From green chemistry to rare earth metal catalysts, the Nature Outlook: Chemistry Masterclassuses the 2013 Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting as a basis to explore some of the most pressing issues in chemistry, presenting the perspectives of Nobel laureates as well as the young researchers aiming to emulate their success.

Drug resistance and the HIV pandemic have thwarted efforts to rid the world of humanity's biggest killer Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We need new types of safe drug, a practical point-of-care diagnostic and ultimately an effective vaccine if we are ever to eliminate tuberculosis. But first we need a better understanding of the underlying biology.

Climate change means the coming decades are likely to bring more frequent episodes of severe drought, with potentially devastating impact on the world's ability to feed a growing population. We therefore need a sustainable agricultural system that makes the most efficient use of water and reduces expensive and environmentally challenging inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides.

While survival rates for some types of leukaemia have improved dramatically, this family of blood cancers remains a potentially fatal disease. Research in epigenetics, immunotherapy, and cell transplants offers hope. And leukaemia is proving a testing ground for the theory of cancer stem cells — leading to knowledge that could advance cancer research overall.

Researchers are defining the various functions of sleep, from how we learn to the regulation of metabolism and immunity. Insufficient sleep, a growing problem in modern society, can knock our biological clocks out of kilter, sometimes leading to chronic disease and neurodegeneration. New ways to treat troubled sleeping are being developed, and better sleep practice can help people with mood disorders.

Prized since antiquity for its beauty and stability, gold is becoming a darling of the nanotechnology age. Gold nanoparticles can help pinpoint a tumour — and then carry drugs to it. It also holds promise for making extremely efficient solar cells, among other photonic applications. Nature Outlook: Goldreports on what's driving the twenty-first-century gold rush.

Heart disease causes almost one in three deaths worldwide. While improved diet and lifestyle changes play huge roles in combating the disease, discoveries about the biochemical and cellular mechanisms involved are bringing forth new treatments - from better drugs to surgical procedures.

After decades of modest advances, psoriasis research has caught fire. The drug pipeline is full of novel agents. Research into the role of the immune system in this skin disease is bearing fruit. Genetic studies hint at the condition's starting point. And now psoriasis is a proof-of-principle disease for other chronic inflammatory conditions.

Humans are the longest lived primates, with life expectancy in some developed nations surpassing 80 years. Of course, that doesn't stop us wanting more time. Research into the mechanisms of ageing is yielding Insights, many of them diet-related, into how we might not only live longer but also stay healthier as we do.

Despite a huge worldwide cancer research effort, the rates of surviving many forms of the disease have barely changed. Now, intensified collaborations between oncologists and physical scientists are bringing fresh perspectives to that effort. Interdisciplinary teams are starting to bear fruit in the form of mathematical and computer models, nanomedicine and high-tech diagnostics.

As recently as the mid-1990s, autism was thought to be a rare disorder that led to severe mental disability. But since then its reported incidence has ballooned, and it is thought to encompass conditions that vary widely in character and severity. Still, its causes, treatments and even definition remain to be pieced together.

From subatomic particles to cosmic-scale phenomena, Nature Outlook Physics Masterclassuses the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2012 to launch an examination of some of the biggest breakthroughs in physics — including conversations between physics laureates and the young researchers who hope to emulate them.