简介：Thereisincreasingobservationalevidenceindicatingthatcrystallineinterfacialwaterlayersplayacentralroleinevolutionandbiology.Forinstanceincellularrecognitionprocesses,inparticularduringfirstcontactevents,wherecellsdecideuponsurvivalorenteringapoptosis.Understandingwaterlayersisthuscrucialinbiomedicalengineering,specificallyinthedesignofbiomaterialsinspiredbybiomimeticprinciples.Whereasthereisampleexperimentalevidenceforcrystallineinterfacialwaterlayersonsurfacesinair,theirsubaquaticpresencecouldnotbeverifieddirectly,sofar.Analysingapolaritydependentasym-metryinthesurfaceconductivityonhydrogenatednanocrystallinediamond,weshowthatcrystallineinterfacialwaterlayerspersistsubaquatically.Nanoscopicinterfacialwaterlayerswithanorderdifferentfromthatofbulkwaterhavebeenidentifiedatroomtemperatureonbothhydrophilicandhydrophobicmodelsurfaces-inairandsubaquatically.Theirgeneralizationandsystematicinclusionintothecatalogueofphysicalandchemicaldeterminantsofbiocompatibilitycompletethebiomimetictriangle.

简介：据《科学家》网站报道，从”合成基因组”到”砷基生命”，今年夺人眼球的研究论文着实不少，但最重要的论文来自对于生命分子基础的研究。近日2010年生物学各领域最重要的5篇论文排名出炉。