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Most state-of-the-art methods of wireless energy delivery are inherently limited to static devices. An approach based on fundamental physics could overcome this limitation, opening up a wealth of applications. See Letter p.387
The current and expected environmental consequences of built dams and proposed dam constructions in the Amazon basin are explored with the help of a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can cause brain dysfunction. Studies in mouse models of lupus find that interferon proteins can cause the brain's immune cells to trim the synaptic connections between neurons. See Letter p.539
Pili are filamentous bacterial structures that promote adhesion to host cells. It emerges that a small molecule that inhibits this adhesion can prevent colonization of the mouse gut by a pathogenic bacterium. See Letter p.528
The strong force binds the constituents of nuclei together. Differences between the force's fundamental interactions and their mirror images were thought to have been observed in heavy-ion collisions, but new data challenge this picture.
High-speed communication systems that use optical fibres often require hundreds of lasers. An approach that replaces these lasers with a single, ring-shaped optical device offers many technical advantages. See Letter p.274
A pair of two-dimensional materials have been shown to exhibit ferromagnetism — the familiar type of magnetism found in iron bar magnets. Such materials could have applications from sensing to data storage. See Letters p.265 & p.270
Gaps in the fossil record have limited our understanding of how Homo sapiens evolved. The discovery in Morocco of the earliest known H. sapiens fossils might revise our ideas about human evolution in Africa. See Letters p.289 & p.293
The standard model of particle physics is incomplete, but experimental particle decays that occur through a ‘flavour-changing neutral current’ process, which show discrepancies to standard model predictions, may offer hints to the existence of new particles.
Measurements of the activity of neurons called direction-selective ganglion cells in the mouse retina explain how visual motion encoded by the eye maps onto body movements such as walking. See Article p.492
Cell division requires the action of key regulator proteins called cyclins and CDKs. It emerges that a cyclin–CDK complex can regulate cell metabolism, and targeting this metabolic regulation causes tumour regression in mice. See Letter p.426
Recent measurements of B-meson decays in which tau leptons are produced might challenge the standard model assumption that interactions of leptons differ only because of their different masses.
A gene has been identified that underpins the capacity of mycobacterial cells to divide to produce physiologically different daughter cells. This finding has implications for drug treatment of tuberculosis. See Letter p.153
A bag that mimics the environment of the womb can support lambs born extremely prematurely for four weeks. This development points to ways to improve the prospects of extremely premature babies.
The function of materials that have been coated with an ionic liquid can be altered by applying an electric field to shuttle ions in and out. The technique has been used to make materials that have switchable properties. See Letter p.124
Isotopic data from an ice core have been used to estimate atmospheric oxidant levels during past climate transitions — pointing to relatively unexplored climate feedbacks as drivers of atmospheric composition. See Letter p.133
