Plasticity is the capacity of cells or organisms to vary their properties or behaviour when environmental conditions change. Studies over the past few decades have shown that cells are considerably more plastic than had been thought. Uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this plasticity is a dynamic area of biology and biomedicine.

Worldwide, the number of old people is increasing rapidly, so finding ways to keep age-related diseases at bay is an urgent task. Owing to a growing understanding of the processes that underlie ageing, there is hope that, at some time in the future, elderly people will be kept healthy by suppressing the ageing process itself.

Bring together a large number of particles and they can order themselves in unusual ways. This can give rise to emergent phenomena that cannot be understood solely in terms of the interactions that rule at the microscopic level — a theoretical and experimental playground for physicists in which the maxim 'more is different' holds true in particularly striking ways.

A cell is a self-organizing and self-replicating machine. The genome contains the instructions for building this highly complex machine, but how this information is accessed, read and interpreted depends on the cell type and its stage of development. Our understanding of how cellular organization and function are regulated in this way is now rapidly improving.

Materials have only recently been designed to impart specific biological functions. As biologists and materials scientists work closely together, the interdisciplinary field of biomaterials is generating substances that can direct stem-cell fate, modulate immune responses and allow extremely sensitive diagnostic assays. New materials are also being creating by mimicking the clever solutions that nature has evolved.

New techniques are markedly altering the landscape of experimental neuroscience and redefining the questions that can be asked. Methods such as gene targeting, functional imaging, optogenetic tools and precise anatomical tracing are yielding Insight into a diverse range of topics and providing information that is complementary to that obtained by more conventional methods, such as electrophysiology.

An organism's genome consists of a complex code that specifies not only the DNA sequence of genes but also how and when they are transcribed. Recent technological advances have broadened our understanding of how this genomic DNA is transcribed into RNA and how various DNA sequences regulate gene activity. This research is improving the way in which genomic information can guide research into disease.

Metalloproteins — proteins containing metal atoms or clusters — are involved in a wide range of important biological processes. Recent advances in our understanding of metalloproteins include how enzymes containing complex metal clusters metabolize small gaseous molecules, how proteins containing iron—sulphur clusters are assembled, and how enzymes containing a single metal ion catalyse the halogenation of small organic molecules.

Membrane proteins have essential roles in the function of a cell or organelle. The structure and function of these proteins are intimately linked, and recent structural advances have allowed biophysicists to discern much more about how these molecular machines work.

Microorganisms are the most abundant lifeforms in the ocean, and as such have a very important role in many ecosystems. New technologies are allowing scientists to dig deeper than ever before into the composition and activity of microbial communities.

The central role of ubiquitin in cell-cycle regulation, DNA repair, cell growth, signalling and immune function is starting to become clear right down to the molecular level. Identifying irregularities in the system has opened up opportunities in drug discovery, and in diagnostics and treatment for a range of disorders, from cancer to neurodegeneration.

A century and a half ago, Charles Darwin detailed his theory of evolution by natural selection in his book On the Origin of Species. How does this remarkably successful theory apply to life on our planet? How have the scientists of subsequent generations built on Darwin's ideas? And does revisiting the original theory shed new light on the remaining puzzles?