1. Piston proton pump » The X-ray structure of a membrane complex involved in aerobic respiration (and implicated in neurodegeneration) reveals an unusual piston-like mechanism for pumping protons across the mitochondrial membrane, and provides clues for developing drugs against Parkinson’s and other related diseases.

R.G. Efremov et al., Nature, 2010 May 27, 465(7297):441–45. Eval by Nathan Nelson, Tel Aviv Univ; Andrea Mattevi, Univ Pavia; Terrence Frey, San Diego State Univ; Thomas Meier, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics ID: 3375956

2. A gene for autoimmunity » Defective sialic acid acetylesterase (SIAE)—an enzyme involved in the regulation of B lymphocyte signaling—infers a greater risk of autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and type I diabetes, and may contribute to the pathogenesis of such diseases.

I. Surolia et al., Nature, AOP: 2010 June 16. Eval by Mark Anderson, Univ Calif, San Francisco; Anthony DeFranco, UCSF ID: 3611960

3. Super E. coli » The mother cell of E. coli maintains a constant growth rate throughout its replicative life (hundreds of cell divisions), despite accumulating damage and an increased probability of death, suggesting that growth and aging are decoupled, unlike all other studied aging models.

P. Wang et al., Curr Biol, 2010 May 26, 20:1099–1103. Eval by Roy Kishony, Harvard Univ; Thomas Meier, Max Planck Inst Biophysics ID: 3517956

4. Brain blood busters » A newly uncovered mechanism for clearing common brain blood clots provides a potential therapeutic target for stroke recovery and age-related cognitive disorders.

C.K. Lam et al., Nature, 2010 May 27, 465(7297):478–82. Eval by Jaime García-Añoveros, Northwestern Univ; Ray Rodgers, Univ Adelaide ID: 3369956

5. 1st cell with synthetic genome » The creation of the first cell controlled by a synthetic genome marks a long-sought landmark in synthetic biology that could someday be used to engineer microbes for environmental or medical applications.

D.G. Gibson et al., Science, AOP: 2010 May 20. Eval by Simon Zeller and Bernhard Schmid, Univ Zurich; Junjie U. Guo and Hongjun Song, Johns Hopkins Univ School of Medicine ID: 3346969

6. Elite controllers’ killer Ts » HLA B57, a gene commonly found in people who are naturally immune to HIV, causes the body to produce more potent killer T cells that help kill the quickly mutating virus, providing new clues for vaccine research.

A. Kosmrlj et al., Nature, 2010 May 20, 465(7296):350–54. Eval by Torben Lund, University College London ID: 3486956

7. Internal tree clocks » Circadian clock genes control many seasonal traits in deciduous trees, including cold hardiness and bud dormancy, suggesting these widespread genetic clocks play a broad role in plant survival.