Nature press release for 3rd October issue

RSS Feeds

The Nature papers are gathered, with comment and further background on methodology and data, in a special section on malaria. Altogether, it is an exceptionally rich collection. It offers insights into the parasite`s metabolism, the systems it uses to evade immune detection, and the structure, variability and evolution of its genome. The research is a technical tour de force, with manifold implications for basic research and medicine: from molecular and cellular biology to immunology, from drug discovery to vaccine development.

There are half a billion new cases of malaria and up to 2.5 million deaths per year, mostly African children under 5. "It is our hope," says the lead author on the Plasmodium genome, Malcolm Gardner, of The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Maryland, "that researchers will use the genome sequences to accelerate the search for solutions to diseases affecting the most vulnerable of the world`s population".

***PDFs of the 7 research papers, 3 accompanying News & Views articles, 2 News Features, and a Commentary are now available in the 3 October section on http://press.nature.com . Also on the press site are additional, more detailed press releases from some of the involved institutions, plus photographs and images for free use by the media in reporting this story.***

The seven research papers are:

1.       Genome sequence of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
2.       Genome sequence and comparative analysis of the model rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii yoelii
3.       A proteomic view of the Plasmodium falciparum life cycle
4.       Sequence of Plasmodium falciparum chromosomes 1, 3-9 and 13
5.       Sequence of Plasmodium falciparum chromosomes 2, 10, 11 and 14
6.       Sequence of Plasmodium falciparum chromosome 12
7.       Analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum proteome by high-accuracy mass spectrometry

Author contacts for the above papers are:

�       1&5 Robert Koenig (PIO at TIGR) tel +1 301 838 5880, e-mail: rkoenig@tigr.org
�       2 Jane Carlton tel +1 301 838 5855, e-mail: carlton@tigr.org
�       3 Laurence Florens tel +1 858 784 8877, e-mail: florens@scripps.edu; John Yates tel +1 858 784 8862, e-mail: jyates@scripps.edu
�       4 Neil Hall tel +44 1223 494975, e-mail: nh1@sanger.ac.uk; Arnab Pain tel +44 1223 494817, e-mail: ap2@sanger.ac.uk
�       6 Richard Hyman tel +1 650 812 1972, e-mail: hyman@sequence.stanford.edu
�       7 Matthias Mann tel +45 6550 2364, e-mail: mann@bmb.sdu.dk

News & Views author contacts are:
�       Russell Doolittle tel +1 858 534 4417, e-mail: rdoolittle@ucsd.edu
�       Dyann Wirth tel +1 617 432 1563, e-mail: dfwirth@hsph.harvard.edu
�       Bruno Lemaitre tel +33 1 69 82 32 27, e-mail: lemaitre@cgm.cnrs-gif.fr

Commentary author contact is:

�             David Roos tel +1 215-898-2118, e-mail droos@sas.upenn.edu

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
Melbourne: 1

DENMARK
Odense: 7

GERMANY
Bochum: 3

THE NETHERLANDS
Leiden: 2
Nijmegen: 7

UNITED KINGDOM
Bracknell: 1, 4
Cambridge: 1, 4, 7
Dundee: 1
London: 2, 3
Liverpool: 1, 4
Oxford: 1, 4

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 1
La Jolla: 2, 3
Palo Alto: 1, 6
San Diego: 3
San Francisco: 2
Stanford: 6
Maryland
Baltimore: 3
Bethesda: 2, 5
Gaithersburg: 1, 2, 5
Rockville: 1, 2, 3, 5
Silver Spring: 1, 2, 3, 5
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 1, 2
Virginia
Manassas: 3
Washington State
Seattle: 3

[1] CHEMISTRY: LCD PRINTING IN A FLASH (pp462-465)

Liquid-crystal displays might be imprinted literally in a flash, if a discovery reported by Japanese scientists in this week`s Nature comes to fruition. Katsuro Hayashi of Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO), JST Corporation, Kawasaki, and colleagues have found a cheap, transparent material that can be converted from an electrical insulator to a conductor by ultraviolet light.
Exposing a thin film of this material to ultraviolet rays through a patterned mask imprints it with an electrical circuit: a system of wires and electrodes, separated by unexposed regions that remain insulating. Transparent circuits like this are needed to switch liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in computer screens, watches, phones and other electrical appliances.
The material is made from calcium and aluminium oxides packed together to leave small cavities at regular intervals, which the researchers fill with hydrogen atoms.
CONTACT:
Katsuro Hayashi tel +81 4 4850 9784, e-mail k-hayashi@net.ksp.or.jp

[2] CHEMISTRY: REACTION BEHIND ACRYLAMIDE MYSTERY (pp448-449 and 449-450)

Recent research has found high levels of acrylamide - at high doses it is a nerve poison, and in trace amounts a probable carcinogen - in a range of fried and baked foods derived from plants, particularly from potatoes. Two Brief Communications to this week`s Nature identify how and why this acrylamide forms. The discovery could have implications for food safety.
Working independently, Richard Stadler at the Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues, and Donald Mottram at the University of Reading, and colleagues find that a chemical process called the Maillard reaction underpins the acrylamide mystery.
The Maillard reaction occurs at moderately high temperatures between amino acids and sugars. The two groups find that in the Maillard reaction the amino acid asparagine can potentially be converted to acrylamide. Asparagine is found at particularly high levels in potatoes and in some cereals.
This explains why chips, crisps and crackers (especially those containing rye flour) have been found to have some of the highest acrylamide content.
CONTACT:
Richard H. Stadler tel +41 21 785 8360, e-mail Richard.stadler@rdls.nestle.com
Donald S. Mottram tel +44 118 931 6519, e-mail d.s.mottram@reading.ac.uk

[3] EVOLUTION: STURGEON CROSSED OCEAN (pp447-448)

A species of sea sturgeon, thought to have evolved in isolation from its relatives on the other side of the Atlantic for 15 million years, in fact swam 4,800 kilometres across the ocean during the Middle Ages to be with its cousins, researchers report in a Brief Communication to this week`s Nature. It then died out, probably owing to man`s activities in recent years.
Arne Ludwig of the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany, and colleagues compared the genetic similarities and archaeological remains of the North American sea sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and European sea sturgeon (A. sturio).
The team`s data show that A. sturio colonized the Baltic Sea about 3,000 years ago, only to be replaced by A. oxyrinchus around 800 years ago. Acipenser oxyrinchus then died out, and the Baltic is now sturgeon-free.
The finding may have implications for restocking European waters with sea sturgeon. Acipenser sturio populations are in decline - they are confined to a tiny population in southern France - whereas in America, A. oxyrinchus numbers are healthy. Existing plans to use closely related A. oxyrinchus to restock European waters may fail, Ludwig`s team suggests, as it cannot spawn in warmer waters. European waters are far warmer now than during the Middle Ages, the time of A. oxyrinchus` original colonization.
CONTACT:
Arne Ludwig tel +49 305 168 206, e-mail Ludwig@izw-berlin.de

[4] TECHNOLOGY: KEY SENT OVER 23.4 KILOMETRES (p450)

Researchers are a step closer to producing entirely secure communications. Using completely secure quantum cryptography, they have transmitted a digital `key` for deciphering coded information over 23.4 kilometres of open space - a new record.
       J. Rarity from QinetiQ, the commercial arm of the UKs defence research agency, and colleagues report the breakthrough in a Brief Communication to this week`s Nature.
Keys are random strings of numbers that both sender and recipient of a coded message must have. They are not usually sent electronically because if the key is intercepted, anyone can decode the message. Quantum cryptography allows keys to be encoded as photons of light and sent along optical fibres or through air. Intercepting and reading the message changes the quantum state of the photons, meaning that the intended recipient knows the message has been intercepted.
Because it is "absolutely secure", quantum cryptography should be ideal. However, sending messages over long distances is a problem. Fibre optic networks must boost light signals every 10 kilometres, but because this disrupts the quantum state of photons, they are impractical for transmitting quantum-encoded messages.
By demonstrating that it`s possible to send a message through air over long distances - Rarity`s team sent their message between two mountaintops in Germany - it should soon be possible to send a message from the ground to an orbiting satellite. Satellites bouncing quantum-encoded keys should make it possible to send keys around the globe instantaneously.
CONTACT:
J. G. Rarity tel +44 1684 895031, e-mail jgrarity@qinetiq.com

[5] EARTH: QUICK CHANGE FOR ANTARCTIC ICE SHEETS (pp465-467)

The stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is of global importance because of its potential impact on sea level. The Ross Sea sector of the ice shelf is currently growing, but suggestions that the retreat of the ice sheet has ended may be premature.
New data presented in this week`s Nature show that the crucial drainage system of the Ross Sea ice is changing rapidly, say H. Conway of the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues. For instance, an ice stream that flowed north less than 300 years ago is now flowing south. These developments cause short-term changes in ice balance that may mask or accentuate long-term trends.
CONTACT:
H. Conway tel +1 206 685 8085, e-mail Conway@ess.washington.edu

[6] AND FINALLY: EYES RIGHT (pp467-470)

Lateralization of brain functions, once thought to be the preserve of humans, has been found in various vertebrates, including birds. In this week`s Nature, Wolfgang Wiltschko of the J. W. Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany, and colleagues report what may be the most extreme case of lateralization in perception yet recorded: the magnetic compass of European robins.
These birds 'see' magnetic direction using their right eyes only, and get lost when they have to rely on their left eyes alone. "This may open up new perspectives for the understanding of why and how cerebral asymmetries have evolved," Wiltschko`s team concludes.
CONTACT:
Wolfgang Wiltschko tel +49 697 982 4703, e-mail wiltschko@zoology.uni-frankfurt.de

AHEAD OF PRINT PUBLICATION

***The following three papers only, (paper numbers 7, 8, and 9) will be published electronically on Nature`s website on 2 October at 1900 London time / 1400 US Eastern time (which is also when the embargo lifts) as part of our AOP (ahead of print) programme. Although we have included them on this release to avoid multiple mailings they will not appear in print on 3 October, but at a later date.***

[7]       The prolyl isomerase Pin1 is a regulator of p53 in genotoxic response
(DOI: 10.1038/nature01116) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature01116)

[8]       Myc suppression of the p21Cip1 Cdk inhibitor influences the outcome of the p53 response to DNA damage
(DOI: 10.1038/nature01119) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature01119)

[9]       The prolyl isomerase Pin1 reveals a mechanism to control p53 functions after genotoxic insults
(DOI: 10.1038/nature01120) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature01120)

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

[10]       Vapour undersaturation in primitive mid-ocean-ridge basalt and the volatile content of Earth's upper mantle (pp451-455; N&V)

[11]       Quantum phase transition in a common metal (pp459-462)

[12]         Moving visual stimuli rapidly induce direction sensitivity of developing tectal neurons (pp470-475)

[13]       Dendrite growth increased by visual activity requires NMDA receptor and Rho GTPases (pp475-4890)

[14]         ERAAP customizes peptides for MHC class 1 molecules in the endoplasmic recticulum (pp480-483; N&V)

[15]       Molecular basis of transmembrane signallling by sensory rhodopsin II-transducer complex (pp484-487)

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.

FRANCE
       Cestas: 3

GERMANY
       Berlin: 3
       Bochum: 6
       Dortmund: 15
       Frankfurt: 6
       Goettingen: 3
       Juelich: 15
       Munich: 4
       Rostock: 3

ITALY
       Ferrara: 9
Rome: 9
       Trieste: 9
       Udine: 9

JAPAN
       Kawasaki: 1
       Sendai: 7, 9
       Yokohama: 1

ROMANIA
       Bucharest: 15

RUSSIA
       Moscow District: 15

SWITZERLAND
       Lausanne: 2

UNITED KINGDOM
       Bristol: 11
       Leeds: 2
       Malvern: 4
       Reading: 2

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
       Berkeley: 12, 14
       Pasadena: 5
       San Francisco: 12
Colorado
       Boulder: 5
District of Columbia
       Washington DC: 10
Florida
       Gainesville: 10
Illinois
       Chicago: 11
Massachusetts
       Boston: 7
       Cambridge: 12
New Jersey
       Princeton: 11
New York State
       Cold Spring Harbor: 13
       New York: 3, 8, 9
       Palisades: 10
       Tuxedo: 3
Washington State
       Seattle: 5

Nature Publishing Group Reference