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Peak waste�, the date when global production of solid waste reaches its maximum, is a useful pointer to the time that humankind will be having its greatest impact on the global environment. Precisely when it will happen is difficult to predict, but writing in a Comment piece in this issue, Daniel Hoornweg, Perinaz Bhada-Tata and Chris Kennedy calculate that on current socioeconomic trends, peak waste will not occur this century. This means that unless we reduce population growth and material consumption rates, the planet will have to bear an increasing waste burden. Hoornweg et al. prescribe population stabilization, better-managed cities consuming fewer resources and greater equity and use of technology as the means to bring peak waste forward. Cover: Nir Elias/REUTERS
Proposals to bring hydrofluorocarbons under the auspices of the Montreal Protocol provide a simple test of the international community’s commitment to tackling climate change.
A study reveals that increasing aridity alters the balance of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in dryland soils, providing insight into how global climate change will affect soil fertility and ecosystem services. See Letter p.672
Crystal structures of the complete RNA polymerase I complex are now revealed. The structures link the opening and closing of this enzyme's DNA-binding cleft to the control of transcription. See Articles p.644 & p.650
The ability to control individual electrons in an electronic conductor would pave the way for novel quantum technologies. Single electrons emerging from a sea of their fellows in a nanoscale electrode can now be generated. See Letter p.659
The dynamics of chemical reactions in solution are described by Kramers' theory, but the parameters involved have eluded direct measurement. A study of protein folding reveals how this problem can be overcome. See Letter p.685
A comprehensive search identifies a global dearth of data on the generation, treatment and use of wastewater. Remedying this situation will help policy-makers to better legislate for the management of this precious resource.
Photosynthetic algal symbionts of corals produce sulphur substances that are involved in the regulation of ocean temperatures. In a twist to the tale, it emerges that coral animals produce the same compounds. See Letter p.677
Immunofluorescence imaging and computational modelling are used to study the spatial distribution of different cell types within the haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche; findings show that quiescent HSCs associate specifically with small arterioles that are preferentially found in the endosteal bone marrow and are essential in maintaining this quiescence.
RNA polymerase (Pol) I transcribes ribosomal RNA that is critically required for ribosome assembly, and the enzyme is a major determinant of protein biosynthesis and cell growth; here the crystal structure of the complete 14-subunit Pol I from yeast is determined, providing insights into its unique architecture and the possible functional roles of its components.
The crystal structure of the complete 14-subunit RNA polymerase (Pol) I from yeast is determined, providing insights into its unique architecture and the possible functional roles of its components.
A uniform iron abundance in the intracluster gas of the Perseus cluster suggests that the metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium occurred before the cluster formed, probably more than ten billion years ago, rather than after the cluster formed.
Minimal-excitation fermionic quasiparticles are created by applying a potential with Lorentzian time dependence to the contact of a narrow constriction in a two-dimensional electron gas.
Four reconstructions of North American ice-sheet history are tested using oxygen isotope records from the Gulf of Mexico in a water-mixing model; the one based on ice physics is the best match to the isotopic data and to the observed Last Glacial Maximum fall in sea level due to melting of the Laurentide ice sheet.
Soil samples collected from 224 dryland sites around the world show that aridity affects the concentration of organic carbon and total nitrogen differently from the concentration of inorganic phosphorus, suggesting that any predicted increase in aridity with climate change could uncouple the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in drylands and negatively affect the services provided by these ecosystems.
Until now, dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), an important component in the sulphur cycle, has been thought to be produced solely by algae and some plants; however, this study shows that the coral animal also produces DMSP, in addition to that produced by the coral’s algal symbiont, with potential implications for the sulphur cycle and its climatic consequences as corals and their symbionts are affected by global change.
The magnetosome-associated protein mamP is an iron oxidase that reveals a unique arrangement of a self-plugged PDZ domain fused to two magnetochrome domains, defining a new class of c-type cytochrome exclusively found in magnetotactic bacteria.
Here the Kramers diffusion coefficient and free-energy barrier are characterized for the first time through single-molecule fluorescence measurements of the temperature- and viscosity-dependence of the transition path time for protein folding.
In Arabidopsis thaliana, the rhythm of sugar production by photosynthesis sets the timing of the circadian clock, by regulating the expression of circadian clock genes.
A non-oxidative, cyclic pathway—termed non-oxidative glycolysis—is designed and constructed that enables complete carbon conservation in sugar catabolism to acetyl-coenzyme A, and can be used to achieve a 100% carbon yield to fuels and chemicals.
Pathway docking (in silico docking of metabolites to several enzymes and binding proteins in a metabolic pathway) enables the discovery of a catabolic pathway for the osmolyte trans-4-hydroxy-l-proline betaine.
Meiotic crossover regulation is proposed to operate as a self-limiting system in which meiotic chromosome structures create an environment that promotes crossovers, which in turn modify chromosome structures to inhibit crossover formation at additional neighbouring sites.
This study reports the first application of Zernike phase contrast (ZPC) electron cryo-tomography to examine cellular processes without the need for labelling or sectioning; the technique is used to visualize the maturation of the cyanophage Syn5 inside its host cell, identifying subcellular compartments and five distinct Syn5 assembly intermediates.
From image-analysis software to lens-free microscopes that fit on a mobile phone, new tools are providing pathologists with clearer and more informative images.
From magnetically tagged sugar to smoke-sensing surgical knives and beams of high-energy protons, the next wave of imaging technologies will provide a clearer view of the body.
Since the first X-rays were taken more than a century ago, the ability to see inside the body has been central to the advance of medicine. Progress in precision medical imaging is gathering pace, leading to new Insights in biology, with the potential for more accurate diagnoses and improved treatments.