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Fifteen years since the last discovery of its kind, scientists have finally identified a new set of genes that may contribute to Alzheimer's disease. The three new genes, known as clusterin, complement receptor 1 (CR1) and PICALM, were uncovered by two separate research groups.

Finding genes that have evolved in humans among our genome's 3 billion bases is no easy feat. But now, a team has pinpointed three genes that arose from noncoding DNA and may help make our species unique.

In the first clinical proof of its kind, a drug has dramatically shrunk cancerous tumors by disrupting a key genetic pathway. But a study targeting one deadly brain cancer, medulloblastoma, ended in disappointment as the patient's once-tamed tumor quickly developed resistance to the drug and killed him.

Dog owners often compare their pets to toddlers; many even treat their pooches like kids. It's easy to label such comparisons sentimental. But a new study suggests that the owners are right. A team of scientists has discovered that dogs behave surprisingly like 10-month-old infants on a classic psychological test--though there is one important difference.

New findings show that the giant clouds of dust and gas that pervade the universe, out of which form all of the stars and other assorted celestial bodies, depend on magnetism to regulate their collapse. If confirmed, the study would resolve a long-standing mystery about the star-forming process.

Have a friend remove an object from a room you know well--say, a napkin holder from your kitchen--and then see if you can guess what he's taken away. Even if you don't know the answer, your eyes will unconsciously fixate on the stretch of countertop next to the toaster where the holder usually sits. Remembering what goes where in your kitchen is called relational memory, and now scientists have shown that your unknowing stare may be a sign that your brain remembers even when you don't.

Of the many ideas for new physics that can be tested at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), supersymmetry is one of the most promising. The theory proposes that each fundamental fermion particle has a heavier bosonic superpartner (and vice versa for each fundamental boson) and by doing so, offers an extension of the standard model of particle physics that fixes many of its problems. None of the known particles appear to be superpartners, however, which leads to the daunting conclusion that if supersymmetry is correct, there are more than twice as many fundamental particles as we thought, but we have only been left with the lightest partners; that is, supersymmetry is broken.

A diminutive chihuahua and a lumbering Irish wolfhound look completely different, yet most us know they both belong to the concept called "dog". Now the brain regions responsible for our ability to organise the world into separate concepts have been pinpointed.

The best of the bunch (so far) for the 2010 American Physical Society's Gallery of Fluid Motion Each year, the Fluid Dynamics division of the American Physical Society holds a conference. This year, the meeting is in Long Beach, California, in November. One of the highlights is the impressive set of videos of fluid motion that the delegates put together. These videos have already begun to appear on the arViv in impressive numbers. Videos are an effective and increasingly popular way of publishing research. Expect to see more like this. But there are clearly better ways to make them available other than as downloads from the arXiv or as videos in a room in Long Beach. One obvious option is to make them available on streaming websites such as YouTube andVimeo. As far as I can tell, they are not available like this. Another is to create a website that showcases them in advance, to make it a global, web-based event. Many of the videos are superb. Not only could they command a bigger audience, they deserve it. If plans are afoot to make the Gallery of Fluid Motion a bigger event, then great. If not, shame! Here is my selection of the highlights this year.