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A budget crisis is crippling French science, despite the best efforts of the research minister. But the time is right for a radical and necessary reorganization of research.
Can we probe the workings of cells without destroying them? Yes, says an influential and interdisciplinary group of US researchers — the answer lies in nanotechnology. Catherine Zandonella reports.
Under successive military governments, the discipline of forensic medicine nearly perished in Brazil. But it is starting to bounce back, inspired by a remarkable institute near São Paulo. David Adam pays the centre a visit.
Voltage-gated ion channels control electrical activity in nerve, muscle and many other cell types. The crystal structure of a bacterial voltage-gated channel reveals the astonishingly simple design of its voltage sensor.
An artificially created material with negative refractive index has opened the door to new phenomena — and controversy. New work finally sets the seal of experimental confirmation on negative refraction.
The bacterium that causes anthrax has several close relatives. Comparison of their genome sequences should provide insight into the biology of these organisms as agents of disease — and of terrorism.
What does water look like close to biological surfaces? The question has provoked heated debate for decades. Experiments suggest that this 'vicinal' water may be markedly different from the bulk liquid.
'Pseudogenes' are produced from functional genes during evolution, and are thought to be simply molecular fossils. The unexpected discovery of a biological function for one pseudogene challenges that popular belief.
In the developing world much of the energy for heating, lighting and cooking comes from burning 'biomass', mainly wood. A first attempt has been made to quantify the resulting emissions to the atmosphere.
The discovery of a very distant galaxy for which the abundances of around 25 elements can be measured promises new insight into the history of element creation and star formation in the Universe.
Postdoctoral associations on both sides of the Atlantic are mobilizing to tackle long-standing problems and smooth the path through this transitional phase in a scientist's career. Sally Goodman and Karen Kreeger report.
