Chicago, IL, USA. New experiments show that common scientific rules can apply to significantly different phenomena operating on vastly different scales.

The findings, from the field of physics, raise the possibility of making discoveries pertaining to phenomena that would be too small, large or impractical to recreate in the laboratory.

The related math and physics have been under intense scrutiny for centuries. With biology now grounded on scientific procedure and rigorous experiment, questions of breadth and scale have become very important.

The biosciences are interested in modeling from pre-cellular protein formation through cells to organs and complete anatomical structure. Such multiscale modeling efforts are necessary to better understand structural and functional changes associated with unexpected genomic and genetic changes as well as the potential associations with disease. However, many of the necessary computational tools do not yet exist.

Rochester, NY, USA. Scientists have created a diamond-like lattice composed of gold nanoparticles and viral particles, woven together and held in place by strands of DNA. The structure — a distinctive mix of hard, metallic nanoparticles and organic viral pieces known as capsids, linked by the very stuff of life, DNA — marks a remarkable step in scientists' ability to combine an assortment of materials to create infinitesimal devices.

While people commonly think of DNA as a blueprint for life, the team used DNA instead as a tool to guide the precise positioning of tiny particles just one-millionth of a centimeter across, using DNA to chaperone the particles.

The research adds flexibility to the toolkit that scientists have available to create nano-sized devices. Scientists foresee many applications for such crystals, such as optical computing and telecommunications. There is strong potential for new structures that support organ repair and/or regeneration. In any case, manufacturing and durability remain serious challenges, requiring additional research.

University Park, PA, USA. The majority of public high school biology teachers in the U.S. are not strong classroom advocates of evolutionary biology, despite 40 years of court cases that have ruled teaching creationism or intelligent design violates the Constitution.

There is considerable research showing that supporters of scientific methods and evolution — and even reason itself — are steadily losing out in America's classrooms, according to a new analysis by Michael Berkman and Eric Plutzer, professors of political science at Penn State. Their analysis appears in the journal Science.

The authors examined data from the National Survey of High School Biology Teachers, a representative sample of 926 public high school biology instructors. They found only about 28 percent of those teachers consistently implement National Research Council recommendations calling for introduction of evidence that evolution occurred, and craft lesson plans with evolution as a unifying theme linking disparate topics in biology.

Phoenix, AZ, USA. A new technique can peer into single cells and even intracellular processes with unprecedented clarity.

Nongjian (N.J.) Tao and colleagues at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) used electrochemical impedance microscopy (EIM) to explore subtle features of profound importance for basic and applied research.

The new technique can affect scientific studies of cell adhesion, cell death (apoptosis) and electroporation, while providing a new means for introducing DNA or drugs into cells.

Despite the sophistication and range of contemporary microscopy techniques, many important biological phenomena still elude the precision of even the most sensitive tools. There is an acute need for refined imaging methods for fundamental research and biomedical applications.

Washington, DC, USA. To address what peer review is, and how to use it in policy decision making, the National Academy of Inventors™ has published a special issue of their proceedings, the journal Technology & Innovation.

Scientific peer review is a process of evaluation and/or self-regulation by qualified individuals within the relevant field.

The special issue is focused on history, process and practice, with several articles aimed at assessing scientific peer review within the federal government and peer review's relationship to federal policy formation.

For A. Alan Moghissi, president of the nonprofit Institute for Regulatory Science (TSI), and Michael S. Swetnam, of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, advancements in science and technology drive an increase in the need for critical evaluation by the independent peers of those who create the advancements.