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Hopeful authors of research papers will help themselves by reading our new Guide to Authors before submission. This also highlights the need and opportunity to communicate more effectively with important non-specialist audiences.
As discussed in a Commentary by Tony Fauci on page 787, the threat of bioterrorism requires active consideration by scientists. On 9 January 2003, the US National Academy of Sciences held a discussion meeting on the balance between scientific openness and security (see Nature 421, 197; 2003). The next day, a group of editors* met to discuss the issues with specific reference to the scientific publication process. The following statement has emerged from that meeting. The statement was conceived in a US context, but the principles discussed will be considered and followed through by Nature and its related journals in their international arenas.
From wobbly bridges to new speech-recognition systems, the concept of synchrony seems to pervade our world. Steve Nadis reports on attempts to understand it, and the applications that may be on the horizon.
How do you run an experiment that takes thousands of years? As scientists studying nuclear-waste disposal are finding out, the answer is to look back in time. Philip Ball reports.
It has long been known that cells repair chemically or physically damaged DNA. But the discovery that damaged RNA can also be repaired may come as a surprise. What's more, some of the same enzymes are involved.
Small, but consistent, steps are being taken towards the realization of a quantum computer. The demonstration of the coupling of two quantum bits in a solid-state device moves us closer to that goal.
The brain's hippocampal region contains many classes of interneurons, which, it transpires, show different patterns of activity. They might contribute to memory by shaping the dynamics of neuronal networks.
Self-organized systems can evolve by small parameter shifts that produce large changes in outcome. Concepts from mathematical ecology show how the way swarming bees dance helps to achieve unanimous decisions.
Using the methods of polymer deposition that are employed in making integrated circuits, light-emitting polymers can be patterned for application in flat-screen, full-colour displays.
Molecular chaperones are generally thought to protect newly synthesized proteins and ensure that they fold into the correct shape. But it seems that two chaperones also help to target certain proteins to mitochondria.
The confinement of photons in a resonant cavity is the basis of laser operation. A device that has a resonant cavity for acoustic phonons inside an optical cavity enhances the interaction between sound and light.