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The United States should only proceed with its sole proposed nuclear-waste repository once geological concerns have been addressed and provided that law-makers are convinced that the assessment process has been conducted fairly.
Yucca Mountain in Nevada seems like a reasonable place to bury the United State's nuclear waste — but only if the volcanoes there remain dormant. Arguments on that point are about to erupt, reports Colin Macilwain.
With its unique access to Mir cosmonauts, Moscow's Institute for Biomedical Problems was a world leader for space biology. But now it is working under greatly diminished circumstances, says Quirin Schiermeier.
The p53 protein is inactivated in most human cancers. One outcome is a defect in controlling cell division. Might a virus that exploits this defect prove useful in treating cancer?
In 1960 the invention of the laser allowed classical light to be amplified inside a cavity. New experiments show that photons in a special quantum state can also be amplified.
When tissues need more oxygen, they release molecules that encourage blood vessels to grow. The discovery of the first such molecule that is specific to one type of tissue has implications for cancer and heart failure.
When quantum systems interact with the environment, classical properties emerge — a process known as decoherence. Although decoherence is unavoidable, it may still be possible to manipulate the outcome.
In an immune response, antibody molecules are altered so they can bind to intruders more strongly. Some of the molecules that determine which alteration process predominates have now been tracked down.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe. Its chemistry governs most reactions in space, especially when it is ionized. But the abundance of the H3+ ion is not easy to explain.
A weak cosmic background of neutrinos, similar to the cosmic microwave background, could exist, although its faintness will require sensitive telescopes to detect it.
