Key Advances in Medicine eBook from Nature Reviews - FREE to download!

This essential resource summarizes the groundbreaking clinical and biomedical discoveries of 2015 and highlights the trends to watch out for in 2016, making it a must read eBook for anyone with an interest in medical science.

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India needs home-grown GM food to stop starvation

Indian scientists must develop domestic genetically modified crops rather than rely on unsuitable foreign technology, says Anurag Chaurasia,a biotechnologist with the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms in Kushmaur, India.

 At the beginning of this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a road map to guide India’s science and technology over the next two decades. Launched during the Indian Science Congress at the University of Mysore, the plan signalled a cautious approach to techniques such as genetically modified (GM) crops, noting that “some aspects of biotechnology have posed serious legal and ethical problems in recent years”. That is true, but a different and much larger problem looms for India. According to the 2015 United Nations World Population Prospects report, India will surpass China by early next decade as the most populous country on Earth, with the most mouths to feed. India is already classed as having a ‘serious’ hunger problem, according to the 2015 Global Hunger Index of the International Food Policy Research Institute. There is a danger that many of these new Indians will not have sufficient food.

Where can additional food come from? Grain production is stagnant, and rapid urbanization is reducing available land. To increase food production, India needs to invest in modern agricultural methods, including GM crops.

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Nature's news quiz: chemical elements, Planet Nine, and a nuclear test.

1. You and your microbes

Bacteria in the human body outnumber our own cells by what ratio, according to an estimate published this month?

2. Chemical elements

Scientists from Japan, the United States and Russia are considering what to call the newest confirmed elements in the periodic table – numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118. But there are rules on naming elements: what can’t they be named after?

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Nature: 2012 Review of the Year

From the discovery of the Higgs boson to the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, 2012 was an eventful year in science. Nature's end of year round-up reviews the highs and lows in research and science policy. A great compilation.

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Brain-machine interfaces -- Special compilation from Nature

Brain-machine interfaces promise to aid paralyzed patients by re-routing movement-related signals around damaged parts of the nervous system. A new study in Nature demonstrates a human with spinal injury manipulating a screen cursor and robotic devices by thought alone. Implanted electrodes in his motor cortex recorded neural activity, and translated it into movement commands. A second study, in monkeys, shows that brain-machine interfaces can operate at high speed, greatly increasing their clinical potential. This Nature Web Focus includes exclusive interviews and video footage of experiments, alongside papers that paved the way for these recent advances.

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Future of Computing -- Special compilation from Nature

In the last two decades advances in computing technology, from processing speed to network capacity and the internet, have revolutionized the way scientists work and many recent scientific advances would not have been possible without a parallel increase in computing power - but with revolutionary technologies such as the quantum computer edging towards reality, how long will the current synergy between computing and science last?

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Being human -- Special compilation from Nature

Why do we behave in the way that we do? This series of Essays reveals how the latest research is altering our understanding of what it is to be human. Whether in relation to religion or to our collective behaviour in cities, experts explore the potential impact on society, now and in the future, of discoveries in psychology, anthropology, genetics, neuroscience, game theory and network engineering.

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How to write -- Special compilation from Nature

Five top science book writers offer advice for budding authors in a series of interviews in Nature's Books & Arts section. Peter Atkins reveals the hard work behind a successful textbook; Carl Zimmer highlights how passion is essential for popular science; David Brin reveals how criticism improves his fiction writing; Georgina Ferry shares research tips for biographies; and Joanna Cole explains how to convey science to children.

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Schizophrenia -- Special compilation from Nature

Schizophrenia is a condition experienced by over 0.5% of the world's population at some time in their lives, and has a more debilitating impact on sufferers than most psychiatric illnesses, as well as a disproportionate societal impact. This special issue highlights the state of play and opportunities for progress in understanding, diagnosing and treating the condition.

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The Future of the PhD --- Special compilation from Nature

Scientists attaining a PhD gain entry to an academic elite — but it's not as elite as it once was. More people are graduating with PhDs than ever before, and the growth shows no sign of slowing. Nature explores this and other issues surrounding the science PhD today and asks whether it needs reinvention. Tell us what you think about the future of the PhD by commenting online or joining our Q&A.

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The autism enigma -- Special compilation from Nature

Autism spectrum disorder has attracted intense interest from the public and scientists over recent years. Nature sorts fact from fiction in this hot, but sometimes contentious, field: from the debate about soaring diagnoses, to the idea that scientists and engineers are at high risk of having a child with autism. The special includes news and comment from Nature, and articles from Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience and Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

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