James Lovelock books reviewed and video interview

Posted on 29 Apr 2009 by Maxine Clarke

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.

Nature Cell Biology introduces Turning Points

Posted on 15 Apr 2009 by Maxine Clarke

This month’s issue of Nature Cell Biology presents the first in a new series of short autobiographical essays by leading scientists entitled “”https://www.nature.com/ncb/journal/v11/n4/full/ncb0409-363b.html">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 ”https://www.nature.com/ncb/journal/v11/n4/full/ncb0409-364.html">(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

Nature Reviews Cancer focus on migration and metastasis

Posted on 31 Mar 2009 by Maxine Clarke

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.

Cell Death and Differentiation special issue on mechanisms

Posted on 12 Mar 2009 by Maxine Clarke

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.

Poster on T-cell diversity from Nature Reviews Immunology

Posted on 03 Mar 2009 by Maxine Clarke

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.

Focus on mechanotransduction

Posted on 12 Jan 2009 by Maxine Clarke

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.

Nature’s collection of evolutionary gems

Posted on 07 Jan 2009 by Maxine Clarke

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.

Eugenie Scott of the US National Center for Science Education.

Brandon Kiem at Wired Science.

P. Z. Myers of Pharyngula.

Nature celebrates Darwin and his work

Posted on 20 Nov 2008 by Maxine Clarke

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.

nature.com blogs

Category Archives: NPG special content