Scientists around the world are using the programmability of DNA to assemble complex nanometer-scale structures. Until now, however, production of these artificial structures has been limited to water-based environments, because DNA naturally functions inside the watery environment of living cells.

Quantum computers are in theory capable of simulating the interactions of molecules at a level of detail far beyond the capabilities of even the largest supercomputers today. Such simulations could revolutionize chemistry, biology and materials science, but the development of quantum computers has been limited by the ability to increase the number of quantum bits, or qubits, that encode, store and access large amounts of data.

Meetings, emails, and presentations are often filled with a seemingly endless stream of jargon — such as ‘pick the low-hanging fruit’ or ‘think outside the box’ — that is supposed to serve as shorthand to help convey a message. Does it work? Does its overuse become cliché? Why do people rely on jargon to communicate?

When oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill first began washing ashore on Pensacola Municipal Beach in June 2010, populations of sensitive microorganisms, including those that capture sunlight or fix nitrogen from the air, began to decline. At the same time, organisms able to digest light components of the oil began to multiply, starting the process of converting the pollutant to carbon dioxide and biomass.

Ribonucleotides, units of RNA, can become embedded in genomic DNA during processes such as DNA replication and repair, affecting the stability of the genome by contributing to DNA fragility and mutability. Scientists have known about the presence of ribonucleotides in DNA, but until now had not been able to determine exactly what they are and where they are located in the DNA sequences.

Crowd science is making possible research projects that might otherwise be out of reach, tapping thousands of volunteers to help with such tasks as classifying animal photos, studying astronomical images, counting sea stars and examining cancer cell images. Also known as “citizen science,” these efforts to involve ordinary people in research projects have attracted interest from policy makers, scientific agencies and others.

The southeastern United States is a natural laboratory for scientists studying how chemicals emitted by human activities and trees interact with each other and affect air quality and climate. A new study has found that certain emissions from cars and coal-fired power plants promote processes that transform naturally occurring emissions from trees into organic aerosols. Organic aerosols make up a substantial fraction of ambient particulate matter (PM) that can affect climate, air quality and human health.