Nature Communications - 31 July 2013

Weekly Content Alert 31 July 2013  Featured image: Nomura et al. show that patterns of neuron subtype generation in gecko embryo brains are similar to those of mice and chicks. Latest content: Articles Corrigenda Errata Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement WE launched in 2011 YOU published 2000 papers with us OUR impact factor is 2.927* Discover what we can do together.  nature.com/scientificreports   *2012 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2013)     Latest Articles View all Articles     Metformin improves healthspan and lifespan in mice Alejandro Martin-Montalvo, Evi M. Mercken, Sarah J. Mitchell, Hector H. Palacios, Patricia L. Mote, Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, Ana P. Gomes, Theresa M. Ward, Robin K. Minor, Marie-José Blouin, Matthias Schwab, Michael Pollak, Yongqing Zhang, Yinbing Yu, Kevin G. Becker, Vilhelm A. Bohr, Donald K. Ingram, David A. Sinclair, Norman S. Wolf, Stephen R. Spindler et al. The anti-diabetic drug metformin has been shown to increase lifespan of some model organisms, but results have been conflicting. Here, Martin-Montalvo et al. administer one of two doses of metformin to male mice and show that the lower dose increases healthspan and lifespan, while the higher dose is toxic. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3192 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Dissipative binding of atoms by non-conservative forces Mikhail Lemeshko and Hendrik Weimer It is well known that chemical bonds are determined by potential minimum between two interacting atoms/molecules. Lemeshko and Weimer propose that a bond can also be induced by a dissipative process and further demonstrate this idea in a pair of ultracold caesium atoms trapped by a laser. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3230 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  Physical chemistry  A Munc13-like protein in Arabidopsis mediates H+-ATPase translocation that is essential for stomatal responses OPEN Mimi Hashimoto-Sugimoto, Takumi Higaki, Takashi Yaeno, Ayako Nagami, Mari Irie, Miho Fujimi, Megumi Miyamoto, Kae Akita, Juntaro Negi, Ken Shirasu, Seiichiro Hasezawa and Koh Iba In plants, stomatal opening controls the uptake of carbon dioxide and water loss, and is controlled by an H+ATPase. This study reports the identification of PATROL1, a gene that controls the subcellular localisation of the H+ATPase, and is involved in the regulation of stomata. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3215 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  Role of point defects on the reactivity of reconstructed anatase titanium dioxide (001) surface OPEN Yang Wang, Huijuan Sun, Shijing Tan, Hao Feng, Zhengwang Cheng, Jin Zhao, Aidi Zhao, Bing Wang, Yi Luo, Jinlong Yang and J. G. Hou Theory suggests that the anatase (001) surface is the most catalytically reactive of all the crystal facets of titanium dioxide. Wang et al. show that the active sites are four-coordinated titanium states and in their absence this surface is even inert for water adsorption at room temperature. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3214 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Physical chemistry  Interfacial assembly of protein–polymer nano-conjugates into stimulus-responsive biomimetic protocells Xin Huang, Mei Li, David C. Green, David S. Williams, Avinash J. Patil and Stephen Mann Proteins are ideal building blocks for self-assembly of artificial cell-like architectures, but their realization is rare. Huang et al. report an interfacial assembly of protein–polymer conjugates, which exhibit cellular properties such as encapsulating guest molecules and switching enzyme activity. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3239 Chemical Sciences  Biochemistry  Nanotechnology  Organic chemistry  A rational design of cosolvent exfoliation of layered materials by directly probing liquid–solid interaction Udayabagya Halim, Chu Ran Zheng, Yu Chen, Zhaoyang Lin, Shan Jiang, Rui Cheng, Yu Huang and Xiangfeng Duan Exfoliation of layered materials into mono- or few-layers is desirable for both fundamental studies and practical applications. Here, the authors show that Young's equation can be used to predict the optimal cosolvent concentration for the effective exfoliation of graphite and molybdenum disulphide. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3213 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Fast low-voltage electroactive actuators using nanostructured polymer electrolytes Onnuri Kim, Tae Joo Shin and Moon Jeong Park Ionic polymer actuators are becoming popular for biomimetic applications because of their mechanical robustness and easy fabrication at low cost. Kim et al. push them one step closer to practice by achieving a subsecond actuation response at an operation voltage less than 1 V. 30 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3208 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Vibrational near-field mapping of planar and buried three-dimensional plasmonic nanostructures OPEN Daniel Dregely, Frank Neubrech, Huigao Duan, Ralf Vogelgesang and Harald Giessen Near-field effects generated by nanoantennas provide insights into light–matter interactions and new ways of sensing at low concentrations. By measuring characteristic vibrations from molecular patches, Dregely et al. are able to characterize the field intensity of buried three-dimensional nanostructures. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3237 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  The origin of antiferroelectricity in PbZrO3 A. K. Tagantsev, K. Vaideeswaran, S. B. Vakhrushev, A. V. Filimonov, R. G. Burkovsky, A. Shaganov, D. Andronikova, A. I. Rudskoy, A. Q. R. Baron, H. Uchiyama, D. Chernyshov, A. Bosak, Z. Ujma, K. Roleder, A. Majchrowski, J.-H. Ko and N. Setter Although antiferroelectric lead zirconate is a principal component in the most widely used piezoelectric ceramics, the nature of its antiferroelectricticity has been unclear. Here Tagantsev et al. reveal how this phenomenon arises from the softening of a single lattice mode. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3229 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Performance enhancement of fullerene-based solar cells by light processing Zhe Li, Him Cheng Wong, Zhenggang Huang, Hongliang Zhong, Ching Hong Tan, Wing Chung Tsoi, Ji Seon Kim, James R. Durrant and João T. Cabral Bulk heterojunctions based on semiconducting polymers blended with fullerenes are promising for organic solar cells. Li et al. show that an additional light exposure step during fabrication increases their thermal stability and can lead to enhanced device performance. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3227 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Optical physics  Neurofilament sidearms modulate parallel and crossed-filament orientations inducing nematic to isotropic and re-entrant birefringent hydrogels Joanna Deek, Peter J. Chung, Jona Kayser, Andreas R. Bausch and Cyrus R. Safinya Neurofilaments are intermediate filaments that form nematic liquid-crystal hydrogels in axons. Here, the authors show that upon decreasing ionic strength the hydrogels transform to isotropic and re-entrant birefringent hydrogels, with notable mechanical and water retention properties. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3224 Biological Sciences  Physical Sciences  Biophysics  Materials science  Helicity-dependent single-walled carbon nanotube alignment on graphite for helical angle and handedness recognition OPEN Yabin Chen, Ziyong Shen, Ziwei Xu, Yue Hu, Haitao Xu, Sheng Wang, Xiaolei Guo, Yanfeng Zhang, Lianmao Peng, Feng Ding, Zhongfan Liu and Jin Zhang The alignment of carbon nanotubes on a surface is of importance to deploy them in electronic devices. Here, Chen et al. achieve the orientation of carbon nanotubes according to their helical angle and handedness, thus separating nanotubes of different electronic properties. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3205 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Measurement of acetylation turnover at distinct lysines in human histones identifies long-lived acetylation sites Yupeng Zheng, Paul M. Thomas and Neil L. Kelleher Dynamic changes in histone acetylation are associated with regulation of gene expression. Zheng and colleagues develop a metabolic labelling technique that facilitates the measurement of acetylation turnover rates, and identify a group of sites whose acetylation is remarkably stable. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3203 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Molecular biology  Hypervalent surface interactions for colloidal stability and doping of silicon nanocrystals OPEN Lance M. Wheeler, Nathan R. Neale, Ting Chen and Uwe R. Kortshagen Electrically insulating ligands and doping of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals continue to be significant challenges for practical nanocrystal-based optoelectronics. Wheeler et al. demonstrate a new surface chemistry technique that confronts both of these challenges simultaneously. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3197 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Organic chemistry  Physical chemistry  Efficient solar water splitting by enhanced charge separation in a bismuth vanadate-silicon tandem photoelectrode Fatwa F. Abdi, Lihao Han, Arno H. M. Smets, Miro Zeman, Bernard Dam and Roel van de Krol The photoactivity of metal oxide electrodes for water splitting is often limited by poor charge separation. Abdi et al. improve the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency in a hybrid device that comprises a gradient-doped bismuth vanadate photoanode and a double-junction amorphous silicon tandem solar cell. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3195 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Synthetic polyamines promote rapid lamellipodial growth by regulating actin dynamics Iliana Nedeva, Girish Koripelly, David Caballero, Lionel Chièze, Bérangère Guichard, Benoît Romain, Erwan Pencreach, Jean-Marie Lehn, Marie-France Carlier and Daniel Riveline While small molecules that destabilize actin filaments are readily available, artificially stimulating actin polymerization in cells typically involves genetic manipulation. Here, the authors design cell-permeable branched polyamines that promote lamellipodium formation by stimulating actin polymerization. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3165 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Chemical biology  Complete tomography of a high-fidelity solid-state entangled spin–photon qubit pair Kristiaan De Greve, Peter L. McMahon, Leo Yu, Jason S. Pelc, Cody Jones, Chandra M. Natarajan, Na Young Kim, Eisuke Abe, Sebastian Maier, Christian Schneider, Martin Kamp, Sven Höfling, Robert H. Hadfield, Alfred Forchel, M. M. Fejer and Yoshihisa Yamamoto Future quantum communication technologies require entanglement between stationary and flying qubits, in systems that are inherently scalable. To this end, De Greve et al. present full state tomography of a qubit pair formed by entangling a quantum dot spin and a photon, with a fidelity of over 90%. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3228 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Real-time electrical detection of nitric oxide in biological systems with sub-nanomolar sensitivity Shan Jiang, Rui Cheng, Xiang Wang, Teng Xue, Yuan Liu, Andre Nel, Yu Huang and Xiangfeng Duan The real-time monitoring of nitric oxide levels in the human body is critical for understanding the roles it has in biological processes. Jiang et al. report a graphene-based sensor for selective detection of nitric oxide in living cells with direct electrical read-out and sub-nanomole sensitivity. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3225 Biological Sciences  Physical Sciences  Bioengineering  Nanotechnology  Probing the nature of gold–carbon bonding in gold–alkynyl complexes Hong-Tao Liu, Xiao-Gen Xiong, Phuong Diem Dau, Yi-Lei Wang, Dao-Ling Huang, Jun Li and Lai-Sheng Wang Fundamental understanding of gold–carbon bonding in homogeneous catalysts is vital for improved catalyst design, although spectroscopic information is limited. Here, the authors probe the bonding in gold–alkyne complexes using a combination of photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3223 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Inorganic chemistry  Physical chemistry  Crackling noise in fractional percolation Malte Schröder, S. H. Ebrahimnazhad Rahbari and Jan Nagler Crackling noise is commonly observed in various physical systems. Schröder et al. demonstrate that crackling noise can be attributed to the concept of fractional percolation, which is found to be applicable to the known Barkhausen effect in ferromagnets. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3222 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  High frequency of telomerase reverse-transcriptase promoter somatic mutations in hepatocellular carcinoma and preneoplastic lesions OPEN Jean Charles Nault, Maxime Mallet, Camilla Pilati, Julien Calderaro, Paulette Bioulac-Sage, Christophe Laurent, Alexis Laurent, Daniel Cherqui, Charles Balabaud and Jessica Zucman Rossi Telomerase reverse-trancriptase promoter mutations have been recently found in human melanomas. Here, Nault et al. identify telomerase reverse-trancriptase promoter mutations as the most frequent somatic genetic alterations in hepatocellular carcinomas and as the first mutation identified in cirrhotic preneoplastic lesions. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3218 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Genetics  Concentration memory-dependent synaptic plasticity of a taste circuit regulates salt concentration chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans Hirofumi Kunitomo, Hirofumi Sato, Ryo Iwata, Yohsuke Satoh, Hayao Ohno, Koji Yamada and Yuichi Iino Salt chemotaxis behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans is partly dependent on previous experiences of starvation. In this study, the authors show that this learned behaviour is due to experience-dependent plasticity in a subset of gustatory neurons. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3210 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Variability in visual cortex size reflects tradeoff between local orientation sensitivity and global orientation modulation OPEN Chen Song, Dietrich S. Schwarzkopf and Geraint Rees Surface area features of developing visual cortices are implicated in visual perception. Song et al. measure visual discrimination sensitivity in humans and find that an increase in visual cortical surface area activity is associated with improved discrimination sensitivity and degraded contextual illusions. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3201 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Dynamic switching between escape and avoidance regimes reduces Caenorhabditis elegans exposure to noxious heat Lisa C. Schild and Dominique A. Glauser Caenorhabditis elegans displays a range of behaviours that are dependent on the temperature of its surroundings. Here, the authors combine behavioural and genetic studies to show that avoidance and escape strategies that are tuned to specific thermal contexts are controlled by different signalling pathways. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3198 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Frequency of TERT promoter mutations in human cancers João Vinagre, Ana Almeida, Helena Pópulo, Rui Batista, Joana Lyra, Vasco Pinto, Ricardo Coelho, Ricardo Celestino, Hugo Prazeres, Luis Lima, Miguel Melo, Adriana Gaspar da Rocha, Ana Preto, Patrícia Castro, Ligia Castro, Fernando Pardal, José Manuel Lopes, Lúcio Lara Santos, Rui Manuel Reis, José Cameselle-Teijeiro et al. Reactivation of telomerase has been implicated in human tumorigenesis. Here, somatic mutations in the TERT promoter are reported in cancers of the central nervous system, bladder, follicular cell-derived thyroid and melanoma, thus demonstrating that TERT promoter mutations are a frequent event in human cancer. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3185 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Genetics  Detection of microwave phase variation in nanometre-scale magnetic heterostructures W. E. Bailey, C. Cheng, R. Knut, O. Karis, S. Auffret, S. Zohar, D. Keavney, P. Warnicke, J.-S. Lee and D. A. Arena When investigating spin phenomena in magnetic heterostructures, it is crucial to know the phase profile of electromagnetic radiation across the ultrathin layers. Bailey et al. show how this can be measured by time-resolved X-ray methods and identify very large phase variations across nanometre dimensions. 26 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3025 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Optical physics  Hyperthin nanochains composed of self-polymerizing protein shackles Ryo Matsunaga, Saeko Yanaka, Satoru Nagatoishi and Kouhei Tsumoto The sophisticated structure of protein fibrils suggests that they may be useful nanomaterials. Here the authors design a series of self-polymerizing protein monomers, the reactions of which are controlled by redox chemistry, and show that functional units may also be incorporated into the extended structures. 25 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3211 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  High-speed panoramic light-sheet microscopy reveals global endodermal cell dynamics OPEN Benjamin Schmid, Gopi Shah, Nico Scherf, Michael Weber, Konstantin Thierbach, Citlali Pérez Campos, Ingo Roeder, Pia Aanstad and Jan Huisken Systematic large-scale analysis of embryonic development requires the processing of large amounts of microscopy data. Here Schmid et al. solve this problem by developing a high-speed imaging system that projects zebrafish embryos onto a 'world map' in real time, revealing characteristic migration patterns in the early endoderm. 25 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3207 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Changes in the regulation of cortical neurogenesis contribute to encephalization during amniote brain evolution Tadashi Nomura, Hitoshi Gotoh and Katsuhiko Ono Reptilian cortical development provides insights into amniote brain evolution. Here, the authors show that cortical neural progenitors in geckoes exhibit limited neurogenic potential, but generate multiple neuron subtypes similar to mammals. 25 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3206 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Evolution  Neuroscience  Chemical influence on β-relaxations and the formation of molecule-like metallic glasses Hai Bin Yu, Konrad Samwer, Wei Hua Wang and Hai Yang Bai It is not well understood why some metallic glasses display clear experimental evidence of β-relaxations, whereas others do not. Here, by studying enthalpies of mixing in glass-forming compositions, Yu et al. suggest that string-like atomic configurations may account for their observation. 25 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3204 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Genetic control of inflorescence architecture during rice domestication OPEN Zuofeng Zhu, Lubin Tan, Yongcai Fu, Fengxia Liu, Hongwei Cai, Daoxin Xie, Feng Wu, Jianzhong Wu, Takashi Matsumoto and Chuanqing Sun Transition from a spread panicle typical of ancestral wild rice to the compact panicle of present cultivars was a crucial event in rice domestication. Here the authors show that this panicle architecture is controlled by the transcription factor OsLG1 and that a mutation in its regulatory region led to the compact panicle phenotype. 25 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3200 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Plant sciences  Dynamics of a vertical cavity quantum cascade phonon laser structure OPEN W. Maryam, A. V. Akimov, R. P. Campion and A. J. Kent Phonon lasers are the acoustic equivalent to optical lasers. Here, Maryam and colleagues study the dynamics of semiconductor phonon lasers operating in the terahertz frequency regime, and show that these dynamics are similar to that of comparable optical lasers. 25 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3184 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Research Technician EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) Postdoctoral Researcher The Ohio State University College of Medicine Research Associate UCL Junior Research / Travel Fellowships The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund Research Associate, Basic Sciences Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Research Asst I MD Anderson Cancer Center Post Doctoral Research Fellow University of Canterbury, New Zealand Junior Research Group University of Tübingen, Faculty of Medicine Clinical Trials Associate Lunenfeld - Tanenbaum Research Institute Researcher and Instructor Koc University School of Medicine More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Enhanced rare cell analysis – Visualize the invisible 30.10.13 Germany, Cologne More science events from       Latest Corrigenda     Corrigendum: Src activation by β-adrenoreceptors is a key switch for tumour metastasis Guillermo N. Armaiz-Pena, Julie K. Allen, Anthony Cruz, Rebecca L. Stone, Alpa M. Nick, Yvonne G. Lin, Liz Y. Han, Lingegowda S. Mangala, Gabriel J. Villares, Pablo Vivas-Mejia, Cristian Rodriguez-Aguayo, Archana S. Nagaraja, Kshipra M. Gharpure, Zheng Wu, Robert D. English, Kizhake V. Soman, Mian M. K. Shahzad, Maya Zigler, Michael T. Deavers, Alexander Zien et al. 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2903 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology      Corrigendum: A multi-omic map of the lipid-producing yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides Zhiwei Zhu, Sufang Zhang, Hongwei Liu, Hongwei Shen, Xinping Lin, Fan Yang, Yongjin J. Zhou, Guojie Jin, Mingliang Ye, Hanfa Zou and Zongbao K. Zhao 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2901 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Microbiology  Systems biology      Corrigendum: Telomeres shorten at equivalent rates in somatic tissues of adults Lily Daniali, Athanase Benetos, Ezra Susser, Jeremy D. Kark, Carlos Labat, Masayuki Kimura, Kunj K. Desai, Mark Granick and Abraham Aviv 24 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2976 Biological Sciences  Medical research        Latest Errata     Erratum: A platform pathway for production of 3-hydroxyacids provides a biosynthetic route to 3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone Collin H. Martin, Himanshu Dhamankar, Hsien-Chung Tseng, Micah J. Sheppard, Christopher R. Reisch and Kristala L. J. Prather 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2904 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Microbiology      Erratum: Laminin E8 fragments support efficient adhesion and expansion of dissociated human pluripotent stem cells Takamichi Miyazaki, Sugiko Futaki, Hirofumi Suemori, Yukimasa Taniguchi, Masashi Yamada, Miwa Kawasaki, Maria Hayashi, Hideaki Kumagai, Norio Nakatsuji, Kiyotoshi Sekiguchi and Eihachiro Kawase 29 July 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms2902 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Cell biology        Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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