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Summaries of newsworthy papers: Geoscience: Volcanoes implicated in ancient ocean oxygen depletion

NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE For papers that will be published online on 31 January 2010 This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below. This press release contains: · Summaries of newsworthy papers: Genetics: Searching for antimalarial drug resistance variants Geoscience: Volcanoes implicated in ancient ocean oxygen depletion · Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo · Geographical listing of authors PDFs of all the papers mentioned on this release can be found in the relevant journal’s section of http://press.nature.com. Press contacts for the Nature journals are listed at the end of this release. Warning: This document, and the Nature journal papers to which it refers, may contain information that is price sensitive (as legally defined, for example, in the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993 Part V) with respect to publicly quoted companies. Anyone dealing in securities using information contained in this document, or in advance copies of a Nature journal’s content, may be guilty of insider trading under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934. PICTURES: To obtain artwork from any of the journals, you must first obtain permission from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in question (if not). NOTE: Once a paper is published, the digital object identifier (DOI) number can be used to retrieve the abstract and full text from the journal web site (abstracts are available to everyone, full text is available only to subscribers). To do this, add the DOI to the following URL: http://dx.doi.org/ (For example, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng730). For more information about DOIs and Advance Online Publication, see http://www.nature.com/ng/aop/. HYPE: We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at press@nature.com, citing the specific example. PLEASE CITE THE SPECIFIC NATURE JOURNAL AND WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO THE APPROPRIATE JOURNAL’S WEBSITE. [1] Genetics: Searching for antimalarial drug resistance variants DOI: 10.1038/ng.528 Genetic variants in Plasmodium falciparum, a malaria-causing parasite, that are associated with antimalarial drug resistance are reported online in this week’s Nature Genetics. This study provides important genetic tools for studying the P. falciparum genome and mechanisms of antimalarial drug resistance. Every year, malaria affects 300 to 500 million people worldwide and leads to nearly one million deaths. It is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. Of the four types of Plasmodium, P. falciparum is the most deadly. Antimalarial drug resistance in P. falciparum parasites has led to the loss of effective drugs in most endemic areas, with some reports of P. falciparum strains that are resistant to all known antimalarial drugs. Genome-wide studies to find genetic variants associated with antimalarial drugs have been hampered by technical challenges. Here, Xin-zhuan Su and colleagues measured parasite response to seven antimalarial drugs in 185 different P. falciparum isolates from Asia, Africa, America and Papua New Guinea. The authors identify several candidate genes that are associated with antimalarial drug resistance, although further studies are required to learn how these genes contribute to drug resistance. Author contact: Xin-zhuan Su (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) Tel: +1 301 402 0876; E-mail: xsu@niaid.nih.gov [2] Geoscience: Volcanoes implicated in ancient ocean oxygen depletion DOI: 10.1038/ngeo743 The onset of a widespread absence of oxygen in the world’s deep oceans 94.5 million years ago may have been triggered by sulphur emitted from volcanoes, according to a report published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Using marine sediments deposited during this event — known as Ocean Anoxic Event 2 — Matthew Hurtgen and colleagues found that unusually low background sulphate levels increased dramatically at the start of the event. Sulphate is a key ingredient for the recycling of organic matter, allowing the bodies of sinking plankton to decompose. The team suggests that once more sulphate was available, it triggered a chain reaction: the nutrients released by the decomposing organisms allowed more and more organisms to grow at the surface. As their bodies sank, they too were decomposed — a process that rapidly consumes oxygen. The chain only stopped once widespread oxygen depletion allowed the sulphur mineral pyrite to develop, consuming the excess sulphate. The sulphate was most likely supplied by the heightened volcanic activity that is reported to have occurred at this time. Author contact: Matthew Hurtgen (Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA) Tel: +1 847 491 7539; E-mail: matt@earth.northwestern.edu ************************************************************************ Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo: Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature) [3] Ancient animal microRNAs and the evolution of tissue identity DOI: 10.1038/nature08744 [4] Non-random decay of chordate characters causes bias in fossil interpretation DOI: 10.1038/nature08745 [5] Retroviral intasome assembly and inhibition of DNA strand transfer DOI: 10.1038/nature08784 NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology) [6] Rational association of genes with traits using a genome-scale gene network for Arabidopsis thaliana DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1603 [7] Real-time imaging of hepatitis C virus infection using a fluorescent cell-based reporter system DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1604 NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology) [8] Identification and characterization of a non-satellite cell muscle resident progenitor during postnatal development DOI: 10.1038/ncb2025 [9] Membrane contacts between endosomes and ER provide sites for PTP1B–epidermal growth factor receptor interaction DOI: 10.1038/ncb2026 [10] Nemo-like kinase suppresses Notch signalling by interfering with formation of the Notch active transcriptional complex DOI: 10.1038/ncb2028 NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio) [11] Inhibition of eukaryotic translation elongation by cycloheximide and lactimidomycin DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.304 [12] The 2'-OH group at the group II intron terminus acts as a proton shuttle to permit reverse-splicing DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.312 NATURE CHEMISTRY (http://www.nature.com/nchem) [13] A palladium-catalysed enolate alkylation cascade for the formation of adjacent quaternary and tertiary stereocentres DOI: 10.1038/nchem.518 [14] A facile route to ketene-functionalized polymers for general materials applications DOI: 10.1038/nchem.538 [15] Formation of mixed-phase particles during the freezing of polar stratospheric ice clouds DOI: 10.1038/nchem.540 [16] Watching conformational and photodynamics of single fluorescent proteins in solution DOI: 10.1038/nchem.545 NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics) [17] Genome-wide association mapping identifies multiple loci for a canine SLE-related disease complex DOI: 10.1038/ng.525 [18] Mutations in PNKP cause microcephaly, seizures and defects in DNA repair DOI: 10.1038/ng.526 [19] A map of open chromatin in human pancreatic islets DOI: 10.1038/ng.530 NATURE GEOSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/ngeo) [20] No signature of abyssal carbon in intermediate waters off Chile during deglaciation DOI: 10.1038/ngeo745 NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology) [21] Signaling by intrathymic cytokines, not T cell antigen receptors, specifies CD8 lineage choice and promotes the differentiation of cytotoxic-lineage T cells DOI: 10.1038/ni.1840 [22] TRPV2 has a pivotal role in macrophage particle binding and phagocytosis DOI: 10.1038/ni.1842 NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials) [23] Chemically fixed p–n heterojunctions for polymer electronics by means of covalent B–F bond formation DOI: 10.1038/nmat2623 [24] Generality of shear thickening in dense suspensions DOI: 10.1038/nmat2627 NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth) [25] In-cell recordings by extracellular microelectrodes DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1420 [26] Detecting the conformation of individual proteins in live cells DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1421 NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano) [27] Reported nanosafety practices in research laboratories worldwide DOI:10.1038/nnano.2010.1 [28] Ultralow nanoscale wear through atom-by-atom attrition in silicon-containing diamond-like carbon DOI:10.1038/nnano.2010.3 Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience) [29] Dichotomy of functional organization in the mouse auditory cortex DOI: 10.1038/nn.2490 [30] Functional organization and population dynamics in the mouse primary auditory cortex DOI: 10.1038/nn.2484 [31] An NGF-responsive element targets Myo-Inositol Monophosphatase 1 mRNA to sympathetic neuron axons DOI: 10.1038/nn.2486 [32] A neuronal role for SNAP-23 in postsynaptic glutamate receptor trafficking DOI: 10.1038/nn.2488 NATURE PHOTONICS (http://www.nature.com/nphoton) [33] Ultraviolet enhancement cavity for ultrafast nonlinear optics and high-rate multiphoton entanglement experiments DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2009.286 [34] A highly efficient single-photon source based on a quantum dot in a photonic nanowire DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2009.287 Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics) [35] Strength and directionality of surface Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida interaction mapped on the atomic scale DOI: 10.1038/nphys1514 [36] Correlation-induced single-flux-quantum penetration in quantum rings DOI: 10.1038/nphys1517 [37] Static control logic for microfluidic devices using pressure-gain valves DOI: 10.1038/nphys1513 Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol) [38] Human PRP4 kinase is required for stable tri-snRNP association during spliceosomal B complex formation DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1718 [39] Crystal structure of an intramolecular chaperone mediating triple–beta-helix folding DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1746 [40] Molecular determinants of coupling between the domain III voltage sensor and pore of a sodium channel DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1749 [41] Schizosaccharomyces pombe genome-wide nucleosome mapping reveals positioning mechanisms distinct from those of Saccharomyces cerevisiae DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1741 [42] Nonsense-mediated mRNA decapping occurs on polyribosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1734 ************************************************************************** GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details. AUSTRALIA Brisbane: 5 AUSTRIA Innsbruck: 15 Vienna: 3, 33 CAMBODIA Phnom Penh: 1 CANADA: Calgary: 1 Hamilton: 1 Montreal: 1 CHINA Changchun: 23 Guangzhou: 1 Xiaman: 1 DENMARK Kongens Lyngby: 34 FINLAND Helsinki: 15, 17 FRANCE Grenoble: 34 Palaiseau: 34 Paris: 8 Rennes: 38 GERMANY Bielefeld: 23 Bremen: 20 Dortmund: 12 Frankfurt: 3 Garching: 33 Goettingen: 38, 39 Hamburg: 35 Hannover: 5, 39 Heidelberg: 3 Juelich: 35 Munich: 33, 41 ISRAEL Jerusalem: 25, 30 ITALY Milano: 19 Pisa: 36 Trieste: 36 JAPAN Chiba: 10 Fukuoka: 10 Kanazawa: 21 Nagoya: 10 JORDAN Amman: 18 KOREA Seoul: 6, 14 NETHERLANDS Bochum: 36 Nijmegen: 36 SPAIN Barcelona: 19 Zaragoza: 27 SAUDI ARABIA King Abdul Aziz Medical City: 18 SWEDEN Huddinge: 41 Uppsala: 17 SWITZERLAND Geneva: 19 Zurich: 28 THAILAND Bangkok: 1 Muang Khone Kean: 28 TURKEY Ankara: 18 Istanbul: 21 UNITED KINGDOM Falmer: 18 Leicester: 4 London: 5, 9, 31 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA California Davis: 17 Irvine: 20 La Jolla: 15 Pasadena: 13 Sacramento: 18 San Diego: 7 San Francisco: 18 Santa Barbara: 14, 23 San Juan Capistrano: 18 Stanford: 6, 16, 37 Connecticut New Haven: 12, 28 Illinois Evanston: 2 Chicago: 24 Maryland Baltimore: 11, 22, 40 Bethesda: 1, 21, 32 College Park: 29 Fort Detrick: Frederick: 21 Massachusetts Boston: 5, 7, 18, 41 Cambridge: 7, 17, 18 Medford: 7 Woods Hole: 20 New York Cold Spring Harbor: 3 New York: 7 North Carolina Chapel Hill: 19, 24 Raleigh: 1, 26 Ohio Cleveland: 11, 42 Pennsylvania Philadelphia: 28 University Park: 1 Texas Austin: 6 West Virginia Morgantown: 28 Wisconsin Madison: 11, 28, 40 PRESS CONTACTS… For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals: Rachel Twinn (Nature London) Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: r.twinn@nature.com Neda Afsarmanesh (Nature New York) Tel: +1 212 726 9231; E-mail: n.afsarmanesh@us.nature.com Ruth Francis (Head of Press, Nature, London) Tel: +44 20 7843 4562; E-mail: r.francis@nature.com For media inquiries relating to editorial content/policy for the Nature Research Journals, please contact the journals individually: Nature Biotechnology (New York) Michael Francisco Tel: +1 212 726 9288; E-mail: biotech@us.nature.com Nature Cell Biology (London) Sowmya Swaminathan Tel: +44 20 7843 4656; E-mail: cellbio@nature.com Nature Chemical Biology (Boston) Sarah Daniels Tel: +1 617 475 9241, E-mail: chembio@us.nature.com Nature Chemistry (London) Stuart Cantrill Tel: +44 20 7014 4018; E-mail: s.cantrill@nature.com Nature Genetics (New York) Myles Axton Tel: +1 212 726 9324; E-mail: natgen@us.nature.com Nature Geoscience (London) Heike Langenberg Tel: +44 20 7843 4042; E-mail: h.langenberg@nature.com Nature Immunology (New York) Laurie Dempsey Tel: +1 212 726 9372; E-mail: immunology@us.nature.com Nature Materials (London) Vincent Dusastre Tel: +44 20 7843 4531; E-mail: materials@nature.com Nature Medicine (New York) Juan Carlos Lopez Tel: +1 212 726 9325; E-mail: medicine@us.nature.com Nature Methods (New York) Hugh Ash Tel: +1 212 726 9627; E-mail: methods@us.nature.com Nature Neuroscience (New York) Kalyani Narasimhan Tel: +1 212 726 9319; E-mail: neurosci@us.nature.com Nature Photonics (Tokyo) Oliver Graydon Tel: +81 3 3267 8776; E-mail: o.graydon@natureasia.com Nature Physics (London) Alison Wright Tel: +44 20 7843 4555; E-mail: a.wright@nature.com Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (New York) Sabbi Lall Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: nsmb@us.nature.com About Nature Publishing Group (NPG): Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a publisher of high impact scientific and medical information in print and online. 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• Nature Genetics
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Nature Genetics and Nature Geoscience