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

The Death of Faith? Darwin's theory was part of a larger cultural shift towards naturalistic philosophy. Why is he still the target of so many attacks?By Brendan Maher ARTICLE EXTRASSPRING BOOKSStem Cells on ShelvesAn Awkward SymbiosisHigh in the TreesBloody IsleThe Enchantment of EnhancementBooks about BodiesNew Lab Man

Traveling to the ends of the earth in pursuit of biological quarry is not part of the job description for the average molecular biologist. But for anthropologist Don Melnick, going to work means trekking through the jungles of Southeast Asia for blood samples from the Javan silvery gibbon and other endangered animals. And the jobs of geneticist John Avise and biologist Brian Bowen entail long nights on tropical beaches waiting for nesting sea turtles. The following are the top ecology journal

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

Photo: Ori Fragman, Hebrew University Hordeum spontaneum, the plant studied for BARE-1 retroelements. With genome sequences arriving almost as regularly as the morning paper, the public's attention is focused on genes--new genes to protect crops against pests; rogue genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics; faulty genes that, if fixed, could cure diseases such as muscular dystrophy. What many people don't realize is that genes account for only part of an organism's DNA, and in many c

Swiss anthropologist Jeremy Narby counts himself among the relatively thin ranks of scientists willing to publicly announce their conviction that nature is "minded," that an intelligence lies behind the development of life. Such a position is heresy to the prevailing scientific view of naturalism, which holds that nature is self-sufficient and the result of undirected processes. These two differing viewpoints usually are framed in the context of a debate between theology and science--creationis

Polar science is receiving increased attention this spring with several new developments in the national and international arenas. At last month's meeting of the United States-Russian Joint Commission on Economics and Technological Cooperation, one of the major agenda items was Arctic sciences. This commission has met semiannually since it was initiated in 1993 by U.S. Vice President Al Gore and former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chenomyrdin to establish new intergovernmental agreements for

PRIZE WITH A PRICE: Science historian Peter Galison has taken some ribbing from his family since being named a MacArthur fellow. One could almost pity Peter Galison. A historian of science at Harvard University, Galison is one of seven members of the scientific community among the 23 recipients of this year's John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowships. The coveted five-year awards provide unrestricted support plus health insurance to talented individuals, with no reports or proj

Investment Author:Holly Ahern If you were to ask several life scientists to name a particular biochemical product that they simply could not do without, you'd probably get a myriad of answers that would mirror the research interests of the group you questioned. A molecular evolutionist trying to differentiate two closely related species of monkeys by restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis might cite restriction enzymes, which can cut DNA into pieces of varying length. A cell b