Peer Reviewed

Winter Sonata is the highly-popular South Korean television series. The super hit program paved the way for hanryu, the craze for South Korean popular culture. This study analyses how this phenomenon has affected Zainichi Koreans in Japan

Saraswati Adhikari has reason to be proud: 16 times the Nepali farmer and her husband Surya Nath have successfully improved local varieties of rice by cross-breeding, in the process helping to conserve agricultural biodiversity.

Pioneering neuroscientists from Japan and UK will present their latest research in London on April 27th. Keio University scientists will discuss their work in brain damage repair, the birth of new adult cells, aquaporin and their implications for spinal cord injuries, Alzheimer's disease and mental disorders and much more. Admission is free.

In the week of the first round of France’s presidential elections, Nature takes a unique look at what the incoming president will mean for French research.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Geology: The big melts and Fossils: Tell it to the trees

In the twentieth century nationalism has been considered a disintegrative force embraced by peoples who fought for independence from colonial rule. The number of states in the international system grew rapidly as a result, from 50 states in 1900 to about 200. This volume suggests that few new states will form in the next generation.

August 6, 2005, was the 60th anniversary of the explosion of an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. This study investigated the ways in which major newspapers around the world memorialised the event. 4 different frames emerged - route to salvation/war-ender, an atrocity/holocaust, both salvation and atrocity, deserved punishment for Japan

Microelectronics is the cornerstone of the information technologies that pervade virtually every aspect of contemporary life. This publication contains contributions from renowned experts and status reports on the subject from several developing countries: Cuba, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Turkey.

Genetic susceptibility to Crohn disease, Mutation leads to male infertility, Astrocytes kill neurons in ALS, Increasing bad cholesterol levels

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Cancer: Genes linked to chemotherapy response, Smart materials: A light touch, Photochemistry: Quantum tricks in photosynthesis and finally… Punish the rich

Amplification of oestrogen receptor gene in breast cancer, Natural genetic variant influencing rice grain weight, Stabilization contra retardation, How one’s own DNA can cause autoimmunity, Enrichment of metabolites with chemical probes

Significant Finds from a Decade of Philippine Archaeological Research: 1996-2006 including the dating of early man fossils from the Tabon Caves, networking with foreign archaeologists in the SEA region, The Cagayan Valley Project and Hizen porcelain exports from Japan.

The relics of St Joan of Arc are not the remains of the fifteenth-century French heroine after all, according to a News Exclusive in Nature this week. European experts who have analysed the sacred scraps say the relics are a forgery, made from the remains of an Egyptian mummy.

Summaries of newsworthy papers include Winds of change, Antibiotic-resistant bacteria meet their match?, Geomagnetic data captured in crystals, A salty solution, The great electron escape and Algorithm for group success?

New evidence could rewrite the history of the discovery of America

They are unlikely heroes — poor families who eke out a living fishing by lantern-light. Yet, they have been recognized internationally for their efforts to conserve the marine environment on the Danajon Bank in the Central Philippines.

Efforts by Indonesia to avoid food shortages by increasing its rice production have received an important boost with the signing of a new agreement to help the nation’s millions of poor rice farmers with new technologies.

Fibre circuits for electronic fabrics, From A and B to O: Towards universal red blood cells, Prostate cancer risk variants and Autoantibody production by perturbed B cells

As a part of the 150th Anniversary project, Keio University opens the Graduate School of Media Design and the Graduate School of System Design and Management in 2008. Both of the new graduate schools plan to nurture people who are capable of leading all areas of the digital media as well as designing and managing large-scale and complex projects.

Rana monjerai is believed to only exist around the mountainous and cool, Gunung Jerai area and live in areas near clean rivers, far from pollution.

Dying cancer patients are buying a chemical called dichloroacetate (DCA) and using it to treat themselves, despite the fact that it hasn’t been approved for use in humans.

Iraq: Suicide Bombing as Tactical Means of Asymmetric Warfare, Suicide Bombings: The Case in Chechnya, Suicide Bombings: The Case of Sri Lanka, Suicide Terrorism: The Case of Afghanistan and A New Paradigm of Suicide Attacks: The Palestinian Case

Researchers have discovered a pair of twins who are identical through their mother’s side, but share only half their genes on their father’s, reports a News Exclusive from [email protected].

Nearly three-and-a-half decades after Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al-Maktoum visited India, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum is scheduled to visit India on March 26

Summaries of newsworthy papers published in Nature Journals online on 25 March 2007 including: Too much of a good thing?, Protein sensing in full colour, Next-generation glass, The shape of drugs to come, Genetic variant associated with susceptibility to osteoarthritis, Brain cells seen in context.

Scientists at Keio University report a first-of-a-kind quantitative picture of molecular components of the common intestinal bacterium E. coli. The group studied this unicellular organism at an unprecedented depth to reveal the remarkable overall robustness of its metabolic network to gene deletion and changes in growth conditions.

In its decade long research into frogs and toads in Borneo, the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation has achieved much including highlighting conservation priority areas, setting up Asia's first Frog Museum and is now working on popularising biodiversity for environmental conservation with 'Anurans Tourism'.

Materials: Brute force yields new molecules, Neuroscience: Emotion and moral judgements, Earth sciences: Ocean crust formation, Geology: The driving force of plate tectonics, Organic chemistry: Unprotected complexity, Evolutionary ecology: Understanding evolutionary bursts

Teen smokers who were also exposed to nicotine before birth show a dramatic reduction in attention capacities related to vision and hearing. The study also demonstrates that male and female attention capacities are affected by the exposure in different ways.

The boom in large-scale interconnectivity of transport, power and market systems in the Greater Mekong Sub-region shrouds another kind of interconnectivity that is less visible, but whose impacts are no less profound: a rise in the exchanges of television and radio airwaves, leading to greater exchanges of information and ideas across borders.