Nature Communications - 07 January 2015

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Weekly Content Alert 07 January 2015  Featured image: Edwards et al. study an eruption in far-eastern Russia and find that different lava types interact differently with the snow covering the volcano. Latest content: Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed     Latest Articles View all Articles     A very long-term transient event preceding the 2011 Tohoku earthquake Yusuke Yokota and Kazuki Koketsu Slow slip events have been observed in different subduction zones, but their relationship to megathrust earthquakes remains elusive. Here, the authors postulate that a transient event may have led to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake as the hypocentre falls within a zone of positive Coloumb stress change. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6934 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Full-Sun observations for identifying the source of the slow solar wind OPEN David H. Brooks, Ignacio Ugarte-Urra and Harry P. Warren Both fast and slow solar winds emanate from our Sun, although the source of the slow component remains elusive. Towards identifying this, Brooks et al. present full-Sun spectral images from Hinode, combined with magnetic modelling, to produce a solar wind source map. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6947 Physical Sciences  Astronomy  A ferromagnetically coupled Fe42cyanide-bridged nanocage OPEN Soonchul Kang, Hui Zheng, Tao Liu, Kohei Hamachi, Shinji Kanegawa, Kunihisa Sugimoto, Yoshihito Shiota, Shinya Hayami, Masaki Mito, Tetsuya Nakamura, Motohiro Nakano, Michael L. Baker, Hiroyuki Nojiri, Kazunari Yoshizawa, Chunying Duan and Osamu Sato One area of interest in the field of molecular magnetism is the development of high-spin molecules. Here, the authors report a cyanide-bridged nanocage consisting of 18 high-spin iron(III) ions ferromagnetically coupled through 24 low-spin iron(II) ions, with a ground state spin of S=45. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6955 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Unravelling the physics of size-dependent dislocation-mediated plasticity OPEN Jaafar A. El-Awady Size-affected dislocation-mediated plasticity is important in a wide range of materials and technologies. Here, El-Awady develops a validated generalized size-dependent dislocation-based model that can predict strength as a function of crystal/grain size and dislocation density. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6926 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Antibiotics in ingested human blood affect the mosquito microbiota and capacity to transmit malaria OPEN Mathilde Gendrin, Faye H. Rodgers, Rakiswendé S. Yerbanga, Jean Bosco Ouédraogo, María-Gloria Basáñez, Anna Cohuet and George K. Christophides The gut microbiota of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes contributes to the insects’ resistance to the parasite. Here, Gendrin et al. show that antibiotics in ingested human blood alter the mosquito gut microbiota and increase the insect’s survival, fecundity and susceptibility to the parasites. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6921 Biological Sciences  Microbiology  Zoology  Southern Hemisphere control on Australian monsoon variability during the late deglaciation and Holocene Wolfgang Kuhnt, Ann Holbourn, Jian Xu, Bradley Opdyke, Patrick De Deckker, Ursula Röhl and Manfred Mudelsee The response of the Australian monsoon to deglacial climate change remains largely unknown due to a dearth of high-resolution climate records. Here, the authors reconstruct precipitation variability in four marine sediment cores and show that Australian monsoon variability closely followed Antarctic warming. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6916 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Oceanography  Rb and FZR1/Cdh1 determine CDK4/6-cyclin D requirement in C. elegans and human cancer cells OPEN Inge The, Suzan Ruijtenberg, Benjamin P. Bouchet, Alba Cristobal, Martine B. W. Prinsen, Tim van Mourik, John Koreth, Huihong Xu, Albert J. R. Heck, Anna Akhmanova, Edwin Cuppen, Mike Boxem, Javier Muñoz and Sander van den Heuvel In most human tumours, the cell cycle regulators Cdk4/6-cyclinD are overactive. Here the authors use C. elegans as a model system to identify downstream regulators that are critical in the response of tumour cells to Cdk4/6 inhibitors. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6906 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  An invisible acoustic sensor based on parity-time symmetry Romain Fleury, Dimitrios Sounas and Andrea Alù Any typical sensing device must absorb energy, thereby altering the measured signal as it propagates on. By exploiting parity-time symmetry via non-Foster circuits, Fleury et al. show that a sensor can be built that absorbs incoming signals without perturbing them or creating a shadow, rendering it invisible. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6905 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Centromeric binding and activity of Protein Phosphatase 4 OPEN Zoltan Lipinszki, Stephane Lefevre, Matthew S. Savoian, Martin R. Singleton, David M. Glover and Marcin R. Przewloka Many cellular processes, including the cell division cycle, require concerted action of protein kinases and phosphatases. Here Lipinszki et al. present a crystal structure of the Drosophila phosphoprotein phosphatase 4 subunit, Falafel, in complex with the centromeric protein CENP-C, and reveal a new recognition mode for this phosphatase. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6894 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Direct links between the vernalization response and other key traits of cereal crops Weiwei Deng, M. Cristina Casao, Penghao Wang, Kazuhiro Sato, Patrick M. Hayes, E. Jean Finnegan and Ben Trevaskis VRN1 is a central regulator of flowering following prolonged cold exposure in cereals. Here Deng et al. combine ChIP-seq and RNA-seq to identify downstream targets of VRN1 in barley and demonstrate direct links between the flowering pathway and genes controlling other important agronomic traits. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6882 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Sub-10 nm rutile titanium dioxide nanoparticles for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production Landong Li, Junqing Yan, Tuo Wang, Zhi-Jian Zhao, Jian Zhang, Jinlong Gong and Naijia Guan Titanium dioxide is a promising photocatalyst for water splitting, although it suffers from low visible light activity. Here, the authors fabricate sub-10 nm rutile nanoparticles and investigate the role of surface/sub-surface defects in band-gap narrowing and enhanced charge-carrier separation. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6881 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Fast photodynamics of azobenzene probed by scanning excited-state potential energy surfaces using slow spectroscopy OPEN Eric M. M. Tan, Saeed Amirjalayer, Szymon Smolarek, Alexander Vdovin, Francesco Zerbetto and Wybren Jan Buma Azobenzene is perhaps the archetypal light-activated molecule, widely used for photoswitching applications, but the mechanism of isomerisation remains in doubt. Here, the authors provide high-resolution excitation spectra of trans-azobenzene, identifying the structural changes accompanying photoisomerisation. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6860 Chemical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Organic chemistry  Physical chemistry  Kinetic gating mechanism of DNA damage recognition by Rad4/XPC OPEN Xuejing Chen, Yogambigai Velmurugu, Guanqun Zheng, Beomseok Park, Yoonjung Shim, Youngchang Kim, Lili Liu, Bennett Van Houten, Chuan He, Anjum Ansari and Jung-Hyun Min XPC nucleotide excision repair factor is key to starting the repair of diverse helix-distorting DNA lesions caused by environmental insults. Here, the authors propose a kinetic gating mechanism whereby XPC recognizes DNA lesions by preferentially opening damaged sites while readily diffusing away from undamaged sites. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6849 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Composite fermions and broken symmetries in graphene F. Amet, A. J. Bestwick, J. R. Williams, L. Balicas, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi and D. Goldhaber-Gordon The collective behaviour of electrons trapped in a two-dimensional plane gives rise to fractional quantum Hall states. Amet et al. now observe previously unseen states in boron-nitride-graphene heterostructures in a strong magnetic field that indicate the formation of composite fermions. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6838 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Information–theoretic implications of quantum causal structures Rafael Chaves, Christian Majenz and David Gross Empirical data can contain information about causation rather than mere correlation. Here Chaves et al. present an algorithm for computing constraints on the correlations arising from a given quantum causal structure, and apply this framework to the information causality principle and networked architectures. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6766 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  A highly efficient polysulfide mediator for lithium–sulfur batteries Xiao Liang, Connor Hart, Quan Pang, Arnd Garsuch, Thomas Weiss and Linda F. Nazar The polysulfide shuttle is a major problem leading to capacity decay in lithium–sulfur batteries. Here, the authors show that in-situ-generated thiosulfate species on a manganese oxide nanosheet act as a polysulfide mediator, which effectively prevents polysulfide dissolution, leading to enhanced cyclability. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6682 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Observation of the intrinsic bandgap behaviour in as-grown epitaxial twisted graphene Jeongho Park, William C. Mitchel, Said Elhamri, Lawrence Grazulis, John Hoelscher, Krishnamurthy Mahalingam, Choongyu Hwang, Sung-Kwan Mo and Jonghoon Lee Stacking graphene in such a way that each layer is rotated relative to the one below provides a way of controlling the properties of this useful material. Park et al. now demonstrate a technique for fabricating this twisted graphene in such a way that it has an intrinsic electronic bandgap. 06 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6677 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  An acetylation switch controls TDP-43 function and aggregation propensity Todd J. Cohen, Andrew W. Hwang, Clark R. Restrepo, Chao-Xing Yuan, John Q. Trojanowski and Virginia M. Y. Lee The nuclear protein TDP-43 is implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Here, Cohen et al. discover lysine acetylation as a modification that regulates TDP-43 function, providing a mechanism that could be implicated in the pathogenesis of TDP-43 proteinopathies. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6845 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  Cyclin F suppresses B-Myb activity to promote cell cycle checkpoint control Ditte Kjærsgaard Klein, Saskia Hoffmann, Johanna K. Ahlskog, Karen O’Hanlon, Marianne Quaas, Brian D. Larsen, Baptiste Rolland, Heike I. Rösner, David Walter, Arne Nedergaard Kousholt, Tobias Menzel, Michael Lees, Jens Vilstrup Johansen, Juri Rappsilber, Kurt Engeland and Claus Storgaard Sørensen Cells respond to DNA damage by activating cell cycle checkpoints. Here, the authors show that the F-box protein cyclin F suppresses the B-Myb/cyclin A pathway to ensure a DNA damage-induced checkpoint response in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6800 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Imaging with a small number of photons OPEN Peter A. Morris, Reuben S. Aspden, Jessica E. C. Bell, Robert W. Boyd and Miles J. Padgett Advances in low-light-level imaging techniques have shown that imaging in the one photon per pixel regime is possible. Here, Morris et al. demonstrate high-quality image reconstruction using ghost and heralded imaging with less than one photon per image pixel with a time-gated intensified camera. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6913 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Revisiting the role of histo-blood group antigens in rotavirus host-cell invasion Raphael Böhm, Fiona E. Fleming, Andrea Maggioni, Vi T. Dang, Gavan Holloway, Barbara S. Coulson, Mark von Itzstein and Thomas Haselhorst Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) have been proposed as essential cellular receptors for rotaviruses, which can cause severe diarrhoea in children. Here, the authors show that rotavirus strains display important variations in their ability to recognize different HBGAs. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6907 Biological Sciences  Chemical biology  Microbiology  Virology  Optical focusing deep inside dynamic scattering media with near-infrared time-reversed ultrasonically encoded (TRUE) light Yan Liu, Puxiang Lai, Cheng Ma, Xiao Xu, Alexander A. Grabar and Lihong V. Wang Shaping the incident wavefront allows optical focusing deep inside scattering media, but its application in dynamic media is hindered by its low speed. Here, Liu et al. improve the speed by two orders of magnitude and demonstrate in vivo light focusing inside dynamic scattering media. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6904 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Bioengineering  Optical physics  ParaHydrogen Induced Polarization of 13C carboxylate resonance in acetate and pyruvate Francesca Reineri, Tommaso Boi and Silvio Aime Compounds such as acetate and pyruvate are useful probes for MRI, but their hyperpolarization relies on difficult and expensive dynamic nuclear polarization techniques. Here, the authors show how parahydrogen-induced polarization can be used to quickly and inexpensively hyperpolarize these compounds. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6858 Chemical Sciences  Organic chemistry  Physical chemistry  Filopodia-based Wnt transport during vertebrate tissue patterning Eliana Stanganello, Anja I. H. Hagemann, Benjamin Mattes, Claude Sinner, Dana Meyen, Sabrina Weber, Alexander Schug, Erez Raz and Steffen Scholpp Distribution of Wnt morphogens in tissues is often graded, but it is unclear how these secreted factors move to form concentration gradients. Here, the authors show that Wnt8a is transported on actin-based filopodia, known also as cytonemes, that contact the signal-receiving cells during zebrafish gastrulation. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6846 Biological Sciences  AtPHT4;4 is a chloroplast-localized ascorbate transporter in Arabidopsis OPEN Takaaki Miyaji, Takashi Kuromori, Yu Takeuchi, Naoki Yamaji, Kengo Yokosho, Atsushi Shimazawa, Eriko Sugimoto, Hiroshi Omote, Jian Feng Ma, Kazuo Shinozaki and Yoshinori Moriyama In plants, ascorbate is synthesized in the mitochondria yet plays essential roles as an antioxidant in the chloroplast. Here, Miyaji et al. show that AtPHT4;4 is a chloroplast envelope ascorbate transporter and suggest it is required for dissipation of excess energy under light stress. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6928 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Identification of a subnuclear body involved in sequence-specific cytokine RNA processing Sungwook Lee, Taeyun A. Lee, Eunhye Lee, Sujin Kang, Areum Park, Seung Won Kim, Hyo Jin Park, Je-Hyun Yoon, Sang-Jun Ha, Taesun Park, Ju-Seog Lee, Jae Hee Cheon and Boyoun Park Processing of interleukin RNAs must be tightly controlled during the immune response. Here, the authors identify TDP-43 as a scaffold protein for the formation of a nuclear body that is important for interleukin RNA processing and stability. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6791 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Dislocation-mediated relaxation in nanograined columnar palladium films revealed by on-chip time-resolved HRTEM testing OPEN M. -S. Colla, B. Amin-Ahmadi, H. Idrissi, L. Malet, S. Godet, J. -P. Raskin, D. Schryvers and T. Pardoen Nanostructured metallic materials involve a high rate sensitivity usually resulting from grain boundary related mechanisms. Here, the authors report mechanical tests on freestanding Pd thin films and show that creep is associated with dislocations rather than grain boundaries. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6922 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Dirac leaky-wave antennas for continuous beam scanning from photonic crystals Mohammad Memarian and George V. Eleftheriades Directive and scannable radiation patterns beyond the microwave region are desirable but leaky-wave antennas in the terahertz and optical range are unavailable. Here, Memarian and Eleftheriades demonstrate continuously scanned leaky-wave radiation from the interface of a photonic crystal with a Dirac-type dispersion. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6855 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Topological solitons as addressable phase bits in a driven laser Bruno Garbin, Julien Javaloyes, Giovanna Tissoni and Stéphane Barland In nonlinear optical systems, self-localized bistable packets of light exist as controllable intensity pulses in the longitudinal or transverse dimension. Here, Garbin et al. experimentally demonstrate the existence of localized longitudinal states existing in the phase of laser light. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6915 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Hypoxia-specific ultrasensitive detection of tumours and cancer cells in vivo Xianchuang Zheng, Xin Wang, Hui Mao, Wei Wu, Baorui Liu and Xiqun Jiang As hypoxia is a hallmark of tumour microenvironment, hypoxia-sensing probes are used for tumour imaging. Here, the authors report a hypoxia probe with increased sensitivity, water solubility and functional pH range, allowing in vivo detection of early metastases as small as a few thousand cells. 05 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6834 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Cancer    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Lleida (UDL-IRBLLEIDA) 3 PhD studentships University College London (UCL) Postdoctoral Fellow Stony Brook University Postdoctoral Researcher University of Kaiserslautern, Germany Postdoctoral Research Scientist University of Wisconsin - Madison PhD position The University of Warwick Postdoctoral Fellow University of Tennessee Health Science Center Postdoctoral Johns Hopkins Hospital Graduate Student University of Calgary Research Fellow University of Southampton More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Nutritional Immunology: Role in Health and Disease 31.07.15 Lisbon, Portugal More science events from     Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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