Feature

  1. Channel Surfing

    The newly revealed three-dimensional structures of proteins called ion channels reveal the secrets of their crucial function.

    By John Travis
  2. Earth

    Avalanche!

    Laboratory studies of how snow crystals change shape under fluctuating environmental conditions and computer analyses that match the patterns of past avalanches with detailed meteorological data are helping scientists uncover the secrets of avalanches.

    By Sid Perkins
  3. Health & Medicine

    Tracking Tumors

    Researchers are trying to visualize molecular and cellular changes as a cancer responds to therapy in order to predict whether treatments are effective sooner than it's currently possible to determine.

    By Damaris Christensen
  4. Materials Science

    Materials Take Wing

    Materials scientists are finding new uses for the billions of pounds of feathers produced each year by the poultry industry.