Curated News: Nature (journal)

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An international team of scientists, including Minghua Zhang, Dean and Director of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS), has found that man-made aerosol emissions from industrial processes have changed the relationship between temperature and precipitation in the northing tropics. The findings, published early online in Nature Geoscience, may help to indicate the shifts in seasonal rainfall in Central America, which is critical for agriculture in the region.

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NIBIB-funded researchers have developed a novel 3D vaccine that could provide a more effective way to harness the immune system to fight cancer as well as infectious diseases. The vaccine spontaneously assembles into a scaffold once injected under the skin and is capable of recruiting, housing, and manipulating immune cells to generate a powerful immune response. The vaccine was recently found to be effective in delaying tumor growth in mice.

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Applying lessons learned from autism to brain cancer, researchers have discovered why elevated levels of the protein NHE9 add to the lethality of the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma. Their discovery suggests that drugs designed to target NHE9 could help to successfully fight the deadly disease.

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A collaborative study led by scientists from the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has revealed the mechanical forces that drive epithelial wound healing in the absence of cell supporting environment. This research was published in Nature Communications in January 2015.

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For at least 40 years, scientists who study how the body metabolizes sugar have accepted one point: there are four enzymes that kick-start the body’s process of getting energy from food. But this biochemical foursome may not deserve all of the credit. According to research by scientists at Duke and Northwestern universities, the hexokinase team actually has a fifth player.

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Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) ranks among the top ten most prevalent cancers in the United States. Despite its prevalence, little is known about how this cancer develops and spreads. However, in a paper published in the January 29, 2015 edition of Nature, researchers offer critical new information about head and neck cancers.

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Inhibiting the action of a particular enzyme dramatically slows the growth of tumor cells tied to BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations which, in turn, are closely tied to breast and ovarian cancers, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

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A team of Vanderbilt University biologists have found a way to use a laser and an optical fiber to reset an animal's master biological clock: A discovery that could in principle be used therapeutically to treat conditions like seasonal affect disorder, reduce the adverse health effects of night shift work and possibly even cure jet lag.

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A team of Vanderbilt University biologists have found a way to use a laser and an optical fiber to reset an animal's master biological clock: A discovery that could in principle be used therapeutically to treat conditions like seasonal affect disorder, reduce the adverse health effects of night shift work and possibly even cure jet lag.

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A three-dimensional seismic image of the mantle beneath the Lau Basin in the South Pacific just published in Nature has an intriguing anomaly. The image showed the least magma where the scientists expected to find the most. After considerable debate they concluded that magma with a high water content was flushed so rapidly that it wasn't showing up in the images.

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A new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) helps explain how booster shots prompt immune “memory” to improve, an important step toward the development of more effective, longer-lasting vaccines.

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Researchers have succeeded in peering into the brains of live mice with such precision that they were able to see how the position of specific proteins changed as memories were forged.

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Case Western Reserve’s chemical compound aimed at restoring spinal cord function may have an additional purpose. A special peptide could address arrhythmias by penetrating heart attack scar tissue to regenerate cardiac nerves. The research results appear in the Feb. 2 Nature Communication.

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Commonly used anticancer drugs may help to make tumor cells dormant.

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In an analysis of 279 head and neck cancer tumors, researchers with The Cancer Genome Atlas identified subtypes of head and neck cancer based on their genomic characteristics, changes in smoking-related tumors, as well as genomic differences in head and neck cancer tumors linked to HPV, the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States.

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A new process that can sprout microscopic spikes on nearly any type of particle may lead to more environmentally friendly paints and a variety of other innovations.

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Sites where DNA is damaged may cause a molecule that slides along the DNA strand to scan for damage to slow on its patrol, delaying it long enough to recognize and initiate repair. The finding suggests that the delay itself may be the key that allows the protein molecule to find its target, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Constructing tiny "mirrors" to trap light increases the efficiency with which photons can pick up and transmit information about electronic spin states--which is essential for scaling up quantum memories for functional quantum computing systems and networks.

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New battery technology from the University of Michigan should be able to prevent the kind of fires that grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2013.

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Researchers create first mouse model of ovarian clear cell carcinoma using data from human cancer genome atlas. They show how when the genes ARID1A and PIK2CA are mutated in specific ways, the result is ovarian cancer 100 percent of the time. They show that a known drug can suppress tumor growth.

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Nature packs away carbon in chalk, shells and rocks made by marine organisms that crystallize calcium carbonate. Now, research suggests that the soft, organic scaffolds in which such crystals form guide crystallization by soaking up the calcium like an “ion sponge,” according to new work in Nature Materials. Understanding the process better may help researchers develop advanced materials for energy and environmental uses, such as for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated. A second set of cells suppresses the urge to drink.

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Researchers have developed and tested a new technique known as ribose-seq that allows them to determine the full profile of ribonucleotides -- RNA fragments -- embedded in genomic DNA.

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As nanomachine design advances, researchers are moving from wondering if the nanomachine works to how long it will work—an important question as there are so many potential applications, e.g., for medical uses including drug delivery and early diagnosis. Columbia Engineering Professor Henry Hess observed a molecular shuttle powered by kinesin motor proteins and found it to degrade when operating, marking the first time degradation has been studied in detail in an active, autonomous nanomachine.

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Neurons that trigger our sense of thirst—and neurons that turn it off—have been identified by Columbia University Medical Center neuroscientists. The paper was published today in the online edition of Nature.

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A team of biologists has identified new details in a cellular mechanism that serves as a defense against stress. The findings potentially offer insights into tumor progression and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s — the cell’s inability to respond to stress is a major cause of these diseases.

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Five genetic variants that influence the size of structures within the human brain have been discovered by an international team that included a Georgia State University researcher.

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A novel pathway buried deep within a region of the brain produces a brain hormone that acts as a crucial sensor of blood glucose levels. Understanding how the hormone orchestrates the body's response to low blood sugar offers hope for treating hypoglycemia.

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Scientists have identified a gene that helps regulate how well nerves of the central nervous system are insulated, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.

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Striving to unravel and comprehend DNA’s biological significance, Cornell University scientists have created a new computational method that can identify positions in the human genome that play a role in the proper functioning of cells, according to a report published Jan. 19 in the journal Nature Genetics.

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It’s not surprising that our memories of highly emotional events, such as 9/11 or the birth of a child, are quite strong. But can these events change our memories of the past? NYU researchers report that emotional learning can lead to the strengthening of older memories.

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Researchers discovered craters left behind when two sub-glacial lakes in Greenland drained away--an indication that the natural plumbing system beneath the ice sheet is overflowing with meltwater.

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Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory show that etching a nanoscale texture onto silicon creates an antireflective surface that works as well as state-of-the-art thin-film multilayer antireflective coatings for solar cells.

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For the first time, researchers at Penn Medicine have found that a mutation in the ATRX gene may serve as a much-needed biomarker for the pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas that become malignant. These rare neuroendocrine tumors are typically benign, but when they go rogue, they become very aggressive.

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An animal study led by Johns Hopkins investigators has uncovered what controls the ability of healthy hearts to speed up in response to circumstances ranging from fear to a jog around the block.

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When a bird swoops down and grabs a caterpillar devouring your backyard garden, you might view it as a clear victory for natural pest control.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center analyzed the global landscape of a portion of the genome that has not been previously well-explored. This analysis opens the door to discovery of thousands of potential new cancer biomarkers.

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Our existence depends on a bit of evolutionary genius aptly nicknamed “fight or flight.” But where in our brain does the alarm first go off, and what other parts of the brain are mobilized to express fear and remember to avoid danger in the future?

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Columbia Engineering professor Elizabeth Hillman has developed SCAPE, a new microscope that images living things in 3D at very high speeds. Her approach uses a simple, single-objective imaging geometry that requires no sample mounting or translation, making it possible to image freely moving living samples. SCAPE’s ability to perform real-time 3D imaging at cellular resolution in behaving organisms could be transformative for biomedical and neuroscience research. (Study published on Nature Photonics's website 1/19/2015.)

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Thinking small has enabled an international team of scientists to gain new insight into the evolution of planetary building blocks in the early solar system.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- For every degree Celsius that the temperature increases, the world stands to lose 6 percent of its wheat crop, according to a new global study led by a University of Florida scientist. That’s one fourth of the annual global wheat trade, which reached 147 million tons in 2013.

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have discovered that a protein widely known for suppressing tumor formation also helps prevent autoimmune diseases and other problems by putting the brakes on the immune response. The research was published recently online ahead of print in the scientific journal Nature Immunology.

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A group of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers has provided new insights on hydrophobic interactions within complex systems. In a study published today in the journal Nature, the researchers show how the nearby presence of polar (water-attracted, or hydrophilic) substances can change the way the nonpolar hydrophobic groups want to stick to each other.

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A new “trick” steroids use to suppress inflammation, which could be used to make new anti-inflammatory drugs without the harmful side effects of steroids, has been discovered by researchers at Georgia State University.

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A team from Brookhaven Lab and Columbia University has paired up photovoltaic polymers that produce two units of electricity per unit of light instead of the usual one on a single molecular polymer chain. Having the two charges on the same molecule means the light-absorbing, energy-producing materials work efficiently when dissolved in liquids, which opens the way for a wide range of industrial scale manufacturing processes, including “printing” solar-energy-producing material like ink.

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A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute has identified an enzyme that produces a class of inflammatory lipid molecules in the brain. Abnormally high levels of these molecules appear to cause a rare inherited neurodegenerative disorder.

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Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified how a promising drug in clinical trials for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders improves the metabolism of sugar by generating a new signal between fat cells and the liver.

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Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a new precision approach for synthesizing graphene nanoribbons from pre-designed molecular building blocks. Using this process the researchers have built nanoribbons that have enhanced properties—such as position-dependent, tunable bandgaps—that are potentially very useful for next-generation electronic circuitry.

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Hydrogen fuel cells -- possibly the best option for emission-free vehicles -- require costly platinum. Nickel and other metals work but aren't nearly as efficient. Findings published in Nature Communications this week help pin down the basic mechanisms of the fuel-cell reaction on platinum, which will help researchers create alternative electrocatalysts.

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Learning how good bacteria in the gut feast on complex carbohydrates could end your break up with bread.