Reviews & Analysis

Some fox species leap up and pounce head first into snow to capture prey that they hear below the surface. An analysis of the forces involved reveals how the shape of the skull has evolved to minimize damage from this behaviour.

In ordinary materials, electrons move too quickly for their negative electric charges to affect their interactions. But at low temperatures and densities, they can be made to crystallize into an exotic type of electron solid — a phenomenon predicted by Eugene Wigner 90 years ago and only now directly observed.

A study provides insights into how energy flows in the food webs that connect soil- and canopy-dwelling organisms in tropical ecosystems with high biodiversity. When rainforest is converted to plantations, food webs are simplified and restructured, leading to profound changes in tropical-ecosystem functioning.

A study of male and female rats has examined the biomolecular changes induced in many of their organs by eight weeks of endurance treadmill training. The findings offer insights into the many benefits to our immune, metabolic and stress-response pathways as we adapt to exercise.

By adapting methods for fabricating and testing conventional computer chips, researchers have brought silicon-based quantum computers closer to reality — and to accessing the immense benefits of a mature chipmaking industry.

Genetic sequencing of human kidney cancers worldwide has revealed associations between geographical locations and specific mutation patterns, indicating exposure to known and unknown mutation-promoting agents.

Organelles called mitochondria are transferred to blood-vessel-forming cells by support cells. Unexpectedly, these mitochondria are degraded, kick-starting the production of new ones and boosting vessel formation.

What lessons can we learn from the factors that govern the resilience of human populations? A large-scale analysis examining ancient societies around the world provides a detailed look at what drives sustainability.

Altering gut bacteria in male mice revealed that microorganisms are needed for normal sperm development and offspring health. Scientists discuss the implications in terms of understanding microbes, male fertility and pregnancy.

An innovative proposal to stop exam over-preparation, plus William Bateson’s 1924 take on the previous century of biology, in the weekly dip into Nature’s archive.

The elephant-nose fish senses its environment by emitting electrical pulses. A multi-pronged investigation suggests that this remarkable sensing ability is amplified in social groups by individuals ‘listening in’ on the pulses of their neighbours.

A highly precise timekeeping instrument has been adapted for the real world. The compact and robust device is smaller than its commercial counterparts and performs comparably in the laboratory and aboard a naval ship.

A therapeutic strategy that alters gene expression in a rare and severe neurodevelopmental condition has been tested in stem-cell-based models of the disease, and has been shown to correct genetic and cellular defects.

Cells grown on a 3D scaffold have generated a ‘mini-colon’ that mimics key features of the organ. Controlled expression of cancer-associated genes in the system offers a way to examine tumour formation over space and time.

Genetic pedigrees spanning nine generations uncover the social organization of a nomadic empire that dominated much of central and eastern Europe from the sixth to the early ninth century.

A broadly applicable method allows selective, rapid and efficient chemical modification of the side chain of tryptophan amino acids in proteins. This platform enables systematic, proteome-wide identification of tryptophan residues, which can form a bond (called cation–π interaction) with positively charged molecules. Such interactions are key in many biochemical processes, including protein-mediated phase separation.

Observations have revealed a galaxy that stopped forming stars earlier than expected. This discovery offers clues about when the first galaxies emerged and sheds light on how stars formed when the Universe was in its infancy.

Researchers find that brief and reversible inhibition of a gene-silencing mechanism leads to irreversible tumour formation in fruit flies, challenging the idea that cancer is caused only by permanent changes to DNA.

A parachute-like skin membrane, the patagium, evolved independently in several marsupial species. Genomic analysis suggests that this trait came about through different changes to the regulation of the same gene.

Birds emerge as top suspects for unexplained flower mutilation, and reflections from 1974 mark the 21st anniversary of the discovery of the DNA double helix, in the weekly dip into Nature’s archive.