Reviews & Analysis

Electrons repel each other because they are negatively charged. An experiment now confirms a fifty-year-old theory that electrons can also attract one another as a result of repulsion from other electrons. See Letter p.395

A field study of methane emissions from wetlands reveals that more of the gas escapes through diffusive processes than was thought, mostly at night. Because methane is a greenhouse gas, the findings have implications for global warming.

A synthetic genetic circuit that mimics the quorum-sensing systems used by bacterial populations to coordinate gene expression enables bacteria to deliver drugs to mouse tumours in repeated and synchronized cycles. See Letter p.81

Observations of the disk of dust and gas around a nascent star reveal that the distance from the star at which water in the disk forms ice is variable. This variation might hinder the formation of planets. See Letter p.258

Quantum effects have been used in devices that measure various quantities, but not to measure electric fields. The sensitivity of an electrometer has now been boosted using the phenomenon of quantum superposition. See Letter p.262

Two analyses of insulin-producing β-cells reveal differences in what has long been considered a homogeneous population. These differences might reflect changes during maturation or ageing, or distinct cell lineages. See Letter p.430

The people of a tribe called the Tsimane’, who have been isolated from Western music, perceive music differently from Western listeners, raising questions about whether musical preference is innate or cultural. See Letter p.547

Certain bacteria contain strings of magnetic nanoparticles and therefore align with magnetic fields. Inspired by these natural structures, researchers have now fabricated synthetic one-dimensional arrays of such particles.

The largest DNA-sequencing study of type 2 diabetes conducted so far concludes that, contrary to expectation, low-frequency and rare genetic variants do not contribute significantly to disease risk. See Article p.41

The Hitomi astronomical satellite observed gas motions in the Perseus galaxy cluster shortly before losing contact with Earth. Its findings are invaluable to studies of cluster physics and cosmology. See Letter p.117

Cellular organelles called mitochondria contain their own DNA. The discovery that variation in mitochondrial DNA alters physiology and lifespan in mice has implications for evolutionary biology and the origins of disease. See Letter p.561

An investigation of how ultracold molecules are broken apart by light reveals surprising, previously unobserved quantum effects. The work opens up avenues of research in quantum optics. See Letter p.122

Organic molecules called coenzymes are central to metabolism, but have also been found to act as components of RNA in bacteria. A study reveals how coenzymes are incorporated into RNA. See Letter p.444