Articles in 2012

Disintegrating ice, spectacular sunbursts and minuscule lizards are among 2012’s most striking pictures.

Materials scientist hopes tenure will allow her time for new research directions — and to play the piano.

David Katz finds much to chew on in a polemic on the risk of consuming too much high-fructose corn syrup.

Japanese scientists deserve support in their bid for the next big collider.

Adapted extracts from selected News & Views articles published this year.

The latest drugs hold fantastic promise for people with severe psoriasis. But where are the treatment options for the far larger number with less serious cases?

The debate over publishing potentially dangerous research on flu viruses would benefit from a closer look at history, argue David Kaiser and Jonathan D. Moreno.

US science advocates are depending on strategies and statistics that may not survive contemporary politics, says David Goldston.

As the link between stress and psoriasis flare-ups becomes clearer, it seems the most vulnerable patients require a new type of treatment.

Hagfish embryos show developmental features that contradict the idea that these jawless fish are the most primitive living vertebrates. The findings also help to trace the evolution of vertebrate cranial structure. See Article p.175

Malfunction of presenilin enzymes, which cleave proteins in cell membranes, can lead to Alzheimer's disease. A crystal structure of a microbial presenilin provides insights into the workings of this enzyme family. See Article p.56

Study shows anaesthetics may be a more humane way to kill rats and mice than carbon dioxide, but reveals a surprising twist.

International experts hammer out the future of their field at a top-level workshop on how to fund certain types of work on bird flu.

Irrespective of an organism's size, the proportional sizes of its parts remain constant. An experimental model reveals size-dependent adjustment of segment formation and gene-expression oscillations in vertebrates. See Letter p.101

A thermal effect predicted more than 40 years ago was nearly forgotten, while a related phenomenon stole the limelight. Now experimentally verified, the effect could spur the development of heat-controlling devices. See Letter p.401

Psoriasis can have a profound impact on patients' emotional and social lives. Christopher Griffiths, a dermatologist at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, discusses the disease's psychological fallout and its links with stress.

Jamie Goode tracks how our changing climate is sending ripples of disruption through the wine world.