Rachael Moeller Gorman Author Profile | The Scientist Magazine®

Artists' renditions of cancer cells and tRNA molecules superimposed over one another.

Long noncoding RNAs and Microproteins Can Spark Cancer—or Sometimes Squelch It

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Mar 1, 2023 | 10+ min read

Noncoding RNAs and microproteins, once considered genomic noise, are turning out to be critical to the progression of some types of cancer.

RSV Vaccines That Work?

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Feb 16, 2023 | 10+ min read

Multiple candidates are in Phase 3 clinical trials for older adults and pregnant women, with some getting close to approval in the United States.

A top-down view of bowls filled various high-fiber foods such as rice, corn, seeds, and cereal sitting on a wooden table.

Different Dietary Fibers Affect the Body in Unique Ways

Rachael Moeller Gorman | May 3, 2022 | 4 min read

Acting through the microbiome, the fiber arabinoxylan reduces cholesterol in many people, while another fiber, called long-chain inulin, increases inflammation, a study finds.

Natural sunbeams underwater through water surface in the Mediterranean sea on a seabed with neptune grass, Catalonia, Roses, Costa Brava, Spain

Marine Plant Partners with Microbes Like Terrestrial Plants Do

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Mar 14, 2022 | 3 min read

A seagrass relies on symbiotic bacteria inside its roots to fix nitrogen. This is the first time scientists have demonstrated that this relationship occurs in a marine plant.

Infographic showing how a new bacteria species called <em>Candidatus Celerinatantimonas neptuna</em> lives in seagrass and how it provides the plant with nitrogen

Infographic: Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria Live Inside Seagrass Roots

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Mar 14, 2022 | 1 min read

Researchers can now explain how some marine plants obtain their nitrogen.

masked teacher sitting on floor showing masked students something on a tablet

Does Science Support Lifting School Mask Mandates?

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Feb 28, 2022 | 10+ min read

The CDC has given the OK to lift indoor mask mandates in much of the US, and a growing number of states no longer require face coverings in schools. But most experts agree that masks slow school spread of SARS-CoV-2, and whether now is the right time to allow teachers and students to unmask is a matter of debate.

Retrotransposon RNA Triggers NLRC4 Inflammasome Formation: Study

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Dec 10, 2021 | 4 min read

Researchers identify a sensor that sets off inflammation in the absence of infection when it detects RNA from the mobile genetic elements.

masked boy sitting in classroom raising his hand

Shrinking Quarantine

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Oct 15, 2021 | 9 min read

The CDC now suggests that only children who were within 3 feet, not 6 feet, of an infected student should quarantine, provided they were masked in a classroom. Does the science support this change?

Ancient Human Footprints in New Mexico Dated to Ice Age

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Sep 23, 2021 | 4 min read

Researchers excavated human footprints out of a small bluff next to a dried-up playa lake and radiocarbon-dated embedded seeds to around 23,000 years ago. Their results suggest that people entered the Americas thousands of years earlier than the accepted estimate.

white and yellow colonies growing on a petri dish

Gut Fungi Hamper Radiation Therapy in Mice with Cancer

Rachael Moeller Gorman | Aug 11, 2021 | 3 min read

Depleting intestinal fungi allows radiation to effectively fight cancer, likely because the microbes influence the antitumor immune response.