| mang2004 |
2019-12-18 02:00 |
Micronutrient richness of global fish catches — Daniel Pauly !-&;t7R
Fish are a source of micronutrients that help to prevent nutrient-deficiency diseases. For 43 countries, Hicks et al. mapped the relationship between the fish-derived nutrients available from fisheries’ catches and the prevalence of such diseases. Their data demonstrate that catches in some developing countries should be enough to meet the key micronutrient needs of their populations. However, in many developing tropical countries, a substantial proportion of local fish catches are either exported or processed locally to generate fishmeal that is then exported and used to feed farmed fish. Many of the local fisheries (pictured), which had traditionally supplied the regional markets, now instead supply fishmeal plants. This does not reduce the pressure on wild fish. Moreover, it deprives people on low incomes of previously affordable, nutritious local fish. Original research: Nature 574, 95–98 (2019). .&8a ;Q?c
J: I@kM
Selective clearance of mutant huntingtin protein — Huda Y. Zoghbi F%O+w;J4
Huntington’s disease is caused by an abnormally long stretch of glutamine amino-acid residues in the huntingtin (HTT) protein. Cells degrade the mutant huntingtin (mHTT) through autophagy — a clearance mechanism that involves engulfment of proteins by a vesicle called the autophagosome. Li et al. hypothesized that compounds that bind to both the mutant polyglutamine tract and the protein LC3B, which resides in the autophagosome, would lead to engulfment and enhanced clearance of mHTT. The authors conducted small-molecule screens to identify candidate compounds, and used wild-type HTT in a counter-screen to rule out compounds that bind to the normal version of the protein. They found encouraging evidence that four compounds could produce functional improvements in models of Huntington’s disease across three species. This therapeutic strategy might also be useful for other diseases involving expanded polyglutamine tracts. Original research: Nature 575, 203–209 (2019). Q|U
[|U
^f ,%dM=i=
l|;]"&|_]c
Picture of Neptune from Voyager 2. 1qm*#4x
Credit: NASA/JPL %u2",eHCB
A new moon for Neptune — Anne J. Verbiscer k[f_7lJ2
In 1989, the NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 detected six moons of Neptune that are interior to the orbit of the planet’s largest moon, Triton. Showalter et al. report the discovery of a seventh inner moon, Hippocamp. Originally designated as S/2004 N 1 and Neptune XIV, this moon was found in images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 2004–05 and 2009, and then confirmed in further images captured in 2016. Hippocamp is only 34 kilometres wide, which makes it diminutive compared with its larger siblings, and it orbits Neptune (pictured) just inside the orbit of Proteus — the planet’s second-largest moon. The discovery of Hippocamp is intriguing because of the moon’s relationship to Proteus and the role that both objects might have had in the history of Neptune’s inner system. Original research: Nature 566, 350–353 (2019). XP n Hi@x
m3&
| |