Review, News & Views, Perspectives, Hypotheses and Analyses in 2009

Trailblazer in the study of protein synthesis.

Temperature estimates derived from isotopes in polar ice cores reveal much about Earth's past climate. According to the latest analysis, interglacial periods were rather warmer than previously thought.

Genome-wide maps of methylated cytosine bases at single-base-pair resolution in human cells reveal distinct differences between cell types. These maps provide a starting point to decode the function of this enigmatic mark.

Light from a distant γ-ray burst backs up a key prediction of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity — that photon speed is the same regardless of energy. But it might set the stage for evolution of the theory.

A structure for the enzyme RNA polymerase II in combination with the transcription factor TFIIB changes our view of how the polymerase and its helper proteins initiate transcription.

On the face of it, self-fertilization is the efficient way to breed: compared with outcrossing, there's usually much less fuss, for a start. So why isn't reproduction by selfing far more prevalent than it is?

Graphene continues to surprise physicists with its remarkable electronic properties. Experiments now show that electrons in the material can team up to behave as if they are only fragments of themselves.

Computational methods that reliably predict the biological activities of compounds have long been sought. The validation of one such method suggests that in silico predictions for drug discovery have come of age.

A tenet of drug discovery states that molecules greater than a certain size don't enter cells. But not only do certain synthetic peptides refute this idea, they also inhibit 'undruggable' biological targets.

Stars that host planets experience more mixing of their internal elements than do stars that lack such companions. This correlation may serve as a useful diagnostic in the search for planets around stars other than the Sun.

The FOXP2 gene is implicated in the development of human speech and language. A comparison of the human and chimpanzee FOXP2 proteins highlights the differences in function in the two species.

The mechanisms that govern the rate at which glasses soften on heating have long been a mystery. The finding that colloids can mimic the full range of glass-softening behaviours offers a fresh take on the problem.

During meiotic cell division, chromosome pairs exchange genetic material in a tightly controlled crossover process. Higher-order chromosome structure may regulate this genetic reshuffling at two distinct stages of meiosis.

With this issue, it is 140 years since Nature first appeared on 4 November 1869. To mark the anniversary, these two pages offer a miscellany from that issue and from 1889, 1909, 1929, 1949, 1969 and 1989.

Immune cells cross the inflamed blood–brain barrier. But it's unclear how brain inflammation begins before immune-cell entry. Studies of a model of multiple sclerosis start to solve this 'chicken and egg' conundrum.

Earthquakes occur within continental tectonic plates as well as at plate boundaries. Do clusters of such mid-plate events constitute zones of continuing hazard, or are they aftershocks of long-past earthquakes?

Mutations in RAS genes are common in human tumours, but RAS has proved impossible to target with drugs. Its associated NF-κB signalling pathway, however, may turn out to be this tumour gene's Achilles heel.

An exercise in experimental evolution using bacteria has been running for more than 20 years and 40,000 generations. The results to date provide a glimpse of a new world, and are cause for both delight and unease.