Reviews & Analysis

Why do some plants and animals become pests when they are introduced to new areas? Part of the answer seems to be that they have left most of their parasites behind, gaining vigour as a consequence.

The idea of producing electricity from sunlight is attractive, but in practice the technology to do so is expensive. A new device, moving away from the traditional silicon design, shows promise.

Researchers investigating heat exchange between the ocean floor and the ocean have various long-standing issues to tackle. The latest measurements of heat flux in hydrothermally active crust will add to these debates.

Mutations in ion-transport proteins can destabilize the electrical activity of the heart, causing sudden death. It now seems that mutations in a protein that anchors ion transporters to cell membranes can have the same effect.

In tropical forests, many species of lichen gain a place in the sun by living on the leaves of other plants. It seems they can do so without compromising the photosynthetic capacity of their host.

The successes of two pioneering groups are now brought together to create trains of identical ultrashort laser pulses that can control what's happening inside an atom.

Evidence has been growing that the fundamental particles known as neutrinos oscillate — one type of neutrino can transform into another type. A well-placed experiment now points to the definitive answer.

Radiation and other harmful influences frequently damage our genes, potentially causing diseases such as cancer. New work reveals a surprising mechanism that notifies the cellular defence system about DNA damage.

Microscopic particles dispersed in a solvent — a colloidal dispersion — can be a useful model for phase transitions and crystal nucleation. A colloid that can be 'tuned' using an electric field is a valuable new tool.

Differential activation of genes inherited from mothers and fathers will manifest itself as conflict in families. The effects are being explored experimentally with mice.

The first planet beyond our Solar System to be detected by means of the transit method has now been found to orbit its star almost twenty times closer than Mercury orbits the Sun.

Many studies have suggested that the increasing global human population is having a negative effect on biodiversity. According to new work, another threat comes from the rising number of households.

Quasars, the oldest known objects in the Universe, are powered by gas falling into black holes at their centres. How black holes formed so early in time has been hard to explain, but a new model might have the answer.

Flying birds evolved from a group of bipedal dinosaurs. The latest fossil discoveries from China indicate that the dinosaurian ancestors of birds had four wings — and that these animals glided rather than flapped.

An excellent sediment record from the Arabian Sea traces recent patterns in the activity of the Asian monsoon. It reveals both variability in monsoon strength and links with climatic events elsewhere.