Research articles

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  • WebNetwork analysis to determine the maximally bridged ring (or rings) of molecules is used as part of a strategy for the syntheses of architecturally complex natural chemicals; this strategy is demonstrated via the synthesis of the diterpenoid alkaloids weisaconitine D and liljestrandinine.

    • C. J. Marth
    • G. M. Gallego
    • R. Sarpong
    Article
  • In this study, 83 proteins containing helix–loop–helix–loop repeats were designed—with sequences unrelated to known repeat proteins—and experimentally characterized; 43 solution X-ray scattering spectra and 15 structures of the designed proteins show that these non-natural repeat proteins have a broad range of curvatures and that their overall structures are in close agreement with design models.

    • TJ Brunette
    • Fabio Parmeggiani
    • David Baker
    Letter
  • Recent analyses have suggested that the intrinsic behaviour of tissue stem cells may be responsible for malignant transformation and cancer progression, raising questions regarding the influence of extrinsic factors on tumourigenesis; here, both data-driven and model-driven evidence show that such intrinsic risk factors contribute only marginally to cancer development, indicating that cancer risk is heavily influenced by extrinsic factors.

    • Song Wu
    • Scott Powers
    • Yusuf A. Hannun
    Article
  • The relationship between DNA methylation and transcription factor binding was studied across the genome in mouse embryonic stem cells-the study reveals that the transcription factor NRF1 is methylation-sensitive and how physiological binding of NRF1 relies on local removal of DNA methylation.

    • Silvia Domcke
    • Anaïs Flore Bardet
    • Dirk Schübeler
    Letter
  • The ability of the DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX5 to interact with master transcription factor RORγt is dependent on binding of the long noncoding RNA Rmrp; the DDX5–RORγt complex coordinates transcription of selective TH17 genes and is required for the pathogenicity of TH17 cells.

    • Wendy Huang
    • Benjamin Thomas
    • Dan R. Littman
    Article
  • A spectroscopic comparison of ten hot-Jupiter exoplanets reveals that the difference between the planetary radius measured at optical and infrared wavelengths allows atmosphere types ranging from clear to cloudy to be distinguished; the difference in radius at a given wavelength correlates with the spectral strength of water at that wavelength, suggesting that haze obscures the signal from water.

    • David K. Sing
    • Jonathan J. Fortney
    • Paul A. Wilson
    Letter
  • The FOXO transcription factor, DAF-16, is required for the long-life phenotype of daf-2 mutant nematode worms; here the authors find that daf-2 mutant worms maintain neuronal functions and behaviours with age by using a set of transcriptional targets that are distinct from previously identified canonical FOXO/DAF-16-regulated targets.

    • Rachel Kaletsky
    • Vanisha Lakhina
    • Coleen T. Murphy
    Letter
  • Central spindle asymmetry, generated by the kinesin Klp10A and its antagonist Patronin, polarizes endosome motility and provides a mechanism for the asymmetric segregation of signalling endosomes observed in a variety of asymmetrically dividing cell types.

    • Emmanuel Derivery
    • Carole Seum
    • Marcos Gonzalez-Gaitan
    Letter
  • The dwarf planet (1) Ceres, the largest object in the main asteroid belt, is found to have localized bright areas on its surface; particularly interesting is a bright pit on the floor of the crater Occator that exhibits what is likely to be water ice sublimation, producing crater-bound haze clouds with a diurnal rhythm.

    • A. Nathues
    • M. Hoffmann
    • J.-B. Vincent
    Letter
  • The spectral gap problem—whether the Hamiltonian of a quantum many-body problem is gapped or gapless—is rigorously proved to be undecidable; there exists no algorithm to determine whether an arbitrary quantum many-body model is gapped or gapless, and there exist models for which the presence or absence of a spectral gap is independent of the axioms of mathematics.

    • Toby S. Cubitt
    • David Perez-Garcia
    • Michael M. Wolf
    Article
  • The conversion of hydrocarbons to produce high-quality diesel fuel can be catalysed by bifunctional materials that contain a metal site and an acid site; it has been assumed that these sites should be as close as possible in order to enhance catalysis, but it is now shown that having them too close together can be detrimental to selectivity.

    • Jovana Zecevic
    • Gina Vanbutsele
    • Johan A. Martens
    Letter
  • In metre-sized rock specimens, rock friction starts to decrease at a much smaller work rate than in centimetre-sized rock specimens, thus demonstrating that rock friction is scale-dependent.

    • Futoshi Yamashita
    • Eiichi Fukuyama
    • Hironori Kawakata
    Letter