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Basic research in condensed-matter physics continues to lose ground to focused R&D. Effective cross-disciplinary partnering between universities, government labs and industry is seen as essential to the future health of basic research in this field. Brendan Horton explores.
Electronics companies in Japan are slashing jobs for silicon physicists — once the veritable élite of the country's corporate R&D world. And public-sector research is only slowly picking up, says Robert Triendl.
Arguments over human embryonic stem cells and cloning have loomed large over the choice of a new director of the National Institutes of Health. But the expected nominee for the position will need to prove himself on other fronts.
Last November, a shock wave crippled Japan's Super-Kamiokande neutrino detector. David Cyranoski and Geoff Brumfiel find out how physicists plan to resurrect the device.
The Arab world has a proud history of scholarship, but in recent decades it has neglected science. Now, against a backdrop of turmoil, a grassroots initiative hopes to restore the balance. Ehsan Masood reports.
Rhythmic movements such as locomotion are produced by oscillatory circuits in the central nervous system. Work in fruitflies shows that the neural circuitry for such movements develops without peripheral sensory feedback.
Cosmologists continue to probe for weaknesses in the 'standard model' for explaining the structure of the Universe. Happily, the model passes the latest observational test of its consistency.
Just as important as starting cellular signalling pathways is switching them off again. It seems that the Cbl protein has a dual function in accelerating the degradation of certain signalling molecules.
We can't make amino acids so they need to form part of our diet. Fortunately, mammals have evolved a taste for these essential protein components, and researchers are beginning to unravel the underlying molecular mechanisms.
According to a new theory, stratification of the oceans is controlled by a balance between heat input at the surface and heat redistribution by eddies. But it is early days for this sea-change in thinking.
The light-gathering structures in our eyes are specialized membranes found on cells known as photoreceptors. Two studies show that a protein called Crumbs is crucial for the development of these membranes.
Daedalus considers how best to harness wave power as a renewable energy source, and suggests that extracting energy from the sea will reduce the need for sea walls and marine defences.
New types of physical behaviour occur under unimaginably cold conditions, and modern laser-cooling technologies enable scientists to probe the quantum world of condensates. We review the latest research into ultracold matter and find that coherent matter waves as well as individual ultracold atoms and ions are extremely attractive for both theoretical and practical studies.
