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The Pakistan government is investigating whether scientists leaked nuclear technology to Iran. The affair could undermine public confidence in President Musharraf and divert attention from long-overdue reforms to science and education.
A reclusive Russian claims to have solved a century-old mathematical problem — but his enigmatic personality is adding a fresh dimension to the proof-checking process. Emily Singer reports.
New evidence suggests that the brain begins to develop differently in males and females much earlier than was thought — before sex hormones come into play. Carina Dennis considers the implications.
Plants protect themselves against attacks by microorganisms in various ways. In some circumstances at least, it turns out that they enlist the help of mutualistic fungi in defence of the home front.
Decades of research have failed to decipher the atomic-scale mechanism by which carbon nanofibres grow out of vapour. High-resolution microscopy shows that the carbon atoms have a bumpy ride.
Humans and other vertebrates develop in a head-to-tail sequence. A mechanism that is based on a gradual decay of RNA appears to contribute to this process.
The dynamics of the tectonic faults that produce earthquakes remain puzzling. An inference from laboratory experiments could help: at high rates of slip, friction at the interface may fall dramatically.
Corrosion damage can be reduced if inhibitor molecules are introduced into a metal's environment. As inhibitors may themselves be noxious, the inhibitory properties of natural amino acids are now under scrutiny.
A long-standing question regarding ATP synthase — a cellular energy-generator — has been which direction it spins in when generating ATP. Some elegant experiments have revealed the answer.
