Editorials
最新の宇宙望遠鏡から得られるスペクトルデータが急増しており、それを生かすには実験室での実証研究がどうしても必要だ。
Nailing fingerprints in the stars p.437
Laboratory-based experiments are sorely needed to complement the rapidly proliferating spectral data originating from observations by the latest space telescopes.
doi: 10.1038/503437a
「DIYバイオ」の可能性を広げるために、規制をめぐる誤解を一掃すべき時にきている。
The DIY dilemma p.437
Misconceptions about do-it-yourself biology mean that opportunities are being missed.
doi: 10.1038/503437b
大学は、研究者育成の努力を無駄にしないように、若手研究者への圧力に対抗すべきだ。
Enemy of the good p.438
Universities need to counter pressures that undermine support for younger researchers.
doi: 10.1038/503438a
News
月面探査計画の順調な進展で、中国が宇宙大国の仲間入りへ。
China aims for the Moon p.445
Planned launch of lunar rover follows a string of triumphs for the country’s space programme.
doi: 10.1038/503445a
LHC(大型ハドロン衝突型加速器)が、データを将来もずっと利用できる形で公開するための計画を。
LHC plans for open data future p.447
Researchers share results to keep them accessible.
doi: 10.1038/503447a
医薬品開発の促進を目指し、薬剤分子やタンパク質の情報から相互作用を予測できるウェブサイトが。
Project ranks billions of drug interactions p.449
Drugable.com predicts mechanisms through computation.
doi: 10.1038/503449a
中国が、侵入生物種の増加を食い止めるため、さまざまな対策を。
China battles army of invaders p.450
Raft of control measures slows the march of alien species.
doi: 10.1038/503450a
象牙の密猟が急増しており、各国が話し合い、対策を強化。
Nations fight back on ivory p.452
Politicians take action on poaching in Africa as tusk seizures approach record numbers.
doi: 10.1038/503452a
News Features
研究倫理:内部告発のための3つの方法
Research ethics: 3 ways to blow the whistle p.454
科学的不正行為を告発するのは容易ではないが、疑いを抱いたときにどうするのが効果的か、経験者が語る。
doi: 10.1038/503454a
免疫学:幸福の追求
Immunology: The pursuit of happiness p.458
ある種の精神状態が体の健康に影響するのは、どのような仕組みによるのだろうか。
doi: 10.1038/503458a
News & Views
生態学:ループのほころび
Ecology: A leak in the loop p.472
外来種のイネ科草本の侵入を受けている森林地域では、正および負のフィードバックの性質が変動することが分かった。これは、自然系の管理の複雑性を明らかにしている。
doi: 10.1038/nature12838
惑星科学:古代火星のひとかけら
Planetary science: A chunk of ancient Mars p.473
北西アフリカで見つかり、NWA 7533という平凡な名前が付けられた隕石について解析が行われ、これが火星のレゴリス、つまり土壌の初めて得られた試料であることが示された。この隕石は、これまで見つかった中で最古の火成岩地殻に由来するものだ。
doi: 10.1038/nature12836
創薬:好機が潜むポケット
Drug discovery: Pocket of opportunity p.475
がんを引き起こすRasタンパク質を中和する小分子の開発は、30年間にわたって失敗が続いてきたが、抗がん剤研究への新しい道を開く手法が今回見つかった。
doi: 10.1038/nature12835
システム生物学:細菌のライフスタイル選択法
Systems biology: How bacteria choose a lifestyle p.476
ある種の細菌集団では、一部の細胞は単独で存在して運動性を持ち続けるが、他の細胞はどこかに落ち着いて連鎖状の形態をとる。細胞がどちらの状態をとるかを決定する機序が今回調べられた。
doi: 10.1038/nature12837
宇宙物理学:例外が規則を検証する
Astrophysics: Exception tests the rules p.477
間欠的に非常に明るくなるX線源の詳しい観測から、その放射が、以前に考えられていたように中間質量ブラックホールへの質量降着からエネルギーを得ているのではないらしいことが示された。
doi: 10.1038/503477a
分子生物学:抗生物質は暗号解読の枠をずらす
Molecular biology: Antibiotic re-frames decoding p.478
ケトライド系の抗生物質は、細菌でリボソームのフレームシフト、つまりRNA翻訳の変更を引き起こすことが分かった。これによって抗生物質耐性に関わる遺伝子の発現が促進されるので、この現象は広い範囲に関わってくると考えられる。
doi: 10.1038/503478a
Articles
システム生物学:細胞運命決定における記憶とモジュール性
Memory and modularity in cell-fate decision making p.481
This study shows that Bacillus subtilis switches from a solitary, motile lifestyle to a multicellular, sessile state in a random, memoryless fashion, but that the underlying gene network is buffered against its own stochastic variation to tightly time the reverse transition; thus bacteria keep track of time to force their progeny to cooperate during the earliest stage of multicellular growth.
doi: 10.1038/nature12804
遺伝:天然の遺伝的変動がエンハンサーの選択および機能に与える影響
Effect of natural genetic variation on enhancer selection and function p.487
Naturally occurring genetic variation between inbred mouse strains is used as a mutagenesis strategy to investigate mechanisms responsible for the selection and function of cis-regulatory elements in macrophages; lineage-determining transcription factors are proposed to select enhancer-like regions in the genome in a collaborative fashion and facilitate the binding of signal-dependent factors.
doi: 10.1038/nature12615
医学:2型糖尿病と肥満による寿命短縮に有効な低分子AdipoRアゴニスト
A small-molecule AdipoR agonist for type 2 diabetes and short life in obesity p.493
An orally active small molecule, AdipRon, that binds to and activates both adiponectin receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) is identified; it ameliorates diabetes in mice on a high-fat diet and in genetically obese db/db mice, and if this can be extrapolated to humans, orally active agonists such as AdipoRon are a promising new approach to treat obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
doi: 10.1038/nature12656
Letters
宇宙:超高輝度X線源M 101 ULX-1におけるブラックホールへの不可解な降着
Puzzling accretion onto a black hole in the ultraluminous X-ray source M 101 ULX-1 p.500
The ultraluminous X-ray source M 101 ULX-1 consists of a black hole orbiting a Wolf-Rayet star; optical spectroscopy now shows that the orbital period is 8.2 days, suggesting that the black hole has a mass in the range 5 to 30 solar masses, though the X-ray spectra are unlike what is expected from accretion onto a stellar-mass black hole—accretion must occur from captured stellar wind, which has hitherto been thought to be so inefficient that it could not power an ultraluminous source.
doi: 10.1038/nature12762
量子情報科学:薄膜分子半導体におけるスピンを利用した情報処理の可能性
Potential for spin-based information processing in a thin-film molecular semiconductor p.504
The characteristic relaxation and dephasing times of the electronic spins in thin-film copper phthalocyanine are long enough that this common, low-cost organic semiconductor has potential for both quantum and classical information processing.
doi: 10.1038/nature12597
材料科学:可視光吸収強誘電体および光起電材料用としてのペロブスカイト型酸化物
Perovskite oxides for visible-light-absorbing ferroelectric and photovoltaic materials p.509
Most known ferroelectric photovoltaic materials have very wide electronic bandgaps (that is, they absorb only high-energy photons) but here a family of perovskite oxides is described that have tunable bandgaps, allowing their use across the whole visible-light spectrum.
doi: 10.1038/nature12622
宇宙:NWA 7533隕石から得られた最初期の火星地殻の起源と年代
Origin and age of the earliest Martian crust from meteorite NWA 7533 p.513
Chemical analysis of the meteorite NWA 7533 indicates that it may be a Martian regolith breccia and, if so, that the crust of Mars may have formed in the first 100 million years of the planet’s history.
doi: 10.1038/nature12764
生態:植物侵入の自己増強的な影響は経時的に変化する
Self-reinforcing impacts of plant invasions change over time p.517
Plant invasions are thought to alter the ecosystem in a way that disadvantages the native species, making re-establishment after eradication difficult; here, on returning to a site at which an invasive plant altered nitrogen-mineralization levels several decades ago, mineralization is found to have returned to pre-invasion levels, although these new conditions favour new invaders over the natives.
doi: 10.1038/nature12798
神経科学:脱抑制性制御に特化した皮質介在ニューロン
Cortical interneurons that specialize in disinhibitory control p.521
Cortical inhibitory interneurons expressing vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) are shown to specialize in suppressing the activity of other inhibitory interneurons and are activated by reinforcement signals, thus increasing the activity of excitatory neurons by releasing them from inhibition; these results reveal a cell-type-specific microcircuit that tunes cortical activity under certain behavioural conditions.
doi: 10.1038/nature12676
進化遺伝学:ヒトおよび類人猿の多能性幹細胞で見られる差異のあるL1調節
Differential L1 regulation in pluripotent stem cells of humans and apes p.525
Induced pluripotent stem-cell characterization reveals phenotypical differences between humans and non-human primates (NHPs): gene expression analysis shows differences in the regulation of long interspersed element-1 (L1) transposons, and in the expression of L1-restricting genes APOBEC3B and PIWIL2, correlating with higher L1 mobility in NHPs; this indicates that L1 mobility differences may have differentially shaped the human and NHP genomes.
doi: 10.1038/nature12686
免疫:細胞固有の免疫はcGAMPの細胞間移送を介して近隣の細胞へ広がる
Cell intrinsic immunity spreads to bystander cells via the intercellular transfer of cGAMP p.530
The cytoplasmic DNA receptor cGAS catalyses the synthesis of the second messenger cGAMP, which in turn activates type I interferon via STING; this study shows that cGAMP is transmitted to neighbouring cells via gap junction channels and activates STING, thus inducing an antiviral state in these bystander cells independent of paracrine interferon signalling.
doi: 10.1038/nature12640
医学:ACE2受容体を利用するコウモリ由来SARS類似コロナウイルスの単離と特性解析
Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor p.535
Whole-genome sequences of two novel SARS-CoV-related bat coronaviruses, in addition to a live isolate of a bat SARS-like coronavirus, are reported; the live isolate can infect human cells using ACE2, providing the strongest evidence to date that Chinese horseshoe bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-CoV.
doi: 10.1038/nature12711
生化学:C型肝炎ウイルス様リボソーム内部侵入部位は、eIF3を引き離して40Sサブユニットに接触する
Hepatitis-C-virus-like internal ribosome entry sites displace eIF3 to gain access to the 40S subunit p.539
A sub-nanometre reconstruction of a 40S complex containing eIF3 and a hepatitis C virus (HCV)-like internal ribosome entry site (IRES) shows that the IRES displaces eIF3 from the 40S and sequesters it to gain access to the 40S subunit.
doi: 10.1038/nature12658
微生物学:DNA複製起点非存在下での増殖の加速
Accelerated growth in the absence of DNA replication origins p.544
When all origins of replication are deleted from the archaeon Haloferax volcanii, homologous recombination is used to initiate DNA replication and the growth rate is accelerated.
doi: 10.1038/nature12650
創薬:K-Ras (G12C)阻害剤はGTP親和性とエフェクター相互作用をアロステリックに制御する
K-Ras(G12C) inhibitors allosterically control GTP affinity and effector interactions p.548
Small molecules are developed that irreversibly bind to the common G12C mutant of K-Ras but not the wild-type protein; crystallographic studies reveal the formation of an allosteric pocket that is not apparent in previous Ras studies, and the small molecules shift the affinity of K-Ras to favour GDP over GTP.
doi: 10.1038/nature12796
構造生物学:フラビン介在性二重酸化が酵素的ファヴォルスキー型転位を制御する
Flavin-mediated dual oxidation controls an enzymatic Favorskii-type rearrangement p.552
Structural and functional studies reveal how the bacterial flavoenzyme EncM catalyses the oxygenation–dehydrogenation dual oxidation of a highly reactive substrate, and show that EncM maintains a stable flavin oxygenating species that promotes substrate oxidation and triggers a rarely seen Favorskii-type rearrangement.
doi: 10.1038/nature12643