Nature Communications - 21 January 2015

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Weekly Content Alert 21 January 2015  Featured image: Williams et al. find unexpected cardiac anomalies in deep-sea diving mammals. Latest content: Review Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement FOCUS on: Immunology of the lung A series of Reviews and an animation specially commissioned by Nature Immunology explore the immunology of the lungs.  Access is available free online for six months. Produced with support from Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson       Latest Review View all Reviews     Using carbon dioxide as a building block in organic synthesis Qiang Liu, Lipeng Wu, Ralf Jackstell and Matthias Beller Carbon dioxide is an abundant and easily available source of carbon, produced as a waste product in large quantities worldwide. Here, the authors review recent work on activating and reacting carbon dioxide for use as a building block in organic synthesis. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6933 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry        Latest Articles View all Articles     The mitochondrial uniporter controls fight or flight heart rate increases Yuejin Wu, Tyler P. Rasmussen, Olha M Koval, Mei-ling A. Joiner, Duane D. Hall, Biyi Chen, Elizabeth D. Luczak, Qiongling Wang, Adam G. Rokita, Xander H.T. Wehrens, Long-Sheng Song and Mark E. Anderson Animals react to threats by increasing their heart rate. Wu et al. show that mitochondrial calcium uptake via a highly selective ion channel, the mitochondrial calcium uniporter, stimulates metabolism in cardiac pacemaker cells and is essential for physiological pulse acceleration but not resting heart rate. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7081 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  Revealing letters in rolled Herculaneum papyri by X-ray phase-contrast imaging Vito Mocella, Emmanuel Brun, Claudio Ferrero and Daniel Delattre The explosion of Vesuvius in 79 AD carbonized a library of papyrus scrolls, namely Herculaneum papyri, the contents of which are thus still largely unknown. Here, Mocella et al. show the capability of X-ray phase-contrast tomography to read letters in these scrolls without the need to unroll them first. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6895 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Clustering of CARMA1 through SH3–GUK domain interactions is required for its activation of NF-κB signalling Hiromitsu Hara, Tadashi Yokosuka, Hideki Hirakawa, Chitose Ishihara, Shinsuke Yasukawa, Masanori Yamazaki, Haruhiko Koseki, Hiroki Yoshida and Takashi Saito Activating mutations in the NF-κB regulator CARMA1 are associated with a form of B-cell lymphoma. Hara et al. show that both physiological and oncogenic CARMA1 signalling can be inhibited by preventing its activation-induced clustering, which is mediated by its SH3 and GUK domains. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6555 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Immunology  A vlincRNA participates in senescence maintenance by relieving H2AZ-mediated repression at the INK4 locus OPEN Sandra Lazorthes, Céline Vallot, Sébastien Briois, Marion Aguirrebengoa, Jean-Yves Thuret, Georges St. Laurent, Claire Rougeulle, Philipp Kapranov, Carl Mann, Didier Trouche and Estelle Nicolas Senescence is associated with chromatin reorganization in heterochromatin foci. Here the authors show that VAD, a very long intergenic non-coding RNA activated by senescence, inhibits the incorporation of the repressive histone variant H2A.Z to INK4 promoters in senescent cells. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6971 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Three-dimensionally bonded spongy graphene material with super compressive elasticity and near-zero Poisson’s ratio Yingpeng Wu, Ningbo Yi, Lu Huang, Tengfei Zhang, Shaoli Fang, Huicong Chang, Na Li, Jiyoung Oh, Jae Ah Lee, Mikhail Kozlov, Alin C. Chipara, Humberto Terrones, Peishuang Xiao, Guankui Long, Yi Huang, Fan Zhang, Long Zhang, Xavier Lepró, Carter Haines, Márcio Dias Lima et al. The incorporation of the desirable properties of graphene into three-dimensional materials remains challenging. Here, the authors report the scalable self-assembly of graphene sheets into spongy materials with very low densities, and near-zero and largely strain-independent Poisson's ratios in all directions. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7141 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Reputation can enhance or suppress cooperation through positive feedback John M. McNamara and Polly Doodson When individuals differ in their cooperative behaviour, it pays to take a partner’s reputation into account when deciding one's own levels of cooperation. Here the authors use game theory to analyse how this feeds back to change levels of cooperation as individuals change their reputation so as to change the behaviour of future partners. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7134 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Graphene-modified nanostructured vanadium pentoxide hybrids with extraordinary electrochemical performance for Li-ion batteries Qi Liu, Zhe-Fei Li, Yadong Liu, Hangyu Zhang, Yang Ren, Cheng-Jun Sun, Wenquan Lu, Yun Zhou, Lia Stanciu, Eric A. Stach and Jian Xie Vanadium pentoxide is considered a promising lithium battery electrode, but suffers from poor rate capability and cyclability. Here, the authors synthesize graphene-modified nanostructured vanadium pentoxide and show significant improvement in rate performance and cycle life. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7127 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Dynamical phases in quenched spin–orbit-coupled degenerate Fermi gas Ying Dong, Lin Dong, Ming Gong and Han Pu Spin–orbit-coupled Fermi gases have been shown to support exotic topological quantum states. Here, the authors investigate quench dynamics of these gases in two dimensions, and find that three different phases with different topological properties emerge depending on the behaviour of the order parameter. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7103 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  The unexpected role of polyubiquitin chains in the formation of fibrillar aggregates OPEN Daichi Morimoto, Erik Walinda, Harumi Fukada, Yu-Shin Sou, Shun Kageyama, Masaru Hoshino, Takashi Fujii, Hikaru Tsuchiya, Yasushi Saeki, Kyohei Arita, Mariko Ariyoshi, Hidehito Tochio, Kazuhiro Iwai, Keiichi Namba, Masaaki Komatsu, Keiji Tanaka and Masahiro Shirakawa Ubiquitin is a stable and soluble protein, but it is commonly found in inclusion bodies in neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Here, Morimoto et al. report that increasing ubiquitin chain length leads to the formation of amyloid-like fibrils, which are degraded by an autophagy mechanism. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7116 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Vaginal type-II mucosa is an inductive site for primary CD8+ T-cell mucosal immunity Yichuan Wang, Yongjun Sui, Shingo Kato, Alison E. Hogg, Jason C. Steel, John C. Morris and Jay A. Berzofsky Priming of naïve T cells is thought to occur in tissue-draining lymph nodes. Here Wang et al. show that vaginal mucosa, despite lacking structured lymphoid organs, can support priming of naïve CD8 T-cell responses and activation of memory CD8 T cells. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7100 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Origins of multicellular evolvability in snowflake yeast OPEN William C. Ratcliff, Johnathon D. Fankhauser, David W. Rogers, Duncan Greig and Michael Travisano The first steps in the transition to multicellularity remain poorly understood. Here, the authors demonstrate that disrupting a single gene in yeast results in multicellular clusters that develop clonally and possess a high degree of multicellular heritability, predisposing them to multicellular adaptation. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7102 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Growth of high-density horizontally aligned SWNT arrays using Trojan catalysts Yue Hu, Lixing Kang, Qiuchen Zhao, Hua Zhong, Shuchen Zhang, Liangwei Yang, Zequn Wang, Jingjing Lin, Qingwen Li, Zhiyong Zhang, Lianmao Peng, Zhongfan Liu and Jin Zhang Single-walled carbon nanotube arrays have been proposed for use in electronics, but getting the tubes aligned and in high density is a very challenging task. Hu et al. show that catalyst particles dissolved in a substrate can slowly be brought to the surface, allowing continued controlled growth of nanotubes. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7099 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Flooding disturbances increase resource availability and productivity but reduce stability in diverse plant communities Alexandra J. Wright, Anne Ebeling, Hans de Kroon, Christiane Roscher, Alexandra Weigelt, Nina Buchmann, Tina Buchmann, Christine Fischer, Nina Hacker, Anke Hildebrandt, Sophia Leimer, Liesje Mommer, Yvonne Oelmann, Stefan Scheu, Katja Steinauer, Tanja Strecker, Wolfgang Weisser, Wolfgang Wilcke and Nico Eisenhauer Most studies investigating the biodiversity–stability hypothesis have focused on disturbances that induce productivity losses. Using data from a 200–year flood event in a grassland biodiversity experiment, Wright et al. show that disturbances that increase productivity can also drive decreased stability. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7092 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Forbidden atomic transitions driven by an intensity-modulated laser trap Kaitlin R. Moore, Sarah E. Anderson and Georg Raithel Atomic spectroscopy is typically based on multipole atom-field interactions that obey established selection rules. Using Rydberg atoms as an example, Moore et al. show that the quadratic (ponderomotive) interaction can provide both more flexible selection rules and greater spatial addressability. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7090 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  Probing the limits of gate-based charge sensing M. F. Gonzalez-Zalba, S. Barraud, A. J. Ferguson and A. C. Betz Reading out the state of quantum bits is an essential requirement that any quantum computer implementation must satisfy. Gonzalez-Zalba et al. now show that in situ resonant gate-based detection can be a more sensitive approach than external electrometers while reducing the qubit architecture’s complexity. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7084 Physical Sciences  Nacre-mimetics with synthetic nanoclays up to ultrahigh aspect ratios Paramita Das, Jani-Markus Malho, Khosrow Rahimi, Felix H. Schacher, Baochun Wang, Dan Eugen Demco and Andreas Walther Nacre-mimetics hold great promise as high-performance, functional materials. Here, the authors use synthetic nanoclays and demonstrate tuneable mechanical properties by varying the nanoclay aspect ratio, and suggest a transparent gas barrier application. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6967 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Deviation from high-entropy configurations in the atomic distributions of a multi-principal-element alloy Louis J. Santodonato, Yang Zhang, Mikhail Feygenson, Chad M. Parish, Michael C. Gao, Richard J.K. Weber, Joerg C Neuefeind, Zhi Tang and Peter K Liaw Alloys containing multiple elements of equal distributions are known to show enhanced properties as they tend to form single phases. Here, the authors demonstrate that even in cases of elemental segregation and chemical ordering, these alloys can still maintain enhanced properties. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6964 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Abundance of live 244Pu in deep-sea reservoirs on Earth points to rarity of actinide nucleosynthesis OPEN A. Wallner, T. Faestermann, J. Feige, C. Feldstein, K. Knie, G. Korschinek, W. Kutschera, A. Ofan, M. Paul, F. Quinto, G. Rugel and P. Steier The build-up of short-lived nuclides in the interstellar medium tells us about production frequency and yield of heavy elements by nucleosynthesis. Wallner et al. find a low abundance of live interstellar 244Pu detected from the deep-sea floor, suggesting a rarity for r-process nucleosynthesis sites. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6956 Physical Sciences  Astronomy  Biogeochemistry  PFKFB4 controls embryonic patterning via Akt signalling independently of glycolysis Caterina Pegoraro, Ana Leonor Figueiredo, Frédérique Maczkowiak, Celio Pouponnot, Alain Eychène and Anne H. Monsoro-Burq PFKFB4 is an enzyme known to regulate glycolysis. The authors reveal a surprising new role for this protein in global patterning of dorsal ectoderm in frogs that is mediated by Akt signalling and independent of glycolysis. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6953 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  ANKS6 is the critical activator of NEK8 kinase in embryonic situs determination and organ patterning Peter G. Czarnecki, George C. Gabriel, Danielle K. Manning, Mikhail Sergeev, Kristi Lemke, Nikolai T. Klena, Xiaoqin Liu, Yu Chen, You Li, Jovenal T. San Agustin, Maija K. Garnaas, Richard J. Francis, Kimimasa Tobita, Wolfram Goessling, Gregory J. Pazour, Cecilia W. Lo, David R. Beier and Jagesh V. Shah Protein kinase NEK8 is important for cilliary function, but the mechanism by which it acts is unknown. Czarnecki et al. identify the cilliary protein ANKS6 as a target and crucial activator of NEK8 and describe the importance of this protein interaction in embryonic development and organogenesis. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7023 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Phase evolution in single-crystalline LiFePO4 followed by in situ scanning X-ray microscopy of a micrometre-sized battery Nils Ohmer, Bernhard Fenk, Dominik Samuelis, Chia-Chin Chen, Joachim Maier, Markus Weigand, Eberhard Goering and Gisela Schütz The phase transformation of LiFePO4/FePO4 is an intriguing problem in lithium-ion battery research. Here, the authors use scanning transmission X-ray microscopy to reveal in-situ phase evolution of LiFePO4/FePO4 in a micrometer scale battery cell with well characterised single-crystalline electrodes. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7045 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  A molecular pathway for CO2 response in Arabidopsis guard cells Wang Tian, Congcong Hou, Zhijie Ren, Yajun Pan, Jinjin Jia, Haiwen Zhang, Fenglin Bai, Peng Zhang, Huifen Zhu, Yikun He, Shenglian Luo, Legong Li and Sheng Luan Carbon dioxide influences plant–water relations and gas exchange by regulating stomatal aperture. Here, Tian et al. characterize RHC1, a MATE family transporter that under elevated carbon dioxide concentrations promotes stomatal closure via activation of the SLAC1 anion channel. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7057 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Comprehensive bioimaging with fluorinated nanoparticles using breathable liquids Michael E. Kurczy, Zheng-Jiang Zhu, Julijana Ivanisevic, Adam M. Schuyler, Kush Lalwani, Antonio F. Santidrian, John M. David, Anand Giddabasappa, Amanda J. Roberts, Hernando J. Olivos, Peter J. O’Brien, Lauren Franco, Matthew W. Fields, Liliana P. Paris, Martin Friedlander, Caroline H. Johnson, Adrian A. Epstein, Howard E. Gendelman, Malcolm R. Wood, Brunhilde H. Felding et al. Perfluorinated organic molecules have shown many uses, including as imaging agents. Here, the authors report that fluorinated gold nanoparticles offer an effective means of mass spectrometry tissue imaging, in addition to facilitating X-ray analysis providing complementary information to mass spectral images. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6998 Biological Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Medicinal chemistry  Nanotechnology  Coupling unstable agents in biological control Theresa Wei Ying Ong and John H. Vandermeer Control of pests in agriculture by introduced natural enemies may be hampered because of unstable oscillations in the dynamics of the two populations. Here, the authors show that stable conditions can be maintained by combining two unstable systems utilizing different biological control agents. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6991 Biological Sciences  Ecology  A dynamically coupled allosteric network underlies binding cooperativity in Src kinase OPEN Zachariah H. Foda, Yibing Shan, Eric T. Kim, David E. Shaw and Markus A. Seeliger Protein tyrosine kinases are subject to multiple regulatory mechanisms. Foda et al. show that reactants and products of the tyrosine kinase Src bind its catalytic domain with opposite cooperativity, and identify an allosteric network of dynamically coupled amino acids that underlie this behaviour. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6939 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Intracellular CD24 disrupts the ARF–NPM interaction and enables mutational and viral oncogene-mediated p53 inactivation OPEN Lizhong Wang, Runhua Liu, Peiying Ye, Chunshu Wong, Guo-Yun Chen, Penghui Zhou, Kaoru Sakabe, Xincheng Zheng, Wei Wu, Peng Zhang, Taijiao Jiang, Michael F. Bassetti, Sandro Jube, Yi Sun, Yanping Zhang, Pan Zheng and Yang Liu P53 is a tumour suppressor that is frequently mutated or downregulated in cancer. Here, Wang et al. show that CD24, a molecule frequently overexpressed in cancer, promotes p53 degradation by disrupting a regulatory ARF–MDM2 interaction, and silencing CD24 prevents the downregulation of p53. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6909 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Femtosecond all-optical synchronization of an X-ray free-electron laser OPEN S. Schulz, I. Grguraš, C. Behrens, H. Bromberger, J. T. Costello, M. K. Czwalinna, M. Felber, M. C. Hoffmann, M. Ilchen, H. Y. Liu, T. Mazza, M. Meyer, S. Pfeiffer, P. Prędki, S. Schefer, C. Schmidt, U. Wegner, H. Schlarb and A. L. Cavalieri Few-femtosecond synchronization at free-electron lasers is key for nearly all experimental applications, stable operation and future light source development. Here, Schulz et al. demonstrate all-optical synchronization of the soft X-ray FEL FLASH to better than 30 fs and illustrate a pathway to sub-10 fs. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6938 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  Total synthesis of periploside A, a unique pregnane hexasaccharide with potent immunosuppressive effects OPEN Xiaheng Zhang, Yu Zhou, Jianping Zuo and Biao Yu Periploside A is a natural pregnane glycoside with promising immunosuppressive properties, but the presence of a seven-membered formyl acetal bridged orthoester makes it difficult to chemically synthesize. Here, the authors present a 76-step total synthesis of periploside A. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6879 Chemical Sciences  Medicinal chemistry  Organic chemistry  DNase II-dependent DNA digestion is required for DNA sensing by TLR9 Mei Po Chan, Masahiro Onji, Ryutaro Fukui, Kohki Kawane, Takuma Shibata, Shin-ichiroh Saitoh, Umeharu Ohto, Toshiyuki Shimizu, Glen N. Barber and Kensuke Miyake Discrimination between self and microbial DNA by innate receptors such as TLR9 relies on intracellular compartmentalization to increase specificity. Chan et al. show that activation of TLR9 by DNA ligands requires their processing by endolysosomal DNase II, restricting TLR9 activation to this organelle. 20 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6853 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Immunology  Increased atrial arrhythmia susceptibility induced by intense endurance exercise in mice requires TNFα Roozbeh Aschar-Sobbi, Farzad Izaddoustdar, Adam S. Korogyi, Qiongling Wang, Gerrie P. Farman, FengHua Yang, Wallace Yang, David Dorian, Jeremy A. Simpson, Jari M. Tuomi, Douglas L. Jones, Kumaraswamy Nanthakumar, Brian Cox, Xander H. T. Wehrens, Paul Dorian and Peter H. Backx Endurance exercise is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation. Here, the authors show the adipokine TNFα is a crucial mediator of exercise-induced atrial fibrillation and irreversible atrial remodelling characterized by fibrosis and inflammation. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7018 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Dip-pen patterning of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) chain-conformation-based nano-photonic elements OPEN Aleksandr Perevedentsev, Yannick Sonnefraud, Colin R. Belton, Sanjiv Sharma, Anthony E. G. Cass, Stefan A. Maier, Ji-Seon Kim, Paul N. Stavrinou and Donal D. C. Bradley The optoelectronic properties of semiconducting polymers are controlled by altering chemical structure and/or inter-chain order. Perevedentsev et al. propose a nanopatterning approach whereby the geometry of polymer chain segments is modified to engineer metamaterial structures for visible light. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6977 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Genetic targeting of sprouting angiogenesis using Apln-CreER OPEN Qiaozhen Liu, Tianyuan Hu, Lingjuan He, Xiuzhen Huang, Xueying Tian, Hui Zhang, Liang He, Wenjuan Pu, Libo Zhang, Heng Sun, Jing Fang, Ying Yu, Shengzhong Duan, Chaobo Hu, Lijian Hui, Haibin Zhang, Thomas Quertermous, Qingbo Xu, Kristy Red-Horse, Joshua D. Wythe et al. Apelin expression is robust in embryonic but not in adult endothelial cells (ECs), where it can be reactivated by hypoxia. Liu et al. show that apelin-driven expression of Cre recombinase in mice can be used for labelling of, or gene ablation in, sprouting but not quiescent ECs in pathologies characterized by hypoxia. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7020 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Structural basis for the facilitative diffusion mechanism by SemiSWEET transporter OPEN Yongchan Lee, Tomohiro Nishizawa, Keitaro Yamashita, Ryuichiro Ishitani and Osamu Nureki SWEET family proteins mediate cellular sugar efflux and exchange through a facilitative diffusion mechanism. Here, Lee et al. shed light on the overall sugar transport cycle of the SemiSWEET uniporter-based structures trapped in both the inward-facing and outward-facing conformations. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7112 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Biological interpretation of genome-wide association studies using predicted gene functions Tune H. Pers, Juha M. Karjalainen, Yingleong Chan, Harm-Jan Westra, Andrew R. Wood, Jian Yang, Julian C. Lui, Sailaja Vedantam, Stefan Gustafsson, Tonu Esko, Tim Frayling, Elizabeth K. Speliotes, Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium, Michael Boehnke, Soumya Raychaudhuri, Rudolf S. N. Fehrmann, Joel N. Hirschhorn and Lude Franke Identifying which genes and pathways explain genetic associations is challenging. Here, the authors present DEPICT, a tool for gene prioritization, pathway analysis and tissue/cell-type enrichment analysis that can be used to generate testable hypotheses from genetic association studies. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6890 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Annexin A2 promotes phagophore assembly by enhancing Atg16L+ vesicle biogenesis and homotypic fusion OPEN Kateryna Morozova, Sunandini Sidhar, Valerio Zolla, Cristina C. Clement, Brian Scharf, Zoe Verzani, Antonio Diaz, Jorge N. Larocca, Katherine A. Hajjar, Ana Maria Cuervo and Laura Santambrogio The earliest steps in autophagy are thought to include the budding of Atg16L-containing vesicles from the plasma membrane and their homotypic fusion to form a phagophore. Morozova et al. reveal a role for the membrane curvature-inducing protein Annexin A2 in the formation and fusion of these vesicles. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6856 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Novel variation and de novo mutation rates in population-wide de novo assembled Danish trios OPEN Søren Besenbacher, Siyang Liu, José M. G. Izarzugaza, Jakob Grove, Kirstine Belling, Jette Bork-Jensen, Shujia Huang, Thomas D. Als, Shengting Li, Rachita Yadav, Arcadio Rubio-García, Francesco Lescai, Ditte Demontis, Junhua Rao, Weijian Ye, Thomas Mailund, Rune M. Friborg, Christian N. S. Pedersen, Ruiqi Xu, Jihua Sun et al. The generation of a national pan-genome, a population-specific catalogue of genetic variation, may advance the impact of clinical genetics studies. Here the Besenbacher et al. carry out deep sequencing and de novo assembly of 10 parent–child trios to generate a Danish pan-genome that provides insight into structural variation, de novo mutation rates and variant calling. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6969 Biological Sciences  Genetics  mab21-l3 regulates cell fate specification of multiciliate cells and ionocytes Chika Takahashi, Morioh Kusakabe, Toshiyasu Suzuki, Koichi Miyatake and Eisuke Nishida The Notch signalling pathway has important roles in embryonic development. Here the authors show that an evolutionarily conserved gene, mab21-l3, is inhibited by Notch signalling and regulates specification of developing multiciliate cells and ion-transporting ionocytes in frog embryos. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7017 Biological Sciences  Prevalent and distinct spliceosomal 3′-end processing mechanisms for fungal telomerase RNA Xiaodong Qi, Dustin P. Rand, Joshua D. Podlevsky, Yang Li, Axel Mosig, Peter F. Stadler and Julian J. -L. Chen In fission yeast, the telomerase RNA (TER) is produced through inhibition of the second step in splicing, resulting in spliceosomal cleavage. Here, the authors show that the inhibition of splicing is a conserved principle in fungal TER maturation that uses distinct molecular mechanisms across species. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7105 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Molecular biology  Redox activity of surface oxygen anions in oxygen-deficient perovskite oxides during electrochemical reactions David N. Mueller, Michael L. Machala, Hendrik Bluhm and William C. Chueh Surface redox centres in metal oxides play a key role in catalytic performance, and the conventional view is that the transition-metal cations dominate this behaviour. Here, the authors perform an in operando spectroscopic study, and find that oxygen anions are a significant redox partner to molecular oxygen. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7097 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Materials science  Mechanical instability at finite temperature Xiaoming Mao, Anton Souslov, Carlos I. Mendoza and T. C. Lubensky How do fluctuations alter the dynamics of phase transitions in crystal near a mechanical instability? To answer this question, here Mao et al. present a square lattice-based analytic model showing that large entropic effects can take place at nonzero temperature near the transition. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6968 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Substrate stiffness-modulated registry phase correlations in cardiomyocytes map structural order to coherent beating K. Dasbiswas, S. Majkut, D. E. Discher and Samuel A. Safran Cardiomyocyte function depends on the interplay between the intracellular fibrillar organization, contraction strain and substrate stiffness. Here the authors present a model that maps the measured values of the registry striations to those of the beating strain as functions of the substrate rigidity. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7085 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Medical research  Room-temperature exciton coherence and dephasing in two-dimensional nanostructures Elsa Cassette, Ryan D. Pensack, Benoît Mahler and Gregory D. Scholes Evidence for exciton coherence in photosynthetic complexes raises questions about whether quantum processes can play a role in biological environments, which are warm and wet. Cassette et al. now demonstrate long-lived electronic coherence in colloidal nanoplatelets in solution and at room temperature. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7086 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Mammalian frataxin directly enhances sulfur transfer of NFS1 persulfide to both ISCU and free thiols Aubérie Parent, Xavier Elduque, David Cornu, Laura Belot, Jean-Pierre Le Caer, Anna Grandas, Michel B. Toledano and Benoit D’Autréaux The protein frataxin has a role in iron–sulfur clusters biosynthesis that is still elusive. Here, the authors present a novel alkylation assay for the detection of persulfide, an intermediate in this process, and describe the function of frataxin in the control of persulfide transfer. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6686 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Diverse mechanisms for spliceosome-mediated 3′ end processing of telomerase RNA OPEN Ram Kannan, Rachel M. Helston, Richard O. Dannebaum and Peter Baumann In fission yeast, the telomerase RNA (TER) is produced through spliceosomal cleavage. Here, Kannan et al. find that spliceosome-generated 3′ ends also occurs in other fungal TERs using distinct molecular mechanisms, suggesting multiple origins for this type of TER maturation pathway. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7104 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Molecular biology  A narrow window of cortical tension guides asymmetric spindle positioning in the mouse oocyte A. Chaigne, C. Campillo, N. S. Gov, R. Voituriez, C. Sykes, M. H. Verlhac and M. E. Terret Asymmetric spindle positioning in female mouse meiosis depends on the assembly of actin networks. Here, Chaigne et al. show by theoretical modelling and artificial manipulation of the oocyte cortex that a narrow stiffness regime is required to correctly position the spindle during meiosis I in the mouse oocyte. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7027 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Remodelling of spared proprioceptive circuit involving a small number of neurons supports functional recovery Edmund R. Hollis II, Nao Ishiko, Maysam Pessian, Kristine Tolentino, Corinne A. Lee-Kubli, Nigel A. Calcutt and Yimin Zou In response to spinal cord injuries, limited functional recovery can be achieved but the new circuits that arise have not been characterized in detail. Here the authors show that synaptic connections between the ascending proprioceptive neurons and a small number of spared dorsal column neurons, can be remodeled after a cervical lesion to support functional recovery. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7079 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Revealing a double-inversion mechanism for the F−+CH3Cl SN2 reaction István Szabó and Gábor Czakó The SN2 reaction is a stereospecific process, normally occurring via back-side inversion or front-side retention. Here, the authors report a global potential energy surface for the reaction between fluoride and CH3Cl and identify an additional double inversion mechanism. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6972 Chemical Sciences  Physical chemistry  Human-to-mosquito transmission efficiency increases as malaria is controlled OPEN Thomas S. Churcher, Jean-François Trape and Anna Cohuet Understanding the epidemiology of malaria transmission between humans and mosquitoes is crucial for successful disease control. Analysing data from an 18-year malaria control programme, Churcher et al. show that decreased parasite prevalence in humans can be found concurrently with an increase in transmission efficiency. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7054 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Microbiology  Stable metal-organic frameworks containing single-molecule traps for enzyme encapsulation Dawei Feng, Tian-Fu Liu, Jie Su, Mathieu Bosch, Zhangwen Wei, Wei Wan, Daqiang Yuan, Ying-Pin Chen, Xuan Wang, Kecheng Wang, Xizhen Lian, Zhi-Yuan Gu, Jihye Park, Xiaodong Zou and Hong-Cai Zhou Enzymatic catalytic processes have great industrial potential, although their application is hampered by stability and reuse issues. Here, the authors report metal-organic frameworks with rationally designed single-molecule traps for enzyme encapsulation, and evaluate the activity of the confined enzymes. 19 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6979 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Exercise at depth alters bradycardia and incidence of cardiac anomalies in deep-diving marine mammals Terrie M. Williams, Lee A. Fuiman, Traci Kendall, Patrick Berry, Beau Richter, Shawn R. Noren, Nicole Thometz, Michael J. Shattock, Edward Farrell, Andy M. Stamper and Randall W. Davis Deep-sea diving mammals routinely undergo extreme physiological challenges not experienced by their terrestrial counterparts. Using high-resolution electrocardiographic recorders fitted to seals and dolphins, Williams et al. report an increased frequency of cardiac arrhythmias at greater exercise intensity and dive depth. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7055 Biological Sciences  Zoology  Capacitance-modulated transistor detects odorant binding protein chiral interactions OPEN Mohammad Yusuf Mulla, Elena Tuccori, Maria Magliulo, Gianluca Lattanzi, Gerardo Palazzo, Krishna Persaud and Luisa Torsi Organic bioelectronic devices can be used to convert biological recognition events to a signal output. Here, the authors show how a water gated field-effect transistor modified with odorant binding proteins can be used to analyse the enantioselectivity of carvone binding and also estimate free-energy changes. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7010 Physical Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Biochemistry  Evolution and emergence of infectious diseases in theoretical and real-world networks OPEN Gabriel E. Leventhal, Alison L. Hill, Martin A. Nowak and Sebastian Bonhoeffer The continual evolution of pathogens makes infectious disease control very challenging. Here the authors examine how host population structure influences disease evolution, and show that heterogeneous contact networks lower the fixation probability of newly arising pathogen strains. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7101 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Microbiology  Photoswitchable semiconductor nanocrystals with self-regulating photochromic Förster resonance energy transfer acceptors Sebastián A. Díaz, Florencia Gillanders, Elizabeth A. Jares-Erijman and Thomas M. Jovin Photochromic Förster resonance energy transfer endows nanosensors with photoswitchable fluorescence properties. Diaz et al. present a system with two photostationary end states, one of which exhibits constant quenching of the quantum dot donor independent of its mean distance to the photochromic acceptors. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7036 Physical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Physical chemistry  Demonstration of a low-frequency three-dimensional terahertz bullet with extreme brightness Mostafa Shalaby and Christoph P. Hauri Bright terahertz sources confined to diffraction-limited spot sizes are needed for nonlinear applications but focusing in this regime is challenging. Here, Shalaby and Hauri use terahertz wavefront manipulation combined with focusing optimization to achieve three-dimensional terahertz bullets. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6976 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Optical physics  A fluorescent hormone biosensor reveals the dynamics of jasmonate signalling in plants Antoine Larrieu, Antony Champion, Jonathan Legrand, Julien Lavenus, David Mast, Géraldine Brunoud, Jaesung Oh, Soazig Guyomarc’h, Maxime Pizot, Edward E. Farmer, Colin Turnbull, Teva Vernoux, Malcolm J. Bennett and Laurent Laplaze Jasmonate regulates multiple aspects of plant growth, development and stress responses. Here, Larrieu et al. develop a fluorescent biosensor that allows jasmonate perception to be monitored at previously unobtainable levels of spatiotemporal resolution in Arabidopsis. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7043 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Quorum sensing triggers the stochastic escape of individual cells from Pseudomonas putida biofilms OPEN Gerardo Cárcamo-Oyarce, Putthapoom Lumjiaktase, Rolf Kümmerli and Leo Eberl Bacteria secrete signalling molecules (AHLs) to coordinate actions such as biofilm formation and the release of public goods, in a process called quorum sensing. Here, the authors show that AHLs are stochastically produced and control asocial (self-directed) traits in young biofilms of P. putida. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6945 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Evolution  Microbiology  Ethnic-specific associations of rare and low-frequency DNA sequence variants with asthma OPEN Catherine Igartua, Rachel A. Myers, Rasika A. Mathias, Maria Pino-Yanes, Celeste Eng, Penelope E. Graves, Albert M. Levin, Blanca E. Del-Rio-Navarro, Daniel J. Jackson, Oren E. Livne, Nicholas Rafaels, Christopher K. Edlund, James J. Yang, Scott Huntsman, Muhammad T. Salam, Isabelle Romieu, Raphael Mourad, James E. Gern, Robert F. Lemanske, Annah Wyss et al. Common variants account for only a small amount of the heritable risk for developing asthma. Using a meta-analysis approach, Igartua et al. identify one low-frequency missense mutation and two genes with functional variants that are associated with asthma, but only in specific ethnic groups. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6965 Biological Sciences  Genetics  The Arabidopsis alkaline ceramidase TOD1 is a key turgor pressure regulator in plant cells OPEN Li-Yu Chen, Dong-Qiao Shi, Wen-Juan Zhang, Zuo-Shun Tang, Jie Liu and Wei-Cai Yang Turgor pressure is critical for the growth of plant cells but the mechanisms regulating turgor are poorly understood. Here, Chen et al. identify TOD1, an alkaline ceramidase, involved in sphingosine metabolism that regulates turgor during pollen tube growth and stomatal closure. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7030 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Porous coordination polymers with ubiquitous and biocompatible metals and a neutral bridging ligand OPEN Shin-ichiro Noro, Junya Mizutani, Yuh Hijikata, Ryotaro Matsuda, Hiroshi Sato, Susumu Kitagawa, Kunihisa Sugimoto, Yasutaka Inubushi, Kazuya Kubo and Takayoshi Nakamura Inexpensive porous materials synthesized from Group II metals may be useful for industrial applications. Here, the authors demonstrate that neutral bridging ligands can be used for the synthesis of magnesium(II) and calcium(II) porous coordination polymers. 16 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6851 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Probing the electron states and metal-insulator transition mechanisms in molybdenum disulphide vertical heterostructures Xiaolong Chen, Zefei Wu, Shuigang Xu, Lin Wang, Rui Huang, Yu Han, Weiguang Ye, Wei Xiong, Tianyi Han, Gen Long, Yang Wang, Yuheng He, Yuan Cai, Ping Sheng and Ning Wang The mechanism that drives the metal to insulator transition in the two-dimensional material molybdenum disulphide is unknown. Here, the authors identify a percolation-type transition by studying the transport and capacitance properties of a metal-insulator-MoS2 heterostructure. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7088 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Host ICAMs play a role in cell invasion by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Plasmodium falciparum Kuhulika Bhalla, Monika Chugh, Sonali Mehrotra, Sumit Rathore, Sultan Tousif, Ved Prakash Dwivedi, Prem Prakash, Sachin Kumar Samuchiwal, Sushil Kumar, Dhiraj Kumar Singh, Swapnil Ghanwat, Dhiraj Kumar, Gobardhan Das, Asif Mohmmed, Pawan Malhotra and Anand Ranganathan Intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAMs) participate in cellular processes such as host-pathogen interactions. Here, the authors show that ICAM-1 and ICAM-4 play roles in the invasion of macrophages and red blood cells by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Plasmodium falciparum, respectively. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7049 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  Microbiology  Cytoplasmic TAF2–TAF8–TAF10 complex provides evidence for nuclear holo–TFIID assembly from preformed submodules OPEN Simon Trowitzsch, Cristina Viola, Elisabeth Scheer, Sascha Conic, Virginie Chavant, Marjorie Fournier, Gabor Papai, Ima-Obong Ebong, Christiane Schaffitzel, Juan Zou, Matthias Haffke, Juri Rappsilber, Carol V. Robinson, Patrick Schultz, Laszlo Tora and Imre Berger TFIID is an essential transcription factor complex that controls the expression of most protein-coding genes in eukaryotes. Here the authors identify and characterize a complex containing TAF2, TAF8 and TAF10, which assembles in the cytoplasm before integration into the nuclear holo–TFIID complex. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7011 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Molecular biology  FBH1 influences DNA replication fork stability and homologous recombination through ubiquitylation of RAD51 Wai Kit Chu, Miranda J. Payne, Petra Beli, Katsuhiro Hanada, Chunaram Choudhary and Ian D. Hickson The F-box DNA helicase 1 (FBH1) is implicated in suppression of homologous recombination (HR), but the precise mechanism is unclear. Here, the authors show that FBH1 can ubiquitylate RAD51, a central player in HR, and controls the subcellular localization of RAD51. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6931 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  An efficient molybdenum disulfide/cobalt diselenide hybrid catalyst for electrochemical hydrogen generation OPEN Min-Rui Gao, Jin-Xia Liang, Ya-Rong Zheng, Yun-Fei Xu, Jun Jiang, Qiang Gao, Jun Li and Shu-Hong Yu There is substantial research into new catalysts for electroreduction of water. Here, the authors report a robust and active molybdenum disulfide/cobalt diselenide hydrogen evolution catalyst with onset potential of 11 mV and Tafel slope of 36 mV per decade, approaching the activity of platinum. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6982 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Carrier density modulation in a germanium heterostructure by ferroelectric switching Patrick Ponath, Kurt Fredrickson, Agham B. Posadas, Yuan Ren, Xiaoyu Wu, Rama K. Vasudevan, M. Baris Okatan, S. Jesse, Toshihiro Aoki, Martha R. McCartney, David J. Smith, Sergei V. Kalinin, Keji Lai and Alexander A. Demkov The control of electrical charges through an electronic field is the basis of modern electronic devices such as the transistor. Here, the authors achieve charge density modulation through a ferroelectric field effect in germanium and barium titanate thin-film heterostructures. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7067 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Aerosol generation by raindrop impact on soil Young Soo Joung and Cullen R. Buie Suspended dust and sea salt are currently considered to be two major sources of environmental aerosol particles. Here, Joung and Buie report another mechanism of aerosol generation from rainfall impact on porous soil surfaces, whereby elements can be delivered to the air. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7083 Physical Sciences  Atmospheric science  Fluids and plasma physics  Geology and geophysics  Cascaded optical transparency in multimode-cavity optomechanical systems Linran Fan, King Y. Fong, Menno Poot and Hong X. Tang Optical delay is essential to classical and quantum optical communication. Here, the authors realize prolonged optical delay with cascaded of electromagnetically induced transparency by integrating phonon–phonon and optomechanical coupling in a single on-chip device. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6850 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Dark-field X-ray microscopy for multiscale structural characterization OPEN H. Simons, A. King, W. Ludwig, C. Detlefs, W. Pantleon, S. Schmidt, I. Snigireva, A. Snigirev and H. F. Poulsen The internal structure of materials determines many of their physical and mechanical properties. Here, the authors have developed a non-destructive X-ray microscopy technique for layer-by-layer mapping of crystallographic orientations and stresses to obtain a three-dimensional reconstruction of a material. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7098 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Optical physics  Bond cleavage, fragment modification and reassembly in enantioselective three-component reactions OPEN Dan Zhang, Jun Zhou, Fei Xia, Zhenghui Kang and Wenhao Hu Multi-component reactions allow complex structures to be rapidly built from simple starting materials. Here, the authors report an enantioselective three-component coupling of imines, enamines and aryldiazoacetates catalysed by a phosphinic acid and palladium(II). 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6801 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry  The statistical geometry of transcriptome divergence in cell-type evolution and cancer Cong Liang, the FANTOM Consortium, Alistair R.R. Forrest and Günter P. Wagner Body plan complexity is associated with the number of different cell types, yet the processes that create this diversity are unclear. Here the authors use transcriptomics to test the hypothesis that unlike cancer cells, novel normal cell types arise through sub-specialization of an ancestral cell type. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7066 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Evolution  Genetics  A freshwater predator hit twice by the effects of warming across trophic levels Tomas Jonsson and Malin Setzer Species responses to climatic change are likely to be complex, acting across multiple trophic levels and life stages. Here the authors show that Arctic charr are negatively impacted by trophic mismatches affecting both juveniles and fry, which may be responsible for recent poor catches of this fish. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6992 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Chirality-selected phase behaviour in ionic polypeptide complexes OPEN Sarah L. Perry, Lorraine Leon, Kyle Q. Hoffmann, Matthew J. Kade, Dimitrios Priftis, Katie A. Black, Derek Wong, Ryan A. Klein, Charles F. Pierce, Khatcher O. Margossian, Jonathan K. Whitmer, Jian Qin, Juan J. de Pablo and Matthew Tirrell Complexes that form between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes may be solid or liquid. Here, Perry et al. show that chirality in polypeptides can determine the state of those complexes based on a propensity for hydrogen-bond formation. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7052 Chemical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Physical chemistry  A molecular nematic liquid crystalline material for high-performance organic photovoltaics OPEN Kuan Sun, Zeyun Xiao, Shirong Lu, Wojciech Zajaczkowski, Wojciech Pisula, Eric Hanssen, Jonathan M. White, Rachel M. Williamson, Jegadesan Subbiah, Jianyong Ouyang, Andrew B. Holmes, Wallace W.H. Wong and David J. Jones There is a trade-off between increasing thickness of active layers in organic photovoltaic cells to be compatible with modern printing techniques and decreasing it to improve the device performance. Sun et al. report a nematic liquid crystalline molecular electron donor material used in thick layers. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7013 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Organic chemistry  Aberrant splicing of U12-type introns is the hallmark of ZRSR2 mutant myelodysplastic syndrome Vikas Madan, Deepika Kanojia, Jia Li, Ryoko Okamoto, Aiko Sato-Otsubo, Alexander Kohlmann, Masashi Sanada, Vera Grossmann, Janani Sundaresan, Yuichi Shiraishi, Satoru Miyano, Felicitas Thol, Arnold Ganser, Henry Yang, Torsten Haferlach, Seishi Ogawa and H. Phillip Koeffler Somatic mutations in components of the core RNA splicing machinery, including ZRSR2, have been implicated in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Here, Madan et al. show that ZRSR2 plays a pivotal role in splicing of the U12-type introns, while the U2-dependent splicing is largely unaffected in ZRSR2 mutant MDS bone marrow. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7042 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Genetics  Origins of hydration lubrication Liran Ma, Anastasia Gaisinskaya-Kipnis, Nir Kampf and Jacob Klein Subnanometre-thick hydration layers can greatly reduce the friction between two sliding objects, an effect termed hydration lubrication. Here, Ma et al. determine the frictional dissipation in such layers, which can account for the observed lubricating action of hydrated ions or zwitterions. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7060 Physical Sciences  Biophysics  Materials science  Activating mutations of STAT5B and STAT3 in lymphomas derived from γδ-T or NK cells Can Küçük, Bei Jiang, Xiaozhou Hu, Wenyan Zhang, John K. C. Chan, Wenming Xiao, Nathan Lack, Can Alkan, John C. Williams, Kendra N. Avery, Pınar Kavak, Anna Scuto, Emel Sen, Philippe Gaulard, Lou Staudt, Javeed Iqbal, Weiwei Zhang, Adam Cornish, Qiang Gong, Qunpei Yang et al. NK-cell and γδ-T cell lymphoma share clinic-pathological features; however the driving mutations are largely unknown. Here the authors, using a combination of RNA-Seq analysis, targeted re-sequencing and functional analysis, identify frequent activating mutations in STAT3 and STAT5B that may be driver mutations in these diseases. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7025 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  RNA export factor Ddx19 is required for nuclear import of the SRF coactivator MKL1 OPEN Eeva Kaisa Rajakylä, Tiina Viita, Salla Kyheröinen, Guillaume Huet, Richard Treisman and Maria K. Vartiainen Nuclear import of transcriptional regulators and export of mRNA are essential steps for the manufacture of proteins in the cytoplasm. Here, Rajakylä et al. link these two activities by showing that the mRNA export factor Ddx19 promotes the nuclear import of the transcriptional coactivator MKL1. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6978 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Glucocorticoids suppress inflammation via the upregulation of negative regulator IRAK-M OPEN Masanori Miyata, Ji-Yun Lee, Seiko Susuki-Miyata, Wenzhuo Y. Wang, Haidong Xu, Hirofumi Kai, Koichi S. Kobayashi, Richard A. Flavell and Jian-Dong Li Glucocorticoids strongly suppress inflammation. Here the authors show that this suppression is mediated by induction of the negative inflammatory regulator IRAK-M, and demonstrate its important role in host defense against the pneumonia-causative bacterium, non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7062 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Size dependence of phase transitions in aerosol nanoparticles OPEN Yafang Cheng, Hang Su, Thomas Koop, Eugene Mikhailov and Ulrich Pöschl Although phase transitions are fundamental for understanding aerosol particles, current models are insufficient to explain observations at the nanoscale. Here, the authors present a method for investigating droplets, suggesting particle size is a key determinant in the phase diagram of nanoparticles. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms6923 Earth Sciences  Atmospheric science  Physical chemistry  Experimental evidence of replica symmetry breaking in random lasers N. Ghofraniha, I. Viola, F. Di Maria, G. Barbarella, G. Gigli, L. Leuzzi and C. Conti Replica symmetry breaking, in which identical systems subject to identical conditions evolve to different end states, has been predicted to occur in many contexts but has yet to be observed experimentally. Ghofraniha et al. report evidence for its occurrence in the pulse-to-pulse variations of a random laser. 14 January 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7058 Physical Sciences  Optical physics    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Research Assistant I Temple University Postdoctoral Research Associate The University of Sheffield Postdoctoral Research Scientist Institut de Biologie Structurale Research Fellow University of Edinburgh Post-doctoral position UBC Heart and Lung Innovation Junior Group Leader - Integrative Bioinformatics Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Post-doctoral researcher Trinity College Dublin Senior Lecturer in Immunology Umeå University Post-Doctoral Associate The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Senior Scientist Horizon Discovery More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Novel Tools & Technologies for Studying Cells & Tissues 03.07.15 London, UK More science events from     Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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