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Volume 477 Issue 7365, 22 September 2011

The military has for many years been one of the biggest investors in scientific research. The fruits of its spending are clear to see in ever more sophisticated weapons of offence and defence. But many advances based on military research have found their way into everyday, peaceful use. In this issue of Nature, we examine the achievements, deficiencies and ethics of all aspects of military research.

Editorial

  • Unfounded fears about vaccines are already reaching worrisome proportions. No public figure should stoke them — as US presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann has done.

    Editorial

    Advertisement

  • Twenty years after the end of the cold war scientists and the military still need each other.

    Editorial
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World View

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Research Highlights

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Seven Days

  • The week in science: Hope for James Webb Space telescope; Israel joins CERN; and fraudulent physicist Jan-Hendrik Schön loses his PhD.

    Seven Days
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News

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News Feature

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Comment

  • Civilians and the military must cooperate on global disease control, say David Blazes and Kevin Russell.

    • David L. Blazes
    • Kevin L. Russell
    Comment
  • Leaders are ill-prepared for the ethical complications of new 'killer applications', says P. W. Singer.

    • P. W. Singer
    Comment
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Books & Arts

  • An obsession with oil distorts an account of the security of energy supplies, argues Vaclav Smil.

    • Vaclav Smil
    Books & Arts
  • As Japan strives to overcome the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Nick Pidgeon reflects on Charles Perrow's classic book about why complex technologies fail.

    • Nick Pidgeon
    Books & Arts
  • Robert Stone, director of the Human Interface Technologies Team at the University of Birmingham, UK, develops 'serious games' for training soldiers and sailors. He explains how immersion in virtual worlds can prepare military personnel for their experiences on the battlefield — and help them to heal after they return.

    • Daniel Cressey
    Books & Arts
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Correspondence

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News & Views Forum

  • Increased expression of sirtuin proteins has been shown to enhance lifespan in several organisms. New data indicate that some of the reported effects may have been due to confounding factors in experimental design. Here, experts discuss the significance of these data for research into ageing. See Letter p.482

    • David B. Lombard
    • Scott D. Pletcher
    • Johan Auwerx
    News & Views Forum
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News & Views

  • The slick interior of the pitcher plant has inspired a slippery material possessing self-lubricating, self-cleaning and self-healing properties. The secret is to infuse a porous material with a liquid that repels oils and water. See Letter p.443

    • Michael Nosonovsky
    News & Views
  • Scientists have begun to overhaul a yeast's genome to make it more stable, engineerable and evolvable. Remarkably, the part-natural, part-synthetic yeast cells function and reproduce without obvious ill effects. See Letter p.471

    • Peter J. Enyeart
    • Andrew D. Ellington
    News & Views
  • Single-electron circuitry is a promising route for quantum information processing. The demonstration of single-electron transfer between two distant quantum dots brings this technology a step closer. See Letters p.435 & p.439

    • Takis Kontos
    News & Views
  • The genetic basis of traits can be understood by comparing the DNA of varieties of the same species. The genomes of many varieties of a model plant organism have now been sequenced, and the results are revelatory. See Article p.419

    • Michael Bevan
    News & Views
  • Newly discovered neutralizing antibodies that target sites on the envelope proteins of HIV-1 provide a window on how some of the most powerful of these antibodies acquire their potency and breadth of activity. See Letter p.466

    • Paul R. Clapham
    • Shan Lu
    News & Views
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Article

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Letter

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Feature

  • Young scientists want to concentrate on their research, but teaching can bring rewards.

    • Paul Smaglik
    Feature
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Career Brief

  • Universal system would help ease researcher mobility, says white paper.

    Career Brief
  • Commission aims to highlight career options for postgraduate science students.

    Career Brief
  • Low growth in enrolment among UK natives could put English university science courses at risk, says report.

    Career Brief
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Futures

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Brief Communications Arising

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