Amid the many analyses of Darwin's life and work, a more intimate literary portrait emerges from the poetry of his great-great-granddaughter, Ruth Padel. Her series of poems on his life — six of which are reproduced here evokes the emotion and drama of the naturalist's discoveries

Quantum buffers will be an essential part of quantum-information networks. A buffer that can preserve not only a 'quantum bit' but also a 'quantum image' is a major step towards creating those networks

Crystal-structure prediction methods and diffraction data show that a newly discovered form of boron is partially ionic. This is the first time such a structure has been observed for any elemental solid