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Chromatin in embryonic stem cells is present in an open state presumably to facilitate gene expression changes required for pluripotency and subsequent multilineage differentiation. This study describes roles for lamin A, histone acetylation and G9a-mediated histone H3 lysine 9 methylation in regulating chromatin plasticity in these cells.
PTEN is a tumour suppressor that inhibits activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway. These authors show that PTEN is SUMOylated on two lysine residues and that this modification is required for binding to acidic phospholipids and blocking tumour formation in mice.
The transport of anions across bilayer membranes is achieved by ion channel proteins, but some small molecules are also able to mediate transmembrane movement of anions. In this study, the halogen bonding of small perfluorinated molecules is shown to allow the transmembrane movement of anions.
A common post-translational modification is the attachment of sugars, but proteins with different sugar chains, known as glycoforms, are hard to distinguish. Here, the authors use transmembrane fluorescence resonance energy transfer to visualize specific glycoforms of the membrane protein GLUT4 in living cells.
Nanocrystal quantum dots can exhibit photoluminescence blinking, where the intensity of the emitted light fluctuates due to random charging and discharging. Gallandet al.study thick shell nanocrystals and find that the photoluminescence lifetime can also undergo blinking, without intensity changes.
In the fruit flyDrosophila, changes in expression of circadian clock genes are believed to control eclosion. Morioka and colleagues show that transcriptional oscillations of the clock gene, period, in prothoracic gland cells are amplified by photic inputs from the central nervous system.
Ultrasmall clusters of atoms form the building blocks of many nanoscale materials. Using a combination of aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and numerical simulations, this study uncovers the geometry of these clusters in three dimensions.
Understanding hydrogen diffusion in metals is a challenge because of limited access to spatial evolution of the concentration profiles. Using time- and spatially resolved optical measurements, Palssonet al. determine the diffusion rate of hydrogen by directly monitoring its transit through a vanadium thin film.
Nitrogen-doped fullerenes and carbon nanotubes have been produced, but the synthesis of nitrogen-doped buckybowls, is an unsolved challenge. Tanet al. report an enantioselective synthesis of triazasumanene, and show that nitrogen doping leads to deeper bowl structures than in all-carbon buckybowls.
In several Hymenoptera species - ants, bees and wasps - sexual fate is determined by the allelic composition at the complementary sex - determiner locus. This study identifies the honeybeecomplementary sex - determinerin bumble bee and ant orthologues, previously thought to be unique to the honeybee lineage.
Nucleic acid superstructures are required to package genomes into the nucleus of cells. In this study, the superstructure of an RNA supercoil species is reported and is shown to be dependent on an RNA-binding protein that induces a higher level of organization compared with DNA superstructures.
Beringian mammoths were abundant 45,000 to 30,000 years ago, but then experienced a long decline in concert with changes in climate, habitat and human presence. This study uses14C dating to trace their spatio temporal pattern of extinction until the loss of final island populations about 4,000 years ago.
Ink-jet printing methods are an attractive approach to nanofabrication, where electrohydrodynamic control allows for flexible and cheap fabrication. Here, a new approach is presented using electrostatic nanodroplet autofocussing to produce high aspect ratio nanoscale structures like plasmonic nanoantennas.
Magnetometers based on organic magnetoresistance are limited by narrow sensitivity ranges, degradation and temperature fluctuations. Bakeret al. demonstrate a magnetic resonance-based organic thin film magnetometer, which overcomes these drawbacks by exploiting the metrological nature of magnetic resonance.
Synaptic GTPase-activating protein, SynGAP, is a postsynaptic signalling protein that can regulate synaptic function. McMahonet al. express different SynGAP isoforms in neurons and find that the effect on synaptic strength depends on alternative promoter usage and alternative splicing of the C-terminus.
Cachexia, or muscle-wasting syndrome, is often observed in patients with cancer or sepsis, and no specific treatment of cachexia is currently available. In this study, Di Marcoet al.show that low doses of pateamine A, an inhibitor of translation initiation, prevent cachexia in a mouse model of the disease.
Cyclin B-dependent kinase 1, the M-phase-promoting factor, is precisely activated and inactivated to control mitosis. In this study, Fcp1—the RNA polymerase II-carboxy-terminal domain phosphatase—is identified as a phosphatase required to inactivate the M-phase-promoting factor and promote mitosis exit.
Stem cells hold great potential for therapeutic use but their supply is limited. Latilet al.isolate muscle stem cells from human and mouse cadavers after 17 and 14 days, respectively, and show that when transplanted into mice the cells can regenerate tissues.
Palaeoclimate proxies, such as shells, record past ocean changes. A radiocarbon study based on a shell chronology from the Icelandic shelf is used to track changes in ocean circulation and climate for the past 1,350 years, suggesting a declining influence of North Atlantic surface waters on the Icelandic shelf over the last millennium.
Insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling pathways have overlapping effects on adipose tissue and glucose homeostasis. Boucheret al.created fat-specific double knockouts of these pathways and demonstrated their crucial role for adipocyte development, metabolism and thermogenesis in mice.