Articles in 2006

The PCP theorem encapsulates the idea that randomization allows the immediate verification of any mathematical proof. A simple route to this striking result was proposed earlier this year.

Ultraendurance racers torture their bodies and minds to achieve near-impossible physical feats. Is it an exceptional genetic make-up or the vestiges of human evolution? Helen Pearson reports.

The snowflake man

From a jewel-like bird, rarer than any diamond, to the delicately poetic swirls generated inside aircraft engines, the pursuit of knowledge turns up its fair share of beauty. This issue, Nature wraps up the year with an arresting series of images from 2006. We've divided them into the art of the natural world, planet-scapes both domestic and extraterrestrial, and the splendour of modern technology. Just because something enhances our knowledge doesn't mean it can't also be bewitching.

The intestinal bacteria in obese humans and mice differ from those in lean individuals. Are these bacteria involved in how we regulate body weight, and are they a factor in the obesity epidemic?

Instrumentation problems leave relativity test in the balance.

Detailed investigation of a molecule involved in an inherited type of deafness reveals a fresh facet to the mammalian auditory system — a hitherto unknown way for synapses to put calcium in a bind.

Project aims to mine information on genotypes, phenotypes and lifestyle.

Kerry Black travelled the world in search of the best surf spots. Then he decided to build them himself — on land. Mark Schrope meets the maverick oceanographer.

Are some ways of measuring scientific quality better than others? Sune Lehmann, Andrew D. Jackson and Benny E. Lautrup analyse the reliability of commonly used methods for comparing citation records.

That neutrons can be transmuted to protons, electrons and antineutrinos through the process of beta decay is old hat. That photons sometimes also get in on the act was suspected, but until now never confirmed.

Why change your lifestyle when you can pay a company to save your greenhouse-gas emissions for you? Quirin Schiermeier investigates whether carbon offsetting can really save the planet.

The intricate process of ageing involves numerous physiological pathways, together with genetic and environmental factors. Insight into this complex biology could come from studying a disorder that accelerates ageing.

Critics say trials do not translate well into human studies.

When we consider the Universe, are we trying to impose order on a meaningless jumble?