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Following the publication of the malaria parasite's genome sequence and the beginnings of relevant proteomics, research tools are now available that could make a big difference in the long-term war against malaria.
Fears about terrorism usually centre on nuclear or biological weapons. But attackers could cause huge economic damage by spreading plant or animal diseases. Virginia Gewin asks how this threat is being confronted.
Some US organizations claim that fertilizing the oceans with iron could both help to tackle climate change, and make money. But marine researchers warn of unpredictable side effects. Quirin Schiermeier reports.
Today, the Moon has no magnetic field, but analyses of lunar rocks suggest that it did in the past. Did changes in the lunar interior create a magnetic dynamo billions of years ago?
Identification of the previously unknown larval forms of the sea lilies, a group of marine invertebrates, is a refreshing reminder of the value of descriptive science in evolutionary studies.
A method that circumvents the problems of correlating different data sets has allowed the sequence of events at the last great deglaciation to be seen in finer detail.
It is impossible to describe biological diversity with traditional approaches. Molecular methods are the way forward — especially, perhaps, in the form of DNA barcodes.
When a low-viscosity fluid is injected into an elastic material, it forces its way through by making slender cracks, in a random, fractal pattern. The spreading of the cracks can be modelled through a series of 'bursts'.
Studies of worms have revealed hundreds of proteins that, when mutated, extend lifespan. Can this work tell us anything about mammalian ageing? A look at the effects of one such protein on lab mice suggests that it can.
Postdocs are vital to scientific research, but often miss out on the benefits available to permanent staff. Now they are banding together to improve their situation, says Karen Kreeger.