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Nitrogen gas dissolved in the ocean must be fixed — converted into more-reactive compounds — before it can be used to support life, but the regions in which this nitrogen fixation occurs have been elusive. Not any more.
To survive and divide, cancer cells need a constant supply of lipid molecules called monounsaturated fatty acids. Tumours can achieve this by an unsuspected route that harnesses a metabolic pathway also used in hair follicles.
A system has been devised that computationally screens hundreds of millions of drug candidates — all of which can be made on demand — against biological targets. This could help to make drug discovery more efficient.
A technique that harnesses energy loss has been used to produce a phase of matter in which particles of light are locked in place. This opens a path to realizing previously unseen exotic phases of matter.
When cancer spreads, this metastatic stage of the disease is usually lethal. An analysis of immune cells that cluster with tumour cells in the bloodstream illuminates a partnership that might aid metastasis.
DNA sequences called retrotransposons can copy themselves and reintegrate at new sites in the genome, causing damage. It now seems that inhibiting this process can prevent age-related health decline in mice.
Mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is accelerating as a result of rising global temperatures. Two studies explore how this mass loss will affect sea level and other aspects of the climate in the future.
Genetic instability is a hallmark of cancer cells, and occurs when genes required for genomic maintenance are inactivated. It emerges that altering just one of the two copies of certain genes can drive genetic instability in yeast.
Experiments show that the amount of atmospheric particles produced from plant emissions could be lower than was thought — challenging our understanding of the processes that affect air quality and climate.
The gut is an active site of immune defence against disease-causing microbes. A study in mice shows that a type of immune cell in the gut’s wall also helps to regulate sugar and fat metabolism.
Research into a technique called inertial confinement fusion aims to enhance nuclear-fusion performance in laboratory experiments. Improvements in the technique have been made using a clever statistical approach.
If blood flow from the heart is impeded, the pressure created causes tissue dysfunction. It emerges that different signals converge on the TSC2 and mTOR proteins to fine-tune the response of heart cells to stress.
Denisova Cave sheltered hominins at least 200,000 years ago, and excavations there have illuminated our understanding of early hominins in Asia. New dating analyses now refine this knowledge.
When Mendeleev proposed his periodic table in 1869, element 43 was unknown. In 1937, it became the first element to be discovered by synthesis in a laboratory — paving the way to the atomic age.
Microorganisms in the human gut can affect immune-system cells. Gut bacterial strains have been discovered that boost immune cells that have cell-killing capacity and that can target cancer and protect against infection.
A method for making a version of a gene more likely to be inherited than normal, generating what is called a gene drive, might be used to control insect populations. It has now been reported to work in mammals, too.
