| 61. |
- Björling, Marcus, et al.
(författare)
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Warm carbon coat reduces friction
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 505:7483, s. 264-
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A coating material made of carbon reduces friction not just by providing a slippery surface, but also by keeping the points of contact warm. Marcus Björling at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden and his team coated steel balls with ``diamond-like-carbon'' - a material in which carbon atoms have a bonding pattern similar to that of diamond. They rolled the balls against a metal disk with an oil lubricant in between, and showed that the carbon coating acts as an insulator, lowering the viscosity of the lubricant and thus reducing the fricion between the ball and the disk. These findings could encourage the development of lubricant coatings made from insulating materials.
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| 62. |
- Blacher, E., et al.
(författare)
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Potential roles of gut microbiome and metabolites in modulating ALS in mice
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 572:7770
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder, in which the clinical manifestations may be influenced by genetic and unknown environmental factors. Here we show that ALS-prone Sod1 transgenic (Sod1-Tg) mice have a pre-symptomatic, vivarium-dependent dysbiosis and altered metabolite configuration, coupled with an exacerbated disease under germ-free conditions or after treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics. We correlate eleven distinct commensal bacteria at our vivarium with the severity of ALS in mice, and by their individual supplementation into antibiotic-treated Sod1-Tg mice we demonstrate that Akkermansia muciniphila (AM) ameliorates whereas Ruminococcus torques and Parabacteroides distasonis exacerbate the symptoms of ALS. Furthermore, Sod1-Tg mice that are administered AM are found to accumulate AM-associated nicotinamide in the central nervous system, and systemic supplementation of nicotinamide improves motor symptoms and gene expression patterns in the spinal cord of Sod1-Tg mice. In humans, we identify distinct microbiome and metabolite configurations-including reduced levels of nicotinamide systemically and in the cerebrospinal fluid-in a small preliminary study that compares patients with ALS with household controls. We suggest that environmentally driven microbiome-brain interactions may modulate ALS in mice, and we call for similar investigations in the human form of the disease.
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| 63. |
- Blicharska, Malgorzata, et al.
(författare)
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Metrics: a long-term threat to society.
- 2012
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 490, s. 343-
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 64. |
- Blicharska, Malgorzata
(författare)
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Scale of global road map is impractical
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687.
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 65. |
- Blicharska, Malgorzata, et al.
(författare)
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Think bigger for conservation
- 2011
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 470, s. 39-39
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 66. |
- Boccaletti, Anthony, et al.
(författare)
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Fast-moving features in the debris disk around AU Microscopii
- 2015
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 526:7572, s. 230-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the 1980s, excess infrared emission was discovered around main-sequence stars; subsequent direct-imaging observations revealed orbiting disks of cold dust to be the source(1). These 'debris disks' were thought to be by-products of planet formation because they often exhibited morphological and brightness asymmetries that may result from gravitational perturbation by planets. This was proved to be true for the beta Pictoris system, in which the known planet generates an observable warp in the disk(2-5). The nearby, young, unusually active late-type star AU Microscopii hosts a well-studied edge-on debris disk; earlier observations in the visible and near-infrared found asymmetric localized structures in the form of intensity variations along the midplane of the disk beyond a distance of 20 astronomical units(6-9). Here we report high-contrast imaging that reveals a series of five large-scale features in the southeast side of the disk, at projected separations of 10-60 astronomical units, persisting over intervals of 1-4 years. All these features appear to move away from the star at projected speeds of 4-10 kilometres per second, suggesting highly eccentric or unbound trajectories if they are associated with physical entities. The origin, localization, morphology and rapid evolution of these features are difficult to reconcile with current theories.
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| 67. |
- Bonaventure Omondi, Aman, et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of mosquito preference for humans linked to an odorant receptor
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 515, s. 222-227
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Female mosquitoes are major vectors of human disease and the most dangerous are those that preferentially bite humans. A 'domestic' form of the mosquito Aedes aegypti has evolved to specialize in biting humans and is the main worldwide vector of dengue, yellow fever, and chikungunya viruses. The domestic form coexists with an ancestral, 'forest' form that prefers to bite non-human animals and is found along the coast of Kenya. We collected the two forms, established laboratory colonies, and document striking divergence in preference for human versus non-human animal odour. We further show that the evolution of preference for human odour in domestic mosquitoes is tightly linked to increases in the expression and ligand-sensitivity of the odorant receptor AaegOr4, which we found recognizes a compound present at high levels inhuman odour. Our results provide a rare example of a gene contributing to behavioural evolution and provide insight into how disease-vectoring mosquitoes came to specialize on humans.
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| 68. |
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| 69. |
- Bostrom, P, et al.
(författare)
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Is irisin a human exercise gene? Reply
- 2012
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Ingår i: NATURE. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 488:7413, s. E10-E11
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 70. |
- Boussemart, Lise, et al.
(författare)
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eIF4F is a nexus of resistance to anti-BRAF and anti-MEK cancer therapies
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 513:7516, s. 105-109
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In BRAF(V600)-mutant tumours, most mechanisms of resistance to drugs that target the BRAF and/or MEK kinases rely on reactivation of the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway, on activation of the alternative, PI(3)K-AKT-mTOR, pathway (which is ERK independent) or on modulation of the caspase-dependent apoptotic cascade. All three pathways converge to regulate the formation of the eIF4F eukaryotic translation initiation complex, which binds to the 7-methylguanylate cap (m(7)G) at the 5' end of messenger RNA, thereby modulating the translation of specific mRNAs. Here we show that the persistent formation of the eIF4F complex, comprising the eIF4E cap-binding protein, the eIF4G scaffolding protein and the eIF4A RNA helicase, is associated with resistance to anti-BRAF, anti-MEK and anti-BRAF plus anti-MEK drug combinations in BRAF(V600)-mutant melanoma, colon and thyroid cancer cell lines. Resistance to treatment and maintenance of eIF4F complex formation is associated with one of three mechanisms: reactivation of MAPK signalling, persistent ERK-independent phosphorylation of the inhibitory eIF4E-binding protein 4EBP1 or increased pro-apoptotic BCL-2-modifying factor (BMF)-dependent degradation of eIF4G. The development of an in situ method to detect the eIF4E-eIF4G interactions shows that eIF4F complex formation is decreased in tumours that respond to anti-BRAF therapy and increased in resistant metastases compared to tumours before treatment. Strikingly, inhibiting the eIF4F complex, either by blocking the eIF4E-eIF4G interaction or by targeting eIF4A, synergizes with inhibiting BRAF(V600) to kill the cancer cells. eIF4F not only appears to be an indicator of both innate and acquired resistance but also is a promising therapeutic target. Combinations of drugs targeting BRAF (and/or MEK) and eIF4F may overcome most of the resistance mechanisms arising in BRAF(V600)-mutant cancers.
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