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About 40% of human cancers carry missense mutations in the tumour suppressor protein p53. Here the authors identify a transiently open pocket in the protein, and by targeting a small molecule to it, partially restore mutant p53 tumour suppressor activity.
The neurotransmitter noradrenaline can regulate cellular processes that contribute to cancer progression, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here the authors identify Src as a key mediator of noradrenaline signalling networks in tumour metastasis.
Heat shock factor-1 is a transcriptional regulator of heat shock proteins that is implicated in neurodegeneration. Kondo and colleagues study the effects of deleting heat shock factor-1 in a mouse model of muscular dystrophy and find that this augments the condition via the accumulation of androgen receptors.
Agrobacterium radiobacter strain K84 generates an antibiotic targeting pathogenic strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, enabling its use as a biocontrol to prevent infection of crops. Here the authors show that this antibiotic inhibits leucyl-tRNA synthetases via an unusual mechanism that depends on binding of tRNALeu.
Microbial fatty acid-derived fuels represent promising alternatives to the traditionally used fossil fuels. Koffas and colleagues report that E. colicentral metabolism can be modified to produce large quantities of fatty acids through a modular pathway engineering strategy.
Metallic particles are known to etch the surface layers of graphite by catalytic hydrogenation. Here, the authors report the sub-surface etching of graphite by Ni nanoparticles, revealing the formation of networks of tunnels, which are observed microscopically and could be modified for various applications.
The bombardment of structural metals in nuclear reactors by high-energy particles causes them to develop defects, such as stacking-fault tetrahedra defects, that are difficult to cure. Yu et al.find that in nanotwinned silver such defects can be removed at room temperature by the propagation of mobile twin boundaries.
A nested pattern of interactions is thought to promote species persistence in mutualistic ecological networks. In this study, Staniczenko et al. introduce a spectral graph measure of nestedness, to show that nestedness is maximally destabilizing and demonstrate that empirical species preferences are not quantitatively nested.
The use of electric fields to control the magnetization of ferromagnetic materials could enable more efficient electronics. Lei et al.show that by applying lateral strain to a magnetostrictive nanowire with a piezoelectric, voltage-controlled gating of magnetic domain wall motion in the wire can be achieved.
Biological invasion varies under different environmental stressors. Here, using a fully controlled system of bacterial communities, De Roy et al. find that community evenness affects the level of invasion, and that the community’s response depends on specific environmental conditions as well as the community evenness.
Highly mobile electrons at the interface of two perovskite oxides are of considerable interest for electronic applications. In this work, the discovery of such an electron gas at the interface of a spinel and a perovskite oxide represents a new approach to look for oxide systems with enhanced properties.
Double-walled carbon nanotubes are a convenient system for studying quantum mechanical interactions in distinct but coupled nanostructures. Liu et al.characterize the coupling between radial-breathing mode oscillations of inner and outer walls of many double-walled nanotubes of different diameter and chirality.
Hydrogen sulphide is a signalling molecule with cytoprotective activity in mammals. Here, Kimura and colleagues identify a new biosynthetic pathway for the production of hydrogen sulphide from D-cysteine, which is shown to protect mouse kidneys from oxidative stress after ischaemia/reperfusion injury.
Understanding high temperature superconductivity in the cuprates is one of the hardest problems in physics to date. Wang et al.use state-of-the-art scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to visualize the atomic-scale electronic structure of the Mott insulator phase from which this elusive state emerges.
Specimens of the Early Cretaceous bird C. sanctuswith ornamental tail feathers are commonly interpreted as male, and those without as female. In this study, in support of this theory, medullary bone—a tissue unique to reproductively active female birds—is found in a specimen without ornamental feathers.
Spin-dependent transport length in organic semiconductors is expected to be large due to their small spin–orbit coupling; however, lengths of only a few nanometres have been observed to date at room temperature. This work reports a large spin diffusion length of 110 nm at room temperature in a spin valve device containing C60molecules.
Helical Dirac fermion states that emerge at the surface of topological insulators support a variety of exotic physical phenomena, but they disappear when a topological insulator becomes too thin. Wang et al.show that these states are recovered when ultrathin films are interfaced together.
The oldest echinoderm faunas have previously been restricted to North America and had a radiate body plan. This discovery of echinoderms from Morocco reveals a diverse range of body forms just 15 million years after echinoderms first evolved a calcite skeleton, showing a rapid rate of morphological evolution.
Feathered dinosaurs from the Middle-Late Jurassic of north-eastern China have recently been described. Here, a new paravian dinosaur, characterized by less extensive feathers on its limbs and tail, shows that the plumage of theropods was already diversified and adapted to different ecological niches by the Late Jurassic.
The formation of junctions between graphene and other materials could aid the development of nanoelectronics. We et al. partially unzip single-walled carbon nanotubes to produce graphene/nanotube junctions that show gate-dependent rectifying behaviour.