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A study of the evolution of bird skulls from their primitive reptilian ancestors reveals that the skulls of adult birds are very similar to those of young dinosaurs. Retention of juvenile features in the adult may have had an important role in the evolution of bird skulls, according to the report in Nature this week.

This press release contains: ---Summaries of newsworthy papers: Materials: Biosensors for which less is more Geoscience: Greenland glacier retreat 1930s versus 2000s Medicine: Peroxide for viral inactivation in attenuated vaccines Chemical biology: Activating Bax as a new anti-cancer approach And finally…Nature: Bird skulls resemble those of juvenile dinosaurs ---Geographical listing of authors [1] Materials: Biosensors for which less is more DOI: 10.1038/nmat3337 Biosensors that generate a signal that is larger when the concentration of the target molecule is lower are reported online in Nature Materials this week. This inverse sensitivity allows the detection of the cancer biomarker prostate-specific antigen in whole serum at a concentration at least ten times lower than the limit of detection of current ultrasensitive assays. Because conventional sensors generate a signal that is directly proportional to concentration, it is difficult to detect ultralow concentrations of a target molecule with confidence. Molly Stevens and colleagues designed a signal-generation mechanism that makes the signal–concentration dependence inversely proportional. They used gold nanostars as plasmonic nanosensors, and the enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx), which controls the rate of crystallization of silver nanocrystals. At low concentrations of GOx, the slow crystallization rate leads to the growth of a conformal silver coating on the nanostars, which induces a large signal in the form of a shift in their localized surface plasmon resonance. High GOx concentrations result in a smaller signal because fast crystal growth leads to the formation of silver nanocrystals in solution, and thus to less silver deposited on the nanostars. Because GOx can be bound to antibodies, the nanosensors can be generally used to detect ultralow concentrations of antigens in enzyme-linked immunoassays. The authors also show that the nanosensors are robust against interference by other proteins. Author contacts: Molly Stevens (Imperial College London, UK) Tel: +44 20 7594 6804; E-mail: m.stevens@imperial.ac.uk Roberto de la Rica (Imperial College London, UK) Tel: +44 20 7594 6804; E-mail: roberto.delarica@gmail.com --- [2] Geoscience: Greenland glacier retreat 1930s versus 2000s DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1481 Southeast Greenland glaciers that reach the ocean retreated faster in the past decade than in the 1930s, whereas the opposite is true for land-terminating glaciers, reports a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Air and ocean temperatures were similar during the two periods, indicating that the sensitivities of the different glacier types to warming have changed. Anders Bjørk and colleagues assembled historical aerial photographs taken in 1932–33 during a systematic survey of the southeastern Greenland coast, as well as air photos obtained by the US military during the Second World War and satellite images, to study changes in the southeastern Greenland margin over the past 80 years. They find that overall glacier retreat was as vigorous in the 1930s warming period as it has been in the 2000s. However, the response of different glacier types to warming varies. In an accompanying News and Views article, Benjamin Smith writes that the research “indicates that the retreat [of Greenland glaciers] in the 2000s was a typical response of the ice sheet to warmer air and ocean temperatures”. Author contacts: Anders Bjørk (Natural History Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark) Tel: +45 29921742; E-mail: andersb@snm.ku.dk Benjamin Smith (University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA) N&V Author Tel: +1 206 616 9176; E-mail: bsmith@apl.washington.edu --- [3] Medicine: Peroxide for viral inactivation in attenuated vaccines DOI: 10.1038/nm.2763 A new technology platform that uses hydrogen peroxide to inactivate virus strains used for vaccine production is reported in Nature Medicine this week. Live-attenuated vaccines created from live but weakened viruses are widely used and easy to produce. One of the main problems with this type of vaccines is that current inactivating agents decrease the neutralizing antibody response in the body owing to destruction of key viral proteins that would normally trigger an immune response. Mark Slifka and colleagues show that hydrogen peroxide treatment circumvents this problem. This approach resulted in protective antibody-mediated immunity in mice vaccinated against two lethal viruses and protective cellular-mediated immunity in mice vaccinated against chronic viral infection. Whether the cellular immunity induced can be shown in humans, and whether it is equivalent to that from live recombinant vaccines remain to be shown. Author contact: Mark Slifka (Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA) Tel: +1 503 418 2751; E-mail: slifkam@ohsu.edu --- [4] Chemical biology: Activating Bax as a new anti-cancer approach DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.995 A compound that activates cell death pathways via a new mechanism is reported this week in Nature Chemical Biology. The Bcl-2 family of proteins forms a complex protein-protein interaction network that can either promote or counter cell death, depending on the activation state of the different members. In cancer cells, the balance of activity from this network is often disrupted to promote cancer cell survival. Anti-cancer strategies targeting this family have largely aimed to inhibit the activity of family members that promote cell survival. The activation of one protein in this family called Bax can be sufficient to activate cell death pathways. Loren Walensky and colleagues report BAM7, a small molecule that can selectively activate Bax in cells by triggering a conformational change in the protein and that promotes cell death. Because both normal and cancer cells express Bax, it remains to be seen whether this strategy can be effective in anti-cancer treatment, but the discovery and validation of BAM7 as a selective activator of Bax represents a new approach to killing cancer cells. Author contact: Loren Walensky (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA) Tel: +1 617 632 6307; E-mail: Loren_Walensky@dfci.harvard.edu --- [5] And finally…Nature: Bird skulls resemble those of juvenile dinosaurs DOI: 10.1038/nature11146 A study of the evolution of bird skulls from their primitive reptilian ancestors reveals that the skulls of adult birds are very similar to those of young dinosaurs. Retention of juvenile features in the adult may have had an important role in the evolution of bird skulls, according to the report in Nature this week. Birds represent one of the most successful animal groups in terms of species number and diversity, and much of this success is attributed to their unique skulls. To understand how the anatomy of birds evolved from that of dinosaurs, Bhart-Anjan Bhullar and colleagues analysed a large sample of bird and dinosaur skulls. They observe a shift in development in birds, and report similarities between the skulls of adult bids and those of dinosaur embryos and juveniles. The authors suggest that this phenomenon (called paedomorphosis), which occurred in four distinct episodes, may account for many features of birds, such as their relatively large brains and eyes. Conversely, an opposite process known as peramorphosis (development of adult features) is implicated in the development and evolution of the beak. Author contact: Bhart-Anjan Bhullar (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA) Tel: +1 402 689 5998; E-mail: bhartanjan.bhullar@gmail.com --- Nature [6] Generalized Lévy walks and the role of chemokines in migration of effector CD8+ T cells DOI: 10.1038/nature11098 [7] Astrocyte glypicans 4 and 6 promote formation of excitatory synapses via GluA1 AMPA receptors DOI: 10.1038/nature11059 NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY [8] Optimization of affinity, specificity and function of designed influenza inhibitors using deep sequencing DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2214 [9] Isolation of primitive endoderm, mesoderm, vascular endothelial and trophoblast progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2239 NATURE CELL BIOLOGY [10] Caenorhabditis elegans screen reveals role of PAR-5 in RAB-11-recycling endosome positioning and apicobasal cell polarity DOI: 10.1038/ncb2508 NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY [11] Divergence of multimodular polyketide synthases revealed by a didomain structure DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.964 [12] Deciphering biased-agonism complexity reveals a new active AT1 receptor entity DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.961 [13] A biased ligand for OXE-R uncouples Ga and Gbg signaling within a heterotrimer DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.962 NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE [14] The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1547 [15] Vole and lemming activity observed from space DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1537 [16] Asymmetric European summer heat predictability from wet and dry southern winters and springs DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1536 [17] Thermal tolerance and the global redistribution of animals DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1539 NATURE GENETICS [18] Whole-genome sequencing of liver cancers identifies etiological influences on mutation patterns and recurrent mutations in chromatin regulators DOI: 10.1038/ng.2291 [19] Genome-wide survey of recurrent HBV integration in hepatocellular carcinoma DOI: 10.1038/ng.2295 [20] Common variation near CDKN1A, POLD3 and SHROOM2 influences colorectal cancer risk DOI: 10.1038/ng.2293 [21] Mutations in the PCNA-binding domain of CDKN1C cause IMAGe syndrome DOI: 10.1038/ng.2275 [22] Mutations in NNT encoding nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase cause familial glucocorticoid deficiency DOI: 10.1038/ng.2299 [23] Manipulating nucleosome disfavoring sequences allows fine-tune regulation of gene expression in yeast DOI: 10.1038/ng.2305 NATURE GEOSCIENCE [24] Timing and pattern of biotic recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1475 [25] Landslide erosion coupled to tectonics and river incision DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1479 [26] Volcanic arcs fed by rapid pulsed fluid flow through subducting slabs DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1482 NATURE IMMUNOLOG [27] Regulation of TH2 development by CXCR5+ dendritic cells and lymphotoxin-expressing B cells DOI:10.1038/ni.2309 [28] TGF-beta signaling to T cells inhibits autoimmunity during lymphopenia-driven proliferation DOI:10.1038/ni.2319 NATURE MATERIALS [29] High intergrain critical current density in fine-grain (Ba0.6K0.4)Fe2As2 wires and bulks DOI: 10.1038/nmat3333 [30] Giant magnetocaloric effect driven by structural transitions DOI: 10.1038/nmat3334 [31] In silico screening of carbon-capture materials DOI: 10.1038/nmat3336 [32] Extracellular-matrix tethering regulates stem-cell fate DOI: 10.1038/nmat3339 Nature MEDICINE [33] Melanoma exosomes educate bone marrow progenitor cells toward a pro-metastatic phenotype through MET DOI: 10.1038/nm.2753 [34] The ephrin receptor tyrosine kinase A2 is a cellular receptor for Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus DOI: 10.1038/nm.2805 NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth) [35] Unsupervised modeling of cell morphology dynamics for time-lapse microscopy DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.2046 NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY [36] Cell-free protein synthesis and assembly on a biochip DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.65 [37] Emissive ZnO–graphene quantum dots for white-light-emitting diodes DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.71 [38] An oxygen reduction electrocatalyst based on carbon nanotube–graphene complexes DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.72 [39] Quantification of the affinities and kinetics of protein interactions using silicon nanowire biosensors DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.82 Nature NEUROSCIENCE [40] The calcium-activated chloride channel anoctamin 1 acts as a heat sensor in nociceptive neurons DOI: 10.1038/nn.3111 [41] pHTomato, a red, genetically encoded indicator that enables multiplex interrogation of synaptic activity DOI: 10.1038/nn.3126 [42] A non-canonical pathway for mammalian blue-green color vision DOI: 10.1038/nn.3127 [43] A color-coding amacrine cell may provide a blue-Off signal in a mammalian retina DOI: 10.1038/nn.3128 NATURE PHOTONICS [44] Large spontaneous emission enhancement in plasmonic nanocavities DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.112 Nature PHYSICS [45] Controlling edge dynamics in complex networks DOI: 10.1038/nphys2327 [46] Spin polarization of the quantum spin Hall edge states DOI: 10.1038/nphys2322 Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY [47] PABP and the poly(A) tail augment microRNA repression by facilitated miRISC binding DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.2309 [48] Dominant missense mutations in ABCC9 cause Cantú syndrome DOI: 10.1038/ng.2324 *************************************************************************************************************** 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. ARGENTINA Buenos Aires: 21 AUSTRALIA Melbourne: 48 Newtown: 6 Sydney: 6, 48 Taroona: 17 Warrnambool: 17 AUSTRIA Graz: 13 Vienna: 35 BRAZIL Sao Paula: 21, 33 CANADA: Burnaby: 17 CHINA Beijing: 38 Shanghai: 19 Shenzhen: 19 Wuhan: 24 CZECH REPUBLIC Praha: 26 DENMARK Aarhus: 2 Copenhagen: 2, 12, 19 Malov: 12 Odense: 13 FRANCE Boulonge: 16 Castres: 12 Gif-sur-Yvette: 16 Toulouse: 12 GERMANY Berlin: 22 Bochum: 26, 34 Bonn: 13 Cologne: 10, 22 Darmstadt: 30 Dresden: 10, 30 Erlangen: 26, 34 Frankfurt: 26 Grenzach-Wyhlen: 47 Heidelberg: 32, 34, 47 Kiel: 26 Munich: 9, 10 Munster: 26, 34 Neuherberg: 9 Stuttgart: 32 Wurzburg: 46 HONG KONG Hong Kong: 19 HUNGARY Budapest: 45 INDIA Bangalore: 37 ISRAEL Rehovot: 8, 9, 23, 36 JAPAN Chiba: 6 Hiroshima: 18 Osaka: 18 Tokyo: 18 Wakayama: 18 Yokohama: 18 KOREA Gwangju: 37 Gyeonggi: 40 Seoul: 37, 40 NETHERLANDS Nijmegen: 32, 48 Utrecht: 48 Wageningen: 32 NORWAY Tromso: 15 PORTUGAL Lisbon: 33 SINGAPORE Singapore: 19 SPAIN Barcelona: 13 Madrid: 5, 33, 48 Vigo: 1 SWEDEN Stockholm: 15 Umea: 15 SWITZERLAND Lausanne: 26 Zurich: 10, 16, 32, 35 TURKEY Istanbul: 22 UNITED KINGDOM Aberdeen: 48 Bristol: 24, 48 Cambridge: 10, 32 Exeter: 48 London: 1, 21, 22, 32, 40, 48 Luton: 22 Oxford: 48 Sheffield: 15 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Alabama Birmingham: 27 California Berkeley: 31, 33 Emeryville: 34 La Jolla: 7, 8 Los Angeles: 21 Menlo Park: 46 Palo Alto: 31 Riverside: 6 San Diego: 8, 19, 27 Santa Barbara: 46 Santa Cruz: 42 Stanford: 7, 9, 38, 41, 46 Connecticut New Haven: 14, 39 Delaware Wilmingron: 19 District of Columbia Washington: 14 Florida Gainesville: 40 Tallahassee: 29 Illinois Chicago: 42 Indiana Indianapolis: 19 Maryland Bethesda: 33, 43 Massachusetts Boston: 4, 19 Cambridge: 5, 27, 44 Charlestown: 6 Southborough: 34 Michigan East Lansing: 8 Minnesota Rochester: 27 New Hampshire Durham: 40 New Jersey New Brunswick: 33 Princeton: 33 New York Bronx: 4 New York: 5, 33, 41 Old Westbury: 5 Ohio Columbus: 2, 14 Oregon Beaverton: 3 Eugene: 14 Pennsylvania Bethlehem: 26 Philadelphia: 6, 14, 36 Tennessee Nashville: 13, 34, 38 Oak Ridge: 38 Texas Austin: 5, 11 Galveston: 11 Houston: 31 San Antonio: 11 Washington Seattle: 8, 25, 28 --- 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 Eiji Matsuda (Nature Tokyo) Tel: +81 3 3267 8751; E-mail: e.matsuda@natureasia.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) Elissa Bolt 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 Climate Change (London) Rory Howlett Tel: +44 20 7014 4009; E-mail: nclimate@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) Ray Parker Tel: +1 212 726 9627; E-mail: methods@us.nature.com Nature Nanotechnology (London) Peter Rodgers Tel: +44 20 7014 4019; Email: p.rodgers@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) Michelle Montoya Tel: +1 212 726 9331; 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. NPG publishes journals, online databases and services across the life, physical, chemical and applied sciences and clinical medicine. Focusing on the needs of scientists, Nature (founded in 1869) is the leading weekly, international scientific journal. In addition, for this audience, NPG publishes a range of Nature research journals and Nature Reviews journals, plus a range of prestigious academic journals including society-owned publications. Online, nature.com provides over 5 million visitors per month with access to NPG publications and online databases and services, including Nature News and NatureJobs plus access to Nature Network and Nature Education’s Scitable.com. Scientific American is at the heart of NPG’s newly-formed consumer media division, meeting the needs of the general public. Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US and the leading authoritative publication for science in the general media. 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