Nature contents: 07 April 2011

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Can't view this email? Click here to view in your browser.     Volume 472 Number 7341      nature alert •Visit Nature online •Subscribe to Nature •View Table of Contents The science that matters. Every week.                       Nature Immunology webcast Current Controversies: Lineage Differentiation! Join us for a lively discussion on current models of myeloid versus lymphoid lineage commitment, lineage exclusion and cell plasticity, followed by a live question and answer session. Registration is FREE! Sponsored by STEMCELL Technologies             Jump to the content that matters to you ▼ News & Comment   ▼ Biological Sciences   ▼ Chemical Sciences   ▼ Physical Sciences   ▼ Earth & Environmental Sciences   ▼ Careers & Jobs       This week's highlights     Biological Sciences More Biological sciences ▼   Self-organizing optic-cup morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture   Clusters of mouse stem cells organize themselves into layered structures resembling the optic cup, a precursor of the embryonic eye, and then form fully stratified retinal tissue. This has important implications for regenerative medicine.       Earth & Environmental Sciences More Earth & Environmental sciences ▼   Low strength of deep San Andreas fault gouge from SAFOD core   Laboratory strength measurements of material from a drill hole located north-west of Parkfield, California show that the San Andreas fault is very weak at this location and depth. The cause is an accumulation of saponite — one of the weakest phyllosilicate minerals known.       Earth & Environmental Sciences More Earth & Environmental sciences ▼   Biodiversity improves water quality through niche partitioning   Experiments involving manipulation of the number of algae species in model stream systems suggest a mechanism to explain why the conservation of biodiversity improves the ability of an ecosystem to retain nutrients and remain productive.                   Phusion High-Fidelity DNA Polymerase The original Phusion PCR enzymes introduced by Finnzymes are sold only as Thermo Scientific. They have an established reputation as best-in-class proofreading DNA polymerases featuring highest accuracy, shortest PCR protocols, minimal optimization, and high specificity. Avoid unwanted mutations - choose Phusion.                 Podcast & Video     This week: growing retinas in the lab, 50 years on since the first human in space - and other anniversaries. Plus, the best of the rest from Nature.         • News & Comment Read daily news coverage▶ ▲top               Scotland be brave ▶     Those who want to build a better future for Scotland should resist cuts to an innovative scheme that helps its universities to compete with larger rivals elsewhere. Read Editorial ▶                   Soya scrutiny ▶     A partnership to encourage sustainable farming in Brazil may not be as green as it seems. Read Editorial ▶                   Eye on the tiger ▶     The latest Indian tiger census demonstrates welcome methodological rigour. Read Editorial ▶                   A long shadow over Fukushima ▶     One impact of Japan's nuclear crisis is a dim but definite echo of Chernobyl, says Jim Smith — decades of caesium-137. Read Column ▶                   Seven days: 7 April 2011 ▶     The week in science Read Seven Days ▶                   Fukushima health risks scrutinized ▶     But scientists are struggling to pick through radiation data. Read News ▶                   Japan's long road ahead ▶     Isotopes hint at more than a decade of clean-up at Fukushima. Read News ▶                   US radiation study sparks debate ▶     Researchers divided on how best to probe any possible link to cancer. Read News ▶                   NASA human space-flight programme lost in transition ▶     US space agency is wrestling with competing visions and uncertainty of budget deadlock. Read News ▶                   Rare-disease project has global ambitions ▶     Consortium aims for hundreds of new therapies by 2020. Read News ▶                   Bulgarian funding agency accused of poor practice ▶     Former director claims his efforts to reform National Science Fund have been hindered. Read News ▶                   Patent dispute threatens US Alzheimer's research ▶     Lawsuit could expose hundreds of scientists to property-rights litigation. Read News ▶                   Materials Science: The pull of stronger magnets ▶     Super-powerful magnets would boost the performance of electric cars and other green technology. Why is it so hard to make them? Read Feature ▶                   Developing world: Educating India ▶     The country's vast, education-hungry population could supply the next generation of the world's scientists — but only if it can teach them. Read Feature ▶                   NASA: what now? ▶     This month marks 50 years since Yuri Gagarin first ventured into space in the Vostok 1 mission, and 30 years since NASA's first shuttle flight. As the shuttle Endeavour prepares for its final flight, seven experts outline what NASA's priorities need to be. Read Comment ▶                   The search for clean cash ▶     The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been an innovator of university funding models, says David Kaiser. Its 150-year history holds lessons for today. Read Comment ▶                   Fix the antibiotics pipeline ▶     As resistance mushrooms, governments must make development of new antibiotics financially viable for industry, say Matthew A. Cooper and David Shlaes. Read Comment ▶                   Psychology: The art of remembering ▶     Larry R. Squire enjoys an engaging account of how memory works and how to win in memory competitions. Read Books and Arts ▶                   Globalization: Behind India's technological boom ▶     The rise of outsourcing by Western companies stifles local innovation, learns Andrew Robinson. Read Books and Arts ▶                   Books in brief ▶     Read Books and Arts ▶                   Astronomy: Finding other worlds ▶     A survey of exoplanetary research shows how the field has come in from the cold, finds Chris Tinney. Read Books and Arts ▶                   Communication: Show and tell ▶     A New York storytelling project reveals the personal side of scientific life, finds David Carmel. Read Books and Arts ▶                   China's green policy has some way to go ▶     Tong Wu Read Correspondence ▶                   An insight into Maxwell's mind? ▶     David J. Tyler Read Correspondence ▶                   Financial model failed in real world ▶     Robin O. Motz Read Correspondence ▶                   Shuttle programme lifetime cost ▶     Roger Pielke , Jr & Radford Byerly Read Correspondence ▶                               Nominations are being solicited for the 2011 J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine. The Prize will be awarded to a scientist who has made outstanding contributions in the area of Stem Cell Research. Nominations should be sent prior to May 1st, 2011.               • Biological Sciences ▲top               Self-organizing optic-cup morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture ▶     Mototsugu Eiraku, Nozomu Takata, Hiroki Ishibashi, Masako Kawada, Eriko Sakakura et al.     Balanced organogenesis requires the orchestration of multiple cellular interacti... Read Research ▶                   Gut flora metabolism of phosphatidylcholine promotes cardiovascular disease ▶     Zeneng Wang, Elizabeth Klipfell, Brian J. Bennett, Robert Koeth, Bruce S. Levison et al.     Metabolomics studies hold promise for the discovery of pathways linked to diseas... Read Research ▶                   Streptococcal M1 protein constructs a pathological host fibrinogen network ▶     Pauline Macheboeuf, Cosmo Buffalo, Chi-yu Fu, Annelies S. Zinkernagel, Jason N. Cole et al.     M1 protein, a major virulence factor of the leading invasive strain of group A S... Read Research ▶                   Biodiversity improves water quality through niche partitioning ▶     Bradley J. Cardinale     Excessive nutrient loading of water bodies is a leading cause of water pollution... Read Research ▶                   Tumour evolution inferred by single-cell sequencing ▶     Nicholas Navin, Jude Kendall, Jennifer Troge, Peter Andrews, Linda Rodgers et al.     Genomic analysis provides insights into the role of copy number variation in dis... Read Research ▶                   Molecular regulation of sexual preference revealed by genetic studies of 5-HT in the brains of male mice ▶     Yan Liu, Yun’ai Jiang, Yunxia Si, Ji-Young Kim, Zhou-Feng Chen et al.     Although the question of to whom a male directs his mating attempts is a critica... Read Research ▶                   Local, persistent activation of Rho GTPases during plasticity of single dendritic spines ▶     Hideji Murakoshi, Hong Wang & Ryohei Yasuda     The Rho family of GTPases have important roles in the morphogenesis of the dendr... Read Research ▶                   Dampening of death pathways by schnurri-2 is essential for T-cell development ▶     Tracy L. Staton, Vanja Lazarevic, Dallas C. Jones, Amanda J. Lanser, Tsuyoshi Takagi et al.     Generation of a diverse and self-tolerant T-cell repertoire requires appropriate... Read Research ▶                   Hedgehog/Wnt feedback supports regenerative proliferation of epithelial stem cells in bladder ▶     Kunyoo Shin, John Lee, Nini Guo, James Kim, Agnes Lim et al.     Epithelial integrity in metazoan organs is maintained through the regulated prol... Read Research ▶                   An siRNA pathway prevents transgenerational retrotransposition in plants subjected to stress ▶     Hidetaka Ito, Hervé Gaubert, Etienne Bucher, Marie Mirouze, Isabelle Vaillant et al.     Eukaryotic genomes consist to a significant extent of retrotransposons that are ... Read Research ▶                   A long noncoding RNA maintains active chromatin to coordinate homeotic gene expression ▶     Kevin C. Wang, Yul W. Yang, Bo Liu, Amartya Sanyal, Ryan Corces-Zimmerman et al.     The genome is extensively transcribed into long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincR... Read Research ▶                   Crystal structure of a phosphorylation-coupled saccharide transporter ▶     Yu Cao, Xiangshu Jin, Elena J. Levin, Hua Huang, Yinong Zong et al.     Saccharides have a central role in the nutrition of all living organisms. Wherea... Read Research ▶                   DISC1-dependent switch from progenitor proliferation to migration in the developing cortex ▶     Koko Ishizuka, Atsushi Kamiya, Edwin C. Oh, Hiroaki Kanki, Saurav Seshadri et al.     Regulatory mechanisms governing the sequence from progenitor cell proliferation ... Read Research ▶                   Eutherian mammals use diverse strategies to initiate X-chromosome inactivation during development ▶     Ikuhiro Okamoto, Catherine Patrat, Dominique Thépot, Nathalie Peynot, Patricia Fauque et al.     X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) in female mammals allows dosage compensation for... Read Research ▶                   Suppression of lung adenocarcinoma progression by Nkx2-1 ▶     Monte M. Winslow, Talya L. Dayton, Roel G. W. Verhaak, Caroline Kim-Kiselak, Eric L. Snyder et al.     Despite the high prevalence and poor outcome of patients with metastatic lung ca... Read Research ▶                   Increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis is sufficient to improve pattern separation ▶     Amar Sahay, Kimberly N. Scobie, Alexis S. Hill, Colin M. O'Carroll, Mazen A. Kheirbek et al.     Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a unique form of neural circuit plasticity tha... Read Research ▶                   Neuronal activity is required for the development of specific cortical interneuron subtypes ▶     Natalia V. De Marco García, Theofanis Karayannis & Gord Fishell     Electrical activity has been shown to regulate development in a variety of speci... Read Research ▶                   Genome-wide analysis reveals novel molecular features of mouse recombination hotspots ▶     Fatima Smagulova, Ivan V. Gregoretti, Kevin Brick, Pavel Khil, R. Daniel Camerini-Otero et al.     Meiotic recombination predominantly occurs at discrete genomic loci called recom... Read Research ▶                   Ephrin Bs are essential components of the Reelin pathway to regulate neuronal migration ▶     Aycan Sentürk, Sylvia Pfennig, Alexander Weiss, Katja Burk & Amparo Acker-Palmer     Coordinated migration of neurons in the developing and adult brain is essential ... Read Research ▶                   Dynamic regulation of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in mouse ES cells and during differentiation ▶     Gabriella Ficz, Miguel R. Branco, Stefanie Seisenberger, Fátima Santos, Felix Krueger et al.     Methylation at the 5′ position of cytosine in DNA has important roles in... Read Research ▶                   Cardiovascular disease: The diet–microbe morbid union ▶     Kimberly Rak & Daniel J. Rader     A common dietary component that some people even take as a supplement is convert... Read Research ▶                   Regenerative medicine: DIY eye ▶     Robin R. Ali & Jane C. Sowden     Generation of complex organs in vitro is a major challenge in regenerative medic... Read Research ▶                   Ecology: Diversity favours productivity ▶     Andy Hector     A consequence of Darwin's 'principle of divergence' is that loss of species can ... Read Research ▶                   Reproductive biology: Bone returns the favour ▶     Sonya M. Schuh-Huerta & Renee A. Reijo Pera     There are well-established links between the reproductive system, metabolism and... Read Research ▶                   Cancer biology: Malaria drug shrinks tumours ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Palaeoanthropology: Remains in ancient cave get younger ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Evolutionary biology: Bad for your teeth? ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Palaeontology: The giant rabbits of Minorca ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Cell biology: Starved cells opt for quiescence ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Eye on the tiger ▶     The latest Indian tiger census demonstrates welcome methodological rigour. Read News and Comment ▶                   Fix the antibiotics pipeline ▶     As resistance mushrooms, governments must make development of new antibiotics financially viable for industry, say Matthew A. Cooper and David Shlaes. Read News and Comment ▶                   Psychology: The art of remembering ▶     Larry R. Squire enjoys an engaging account of how memory works and how to win in memory competitions. Read News and Comment ▶                   California: Safe harbour ▶     San Diego's diverse corporate science portfolio offers opportunities for open-minded scientists hoping to escape stagnation in academia. Read Careers ▶                   More News & Comment on Biological Sciences ▶                         Nature Special: Japan earthquake and nuclear crisis Nature brings you regular updates on the crisis, as well as analysis of why this earthquake was so destructive, the Japanese government's struggle to respond to the nuclear disaster, and the effects on Japan's research community. Bookmark this Special for the latest news and developments.               • Chemical Sciences ▲top               Streptococcal M1 protein constructs a pathological host fibrinogen network ▶     Pauline Macheboeuf, Cosmo Buffalo, Chi-yu Fu, Annelies S. Zinkernagel, Jason N. Cole et al.     M1 protein, a major virulence factor of the leading invasive strain of group A S... Read Research ▶                   Chemistry: Fine-tuning polymerization ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   More News & Comment on Chemical Sciences ▶               • Physical Sciences ▲top               Electromagnetically induced transparency and slow light with optomechanics ▶     A. H. Safavi-Naeini, T. P. Mayer Alegre, J. Chan, M. Eichenfield, M. Winger et al.     Controlling the interaction between localized optical and mechanical excitations... Read Research ▶                   High-frequency, scaled graphene transistors on diamond-like carbon ▶     Yanqing Wu, Yu-ming Lin, Ageeth A. Bol, Keith A. Jenkins, Fengnian Xia et al.     Owing to its high carrier mobility and saturation velocity, graphene has attract... Read Research ▶                   Genome-wide analysis reveals novel molecular features of mouse recombination hotspots ▶     Fatima Smagulova, Ivan V. Gregoretti, Kevin Brick, Pavel Khil, R. Daniel Camerini-Otero et al.     Meiotic recombination predominantly occurs at discrete genomic loci called recom... Read Research ▶                   Electronics: Industry-compatible graphene transistors ▶     Frank Schwierz     An innovative technique has been developed to manufacture graphene transistors t... Read Research ▶                   Oceanography: When glacial giants roll over ▶     Anders Levermann     The energy released by capsizing icebergs can be equal to that of small earthqua... Read Research ▶                   Cosmology: A smoother end to the dark ages ▶     Zoltán Haiman     Independent lines of evidence suggest that the first stars, which ended the cosm... Read Research ▶                   Origami: How to fold a rigid bag ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Nanotechnology: Painting and shaping pillars ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Astronomy: Comets gave rings their ripples ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Fluid dynamics: Getting through a drowning machine ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Scotland be brave ▶     Those who want to build a better future for Scotland should resist cuts to an innovative scheme that helps its universities to compete with larger rivals elsewhere. Read News and Comment ▶                   NASA: what now? ▶     This month marks 50 years since Yuri Gagarin first ventured into space in the Vostok 1 mission, and 30 years since NASA's first shuttle flight. As the shuttle Endeavour prepares for its final flight, seven experts outline what NASA's priorities need to be. Read News and Comment ▶                   Globalization: Behind India's technological boom ▶     The rise of outsourcing by Western companies stifles local innovation, learns Andrew Robinson. Read News and Comment ▶                   Books in brief ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Astronomy: Finding other worlds ▶     A survey of exoplanetary research shows how the field has come in from the cold, finds Chris Tinney. Read News and Comment ▶                   An insight into Maxwell's mind? ▶      David J. Tyler Read News and Comment ▶                   Shuttle programme lifetime cost ▶      Roger Pielke , Jr & Radford Byerly Read News and Comment ▶                   More News & Comment on Physical Sciences ▶               • Earth & Environmental Sciences ▲top               Evidence for mechanical coupling and strong Indian lower crust beneath southern Tibet ▶     Alex Copley, Jean-Philippe Avouac & Brian P. Wernicke     How surface deformation within mountain ranges relates to tectonic processes at ... Read Research ▶                   Low strength of deep San Andreas fault gouge from SAFOD core ▶     David A. Lockner, Carolyn Morrow, Diane Moore & Stephen Hickman     The San Andreas fault accommodates 28–34 mm yr|[minus]... Read Research ▶                   Biodiversity improves water quality through niche partitioning ▶     Bradley J. Cardinale     Excessive nutrient loading of water bodies is a leading cause of water pollution... Read Research ▶                   Thermal history of Mars inferred from orbital geochemistry of volcanic provinces ▶     David Baratoux, Michael J. Toplis, Marc Monnereau & Olivier Gasnault     Reconstruction of the geological history of Mars has been the focus of considera... Read Research ▶                   Isotope fractionation in silicate melts by thermal diffusion ▶     Frank M. Richter     Arising from F. Huang, P. et al. Nature 464, 396–400 (2010); Huang et al...It was recently shown that relatively large (compared to analytical precision) s... Read Research ▶                   Huang et al. reply ▶     F. Huang, P. Chakraborty, C. C. Lundstrom, C. Holmden, J. J. G. Glessner et al.     Replying to F. M. Richter ... Read Research ▶                   Oceanography: When glacial giants roll over ▶     Anders Levermann     The energy released by capsizing icebergs can be equal to that of small earthqua... Read Research ▶                   Ecology: Diversity favours productivity ▶     Andy Hector     A consequence of Darwin's 'principle of divergence' is that loss of species can ... Read Research ▶                   Earth science: A new mechanical model for Tibet ▶     Jeffrey T. Freymueller     A three-dimensional mechanical model of the Tibetan crust explains both the firs... Read Research ▶                   Soya scrutiny ▶     A partnership to encourage sustainable farming in Brazil may not be as green as it seems. Read News and Comment ▶                   Eye on the tiger ▶     The latest Indian tiger census demonstrates welcome methodological rigour. Read News and Comment ▶                   NASA: what now? ▶     This month marks 50 years since Yuri Gagarin first ventured into space in the Vostok 1 mission, and 30 years since NASA's first shuttle flight. As the shuttle Endeavour prepares for its final flight, seven experts outline what NASA's priorities need to be. Read News and Comment ▶                   Books in brief ▶      Read News and Comment ▶                   Astronomy: Finding other worlds ▶     A survey of exoplanetary research shows how the field has come in from the cold, finds Chris Tinney. Read News and Comment ▶                   China's green policy has some way to go ▶      Tong Wu Read News and Comment ▶                   More News & Comment on Earth & Environmental Sciences ▶                         Herrenhausen Symposium on Autoimmunity June 20-23, 2011 • Kloster Seeon, Seeon, Germany A subset of leaders in the field will attend the Herrenhausen Symposium and participate in an interdisciplinary discussion that will point in the direction of solutions to the greatest challenges that the field of autoimmunity faces. Application deadline - April 22, 2011 http://www.nature.com/natureconferences/hhs2011ai               • Careers & Jobs ▲top               California: Safe harbour ▶     San Diego's diverse corporate science portfolio offers opportunities for open-minded scientists hoping to escape stagnation in academia. Read Careers ▶                   Waiting for the motivation fairy ▶     It's easy to give in to procrastination — but Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner offer some tips for getting your drive back. Read Careers ▶                   Scotland be brave ▶     Those who want to build a better future for Scotland should resist cuts to an innovative scheme that helps its universities to compete with larger rivals elsewhere. Read News and Comment ▶                   Developing world: Educating India ▶     The country's vast, education-hungry population could supply the next generation of the world's scientists — but only if it can teach them. Read News and Comment ▶                   The search for clean cash ▶     The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been an innovator of university funding models, says David Kaiser. Its 150-year history holds lessons for today. Read News and Comment ▶                   Globalization: Behind India's technological boom ▶     The rise of outsourcing by Western companies stifles local innovation, learns Andrew Robinson. Read News and Comment ▶                     naturejobs.com Science jobs of the week       Senior Scientists     The Methodist Hospital Research Institute Houston, United States           Research Assistant / Associate     University of Glasgow Glasgow, UK           PhD student in Antiviral Drug Development - Leiden     Leiden University Medical Center Leiden, NETHERLANDS           Full time research positions (PhD and PostDoc) for a maximum duration of 3 years for PhD's and 2 years for PostDoc's     Karlsruher Institut für Techniology Karlsruhe, GERMANY         No matter what your career stage, student, postdoc or senior scientist, you will find articles on naturejobs.com to help guide you in your science career. 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