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Twelve European nations this month adopted a common currency. But the goal of creating a unified scientific career structure remains distant. The consequent brain drain will undermine Europe's ability to compete with the United States.
Males are promiscuous and females are choosy, according to evolutionary dogma embodied in a theory called Bateman's principle. Only recently have researchers begun to test the theory's limits, says Jonathan Knight.
Germany plans to reform its antiquated academic career structure. But has the new model been fully thought through and is it adequately resourced? Quirin Schiermeier considers the evidence.
The effects of gravity and quantum mechanics rarely overlap because of the different scales involved. An experiment with ultracold neutrons has now been able to probe both simultaneously.
Obesity and a rare, congenital absence of fat cells are associated with damaging levels of fat in various tissues, and diabetes. Leptin helps to remedy these problems by causing oxidation of fatty acids in mitochondria.
In experiments, animals often prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger rewards that are deferred — thus failing to maximize their total gain. Many people exhibit similar behaviour.
New AIDS-virus vaccines induce cellular responses that can contain, but not prevent, infection. Mutations can allow the virus to escape this immune control, emphasizing the challenges in developing an effective vaccine.
Taking advantage of nuclear and electron 'spin interactions' to store and process information is a long-standing goal. A systematic technique for manipulating spin in a semiconductor provides a low-temperature solution.
Proteins that conduct chloride ions are vital for a range of cellular processes. The long-awaited crystal structure of a chloride channel shows what these proteins look like, and gives hints about how they work.
Nerve cells communicate by using chemical messengers, which are released from neurons after a 'priming' step. It seems that priming may be key to controlling the strength of chemical transmission.
Daedalus has devised a cunning way to check the theory of continental drift. Transoceanic communications cables must be stretching or shrinking fractionally in response to drift, causing changes in their resistance – which it should be possible to measure.