United Kingdom

The reliance on computers across the sciences has moved through the gears in the last few years. In a Commentary in this week's Nature Stephen Muggleton describes how automated processes are being used to cope with higher and higher volumes of data and poses questions about human limitations in dealing with increasingly complex information.

A polymer with an electronic performance equivalent to that of amorphous silicon has been developed; Mutations in a gene called filaggrin are associated with elevated risks of atopic disease - atopic dermatitis (eczema or inflamed, itchy skin), allergy, and asthma

An exquisitely preserved dinosaur shows that the adoption of feathers by so-called 'non-avian' dinosaurs was a complex process; Japanese researchers unravel the mechanism by which firefly controls colour; A Chinese frog is the latest addition to the range of animals known to communicate by ultrasound; Conservation - an example from Southeast Asia.

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature Vol.440 No.7082 Dated 16 March 2006

THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE - For papers that will be published online on 12 March 2006

Three commentaries responding to a call for legalized organ donation are published online this week by Kidney International, the official journal of the International Society of Nephrology.

The Seoul National University Investigation Committee investigating the work of the disgraced cloning pioneer Woo Suk Hwang has found that Snuppy - the Afghan hound unveiled by Hwang's team as the world's first cloned dog - is genuine.

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature Vol.440 No.7081 Dated 9 March 2006 including "It's all in the expression; Frogs sidestep predation by looking nasty - but not too nasty"

Nature reveals serious doubts over claims for fusion in collapsing bubbles

March 8 is International Women's Day. To commemorate this day, ResearchSEA is focusing on Women, highlighting research and experts on issues affecting women.

For papers that will be published online on 5 March 2006 in Nature Materials; Nature Chemical Biology; Nature Genetics; Nature Neuroscience; Nature Immunology; Nature Cell Biology;Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

Nature Biotechnology, a leading monthly journal covering the science and business of biotechnology, has announced it will be hosting a series of panel discussions covering issues facing biotech start-ups and biotechnology entrepreneurs.

A military-style network of laboratories for the avian flu is proposed; The earthquake that unleashed the tsunami in the Indian Ocean forces some rethinking about how and where such giant earthquakes might occur; The application of neutral theory of biodiversity to real-life data is raising new questions and problems.

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature. Vol.440 No.7080 Dated 2 March 2006

Nature Publishing Group (NPG) and the Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI) today announce an agreement for NPG to publish in partnership with the Society its flagship journal, Immunology and Cell Biology, from January 2007.

Mice subjected to stress caused by the presence of an aggressive intruder, repress the gene that produces a growth factor called brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), reports a paper in the March issue of Nature Neuroscience. This finding suggests a molecular pathway by which stress may cause lasting changes in gene regulation

Previous studies have shown a correlation between childhood obesity and adult asthma but here the authors show for the first time an additional link to depression alongside the other conditions.

A new model that explains why cooling sometimes causes liquid molecules to form disordered glasses rather than ordered crystals; The hunger-signaling gut hormone ghrelin can increase the number of nerve connections in a region of the brain crucial for the formation of new memories

Broken Genius: The rise and fall of William Shockley, Creator of the electronic age; Bones, Rocks & Stars: The science of when things happened; The Whole Story: Alternative medicine on trial?; Climate Change Begins at Home: Life on the two-way street of global warming; The Science of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Satellite and aerial images used by Google Earth are changing the way we respond to disasters. A Commentary in this week's Nature looks at the very different responses to Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquake. It asks whether opening such operations to the wider public could allow image updates in real time in disaster situations.

Organ donation shortages cause 17 patients in need of transplantations to die each day in the US, while thousands of black market transplants take place due to voluntary sale of donor kidneys. Selling a human organ is illegal in the US and many other countries. Doctors EA and AL Friedman make the case for legalizing such transactions.

Now you see it, now you don't; Monkey brains weigh up good and bad; Continental-scale river flow increases as plants sweat less; Near-Sun origin of iron meteorites; Bottom's up to gene control; Inbreeding prophylactic exposed; Ionic liquids are a gas; Uncoiling snake evolution; Invading cane toads make long-legged leap into new territory

This discovery might help to explain why we learn tasks better if there are breaks in between repetitions, why hyperactivity might cause learning problems and why simply being awake but resting can help learning.

The more times we have walked a route, the longer we judge it to be, a UK researcher has confirmed. His studies could help explain why daily commutes can grow to seem interminably long, he tells [email protected].

Fossil hunters in China have uncovered the most primitive member of the group that went on to include the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex; The massive eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in 1883 substantially reduced sea-level rise and ocean warming well into the following century.

Snow makes forests better carbon sponges; Sympatric speciation finally seen in action; Rusty revelations; A narrow shave for silicon; Hyperactive sperm undressed; Gamma glow in Milky Way's heart reveals cosmic ray battering;

In an article in Nature Reviews Genetics, published online this week, an expert lends a helping hand by listing the best online sites for genetic education that will help inform everyone from scientists to complete novices.

THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE - For papers that will be published online on 5 February 2006

Expecting the worst may not make you feel any better when faced with a disappointment, say psychology researchers who have tested the age-old advice.

Summaries of newsworthy papers from Nature Vol.439 No.7076 Dated 2 February 2006