The Scientist

Make Mine Rare

With mounting interest from biotechs, Big Pharma, and the federal government, research on rare diseases is burgeoning.

Capsule Reviews

First Life, Radioactivity, Brain Bugs, Life of Earth

Contributors

Meet some of the people featured in the August 2011 issue of The Scientist.

Toads

Ascribing benefits to the experience of devastating illness or trauma is fraught with hidden dangers.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Getting the big picture means asking lots of little questions.

Sharing the Bounty

Gut bacteria may be the missing piece that explains the connection between diet and cancer risk.

The Root of the Problem

New research suggests that the flow of carbon through plants to underground ecosystems may be crucial to how the environment responds to climate change.

It's a Cell-Eat-Cell World

For more than 100 years, pathologists have observed cancer cells engulfing other live cells, but scientists are only now beginning to understand how it happens and what it means for tumorigenesis.

Ernst Haeckel’s Pedigree of Man, 1874

After completing his studies in medicine and biology, a restless Ernst Haeckel set off for Italy in 1859 to study art and marine biology. The diversity of life fascinated the 26-year-old Prussian, and in addition to painting landscapes, he spent the

Cell-In-Cell Action

The mechanism by which tumor cells end up harboring other living cells remains elusive, and the sparse evidence acquired thus far has led researchers to propose different hypotheses. Depending on the character of both the host cell and internalized c

From the Ground Up

As the planet warms plant growth will likely increase—locking up some of that extra carbon dioxide by converting it into vegetative biomass—but that’s not the whole story. In addition to direct effects of rising temperatures and altered rainfall, mor

Helpful Bacterial Metabolites

While gut microbiota appear to have both positive and negative impacts on our  health, in the guts of healthy, lean individuals, the good outweighs the bad.  Gut  bacteria, most of which reside in the large intestine, process many otherwise  indigest

Harmful Bacterial Metabolites

Gut bacteria that feed on healthy food appear to amplify the nutritional benefits of those foods. However, they also appear to amplify the undesirable effects of unhealthy food. Here are a few examples. Read the full story.

Learning to Become a Tree Hugger

A guide to free software for constructing and assessing species relationships

The Right Sort

Using the strongest molecular binding partnership in biology to separate different cell types

Powering Clinical Trials

To ensure high-quality clinical trials of a malaria vaccine, organizers in rural Africa must first upgrade electrical and research infrastructures.

String Theory

New types of biological filaments are turning up in yeast, fly, bacterial cells and in rat neurons, and they may yield clues to how the cytoskeleton evolved from metabolically active enzymes.

Personalized Athletics

Motivated by a career-ending ligament tear, a former NFL player starts a company to test athletes' genetic predispositions to common sports injuries.

An Unlichenly Pair

A young botanist pays tribute to his mentor by naming a newly discovered, rare species in his honor.

3-D Seer

Dissatisfied with the uncertainty of crystallography, Ned Seeman invented a new way of assembling the molecules that encompass the logic of life.

Faculty Fallout

Administrators have taken over US universities, and they’re steering institutions of higher learning away from the goal of serving as beacons of knowledge.

Seirian Sumner: Wasp Whisperer

Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology, London. Age: 37

Battling Malaria in Africa

When general practitioner John Lusingu returned to his native Tanzania to do research on malaria, he was met with a total lack of science infrastructure. Undeterred, he helped convert a former kitchen in the Korogwe District Hospital into a small mal

Haeckel’s Radiolarians

After completing his studies in medicine and biology, Prussian naturalist Ernst Haeckel set off for Italy in 1859, where, in addition to painting landscapes, he spent the climactic months of his stay glued to his microscope observing and sketching ra

Speaking of Science

August 2011's selection of notable quotes

Plant Cells and Soap Bubbles

Editor’s Choice in Plant Biology

Memory Aid

Editor's Choice in Neuroscience

An Eyeful of RNA

Editor's Choice in Physiology

Deconstructing the Mosaic Brain

Sequencing the DNA of individual neurons is a way to dissect the genes underlying major neurological and psychological disorders.