Nature
Nature is a weekly international journal publishing the finest peer-reviewed research in all fields of science and technology on the basis of its originality, importance, interdisciplinary interest, timeliness, accessibility, elegance and surprising conclusions. Nature also provides rapid, authoritative, insightful and arresting news and interpretation of topical and coming trends affecting science, scientists and the wider public.



Making the paper: David Baker (May 8)
Enzymes made from scratch to speed up a common chemical reaction.


Abstractions (May 8)
First authorIn 2000, researchers predicted that warming equatorial oceans would cause permanent El Niño conditions, which would shift tropical rainfall patterns away from the Amazon rainforest. In 2005, the rainforest did experience severe drought, but El Niño was not to blame. On page 212


From the blogosphere (May 8)
According to a recent online survey, most biologists don't read science blogs or participate in social networking sites (see discussion at Gobbledygook blog http://tinyurl.com/5psqp3). Biologists prefer to read the literature; Web 2.0 sites for scientists haven't yet built up a reputation for accuracy; and


Spring-cleaning in France (May 7)
The French scientific research system is ripe for reform.


The gathering storm rages on (May 7)
Two years on, a National Academies report on US competitiveness struggles to make an impact.


Bountiful noise (May 7)
Whether in music or in nature, noise can be full of riches. The trick is to recognize the treasures.


Geoscience: Climatic volcanoes (May 7)
Geophys. Res. Lett. doi:10.1029/2008GL033510 (2008)The Vatnajökull ice cap in Iceland lost about a tenth of its mass during the twentieth century. As a result, the crust around its edges has risen and this, according to new research, has led


Materials science: Carbon on display (May 7)
Nano Lett. doi:10.1021/nl080649i (2008)Lumps of graphite are sooty; its constituent layers of graphene, however, are transparent, a property that researchers have used in a liquid-crystal device. Kostya Novoselov at the University of Manchester, UK, and his co-workers have shown


Organic chemistry: Flushing out HIV (May 7)
Science320, 649?65210.1126/science.1154690(2008)The possibility of adding prostratin to antiretroviral therapies has been held back because it is scarce in nature, an impediment that the chemical's laboratory synthesis has just removed. Prostratin activates latent HIV viruses even in


Developmental biology: Antler insight (May 7)
PLoS One3, e206410.1371/journal.pone.0002064(2008)Hans Rolf of the University of Göttingen in Germany and his colleagues report that they have found evidence of stem cells in the antler 'growth zones' of fallow deer (Dama dama; pictured). They hunted