging is used in diverse areas of science, but conventional imaging devices such as CCDs are incapable of capturing fast dynamical processes with high sensitivity and resolution. This imaging method overcomes these limitations and offers frame rates that are at least 1,000 times faster than those of conventional CCDs. The approach is applied to continuous real-time imaging of microfluidic flow and phase-explosion effects that occur during laser ablation.
K. Goda, K. K. Tsia & B. Jalali
doi:10.1038/nature07980
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (653K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
The Kondo effect in ferromagnetic atomic contacts p1150
Magnetism in metals is typically considered an intrinsic property of the material. But when the diameter of a magnetic wire is reduced to atomic dimensions, the material's magnetic properties are strongly altered, to the point where magnetism can even be eliminated. This is an unexpected realization of the so-called Kondo effect, and highlights the need to take into account atomic-scale geometry when investigating the properties of magnetic nanostructures.
M. Reyes Calvo, Joaquín Fernández-Rossier, Juan José Palacios, David Jacob, Douglas Natelson & Carlos Untiedt
doi:10.1038/nature07878
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (540K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Korytár & Lorente
The ITQ-37 mesoporous chiral zeolite p1154
With extralarge pores, zeolites could catalyse reactions between larger molecules. Here a zeolite with the largest pores to date is synthesized, about 25 ångstroms across; the structure is also chiral, which is useful in the separation of enantiomorphic molecules. The synthesis is done by crystallization of a gel of germanate and silicate dissolved in a bulky organic molecular template, using high-throughput techniques.
Junliang Sun, Charlotte Bonneau, Ángel Cantín, Avelino Corma, María J. Díaz-Cabañas, Manuel Moliner, Daliang Zhang, Mingrun Li & Xiaodong Zou
doi:10.1038/nature07957
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (951K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 °C p1158
The politically defined threshold of dangerous climate change is an increase of 2 degrees Celsius in the mean global temperature. Simulations here show that when carbon dioxide and a full suite of positive and negative radiative forcings are considered, total emissions from 2000 to 2050 of about 1,400 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide yield a 50% probability of exceeding this threshold by the end of the twenty-first century. 'Business as usual' emissions will probably meet or exceed this 50% probability.
Malte Meinshausen, Nicolai Meinshausen, William Hare, Sarah C. B. Raper, Katja Frieler, Reto Knutti, David J. Frame & Myles R. Allen
doi:10.1038/nature08017
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (2,832K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Schmidt & Archer
Warming caused by cumulative carbon emissions towards the trillionth tonne p1163
The effect of a cumulative emission of carbon on peak global mean surface temperature is better constrained than the effect of stabilizing the atmospheric composition. The approach is also insensitive to the timing or peak rate of emissions. Using carbon cycle models, it is shown that a trillion tonnes of carbon emissions (about half of which has already been emitted since industrialization began) will produce a most likely peak warming of 2 degrees Celsius.
Myles R. Allen, David J. Frame, Chris Huntingford, Chris D. Jones, Jason A. Lowe, Malte Meinshausen & Nicolai Meinshausen
doi:10.1038/nature08019
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (838K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Schmidt & Archer
Evolutionary diversification in stickleback affects ecosystem functioning p1167
A test of the ecosystem effects of a pair of stickleback species that have undergone a recent adaptive radiation and now colonize different niches, and also a related generalist that resembles their common ancestor. Adaptive radiation causes changes in lower trophic levels and in ecosystem productivity, and the sticklebacks act as ecosystem engineers by influencing the light transmissibility of the water.
Luke J. Harmon, Blake Matthews, Simone Des Roches, Jonathan M. Chase, Jonathan B. Shurin & Dolph Schluter
doi:10.1038/nature07974
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (268K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Seehausen
A hub-and-spoke circuit drives pheromone attraction and social behaviour in C. elegans p1171
Nematodes socialize during feeding on bacteria; this behaviour depends on sophisticated integration of multiple sensory cues by a subset of the animal's 302 neurons. The RMG neurons are identified as the hub for such computations. Non-synaptic communication through 'gap junctions' is the key to RMG's regulation of neighbouring sensory neurons such as ASK (which responds to pheromones, a functional architecture that could be generalized to several other neuronal circuits).
Evan Z. Macosko, Navin Pokala, Evan H. Feinberg, Sreekanth H. Chalasani, Rebecca A. Butcher, Jon Clardy & Cornelia I. Bargmann
doi:10.1038/nature07886
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (556K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary | News and Views by Lockery
Toxin B is essential for virulence of Clostridium difficile p1176
Clostridium difficile, the cause of antibiotic-induced infection in hospitals, possesses two toxins, A and B, the former of which was believed to be the major C. difficile virulence factor. Using an animal model and C. difficile mutants, evidence is now presented that toxin B, and not toxin A, is essential for infection.
Dena Lyras, Jennifer R. O'Connor, Pauline M. Howarth, Susan P. Sambol, Glen P. Carter, Tongted Phumoonna, Rachael Poon, Vicki Adams, Gayatri Vedantam, Stuart Johnson, Dale N. Gerding & Julian I. Rood
doi:10.1038/nature07822
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (511K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Orally delivered siRNA targeting macrophage Map4k4 suppresses systemic inflammation p1180
Encapsulated small interfering RNA nanoparticles are shown to silence a kinase mediator of inflammatory responses in mice in vitro and in vivo.
Myriam Aouadi, Gregory J. Tesz, Sarah M. Nicoloro, Mengxi Wang, My Chouinard, Ernesto Soto, Gary R. Ostroff & Michael P. Czech
doi:10.1038/nature07774
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (586K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Zc3h12a is an RNase essential for controlling immune responses by regulating mRNA decay p1185
The zinc finger protein Zc3h12a is identified as a ribonuclease that inhibits autoimmune disorders by controlling the degradation of messenger RNAs encoding proinflammatory cytokines.
Kazufumi Matsushita, Osamu Takeuchi, Daron M. Standley, Yutaro Kumagai, Tatsukata Kawagoe, Tohru Miyake, Takashi Satoh, Hiroki Kato, Tohru Tsujimura, Haruki Nakamura & Shizuo Akira
doi:10.1038/nature07924
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (910K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
The structural basis of lipopolysaccharide recognition by the TLR4–MD-2 complex p1191
The human immune system uses the TLR4-MD-2 complex to recognize the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria, which cause diverse infections. The crystal structure of TLR4 in complex with MD-2 and the agonist LPS is described, showing how the TLR family can bind to the many different kinds of LPS.
Beom Seok Park, Dong Hyun Song, Ho Min Kim, Byong-Seok Choi, Hayyoung Lee & Jie-Oh Lee
doi:10.1038/nature07830
PDB code
3D view
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (870K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
A mutation in Ihh that causes digit abnormalities alters its signalling capacity and range p1196
A brachydactyly type A1 (BDA1) mutation in indian hedgehog (IHH) impairs the interaction between IHH and its receptor. In a mouse model that recapitulates this particular E95K mutation there is a change in the potency and range of IHH signalling, and the mice show digit abnormalities consistent with the human disorder.
Bo Gao, Jianxin Hu, Sigmar Stricker, Martin Cheung, Gang Ma, Kit Fong Law, Florian Witte, James Briscoe, Stefan Mundlos, Lin He, Kathryn S. E. Cheah & Danny Chan
doi:10.1038/nature07862
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (874K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Embryonic stem cells use ZFP809 to silence retroviral DNAs p1201
The zinc finger binding protein ZFP809 is shown to work together with the TRIM28 protein to mediate transcriptional silencing of integrated retroviruses in infected embryonic stem cells.
Daniel Wolf & Stephen P. Goff
doi:10.1038/nature07844
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (791K) | Supplementary information
See also: Editor's summary
Naturejobs
NewsGrants aim to help women p1207
Childcare grants help scientists attend conferences.
doi:10.1038/nj7242-1207a
Postdoc journal
The moving blues p1207
As we move halfway across the globe, I miss my friends. My son misses his toys.
Joanne Isaac
doi:10.1038/nj7242-1207b
In Brief
Grant funding cuts p1207
Many grantmakers expect to reduce the size or amount of their grants.
doi:10.1038/nj7242-1207c
Solar R&D in Arizona p1207
Investment at the Arizona's Solar Technology Institute.
doi:10.1038/nj7242-1207d
University research p1207
The factors that determine the quality of universities' research and how prolific they are.
doi:10.1038/nj7242-1207e
Region
State of energy p1208
New Mexico, with its national labs and natural resources, is poised to become a central player in the US race for energy independence. Paul Smaglik reports.
Paul Smaglik
doi:10.1038/nj7242-1208a
Futures
En passant p1212
Family ties.
Michalis Barkoulas & Gemma Bilsborough
doi:10.1038/4581212a
