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Implants that electrically stimulate nerves continuously to treat disease can cause off-target effects and pain. An implant that uses light to modulate the activity of genetically modified nerve cells might offer a solution.
In materials called Weyl semimetals, electrons form structures that have distinct topological properties. The discovery of an ultrafast switch between two of these structures could have many practical applications.
Methane produced in sediments beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet is released to the atmosphere by meltwater in the summer. This suggests that glacial melt could be an important global source of this greenhouse gas.
What determines whether genetic mutations lead to cancer? Analyses of healthy cells in the human oesophagus reveal that a high level of genetic alterations arises as people age, yet this doesn’t usually result in cancer.
The GABAA-receptor family has a crucial role in neural inhibition in the human brain. New structures of a GABAA receptor highlight the mechanisms of crosstalk between its binding sites.
