科学者は一般の人々との関わりを深め、研究の法的・倫理的問題に関する議論に積極的に参加すべきだ。

Why researchers should resolve to engage in 2017 p.5

Debates over climate change and genome editing present the need for researchers to venture beyond their comfort zones to engage with citizens — and they should receive credit for doing so.

doi: 10.1038/541005a

民間企業や研究機関が、量子コンピューターの実現に向けて本腰の競り合いを。

Quantum computers ready to leap out of the lab in 2017 p.9

Google, Microsoft and a host of labs and start-ups are racing to turn scientific curiosities into working machines.

doi: 10.1038/541009a

かつてない規模の詳細な海洋生態系3D地図が、より良い海洋保護計画につながる可能性が。

3D ocean map tracks ecosystems in unprecedented detail p.10

Tool to divide water masses into precise categories can help in conservation planning.

doi: 10.1038/541010a

ロイヤル島の生態学研究を継続させようと、新たなオオカミ個体を外から導入する計画が。

Wolf transplant could reset iconic island study p.12

US government proposes introducing wolves to Isle Royale as population dwindles.

doi: 10.1038/nature.2016.21217

ライセンス交渉の不調により、ドイツ、台湾、ペルーの科学者がエルゼビア社の雑誌にアクセスできない状況に。

Scientists in Germany, Peru and Taiwan to lose access to Elsevier journals p.13

Libraries pursue alternative delivery routes after licence negotiations break down.

doi: 10.1038/nature.2016.21223

Natureが予想する、2017年の科学を彩るものは？

2017 sneak peek: What the new year holds for science p.14

Expect researchers to glimpse an event horizon, continue striving for quantum supremacy and brace themselves for a political hangover.

doi: 10.1038/541014a

生態学：海辺の鳥に死をもたらすのは？

What’s killing the world’s shorebirds? p.16

doi: 10.1038/541016a

天文学：「犯行現場」が突き止められた電波バースト

Astronomy: Radio burst caught red-handed p.32

10年ほど前から、遠方宇宙からの強い電波バーストが複数観測されているが、その起源は不明だった。そのようなバーストの1つの起源が今回突き止められたが、この知見は謎をさらに深めるばかりである。

doi: 10.1038/541032a

構造生物学：イオンチャネル作用機構の解明

Structural biology: Ion-channel mechanisms revealed p.33

カリウムイオンを細胞外に放出するSlo1チャネルの構造から、その高いコンダクタンスとカルシウムイオンと膜電位上昇による二重活性化機構との基盤に関する手掛かりが得られた。

doi: 10.1038/nature21103

DNA修復：神経変性疾患で働く機構の一本化

DNA repair: A unifying mechanism in neurodegeneration p.34

これまで性質が調べられていなかった遺伝性疾患の発症機構の研究から、DNA修復機構の異常が一部の神経変性疾患に共通していることが明確になり、このような疾患の治療法候補が示唆された。

doi: 10.1038/nature21107

植物科学：太陽光を効率よく使うタバコ

Plant science: Crops on the fast track for light p.36

タバコに遺伝学的操作を加えて光強度の変化への適応を改善することが試みられ、操作を受けた植物は野生型の植物よりも太陽光をもっと安全かつ効率よく使用できることが示された。

doi: 10.1038/541036a

化学：触媒作用への長くて曲がりくねった道

Chemistry: The long and winding road to catalysis p.37

ある部位で水素分子から作り出された水素原子が、そこからこぼれ出て別の部位で他の原子あるいは分子に付加される過程を、化学触媒分野ではスピルオーバーと呼んでいる。新たな研究によって、この作用の詳細が明らかになった。

doi: 10.1038/541037a

システム生物学：細胞ファミリーが持つ分子記憶

Systems biology: Molecular memoirs of a cellular family p.38

細胞内DNAに埋め込まれたバーコード配列にランダムな修飾を導入するシステムを使えば、細胞間の系統的関係を見分けることができ、同時に細胞の空間的関係は保持できることが分かった。

doi: 10.1038/nature21101

がん：転移開始細胞の脂肪酸受容体CD36を介した標的化

Targeting metastasis-initiating cells through the fatty acid receptor CD36 p.41

Human oral carcinoma cells expressing high levels of the fatty acid receptor CD36 initiate metastasis in mouse models, and metastasis is increased by palmitic acid or a fatty diet and decreased by blockade of CD36.

doi: 10.1038/nature20791

構造生物学：開状態にある高コンダクタンスCa²⁺活性化K⁺チャネルの低温電子顕微鏡構造

Cryo-EM structure of the open high-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel p.46

Two complementary studies present the full-length high-resolution structure of a Slo1 channel in the presence or absence of Ca2+ sensor in addition to the voltage sensor’s direct action on the pore.

doi: 10.1038/nature20608

構造生物学：高コンダクタンスCa²⁺活性化K⁺チャネルでのゲート開閉の構造的基盤

Structural basis for gating the high-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel p.52

Two complementary studies present the full-length high-resolution structure of a Slo1 channel in the presence or absence of Ca²⁺ ions, in which an unconventional allosteric voltage-sensing mechanism regulates the Ca²⁺ sensor in addition to the voltage sensor’s direct action on the pore.

doi: 10.1038/nature20775

天文学：高速電波バーストとそのホスト天体の直接的な位置決定

A direct localization of a fast radio burst and its host p.58

Subarcsecond localization of the repeating fast radio burst FRB 121102 shows that its source is co-located with a faint galaxy with a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus, or a previously unknown type of extragalactic source.

doi: 10.1038/nature20797

光物理学：二次元半導体ヘテロ構造体における相関した蛍光の点滅

Correlated fluorescence blinking in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures p.62

A correlated blinking phenomenon is discovered in two-dimensional bilayer semiconductor heterostructures, whereby a bright emission state occurs in one monolayer while a dark state occurs in the other, and vice versa.

doi: 10.1038/nature20601

化学：触媒担体が水素スピルオーバーに及ぼす影響

Catalyst support effects on hydrogen spillover p.68

The mechanism of hydrogen spillover is described using a precisely nanofabricated model system, explaining why it is slower on an aluminum oxide catalyst support than on a titanium oxide catalyst support.

doi: 10.1038/nature20782

気候科学：南極氷床の流出によって増幅される百年スケールの完新世気候変動

Centennial-scale Holocene climate variations amplified by Antarctic Ice Sheet discharge p.72

Records of iceberg-rafted debris and climate model simulations reveal that fluctuations in Antarctic Ice Sheet discharge may have amplified climate fluctuations during the Holocene.

doi: 10.1038/nature20582

気候科学：棚氷下の堆積物が記録した20世紀におけるパイン島氷河後退の歴史

Sub-ice-shelf sediments record history of twentieth-century retreat of Pine Island Glacier p.77

Many glaciers and ice shelves in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are retreating or thinning rapidly, but the triggering mechanism has been unclear; now, the retreat of Pine Island Glacier is found to have begun in the 1940s following warming El Niño events in the Pacific Ocean, showing that glacial retreat can continue long after an initial push from the climate.

doi: 10.1038/nature20136

肥満：ボディーマス指数のエピゲノム規模の関連研究と肥満の有害転帰

Epigenome-wide association study of body mass index, and the adverse outcomes of adiposity p.81

A large-scale epigenome-wide association study identifies changes in DNA methylation associated with body mass index in blood and adipose tissue, and correlates DNA methylation sites with high risk of incident type 2 diabetes.

doi: 10.1038/nature20784

神経変性：XRCC1変異はPARP1の過剰な活性化および小脳性運動失調症に関連する

XRCC1 mutation is associated with PARP1 hyperactivation and cerebellar ataxia p.87

Biallelic mutations in human XRCC1 are associated with ocular motor apraxia, axonal neuropathy, and progressive cerebellar ataxia.

doi: 10.1038/nature20790

植物科学：節での輸送体欠損によりイネの穀粒中のリン蓄積量を減少させる

Reducing phosphorus accumulation in rice grains with an impaired transporter in the node p.92

The phosphorous transporter SPDT is identified in rice; depletion of the transporter gene alters the phosphorus distribution in rice grains and leaves, suggesting that the strategy could be used for agricultural purposes.

doi: 10.1038/nature20610

免疫学：線維症に関与する非典型的単球と、その運命拘束された前駆細胞の発見

Identification of an atypical monocyte and committed progenitor involved in fibrosis p.96

An atypical monocyte with partial granulocyte characteristics is identified and shown to be critical for the development of fibrosis.

doi: 10.1038/nature20611

老化：スプライシング因子1は線虫の食餌制限およびTORC1経路による寿命を調節する

Splicing factor 1 modulates dietary restriction and TORC1 pathway longevity in C. elegans p.102

Precursor mRNA splicing homeostasis is a biomarker and predictor of life expectancy in Caenorhabditis elegans and defects in global pre-mRNA splicing associated with age are reduced by dietary restriction via splicing factor 1.

doi: 10.1038/nature20789

発生生物学：単一細胞における系譜情報の合成記録とin situ読み出し

Synthetic recording and in situ readout of lineage information in single cells p.107

A new system, termed MEMOIR, allows cells to record lineage and gene expression history within their own genome in a format that can be read out in single cells in situ.

doi: 10.1038/nature20777

構造生物学：一本鎖RNAウイルスのゲノムとゲノム送達装置のin situ構造

In situ structures of the genome and genome-delivery apparatus in a single-stranded RNA virus p.112

A high-resolution structure of the bacteriophage MS2 sheds light on the structure of the genome and how the genome is delivered into a bacterium.

doi: 10.1038/nature20589

ウイルス学：インフルエンザポリメラーゼとPol II CTD間の必須な相互作用の構造基盤

Structural basis of an essential interaction between influenza polymerase and Pol II CTD p.117

The crystal structure of bat influenza A polymerase bound to a serine-5 phosphorylated peptide mimic from the C-terminal domain of cellular RNA polymerase II shows how the two polymerases are directly coupled and suggests that the interaction site could be targeted for antiviral drug development.

doi: 10.1038/nature20594