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Existing telecommunications infrastructure could operate as a miniaturized global positioning system, offering submetre resolution in urban areas and indoors, where location information from satellites is often inaccurate.
The discovery of a gene that mediates periodic segmentation of the developing backbone of vertebrate embryos opened up research into how the pace of development is controlled by a molecular clock that has a species-specific rhythm.
Molecules of heavy water contain the deuterium isotope of hydrogen and have been impossible to separate from ordinary water. Nanoporous materials with flexible apertures in their structures point the way to a solution.
The generation of spatial maps that detail molecular and genetic information for the diverse cells and tissue environment of breast tumours offers insight into the factors that drive cancer progression.
A clever application of perception-altering technology, enabled by genetic manipulations, provides insight into how fruit flies follow tendrils of airborne odour plumes to localize the source of smells.
Improved treatments for spinal-cord injury require both technological development and insights into the biology of recovery. High-resolution molecular maps of the nervous system are beginning to provide the latter.
A fluid of ultracold atoms has exhibited quantum dynamics similar to those thought to have existed moments after the Big Bang — ushering in a new era of laboratory exploration of the early Universe.
In an effort to treat systemic lupus erythematosus, T cells of the immune system were engineered to become cells known as CAR T cells. Their injection into people with the disease resulted in clinical and immunological improvement.
Sediment records from Alaska, spanning the past 20,000 years, suggest that melting glaciers triggered volcanic episodes that removed oxygen in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, explaining ‘dead zones’ that lasted millennia.
Predicting the risk of extinction from climate change requires an understanding of the interactions between species. An analysis of how changes in rainfall affect competition between plant species offers a way of tackling this challenge.
Shining a laser on an iron wire generates fast-moving electrons that boost the electromagnetic waves created by the light interacting with the wire. This way of making laser-like light could surpass existing methods that use electrons.
A field experiment provides a new way to investigate the mechanisms by which grazing, fertilizer use and light availability can affect the biodiversity of a grassland plant community.
A climate-driven rise in exposure to extreme temperatures will hasten mortality. To predict such losses, we need to know how quickly organisms succumb to stressful temperatures. A study shows how heat-failure rates vary across species.
Lizards and snakes belong to the highly successful group of reptiles called squamates, but a poor fossil record has obscured their early evolutionary history. A discovery now sheds light on this enigmatic portion of the tree of life.
Two groups have visualized actin — the protein polymer that gives cells their shape — at high resolution. The structures provide in-depth views of the polymer as it adopts fleeting states and undergoes conformational changes.
Nuclear-fusion experiments performed deep under Earth’s surface reveal one possible scenario that could have resulted in the chemical abundances found in an ancient star in the Milky Way.
