With the help of directed evolution, scientists inch closer to developing viral vectors that can cross the human blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapy.

George Church is at it again, this time using multiplex gene editing to create virus-proof cells, improve organ transplant success, and protect elephants.

Noncoding RNAs are proving to be critical players in the evolution of brain anatomy and cognitive complexity.

Biofilms are home to millions of microbes, but disrupting their interactions could produce more effective antibiotics.

A device dubbed the “mother machine” enables real-time observation of mutagenesis in single bacterial cells.  

Our perception of quantity, separate from counting or estimation of magnitude more generally, is foundational to human cognition, according to some neuroscientists.

A neurologist by training, Stefánsson founded Iceland-based deCODE Genetics to explore what the human genome can tell us about disease and our species’ evolution.

Saliva tests screen staff and students at University of Illinois; Study ranks species most susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection; COVID-19 clinical trials test drugs that inhibit kinin system

Echoing the centuries-old debate among scientists over how to organize and name Earth's species, authors of National Research Council (NRC) reports rating research-doctorate programs have also struggled over the "taxonomy" of disciplines within the biosciences. Allan Cartter, in his 1966 report An Assessment of Quality In Graduate Education (Washington, D.C., American Council on Education), observed that grouping programs within the biological sciences represented a challenge, owing to the vari

Editor's Note: This is the first of two articles on questions raised by recent stem cell discoveries. The second article, focusing on various organs and the nervous system, will appear in the Nov. 27 issue of The Scientist. Researchers first isolated embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from mouse blastocysts almost 20 years ago, and a paper announcing the discovery of human ESCs emerged in 1998. Adult-derived stem cells (ASCs) have since become the rage in certain quarters of biology, with unexpected--