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Changes in climate and land use are implicated as the main factors in the large-scale loss of carbon from soils in England and Wales over the past 25 years. The same picture is likely to apply much more broadly.
When proteins assemble themselves into fibres, there can be grave pathological consequences. Designing an otherwise soluble protein to make fibres provides a general mechanism for the construction process.
How does the size of a system affect its thermodynamic irreversibility? A deft experiment that observes the unfolding and refolding of a single molecule of RNA provides insights into the question at a small scale.
Whole-genome arrays have been used to reveal small islands of genetic differentiation in Anopheles mosquitoes. Analysis of these regions will identify genes involved in the initial stages of speciation.
Nature has a whole battery of dedicated enzymes to make the complex links between sugar rings — how can synthetic chemists compete? An ingenious approach fills a big gap in the synthetic tool-kit.
Sodium-coupled neurotransmitter transporters are essential for neurons to communicate. The high-resolution crystal structure of a bacterial relative hints at how this family of transporters works.
The ratio of oxygen isotopes contained in the signal in deep-sea sediments can tell us a great deal about past ice-volume variations. The challenge is to disentangle the different contributions to the signal.
Two competing theories have been applied to the formation of high-mass stars. Observations of two stellar systems now suggest that the accretion model has a weightier claim than its rival merger model.
The immune system is intimately involved in how tumours develop. But how do tumours avoid being killed by immune responses? It seems that in some instances they can lull immune cells into a false sense of security.
The most informative examples of large-scale evolution are provided by major transitions between environments. Fresh research on an ancient amphibian shows how it adapted to locomotion both in water and on land.
