This digest presents the most recent research from leading scientific journals -- Science, Nature, Cell, JAMA, and the New England Journal of Medicine -- as excerpted on The Scientific Lawyer. You are invited to download this digest's RSS feed:
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Bringing Back the Large BlueFlagship endangered species, such as the Large Blue butterfly have driven conservation programs worldwide. However, the Large Blue butterfly (Maculinea arion) became extinct in the United Kingdom. The apparent driver … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Did I Really Do That?Most of us believe that our daily actions occur because we exert conscious effort to make them happen; nevertheless, we sometimes seem to end up doing the precise thing we … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / El Niño's CousinThe most energetic and well-known quasi-periodic, air-sea temperature disturbance is ENSO, the mother of the warming of equatorial eastern Pacific surface waters known as El Niño. El Niño, and its … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Card Sorting MonkeysSingle-neuron studies in primates help to establish a detailed understanding of cognitive processing and to provide an experimental base for understanding the cognitive deficits incurred by patients who have suffered … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Phoenix AscendingThe Phoenix mission landed on Mars in March 2008 with the goal of studying the ice-rich soil of the planet's northern arctic region. Phoenix included a robotic arm, with a … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / A Hole New ApproachQuantum dots can behave as artificial atoms, exhibiting a ladder of quantized energy levels with the number of electrons added to the dot being controllable. They are thus being extensively … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Adaptable DNA AnalogsThe defining feature of DNA as a genetic blueprint is its capacity for self-replication. In the cell, however, the replication process requires the assistance of multiple elaborate enzymes. How then … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Breaking the BarrierBeing able to deliver drugs into the brain to treat degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's requires the ability to traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Understanding the formation of … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Biogenic Amine ReceptorsBiogenic amines have important effects on behavior in humans and other animals. These agents can act by binding to heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide–binding protein (G protein)–coupled receptors, but can also activate … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Idolizing Cholesterol ControlThe low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) removes LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol particles, from the blood through a mechanism that involves LDL binding and internalization into liver cells. Because the LDLR … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Modulating Visual MemoryLayer 3 of the secondary visual cortical area V2 plays a role in visual information processing. However, in contrast to layer 3, layer 6 of visual cortex is composed of … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Modifying the ModifierCovalent modification of proteins provides an important means whereby their function is regulated. Hydroxylation, catalyzed by oxygenase enzymes, plays an important role in the response to hypoxia, for example. The … [Read more]
July 2, 9:32 PM / This Week in Science / Putting the Sugar on PolycombA wide variety of nuclear and cytosolic proteins in human cells carry an O-linked sugar modification, N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), which is added by the highly conserved O-linked GlcNAc transferase, Ogt. Gambetta … [Read more]
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CME: A Fragile Balance(No abstract is available for this citation)
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CME: Rhabdomyolysis and Acute Kidney Injury(No abstract is available for this citation)
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CME: Epidemiologic Study of In-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in the Elderly(No abstract is available for this citation)
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRECTIONS: Emergence of a Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in HumansEmergence of a Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Humans (10.1056/NEJMoa0903810; published on May 7, 2009, at NEJM.org). In the second paragraph of the Demographic and Clinical Features subsection ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRECTIONS: Triple-Reassortant Swine Influenza A (H1) in Humans in the United States, 2005-2009Triple-Reassortant Swine Influenza A (H1) in Humans in the United States, 2005-2009 (10.1056/NEJMoa9093812; published on May 7, 2009, at NEJM.org). In the list of authors, the name Susan Vagasky, D.V.M., ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / BOOK REVIEW: Diagnostic Microbiology of the Immunocompromised HostLaboratory medicine has no more urgent role than in the diagnosis and management of infections in immunocompromised patients. For this vulnerable population, clinical algorithms are logically rooted in the need ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / BOOK REVIEW: Fixing My Gaze: A Scientist's Journey into Seeing in Three DimensionsSeeing the three-dimensional world with two-dimensional retinas presents the brain with two problems. To locate an object in space requires depth perception, which can be acquired from one eye alone ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRESPONDENCE: BRAF Mutation in Metastatic Colorectal CancerTo the Editor: We recently found that progression-free survival was shorter among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with chemotherapy, ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRESPONDENCE: Moyamoya Disease and Moyamoya SyndromeTo the Editor: As the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded natural-history study involving North American adults ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRESPONDENCE: Cetuximab for Metastatic Colorectal CancerTo the Editor: As a gastroenterologist who claims to have been the first physician in Connecticut to give fluorouracil to ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRESPONDENCE: Rosuvastatin in Patients Undergoing HemodialysisTo the Editor: In their article on A Study to Evaluate the Use of Rosuvastatin in Subjects on Regular Hemodialysis: ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRESPONDENCE: Racial Differences in Heart FailureTo the Editor: It is not known whether concentric hypertrophy is a common precursor to systolic dysfunction in human hypertensive ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CORRESPONDENCE: Glucose Control in Critically Ill PatientsTo the Editor: In the Normoglycemia in Intensive Care Evaluation-Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) study (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00220987), reported ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS OF BASIC RESEARCH: Cardiomyocyte RenewalA recent study upends the hypothesis that cardiomyocytes are not renewed after the first weeks of life.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / EDITORIAL: Diabetes Complications and the Renin-Angiotensin SystemThe hypothesis that inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system may be effective in preventing diabetic nephropathy was based on a large body of evidence.1 Positive findings from studies in animal models ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / EDITORIAL: Human Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy -- A Mystery Solved?Just over 50 years ago, the late David Jones1 identified (using the periodic acid-Schiff and methenamine silver stains) the unique glomerular pathologic features of membranous nephropathy, thus distinguishing it from ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / CLINICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING: A Fragile BalanceA 31-year-old man presented to the emergency department with pain in the left shoulder. He had tripped over his backpack shoulder strap earlier in the day and noted immediate severe pain around his left shoulder. Physical examination revealed bony point tenderness over the humeral head and limited range of motion due to pain; crepitus was present. Shoulder radiographs revealed an impacted fracture of the left humerus and evidence of osteopenia.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / IMAGES IN CLINICAL MEDICINE: Tattoo AllergyA 40-year-old man presented with intractable pruritus within portions of a tattoo imprinted with red ink on the left leg (Panel A). The intense localized itching had begun approximately 4 ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / IMAGES IN CLINICAL MEDICINE: Telltale Triangle of PneumoperitoneumA 56-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a 3-day history of diarrhea and dull epigastric pain. The diarrhea had responded to antidiarrheal agents. However, the epigastric pain had ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / REVIEW ARTICLE: Current Concepts: Rhabdomyolysis and Acute Kidney InjuryThe causes of acute rhabdomyolysis include trauma, drugs, toxins, and certain infections. Acute kidney injury is a dangerous complication of severe rhabdomyolysis. This review summarizes current views on the pathogenesis of myoglobin-induced kidney injury as well as on its prevention and treatment.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / SPECIAL ARTICLE: The Effect of Medicare Part D on Drug and Medical SpendingThis study examined expenditures on drugs and other medical services before and after the implementation of Medicare Part D. For patients who had no drug coverage before Part D, the increase in drug spending after the implementation of Part D was approximately offset by a decrease in other medical spending. Improved access to medications may achieve savings in nonpharmacy costs because of better control of chronic illness.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Renal and Retinal Effects of Enalapril and Losartan in Type 1 DiabetesThis study aimed to determine whether early administration of drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system slows the progression of change in glomerular mesangial fractional volume and retinopathy progression of two steps or more, according to the retinopathy severity scale. Early blockade of the renin-angiotensin system did not modify nephropathy progression in patients with type 1 diabetes but had important effects in slowing retinopathy.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Preoperative Staging of Lung Cancer with Combined PET-CTCombined positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) plus conventional staging was compared with conventional staging alone for preoperative staging of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The end point was the number of futile thoracotomies in each group (with futility defined as a result other than potentially curable NSCLC). Preoperative staging of NSCLC with PET-CT was found to reduce the total number of thoracotomies and the number of futile thoracotomies.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Epidemiologic Study of In-Hospital Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in the ElderlyIn this longitudinal study of hospitalized Medicare patients, there was no improvement in survival after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during the period from 1992 through 2005. The overall rate of survival to discharge of patients who underwent in-hospital CPR was 18.3%. Survival after CPR was lower among black patients than among white patients.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / ORIGINAL ARTICLE: M-Type Phospholipase A2 Receptor as Target Antigen in Idiopathic Membranous NephropathyIn this study of patients with membranous nephropathy, serum samples from 70% of patients with idiopathic, but not secondary, membranous nephropathy were found to have antibodies against a 185-kD glycoprotein in nonreduced glomerular extracts, identified as the M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R). PLA2R is present in normal podocytes and in immune deposits in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy, indicating that PLA2R is a major antigen in this disease.
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / PERSPECTIVE: A Higher Bar -- Vermont's New Law on Marketing Prescribed ProductsAs Congress continues to discuss the reform of physician-industry relations, individual states are enacting new laws. In July 2009, regulations on the conduct of pharmaceutical and medical-device manufacturers take effect ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / PERSPECTIVE: Health Care TWOTHOUSANDNINE: The Individual Mandate -- An Affordable and Fair Approach to Achieving Universal CoverageSome of the most prominent shortcomings of the U.S. health insurance market are rooted in the fact that the system is a voluntary one. Outside the state of Massachusetts, which ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / PERSPECTIVE: Health Care TWOTHOUSANDNINE: A Win-Win Approach to Financing Health Care ReformNo hurdle facing health care reform in the United States today is more daunting than the problem of financing universal coverage. There is an inescapable logic of reform that lies ...
July 1, 9:03 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / PERSPECTIVE: Health Care TWOTHOUSANDNINE: The Role of Medical Liability Reform in Federal Health Care ReformAlthough enthusiasm for health care reform is resounding in Washington these days, the specific shape reform will take and the compromises that will have to be made along the way ...
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / Elite and stochastic models for induced pluripotent stem cell generationInduced pluripotent stem cells offer unprecedented potential for disease research, drug screening, toxicology and regenerative medicine. However, the process of reprogramming is inefficient and often incomplete. Here I consider reasons for bottlenecks in induced pluripotent stem cell generation, and propose a model in which most or all cells have the potential to become pluripotent.
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / Cells keep a memory of their tissue origin during axolotl limb regenerationDuring limb regeneration adult tissue is converted into a zone of undifferentiated progenitors called the blastema that reforms the diverse tissues of the limb. Previous experiments have led to wide acceptance that limb tissues dedifferentiate to form pluripotent cells. Here we have reexamined this question
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / Telomerase modulates Wnt signalling by association with target gene chromatinStem cells are controlled, in part, by genetic pathways frequently dysregulated during human tumorigenesis. Either stimulation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling or overexpression of telomerase is sufficient to activate quiescent epidermal stem cells in vivo, although the mechanisms by which telomerase exerts these effects are not
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / An intermediate-mass black hole of over 500 solar masses in the galaxy ESO 243-49Ultraluminous X-ray sources are extragalactic objects located outside the nucleus of the host galaxy with bolometric luminosities exceeding 1039 erg s-1. These extreme luminosities—if the emission is isotropic and below the theoretical (Eddington) limit, where the radiation pressure is balanced by the gravitational pressure—imply the presence of an accreting black hole with a mass of ∼102–105 solar masses (nature08083-m13jpg6163019). The existence of such intermediate-mass black holes is in dispute, and though many candidates have been proposed, none are widely accepted as definitive. Here we report the detection of a variable X-ray source with a maximum 0.2–10 keV luminosity of up to 1.1 × 1042 erg s-1 in the edge-on spiral galaxy ESO 243-49, with an implied conservative lower limit for the mass of the black hole of ∼500nature08083-m13jpg6163019.
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / A single-molecule optical transistorThe transistor is one of the most influential inventions of modern times and is ubiquitous in present-day technologies. In the continuing development of increasingly powerful computers as well as alternative technologies based on the prospects of quantum information processing, switching and amplification functionalities are being sought in ultrasmall objects, such as nanotubes, molecules or atoms. Among the possible choices of signal carriers, photons are particularly attractive because of their robustness against decoherence, but their control at the nanometre scale poses a significant challenge as conventional nonlinear materials become ineffective. To remedy this shortcoming, resonances in optical emitters can be exploited, and atomic ensembles have been successfully used to mediate weak light beams. However, single-emitter manipulation of photonic signals has remained elusive and has only been studied in high-finesse microcavities or waveguides. Here we demonstrate that a single dye molecule can operate as an optical transistor and coherently attenuate or amplify a tightly focused laser beam, depending on the power of a second ‘gating' beam that controls the degree of population inversion. Such a quantum optical transistor has also the potential for manipulating non-classical light fields down to the single-photon level. We discuss some of the hurdles along the road towards practical implementations, and their possible solutions.
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / The role of terrestrial plants in limiting atmospheric CO2 decline over the past 24 million yearsEnvironmental conditions during the past 24 million years are thought to have been favourable for enhanced rates of atmospheric carbon dioxide drawdown by silicate chemical weathering. Proxy records indicate, however, that the Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations did not fall below about 200–250 parts per million during this period. The stabilization of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations near this minimum value suggests that strong negative feedback mechanisms inhibited further drawdown of atmospheric carbon dioxide by high rates of global silicate rock weathering. Here we investigate one possible negative feedback mechanism, occurring under relatively low carbon dioxide concentrations and in warm climates, that is related to terrestrial plant productivity and its role in the decomposition of silicate minerals. We use simulations of terrestrial and geochemical carbon cycles and available experimental evidence to show that vegetation activity in upland regions of active orogens was severely limited by near-starvation of carbon dioxide in combination with global warmth over this period. These conditions diminished biotic-driven silicate rock weathering and thereby attenuated an important long-term carbon dioxide sink. Although our modelling results are semi-quantitative and do not capture the full range of biogeochemical feedbacks that could influence the climate, our analysis indicates that the dynamic equilibrium between plants, climate and the geosphere probably buffered the minimum atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 24 million years.
July 1, 5:38 PM / Nature / Seismic reflection images of a near-axis melt sill within the lower crust at the Juan de Fuca ridgeThe oceanic crust extends over two-thirds of the Earth's solid surface, and is generated along mid-ocean ridges from melts derived from the upwelling mantle. The upper and middle crust are constructed by dyking and sea-floor eruptions originating from magma accumulated in mid-crustal lenses at the spreading axis, but the style of accretion of the lower oceanic crust is actively debated. Models based on geological and petrological data from ophiolites propose that the lower oceanic crust is accreted from melt sills intruded at multiple levels between the Moho transition zone (MTZ) and the mid-crustal lens, consistent with geophysical studies that suggest the presence of melt within the lower crust. However, seismic images of molten sills within the lower crust have been elusive. Until now, only seismic reflections from mid-crustal melt lenses and sills within the MTZ have been described, suggesting that melt is efficiently transported through the lower crust. Here we report deep crustal seismic reflections off the southern Juan de Fuca ridge that we interpret as originating from a molten sill at present accreting the lower oceanic crust. The sill sits 5–6 km beneath the sea floor and 850–900 m above the MTZ, and is located 1.4–3.2 km off the spreading axis. Our results provide evidence for the existence of low-permeability barriers to melt migration within the lower section of modern oceanic crust forming at intermediate-to-fast spreading rates, as inferred from ophiolite studies.
July 1, 5:37 PM / Nature / Human ISL1 heart progenitors generate diverse multipotent cardiovascular cell lineagesThe generation and expansion of diverse cardiovascular cell lineages is a critical step during human cardiogenesis, with major implications for congenital heart disease. Unravelling the mechanisms for the diversification of human heart cell lineages has been hampered by the lack of genetic tools to purify early cardiac progenitors and define their developmental potential. Recent studies in the mouse embryo have identified a multipotent cardiac progenitor that contributes to all of the major cell types in the murine heart. In contrast to murine development, human cardiogenesis has a much longer onset of heart cell lineage diversification and expansion, suggesting divergent pathways. Here we identify a diverse set of human fetal ISL1+ cardiovascular progenitors that give rise to the cardiomyocyte, smooth muscle and endothelial cell lineages. Using two independent transgenic and gene-targeting approaches in human embryonic stem cell lines, we show that purified ISL1+ primordial progenitors are capable of self-renewal and expansion before differentiation into the three major cell types in the heart. These results lay the foundation for the generation of human model systems for cardiovascular disease and novel approaches for human regenerative cardiovascular medicine.
July 1, 5:37 PM / Nature / A parallel circuit of LIF signalling pathways maintains pluripotency of mouse ES cellsThe cytokine leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) integrates signals into mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to maintain pluripotency. Although the Jak–Stat3 pathway is essential and sufficient to mediate LIF signals, it is still unclear how these signals are linked to the core circuitry of pluripotency-associated transcription factors, consisting of Oct3/4 (also called Pou5f1), Sox2 and Nanog. Here we show that two LIF signalling pathways are each connected to the core circuitry via different transcription factors. In mouse ES cells, Klf4 is mainly activated by the Jak–Stat3 pathway and preferentially activates Sox2, whereas Tbx3 is preferentially regulated by the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase–Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways and predominantly stimulates Nanog. In the absence of LIF, artificial expression of Klf4 or Tbx3 is sufficient to maintain pluripotency while maintaining the expression of Oct3/4. Notably, overexpression of Nanog supports LIF-independent self-renewal of mouse ES cells in the absence of Klf4 and Tbx3 activity. Therefore, Klf4 and Tbx3 are involved in mediating LIF signalling to the core circuitry but are not directly associated with the maintenance of pluripotency, because ES cells keep pluripotency without their expression in the particular context.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / A Breederax for DaliaAll play and no work is a recipe for disaster.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Obituary: Robert Furchgott (1916–2009)Nobel laureate who pioneered research into nitric oxide.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Applied physics: A leak of informationAs capacitors, the ubiquitous components of electronic circuitry, get smaller, keeping them insulating is a challenge. But that's not necessarily bad news — some conductivity might be just the thing for data storage.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Cell biology: The not-so-odd coupleActively dividing cells do so at a risk — with each division, chromosome ends tend to shorten. Pairing proteins that promote cell division with a chromosome-end repair factor is a smart way to solve this problem.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Nanooptics: Photons pushed togetherPhotons don't interact well with each other, which is a real headache for researchers developing all-optical transistors for computing applications. But a single molecule can mediate photon–photon affairs.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Immunology: A metabolic switch to memoryTwo therapeutic drugs have been found to enhance memory in immune cells called T cells, apparently by altering cellular metabolism. Are changes in T-cell metabolism the key to generating long-lived immune memory?
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Biogeochemistry: Climatic plant powerLevels of atmospheric carbon dioxide constrain vegetation types and thus also non-biological uptake during rock weathering. That's the reasoning used to explain why CO2 levels did not fall below a certain point in the Miocene.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Developmental biology: A cellular view of regenerationHow the salamander regrows an entire limb after injury has flummoxed the wisest of scientists. A closer look at the cells involved in limb regeneration shows that remembering past origins may be crucial for this feat.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Evolution's influence on art nouveauCharacterized by sinuous shapes and subtle colours, the glass vases, bowls and other objects made by the nineteenth-century French artist-designer Emile Gallé and his factory are still highly regarded. But his interest in botany and evolution is less well known. An exhibition this summer in
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Stuffed spectacularRoll up, roll up! See the giant Indricotherium, a plant-eating mammal from Mongolia that weighed as much as four adult African elephants! Gaze at the tiny bumblebee bat, which can hover in place like a hummingbird! Marvel at the wide-eyed sugar gliders, sailing nimbly
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Evolutionary embryosA central question in biology is how multicellular organisms develop from a single cell and how development is controlled. The standard view is that the process is deterministic, following directives governed by information located in the genome. Molecular biologist Jean-Jacques Kupiec contradicts this picture. In
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / When DNA goes on trialThe science of DNA profiling is firm, but the way that the adversarial justice system interprets probability can cause controversy, argues Peter Gill.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / The pleasure and importance of printed journalsSirI am shocked to read in Nature News online that the American Chemical Society intends to stop all personal subscriptions to its printed journals by 2010, and to start introducing major changes this year ('Chemistry publisher moving towards online-only journals' http://tinyurl.com/llae53).The
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / We must reverse the Bush legacy of stem-cell problemsSirYour Editorial 'Stem-cell clarity' (Nature459, 615–616; 10.1038/459615b2009) calls for reason in deliberations by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) on public comments about proposed NIH guidelines for stem-cell research. We agree that rules barring the
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Invitation to help compile an index of biodiversity in citiesSirIn 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable Development assigned to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) a target for 2010 of significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss. If we hope to chart positive trends in biodiversity conservation, then cities must now make a
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Journal clubA biologist looks at the effect of a dynamic nuclear environment on gene expression.In many organisms, including animals, genes are arranged linearly on chromosomes. But this linear order is largely meaningless during transcription, when RNA is made from DNA. Instead, a very different three-dimensional
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Genomics: Murky associations
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Astronomy: Little neighboursAstrophys. J.699, 649–666 (2009) 10.1088/0004-637X/699/1/649How does one find dwarves in a crowd of giants? Evgenya Shkolnik at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Washington DC and her colleagues searched X-ray data gathered by the now-defunct German satellite
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Chemistry: Fire boxedScience324, 1697–1699 (2009)White phosphorus combusts violently in air, making it a dangerous agent, and one that has become controversial for its military uses.Now Jonathan Nitschke at the University of Cambridge, UK, and his co-workers have constructed a molecular cage to defuse
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Biology: Shell shocker
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Evolutionary development: The birth of a thymus
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Ecology: Putting height on the map
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Physiology: Ground control
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Neuroscience: Early bird learns the tune
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Cancer biology: Double agentScience324, 1713–1716 (2009) 10.1126/science.1171721A protein associated with some cancers acts in the energy-producing organelles of the cell called mitochondria.The protein, STAT3, regulates gene expression. It is activated by the addition of a phosphate group, which sends
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Geosciences: Losing LouisianaNature Geosci.2, 488–491 (2009) 10.1038/ngeo553The Mississippi Delta is sinking, and to rebuild it some have proposed diverting the Mississippi River to carry sediment to coastal areas. But a new study shows that the delta's rivers don't have
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Time for early actionCarbon dioxide is not the only warming agent worth tackling now in the bid to cool the planet.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / We are all IraniansIran's endogenous civil-rights movement needs international solidarity, not political meddling. Academics, universities and non-governmental organizations can help.
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / From the blogosphereThrow away those chemistry lab-course 'cookbooks', says Aaron Finke, guest blogger at The Sceptical Chymist (http://tinyurl.com/lvjw5q).A graduate student in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Finke recently oversaw an organic chemistry lab course attended primarily by students aiming to
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / AbstractionsFirst authorHave you ever noticed that when you buy, say, a red convertible, every other car on the road suddenly seems to be a red convertible? According to findings by Marius Peelen and his colleagues in the psychology department of Princeton University in New
July 1, 0:00 AM / Nature / Making the paper: Juan Carlos Izpisúa BelmonteHealthy cells derived from diseased ones offer treatment hope.
June 30, 8:07 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / EARLY RELEASE: Comparative-Effectiveness Research -- Implications of the Federal Coordinating Council's Report(No abstract is available for this citation)
June 30, 8:06 PM / New England Journal of Medicine / EARLY RELEASE: Prioritizing Comparative-Effectiveness Research -- IOM Recommendations(No abstract is available for this citation)
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / ABOUT THIS JOURNAL: About This Journal
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / JAMA PATIENT PAGE: Shingles
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / CORRECTION: Misspelled Name in Photo Credit in: Albany Prize Honors Immunology Studies
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS: Evolution: The First Four Billion Years
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS: Your Health in the Information Age: How You and Your Doctor Can Use the Internet to Work Together
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS: Aging, Biotechnology, and the Future
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / BOOK AND MEDIA REVIEWS: The Processes of Life: An Introduction to Molecular Biology
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / JAMA 100 YEARS AGO: AMETHYST-TINTED LENSES
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / POETRY AND MEDICINE: Reprieve
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / A PIECE OF MY MIND: The Quiet Storm
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / THE COVER: The Cannon Shot
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Malignant Mesothelioma Mortality--United States, 1999-2005
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Errata: Vol. 58, No. 18
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / FROM THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infections in Three Pregnant Women--United States, April-May 2009
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / MEDICAL NEWS & PERSPECTIVES: Clinical Trials Registry Expands
June 30, 0:00 AM / JAMA current issue / MEDICAL NEWS & PERSPECTIVES: Groups Back Telemedicine for Stroke Care