Editorials
Ocean researchers are among those inspired by science fiction to tell diverse tales of the future.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02740-5
A massive, decade-long experiment involving millions of Chinese farmers demonstrates an evidence-based approach to sustainability.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02742-3
Nature journals encourage researchers who submit papers that rely on bespoke software to provide the programs for peer review.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02741-4
News
Lunar researchers want to take advantage of Trump administration’s political interest.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02697-5
Survey of more than 1,500 studies concludes that neonicotinoids harm bees.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02639-1
Physicists make misaligned sheets of the carbon material conduct electricity without resistance.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02773-w
Prototype offers innovative solution to major public health problem.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02704-9
Researchers pleased with unfettered funding for granting councils.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02529-6
Researchers begin to tackle the technical obstacles to incorporate observations from space into weather models.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02630-w
News Features
As the ocean rises, researchers work to forecast where severe storms will trigger the worst flooding.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02745-0
News & Views
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has made precise measurements of the gravitational field of Jupiter. The data reveal details of the
structure and dynamics of the planet’s interior.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02612-y
The evolution of cooperation is a frequently debated topic. A study assessing scenarios in which people judge each other shows that a simple moral rule suffices to drive the evolution of cooperation.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02621-x
The ideal drugs for treating schizophrenia are postulated to selectively block the D2 dopamine receptor with optimum binding kinetics. The structure of D2 bound to an antipsychotic sheds light on how to design such drugs.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02328-z
A hybrid transistor device has been made in which a superconductor forms a seamless interface with a semiconductor. The study of such interfaces could open the way to innovative applications in electronics.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02717-4
A large-scale analysis of bird diversity and evolution on mountains around the globe explores the relationships between elevation, species richness and the rate of formation of new species.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-02062-6
Review
Meta-analysis—the quantitative, scientific synthesis of research results—has been both revolutionary and controversial, with rapid advances and broad implementation resulting in substantial scientific advances, but not without pitfalls.
doi: 10.1038/nature25753
Articles
Group III/nitride semiconductors have been grown epitaxially on the superconductor niobium nitride, allowing the superconductor’s macroscopic quantum effects to be combined with the semiconductors’ electronic, photonic and piezoelectric properties.
doi: 10.1038/nature25768
Genome-wide data from 400 individuals indicate that the initial spread of the Beaker archaeological complex between Iberia and central Europe was propelled by cultural diffusion, but that its spread into Britain involved a large-scale migration that permanently replaced about ninety per cent of the ancestry in the previously resident population.
doi: 10.1038/nature25738
Genome-wide ancient DNA data from 225 individuals who lived in southeastern Europe between 12000 and 500 ʙᴄ reveals that the region acted as a genetic crossroads before and after the arrival of farming.
doi: 10.1038/nature25778
Thirst is regulated by hierarchical neural circuits in the lamina terminalis, and these integrate the instinctive need for water with consequent drinking behaviour to maintain internal water homeostasis.
doi: 10.1038/nature25488
Statistical analyses of a metagenomics-sequenced human cohort identify a relatively minor role for genetics in determining microbiome composition and show that several human phenotypes are as strongly associated with the gut microbiome as with host genetics.
doi: 10.1038/nature25973
Letters
Visible and infrared images obtained from above each pole of Jupiter by the Juno spacecraft reveal polygonal patterns of large cyclones; it is unknown how these cyclones evolved, or how they persist without merging.
doi: 10.1038/nature25491
Precise Doppler tracking of the Juno spacecraft in its polar orbit around Jupiter is used to determine the planet’s gravity harmonics, showing north–south asymmetry caused by atmospheric and interior flows.
doi: 10.1038/nature25776
The determination of Jupiter’s odd gravitational harmonics by the Juno spacecraft reveals that the observed jet streams extend to about three thousand kilometres below the cloud tops.
doi: 10.1038/nature25793
The determination of Jupiter’s even gravitational moments by the Juno spacecraft reveals that more than three thousand kilometres below the cloud tops, differential rotation is suppressed and the gas giant’s interior rotates as a solid body.
doi: 10.1038/nature25775
Superlattices consisting of alternating monolayer atomic crystals and molecular layers allow access to stable phosphorene monolayers with competitive transistor performance and to bulk monolayer materials with tunable optoelectronic properties.
doi: 10.1038/nature25774
The composition of natural calcium silicate perovskite, the fourth most abundant mineral in the Earth, found within a diamond indicates an origin from oceanic crust subducted deeper than 700 kilometres into the Earth’s mantle.
doi: 10.1038/nature25972
In a binary decision game in which players strategically help certain individuals but not others, simple moral principles maximize cooperation, even when including the historical reputations of players.
doi: 10.1038/nature25763
A global study of all bird species in mountainous areas shows that richness decreases predictably with elevation, whereas diversification rates increase.
doi: 10.1038/nature25794
An evolutionarily conserved alveolar epithelial progenitor lineage that derives from alveolar type 2 cells is responsive to Wnt signalling and acts as a major facultative progenitor in regenerating the distal lung.
doi: 10.1038/nature25786
The TGFβ pathway has essential roles in embryonic development, organ homeostasis, tissue repair and disease. These diverse effects are mediated through the intracellular effectors SMAD2 and SMAD3 (hereafter SMAD2/3), whose canonical function is to control the activity of target genes by interacting with transcriptional regulators. Therefore, a complete description of the factors that interact with SMAD2/3 in a given cell type would have broad implications for many areas of cell biology. Here we describe the interactome of SMAD2/3 in human pluripotent stem cells. This analysis reveals that SMAD2/3 is involved in multiple molecular processes in addition to its role in transcription. In particular, we identify a functional interaction with the METTL3–METTL14–WTAP complex, which mediates the conversion of adenosine to N6-methyladenosine (m6A) on RNA. We show that SMAD2/3 promotes binding of the m6A methyltransferase complex to a subset of transcripts involved in early cell fate decisions. This mechanism destabilizes specific SMAD2/3 transcriptional targets, including the pluripotency factor gene NANOG, priming them for rapid downregulation upon differentiation to enable timely exit from pluripotency. Collectively, these findings reveal the mechanism by which extracellular signalling can induce rapid cellular responses through regulation of the epitranscriptome. These aspects of TGFβ signalling could have far-reaching implications in many other cell types and in diseases such as cancer.
doi: 10.1038/nature25784
The biogenesis of piRNAs in the silkworm Bombyx is simpler than in Drosophila, with the exonucleases Trim and Nbr having no major role, and the endonuclease Zuc acting at the 3′ rather than the 5′ end.
doi: 10.1038/nature25788
In vitro experiments, using purified proteins and an assay that detects DNA unwinding, reveal the mechanism of activation of eukaryotic DNA replication.
doi: 10.1038/nature25787
An X-ray structure of the D2 dopamine receptor bound to the atypical antipsychotic drug risperidone reveals an extended binding pocket and indicates structural features that could be used to design drugs that specifically target the D2 receptor.
doi: 10.1038/nature25758