Scientists have created a form of the H5N1 avian flu virus that is transmissible between mammals, raising fears that it could trigger a human pandemic if it escapes from the lab - either through accidental release or as part of a bioterror attack. As debate rages over how much of the research should be published, and whether there is sufficient oversight of such work, you can follow all Nature's coverage of the issue here.

The January 2012 special issue presents two important strategies for generating potent and lasting anti-tumor immunity. The first strategy is to subvert immune suppressive networks in the tumor microenvironment. The second strategy is to optimize conventional and anti-biological modalities to directly target tumor and adjacent tumor tissue, and mobilize and expand anti-tumor immunity in the tumor microenvironment which results in tumor eradication. Further background information on this important topic is available through the accompanying web focus which links to related articles from across Springer Nature.

Using scientific techniques to investigate the claims of traditional medicine as practised in countries such as China and Japan can help sort effective treatments from unfounded superstitions — and perhaps give modern medicine a few insights into holistic approaches borne from thousands of years of herbal remedies.

For science — as for politics and economics — 2011 was a year of upheaval whose effects will reverberate for decades. Nations struggling with the financial crisis chipped away at science funding, while the Arab Spring inspired hopes that research might blossom in the Middle East. But all this was overshadowed by Japan's devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.

Despite a rash of new drugs and advances in stem-cell therapy, this rare, bloodborne cancer is still an almost certain death sentence. Although a cure remains a long way off, studies of multiple myeloma are yielding Insights into bone biology, the role of the tumour microenvironment and the origins of a whole range of different cancers.

The Large Hadron Collider is the world's most powerful particle accelerator. As the first proton beams zip around the LHC's massive 27-kilometre ring on 10 09 2008, it marks a new era of physics that could pin down the identity of the dark matter that shapes galaxies; find the Higgs boson, believed to confer mass on the other particles of the quantum bestiary; and recreate conditions that existed a split-second after the Big Bang. In this online Special, Natureasks how it works, what it will find, and why we should be excited.

Our centuries-old battle against influenza occasionally erupts into mass death — the 1918 pandemic alone killed at least 50 million people. What makes this virus such a tough foe is its ability to mutate so that vaccines and drugs quickly become obsolete. Can new research offer hope for defeating this pathogen for good?

The increased prevalence of allergies and asthma, especially in the developed world, has raised the stakes in the quest for prevention and cure. New research is focusing on defects in the epithelial barrier as a cause of allergy, and how to enhance the protective role of benign bacteria living in the gut.

The seventeenth meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change begins on 28 November in Durban, South Africa, and marks a crucial moment for negotiations on how to limit global warming. Commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol are set to expire next year – here, Naturefollows the efforts to shape a post-Kyoto world.

The trend of scaling down the silicon transistor, which has driven the revolution in computer technology over several decades, is coming to an end. The semiconductor industry is now considering new transistor concepts to secure the next generation of computers. This Insight reviews six promising approaches — some are near commercialization and others could be ready in the next 10—20 years.

Autism spectrum disorder has attracted intense interest from the public and scientists over recent years. Nature sorts fact from fiction in this hot, but sometimes contentious, field: from the debate about soaring diagnoses, to the idea that scientists and engineers are at high risk of having a child with autism. The special includes news and comment fromNature, and articles fromNature Medicine,Nature NeuroscienceandNature Reviews Neuroscience.

First came the earthquake. Then, on 21 October 2010, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced that Haiti was in the grip of a cholera outbreak. One year on, more than 400,000 people have been sickened, and over 6,000 have died. Here, Nature looks back over its coverage of the disaster, and the international response.