A high C/O ratio and weak thermal inversion in the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-12b

The carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) in a planet provides critical information about its primordial origins and subsequent evolution. A primordial C/O greater than 0.8 causes a carbide-dominated interior, as opposed to the silicate-dominated composition found on Earth; the atmosphere can also differ from those in the Solar System. The solar C/O is 0.54 (ref. 3). Here we report an analysis of dayside multi-wavelength photometry of the transiting hot-Jupiter WASP-12b (ref. 6) that reveals C/O?≥?1 in its atmosphere. The atmosphere is abundant in CO. It is depleted in water vapour and enhanced in methane, each by more than two orders of magnitude compared to a solar-abundance chemical-equilibrium model at the expected temperatures. We also find that the extremely irradiated atmosphere (T?>?2,500?K) of WASP-12b lacks a prominent thermal inversion (or stratosphere) and has very efficient day-night energy circulation. The absence of a strong thermal inversion is in stark contrast to theoretical predictions for the most highly irradiated hot-Jupiter atmospheres.     

Musical imagery: sound of silence activates auditory cortex

Auditory imagery occurs when one mentally rehearses telephone numbers or has a song 'on the brain'--it is the subjective experience of hearing in the absence of auditory stimulation, and is useful for investigating aspects of human cognition. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify and characterize the neural substrates that support unprompted auditory imagery and find that auditory and visual imagery seem to obey similar basic neural principles.     

Hedgehog signalling controls eye degeneration in blind cavefish

Hedgehog (Hh) proteins are responsible for critical signalling events during development but their evolutionary roles remain to be determined. Here we show that hh gene expression at the embryonic midline controls eye degeneration in blind cavefish. We use the teleost Astyanax mexicanus, a single species with an eyed surface-dwelling form (surface fish) and many blind cave forms (cavefish), to study the evolution of eye degeneration. Small eye primordia are formed during cavefish embryogenesis, which later arrest in development, degenerate and sink into the orbits. Eye degeneration is caused by apoptosis of the embryonic lens, and transplanting a surface fish embryonic lens into a cavefish optic cup can restore a complete eye. Here we show that sonic hedgehog (shh) and tiggy-winkle hedgehog (twhh) gene expression is expanded along the anterior embryonic midline in several different cavefish populations. The expansion of hh signalling results in hyperactivation of downstream genes, lens apoptosis and arrested eye growth and development. These features can be mimicked in surface fish by twhh and/or shh overexpression, supporting the role of hh signalling in the evolution of cavefish eye regression.     

Mass-balance ecosystem model of the East China Sea

Using the Ecopath mass-balance trophodynamic model, this paper analyzed the trophic levels, flows, food web structure and ecosystem maturity of the East China Sea, and identified ecologically important functional groups in the ecosystem. The model is based on fishery resource surveys of the East China Sea in 2000, studies on diet composition and global databases such as FishBase and the Sea Around Us Project Database. The results showed that trophic levels of the functional groups are between 2.86 and 4.37, with an average of 3.32. Anchocy (Engraulis japonicus), small fishes and benthic crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs are important groups in terms of the trophic structure and flow dynamics in the East China Sea. Energy flows of most groups are between specific trophic levels, except file fish (Thamnaconus spp.), pomfret (Pampus spp.) and cephalopods. Trophic transfer efficiency of levels II, III, IV and more than V are 11.8%, 21.1%, 17.4% and 22.1–22.5%, respectively. Effects of fishery – the largest ‘consumer’ of the ecosystem – are much stronger than those exerted by biological groups in the system. The model suggests that the current fishery can further reduce the complexity of the ecosystem. Evaluations of the system indices suggest that maturity of the ecosystem is low. The conclusion of this model indicates that it was the overfishing that caused the ecosystem of the East China Sea declined, which should be taken into account as a critical reference for fisheries management in the future.     

Effect of different methods of exposure to cyproterone acetate on mortality in chick embryos

Summary 33-h chick embryos exposed to 0.25 mg or 0.50 mg cyproterone acetate injected into the yolk sac showed a significantly lower mortality rate than embryos receiving the same dosage applied directly onto the developing blastodisc.This work was supported by a Government Research Support Grant awarded to Louisiana State University School of Medicine. Cyproterone acetate supplied through courtesy of Schering AG, Berlin, West Germany.     

The genome of the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis and the origin of metazoans

Choanoflagellates are the closest known relatives of metazoans. To discover potential molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of metazoan multicellularity, we sequenced and analysed the genome of the unicellular choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis. The genome contains approximately 9,200 intron-rich genes, including a number that encode cell adhesion and signalling protein domains that are otherwise restricted to metazoans. Here we show that the physical linkages among protein domains often differ between M. brevicollis and metazoans, suggesting that abundant domain shuffling followed the separation of the choanoflagellate and metazoan lineages. The completion of the M. brevicollis genome allows us to reconstruct with increasing resolution the genomic changes that accompanied the origin of metazoans.     

Crystal structure of the µ-opioid receptor bound to a morphinan antagonist

Opium is one of the world's oldest drugs, and its derivatives morphine and codeine are among the most used clinical drugs to relieve severe pain. These prototypical opioids produce analgesia as well as many undesirable side effects (sedation, apnoea and dependence) by binding to and activating the G-protein-coupled μ-opioid receptor (μ-OR) in the central nervous system. Here we describe the 2.8?? crystal structure of the mouse μ-OR in complex with an irreversible morphinan antagonist. Compared to the buried binding pocket observed in most G-protein-coupled receptors published so far, the morphinan ligand binds deeply within a large solvent-exposed pocket. Of particular interest, the μ-OR crystallizes as a two-fold symmetrical dimer through a four-helix bundle motif formed by transmembrane segments 5 and 6. These high-resolution insights into opioid receptor structure will enable the application of structure-based approaches to develop better drugs for the management of pain and addiction.     

Java框架与组件——加速Web应用开发

这是一本Java编程人员的实用工具书。它用平实的语言介绍了框架与组件技术的诸多优点，特别是它们与Web应用开发的关系。本书并不集中于某一特定技术，而是用从不同框架中提取出的例子来说明一些内在的基本原则。这可以帮助开发者了解哪种框架更适合于他们的开发目标。     

Surface plasmon subwavelength optics

Surface plasmons are waves that propagate along the surface of a conductor. By altering the structure of a metal's surface, the properties of surface plasmons--in particular their interaction with light--can be tailored, which offers the potential for developing new types of photonic device. This could lead to miniaturized photonic circuits with length scales that are much smaller than those currently achieved. Surface plasmons are being explored for their potential in subwavelength optics, data storage, light generation, microscopy and bio-photonics.