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A coupled model of palaeoclimate and carbon cycling turns up the heat on the idea that Earth once became a giant snowball. It supports instead a milder 'slushball Earth' history — but piquant questions remain.
Cooled to temperatures just above absolute zero, solid helium starts to behave very oddly. But its 'supersolid' behaviour might just be the result of imperfections that change the bulk properties of the crystal.
Researchers have now probably pinpointed all the genes in the MHC genomic region that are risk factors in type 1 diabetes. As the MHC is unusually rich in genes involved in immunity, this is truly exciting.
Is special relativity a clapped-out classical theory, to be replaced by a shiny new quantum model as soon as possible? On the contrary, it would seem: the theory still has a youthful ability to surprise us.
The Venus Express mission has returned its first findings on the harsh atmosphere of our sister planet. It's another step towards explaining how Venus turned out so differently from our balmy home.
Where would you start in trying to work out the structure of a macromolecular machine consisting of 456 proteins? Taking a combined experimental and computational approach is one answer.
The atoms and bonds that make up complex solids can be identified chemically — a feat made possible by cleverly combining spectroscopic and structural information conveyed by electrons scattered through a thin sample.
The p53 protein is widely studied for its function as a tumour suppressor, preventing cancer. It emerges that this protein also has an essential physiological role in regulating embryo implantation in mice.
Synaptic communication is triggered by action potentials, but neurons also talk to each other in between action potentials. Specific intracellular-calcium sensors regulate these conversations.
The motor protein kinesin 'walks' by alternately advancing its two motor structural domains. A cutting-edge, single-molecule fluorescence technique reveals further details of this stepping mechanism.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey represents the most ambitious attempt yet to map out a slice of the sky. In the first five years of its existence, it has revealed cosmic structures on every conceivable scale.
The split personality of the conduction electrons in one high-temperature superconductor might indicate that periodic modulations of their spin and charge density are a general feature of these mystifying materials.
Researchers have achieved the testing goal of generating embryonic stem cells from the cells of an adult primate. The procedure used could provide insights into a variety of diseases, if it can be applied in humans.
Before carbon nanotubes can fulfil their potential in device applications, better ways must be found to produce pure samples of them. A promising approach involves wrapping them up in a shell of polymer.
Sudden collapses of the sea floor can generate oceanic sediment flows that dwarf the global annual sediment input from rivers. Such flows can travel great distances, and undergo transformation along the way.
Termites digest wood with the help of their intestinal microorganisms. The first metagenomic analysis of the inhabitants of a termite gut provides insight into this feat of biomass-to-energy conversion.
The effect of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on carbon uptake in and export from the upper ocean is one of the big questions in environmental science. But it can be tackled experimentally.
