Outline

Can tissue engineering provide a cheap and convenient alternative to surgery for eardrum repair?

In the most severe cases, a ruptured eardrum can require surgery to put it right, but tissue-engineering techniques might provide a much simpler solution.

Damage to the surface of the cornea causes pain and loss of vision, but regenerative therapies are providing a clearer, brighter future.

Loss of the stem cells that constantly renew the surface of the cornea causes pain and, in some cases, blindness. Advances in transplantation and cell culture are helping to restore vision to even the most severely affected people.

The concept of computers that harness the laws of quantum mechanics has transformed our thinking about how information can be processed. Now the environment exists to make prototype devices a reality.

The promises of quantum computation are unique — and so are the challenges. Progress in physics, mathematics, computer science and engineering have brought quantum computers to a point where they start to challenge their classical counterparts. By Andreas Trabesinger; illustration by Visual Science.

Successfully treating the cancer requires overcoming the almost inevitable development of resistance to standard platinum-based therapy.

Ovarian cancer is difficult to treat, largely because tumours are often found late and develop resistance to initial treatment: platinum-based therapy. New approaches promise to break through the platinum barrier.