2009 Science News of the Year: Molecules

Tangles of collagen IV chains link at globules via sulfur-nitrogen bonding (illustrated above). Credit: Courtesy of Science/AAAS
Tangles of collagen IV chains link at globules via sulfur-nitrogen bonding (illustrated above). Credit: Courtesy of Science/AAAS

New bond in the basement
Basements house hidden treasures — including a chemical bond never before seen in living things. Scientists have discovered that collagen fibers in the basement membrane — a tough, structural layer of cells that surrounds most tissues in animals — are connected by a sulfur-nitrogen bond (SN: 9/26/09, p.