Reviews & Analysis

Faced with ever-changing products, consumers can benefit from trying new items. But data collected over almost five years show that, the longer shoppers have been buying a favourite product, the more likely they are to stick with it.

Competition between the phospholipase enzyme PLA2G16 and the protein galectin-8 determines whether the RNA-based genomes of picornaviruses can be effectively delivered into host cells. See Letter p.412

Eukaryotic cells, with complex features such as membrane-bound nuclei, evolved from prokaryotic cells that lack these components. A newly identified prokaryotic group reveals intermediate steps in eukaryotic-cell evolution. See Article p.353

In chemical catalysis, spillover is the process in which hydrogen atoms are made from hydrogen molecules at one site and then added to other atoms or molecules at another. A study reveals details of this effect. See Letter p.68

For almost a decade, astronomers have observed intense bursts of radio waves from the distant cosmos whose origins were unknown. The source of one such burst has now been identified, but this has only deepened the mystery. See Letter p.58

Tobacco plants have been manipulated to improve their adaptation to changes in light intensity. The engineered plants can use solar energy more safely and efficiently than their wild-type counterparts.

A protocol has been developed to grow structures that resemble the main part of the stomach in vitro from human embryonic stem cells — an advance that provides insights into stomach development. See Article p.182

A molecular analysis of human oesophageal cancers reveals abnormalities that might be targetable by existing drugs, and indicates that the current stratification of these tumours into subtypes is incomplete. See Article p.169