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East Asian collaboration in molecular biology could enhance the scientific viability of the region, but it requires more enthusiastic support from potential participants — particularly Japan.
Having established itself as a financial and manufacturing centre, Singapore now wants to become a leading player in advanced biological research. David Cyranoski assesses the scientific ambitions of a vibrant city-state.
Medical imaging techniques are being adapted to study gene expression and other cellular activities in living animals. Corie Lok talks to the pioneers who are watching cells at work in their natural habitat.
Suspension-feeding fishes filter water through complex structures in their throats. Food particles could clog the filters, but the fishes have a cunning system to prevent that happening.
Hydrogen peroxide is an ideal oxidant. It cannot yet be used widely, because viable catalysts aren't available for many industrially important processes. But there are encouraging indications of progress.
We use our hands as well as our eyes to perceive physical objects. New insight into how our hands feel a surface may have implications for developing virtual-reality tools such as training devices for surgeons.
Physicists are turning their attention to delicate forms of matter, some of which appear mundane, but all of which are hard to understand. Fortunately, different materials share similar properties and problems.
Many organisms use natural peptides to ward off microbes, but it's proved hard to make similar molecules for medical use. A ring-shaped peptide that might puncture microbial membranes could be the way forward.
One possible reason why people with dyslexia have problems in learning to read is that some neuronal pathways involved in vision and hearing are damaged. That theory may need to be revised.
Models of heat convection suggested that any liquid on Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons, must be frozen. But those models did not take into account the different properties a surface layer of ice might have.
The Icelandic population of black-tailed godwits, which winter in Britain, has been increasing, so poor British estuarine habitats must be used as well as good ones. This might provide a mechanism for population control.
This week, Daedalus embarks on an exploration of human emotions. After correlating maps of volunteers' brain activity with how the volunteers say they feel, Daedalus will be able to educate the emotionally confused as to their true state of mind.
Supramolecular chemistry has grown in importance because it goes beyond the molecule — the focus of classical chemistry. It also offers a fresh interface with biological and materials science.
