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Chemistry is a key component in all the scientific disciplines. But does that mean it is nothing more than a handy tool — or are there still major chemical questions to crack? Philip Ball finds out.
Faster, safer and easier to control — chemical reactions in microreactors are taking off in the lab. Now industry is being seduced by the charms of the lab on a chip. Jenny Hogan investigates.
The United States has embarked on a huge effort to try to track the H5N1 avian flu virus in birds migrating into the country. But is surveillance more urgently needed elsewhere? Erika Check reports.
The idea that readers should be able to replicate published scientific results is seen as the bedrock of modern science. But what if replication proves difficult or impossible? Jim Giles tracks the fate of one group of papers.
DNA extracted from bones could shed light on what happened when our ancestors crossed paths with Neanderthals. But not everyone can get the fossils out of the ground, as Rex Dalton learns.
The White House is trying to reform environmental and health regulation across the board. But it is doing so very quietly. Colin Macilwain takes a look behind the scenes.
Implants in the brain could one day help paralysed people move robotic arms and legs. But first, scientists need to work out how our brains know where our limbs are, says Alison Abbott.
Plate tectonics has created oceans and pushed up mountain ranges. But when did the process that shapes the planet get going? Alexandra Witze joins the geologists debating the issue.
US nuclear weapons scientists are designing a warhead that is meant to be ‘reliable’ without ever having been tested. Geoff Brumfiel asks whether it could renew the United States' ageing stockpile.
An economist believes that a five-year aid effort in a dozen villages across Africa can teach the world how to defeat poverty. Sarah Tomlin reports on the project's progress in Rwanda.
Every day, all over the planet and beyond it, scientists try to make sense of the world in which they live. Here we present a composite picture of just one day — 21 June 2006, the Northern summer solstice. See news@nature.com for a greatly expanded version of this feature.
There's more to science at the movies than Lex Luthor's attempts to synthesize kryptonite. In the first of two features on film, John Whitfield looks at how a cinematographic technique can provide insights into the perception of reality. In the second, Alison Abbott meets Ben Heisenberg, a director whose first film is a taut moral fable of laboratory life.
There's more to science at the movies than Lex Luthor's attempts to synthesize kryptonite. In the first of two features on film, John Whitfield looks at how a cinematographic technique can provide insights into the perception of reality. In the second, Alison Abbott meets Ben Heisenberg, a director whose first film is a taut moral fable of laboratory life.
Tigers are teetering on the verge of extinction and human contact in their habitat could be their greatest threat. Erika Check investigates whether local people can live alongside India's big cats.
Reducing your calorie intake makes you live longer — if you're a rat or a worm. Laura Spinney asks whether the same holds for humans — and if it does, whether the benefits could be put in a pill.
Some economists had hoped that physicists might shake up the rigid theories typical of mainstream economics. But so far, they're unimpressed by physicists' handling of the markets. Philip Ball reports.
Viruses are often thought of as simple creatures. But their staggering diversity and genetic promiscuity could make them the most creative force in evolution, says Garry Hamilton.
Scientists say they gas mice and rats with carbon dioxide because it is humane. It's also simple, cheap and keeps their hands clean. Emma Marris analyses the final seconds of the lab rodents' life.
Scientists and policymakers are battling over whether global warming is making hurricanes more destructive. Alexandra Witze ventures into the heart of the storm.
