A Biological Compass

How a dinner-table conversation between two biologists led to the formulation of the theory that cells are the building blocks of all living organisms.

Crescent, An Empty Land of Plenty, Prophet of Bones, and Equilateral

Humans continue to scan the cosmos for a familiar brand of intelligence while ignoring a deeper form that pulses here at home.

The top online archives for storing your unpublished findings

Commercial kits use fluorescent beads to probe dozens of cytokines in one reaction.

A beginner’s how-to on RNAi screening in mammalian cells

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon. Age: 41

Unafraid to tackle cancer disparities across races, Olufunmilayo “Funmi” Olopade has demonstrated that genomics research can make a big impact on public health.

The cell detains potentially harmful RNA messages in the spliceosome long enough to create interfering RNAs against the aberrant messages.

New oligodendrocytes in the adult mouse brain appear to remodel existing myelin sheaths, which may fine-tune the speed of nerve impulses.

Cell division in L-forms—bacterial variants that have no cell walls—could shed light on how primitive life forms replicated.

Cell-containing hydrogel shapes fit into a template to create an artificial tissue environment.

Beaks did it for Darwin. Now, monitoring real-time evolution of bacteria that infects finch eyes reveals repeated, rapid evolution of an emerging avian pathogen in backyards throughout the U.S.

Synthetic biologists need to work together with conservationists to understand the environmental consequences of this new technology.

Ancient receptors in seeds bind a small molecule in smoke that promotes germination.

Military bunkers along the US East Coast may serve as sterile overwintering sites for bat populations threatened by white-nose syndrome.

Science gets personal as researchers—professional and amateur—plumb the depths of their own molecular biology.

Ancient-DNA researchers have long clashed over work on Egyptian mummies, but next-gen sequencing might resolve their debates.

August 2013's selection of notable quotes

A focus on the movements of species and disciplines through space, time, and minds

Meet some of the people featured in the August 2013 issue of The Scientist.

Researchers from various disciplines are homing in on the mechanics of magnetoreception, an enigmatic sense that some animals use to navigate the globe.