Reviews & Analysis

The history and future potential of DNA sequencing, including the development of the underlying technologies and the expansion of its areas of application, are reviewed.

A supercomputer-powered design technique enables the discovery of efficient mechanical structures that have an unprecedented level of detail. The findings provide insights into both physical and biological structures. See Letter p.84

The X-ray sensitivity of radiology instruments is limited by the materials used in their detectors. A material from the perovskite family of semiconductors could allow lower doses of X-rays to be used for medical imaging. See Letter p.87

A review of the recent developments in reprogramming the genetic code of cells and organisms to include non-canonical amino acids in precisely engineered proteins.

A pro-inflammatory response, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, can affect development, ageing and cancer. It emerges that one trigger for this response is the presence of DNA in the cytoplasm. See Letter p.402

Cancer cells can develop an 'addiction' to the drugs they are treated with, so that they need the drugs to survive. Analysis of the underlying mechanism reveals a potential clinical strategy for harnessing this phenomenon. See Letter p.270

Removing the protein complex cohesin from chromosomes destroys one layer of the genome's 3D structure but leaves another intact. Genome structure is therefore built by independent processes that work together. See Letter p.51

Pariahs are fundamental building blocks in a branch of mathematics called group theory, but seem to be unconnected from both physics and other areas of mathematics. Such a connection has now been identified.

Repair of broken DNA is vital for genome stability and to prevent the development of cancer. Research shows how the tumour-suppressor protein BRCA1 promotes a DNA-repair pathway called homologous recombination. See Article p.360

Two studies show that evaporation of molten rock was intrinsic to the formation of Earth and other rocky bodies in the Solar System, suggesting that violent collisions played a key part in the formation process. See Letters p.507 & p.511

Conventional wisdom dictates that an electron's magnetic moment and momentum are strongly coupled only in materials made of heavy elements. An experiment demonstrates a striking counterexample. See Letter p.492

Mutations that drive the abnormal expansion of progenitor subpopulations of blood cells are known to cause leukaemia. A genetic analysis reveals that these clonal blood stem-cell mutations are also common in people who have solid tumours.

The discovery that the host defence protein ZAP specifically targets viral RNAs that are rich in a particular pair of adjacent bases — cytosine followed by guanine — sheds light on the evolution of viral RNA genomes. See Letter p.124

An international movement is calling for at least half of the Earth to be allocated for conservation. A global study now reveals that, in many ecoregions, enough habitat exists to reach this goal, and ideas are proposed for the next steps needed.

The discovery of the receptors for the protein GDF15 suggests that it regulates food uptake through the emergency pathway — a neuronal circuit that causes weight loss in response to cancer, tissue damage and stress. See Letter p.255

The idea of nanometre-scale machines that can assemble molecules has long been thought of as the stuff of science fiction. Such a machine has now been built — and might herald a new model for organic synthesis. See Letter p.374

3D printing could revolutionize manufacturing processes involving metals, but few industrially useful alloys are compatible with the technique. A method has been developed that might open up the 3D printing of all metals. See Letter p.365

Organic materials are potential substitutes for the costly transition-metal oxides used in battery electrodes, but their stability is often poor. A polymer design that uses intermolecular interactions solves this problem.

There is a species-diversity gradient on Earth, with the greatest diversity found near the Equator. Analysis of forest data now reveals a mechanism aiding species coexistence in the tropics that might underlie this phenomenon. See Letter p.105