Reviews & Analysis

Prions are infectious proteins that can cause deadly diseases in mammals. Detailed measurements of infectivity suggest that there may be distinct infectious and toxic versions of this protein. See Letter p.540

A new model for volcanic tremor has a magma column, surrounded by gas bubbles, oscillating or 'wagging' back and forth. The model reconciles several observations of this characteristic signal. See Letter p.522

Why do some people develop post-traumatic stress disorder, but others emerge from a horrific event relatively unscathed? A molecule involved in orchestrating the brain's response to stress may hold the key to this difference. See Article p.492

Watson–Crick base pairs underpin the DNA double helix. Evidence of transient changes in base-pairing geometry highlights the fact that the information held in DNA's linear sequence is stored in three dimensions. See Article p.498

Unpaired electrons can exert effects that allow interatomic contacts in molecules to be detected more easily using nuclear magnetic resonance. One such effect reveals unusual interactions between certain atoms in a protein.

A long climate record reveals abrupt hydrological variations during past interglacials in southwestern North America. These data set a natural benchmark for detecting human effects on regional climates. See Letter p.518

A long-standing controversy about whether the motions within a typical astrophysical disk of gas are stable or unstable has resurfaced. The answer has profound significance for our understanding of how stars and planets form.

During migration, cells interact with their environment by exerting mechanical forces on it. A combination of two techniques shows that they do so in all three dimensions by a push–pull mechanism.

Variation in a genomic region that contains the cancer-associated gene ATM affects a patient's response to the diabetes drug metformin. Two experts discuss the implications for understanding diabetes and the link to cancer.

Deposits in China dating to about 600 million years ago contain carbon compressions of algae and other organisms. The fossils provide a new window into the early evolution of complex multicellular life. See Letter p.390

Metamaterials are best known for their ability to bend light in the opposite direction to that of all materials found in nature. A hidden ability of these man-made materials has now been discovered. See Letter p.369

Rising concentrations of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may already be influencing the intensity of rainfall and increasing the risk of substantial damage from the associated flooding. See Letters p.378 & p.382

Ageing is a complex process involving defects in various cellular components. The latest evidence suggests a unifying mechanism for cellular ageing that is relevant to the development of common age-related diseases. See Article p.359

Sediments at the edge of Antarctica are a largely unexploited source of information about climate change. They have now provided a valuable local record of sea surface temperatures for the past 12,000 years. See Letter p.250

Quantum measurements always have a back-action: they 'kick' the system in a particular way. This can be used to drive the system to any desired state using a fixed type of measurement, provided it can be 'unsharpened'.

Solving the structure of protein complexes is particularly challenging when they contain many subunits. In the case of the APC, a fruitful strategy has been to gain information by subtracting subunits. See Article p.227 and Letter p.274

In mice, brain neurons that respond during either mating or aggression exhibit spatial overlap, and some even respond during both. This may help to explain the relationship between sex and violence in human behaviour. See Article p.221