Review, News & Views, Perspectives, Hypotheses and Analyses in 2007

Molecules that detect chemicals are the workhorses of analytical devices, but most recognize only one kind of target. A molecular sensor has now been devised that measures the concentrations of several metal ions.

Embryos and tumours use the same signalling pathways to direct the formation of blood vessels. Discovery of a new role for the Notch pathway in that process presents a fresh option for cancer treatment.

Hopes of keeping quantum mechanics 'real' have been dashed by new measurements of neutrons' quantum behaviour. Despite what our classical sensibilities require, the world is indeed fundamentally random.

Most breast cancers have their origin in the luminal epithelial cells of the mammary gland. Defining how a master regulator controls the development of this cell lineage could provide important hints about why this should be.

Newly developed ultrathin silicon membranes can filter and separate molecules much more effectively than conventional polymer membranes. Many applications, of economic and medical significance, stand to benefit.

Species richness is not the same as evolutionary richness. So which is the better measure for setting conservation priorities? The flora of the Cape of South Africa provides a test for that pressing question.

What a conventional particle accelerator needs kilometres to achieve, a compact 'plasma wakefield' accelerator has just mastered in less than a metre. So is it adieu to the era of the gargantuan mega-accelerator?

Most common diseases arise from interaction between multiple genetic variations and factors such as diet. Studies of such diseases that exploit the rich data on variation in the human genome are just beginning.

Imprinting a coherent light pulse on the spins of atoms is standard quantum sorcery. Retrieving the same light pulse from a second, distant set of atoms looks rather like black magic. But it, too, is just quantum mechanics.

As massive ice sheets grew on Antarctica during the first major glaciation of the Cenozoic era, the northern continents cooled and dried. The coincidence in timing implies that the cause was global rather than regional.

The behaviour of water in the atmosphere is a poorly understood part of the hydrological cycle. Applying the principles of isotope chemistry to satellite data provides a powerful approach for improving the situation.

Despite gold's reputation as an inert element, chemists have mined a rich seam of catalytic reactions that use this metal. The latest example stakes out gold's claim as a versatile catalyst.

Which end of a fly embryo becomes the head is partly dictated by the accumulation of bicoid RNA at the anterior pole. The protein that amasses the RNA turns out to be an old acquaintance from a different context.

Electrical circuits might be regarded as rather mundane pieces of classical engineering. But their electromagnetic fields are, like light, a quantum object whose energy comes in discrete units — photons.

Put two types of crystal together in one lattice, and the resulting material can have properties greater than the sum of those of its individual components. Until now, that's been a difficult trick to pull off on a large scale.