Nature
Projections from neocortex mediate top-down control of memory retrieval
Projections from neocortex mediate top-down control of memory retrieval
Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15389
Authors: Priyamvada Rajasethupathy, Sethuraman Sankaran, James H. Marshel, Christina K. Kim, Emily Ferenczi, Soo Yeun Lee, Andre Berndt, Charu Ramakrishnan, Anna Jaffe, Maisie Lo, Conor Liston & Karl Deisseroth
Top-down prefrontal cortex inputs to the hippocampus have been hypothesized to be important in memory consolidation, retrieval, and the pathophysiology of major psychiatric diseases; however, no such direct projections have been identified and functionally described. Here we report the discovery of a monosynaptic prefrontal cortex
Hedgehog actively maintains adult lung quiescence and regulates repair and regeneration
Hedgehog actively maintains adult lung quiescence and regulates repair and regeneration
Nature 526, 7574 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature14984
Authors: Tien Peng, David B. Frank, Rachel S. Kadzik, Michael P. Morley, Komal S. Rathi, Tao Wang, Su Zhou, Lan Cheng, Min Min Lu & Edward E. Morrisey
Postnatal tissue quiescence is thought to be a default state in the absence of a proliferative stimulus such as injury. Although previous studies have demonstrated that certain embryonic developmental programs are reactivated aberrantly in adult organs to drive repair and regeneration, it is not well understood how quiescence is maintained in organs such as the lung, which displays a remarkably low level of cellular turnover. Here we demonstrate that quiescence in the adult lung is an actively maintained state and is regulated by hedgehog signalling. Epithelial-specific deletion of sonic hedgehog (Shh) during postnatal homeostasis in the murine lung results in a proliferative expansion of the adjacent lung mesenchyme. Hedgehog signalling is initially downregulated during the acute phase of epithelial injury as the mesenchyme proliferates in response, but returns to baseline during injury resolution as quiescence is restored. Activation of hedgehog during acute epithelial injury attenuates the proliferative expansion of the lung mesenchyme, whereas inactivation of hedgehog signalling prevents the restoration of quiescence during injury resolution. Finally, we show that hedgehog also regulates epithelial quiescence and regeneration in response to injury via a mesenchymal feedback mechanism. These results demonstrate that epithelial–mesenchymal interactions coordinated by hedgehog actively maintain postnatal tissue homeostasis, and deregulation of hedgehog during injury leads to aberrant repair and regeneration in the lung.
Non-coding RNA: Antibiotic tricks a switch
Non-coding RNA: Antibiotic tricks a switch
Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15635
Authors: Thomas Hermann
A screen for compounds that block a bacterial biosynthetic pathway has uncovered an antibiotic lead that shuts off pathogen growth by targeting a molecular switch in a regulatory RNA structure. See Article p.672
Selective small-molecule inhibition of an RNA structural element
Selective small-molecule inhibition of an RNA structural element
Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15542
Authors: John A. Howe, Hao Wang, Thierry O. Fischmann, Carl J. Balibar, Li Xiao, Andrew M. Galgoci, Juliana C. Malinverni, Todd Mayhood, Artjohn Villafania, Ali Nahvi, Nicholas Murgolo, Christopher M. Barbieri, Paul A. Mann, Donna Carr, Ellen Xia, Paul Zuck, Dan Riley, Ronald E. Painter, Scott S. Walker, Brad Sherborne, Reynalda de Jesus, Weidong Pan, Michael A. Plotkin, Jin Wu, Diane Rindgen, John Cummings, Charles G. Garlisi, Rumin Zhang, Payal R. Sheth, Charles J. Gill, Haifeng Tang & Terry Roemer
Riboswitches are non-coding RNA structures located in messenger RNAs that bind endogenous ligands, such as a specific metabolite or ion, to regulate gene expression. As such, riboswitches serve as a novel, yet largely unexploited, class of emerging drug targets. Demonstrating this potential, however, has proven
Structural basis for gene regulation by a B12-dependent photoreceptor
Structural basis for gene regulation by a B12-dependent photoreceptor
Nature 526, 7574 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature14950
Authors: Marco Jost, Jésus Fernández-Zapata, María Carmen Polanco, Juan Manuel Ortiz-Guerrero, Percival Yang-Ting Chen, Gyunghoon Kang, S. Padmanabhan, Montserrat Elías-Arnanz & Catherine L. Drennan
Photoreceptor proteins enable organisms to sense and respond to light. The newly discovered CarH-type photoreceptors use a vitamin B12 derivative, adenosylcobalamin, as the light-sensing chromophore to mediate light-dependent gene regulation. Here we present crystal structures of Thermus thermophilus CarH in all three
50 & 100 Years Ago
50 & 100 Years Ago
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525463a
50 Years AgoA Biological Retrospect. By Sir Peter Medawar — The title of my presidential address, as you will have discerned, is “A Biological Retrospect”, and on the whole it has not been well received. 'Why a biological retrospect?', I have been
STAP cells are derived from ES cells
STAP cells are derived from ES cells
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15366
Authors: Daijiro Konno, Takeya Kasukawa, Kosuke Hashimoto, Takehiko Itoh, Taeko Suetsugu, Ikuo Miura, Shigeharu Wakana, Piero Carninci & Fumio Matsuzaki
arising fromH. Obokata et al.Nature505, 641–647 (2014) doi:10.1038/nature12968; retraction 511, 112 (2014) doi:10.1038/nature13598; and H. Obokata et al.Nature505, 676–680 (2014)
Failure to replicate the STAP cell phenomenon
Failure to replicate the STAP cell phenomenon
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15513
Authors: Alejandro De Los Angeles, Francesco Ferrari, Yuko Fujiwara, Ronald Mathieu, Soohyun Lee, Semin Lee, Ho-Chou Tu, Samantha Ross, Stephanie Chou, Minh Nguyen, Zhaoting Wu, Thorold W. Theunissen, Benjamin E. Powell, Sumeth Imsoonthornruksa, Jiekai Chen, Marti Borkent, Vladislav Krupalnik, Ernesto Lujan, Marius Wernig, Jacob H. Hanna, Konrad Hochedlinger, Duanqing Pei, Rudolf Jaenisch, Hongkui Deng, Stuart H. Orkin, Peter J. Park & George Q. Daley
arising from H. Obokata et al.Nature505, 641–647 (2014) doi:10.1038/nature12968; retraction 511, 112 (2014) doi:10.1038/nature13598; and H. Obokata et al.Nature505, 676–680 (2014
The diurnal cycle of water ice on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
The diurnal cycle of water ice on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature14869
Authors: M. C. De Sanctis, F. Capaccioni, M. Ciarniello, G. Filacchione, M. Formisano, S. Mottola, A. Raponi, F. Tosi, D. Bockelée-Morvan, S. Erard, C. Leyrat, B. Schmitt, E. Ammannito, G. Arnold, M. A. Barucci, M. Combi, M. T. Capria, P. Cerroni, W.-H. Ip, E. Kuehrt, T. B. McCord, E. Palomba, P. Beck & E. Quirico
Observations of cometary nuclei have revealed a very limited amount of surface water ice, which is insufficient to explain the observed water outgassing. This was clearly demonstrated on comet 9P/Tempel 1, where the dust jets (driven by volatiles) were only partially correlated with the exposed ice regions. The observations of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko have revealed that activity has a diurnal variation in intensity arising from changing insolation conditions. It was previously concluded that water vapour was generated in ice-rich subsurface layers with a transport mechanism linked to solar illumination, but that has not hitherto been observed. Periodic condensations of water vapour very close to, or on, the surface were suggested to explain short-lived outbursts seen near sunrise on comet 9P/Tempel 1. Here we report observations of water ice on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, appearing and disappearing in a cyclic pattern that follows local illumination conditions, providing a source of localized activity. This water cycle appears to be an important process in the evolution of the comet, leading to cyclical modification of the relative abundance of water ice on its surface.
Erratum: Mechanism of phospho-ubiquitin-induced PARKIN activation
Erratum: Mechanism of phospho-ubiquitin-induced PARKIN activation
Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15531
Authors: Tobias Wauer, Michal Simicek, Alexander Schubert & David Komander
Nature524, 370–374 (2015); doi:10.1038/nature14879The print and PDF versions of this Letter are correct, but the wrong HTML versions of Figs 1–4 and ED Figs 1–10 were used initially, owing to an in-house error; these have been
Corrigendum: Cleavage of CAD inhibitor in CAD activation and DNA degradation during apoptosis
Corrigendum: Cleavage of CAD inhibitor in CAD activation and DNA degradation during apoptosis
Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15532
Authors: Hideki Sakahira, Masato Enari & Shigekazu Nagata
Nature391, 96–99 (1998); doi:10.1038/34214Recently, it has come to our attention that in Fig. 1a of this Letter, lanes 1 and 5 appear to be duplicated and lanes 6 and 10 appear to be duplicated. It is
Erratum: IgG1 protects against renal disease in a mouse model of cryoglobulinaemia
Erratum: IgG1 protects against renal disease in a mouse model of cryoglobulinaemia
Nature 526, 7575 (2015). doi:10.1038/nature15534
Authors: Richard T. Strait, Monica T. Posgai, Ashley Mahler, Nathaniel Barasa, Chaim O. Jacob, Jörg Köhl, Marc Ehlers, Keith Stringer, Shiva Kumar Shanmukhappa, David Witte, Md Monir Hossain, Marat Khodoun, Andrew B. Herr & Fred D. Finkelman
Nature517, 501–504 (2015); doi:10.1038/nature13868Owing to a production error, in Fig. 1b of this Letter, the key should have shown that the black bars corresponded to ‘WT’ and the red bars to ‘γ1−’, instead of
Power play
Power play
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525425b
The replacement of mitochondria does not signal ethical problems.
STAP revisited
STAP revisited
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525426a
Reanalysis of the controversy provides a strong example of the self-correcting nature of science.
Make academic job advertisements fair to all
Make academic job advertisements fair to all
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/525427a
Author: Mathias Wullum Nielsen
Too many university posts are given to men without proper competition, says Mathias Wullum Nielsen.
Planetary science: Global ocean on Enceladus
Planetary science: Global ocean on Enceladus
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428a
Beneath an icy crust, Saturn's moon Enceladus (pictured) has an ocean that covers its entire globe.NASA's Cassini spacecraft measured wobbles in Enceladus's rotation over more than seven years. The data confirm that the crust is moving separately from the rocky core, meaning that there
Zoology: How the sponge got its skeleton
Zoology: How the sponge got its skeleton
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428b
Sponges build their skeletons using specialized cells that transport and assemble structural beams like construction workers — a novel way of producing a skeleton compared to other animals.Sponge skeletons are made of rod-like silica structures called spicules that are cemented to rocks and to
Neuroscience: Sound switches on worm cells
Neuroscience: Sound switches on worm cells
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428c
Ultrasound has been used to stimulate individual brain cells in a worm. If the technique works in mice, it could be a less invasive way of studying specific neurons.Neuroscientists currently implant probes into animal brains to stimulate cells that have been engineered to become
Neuroscience: Electric zaps help spinal-cord rehab
Neuroscience: Electric zaps help spinal-cord rehab
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428d
Electrically stimulating a damaged spinal cord as part of rehabilitation therapy may enhance improvements in movement.Steve Perlmutter at the University of Washington in Seattle and his team bruised the spinal cords of rats to partially paralyse the animals' forelimbs. They then used a neural–computer
Evolution: Ancient lung parts found in fish
Evolution: Ancient lung parts found in fish
Nature 525, 7570 (2015). doi:10.1038/525428e
A fish species found in the Indian Ocean has a vestigial lung, suggesting that its ancestors had working lungs before they shifted to life in deep waters.The coelacanth fish Latimeria chalumnae is descended from ancient coelacanths that lived in shallow waters. Paulo Brito