Peer Reviewed

Solar cells can be made thinner and lighter with the help of aluminum particles

Teoh Sian Hoon of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia, has created software to assist academic writers write literature reviews.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Genetics: Genetic ancestry correlated with leukemia relapse; Methods: Multicoloured fly brains; Methods: Watching single molecules under flow.

Twin zinc atoms can direct an important organic double-bond-forming reaction with greater efficiency than other methods

Immune cells get switched off by the gradual accumulation of dense clusters of inhibitory proteins

Controlling antihydrogen atoms using two different methods brings physicists closer to answering quantum and cosmic questions

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Biology: Prostate cancer progression; Climate science: Solving the methane question; Comment: Policies needed to protect deep-sea denizens from mining; Physics: Biological imaging with an X-ray laser; Genetics: Plants ‘predict’ infection?; And finally… Once upon a thymus.

By Hélène Mayrand et Edgard Rodriguez In today’s globalized world, exporting is one of the key policy strategies to promote employment and higher wages in developing countries.

By Louise Guénette Three IDRC regional directors retired in the fall of 2010 after heading offices in Cairo, Nairobi, and Singapore. Eglal Rached, Constance Freeman, and Richard Fuchs look back at some significant moments during their careers at IDRC.

With over 2,000 dead and more than 6,500,000 at risk from cholera, urgent measures are being implemented to contain the cholera outbreak in Haiti, which is present in all ten of Haiti's departments.

Once, GDP was the established benchmark of a country’s progress. Now, new and sophisticated indexes offer a more rounded picture of the condition of society — and IDRC is helping develop them.

Discovery of Breakthrough Electrode Formation Method without Accompanying Doping into Si Substrate

Fabrication of the World’s Highest Mobility Organic Crystal Transistor by Simple Process of Solution Dripping and Exposure to Vapor

KAI Square is the software and hardware vendor for local public bus fleet operators' in-vehicle surveillance system and central management system. The company has teamed up with A*STAR’s Data Storage Institute (DSI), to provide an integrated solution targeted to benefit fleet operators.

The IDRC-funded project Trade, Gender and Equity in Latin America assessed the impact of trade patterns on female labour. The research revealed that, overall, trade has not resulted in more jobs for women, nor has it narrowed the income gap between men and women.

Development of novel transistor with combined logic and memory functions with power consumption reduced to one-millionth that of conventional devices.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Nanotechnology: Keeping the carbon-nanotube blood flowing; Chemistry: An iron-sandwich solar cell; Neuroscience: The neuroscience of nutrition; And finally…Nature: The nitty-gritty of nicotine addiction.

Research on spin frustration in complex electron systems could help solve some of the world’s pressing energy problems

A set of neighboring immune-system genes each receive separate activation instructions despite being controlled by a common factor

Rapid activation of specific genes readies the mammalian body for seasonal change

At the AAAS will be two scientists involved in cutting-edge research at RIKEN. Yoichi Yamada will discuss his team’s work on a new “micro-reaction chip”, as the basis for a revolutionary technique for conducting chemical reactions and Hiroyuki Ichida will discuss the application of heavy-ion beams to plant and microbial breeding.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Genomics: Orang-utan genome reveals a tale of two islands; Astrophysics: A glimpse of the Universe 500 million years after the Big Bang; Genetics: Social dominance imprinted?; Materials science: Nanopatterning technique mixes firm with flexible; And finally… Time for a new clock model?

Researchers at RIKEN, Yokohama City University and the University of Tokyo have uncovered how gut bifidobacteria protect the body against lethal infection by enhancing the defenses of colonic epithelium.

A*STAR I²R team that pioneered Dance!3D system selected to be one of six finalists out of 23 nominees

Dr Judyanna Ng, Senior Lecturer of the Institute of Textiles and Clothing (ITC) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), displayed her innovative design in an extraordinary and glamorous knitwear fashion show in Hong Kong "Knitwear Symphony 2011" staged on the 19th January at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Takashi Kawai, a Professor at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, analyses the current boom in 3D entertainment and the potential future applications of 3D technology.

Summaries of newsworthy papers - Geoscience: Variable melting of Himalayan glaciers; Immunology: Antibody diversity linked to gut mucosal defense; Geoscience: Coal contribution to Permian extinction; Chemical Biology: An inhibitor sneaks in; And finally…Neuroscience: Strengthening memories during sleep.

Researchers at the RIKEN Plant Science Center have discovered a series of genes that control cell division and cell growth

Helical molecules that contract reversibly when oxidized pave the way to new single-molecule electrochemical switches

Polymer films that unfurl in the light could be the first of a new family of functional materials