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Principles of access to public and private databases are often contentious, and a proposal in this issue will no doubt spark more debate. Meanwhile, Nature is taking a small step towards a database for taxonomists.
Pilotless aircraft could help monitor forest fires, or collect data over vast areas of ocean. But aviation authorities are reluctant to let them share the sky with other aircraft. Tom Clarke reports.
After decades of disappointment, antibodies are finally emerging as viable — if expensive — drugs. Trisha Gura finds biotech start-ups and pharmaceutical giants rushing to claim a piece of the action.
Iodine-containing emissions from marine algae can be converted by sunlight into aerosol particles. If this phenomenon occurs on a large scale, it could have significant effects on climate.
Heat-shock proteins help to protect organisms from external stresses. The idea that they can also buffer against internal — genetic — variations has received support from studies of fruitflies and, now, of plants.
The ease with which electrons move through some metals depends on which direction they take. Watching electrons move along metal planes gives new insight, curiously, into how they move between them.
Receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate are more mobile than previously suspected. They meander about on the neuronal surface and become reversibly trapped at the junctions between neurons.
North Africa and the Arabian peninsula constitute one of the most 'reflective' areas on Earth, in terms of albedo – the amount of solar radiation reflected back from the surface. Satellite and other data have provided a detailed view of how albedo corresponds to soil and rock types in the region.
The achievements of Fred Hoyle, one of the twentieth century's great innovators in astronomy, were celebrated at a recent meeting. In many respects, it emerged, Hoyle's thinking was ahead of his time.
Inhibitory cells known as interneurons constitute a significant proportion of the neurons in the neocortex of mammalian brains. As far as interneuron origins are concerned, humans may be the odd man out.
Daedalus wants to create stronger metals by burning metal vapour not in excess air or oxygen, but in excess metal vapour. That would create metal oxide particles that are pre-coated with metal, and might have a wide range of applications.
