Secret weapons

doi: 10.1038/489177b

Count on me

doi: 10.1038/489177a

The name game

doi: 10.1038/489178a

Europe on alert for flying invaders

doi: 10.1038/489187a

Misconduct ruling is silent on intent

doi: 10.1038/489189a

India moves to tackle antibiotic resistance

doi: 10.1038/489192a

Ice loss shifts Arctic cycles

doi: 10.1038/489185a

EU battles over research billions

doi: 10.1038/489188a

Cameras to focus on dark energy

doi: 10.1038/489190a

Deep-sea research: Dive master

doi: 10.1038/489194a

Microwave weapons: Wasted energy

doi: 10.1038/489198a

AgeingMixed results for dieting monkeys p.210

doi: 10.1038/nature11484

BiogeochemistryDrought and tropical soil emissions p.211

doi: 10.1038/489211a

Social sciencePoked to vote p.212

doi: 10.1038/489212a

Organic synthesisA biochemical messenger made easily p.214

doi: 10.1038/489214a

Cell biologyDormant and restless skin stem cells p.215

doi: 10.1038/489215a

Environmental scienceThe rainforest's water pump p.217

doi: 10.1038/nature11485

Distinct contribution of stem and progenitor cells to epidermal maintenance p.257

The skin interfollicular epidermis (IFE) is the first barrier against the external environment and its maintenance is critical for survival. Two seemingly opposite theories have been proposed to explain IFE homeostasis. One posits that IFE is maintained by long-lived slow-cycling stem cells that give rise to transit-amplifying cell progeny, whereas the other suggests that homeostasis is achieved by a single committed progenitor population that balances stochastic fate. Here we probe the cellular heterogeneity within the IFE using two different inducible Cre recombinase–oestrogen receptor constructs targeting IFE progenitors in mice. Quantitative analysis of clonal fate data and proliferation dynamics demonstrate the existence of two distinct proliferative cell compartments arranged in a hierarchy involving slow-cycling stem cells and committed progenitor cells. After wounding, only stem cells contribute substantially to the repair and long-term regeneration of the tissue, whereas committed progenitor cells make a limited contribution.

doi: 10.1038/nature11393

RPN-6 determines C. elegans longevity under proteotoxic stress conditions p.263

Organisms that protect their germ-cell lineages from damage often do so at considerable cost: limited metabolic resources become partitioned away from maintenance of the soma, leaving the ageing somatic tissues to navigate survival amid an environment containing damaged and poorly functioning proteins. Historically, experimental paradigms that limit reproductive investment result in lifespan extension. We proposed that germline-deficient animals might exhibit heightened protection from proteotoxic stressors in somatic tissues. We find that the forced re-investment of resources from the germ line to the soma in Caenorhabditis elegans results in elevated somatic proteasome activity, clearance of damaged proteins and increased longevity. This activity is associated with increased expression of rpn-6, a subunit of the 19S proteasome, by the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16. Ectopic expression of rpn-6 is sufficient to confer proteotoxic stress resistance and extend lifespan, indicating that rpn-6 is a candidate to correct deficiencies in age-related protein homeostasis disorders.

doi: 10.1038/nature11315

Quantum teleportation over 143 kilometres using active feed-forward p.269

doi: 10.1038/nature11472

Stabilization of Leidenfrost vapour layer by textured superhydrophobic surfaces p.274

doi: 10.1038/nature11418

Stereocontrolled organocatalytic synthesis of prostaglandin PGF_2α in seven steps p.278

doi: 10.1038/nature11411

Observations of increased tropical rainfall preceded by air passage over forests p.282

doi: 10.1038/nature11390

Ploughing the deep sea floor p.286

doi: 10.1038/nature11410

Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas p.290

doi: 10.1038/nature11318

A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization p.295

doi: 10.1038/nature11421

Activity in motor–sensory projections reveals distributed coding in somatosensation p.299

doi: 10.1038/nature11321

Increased proteasome activity in human embryonic stem cells is regulated by PSMD11 p.304

doi: 10.1038/nature11468

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is driven by antigen-independent cell-autonomous signalling p.309

doi: 10.1038/nature11309

HDAC8 mutations in Cornelia de Lange syndrome affect the cohesin acetylation cycle p.313

doi: 10.1038/nature11316

Impact of caloric restriction on health and survival in rhesus monkeys from the NIA study p.318

doi: 10.1038/nature11432

Human ES-cell-derived cardiomyocytes electrically couple and suppress arrhythmias in injured hearts p.322

doi: 10.1038/nature11317