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Plants attacked by hungry herbivores can release chemicals that attract their assailants' predators. Could these responses be exploited to develop environmentally friendly pest-control strategies? John Whitfield investigates.
The idea of therapeutic cloning, which offers the potential of growing replacement tissues perfectly matched to their recipients, is falling from favour. But there are alternatives, as Peter Aldhous found out.
Behind claims that the oldest human ancestor has been discovered lies a bitter row over access to Kenyan field sites — pitching the bones' discoverers against some of palaeoanthropology's biggest names. Declan Butler reports.
Are silicon circuits that mimic the nervous systems of insects and other animals the future of computing? Jim Giles considers the merits of neuromorphic engineering.
Few women reach the uppermost rungs of Japan's scientific hierarchy. But some are now starting to challenge the system and attitudes that frustrate their career progress, as David Cyranoski discovered.
Brain imaging studies are starting to venture into the legal minefield of research into criminal psychopathy. Alison Abbott reports from one of the most controversial frontiers of neuroscience.
Entrepreneurs who made their fortunes in high technology are now giving money away to fund biomedical research. These new philanthropists are sending a breath of fresh air through the labs they support, says Trisha Gura.
In choosing an outspoken former government science adviser as its president, the Royal Society has departed from tradition. Peter Aldhous spoke to Robert May about his plans for Britain's national scientific academy.
After helping to sequence the human genome, Chinese scientists are debating how best to continue the push towards becoming a world power in biology. David Cyranoski reports.
A silicon laser would revolutionize telecommunications, electronics and computing. Squeezing light out of silicon is no easy task, but Philip Ball discovers that researchers are becoming more optimistic about its light-emitting abilities.
The draft human genome sequence published in Nature this week is the culmination of 15 years of work, involving 20 sequencing centres in six countries. Here, we present a reminder of some of the key moments.
The focus of activity in high-energy physics is about to switch from CERN, near Geneva, to Fermilab in Illinois. Sarah Tomlin sampled the atmosphere, as excited physicists prepared their Tevatron accelerator for action.
If biologists do not adapt to the powerful computational tools needed to exploit huge data sets, says Declan Butler, they could find themselves floundering in the wake of advances in genomics.
Many thousands of people may be incubating the human form of BSE. Could drugs or other therapeutic agents prevent them from succumbing? Clare Thompson reports on the race against time to find a treatment.
