Step aside, Olympics: here’s the Cybathlon p.5
The Olympic Games celebrate physical prowess, but a cyborg Olympics honours and attempts to improve the lives of disabled people.doi: 10.1038/536005b
Volume 536 Issue 7614
Editorials
UK research assessment should boost support for principal investigators p.5
The Stern review backed the Research Excellence Framework but missed a chance to ease the burden on group leaders.doi: 10.1038/536005a
News
Troubled Japanese space agency seeks fresh start p.13
Push to resurrect instrument lost during satellite failure highlights JAXA’s resilience.doi: 10.1038/536013a
Monumental proof to torment mathematicians for years to come p.14
Conference on Shinichi Mochizuki’s work inspires cautious optimism.doi: 10.1038/nature.2016.20342
Scientists seek influence on ‘Brexit ministry’ p.15
They hope for an active role in the UK department for exiting the EU.doi: 10.1038/536015a
Legal maze threatens to slow data science p.16
Researcher who spent months chasing permission to republish online data sets urges others to read up on the law.doi: 10.1038/536016a
Scholarly Olympics: How the games have shaped research p.18
A graphical guide to the impact of the Olympics on science.doi: 10.1038/536018a
News Features
Faster higher strongerWelcome to the Cyborg Olympics p.20
The Cybathlon aims to help disabled people navigate the most difficult course of all: the everyday world.doi: 10.1038/536020a
News & Views
Death-defying plaque cells p.32
Dead cells are usually removed through their ingestion and destruction by other cells. A study of plaque deposits in arteries shows that dying cells in plaques display a 'don't-eat-me' signal that blocks their removal. See Letter p.86doi: 10.1038/nature18916
Bacteria synchronized for drug delivery p.33
A synthetic genetic circuit that mimics the quorum-sensing systems used by bacterial populations to coordinate gene expression enables bacteria to deliver drugs to mouse tumours in repeated and synchronized cycles. See Letter p.81doi: 10.1038/nature18915
A milestone in quantum computing p.35
Quantum computers require many quantum bits to perform complex calculations, but devices with more than a few bits are difficult to program. A device based on five atomic quantum bits shows a way forward. See Letter p.63doi: 10.1038/536035a
Protection for anaesthetized mice p.36
A cognition-enhancing drug called CX546 prevents the neurodegenerative effects of repeated anaesthesia in infant mice by promoting neuronal changes associated with learning and by protecting neurons from death.doi: 10.1038/536036a
Still a geneticist's nightmare p.37
The largest DNA-sequencing study of type 2 diabetes conducted so far concludes that, contrary to expectation, low-frequency and rare genetic variants do not contribute significantly to disease risk. See Article p.41doi: 10.1038/nature18906
Destruction of discrete charge p.38
Electric charge is quantized in units of the electron's charge. An experiment explores the suppression of charge quantization caused by quantum fluctuations and supports a long-standing theory that explains this behaviour. See Letter p.58doi: 10.1038/536038a
Articles
The genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes p.41
Sequencing data from two large-scale studies show that most of the genetic variation influencing the risk of type 2 diabetes involves common alleles and is found in regions previously identified by genome-wide association studies, clarifying the genetic architecture of this disease.doi: 10.1038/nature18642
Structural basis of potent Zika–dengue virus antibody cross-neutralization p.48
doi: 10.1038/nature18938
Letters
Bright carbonate deposits as evidence of aqueous alteration on (1) Ceres p.54
High-resolution near-infrared observations of the Occator bright areas on the dwarf planet Ceres suggest that the bright material is mostly made up of endogenous sodium carbonate.doi: 10.1038/nature18290
Controlling charge quantization with quantum fluctuations p.58
A device consisting of a metallic island connected to electrodes via tunable semiconductor-based conduction channels is used to explore the evolution of charge quantization in the presence of quantum fluctuations; the measurements reveal a robust scaling of charge quantization as the square root of the residual electron reflection probability across a quantum channel, consistent with theoretical predictions.doi: 10.1038/nature19072
Demonstration of a small programmable quantum computer with atomic qubits p.63
A small programmable quantum computer is demonstrated that uses five trapped ions as qubits; the computer is reconfigurable and different algorithms can be compiled without changing the hardware.doi: 10.1038/nature18648
Carbon-based tribofilms from lubricating oils p.67
Moving mechanical interfaces need to be lubricated to ensure long life and easy slippage; here, a new type of coating is described—comprising nitrides of either molybdenum or vanadium, together with a copper or nickel catalyst—that generates protective tribofilms from lubricating oils.doi: 10.1038/nature18948
Evidence for climate change in the satellite cloud record p.72
Satellite records show that the global pattern of cloud changes between the 1980s and the 2000s are similar to the patterns predicted by models of climate with recent external radiative forcing, and that the primary drivers of the cloud changes appear to be increasing greenhouse gas concentrations and a recovery from volcanic radiative cooling.doi: 10.1038/nature18273
A novel excitatory network for the control of breathing p.76
A novel rhythmogenic brainstem network was discovered in mice that is necessary and sufficient for generating postinspiration, a breathing phase also used for swallowing, coughing and vocalization.doi: 10.1038/nature18944
Synchronized cycles of bacterial lysis for in vivo delivery p.81
Clinically relevant bacteria have been engineered to lyse synchronously at a threshold population density and release genetically encoded therapeutics; treatment of mice with these bacteria slowed the growth of tumours.doi: 10.1038/nature18930
CD47-blocking antibodies restore phagocytosis and prevent atherosclerosis p.86
Atherosclerotic lesions in mice and humans switch on a ‘don’t eat me’ signal—expression of CD47—that prevents effective removal of diseased tissue; anti-CD47 antibody therapy can normalize this defective efferocytosis, with beneficial results in several mouse models of atherosclerosis.doi: 10.1038/nature18935
Neoantigen landscape dynamics during human melanoma–T cell interactions p.91
Analyses of tumour samples and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes from two patients with melanoma who were treated with adoptive T-cell therapy provide evidence for tumour escape by loss and downregulation of immunogenic antigens.doi: 10.1038/nature18945
eIF3d is an mRNA cap-binding protein that is required for specialized translation initiation p.96
The initiation protein eIF3d serves as an alternative cap-recognition factor for a subclass of mRNAs, such as c-Jun; the high-resolution structure of the eIF3d cap-binding domain can be modelled onto the cap structure, defining interactions that are needed for translation of these mRNAs.doi: 10.1038/nature18954
The structural basis of modified nucleosome recognition by 53BP1 p.100
A cryo-electron microscopy structure of the DNA damage repair protein 53BP1 bound to a nucleosome illuminates the way 53BP1 recognizes two types of histone modifications (a methyl group and a ubiquitin moiety), and provides insight into the highly specified recognition and recruitment of 53BP1 to modified chromatin.doi: 10.1038/nature18951
Structure of the adenosine A2A receptor bound to an engineered G protein p.104
An engineered G protein is used to bind to and stabilize the active conformation of the adenosine A2A receptor, enabling the acquisition of an X-ray crystal structure of this GPCR in an active state.doi: 10.1038/nature18966
Architecture of fully occupied GluA2 AMPA receptor–TARP complex elucidated by cryo-EM p.108
The cryo-electron microscopy structure of the homomeric GluA2 AMPA receptor in the presence of ARP γ2 subunits is reported, which reveals that TARPs are arranged around the ion channel domain and underneath the ligand-binding domains, poised to modulate receptor activity.doi: 10.1038/nature18961
