PLEASE CITE THE SPECIFIC NATURE JOURNAL AND WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO THE APPROPRIATE JOURNAL'S WEBSITE.
**********************************************NATURE MATERIALS**************************************(http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[1] Fluids harder than plastic
DOI: 10.1038/nmat993 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat993)
When most people think of fluids, they think of easily flowing liquids such as water. Not all fluids flow, however " some can exhibit instantaneous and reversible transitions from the liquid to the solid phase simply by applying an electric field. In the November issue of Nature Materials, Ping Sheng and colleagues report nanoparticle suspensions that become as hard as plastic under an applied electric field.
The colloidal suspensions investigated by Sheng and colleagues have a yield stress that steadily increases with the applied electric field. This effect occurs because the particles polarize in the electric field and align into columns that are very hard to shear. The strength of the fluid greatly exceeds that of conventional electrorheological fluids, which have a typical yield stress of 5"10 kPa (about as hard as tofu).
With a yield stress of 130 kPa at high electric fields, these new fluids have passed the threshold necessary for practical applications in mechanical devices. In particular, the instantaneous translation of electrical signals to mechanical signals may open up new applications in the automotive industry for actively controllable clutches, dampers, valves and locks.
***********************************************NATURE MEDICINE****************************************(http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[2] & [3] How HIV dodges the body's defense
DOI: 10.1038/nm945 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm945)DOI: 10.1038/nm946 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm946) HIV replicates in human cells by disabling an innate protection mechanism, according to two reports in the November issue of Nature Medicine.
A human protein called APOBEC3G interferes with HIV replication by incorporating itself into virus particles and damaging the virus' genetic material. But the viral protein Vif can stop this process in two ways, as the groups of David Kabat and Michael Malim independently found. Vif binds APOBEC3G and prevents it from incorporating into virus particles. The viral protein also targets APOBEC3G for destruction, almost completely eliminating APOBEC3G from the cell.
Because HIV exploits the cellular degradation machinery in other ways, Malim and colleagues suggest the proteins involved might be good drug targets. Another promising target might be Vif itself, say Kabat and colleagues. The protein has two important sites--one for binding APOBEC3G and another that helps destroy it. Blocking one or both of these sites could free APOBEC3G to do its job in HIV-infected cells.
[4] Natural chemical curbs neuropathic pain
DOI: 10.1038/nm944 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm944)
A naturally occurring protein might hold the key to alleviating neuropathic pain, Frank Porreca and colleagues report in the November issue of Nature Medicine.
The researchers used a surgical technique to damage the spinal cords of rats and induce neuropathic pain--resulting from abnormal nerve function--causing them to become hypersensitive to heat and pressure. But when the rats were treated with artemin, a nerve growth factor also found in humans, the hypersensitivity was relieved--even when the treatment was begun two weeks after surgery. Artemin treatment also reversed several molecular changes in the nerve cells that had resulted from the surgery.
Nearly 3 million Americans suffer from neuropathic pain, which can result from trauma, infection, drugs or unknown causes. Current therapies, including opioids, have undesirable side effects. Because the artemin receptor is only found on a specific subset of nerve cells, however, artemin may have a limited effect on the rest of the body and deliver relief with minimal side effects.
Other papers from Nature Medicine to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[5] Ex vivo identification, isolation and analysis of tumor-cytolytic T cells(DOI: 10.1038/nm942) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm942)
[6] G13 is an essential mediator of platelet activation in hemostasis and thrombosis(DOI: 10.1038/nm943) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm943)
*******************************************NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY*********************************(http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[7] Highly insecticidal genome sequenced
DOI: 10.1038/nbt886 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt886)
Scientists have sequenced the genome of an insect pathogen harboring genes that may offer new ways of controlling insect pests. In the November issue of Nature Biotechnology, Frank Kunst and colleagues report and analyze the complete genome sequence of the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens.
This bacterium has a complex life cycle, shuttling from harmoniously coexisting with worms inside their guts to proliferating within insects and killing them to provide food for those same worms. To do this, it has acquired the ability to kill a variety of insects by producing different kinds of toxins. The genome sequence now provides scientists with the genetic information needed to apply these toxins in agriculture.Some of the toxins produced by P. luminescens may provide an alternative to currently used insecticides (such as Bt toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis). This is an important goal because the effectiveness of insecticides sometimes diminishes over time as a result of increasing insect resistance.
Other papers from Nature Biotechnology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[8] Targeting cytokines to inflammation sites (DOI: 10.1038/nbt888) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt888)
[9] Enzymatic synthesis of antithrombin III"binding heparan sulfate pentasaccharide (DOI: 10.1038/nbt885) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt885)
*********************************************NATURE NEUROSCIENCE*********************************(http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[10] Maintaining stability in the face of changeDOI: 10.1038/nn1133 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1133)
How does the brain retain the flexibility to learn while preserving the integrity of networks that store memories and direct behavior? This problem--challenging enough in networks with a stable population of neurons--is especially complex in the olfactory system, where neurons die and are replaced with new neurons, even in adulthood. In the olfactory system, long-term dendritic stability could serve as a structural scaffold to maintain the organization of local circuits, reports a new study in the November issue of Nature Neuroscience.
Using mice that expressed a fluorescent protein in neurons in the olfactory bulb, combined with sophisticated imaging technology, Mizrahi and Katz repeatedly observed selected dendritic regions of these neurons over long periods of time. The cells that were studied (mitral/tufted cells) are the principal output neurons of the olfactory bulb; they receive projections from olfactory sensory neurons, which constantly turnover throughout life. Remarkably, even when the investigators imaged over weeks, they found that individual dendritic branch patterns were very stable, despite the turnover of olfactory sensory neurons. Furthermore, dendritic patterns remained stable even when mice learned an odor discrimination task, which is known to involve the same neural circuits. The authors conclude that an unchanging dendritic 'backbone' may provide stability despite continuous synaptic change.
Other papers from Nature Neuroscience to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[11] Beta-catenin is critical for dendritic morphogenesis (DOI: 10.1038/nn1132) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1132)
[12] PI3 kinase enhancer-Homer complex couples mGluRI to PI3 kinase, preventing neuronal apoptosis (DOI: 10.1038/nn1134) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1134)
***************************************************************************************************************Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[13] Polymorphism for a 1.6-Mb deletion of the human Y chromosome persists through balance between recurrent mutation and haploid selection(DOI: 10.1038/ng1250) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng1250)
[14] The microRNA-producing enzyme Dicer1 is essential for zebrafish development(DOI: 10.1038/ng1251) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng1251)
[15] Dicer is essential for mouse development(DOI: 10.1038/ng1253) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng1253)
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[16] A domain of Foxn1 required for crosstalk-dependent thymic epithelial cell differentiation (DOI: 10.1038/ni983) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ni983)
[17] Leukocyte functional antigen 1 lowers T-cell activation thresholds and signaling through cytohesin-1 and Jun-activating binding protein 1 (DOI: 10.1038/ni984) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ni984)
[18] Enhancement of CIITA transcriptional function by ubiquitin (DOI: 10.1038/ni985) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ni985)
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[19] Production of PtdInsP3 at endomembranes is triggered by receptor endocytosis(DOI: 10.1038/ncb1054) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncb1054)
[20] Targeting of protein ubiquitination by BTB-Cullin 3-Roc1 ubiquitin ligases(DOI: 10.1038/ncb1056) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncb1056)
NATURE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturestructuralbiology)
[21] The structure and binding mode of interleukin-18(DOI: 10.1038/nsb993) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb993)
[22] Covariation of backbone motion throughout a small protein domain (DOI: 10.1038/nsb991) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb991)
[23] Structural and redox plasticity in the heterodimeric periplasmic nitrate reductase (DOI: 10.1038/nsb994) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb994)
[24] Visualization of membrane protein domains by cryo-electron microscopy of dengue virus (DOI: 10.1038/nsb990) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb990)
[25] The structure of BtuB with bound colicin E3 R-domain implies a translocon (DOI: 10.1038/nsb997) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb997)
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GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS
The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details.
CHINABeijing: 1Hong Kong: 1
FRANCEEvry: 7Marseille: 23Montpellier: 7, 8Paris: 7Toulouse: 6, 7St Paul lez Durance: 23
GERMANYHeidelberg: 6Munich: 6Wurzburg: 6
JAPANChiba: 13Gifu: 21Ikoma: 21Osaka: 25Tokyo: 19, 21Yokohama: 21
THE NETHERLANDSAmsterdam: 13Leiden: 24Utrecht: 14
RUSSIAMoscow: 25Puschino: 25
UNITED KINGDOMLondon: 2, 8
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Arizona Tucson: 4California Los Angeles: 5 Palo Alto: 11 Pasadena: 6, 24 Stanford: 5, 17Connecticut New Haven: 22Georgia Athens: 16 Atlanta: 12 Augusta: 16Indiana Bloomington: 22 West Lafayette: 24, 25Maryland Baltimore: 12 Bethesda: 5Massachusetts Boston: 9, 13 Cambridge: 4, 9, 13Missouri St Louis: 13New York Buffalo: 18 Cold Spring Harbor: 15 New York: 15 Stony Brook: 15North Carolina Chapel Hill: 18, 20 Durham: 10 Research Park Triangle: 7Oregon Portland: 3Pennsylvania Philadelphia: 2Texas Dallas: 17 Houston: 15Virginia Charlottesville: 25
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