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A tenet of drug discovery states that molecules greater than a certain size don't enter cells. But not only do certain synthetic peptides refute this idea, they also inhibit 'undruggable' biological targets.
Stars that host planets experience more mixing of their internal elements than do stars that lack such companions. This correlation may serve as a useful diagnostic in the search for planets around stars other than the Sun.
The FOXP2 gene is implicated in the development of human speech and language. A comparison of the human and chimpanzee FOXP2 proteins highlights the differences in function in the two species.
The mechanisms that govern the rate at which glasses soften on heating have long been a mystery. The finding that colloids can mimic the full range of glass-softening behaviours offers a fresh take on the problem.
During meiotic cell division, chromosome pairs exchange genetic material in a tightly controlled crossover process. Higher-order chromosome structure may regulate this genetic reshuffling at two distinct stages of meiosis.
With this issue, it is 140 years since Nature first appeared on 4 November 1869. To mark the anniversary, these two pages offer a miscellany from that issue and from 1889, 1909, 1929, 1949, 1969 and 1989.
Immune cells cross the inflamed blood–brain barrier. But it's unclear how brain inflammation begins before immune-cell entry. Studies of a model of multiple sclerosis start to solve this 'chicken and egg' conundrum.
Earthquakes occur within continental tectonic plates as well as at plate boundaries. Do clusters of such mid-plate events constitute zones of continuing hazard, or are they aftershocks of long-past earthquakes?
Mutations in RAS genes are common in human tumours, but RAS has proved impossible to target with drugs. Its associated NF-κB signalling pathway, however, may turn out to be this tumour gene's Achilles heel.
An exercise in experimental evolution using bacteria has been running for more than 20 years and 40,000 generations. The results to date provide a glimpse of a new world, and are cause for both delight and unease.
Catalysts steer reactions towards certain products — but the basis of their control is often unclear. Quantum chemical calculations reveal which parameters control bond formation in a network of catalytic reactions.
DNA-binding proteins have the daunting task of finding their binding sites among the 3 billion base pairs of the human genome. The shape of DNA, and not just its sequence, may offer proteins much-needed direction.
A micrometre-sized particle immersed in a liquid can be trapped by light. An experiment shows that the trapping can be accompanied by a whirling whose direction can be reversed by changing the light intensity.
Quantum systems habitually leak information, limiting their usefulness for practical applications. By optimally reversing the leak, this information loss has been reduced to a trickle in the solid state.
The most distant γ-ray burst yet sighted is the earliest astronomical object ever observed in cosmic history. This ancient beacon offers a glimpse of the little-known cosmic dark ages.
Materials that combine ferroic properties — such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity — are highly desirable, but rare. A new class of multiferroic solids heralds a fresh approach for making such materials.
