Reviews & Analysis

The study of how chemical reactions work is key to the design of new reactions, but relies on hard work and expert knowledge. A machine-learning tool has been developed that could change the way this challenge is approached.

Impaired sensory-nerve function is a common complication of diabetes. Evidence in mice indicates that deficiency of the amino acid serine causes these complications — and suggests that supplements could help to treat them.

Snippets from Nature’s past.

A trio of tracers has debunked a long-held model of the origins of spring water on Mount Fuji, revealing interactions between shallow and deep aquifer layers, and providing a fresh approach for probing mountain groundwater flow.

The intrinsic structure of a material called a chiral superconductor enhances the separation of charge carriers, transforming an electric current in a way that could change the future of memory storage at low temperatures.

The neurotransmitter dopamine has well-established roles in reward-driven behaviours, such as searching for food. The discovery that it also shapes spontaneous behaviour reveals parallels between these two phenomena.

Organic electrochemical transistors could be better than conventional inorganic devices for certain uses, but have been held back by performance issues. The solution could be to build up these organic transistors like a sandwich.

Snippets from Nature’s past.

Regions of the human genome that evolved rapidly after the separation between hominins and chimpanzees have now been charted. They contain genomic elements that are unique to humans and are linked to neurodevelopment and disease.

Daily rhythms affect many aspects of mammalian biology. A discovery in mice that the activity of a key type of immune cell is shaped by such rhythms might have implications for clinical efforts to tackle cancer.

T cells of the immune system develop through a lineage-commitment step followed by two checkpoints. The finding that the first checkpoint is needed to complete commitment offers a fresh perspective on T-cell development.

An analysis of the publication records of academic editors shows that one-quarter of them publish 10% of their own papers in the journals they edit and reveals that fewer than 10% of editors-in-chief are women.

A computational resource can identify candidate protein targets for almost all members of a major class of kinase enzyme in humans, with implications for understanding cell signalling in health and disease.

Our understanding of the origin of birds took a major step forward in 1998, thanks to the reported discovery of a remarkable fossil that unveiled the existence of feathered dinosaurs. Fossil publications that year caused a sensation.

An anomalous measurement from a nuclear reactor triggered a three-year campaign to find an elusive particle called the sterile neutrino. The search shows definitively that sterile neutrinos don’t exist — but the anomaly persists.

CRISPR–Cas is a bacterial defence system that can attack invading DNA to protect host cells, or help to insert DNA safely into the genome. Structures of this latter type of CRISPR–Cas system have now been visualized.

Messenger RNA has 64 possible triplet sequences, or codons, three of which usually terminate protein synthesis. But some organisms can use all codons to specify amino acids, thanks in part to a surprising feature of a transfer RNA.

Snippets from Nature’s past.

The pitch of oscillations detected in the γ-rays that are emitted when neutron stars collide could provide insight into the hottest and densest matter in the Universe — revealing physics that cannot be studied with terrestrial experiments.

Ferroelectricity has been found in a superconducting compound. Strong coupling between these two properties enables ferroelectric control of the superconductivity, which could prove useful for quantum devices.