- Ana Rossi
Ion channels are miniature pores in the membranes of cells. They're the gatekeepers controlling which ions can move into and out of cells, meaning that they control almost every aspect of life itself. This also means they're important drug targets. But to develop effective and selective agents to hit just the right channel means that scientists need to understand the precise structure and workings of each of them. A daunting task, but now new technology has provided a way to do just that...
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- Bjoern Brembs
Flies are creatures of habit - at least that's what the latest research on the fruit fly Drosophila has found. In this article Bjoern Brembs explains how a marine snail started him on the road to uncover the brain basis of learning...
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- Philip Strange
Surprising as it sounds, one of the world's top tipples a century ago was laced with cocaine. And although the manufacturers have changed the recipe in recent years, Coca Cola is still a market leader, but why was the cocaine there in the first place, and where does the drug come from?
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- Helen Carter
Every day our bodies are assailed by microbes of all descriptions, but for the most part we successfully fend them off. In this article Helen Carter explores the basis of human immunity...
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- Sarah Urquhart
A period, or menstruation, marks the beginning of the process by which the uterus, or womb, prepares itself for pregnancy. Sarah has a look at the process and what can go wrong including missed or late periods, intermenstrual bleeding, heavy periods, painful periods, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), and the menopause.
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- Helen Carter
There are five million new cases of HIV internationally every year, and the virus is second only to tobacco as the leading cause of death worldwide. But what is HIV, how does it cause disease, what is AIDS, how do anti-AIDS drugs work, and what does HIV mean for Britain?
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- Stephanie Modi
The lymphatic system is your body's drainage system. It collects the excess fluid that surrounds cells and returns it to the bloodstream, picks up fats from the intestines and primes the immune system about pathogens...
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- Chris Smith
What causes cold sores and genital herpes, how do herpes viruses cause disease, why do herpes infections persist for life and how can cold sores and genital herpes be treated, and how does this all relate to Romeo and Juliet?
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- Andrew Caines
So what exactly is linguistics? Is it all about tape recorders, tongue twisters and dropped "aitches"? Or is it all adventure, exploration and the search for undiscovered languages among rainforest tribes? Well, it's both, and in this article Andrew Caines tells us more...
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- Felicia Huppert
How much do we know about what makes people thrive and societies flourish? We know remarkably little about the positive aspects of living. Felicia Huppert takes us on a tour of her new book.
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