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A quantum system can undergo tunnelling even without a barrier to tunnel through. The latest experiments visualize this process in exquisite detail, completely reconstructing the state of the evolving system.
Rival experimental methods to determine the Universe's expansion are contending to become the fashionable face of cosmology. Fresh theoretical calculations make one of them the hot tip for next season.
Replacing a missing gene in adult colour-blind monkeys restores normal colour vision. How the new photoreceptor cells produced by this therapy lead to colour vision is a fascinating question.
The surface of plant leaves — the phyllosphere — is home to many microbes. A 'community proteogenomics' approach offers a fresh look at what it takes to survive and thrive in this unique habitat.
Argonaute proteins inhibit gene expression by binding to messenger RNA via a small nucleic-acid guide. Structures of the Argonaute complex bound to target RNA reveal snapshots of a silencing machine at work.
The transmission of information from one place to another by light waves sent through waveguides is hampered by light attenuation and scattering loss. Magnetic photonic crystals could provide a solution to such problems.
Copy-number variation — deleted or duplicated regions of DNA — is widespread in the human genome. A systematic population survey of the common variants provides an invaluable resource for further studies.
Fusilli pasta is made by extruding dough through an appropriately shaped hole. A new method for making similar shapes in the optical field of light involves passing laser beams through droplets of liquid crystals.
The Wnt signalling pathway balances the opposing activities of two proteins to transmit signals within cells. An inhibitor that stabilizes one of these proteins reveals a new target for anticancer drug development.
A dramatic feathered dinosaur fossil from the Jurassic of China resolves a 'temporal paradox'. But it adds intriguing complications to the debates on the evolution of feathers and flight in birds.
Sorcerers have long gazed into crystal balls to conjure up information. Chemists are also getting in on the act, using porous crystals to trap unstable reaction intermediates and to reveal their structures.
Alarm signals emitted by animals may not be all that they seem. But a good example has been identified in the whistling sound of a crested pigeon's wings when it takes flight in response to a predator.
Two experiments that produce laser light by exploiting the collective wave-like motion of free electrons on a metal surface bring the science and technology of lasers into the nanoland.
Gradients of signalling molecules dictate where specific cell types form in developing tissues, but how these gradients are set up is much debated. A model proposed 40 years ago by Francis Crick may provide an answer.
Patterns of sea-surface warming and cooling in the tropical Pacific seem to be changing, as do the associated atmospheric effects. Increased global warming is implicated in these shifts in El Niño phenomena.
Past societies have struggled against environmental problems similar to those that beset us today. Three publications illuminate the outcomes for three different tropical civilizations during the period AD 700–1600.
