Nautilus

In honour of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, Nature is publishing a series on the global and astounding variety of reactions to the theory of evolution. People from Egypt to Japan used Darwin's ideas to reinvent and reignite their core philosophies and religions, says Marwa Elshakry in the first of these four weekly pieces on how evolution was received around the world (Nature 461, 1200-1201; 2009). The start of the series is marked by an Editorial (Nature 461, 1173-1174; 2009) on the importance of cultural influences on science. "The lesson for today's scientists and policy-makers is simple: they cannot assume that a public presented with 'the facts' will come to the same conclusion as themselves. They must take value systems, cultural backdrops and local knowledge gaps into account and frame their arguments accordingly. Such approaches will be crucial in facing current global challenges, from recessions to pandemics and climate change. These issues will be perceived and dealt with differently by different nations — not because they misunderstand, but because their understanding is in part locally dependent.
Darwin once said: "But then with me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man's mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy." Researchers and policy-makers would do well to mimic his humility when presenting science, and remember how people's minds truly work."

Nature 's collection of all Darwin anniversary content.
The grand finale will come later this month (November), marking the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species. (Watch this space.)
More resources on Darwin 200 from Nature.
Nature Publishing Group celebrates Darwin 200: a round-up of commissioned content from the Nature journals.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on November 05, 2009
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Nature Reviews Genetics presents a free poster, 'The pervasive and interlinked transcriptome', in its November 2009 issue. Our knowledge of the eukaryotic transcriptome is being transformed as we come to realize that the proportion of the genome that is transcribed is far greater than expected. New insights into the diversity of transcriptional products are rapidly emerging. Technological advances, such as RNA deep sequencing, are driving an increased knowledge of how transcripts are encoded in intricate and overlapping ways and are processed into myriad RNAs.
Using snapshots at different levels of resolution – from chromosomes down to a few nucleotides – this poster provides a window into the layers of complexity and introduces transcriptional phenomena and types of RNA that are key topics in current research.
More about Nature Reviews Genetics.
Featured articles on genetics from across the Nature Publishing Group journals.
NPG '-omics' gateway.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on October 19, 2009
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The flow of human genetic information is growing into a deluge: from high throughput sequencing to genome wide association studies to copy number variation to personal genetic tests. In today's (8 October 2009) issue, Nature assesses their biological and medical value so far and asks - where should the field go next?
Nature 's special issue on human genetics can be found here.
Selected content is free to access online for one month from date of issue:

Opinion: An agenda for personalized medicine
Nature 461, 724-726 (2009).
Pauline C. Ng, Sarah S. Murray, Samuel Levy and J. Craig Venter find differences in results from two direct-toconsumer genetics-testing companies. They therefore give nine recommendations to improve predictions.

News Feature: Human genetics: Hit or miss?
Nature 461, 712-714 (2009).
Genome-wide association studies have identified hundreds of genetic clues to disease. Kelly Rae Chi looks at three to see just how on-target the approach seems to be.

Review Article: Finding the missing heritability of complex diseases
Teri A. Manolio et al. Nature 461, 747-753 (2009).
An examination of the potential sources of missing heritability and possible research strategies to enhance the potential of genetics of complex diseases for effective prevention or treatment.

And this week's Nature podcast features an interview with Pauline Ng in which she discusses personal genomics and other highlights from the special issue.

More from Nature's human genomics special issue.

Join Nature at the American Society of Human Genetics, 20-24 October 2009 in Honolulu. Visit booth #803 to pick up your free copy of the special human genetics themed issue and ask a representitive at the booth about our special 30% conference discount rate.

Other Nature news special collections.
Nature web focuses.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on October 08, 2009
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Nature Methods is five years old. To celebrate this anniversary, the journal looks at methodological development and its role in scientific inquiry in its October Editorial, In celebration of methods (Nat. Meth. 6, 687; 2009) and a special focus of commentaries discussing the impact and progress of methodological developments in the life sciences. The focus also includes a fun selection of papers and covers from the past five years.
Nature Methods' Chief Editor, Daniel Evanko, writes on Methagora, the journal's blog: "It's hard to believe that five years have gone by since Veronique Kiermer, Nicole Rusk and myself saw the first issue of Nature Methods go out the door. In some ways it doesn't feel like it was that long ago while in others it feels like much, much longer. But it has certainly been a rewarding and stimulating five years and we are thrilled with the success that Nature Methods has enjoyed. To help celebrate, Veronique asked a local pastry shop run her friend called "How Sweet It Is" to bake a cake using the cover image of our inaugural issue. It turned out spectacularly and tasted just as good. I'm hoping to convince Veronique to post a blog entry describing the undertaking with accompanying pictures." Check out Methagora for the mouth-watering cover images and updates about the anniversary celebrations.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on October 06, 2009
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Nature Milestones in Light Microscopy is published today, 1 October 2009. Nature Milestones in Light Microscopy is a collaboration from Nature Methods, Nature Cell Biology and Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, focusing on ground-breaking advances in light microscopy research. The field of light microscopy has revolutionized our understanding of cell biology and is continuing as new imaging tools and techniques are developed. The Nature Milestones in Light Microscopy supplement contains a series of short articles, called Milestones, presenting key developments in the field, written by editors from the Nature Publishing Group. In addition, selected content from Nature Milestones in Light Microscopy are freely available online.
Print copies of the supplement will be available at the NPG stand at the Society for Neuroscience (SFN) conference in October 2009 and the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) conference in December 2009.
Also of interest is Nature's recent News special on microscopy, consisting of a slideshow, News Features, opinion and various other articles. Microscopes are biologists' window to life — and advances in microscopy over recent years are revealing some breathtaking new views. The Nature special profiles five microscopes that are changing the ways that researchers see the world, and examines the challenges involved in collecting and interpreting the microscopic image.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on October 01, 2009
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Individual genomes vary, not only in sequence, but in both their structural organization and in the number of sequence copies they contain. The technology now exists to understand the mechanisms by which genomes diverge, so we can investigate the consequences of copy number variation for gene expression and clinical phenotypes. This month (September), Nature Genetics presents a Focus of articles published in Nature and Nature Genetics, free to read online, on copy number variation, which highlights the complementary roles of paired-end sequencing and oligonucleotide array technology in research discovery.
As well as an Editorial ('Making diversity count') and an NPG library of relevant past articles, the Focus consists of the following research articles:

A highly annotated whole-genome sequence of a Korean individual
Jong-Il Kim et al.

The DNA replication FoSTeS/MMBIR mechanism can generate genomic, genic and exonic complex rearrangements in humans
Feng Zhang et al.

Increased LIS1 expression affects human and mouse brain development
Weimin Bi et al.

Mapping and sequencing of structural variation from eight human genomes
Jeffrey M Kidd et al.

Closing gaps in the human genome with fosmid resources generated from multiple individuals
Donald Bovee et al.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on September 24, 2009
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Charles Darwin's theory of descent with modification by means of natural selection has stood the test of time, with new discoveries in genetics and the mathematical basis of natural selection providing ever growing evidence for the theory. The October issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience — contains an online focus, free to access online for six months from the issue date, celebrating the contribution of Darwin's ideas to our current understanding of the evolution of the nervous system. The articles in this special issue discuss the molecular, cellular and structural changes that have contributed to CNS (central nervous system) evolution and their functional consequences. The focus consists of reviews and perspectives on:
The origin and evolution of synapses
Tomás J. Ryan & Seth G. N. Grant
Considering the evolution of regeneration in the central nervous system
Elly M. Tanaka & Patrizia Ferretti
Evolution of the neocortex: a perspective from developmental biology
Pasko Rakic
Chordate roots of the vertebrate nervous system: expanding the molecular toolkit
Linda Z. Holland
Sleep viewed as a state of adaptive inactivity
Jerome M. Siegel
MicroRNAs tell an evo–devo story
Kenneth S. Kosik
Editors' summary of these articles.
NPG library of articles on CNS evolution.
Nature celebrates Darwin 200.
Nature Publishing Group celebrates Darwin 200 with a range of articles from its journals.
Fifteen evolutionary gems from Nature's archives.
More about Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on September 23, 2009
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Via press release: Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and the Associazione Differenziamento e Morte Cellulare (ADMC) have announced a new open access journal, Cell Death & Disease. Launching in January 2010, Cell Death & Disease will explore the area of cell death from a translational medicine perspective. The journal is now accepting submissions.
Cell Death & Disease is a sister journal to the well-established and highly respected journal Cell Death & Differentiation. Together, the two journals provide a unified forum for scientists, clinicians and members of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
Cell Death & Disease is devoted to the biology of cell death in the pathogenesis of human diseases or relevant animal models. The journal aims to publish papers that present novel observations in the field of cell death, with pathophysiological or medical implications. Particular emphasis will be given to clinical, translational and applied research through its five sections: experimental medicine, cancer, immunity, internal medicine and neuroscience.
Cell Death & Disease will be online only and will make all content freely available to all researchers worldwide. There will be an processing charge of £2,000 / $3,000 / €2,400 for each article accepted for publication.
The editorial team is led by Gerry Melino, Guido Kroemer and Pierluigi Nicotera, and will include a highly respected international editorial board.
Cell Death & Disease preliminary website.
Cell Death & Disease: journal scope.
Submit your manuscript to Cell Death & Disease.
The journal's guide to authors.
Summary of author benefits.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on September 22, 2009
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Sharing data is good. But sharing your own data? That can get complicated. As two research communities who held meetings on this question in Rome and in Toronto in May report their proposals to promote data sharing in biology, a special issue of Nature (10 September 2009) examines the cultural and technical hurdles that can get in the way of good intentions. Some of the authors of these proposals are participating in two online forums (Rome and Toronto) at Nature Network - so please accept our invitation to visit and have your say on these questions.
More details:
The two research communities held meetings with a broad range of stakeholders to discuss ways to promote data sharing in biology. Data producers and users met at a workshop in Toronto to discuss the benefits and best practices of rapid data release prior to publication. Ewan Birney, Tom Hudson and colleagues report the main conclusions of these discussions in a community statement, free to access here.
The Toronto group propose that the principles for early release of genomics data should be extended to other large datasets in biology and medicine. A grace period should be allowed, if requested, to enable data producers to analyse and publish their dataset, but this should be limited to one year. The authors also suggest a set of best practices for funding agencies, scientists and journal editors.
The recommendations are intended to spark community discussion on this subject. Ewan Birney, Tom Hudson and others will be responding to reader comments in our Nature Network forum. Be sure to have your say.
Mouse researchers, along with funding agencies and publishers, met in Rome to address the barriers preventing more effective sharing of data and biomaterials — particularly mouse strains and embryonic stem cells. Their agenda, free to access here, suggests guidelines to enable sharing of materials under the least restrictive terms, avoiding material transfer agreements where possible.
The Rome participants argue that funding organizations, journals and researchers need to work together to encourage better use of public repositories and to promote a ‘research commons’ in mouse biology.
The recommendations are intended to spark community discussion on this subject. Paul Schofield and others will be responding to reader comments in our Nature Network forum. Be sure to have your say.
See also the Editorial (free to access online) in the same issue of Nature (461, 145; 2009): 'Data's shameful neglect', opining that research cannot flourish if data are not preserved and made accessible. All concerned must act accordingly.
Nature's special issue on data sharing.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on September 16, 2009
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Are you watching the Nobel laureates on Nature Video? Each year, hundreds of young researchers from around the world meet with Nobel prizewinning scientists on Lindau Island in Germany. In 2009 it was the turn of the chemists, and Nature Publishing Group was there to capture moments of this unique meeting of minds on film.
Nature Video presents five short films on chemistry plus a special film feature on climate change. Join laureates and young researchers as they discuss the future of medicine, consider the ethics of nanotechnologies, plan new collaborations, and seek ways to avoid dangerous climate change. The videos are archived as they are published and can be accessed at this Nature Video Lindau page:
24 August: an introduction to the LIndau meetings and the films
27 August: breaking down Alzheimer’s with Aaron Ciechanover
3 September: nanotechnology, use and misuse with Harry Kroto
10 September: smart drugs and sneaky microbes with Peter Agre
17 September: seeing green with Roger Tsien and Richard Ernst
24 September: catalysts and collaborations with Richard Schrock
1 October: climate change: The two-degree target

Nature Chemistry report of the 2009 meeting.
Films of the 208 Lindau Nobel laurate meeting, on physics.
Nature Physics report on the 2008 meeting.
Multimedia at Nature.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on September 15, 2009
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Nature's news coverage is evolving with this week's launch of News Briefing — a two-page digest of the key events shaping the scientific enterprise in the past week. With coverage encompassing policy decisions, funding announcements, market trends and business deals, News Briefing offers a complete overview of the developments that affect anyone working in science. The section also features a calendar to highlight important events, reports and initiatives occurring in the forthcoming week.
From the Editorial announcing the new section (Nature 460, 1057; 2009, free to read online):
"Science is inextricably linked with the messy details of politics and commerce, and it is vital for today's researchers to be aware of how political and business decisions can steer their research programmes — and indeed how their research can affect society. Similarly, policy-makers require the perspective that science can provide on the likely outcomes of their decisions. Yet it is all too easy to miss something important in the torrent of news that pours down on us every day.
By gathering all of the important events in one place, News Briefing aims to plug that gap. In doing so, it complements Research Highlights (example here), which for the past four years has brought you our editors' selections of the most interesting research results from beyond the pages of Nature. Both sections will guide you to longer analytical pieces and exclusives in the main news section or online at http://www.nature.com/news. Apart from breaking daily news stories, our news website also carries stories from the print edition before they make it onto paper, getting analysis and information to our subscribers as soon as possible."
Feedback from readers is welcome here or via email.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on August 28, 2009
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The latest Nature Insight (460, 813-862; 2009 - free to access online for six months from publication date) is on metalloproteins — proteins containing metal atoms or clusters — which are involved in a wide range of important biological processes. The articles in this Insight review recent advances in our understanding of metalloproteins, including how enzymes containing complex metal clusters metabolize small gaseous molecules, how proteins containing iron–sulphur clusters are assembled, and how enzymes containing a single metal ion catalyse the halogenation of small organic molecules. This Nature Insight is accompanied by a special podcast on metalloproteins, which features interviews with several of the authors.
More Nature Insights.
More Nature podcasts.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on August 26, 2009
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'The Middle & The End' is an EMBO Journal review series of free- or open-access articles focusing on different facets of centromere and telomere biology. The specialization of centromeres and telomeres, the middle and end regions of eukaryotic chromosomes, respectively, is reflected at numerous levels, such as chromatin, gene regulation, signalling or cellular function. Nine review articles, combined in this web focus The Middle & The End, and published in print over several issues of The EMBO Journal, summarize current understanding of these aspects of chromosome biology, especially in the light of recent advances, demonstrating parallels as well as differences in the function and organization of centres and ends.
The EMBO Journal home page.
The EMBO journal editorial process.
Guide for authors.
Editors and editorial board.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on August 24, 2009
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EMBO reports' latest web focus reconciles life sciences and social sciences in a series of articles on Convergence Research. To view and access the full list of articles, which are freely available for the month of August, please visit the Convergence Research web focus. This series of thought-provoking articles highlights research that aims to reconcile genomics with the social sciences and the humanities, introducing readers to multi- and transdisciplinary developments taking place in this field. The articles explore the ethical, legal and social issues surrounding genomics research, present the results from a wide range of projects, and/or critically analyse the future of convergence research in language accessible to a broad scientific readership. The articles were published in consecutive issues of EMBO reports between February and July 2009.
While visiting the journal, you might like to take a look at the 2009 EMBO reports Special Issue on Systems and Synthetic Biology, bringing together the ideas and opinions of leading researchers and commentators who spoke at the 2008 joint EMBO/EMBL Science & Society conference. This special issue, which is only available online, makes these broad and ever-changing research areas more accessible to experts and lay-persons alike.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on August 17, 2009
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Venture funding is declining quickly and is unlikely to bounce back. But less money means lower expectations — good news for smaller science start-ups, says John Browning in an Essay in today's issue of Nature (460, 459; 2009 - free to access online for one week from publication date). From the Essay:

Given the lacklustre returns of traditional investment strategies, venture capitalists are also looking to do more with less. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape Communications and a pillar of the Silicon Valley establishment, recently co-launched a venture firm that plans to invest as little as $50,000 per start-up — far less than the $3 million considered to be a minimum by many venture capitalists. Although it is early days, efforts such as this might reshape venture capitalism. Without the weight of Googlesque expectations on their shoulders, companies that might have joined the ranks of the living dead could start to look lively. A start-up focused on a non-blockbuster drug or diagnostic test might now find itself with an attractive niche market, garnering the attention of venture capitalists who would usually have avoided this type of limited-growth company.
Smaller investments will force entrepreneurs to work harder — no more plush offices or fridges stocked with designer fruit juice. But, because the returns demanded by investors are proportional to the amounts put in, smaller investments also reduce the pressure on companies and allow them to become more flexible in their business strategies. And that is what entrepreneurship needs most.

The full article is here.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on July 23, 2009
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Nature Horizons articles present experts' visions of the foreseeable future of a research theme. The articles are commissioned by Nature's editors, and usually published without peer review, given the journal's intention of capturing a respected individual perspective. The articles are intended to anticipate the future, but also to influence it. On publication of the first set of Horizons, Philip Campbell, Editor of Nature, wrote: "I hope that these visions will inspire and maybe even encourage some to adjust their research ambitions as a result. Inspired by them ourselves, we'll be publishing more Horizons in the future." In its 9 July 2009 issue, Nature published the following four articles, all of which can be accessed online via the Horizons archive page.
The possibility of impossible cultures
Marc D. Hauser
Insights from evolutionary developmental biology and the mind sciences could change our understanding of the human capacity to think and the ways in which the human mind constrains cultural expressions.
Nature 460, 190–196 (9 July 2009).
Synthesis at the molecular frontier
Paul A. Wender & Benjamin L. Miller
Driven by remarkable advances in the understanding of structure and reaction mechanisms, organic synthesis will be increasingly directed to producing bioinspired and newly designed molecules.
Nature 460, 197–201 (9 July 2009).
Biomarkers in psychiatry
Ilina Singh & Nikolas Rose
The use of biomarkers to predict human behaviour and psychiatric disorders raises social and ethical issues, which must be resolved by collaborative efforts.
Nature 460, 202–207 (9 July 2009).
Toxicology for the twenty-first century
Thomas Hartung
The testing of substances for adverse effects on humans and the environment needs a radical overhaul if we are to meet the challenges of ensuring health and safety.
Nature 460, 208–212 (9 July 2009).
Previous Horizons articles, including articles by Thomas Kirkwood on ageing, Peter Murray-Rust on chemistry and Paul Nurse on life, logic and information, are archived here.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on July 16, 2009
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Inhibition of the replicative cycle of hepatitis C virus
Richard Bethell, George Kukolj and Peter W. White
Nature Reviews Microbiology, June 2009.
It is estimated that 170 million people globally are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Chronic HCV infection can result in the development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and therefore represents a substantial public health problem. Current drugs against HCV have poor safety profiles and limited effectiveness, especially against HCV genotype 1. As a result, there is considerable interest in identifying specific inhibitors of HCV replication that could be used either as an adjunct to current therapy or in place of it. A free poster from Nature Reviews Microbiology summarizes the replicative cycle of HCV and the principal targets for specific antiviral agents that are currently being developed.

Download a high-resolution PDF of the poster here.
Further reading (PDF).
Nature Reviews Microbiology website.
A guide to Nature Reviews Microbiology.
About the journal.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on June 29, 2009
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The art of paper folding is a useful way to illustrate some concepts about protein folding in the cell, according to June's issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. "When all goes well, you end up with a beautiful and functional structure. When things go wrong (misfolding), you may get a crumpled mess that needs to be smoothed out (unfolding) to try to start the process over again (refolding), or you may just give up and feed it to the shredder for recycling (degradation). Some unfolded or misfolded conformations can aggregate and generate forms that are difficult to degrade, akin to a pile of sheets glued together, and cause cellular toxicity or death. In fact, defects in protein folding have been linked to a number of pathologies where such aggregates (amyloids) are observed, including neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases, although what the toxic species are remains to be determined."
Many of these concepts are covered in the Reviews and Progress articles that comprise a Nature Structural and Molecular Biology Focus on protein folding (free to read online), with an emphasis on recent developments in the field. Online features of the Focus include an annotated collection of 'Classics' —landmark papers that shaped and guided research. This compilation provides a historical perspective on how the field has progressed. The journal editors have also asked researchers about their views on where the field is going—the 'big questions' that still await answers and the technical developments that will make answering those questions possible; you can read these in 'Looking ahead'. And you can browse a library of recent papers on protein folding published in the Nature journals.

About Nature Structural and Molecular Biology.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on June 22, 2009
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Cross-posted at Nature Network.
Its attack on poverty and arrogance is what makes C. P. Snow’s ‘two cultures’ lecture relevant 50 years on, according to a Nature Editorial published today (Nature 459, 10; 2009). Three Essays in the same issue of the journal look back on the lecture and its effects. In Dissecting The Two Cultures (Nature 459, 32; 2009), Martin Kemp contends that the real enemy of understanding is not the ‘two cultures’ identified by Snow, but specialization in all disciplines. Georgina Ferry (Nature 459, 34; 2009) suggests that today’s division lies between optimists and pessimists rather than between scientific and literary intellectuals. And Nature’s Books and Arts Editor, Joanne Baker, introduces a passage from Extract from Science and Government by C. P. Snow (Nature 459, 36; 2009). This month's Editorial in Nature Physics (5, 309; 2009) also discusses the impact of the 'two cultures' concept.
The boundaries between the arts and the sciences — and between the sciences themselves — that Snow identified have long since been removed. But other challenges remain. Snow would not have approved of the narrow-mindedness of some researchers who consider the significant costs of their work to be no more than their due from society, nor of their blind resentment when its value is questioned. What Snow urged in particular was an awareness of the problems of poor countries — and of putting scientists at the disposal of solving those problems, for reasons both moral and strategic. The disparities between rich and poor countries may have shrunk since Snow’s time, but are still unacceptably large. Snow’s overriding message — whether about awareness of artistic and scientific experience, or about the applied sciences, or about ‘remediable suffering’ — was that the best and the brightest should not be blinkered. That message still has resonance.
All three C. P. Snow articles in this issue of Nature and linked here are free to access online until Thursday 14 May (the Editorial is permanently free access), so let us know your views on the opinions expressed in them. As usual, contributions to the Nature Network online forum will be considered for publication in Nature as Correspondence contributions.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on May 07, 2009
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James Lovelock fears that humanity faces widespread death and mass migration as Earth's systems become further unbalanced by climate change. Andrew Watson of the University of East Anglia reviews Lovelock's new book, as well as a biography of Lovelock and his ideas, in Nature (458, 970-971; 2009). From the review:
"Lovelock's vision of sudden and imminent collapse is apocalyptic, but for our long-term future and that of the planet it might be preferable to some of the alternatives. Suppose, for instance, that our profligate ways and expanding population are sustained for the rest of this century, but at a huge cost — the complete loss of all the natural ecosystems of the world. Most of us, living in cities and insulated from the natural environment, would barely notice until it was too late to do anything about it. This is what many politicians, economists and industrialists seem to want — their mantra of unceasing economic growth implies that we should take for ourselves all Gaia's resources and squeeze from them the maximum short-term gain, leaving nothing for the future."

James Lovelock sounds a final warning for planet Earth and enthuses about his upcoming space trip in a free NatureVideo interview with Oliver Morton, Nature's chief News and Features editor.

Books reviewed:
The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning
by James Lovelock
Allen Lane/Basic Books: 2009. 192 pp./ 288 pp. £20/$25
By at Amazon: US site; UK site.
He Knew He Was Right: The Irrepressible Life of James Lovelock and Gaia
by John Gribbin & Mary Gribbin
Allen Lane/Princeton University Press: 2009. 256 pp/272 pp. £20/$24.95
Buy at Amazon: US site; UK site.

Many other NatureVideos can be accessed via the journal's video archive.
See also the Nature video channel at YouTube.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on April 29, 2009
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This month's issue of Nature Cell Biology presents the first in a new series of short autobiographical essays by leading scientists entitled "Turning Points". The articles offer a historical perspective of the career of the author and feature a first-hand recounting of a pivotal event that shaped his or her scientific future. Events may be as diverse as the unexpected generosity of a colleague, a move to a new destination or even arguments with peers that triggered a shift in research direction or led to the development of a new concept. The editors hope that the series will highlight some of the stories that are part of the folklore of cell biology — tales often recounted at the bar or beach during conferences, but which seldom find an audience in a more formal context. As such, it is hoped that these accounts will be inspirational to scientists early in their careers. The series launches (Nature Cell Biology 11, 364; 2009) with an account from Gottfried Schatz on how he was inspired to embark on a career devoted to studying mitochondria by an unusual answer to a postcard.
The authors will be drawn from fields that are represented within Nature Cell Biology. If there is a particular cell, molecular or developmental biologist whom you would like to see featured in this series, please send your suggestion to cellbio@nature.com

Posted by Maxine Clarke on April 15, 2009
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The resurgence of interest in the underlying processes of metastasis has led to significant new insights and translational developments. Nature Reviews Cancer (9, 225; April 2009) presents a specially commissioned Focus on Migration and metastasis, in which all articles are free to access online for three months. The articles in the focus address new and emerging models and pathways that have been redefined with regard to their role in metastasis and metastasis suppression. From the journal's Editorial:

"Metastases are the main cause of cancer-associated death and it seems surprising that there remain so many questions relating to the biology of metastasis. For example, how and why do metastases exhibit variations in tropism and latency? When are metastases seeded? What traits are required in tumour cells and the microenvironment to disseminate and seed a metastasis? How is one cell capable of so many sequential processes? And how might we predict and prevent or treat metastatic dissemination? Many of these questions are receiving renewed attention as new data provide insights into the biology of a metastatic tumour."

Nature Reviews Cancer focus on migration and metastasis.
Nature Reviews Cancer web focus archive.
Nature Reviews Cancer journal homepage.
About the journal.
A guide to the journal: its content, policies and procedures.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on March 31, 2009
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The journal Cell Death and Differentiation has a special issue on cell death mechanisms this month (16 (3), March 2009), containing an Editorial and three Reviews which are free to access online, as well as a collection of original research papers. From the introduction to the issue: "Although cell death occurs in many different ways, it uses several common and evolutionarily conserved mechanisms. These control distinct forms of cell demise ranging from necrosis and excitotoxicity to autophagy and apoptosis. This review series comprises state-of the art reviews, which summarise our knowledge of basic mechanisms of cell death in a context of different pathological processes. Articles, written by the leaders in the field, present a comprehensive picture of cell-death routines and their role in shaping diseases. This collection of papers should serve as a key resource to researchers in cell biology, neurobiology, oncology, biochemistry and pharmacology."

Archive of Cell Death and Differentiation special issues.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on March 12, 2009
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A free poster in Nature Reviews Immunology provides an overview of the various cytokines, transcription factors and signalling pathways that are associated with the differentiation, survival, function and plasticity of CD4+ effector T cells of the immune system. The poster is part of a Nature Reviews Immunology web focus on CD4+ T-cell diversity. As well as a collection of articles including Progress, Reviews and Research Highlights, the focus has a library of related articles previously published in Nature Publishing Group journals.

Download the poster as a high-resolution PDF.

Nature Reviews Immunology journal home page.

A guide to Nature Reviews Immunology.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on March 03, 2009
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Nature Reviews Molecular and Cell Biology presents a special Focus on mechanotransduction — on a range of topics from how cells sense mechanical forces in different tissues to how these mechanical forces are transduced into biochemical signals — in development, normal physiology and disease. Cells sense their physical three-dimensional environment — properties of the extracellular matrix, neighbouring cells and physical stress — by translating mechanical forces and deformations into biochemical signals. In turn, these signals can adjust cellular and extracellular structure. This mechanosensitive feedback modulates cellular functions as diverse as proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis, and is crucial for organ development and homeostasis. Any molecular defect that interrupts or alters this chain of mechanical sensing and subsequent cell signalling events could perturb the normal cellular function and potentially lead to diverse diseases such as loss of hearing, cardiovascular disease, muscular dystrophy and cancer.
The Focus is free to access for the month of January 2009.
See also Milestones in Cytoskeleton, and request a free print copy here.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on January 12, 2009
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This is the text of an announcement in Nature 457, 8; 1 January 2009:
About a year ago, an Editorial in these pages urged scientists and their institutions to 'spread the word' and highlight reasons why scientists can treat evolution by natural selection as, in effect, an established fact (see Nature 451, 108; 2008).
This week we are following our own prescription. Readers will find a freely accessible resource for biologists and others who wish to explain to students, friends or loved ones just what is the evidence for evolution by natural selection. Entitled '15 evolutionary gems', the document summarizes 15 lines of evidence from papers published in Nature over the past 10 years. The evidence is drawn from the fossil record, from studies of natural and artificial habitats, and from research on molecular biological processes.
In a year in which Darwin is being celebrated amid uncertainty and hostility about his ideas among citizens, being aware of the cumulatively incontrovertible evidence for those ideas is all the more important. We trust that this document will help.

Nature's Darwin 200 Special collection.

Related posts:
Eugenie Scott of the US National Center for Science Education.
Brandon Kiem at Wired Science.
P. Z. Myers of Pharyngula.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on January 07, 2009
Categories: Education, NPG special content, Public and media | Permalink | Comments (1)

Next year will be the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin, perhaps the most influential scientist of modern times. In this week's issue (20 November), Nature presents a special collection of news, features, research and analysis of Darwin, his life, his science and his legacy. This special will be updated throughout 2009 with essays, podcasts and free educational resources, as well as news from the Darwin200 consortium of organizations celebrating this landmark event. The first installment is here. From the current issue (20 November 2008), all of which can be accessed from Nature's Darwin main page:
Editorial: Beyond the origin (free to access online). As Nature anticipates next year's bicentenary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species, we begin our coverage with a look 50 years into the future.
News features:
The needs of the many (free to access online this week). The idea that natural selection acts on groups, as well as individuals, is a source of unending debate. Marek Kohn reports on what the two sides disagree about — and why it matters to them.
Systems biology: Beneath the surface Biologists see living systems like mechanical clocks: optimally tuned and prone to failure if one component goes wrong. But, as Tanguy Chouard reveals, this is not what happens in the real world.
Let's make a mammoth (free to access online for one month from pubication date). Evolution assumes that extinction is forever. Maybe not. Henry Nicholls asks what it would take to bring the woolly mammoth back from the dead.
Online slideshow: An eye for the eye. Darwin knew that the eye — so brilliantly 'designed' — might represent an obstacle to the acceptance of natural selection. We now know that the eye is one of evolution's crowning glories.
Commentary: Great expectations. A new path for evolution? A truce in the culture wars? Here's what a selection of readers told Nature they expect from Darwin 200. Add your own suggestions at Nature Network's online discussion forum.
Events: Darwin: Heading to a town near you (free to access online for one month). The theory of evolution challenges artists and philosophers as much as scientists. Joanne Baker rounds up the many forthcoming events worldwide that examine Darwin's life, his work and reactions to it.
Books in brief: A Down House bookshelf. An archipelago of books to celebrate Darwin's anniversaries is about to hit the shelves. On the Origin of Species will be reissued, and new biographies and analyses will examine the man behind the ideas. Joanne Baker reports.
Essay: Birthdays to remember. Anniversaries of Charles Darwin's life and work have been used to rewrite and re-energize his theory of natural selection. Janet Browne tracks a century of Darwinian celebrations.
Podcast: The next 50 years (free). Simon Ings and Gáspár Jékely on the evolving eye, and Marek Kohn on group selection. Henry Nicholls and Stephan Schuster discuss making mammoths — and the online trade in mammoth hair. Presenters: Adam Rutherford and Charlotte Stoddart.
Among the other articles and research in the Darwin special is the Letter Sequencing the nuclear genome of the extinct woolly mammoth by Webb Miller et al.. This Letter is free to access online.
See here for the full list of articles and features in the Darwin special collection, and find direct online links to all material.

Posted by Maxine Clarke on November 20, 2008
Categories: NPG special content, Publications | Permalink | Comments (0)