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Of the 325 News and Views articles published this year, seven are singled out for special attention. They illustrate the great job that scientists can do in communicating and commenting on new research.
One might imagine that the first examples of art would be simple and crude. New finds bolster the evidence that modern humans were astonishingly quick in developing their artistic skills.
Lipids can hop between cellular compartments without using the transport vesicles that carry proteins. A key molecule involved in conveying the lipid ceramide has at last been uncovered.
For nearly 40 years, organic chemists have been fascinated by the idea of aromatic molecules that have the topology of a Möbius strip. No such molecule has been isolated — until now.
Chromosomal passenger proteins undergo spectacular changes in localization during cell division. We now have molecular insight into how and why these changes occur.
Even before they can fly, some young birds can run up vertical surfaces by using their wingbeats to add traction to their legs. Such behaviour may be relevant to understanding the origin of avian flight.