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.

Each year, the world's finest scientific minds, from Nobel laureates to aspiring young researchers, meet on the picturesque German island of Lindau to engage one another about the practice of their craft. Nature Outlookexamines the areas of biomedical science that challenge and inspire these pre-eminent investigators.

From dancing to drugs, research on Alzheimer's disease is moving apace. Our improved understanding of the role that amyloid-ß plays is uncovering new ways to treat and perhaps prevent the disease. Imaging the brain is improving diagnosis, and better biomarkers to track disease progression are sought. Could we soon lift the spectre of Alzheimer's disease?

Biofuels have big boots to fill. After more than 150 years, we have become dependent on petroleum and its products. First generation biofuels are showing us both the potential and the pitfalls of this sustainable technology — second and subsequent generations could help us realize a fossil-fuel-free future.

Infecting around 120 million people worldwide, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is more common than HIV yet it is a neglected epidemic. Diagnosis is hard, treatment is arduous, and there is no vaccine. However, for the first time in decades, new drugs are about to be launched that could substantially improve treatment and herald a new era of HCV awareness.

Despite decades of research, cancer in all its guises still kills millions of people each year. The good news is that the more we understand about cancer, the more it appears to be avoidable — not just through smarter eating and healthier lifestyle choices but also with vaccines and chemopreventive drugs. However, a formidable set of scientific, institutional and cultural obstacles stands in the way.

Food has a profound effect on our health. From the first milk we take, to the vast array of culinary creations that give us both pleasure and sustenance, our genes influence our diets — and vice versa. This complex interplay has shaped human evolution. Nutrigenomics will help us exploit this relationship, blurring the boundaries between food and medicine, and heralding an era of personalized nutrition.

In acknowledgement of the 60th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates, Naturelooks at the hard work, inspiration and ultimate recognition associated with a life dedicated to scientific enquiry, and how these can be passed to the next generation.

Like the condition itself, advances in understanding and treating Parkinson's disease have come slowly yet inexorably. Finally, however, we might be near the tipping point. With prevalence predicted to exceed 8 million in the next 20 years, new ways to treat Parkinson's disease are urgently needed.

The miraculous drugs that keep so many HIV-positive individuals alive have blunted the urgency with which people talk about the AIDS epidemic. Even so, there is a renaissance afoot in HIV/AIDS research, with renewed focus on a cure, more powerful drugs and innovative approaches to prevention.

Chagas disease is one of the most neglected of the tropical diseases, yet millions of people are infected with it. There are only two available drugs to treat it, both of which are more than 40 years old and neither of which is ideal. As the global population has become more internationally mobile, Chagas disease has spread from Latin America to become a worldwide threat. This Outlook highlights some of the progress in understanding and treating Chagas disease over its 101 years of recent history and outlines the challenges still to be met.

Tropical diseases affect more than one billion people, yet there are few effective treatments. And despite much research activity, scientific innovations with therapeutic potential are not making it out of the laboratory. The articles in this Outlook examine what can be done to stimulate the development of effective medicines and deliver them to the people who need them most.