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The future of science and technology in Africa depends on the development of mutually supportive networks. Two examples show how imaginative initiatives can be turned into models for others.
For decades, California has bucked the US trend of gobbling ever more electricity. But can the state pull off an even more ambitious goal and slash its greenhouse-gas emissions? Charles Petit finds out.
When darkness falls for Antarctica's long winter months, the sky becomes a spectacular canopy of stars. At one brand new base, astronomers are braving the extreme cold to build telescopes that they hope will rival space observatories. Gabrielle Walker investigates.
Earlier this month, students from around the world locked horns in competition. Their challenge was to build functioning devices out of biological parts. Erika Check finds out how they got on.
Synthetic biology, which involves the engineering of new biological components and organisms and the redesign of existing ones, will require community discipline and openness if it is to flourish safely, says George Church.
Tales of brilliant scientists and their heroic discoveries can overshadow the true nature of scientific communities, which are often dominated by battles for power and success.
A quantum computer needs a constant supply of ‘qubits’ in a known state. A nuclear magnetic resonance experiment that cools qubits by pumping entropy into a heat bath is a step closer to that goal.
Proteins are often produced at their site of action, but the RNAs from which they are made must be kept inactive until they reach the right spot. It seems this ‘silencing’ of RNA is linked to its transport around the cell.
The electrical resistance of some manganese oxides takes a tumble when they become magnetic. Close examination confirms the interplay of conduction electrons and lattice vibrations that contributes to this effect.
The aquaporins are membrane channels that were originally identified as regulators of a cell's water balance. A member of the aquaporin family is now implicated as a central agent in controlling fat metabolism.
Distinguishing self from non-self is the underlying basis of immunity. Intriguingly, the genetic system that governs a natural process akin to tissue transplantation in vertebrates has been characterized in an invertebrate.
If the prospect of endless lab work doesn't appeal, maybe using your qualifications to address global problems more directly would be the answer. There is plenty of scope for those who wish to pursue science with a 'social conscience', as Virginia Gewin finds out.
