Issue | October 2016 | 30th Anniversary Issue

Cover Story

The Scientist Staff | Oct 1, 2016 | 1 min read

Since The Scientist published its first issue in October 1986, life-science research has transformed from a manual and often tedious task to a high-tech, largely automated process of unprecedented efficiency.

Features

Microscopy’s Growth Through the Years

Jenny Rood | Oct 1, 2016 | 5 min read

From confocal fluorescence microscopy to super-resolution and live 3-D imaging, microscopes have changed rapidly since 1986.

DNA Sequencing: From Tedious to Automatic

Catherine Offord | Oct 1, 2016 | 5 min read

Sequencing has gone from a laborious manual task costing thousands of dollars to a quick and cheap practice that is standard for many laboratories.

New and Old Techniques in Modern Neuroscience

Alison F. Takemura | Oct 1, 2016 | 6 min read

Imaging and manipulating the brain has come a long way from electrodes and the patch clamp, though such traditional tools remain essential.

Gene Editing: From Roots to Riches

Amanda B. Keener | Oct 1, 2016 | 5 min read

Advances in genetic manipulation have simplified the once daunting task of rewriting a gene.

Stem Cells Made Waves in Biology and Medicine

Karen Zusi | Oct 1, 2016 | 6 min read

Since their introduction to the lab, pluripotent stem cells have gone from research tool to therapeutic, but the journey has been rocky.

Bacteria and Humans Have Been Swapping DNA for Millennia

Kelly Robinson and Julie Dunning Hotopp | Oct 1, 2016 | 8 min read

Bacteria inhabit most tissues in the human body, and genes from some of these microbes have made their way to the human genome. Could this genetic transfer contribute to diseases such as cancer?

Contributors

Meet some of the people featured in the October 2016 issue of The Scientist

Editorial

An Evolutionary History

Celebrating 30 years and a resurrection

Speaking of Science

Notable Science Quotes

Roger Tsien R.I.P., predatory publishing, and diversity in science

Notebook

Birders Break North American Record

A nude birder and an Australian zoo owner are competing to set the new bar for the number of species spotted in a single year.

Thirty Years of Lab Safety

From mouth pipetting to automated liquid handling, life-science labs have gotten much safer over the past three decades.

Researchers Grow “Frankenstein Ants” to Study Epigenetics

A molecular biologist ventures into entomology to use genetically modified ants as laboratory models of behavioral epigenetics.

Genetic Test Solves Royal Mystery

Genetic analyses lay to rest conspiracy theories about death of Belgian King Albert I, who lost his life in a rock climbing accident more than 80 years ago.

Modus Operandi

How to Track Translation in Living Cells

Four independent research groups develop techniques for visualizing peptide production in living cells.

The Literature

Protozoans Found With No Dedicated Stop Codons

Some ciliates use the same trio of nucleotides to code for an amino acid and to stop translation.

Some Human Cancers Exhibit Low-grade Inflammation

NSAIDs reduce this "parainflammation," hinting at how they help lower cancer risk.

Do Brighter Species’ Brains Emit Redder Light?

Photon emissions in the brain are red-shifted in more-intelligent species, though scientists dispute what that means.

Profile

Curious George

George Church has consistently positioned himself at genomics’ leading edge.

Scientist to Watch

Lisa Boyette Started a Nonprofit to Save Her Brother and Cure Other Diseases

Founder and CEO, Curable; Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh. Age: 35

Lab Tools

Mass Spec Analysis of Protein Interactions

Using the technique to study how RNA, DNA, lipids, and small molecules interact with proteins

Techniques for Assessing Genomic Copy Number Variations

As the importance of genomic copy number variations for health and disease becomes clearer, researchers are creating new ways to detect these changes in the genome.