Editorials
研究の重要性を評価する際には、特定基準を重視することの影響や科学者の懸念に配慮し、評価手法を公開する必要がある。
The maze of impact metrics p.271
In deciding how to judge the impact of research, evaluators must take into account the effects of emphasizing particular measures — and be open about their methods.
doi: 10.1038/502271a
マラリアワクチンに対し過大な期待が生じないよう、留意すべきだ。
High hopes p.271
Care must be taken not to raise unrealistic expectations for RTS,S malaria vaccine.
doi: 10.1038/502271b
地球外知的生命体探査のこれまでの歩みを、もう一度振り返ってみよう。
Searching for life p.272
A look into the past frames our attempts to find extraterrestrial intelligence.
doi: 10.1038/502272a
News
米政府一部閉鎖で、NIHの研究にもじわじわと影響が。
NIH campus endures slow decay p.279
Experiments suffer from lack of lab materials and staff during US government shutdown.
doi: 10.1038/502279a
ノーベル化学賞は、巨大分子をコンピューターでモデル化した理論化学者に。
Modellers react to chemistry award p.280
Prize proves that theorists can measure up to experimenters.
doi: 10.1038/502280a
気候変動に関する政府間パネル(IPCC)の内部力学が活動成果にどう影響するかを、社会科学者が研究対象に。
Study aims to put IPCC under a lens p.281
Social scientists want to examine how climate panel’s internal dynamics affect outcomes.
doi: 10.1038/502281a
建設の遅れのため、ITERが研究計画を見直しへ。
ITER keeps eye on prize p.282
Construction delays force rethink of research programme, but fusion target still on track.
doi: 10.1038/502282a
英政府は、研究への活用を目指して患者の医療データの公開を推進しているが、障害も。
UK push to open up patients’ data p.283
Government faces obstacles to mining medical records.
doi: 10.1038/502283a
FDAがミトコンドリア置換治療の臨床試験を検討しているが、安全性や倫理問題を懸念する声も。
Regulators weigh benefits of ‘three-parent’ fertilization p.284
But critics say mitochondrial replacement carries safety and ethical concerns.
doi: 10.1038/502284a
Features
インパクト
Research evaluation: Impact p.287
Evaluating research output and judging which work to fund is getting harder.
doi: 10.1038/502287a
最後の審判の日
Research assessments: Judgement day p.288
Many governments are assessing the quality of university research, much to the dismay of some researchers.
doi: 10.1038/502288a
ゴールデン・クラブ
Science publishing: The golden club p.291
Publishing in the most prestigious journals can open doors, but their cachet is under attack.
doi: 10.1038/502291a
News & Views
フォーラム:ゲノミクス:がんを全体にわたって比較する
Genomics: Comparisons across cancers p.306
がんゲノムの解析は、1つの特定の疾患という枠を越えたところに移りつつあり、今や複数種の腫瘍の遺伝学的、エピジェネティクス的な特徴の比較が行われている。二人の研究者が、このような研究からはがんのどのような生物学的性質が分かるのか、またそれによって臨床治療の実践がどのような方向に向かうと予想されるのかを論じている。
doi: 10.1038/502306a
物理化学:分子のための櫛
Physical chemistry: Combs for molecules p.307
周波数コムと呼ばれるレーザーは、試料から分子スペクトルを数マイクロ秒の内に高い空間分解能で発生させるのに使われてきた。こうした性能が、リアルタイムでの顕微鏡観察の新たな展望につながっていく。
doi: 10.1038/502307a
幹細胞:in situ での再プログラム化
Stem cells: Reprogramming in situ p.309
細胞の幹細胞状態への再プログラム化が、遺伝的操作を施したマウスの組織で達成された。この結果は、将来の再生医学では、生体内で組織の運命を操作できるようになる可能性を示唆している。
doi: 10.1038/nature12559
宇宙物理学:超明るい超新星が増加中
Astrophysics: Super-luminous supernovae on the rise p.310
新たに行われた観測から、極度に明るい超新星の一部は、質量が非常に大きい星の核爆発ではないと考えられるようになった。これらは、通常の質量の星で起こる事象であって、中心部から供給される強力な磁気エネルギーによって輝いているらしい。
doi: 10.1038/502310a
がん:内部から殺す
Cancer: Killing from the inside p.312
リソソームは、細胞内の主要な分解区画だが、細胞死経路にも関わっている。既存の薬剤を使った研究で、リソソームはがん細胞を選択的に破壊するための優れた薬理学的標的となることが分かった。
doi: 10.1038/nature12692
材料科学:結合すべきか、すべきではないか
Materials science: To bind or not to bind p.313
粒子の細胞への結合を制御する方法を探すことは、生物医学研究における新分野につながる可能性がある。そういうわけで、粒子と細胞との相互作用の方向性を誘導する方法が見つかったことは、大きな関心を集めている。
doi: 10.1038/502313a
多発性硬化症:昔からある薬の新しい使い方
Multiple sclerosis: An old drug plays a new trick p.314
多発性硬化症では神経軸索を囲むミエリン鞘に損傷が生じるが、以前からパーキンソン病の治療薬として使われている薬剤がこのような損傷の修復を誘導することが分かった。この知見は、多発性硬化症に対する治療薬開発の新しい方向性を示している。
doi: 10.1038/nature12694
Perspective
医学:臨床試験でオミクスに基づく予測因子を使用するための基準
Criteria for the use of omics-based predictors in clinical trials OPEN p.317
A checklist of criteria to determine the readiness of high-throughput ‘omics’-based tests for guiding patient therapy in clinical trials is discussed; the checklist, developed by the US National Cancer Institute in collaboration with additional scientists with relevant expertise, provides a framework to evaluate the strength of evidence for a test and outlines practical issues to consider before using the test in a clinical setting, with an aim to avoid premature advancement of omics-based tests in clinical trials.
doi: 10.1038/nature12564
Articles
地球:地球上部マントルの拡散クリープ下で結晶方位がそろうカンラン石
Olivine crystals align during diffusion creep of Earth’s upper mantle p.321
In Earth’s mantle, the shape change of olivine grains depending on temperature and the presence of melt can result in the development of olivine crystallographic preferred orientation during diffusion creep, meaning that the process may be the principal mechanism of mantle flow.
doi: 10.1038/nature12570
創薬:多発性硬化症の治療における再生医学的手法
A regenerative approach to the treatment of multiple sclerosis p.327
Multiple sclerosis is associated with a deficiency in generation of mature oligodendroctyes; an image-based screen for oligodendrocyte differentiation inducers identified the compound benztropine, which enhances remyelination acting through muscarinic receptors and decreases clinical severity in a multiple sclerosis model system.
doi: 10.1038/nature12647
がん:主要な12種類のがんにおける突然変異の全体像とその意味
Mutational landscape and significance across 12 major cancer types OPEN p.333
As part of The Cancer Genome Atlas Pan-Cancer effort, data analysis for point mutations and small indels from 3,281 tumours and 12 tumour types is presented; among the findings are 127 significantly mutated genes from cellular processes with both established and emerging links in cancer, and an indication that the number of driver mutations required for oncogenesis is relatively small.
doi: 10.1038/nature12634
細胞:in vivoでの再プログラム化は分化全能性の特徴を持つiPS細胞および奇形腫を作り出す
Reprogramming in vivo produces teratomas and iPS cells with totipotency features p.340
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) have been created in vivo by reprogramming mouse somatic cells with Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc; these cells have totipotent features that are missing from in vitro created iPS cells or embryonic stem cells.
doi: 10.1038/nature12586
Letters
宇宙:対不安定型超新星爆発ではない、ゆっくりと暗くなる超高輝度超新星
Slowly fading super-luminous supernovae that are not pair-instability explosions p.346
Observations of two slow-to-fade super-luminous supernovae are reported; both show relatively fast rise times and blue colours, which are incompatible with pair-instability models.
doi: 10.1038/nature12569
量子物理学:パリティ測定とフィードバックによる超伝導キュービットの決定論的量子もつれ
Deterministic entanglement of superconducting qubits by parity measurement and feedback p.350
A time-resolved, continuous parity measurement of two superconducting qubits in a three-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture is reported; by further implementing feedback control, entanglement is generated ‘on demand’.
doi: 10.1038/nature12513
光学:レーザー周波数コムを用いたコヒーレント・ラマンスペクトル画像化
Coherent Raman spectro-imaging with laser frequency combs p.355
A new multiplex technique of coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectro-imaging with two laser frequency combs is shown to record molecular spectra of broad bandwidth on a microsecond scale.
doi: 10.1038/nature12607
気候:大気中での硫酸–アミン粒子核形成の分子論的理解
Molecular understanding of sulphuric acid–amine particle nucleation in the atmosphere OPEN p.359
Amines at typical atmospheric concentrations of a only few molecules per trillion air molecules combine with sulphuric acid to form highly stable aerosol particles at rates similar to those observed in the lower atmosphere.
doi: 10.1038/nature12663
古生物学:カンブリア紀の大付属肢節足動物に見られる鋏角類神経の基本パターン
Chelicerate neural ground pattern in a Cambrian great appendage arthropod p.364
Cambrian great appendage arthropods had heads that bore a claw-like appendage pair; neuroanatomical and phylogenetic analysis of a well-preserved Alalcomenaeus fossil reveals the relationship of great appendage arthropods to Chelicerata.
doi: 10.1038/nature12520
神経科学:幼少マウスフェロモンは鋤鼻系を介して性行動を阻害する
A juvenile mouse pheromone inhibits sexual behaviour through the vomeronasal system p.368
ESP22, a new pheromone produced by juvenile mice before puberty and released through the tears, activates neurons in the vomeronasal organ and inhibits mating behaviour in adult males towards animals expressing this signal.
doi: 10.1038/nature12579
細胞生物学:糖尿病性高血糖はO結合型グリコシル化によりCaMKIIと不整脈を活性化する
Diabetic hyperglycaemia activates CaMKII and arrhythmias by O-linked glycosylation p.372
CaMKII is known to be pathologically activated in heart failure and arrhythmias; here it is shown that glucose-induced CaMKII activation via O-linked glycosylation might contribute to cardiac pathology in diabetes.
doi: 10.1038/nature12537
遺伝学:スタチンに依存したGATM発現のQTLが、スタチン誘発性ミオパチーに関連する
A statin-dependent QTL for GATM expression is associated with statin-induced myopathy p.377
Exploration of the interacting effect of statin exposure and genetic variation on gene expression identifies a cis-eQTL that is differentially associated with expression of the GATM gene, which encodes a rate-limiting enzyme involved in creatine synthesis, and that is associated with incidence of statin-induced myopathy, the major adverse effect of statin treatment.
doi: 10.1038/nature12508
分子生物学:HELQはRAD51パラログ依存的修復を促進して生殖細胞の消失と腫瘍形成を回避する
HELQ promotes RAD51 paralogue-dependent repair to avert germ cell loss and tumorigenesis p.381
Interstrand crosslink (ICL) repair involves proteins whose mutation results in the disorder Fanconi anaemia: here gene knockdown studies in mice show that the absence of HELQ, a protein previously implicated in ICL repair, compromises germ cell development and results in tumour predisposition due to defective recombination at damaged replication forks.
doi: 10.1038/nature12565
生化学:見かけ上は非特異的なRNA結合タンパク質が持つ隠れた特異性
Hidden specificity in an apparently nonspecific RNA-binding protein p.385
A novel high-throughput sequencing kinetics approach is used to measure functional binding of the apparently nonspecific RNA-binding protein C5 to all possible sequence variants in its substrate binding site; C5 binds different substrate variants with affinities varying widely, and with a similar affinity distribution to that of highly specific nucleic-acid-binding proteins, but it does not bind its physiological RNA targets with the highest affinity.
doi: 10.1038/nature12543
遺伝学:切断により誘発される複製では、移動性の異常なバブル構造が保存的DNA合成を推進する
Migrating bubble during break-induced replication drives conservative DNA synthesis p.389
This paper demonstrates that the mechanism of break-induced replication (BIR) is significantly different from S-phase replication, as it proceeds via a migrating bubble driven by Pif1 helicase, results in conservative inheritance of newly synthesized DNA, and is inherently mutagenic.
doi: 10.1038/nature12584
遺伝学:Pif1ヘリカーゼおよびPolδは複製バブルの移動を介して組換え共役DNA合成を促進する
Pif1 helicase and Polδ promote recombination-coupled DNA synthesis via bubble migration p.393
This paper demonstrates that Pif1 helicase works with polymerase d to promote DNA synthesis through a migrating D-loop, a mechanism used to copy tens of kilobases during repair of chromosome breaks by break-induced replication (BIR).
doi: 10.1038/nature12585