Nature (Vol. 435, No. 7041, 26 May 2005)

153 Pages·2005·18.159 MB·English

Volume 435 Number 7041 pp385-536
In this issue (26 May 2005) • Books and Arts
• Editorials • Essay
• Research Highlights • News and Views
• News • Brief Communications
• News Features • Brief Communications Arising(this
• Business content only available online)
• Correspondence • Articles
Commentaries • Letters
Also this week • Naturejobs
Editor's Summary • Futures
Editorials
On a wing and a prayer p385
This issue's focus on avian flu highlights progress and incoherence in the world's response to a potential
human pandemic. But the threat is enormous, and some priorities are clear enough.

Europe's constitution p386
Referenda next week could derail the European project — with negative consequences for science.

Chemical biology is here p386
Nature and its new sibling Nature Chemical Biology reflect an important multidisciplinary trend.

Research Highlights
Research highlights p388

News
Bird flu spreads among Java's pigs p390
Indonesian government scrambles to track disease.
David Cyranoski

Ecologist's tenure hailed as triumph for academic freedom p390
Decision caps years of free-speech challenges.
Rex Dalton

UK panel urges animal researchers to go public p392
Scientific openness may defuse general disapproval.
Jim Giles

Korea's accelerating stem-cell work prompts calls for global ethical rules p393
Breakthrough highlights differences among countries.
Erika Check

Zambia to wage 'scientific' war on malaria p395
Foundation pledges results within a few years.
Declan Butler

Sidelines p396

We'll rain on your parade, forecasters tell rogue pundits p396
Independent weather companies answer to no one.
Jim Giles

NIH hints at ethics rule change p397
Owning biomedical stock may not be a problem after all.
Emma Marris

News in brief p398

News Features
Avian flu special: Avian flu: Are we ready? p399

Avian flu special: The flu pandemic: were we ready? p400
Welcome to my weblog. I'm Sally O'Reilly, a freelance journalist based in Washington DC. I've been
researching a book on pandemic preparedness. But now the time for preparation has run out.

Avian flu special: Is this our best shot? p404
We have the means to make a vaccine against pandemic flu. But quarrels over money, science and politics
mean it could come too late, says Erika Check.

I
Avian flu special: What's in the medicine cabinet? p407
Drugs that could lessen the death toll in a flu pandemic do exist. But global stockpiles are too small,
and the countries at most immediate risk are among the worst prepared. Alison Abbott reports.

Business
Wall Street's gradual green revolution p410
Companies and investors are starting to wake up to the powerful impact that global warming could have
on their bottom line. Emma Marris reports.

In brief p411

Market watch p411

Correspondence
Scientists need back-up by climate organizations p413
Christian Körner, Heinz Wanner and Christoph Ritz

Love of nature led Beuys to new artistic language p413
Pete Jeffs

Head of Lorenz Institute is not to blame for delays p413
Friedrich G. Barth

Commentaries
Controlling avian flu at the source p415
Global agricultural authorities should harmonize with the public-health sector to ensure the exchange
of flu virus samples, and establish a single international standard for vaccines, say Robert Webster and
Diane Hulse.
Robert Webster and Diane Hulse

A weapon the world needs p417
Both bottom-up and top-down planning is needed to prevent a global economic disaster. Michael T. Osterholm
calls for action at all levels.
Michael T. Osterholm

Global task force for influenza p419
Early detection and rapid response to bird flu, on a global scale, will drastically cut the costs of dealing
with a full-blown human flu pandemic, argue Ron Fouchier, Thijs Kuiken, Guus Rimmelzwaan and Albert
Osterhaus.
Ron Fouchier, Thijs Kuiken, Guus Rimmelzwaan and Albert Osterhaus

Is China prepared for microbial threats? p421
There is no bigger acute microbial threat to China, and to the rest of the world, than an influenza pandemic,
and no better time to prepare for this eventuality than now. David Ho asks what more China could be doing.
David Ho

Race against time p423
A committed, transparent research effort into the detection, prevention and treatment of bird flu is now
critical. Anthony S. Fauci presents the questions that need answers.
Anthony S. Fauci

Books and Arts
A change of mind? p425
Putting evolutionary psychology to the test.
Oliver Curry reviews Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature
by David J. Buller

Exhibition: Engineering space-time p426
Alison Abbott reviews

Einstein Books: More on Einstein p427

A braver, newer world p427
Justine Burley reviews Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Beating heart disease p428
Peter Sleight reviews A Change of Heart: How the People of Framingham, Massachusetts, Helped Unravel the
Mysteries of Cardiovascular Disease by Daniel Levy and Susan Brink

Essay
Concept
The great chain of being p429
Our persistence in placing ourselves at the top of the Great Chain of Being suggests we have some deep
psychological need to see ourselves as the culmination of creation.
Sean Nee

II
News and Views
Epidemiology: Dangers of moving cows p431
The movement of cattle around the country, and the presence of badgers, are both implicated in the high
incidence of bovine tuberculosis in Britain. The problem may get even worse in the near future.
Mark E. J. Woolhouse

Planetary science: When giants roamed p432
An early epoch of planetary migration could explain the current orbits of the giant planets, the origin
of Jupiter's Trojans, and an intense bombardment of the early Solar System with a shower of asteroids
and comets.
Joe Hahn

Developmental biology: A blank canvas no more p433
Embryonic cells learn their fate early in development. Discovery of a factor that controls the development
of one embryonic tissue, the ectoderm, highlights a mechanism that might also influence the growth of
cancer cells.
Yoshiki Sasai

Ultrafast science: Molecular structure in an instant p435
The observation that there is interference between a laser-induced electron wave and a single molecule
means that it may be possible to image changes in molecular structure with a sub-femtosecond resolution.
Jonathan P. Marangos

100 and 50 years ago p436

Plant biology: Auxin action p436
Farmers and gardeners have long taken advantage of the growth-altering properties of the plant hormone
auxin. The discovery of the elusive auxin receptor hints at how plant cells 'sense' and respond to this
protein.
Judy Callis

Particle physics: Electrons are not ambidextrous p437
The best low-energy measurement yet obtained of the electroweak mixing angle — a central parameter of
the standard model of particle physics — is the last hurrah for Stanford's powerful two-mile linear
accelerator.
Andrzej Czarnecki and William J. Marciano

Brief Communications
Cognitive psychology: Rare items often missed in visual searches p439
Errors in spotting key targets soar alarmingly if they appear only infrequently during screening.
Jeremy M. Wolfe, Todd S. Horowitz and Naomi M. Kenner

Bose−Einstein condensates: Microscopic magnetic-field imaging p440
Stephan Wildermuth, Sebastian Hofferberth, Igor Lesanovsky, Elmar Haller, L. Mauritz Andersson, Sönke
Groth, Israel Bar-Joseph, Peter Krüger and Jörg Schmiedmayer

Brief Communications Arising
Water Behaviour: Glass transition in hyperquenched water? pE1
Ingrid Kohl, Luis Bachmann, Erwin Mayer, Andreas Hallbrucker and Thomas Loerting

Water behaviour: Glass transition in hyperquenched water? (reply) pE1
Yuanzheng Yue and C. Austen Angell

Articles
The F-box protein TIR1 is an auxin receptor p441
Nihal Dharmasiri, Sunethra Dharmasiri and Mark Estelle

The Arabidopsis F-box protein TIR1 is an auxin receptor p446
Stefan Kepinski and Ottoline Leyser

A RING-type ubiquitin ligase family member required to repress follicular helper T cells
and autoimmunity p452
Carola G. Vinuesa, Matthew C. Cook, Constanza Angelucci, Vicki Athanasopoulos, Lixin Rui, Kim M. Hill,
Di Yu, Heather Domaschenz, Belinda Whittle, Teresa Lambe, Ian S. Roberts, Richard R. Copley, John I. Bell,
Richard J. Cornall and Christopher C. Goodnow

Letters
Origin of the orbital architecture of the giant planets of the Solar System p459
K. Tsiganis, R. Gomes, A. Morbidelli and H. F. Levison

Chaotic capture of Jupiter's Trojan asteroids in the early Solar System p462
A. Morbidelli, H. F. Levison, K. Tsiganis and R. Gomes

Origin of the cataclysmic Late Heavy Bombardment period of the terrestrial planets p466
R. Gomes, H. F. Levison, K. Tsiganis and A. Morbidelli

Quantum interference during high-order harmonic generation from aligned molecules
III
p470
Tsuneto Kanai, Shinichirou Minemoto and Hirofumi Sakai

Enhanced current transport at grain boundaries in high-T superconductors p475
c
R. F. Klie, J. P. Buban, M. Varela, A. Franceschetti, C. Jooss, Y. Zhu, N. D. Browning, S. T. Pantelides
and S. J. Pennycook

Changes in carbon dioxide during an oceanic anoxic event linked to intrusion into
Gondwana coals p479
Jennifer C. McElwain, Jessica Wade-Murphy and Stephen P. Hesselbo

Seismological evidence for mosaic structure of the surface of the Earth's inner core p483
Dmitry N. Krasnoshchekov, Peter B. Kaazik and Vladimir M. Ovtchinnikov

Tree use by koalas in a chemically complex landscape p488
Ben D. Moore and William J. Foley

Cattle movements and bovine tuberculosis in Great Britain p491
M. Gilbert, A. Mitchell, D. Bourn, J. Mawdsley, R. Clifton-Hadley and W. Wint

Allosteric modulation of the presynaptic Ca2+ sensor for vesicle fusion p497
Xuelin Lou, Volker Scheuss and Ralf Schneggenburger

Vascular respiratory uncoupling increases blood pressure and atherosclerosis p502
Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, Allison C. Gates, Sherry Weng, Takuji Imamura, Russell H. Knutsen, Pascual
DeSantis, Trey Coleman, R. Reid Townsend, Louis J. Muglia and Clay F. Semenkovich

Polo kinase links the stress pathway to cell cycle control and tip growth in fission yeast
p507
Janni Petersen and Iain M. Hagan

Structural and mechanistic insights into the interaction between Rho and mammalian Dia
p513
R. Rose, M. Weyand, M. Lammers, T. Ishizaki, M. R. Ahmadian and A. Wittinghofer

Structural basis for the regulation of tubulin by vinblastine p519
Benoît Gigant, Chunguang Wang, Raimond B. G. Ravelli, Fanny Roussi, Michel O. Steinmetz, Patrick A. Curmi,
André Sobel and Marcel Knossow

Insights into microtubule nucleation from the crystal structure of human -tubulin p523
Hector Aldaz, Luke M. Rice, Tim Stearns and David A. Agard

Erratum: Foreshock sequences and short-term earthquake predictability on East Pacific
Rise transform faults p528
Jeffrey J. McGuire, Margaret S. Boettcher and Thomas H. Jordan

Corrigendum: Low dose oral cannabinoid therapy reduces progression of atherosclerosis
in mice p528
Sabine Steffens, Niels R. Veillard, Claire Arnaud, Graziano Pelli, Fabienne Burger, Christian Staub,
Meliha Karsak, Andreas Zimmer, Jean-Louis Frossard and François Mach

Corrigendum: A universal trend of amino acid gain and loss in protein evolution p528
I. King Jordan, Fyodor A. Kondrashov, Ivan A. Adzhubei, Yuri I. Wolf, Eugene V. Koonin, Alexey S. Kondrashov
and Shamil Sunyaev

Erratum: Reduction of hysteresis losses in the magnetic refrigerant Gd Ge Si by the
5 2 2
addition of iron p528
Virgil Provenzano, Alexander J. Shapiro and Robert D. Shull

Erratum: Ecological constraints on diversification in a model adaptive radiation p528
Rees Kassen, Martin Llewellyn and Paul B. Rainey

Naturejobs
Attractive information p529
Some suggestions to promote international scientists in the United States could be more broadly applied.
Paul Smaglik

Gene therapy rising? p530
Once hyped, gene therapy still holds promise as an effective method for treating a variety of diseases.
On the road to fulfilling that expectation, opportunities exist for young scientists who are excited by
a still-emerging field, says Hannah Hoag.
Hannah Hoag

Small is beautiful p532
Switzerland is proving that small countries can make a big impression in science. It is recruiting some
of the brightest young researchers from all over the world and convincing them to stay, says Quirin
Schiermeier.
IV
Quirin Schiermeier

Movers p534
Bioinformatician bridges maths and life sciences
Steven Salzberg

Recruiters & Academia p534
Academics worry about hiring "undiscovered geniuses"
Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci

Graduate Journal: Breaking the ice p534
Student beats nerves to turn a poster into a presentation
Karolina Tkaczuk

Futures
New hope for the dead p536
Don't take this lying down!
David Langford
V
26.5 Editorial 385-386 MH 24/5/05 2:26 PM Page 385
www.nature.com/nature Vol 435 |Issue no. 7041|26 May 2005
On a wing and a prayer
This issue’s focus on avian flu highlights progress and incoherence in the world’s response to a potential
human pandemic. But the threat is enormous, and some priorities are clear enough.
M
illions of people killed in highly developed countries starts. Too late: by then the worst of the pandemic would already
within months. Tens of millions worldwide. The global have happened.
economy in tatters. A Hollywood fantasy? No — it’s now A vaccine that can be produced more quickly demands a research
a plausible scenario. The first act, the spread of avian flu to, and effort akin to that for a strategic military weapon, not business as
probably between, humans, has already started across Asia. Unless usual. We also need to be able to produce enough of such a vaccine
the international community now moves decisively to mitigate this to cope with the surge in demand during a pandemic. At present, the
pandemic threat, we will in all probability pay heavily within a entire world production capacity can produce only enough doses
few years. Then, hard questions will be asked as to why we were for 450 million people. To stimulate an increase in capacity, we
not prepared. need health policies that boost demand for existing flu vaccines in
Sceptics abound, convinced that talk of a pandemic must be scare- ordinary years. The same goes for antiviral drugs.
mongering, or scientists crying wolf. Surely with support care, drugs But the worst-case scenario is that a pandemic starts within two
and vaccines, at least the rich world can easily stand up to a flu virus? years. We would have no vaccine and few drugs, and we would be
After all, this is 2005, not 1918, when a flu pandemic killed up to dependent on governments and the WHO to try to extinguish the
50 million people worldwide. But while the science and medicine first outbreaks at source. That’s why the first priority must be to
of flu have advanced substantially, our ability to mount an effective prevent a pandemic emerging in the first place, by extinguishing the
public-health response has made remarkably little progress over disease in animals.
the decades, and the potential for panic is, if anything, greater given
the impact of television and the Internet. Time for action
In the 1918 pandemic, no one had immunity to a new subtype of Unfortunately, the current situation does not bode well for the
the influenza virus. The maths abilities of governments and international agencies to cope with this
“While the science and
of epidemiology says that pan- challenge. We should be monitoring in almost real time the genetic
medicine of flu have
demics are like fault lines: they changes in the avian and human viruses that could herald the
advanced substantially, inevitably give. But unlike earth- emergence of a pandemic strain, for example. But there is no inter-
our ability to mount quakes, pandemics tend to give national funding to help affected countries build decent and sus-
warning signs, and all the alerts tained surveillance programmes. And while outside researchers
an effective public-
from Asia are now flashing red. want data from affected countries, they aren’t engaging enough in
health response has
Will it be the ‘big one’? No one the meaningful collaboration needed to build trust and open shar-
made remarkably little can say with certainty, but the ing. The international community is not offering incentives, such
progress.” H5N1 flu strain now circulating as drugs for the Asian countries that would be in the front line of
widely in Asia, and several of its a pandemic. Combine this with the fact that countries are reluctant
cousins, are ones to which we humans have no immunity. Accord- to share the few data they have because their analysis could affect
ingly, the world now needs to develop defences for the worst-case their trade and economies, and the current mess in surveillance is
scenario. How prepared are we? hardly surprising.
Extinguishing avian flu in poultry and pigs, the melting-pot from Each human case that occurs in Asia is potentially a global threat.
which a pandemic strain would probably emerge, is the job of The international virology com-
national agriculture and veterinary departments, the United Nations’ munity needs to be permanently “The level of current
Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organisation for there, on the ground. We need to efforts is not
Animal Health (OIE). The public-health aspects are the responsi- diagnose cases swiftly, and treat
commensurate with
bility of health departments and the World Health Organization the patients and all their contacts
the scale of the threat
(WHO). This international coalition is shaky and far from united immediately with antiviral drugs
we face.”
or sure in its purpose. Its efforts are grossly underfunded, and to try to kill the pandemic at
undermined at every turn by conflicts between global public health, source. To understand the genet-
sovereignty and the stakes of trade and economics. ics, and link this to the epidemiology and pathology of the virus,
If the next pandemic were to arise five years from now, there we need immediate sharing of all virus samples and data. None
would have been breathing space to stimulate our drug and vaccine of this is happening adequately. National governments’ perfor-
industries to limit the damage it would cause. But that requires mance is half-hearted, incomplete and far too slow. International
urgent action now. As matters stand, a vaccine against a pandemic organizations are working with their hands tied behind their
flu would not be ready until at least six months after a pandemic backs, for bureaucratic and diplomatic reasons. In short, the level
385
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26.5 Editorial 385-386 MH 24/5/05 2:26 PM Page 386
EDITORIALS NATURE|Vol 435|26 May 2005
of current efforts is not commensurate with the threat we face. pandemics in its next issue, to be published in late June. And, with
This week, we focus on the issues in depth (see pages 390 and 399), both journals’ involvement, the Royal Institution World Science
and are providing a freely available, comprehensive collection of Assembly is organizing a high-level international meeting chaired by
previous articles on the topic, not only from Naturebut also from all Rita Colwell, former director of the US National Science Founda-
other relevant Nature publications (see www.nature.com/nature/ tion, that is intended to bridge the gaps between science and policy.
focus/avianflu/index.html). Natureis also engaged in a collabora- Above all, greater top-level political oversight of the campaign is
tion with two other organizations. The journal Foreign Affairswill needed. The time for diplomacy and denial is over. It is time for
be publishing a survey of the policy aspects of avian flu and other advocacy and action. ■
Europe’s constitution policy. The European Research Council, for example, which is being
established to support curiosity-driven research, has no legal basis
in existing EU statutes, and might be contested by any member state
Referenda next week could derail the European that chose to oppose it. The constitution brings this badly needed
project — with negative consequences for science. new agency safely within the legal remit of the EU.
And the document gives the European Commission powers to
T
he people of France and the Netherlands will vote next week remove “legal land fiscal obstacles” to scientific cooperation across
on whether their respective governments should ratify the borders. It also embraces the right to conduct scientific research
proposed European constitution. Despite the traditional roles “free of constraint”, and upholds
“The successful pursuit of
of both nations as stalwart supporters of greater European unity, academic freedom in universi-
research and innovation in
their leaders have failed to generate much popular enthusiasm for ties. These components would
the document, and both votes are expected to be close. be steps towards a more open Europe could hinge on the
Research and innovation are critical to Europe’s future, but have and democratic research system. outcome of these votes.”
failed to emerge as an issue in the referendum campaigns. That’s a Additionally, the constitution
shame, because their successful pursuit could hinge on the outcome is the only instrument on the table that will allow the EU to develop
of these votes. politically, by removing the veto powers of individual states on the
The handful of pages in the lengthy constitution document that Council of Ministers, and by further strengthening the European
deal directly with research read blandly, and have inspired little Parliament. If these reforms succeed, they will help to confer much-
enthusiasm in the scientific community. But there are aspects of needed legitimacy on EU institutions, and better enable the union
the constitution that would herald significant changes in the science to represent its 450 million people on the world stage.
policy of the European Union (EU). Previous treaties, for example, Progress on this has been slow and cumbersome, and the verbos-
have given the EU a remit to support research only as a means ity of the proposed constitution reflects this challenge. Rejecting
of bolstering industrial competitiveness. The constitution would it will change nothing for scientists who find the EU to be remote
authorize the EU to support science for its own sake. and bureaucratic. Accepting it will, at least, open up opportunities
The constitution would also tie up various loose ends in science for those who want to strengthen European science. ■
Chemical biology is here PubChem (http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), a cheminformatics
database that is the small-molecule equivalent of PubMed. In addi-
tion, several of the recently appointed Howard Hughes Medical
Natureand its new sibling Nature Chemical Biology
Institute investigators (www.hhmi.org/news/032105_list.html) have
reflect an important multidisciplinary trend. a significant chemical component to their research.
A year ago, Natureboosted its editorial resources specifically to
C
hemical biology is a recent addition to the scientific lexicon, respond to this trend. And this month our publishers have gone
and although its origin involves the use of small molecules a major step further and launched Nature Chemical Biology(see
to perturb and study biological function, it has recently www.nature.com/nchembio). As with all Nature journals, the new
grown to encompass a wide array of science at the interface one represents a desire to meet the needs of a community without
between chemistry and biology. Like other multidisciplinary fields, in any way reducing the commitment of Natureitself to publish
chemical biology thrives because chemists and biologists have high-quality papers in the field. Our aim is that Nature Chemical
unique perspectives and skills that complement each other. For this Biologywill rapidly become the home of the strongest research for
reason, these collaborative efforts may be able to unravel complex chemical biologists.
biological problems. Chemical biology is often the lens that allows the biological com-
The importance of this growing field can be seen in recent policy munity to see what chemists are capable of doing. It is our intention,
initiatives. In 2003, the creation of the US National Institutes of in both Nature and Nature Chemical Biology, to illuminate the
Health Roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov) led, for example, strengths and needs of these two communities and to stimulate new
to the establishment of chemical-genomics screening centres and collaborations and scientific insights. ■
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Vol 435|26 May 2005
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Damp feeling OS/SPL
E
EMBO J.doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7600668 (2005)
The bacterial flagellum has revealed an
unexpected talent: it can sense wetness.
The signal it produces is relayed to genes
that control the injection of virulence factors,
such as toxins, into the bacterium’s host cell.
The flagellum is a whip-like protein with a
well-known role in helping bacteria to swim.
Its extra function was discovered by Rasika
Harshey of the University of Texas at Austin
and her colleagues, who observed that
Salmonella typhimurium(pictured) failed to
sprout full-length flagella in dry environments.
Such environments cause problems with the
secretion of the filament protein that makes up
the flagellum. This causes a cascade of
molecular events inside the cell that ultimately
affects gene regulation.
PARTICLE PHYSICS compound containing embedded CELL BIOLOGY
Lattice work electron-releasing groups. Such Go one better
molecules may have useful catalytic or
Phys. Rev. Lett.94,172001 (2005) electrochemical properties. Nature Methodsdoi:10.1038/nmeth764 (2005)
A promising method of calculating the Enzymes that play a diverse range of roles in
interactions between fundamental particles PLANT DEVELOPMENT cellular function can sometimes be studied
has passed an important test. It successfully Surviving the split by creating a single mutation in their
predicts the mass of the charmed Bmeson. sequence. And when one mutation doesn’t
The method, unveiled early last year, is an Plant Celldoi:10.1105/tpc.105.032185 (2005) work, two might, says a team headed by
improved version of lattice quantum Short pieces of RNA that play a key role in Kevan Shokat of the University of California,
chromodynamics. Researchers can now plant development have been doing their job San Francisco.
make precise predictions of particle since before the evolution of flowers, say Five years ago, Shokat’s group discovered
properties using less computing power. Michael Axtell and David Bartel of the a way to target specific protein kinases by
An international team of theorists used the Whitehead Institute in Massachusetts. changing their structure: substrates or
method to predict the mass of the two-quark They used microarrays to measure the inhibitors target the kinase of interest after
charmed B meson to be 6,304(cid:1)20mega- accumulation of 63 microRNAs and other a simple mutation removes a ‘gatekeeper’
electronvolts. This tallies with a measurement RNAs that silence genes in Arabidopsis amino acid from in front of one of the binding
of the particle’s mass made at Fermilab’s thaliana, a plant of the mustard family. They sites. Unfortunately, the mutation can destroy
Tevatron accelerator in Batavia, Illinois, applied the same probes to species of wheat, an enzyme’s activity, thwarting attempts to
which is being prepared for publication. pine (Pinus resinosa, pictured), fern and moss. study its function. Now the team has found
Despite the fact that these plants diverged that a second mutation can rescue activity.
CHEMISTRY hundreds of millions of years ago, they
Homeric electrons contain some of the same microRNAs MATERIALS
acting on similar target genes. No flat batteries
Angew. Chem. doi: 10.1002/anie.200500541 (2005) A
Aas cau Tnrnoijnang mHoetrasle- obxy icdaer cryluinstge re lmecotlreocnusl ein atcots ABdevt.a Mvoatltear.i1c7 b,1a2t3te0r–i1e2s3 3c r(e2a0t0e 5c)urrent from the RES/FLP
U
reactions, reports a group led by Leroy electrons ((cid:4)-particles) that are produced by CT
Cronin from the University of Glasgow, UK. a radioisotope when its neutrons decay to N PI
DE
The colourless tungsten complex protons. They tend to be inefficient, but a N
[W18O56(SO3)2(H2O)2]8(cid:2)contains two design that may improve their performance RG/MI
pyramid-shaped sulphite groups that usually has emerged from Philippe Fauchet’s team at BU
N
act as passive structural components. But the University of Rochester, New York. DE
when the complex is heated to about 400(cid:3)C, Conventional designs pass tritium gas over RAN
the sulphites reconfigure to form extra bonds flat electron collectors. Fauchet’s group fill a J. B
to oxygen atoms within the cluster. This turns porous silicon block with the radioactive gas
them into tetrahedral sulphate groups, and instead. This has a greater surface area for
releases two electrons. electron collection, boosting the current by a
It is the first example of a polyoxometallate factor of ten. The team estimates that almost
388
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NATURE|Vol 435|26 May 2005 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
every (cid:4)-particle in the battery contributes to NONLINEAR PHYSICS APS
the current. Using radioisotopes with long Black magic
half-lives could produce low-power batteries
that last for decades — ideal for satellites. Phys. Rev. Lett.94,184503 (2005)
The bizarre black disc pictured right is
CHEMICAL BIOLOGY a magnetic fluid deformed by solitons
Ironing out bugs — localized packets of energy that have
a stable shape.
Nature Chem. Biol. 1,29–32 (2005) Each spike is a soliton, about a centimetre
The bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and high, that rises from the surface of a
plague both need iron to become virulent in suspension of iron oxide particles. Created
humans, and both produce iron-sequestering by Reinhard Richter at Germany’s Bayreuth Santa Barbara, and the Swiss Federal
compounds, known as siderophores. So University and Igor Barashenkov at the Institute of Technology in Zurich. They grew
drugs that block siderophore synthesis could University of Cape Town in South Africa, a dot in a sandwich of layers, then drilled
provide a line for antibiotic attack. the structures are held aloft in the ferrofluid holes around it to define a ‘photonic crystal’
Researchers from Cornell University and by a constant magnetic field. that acts as cavity walls. They tuned the
the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center The solitons seem to keep their shape wavelength by varying the size of the holes.
in New York have devised a molecule that because of the nonlinearity that the spike
binds to and inhibits enzymes involved in creates in the surrounding magnetic field. DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
siderophore synthesis. The compound Similar mechanisms have previously been The right slant
successfully reduces the growth of both observed only in one-dimensional solitons.
Mycobacterium tuberculosisand Yersinia Other surface solitons, which are confined Cell121,633–644 (2005)
pestis under iron-poor invitroconditions. in two dimensions, need energy to sustain One of the biggest questions in developmental
their structure. biology is how embryos that begin as
CANCER uniform balls of cells end up asymmetric.
To catch a kinase QUANTUM DOTS Experiments in mice provided a clue when
Light boxes researchers discovered that hair-like cilia
Nature Genet.doi:10.1038/ng1571 (2005) protruding from embryonic cells in mice
In order to divide and spread, many cancers Science308,1158–1161 (2005) rotate, somehow setting up a flow in
rely on faults in enzymes called protein Put a nanoscale blob of semiconductor the surrounding fluid that defines the
kinases, which means mutant kinases are inside a cavity that contains light and it is left–right axis.
potential drug targets. Humans have 518 possible to probe the fundamentals of A team led by Nobutaka Hirokawa of the
known kinase genes, and a team headed by quantum mechanics by looking at how this University of Tokyo supplies another piece
Mike Stratton of the UK Sanger Institute has ‘quantum dot’ and the light interact. Sounds of the puzzle by showing exactly how the
screened the DNA sequences of all these straightforward, but research has been cilia’s movement sets up the directional flow.
genes in 25 cases of breast cancer. hindered by construction problems — it’s The researchers found that the cilia rotate
The team found the number of non- hard to put the dot in the cavity, and difficult around an axis tilted 40(cid:3)backwards. The
inherited mutations in the cancer cells to design the cavity to trap the right same rotation was observed in rabbit and
ranged from none to dozens. The pattern wavelength of light. medakafish embryos, suggesting that the
of changes in some cases suggests there is an An encouraging approach for building mechanism, previously studied only
underlying mutation mechanism that has not these systems in semiconductors comes from in mice, defines asymmetry in
been seen before. researchers at the University of California, other vertebrates.
JOURNAL CLUB
Thomas F. Stocker Events would not unfold as might we be able to detect them? I think investment in such an
University of Bern, Switzerland fast as the film suggests, but The most precise recipe comes array would be worth while, even
widespread freshening of the from the Journal of Marine Research if today’s widespread freshening
A climate physicist describes
Atlantic caused by more rain and (J. Baehr et al.62,283–312; 2004). turns out not to be a harbinger of
plans to monitor the disaster
melting ice could weaken the The authors use a computer model disaster. In 1984, my predecessor
scenario that Hollywood turned
north-flowing part of the Gulf to show that temperature and at Bern’s Physics Institute, Hans
into a blockbuster film.
Stream. If the current stopped salinity data from moorings along Oeschger, proposed that flips in
Soon after the opening credits of completely, Europe would suffer a latitude of 26(cid:3)N, combined with circulation patterns could trigger
The Day After Tomorrow, a couple without the warmth it brings. measurements of surface winds abrupt climate change, but we
of buoys floating in the Atlantic Some researchers entertain and estimates of current strength still know very little about ocean
Ocean register plummeting water ‘dreamlike scenarios’ of such off Florida, could give the strength currents. An Atlantic array would
temperature. The film gets into full climate turmoil, but I am reassured of the Atlantic current system to allow modelling groups such as
swing as the Gulf Stream shuts that others are asking relevant within 10% — and predict its fate. mine to improve our predictions
down, which takes hours. Days questions: what signs would by quantifying the natural
“We still know very little
later, ice blankets northern Europe there be of an imminent shutdown, variability of the ocean
and the United States. and where in the Atlantic about ocean currents.” circulation for the first time.
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Vol 435|26 May 2005
NEWS
Bird flu spreads among Java’s pigs
TOKYO to spot any spread of the virus because 90 pigs in Banten, but cannot afford to test
Concerns over the presence of a dangerous resources are short. “It’s a big country,” says them or to expand his survey to other areas.
strain of avian flu virus in Indonesia’s pigs are Tri Satya Putri Naipospos, director of animal Some health officials in Asia fear the pres-
growing, as government tests confirm the health at Indonesia’s agriculture ministry. “If ence of avian flu in pigs even more than in
existence of infection. In some areas, the you want to commit to eradicating a disease, chickens or ducks. “I think pigs pose a much
H5N1 virus could be infecting up to half of you need more money.” greater threat of spreading the disease to
the pig population, without causing any signs Nidom is also frustrated by a lack of humans than poultry,” says Nidom.
of disease. resources. He says he has samples from another The virus was found in pigs in China in
The initial discovery was made earlier this
year by an independent researcher working OS
N
A
osyusttseidmes n. aCtihoaniarlu al nNdi idnotemrn, aat vioirnoallo sguirsvt eailtl aAnicre- BERS/P
langga University’s tropical-disease centre in HUI
Surabaya, Java, found the H5N1 virus in five of R.
ten pigs tested from Banten in western Java.
The presence of the virus in pigs is a partic-
ular worry because the animals can harbour
both bird and human flu viruses, and act as a
‘mixing vessel’ for the emergence of a strain of
avian flu that can easily infect humans. There
are now signs that the virus could be spreading
unchecked through the pig population.
Nidom says that the pigs he tested showed
no signs of illness, and the only reason he
tested them was that they were kept near a
chicken farm that was struck by avian flu last
year. Naturehas discovered that a government
survey has since found similar results in the
same region.
The virus was not found in 150 pigs tested Mixing vessel: pigs can host both
from outside the area. Although the govern- human and avian flu viruses, which
ment says it has stepped up the surveillance of could encourage a dangerous merger.
pigs in its seven satellite laboratories, it may fail
Ecologist’s tenure hailed as triumph for academic freedom
SAN DIEGO universities have come under attack for who supported and opposed the deal.
In a closely watched test case for academic their views, with leading politicians calling Chapela’s quest for tenure was complicated
freedom, the University of California, for reduced tenure protections. by a controversial article he wrote for Nature
Berkeley, has granted tenure to an The Berkeley campus has become known about the flow of transgenes into wild maize
outspoken ecologist. for its battles over free speech, and as word varieties in Mexico (I. H. Chapela and
Ignacio Chapela, who once led faculty about the tenure approval spread, there was D.Quist Nature414,541–543; 2001)— parts
objections to Berkeley’s research pact with elation among supporters of the Mexican of which were later called into question.
Novartis, was told on 17 May that his five- researcher. “This has restored my faith in Faculty committees supported Chapela’s
year quest for tenure had finally succeeded. the institution,” says Wayne Getz, an application for tenure, but in 2003 it was
“It is just amazing,” Chapela told Nature. environmental scientist who championed denied by the chancellor at the time, Robert
“This is like a new start in academia.” Chapela’s cause. Berdahl, who acted on advice from the final
In the United States and beyond, the In 1998, the College of Natural Resources review committee. Chapela appealed to the
Chapela tenure fight has symbolized the at Berkeley accepted $25 million from the faculty senate, alleging that the process had
conflict between academics’ freedom to Switzerland-based Novartis (now been corrupted by pro-industry faculty
challenge policies, and the relationship Syngenta). Shortly afterwards, Chapela members. An academic senate inquiry last
between public universities and industry. raised questions about the impact of the year decided that there were irregularities,
The case has taken on special significance five-year deal on research and teaching. The setting the stage for another review by a
in recent years as professors at other US issue bitterly divided the campus into those newly constituted, high-level committee.
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