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Decades of research have failed to decipher the atomic-scale mechanism by which carbon nanofibres grow out of vapour. High-resolution microscopy shows that the carbon atoms have a bumpy ride.
Humans and other vertebrates develop in a head-to-tail sequence. A mechanism that is based on a gradual decay of RNA appears to contribute to this process.
A long-standing question regarding ATP synthase — a cellular energy-generator — has been which direction it spins in when generating ATP. Some elegant experiments have revealed the answer.
The dynamics of the tectonic faults that produce earthquakes remain puzzling. An inference from laboratory experiments could help: at high rates of slip, friction at the interface may fall dramatically.
Corrosion damage can be reduced if inhibitor molecules are introduced into a metal's environment. As inhibitors may themselves be noxious, the inhibitory properties of natural amino acids are now under scrutiny.
We all spend about a third of our lives asleep, an essential but seemingly unproductive state. Experimental evidence now emerges to support anecdotal evidence that sleep can stimulate creative thinking.
A significant fraction of a common organic component of marine sediments has an unexpected source, providing a fresh context for studies of the global carbon cycle in oceanic and terrestrial settings.
Membrane fusion occurs in many situations in living organisms — when certain viruses enter host cells, for instance. Three crystal structures shed light on the protein rearrangements that bring about such fusion.
Accurate transmission of the genome during cell division requires the physical separation of replicated chromosomes. The identities of two molecular motors needed to do the job in fruitflies are now revealed.
How far is the Pleiades star cluster from Earth? The latest measurement suggests that there is a problem with data from the Hipparcos satellite, which will have repercussions for estimating other astronomical distances.
Carbon nanotubes have become familiar components in nanotechnology. Nanotubes made from inorganic materials are now on the rise, the latest creation being nanoscale tubes of a complex manganese oxide.
The initial flowering of animal life on Earth occurred during the Cambrian, some 540–490 million years ago. Fossil embryos from that time can provide clues about the origins of the major animal groups.
Getting to the bottom of events at the boundary between Earth's core and mantle is fiendishly difficult. The latest analysis invokes evidence from an isotope of tungsten to conclude that the two do not interact.
Data on the chimpanzee genome help in detecting differential selection on individual genes, and in judging whether normal microevolutionary processes are sufficient to account for human origins.
Studies of human tumours and the immune system have revealed that cutting and pasting of proteins can generate new peptide variants. This startling finding has implications for both proteomics and immunity.
