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Native Americans want to claim fossil resources found on their lands. Rex Dalton looks at how tribes and palaeontologists are working together to avoid bitter ownership disputes.
The International Space Station's one chance of scientific greatness rests on a high-profile refugee from the world of the particle accelerator - but is it too long a shot to be worth taking? Eric Hand reports.
In an effort to avoid a food crisis as the population grows, China is putting its weight behind genetically modified strains of the country's staple food crop. Jane Qiu explores the reasons for the unprecedented push.
More creatures live in soil than any other environment on Earth. But what are they all doing there? Amber Dance reports on the world's widest biodiversity.
What makes a successful team? John Whitfield looks at research that uses massive online databases and network analysis to come up with some rules of thumb for productive collaborations.
What began several years ago as an attempt to recruit social scientists to help the military has sparked a broader debate about militarizing academia. Sharon Weinberger reports.
Cell therapies are as much about the patients as they are about the cells. Monya Baker meets two stem-cell scientists who have decided to put people first.
The leading US presidential candidates are not trying to woo voters with science issues. But the senator who wins will help shape the world's most influential research agenda. Alexandra Witze looks at how John McCain and Barack Obama have developed their thoughts on science and technology, and where each of them might take the country if elected.
What is it like to be labelled a genius? Kendall Powell follows the paths of four MacArthur Fellows — and finds they lead to rutting elephant bulls, climate-change champions, hybrid sunflowers and robotic hands.
Barack Obama accepted Nature's invitation to answer 18 science-related questions in writing; John McCain's campaign declined. Obama's answers to many of the questions are printed here; answers to additional questions (on topics including biosecurity, the nuclear weapons laboratories and US participation in international projects) can be found at http://www.nature.com/uselection. Wherever possible, Nature has noted what McCain has said at other times on these topics.
Białowieża is one of the best-preserved woodlands in Europe. But is it a good reference point for what Europe looked like 5,000 years ago? Emma Marris goes deep into the forest to find out.
This summer a group of high-profile researchers met in Altenberg, Austria, to try and plot the future course of evolutionary theory. John Whitfield was there.
The Large Hadron Collider is the latest attempt to move fundamental physics past the frustratingly successful 'standard model'. But it is not the only way to do it. Geoff Brumfiel surveys the contenders attempting to capture the prize before the collider gets up to speed.
Proteins with 'zinc fingers' designed to bind almost any DNA sequence will soon be available to any lab that wants them — from two very different sources. Helen Pearson reports on a revolution in designer biology.
What does it take to store bytes by the tens of thousands of trillions? Cory Doctorow meets the people and machines for which it's all in a day's work.
Pioneering biologists are trying to use wiki-type web pages to manage and interpret data, reports Mitch Waldrop. But will the wider research community go along with the experiment?
Cancer cells vary; they compete; the fittest survive. Patrick Goymer reports on how evolutionary biology can be applied to cancer — and what good it might do.
