Peer Reviewed

The genome sequence of the tomato, a major crop plant and a model system for fruit development, is published in this week’s Nature. Analysis of the sequence provides insights into the evolution of genes that control fruit characteristics, such as colour and fleshiness.

Najua Tulos and co-researchers of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, studied the potential of chitosan to dye polyester fabric. Produced commercially by removing the acetyl groups from chitin (a derivative of glucose), chitosan was found to greatly improve the colourfastness of polyester fabrics.

Singapore, 30 May 2012: Hitachi and Data Storage Institute (DSI), a research institute of A*STAR are devising a data compression technique to tackle the increasing volume of genome sequencing data generated by the healthcare and biomedical industry.

A study of the evolution of bird skulls from their primitive reptilian ancestors reveals that the skulls of adult birds are very similar to those of young dinosaurs. Retention of juvenile features in the adult may have had an important role in the evolution of bird skulls, according to the report in Nature this week.

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today announced the exceptional achievements of local innovators at the 40th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.

The latest news and events from the world of nanotechnology. Including the 2013 IEEE International Nanoelectronics Conference, 2013 IEEE 26th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems and details of the 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conference

The University of Strathclyde has been selected as the exclusive European partner university for South Korea’s global research and commercialisation programme.

The IME and NXP team will collaborate on the development of process technologies for the manufacturing of GaN devices on 200mm wafer, which is expected to bring about considerable reduction in manufacturing cost compared to using smaller size wafers.

Nature News has gained access to an independent report that offer a comprehensive assessment of radiation doses received by workers following last year's meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Independent experts contacted by Nature say that the risk presented by the doses described in each report are low.

Discovery of a sensory organ in the jaws of rorqual whales might provide clues about how these large creatures feed. According to a report in this week’s Nature, the organ seems to be involved in coordinating a number of processes — from prey detection to jaw movements — that facilitates lunge feeding.

‘Tractor beams’ of light that pull objects towards them are no longer science fiction. Haifeng Wang at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute and co-workers have now demonstrated how a tractor beam can in fact be realized on a small scale.

New intelligent algorithms could help robots to quickly recognize and respond to human gestures. Researchers at A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research in Singapore have created a computer program which recognises human gestures quickly and accurately, and requires very little training.

A novel approach to designing artificial materials could enable magnetic devices with a wider range of properties than those now available. An international team of researchers have now extended the properties and potential uses of metamaterials by using not one but two very different classes of nanostructures, or metamolecules.

The innovative plastics offer improved performance and wider viewing angles over existing anti-reflective plastics in the market. This plastic uses a locally-developed nanotechnology method that creates a complex pattern of super tiny structures that mimic the patterns found on a moth’s eye, which has a unique method of diffusing light.

Groundwater depletion and water storage in reservoirs have led to a significant rise in global-mean sea level between 1961 and 2003, indicates a study published this week in Nature Geoscience. These estimated contributions, which result from changes in human terrestrial water storage, could help explain the magnitude of observed sea-level rise.

Saitama, Japan, 20 May 2012 - The relativistic Hall effect describing objects rotating at speeds comparable with the speed of light has now been reported.

The 10th International Nanotech Symposium & Nano-convergence Expo in Korea.

By Francisco Marmolejo Recently, I wrote a column discussing the challenges and opportunities associated with the creation of new higher-education institutions, in which I made reference to the specific case of Albukhary International University in Malaysia. This second article describes interesting experiences of a similar kind in India.

The oxidation–reduction cycle of the highly conserved protein, peroxiredoxin, constitutes a universal non-transcription-based circadian clock. This marker, conserved throughout all three phylogenetic domains suggests that this type of cellular timekeeping may have co-evolved across organisms since about 2.5 billion years ago.

In this issue, learn about a public lecture IDRC is hosting on May 22 with Mahmoud Solh, Director General of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. Dr Solh will talk about how the Arab Spring has increased the challenges to food security.

Planned Parenthood is important for women’s health and welfare, but recently it has become a heated topic in Congress. The services it provides and its historical role in women’s rights should be remembered, the Editors write in this month’s Scientific American Science Agenda column.

Analysis reveals how a subset of immune cells rally defenses against infection while keeping harmful inflammatory reactions in check. Experiments confirm a central role for plasmacytoid dendritic cells in responding to infection, driving both the inflammatory response pathway and the production of pathogen-destroying cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

A newly discovered enzyme brings scientists one step closer to understanding how plants manufacture a molecule with potent medicinal properties. Plants of the genus Glycyrrhiza are best known as key ingredients in the popular treat licorice, but they also have a valuable place in the medicine cabinet.

Star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes are found to bridge the gap between global brain activity and localized circuits. Global network activity in the brain modulates local neural circuitry via calcium signaling in non-neuronal cells called astrocytes (Fig. 1), according to research led by Hajime Hirase of the RIKEN Brain Science Institute.

Volcanoes on the sea floor can grow and collapse in rapid pulses, reports a study published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Due to their inaccessible nature, little is known about the evolution of submarine volcanoes. This study provides insights into the frequency and rate at which such volcanoes can erupt and grow.

SINGAPORE, 8 May 2012: Singapore’s Data Storage Institute (DSI) has signed a collaboration agreement with Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) to pursue research on flexible cable which will be assembled into the world’s first 5mm hybrid hard disk drive (HDD), targeted to launch at the end of the year.

Jakarta, 10 May 2012— Countries in Asia and the Pacific are at a crossroads and must now strike a balance between rising prosperity and rising emissions. Their success or failure will have repercussions worldwide, predicts a new report released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Pulses of warm ocean water that could reach far beneath the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf together with a smooth, steep bed beneath the ice sheet may affect the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, suggest two papers published this week in Nature and Nature Geoscience.

A new approach to generating terahertz radiation will lead to new imaging and sensing applications. The low energy of the radiation means that it can pass through materials that are otherwise opaque, opening up uses in imaging and sensing — for example, in new security scanners. In practice, however, applications have been difficult to implement.

A modified approach to fabrication of magnetic memory elements may lead to a new generation of stable, ultra-high-capacity hard drives