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Sequencing the genomes of individual skin cells called melanocytes has revealed a rich landscape of DNA changes. These insights shed light on the origins of melanoma, an aggressive type of cancer.
The long-term success of area-based conservation—including both protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures—after 2020 will depend on governments securing adequate funding and prioritizing biodiversity in land, water and sea management.
The current state of programmable photonic integrated circuits is discussed, including recent developments in their building blocks, circuit architectures, electronic control and programming strategies, as well as different application spaces.
An assessment of past, present and future ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet shows that rates of loss in the twenty‑first century will be much higher than those at any time during the past 11,700 years.
Microglia are the brain’s immune cells. A previously unknown role for microglia has now been uncovered: providing negative feedback to active neurons, to help the brain process information.
The cGAS–STING signalling pathway, which has a key role in antiviral immune responses in mammals, is found to have originated as an immune-defence system that protects bacteria against viral infection.
A field experiment reveals that people are more likely to demand that rich members of society should pay more taxes when reminded about ongoing inequality through exposure to a symbol of wealth.
Researchers have long sought materials in which light behaves the way electrons do in semiconductors. A workable approach for growing such materials in bulk now seems at hand, and could lead to advances in computing.
An ancient resistance mechanism poses a problem when using streptogramin antibiotics. A modular approach to drug synthesis exploits this same mechanism to generate an antibiotic that avoids the emergence of resistance.
Resident bacteria in the maternal gut are important for normal fetal brain development in mice. It emerges that this effect is driven by bacterially produced metabolite molecules that signal to the fetal brain.
The findings of a World Health Organization expert working group that is developing animal models to test vaccines and therapeutic agents for the treatment of COVID-19, and their relevance for preclinical testing, are reviewed.
The development of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 is reviewed, including an overview of the development process, the different types of vaccine candidate, and data from animal studies as well as phase I and II clinical trials in humans.
This Review describes the interplay between host genetics, host immunity and the gut microbiome in the modulation of colorectal cancer, and discusses the role of specific bacterial species and metabolites alongside technological advances that will facilitate more in-depth investigation of the microbiome in disease.
The rhythmic activity of a single layer of neurons has now been shown to cause dissociation — an experience involving a feeling of disconnection from the surrounding world.
Evidence has been found of a planet circling the smouldering remains of a dead star in a tight orbit. The discovery raises the question of how the planet survived the star’s death throes — and whether other planets also orbit the remains.
Influenza vaccination induces a protective memory immune response. The finding that human naive and memory B cells enter vaccine-induced germinal-centre structures suggests that both cell types aid this memory response.
NumPy is the primary array programming library for Python; here its fundamental concepts are reviewed and its evolution into a flexible interoperability layer between increasingly specialized computational libraries is discussed.
Miniaturized electronic devices generate a lot of heat, which must be dissipated to maintain performance. A microfluidic system designed to be an integral part of a microchip demonstrates exceptional cooling performance.
How can the decline in global biodiversity be reversed, given the need to supply food? Computer modelling provides a way to assess the effectiveness of combining various conservation and food-system interventions to tackle this issue.
Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and low-cost, contactless sensors have given rise to an ambient intelligence that can potentially improve the physical execution of healthcare delivery, if used in a thoughtful manner.
