Chromatin-remodeling complex specificity and embryonic vascular development

Vascular development is a dynamic process that relies on the coordinated expression of numerous genes, but the factors that regulate gene expression during blood vessel development are not well defined. ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complexes are gaining attention for their specific temporal and spatial effects on gene expression during vascular development. Genetic mutations in chromatin-remodeling complex subunits are revealing roles for the complexes in vascular signaling pathways at discrete developmental time points. Phenotypic analysis of these models at various stages of vascular development will continue to expand our understanding of how chromatin remodeling impacts new blood vessel growth. Such research could also provide novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of vascular pathologies.     

Infection of young Douglas-firs by dwarf mistletoe in the Southwest

Studies in several areas in Arizona and New Mexico show that dwarf mistletoe ( Arceuthobium douglasii ) is rare in young Douglas-firs growing under infected overstories. Less than 5% of the Douglas-firs under 26 years old and less than 6% of those under 1.4m tall were infected in 77 mistletoe-infested stands. Both percent infection and mean dwarf mistletoe rating of young Douglas-firs increased as tree age, height, and stand dwarf mistletoe ratings increased.     

ARFIMA approximation and forecasting of the limiting aggregate structure of long‐memory process

This article studies Man and Tiao's (2006) low‐order autoregressive fractionally integrated moving‐average (ARFIMA) approximation to Tsai and Chan's (2005b) limiting aggregate structure of the long‐memory process. In matching the autocorrelations, we demonstrate that the approximation works well, especially for larger d values. In computing autocorrelations over long lags for larger d value, using the exact formula one might encounter numerical problems. The use of the ARFIMA(0, d, d?₁) model provides a useful alternative to compute the autocorrelations as a really close approximation. In forecasting future aggregates, we demonstrate the close performance of using the ARFIMA(0, d, d?₁) model and the exact aggregate structure. In practice, this provides a justification for the use of a low‐order ARFIMA model in predicting future aggregates of long‐memory process. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Immune recognition. A new receptor for beta-glucans.

The carbohydrate polymers known as beta-1,3-d-glucans exert potent effects on the immune system - stimulating antitumour and antimicrobial activity, for example - by binding to receptors on macrophages and other white blood cells and activating them. Although beta-glucans are known to bind to receptors, such as complement receptor 3 (ref. 1), there is evidence that another beta-glucan receptor is present on macrophages. Here we identify this unknown receptor as dectin-1 (ref. 2), a finding that provides new insights into the innate immune recognition of beta-glucans.     

Expanding the diversity of chemical protein modification allows post-translational mimicry

One of the most important current scientific paradoxes is the economy with which nature uses genes. In all higher animals studied, we have found many fewer genes than we would have previously expected. The functional outputs of the eventual products of genes seem to be far more complex than the more restricted blueprint. In higher organisms, the functions of many proteins are modulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs). These alterations of amino-acid side chains lead to higher structural and functional protein diversity and are, therefore, a leading contender for an explanation for this seeming incongruity. Natural protein production methods typically produce PTM mixtures within which function is difficult to dissect or control. Until now it has not been possible to access pure mimics of complex PTMs. Here we report a chemical tagging approach that enables the attachment of multiple modifications to bacterially expressed (bare) protein scaffolds: this approach allows reconstitution of functionally effective mimics of higher organism PTMs. By attaching appropriate modifications at suitable distances in the widely-used LacZ reporter enzyme scaffold, we created protein probes that included sensitive systems for detection of mammalian brain inflammation and disease. Through target synthesis of the desired modification, chemistry provides a structural precision and an ability to retool with a chosen PTM in a manner not available to other approaches. In this way, combining chemical control of PTM with readily available protein scaffolds provides a systematic platform for creating probes of protein-PTM interactions. We therefore anticipate that this ability to build model systems will allow some of this gene product complexity to be dissected, with the aim of eventually being able to completely duplicate the patterns of a particular protein's PTMs from an in vivo assay into an in vitro system.     

Chiral magnetic order at surfaces driven by inversion asymmetry

Chirality is a fascinating phenomenon that can manifest itself in subtle ways, for example in biochemistry (in the observed single-handedness of biomolecules) and in particle physics (in the charge-parity violation of electroweak interactions). In condensed matter, magnetic materials can also display single-handed, or homochiral, spin structures. This may be caused by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, which arises from spin-orbit scattering of electrons in an inversion-asymmetric crystal field. This effect is typically irrelevant in bulk metals as their crystals are inversion symmetric. However, low-dimensional systems lack structural inversion symmetry, so that homochiral spin structures may occur. Here we report the observation of magnetic order of a specific chirality in a single atomic layer of manganese on a tungsten (110) substrate. Spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscopy reveals that adjacent spins are not perfectly antiferromagnetic but slightly canted, resulting in a spin spiral structure with a period of about 12 nm. We show by quantitative theory that this chiral order is caused by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and leads to a left-rotating spin cycloid. Our findings confirm the significance of this interaction for magnets in reduced dimensions. Chirality in nanoscale magnets may play a crucial role in spintronic devices, where the spin rather than the charge of an electron is used for data transmission and manipulation. For instance, a spin-polarized current flowing through chiral magnetic structures will exert a spin-torque on the magnetic structure, causing a variety of excitations or manipulations of the magnetization and giving rise to microwave emission, magnetization switching, or magnetic motors.     

The molecular sociology of the cell

Proteomic studies have yielded detailed lists of the proteins present in a cell. Comparatively little is known, however, about how these proteins interact and are spatially arranged within the 'functional modules' of the cell: that is, the 'molecular sociology' of the cell. This gap is now being bridged by using emerging experimental techniques, such as mass spectrometry of complexes and single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, to complement traditional biochemical and biophysical methods. With the development of integrative computational methods to exploit the data obtained, such hybrid approaches will uncover the molecular architectures, and perhaps even atomic models, of many protein complexes. With these structures in hand, researchers will be poised to use cryo-electron tomography to view protein complexes in action within cells, providing unprecedented insights into protein-interaction networks.     

South-polar features on Venus similar to those near the north pole

Venus has no seasons, slow rotation and a very massive atmosphere, which is mainly carbon dioxide with clouds primarily of sulphuric acid droplets. Infrared observations by previous missions to Venus revealed a bright 'dipole' feature surrounded by a cold 'collar' at its north pole. The polar dipole is a 'double-eye' feature at the centre of a vast vortex that rotates around the pole, and is possibly associated with rapid downwelling. The polar cold collar is a wide, shallow river of cold air that circulates around the polar vortex. One outstanding question has been whether the global circulation was symmetric, such that a dipole feature existed at the south pole. Here we report observations of Venus' south-polar region, where we have seen clouds with morphology much like those around the north pole, but rotating somewhat faster than the northern dipole. The vortex may extend down to the lower cloud layers that lie at about 50 km height and perhaps deeper. The spectroscopic properties of the clouds around the south pole are compatible with a sulphuric acid composition.