This shows a model of the "threading tetra-intercalator " bound up in the double helix of a DNA sequence. Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before the DNA liberates itself, much longer than any other molecule reported.

The biological scaffold that gives structure to a heart valve after its cellular material has been removed can be freeze-dried and stored for later use as a tissue-engineered replacement valve to treat a failing heart, as described in an article in Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free online at http://www.liebertpub.com/ten

The models used to understand how Earth's climate works include thousands of different variables from many scientific including atmospherics, oceanography, seismology, geology, physics and chemistry, but few take into consideration the vast effect that microbes have on climate. Now, a new report from the American Academy of Microbiology, "Incorporating Microbial Processes into Climate Models", offers a plan for integrating the latest understanding of the science of microbiology into climate models.

When it comes to choosing a place to hang out, big reef fish like coral trout, snappers and sweetlips have strong architectural preferences.

This is Dr. Brad Amos, Visiting Scientist, University of Strathclyde. A new form of microscope which can produce results in seconds rather than hours – dramatically speeding up the process of drug development - is being developed by researchers at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

The fungus Trichoderma (top left) has been genetically modified so that it can produce valuable pharmaceuticals from chitin Usually, mould fungi are nothing to cheer about – but now they can be used as "chemical factories". Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology have succeeded in introducing bacterial genes into the fungus Trichoderma, so that the fungus can now produce important chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry. The raw material used by the fungus is abundant - it is chitin, which makes up the shells of crustaceans.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool, working with international partners, have shown a rare genetic disease, that causes crippling osteoarthritis in the spine and major joints, is far more prevalent worldwide than previously thought.

Tenofovir, one of the most effective and commonly prescribed antiretroviral medications for HIV/AIDS, is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease that increases over time, according to a study of more than 10,000 patients led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).