Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
The cool molecular gas from which stars form has been detected in relatively ordinary faraway galaxies. The results point to a continuous fuelling of gas into the star-forming guts of assembling galaxies.
The atmospheric properties of distant worlds are becoming increasingly clear. The latest observations reveal fluorescent emission from methane in the upper atmosphere of a Jupiter-like extrasolar planet.
The thermal process known as Joule heating, which often plagues electronic devices, has been turned to good use: making devices that can produce sound as well as reproduce music and speech.
How, when and from where did Madagascar's unique mammalian fauna originate? The idea that the ancestors of that fauna rafted from Africa finds support in innovative simulations of ancient ocean currents.
The photosynthetic apparatus of cryptophyte algae is odd — its pigments are farther apart than is expected for efficient functioning. A study into how this apparatus works so well finds quantum effects at play.
Embryonic stem cells can create copies of themselves, but can also mature into almost any type of cell in the body. Tiny gene regulators called microRNAs are now shown to have a role in directing these properties.
As a rule of thumb, carbon–carbon bonds are not easily broken. But a tungsten complex has been found to break a particularly strong carbon–carbon bond, opening up fresh opportunities for organic synthesis.
Damaged lysosomes, the principal degradative organelles, can kill a cell. A stress-induced protein controls lysosome stability, providing a potential target to treat lysosome-related diseases and cancer.
A probabilistic analysis of climate variation during the period AD 1050–1800 refines available estimates of the influence of temperature change on the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The curvature of cellular membranes is generated by proteins and lipids. A synthetic experimental system allows the interplay between protein- and lipid-generated bending mechanisms to be studied directly.
Detailed analyses of foot kinematics and kinetics in barefoot and shod runners offer a refined understanding of bipedalism in human evolution. This research will also prompt fresh studies of running injuries.
TH2 growth factors, which are involved in allergy and in defence against parasites, are produced by many different cell types, including a newly identified population found in fat-associated lymph clusters in the abdomen.
Asteroids are weakly bound piles of rubble, and if one comes close to Earth, tides can cause the object to undergo landslides and structural rearrangement. The outcome of this encounter is a body with meteorite-like colours.
Biologists have assumed that natural selection shapes larger patterns of evolution through interactions such as competition and predation. These patterns may instead be determined by rare, stochastic speciation.
Springtime ozone levels in the lower atmosphere over western North America are rising. The source of this pollution may be Asia, a finding that reaffirms the need for international air-quality control.
Physics provides new approaches to difficult biological problems: a plausible mathematical model of how cilia and flagella beat has been formulated, but it needs to be subjected to rigorous experimental tests.
