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Life Thrives Within the Earth’s Crust
Catherine Offord | Oct 1, 2018 | 10+ min read
From journeys into mines to explorations of volcanoes on the ocean floor, deep voyages reveal the richness of the planet’s deep biosphere.
The Vanishing Night: Light Pollution Threatens Ecosystems
Diana Kwon | Oct 1, 2018 | 10+ min read
The loss of darkness can harm individual organisms and perturb interspecies interactions, potentially causing lasting damage to life on our planet.
Belly Fat Has a Role to Play in Fighting Infections
Selene Meza-Perez and Troy D. Randall | Oct 1, 2018 | 9 min read
Hanging in front of the abdomen like an apron, the depot of visceral fat known as the omentum helps regulate immune responses.
Contributors
Contributors
Contributors
Meet some of the people featured in the October 2018 issue of The Scientist.
Editorial
Genes and Blues
Genes and Blues
Learning about your own genetic idiosyncrasies comes with complex emotions.
Speaking of Science
Ten-Minute Sabbatical
Ten-Minute Sabbatical
Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.
Notebook
In Their Earliest Days, Embryos Record Their Environments
In Their Earliest Days, Embryos Record Their Environments
Methylation patterns at so-called metastable epialleles in the genome stamp a memory into each of our cells.
Hackers Are Breaking into Medical Databases to Protect Patient Data
Hackers Are Breaking into Medical Databases to Protect Patient Data
Agencies such as the NIH reward the discovery of vulnerabilities in their computer systems—before criminals can exploit them.
Sports Videos Give Clues to Climate Change
Sports Videos Give Clues to Climate Change
Archived footage of cycling races and other events can help ecologists track the timing of plants’ leafing and flowering.
Ancient Teeth Tell the History of Equine Dentistry
Ancient Teeth Tell the History of Equine Dentistry
Researchers studied 3,000-year-old skeletal remains from Mongolia to understand the origins of veterinary dental practices.
Freeze Frame
Caught on Camera
Caught on Camera
Selected Images of the Day from the-scientist.com
Modus Operandi
Visualizing Gene Expression in Individual Cells in Thick Tissues
Visualizing Gene Expression in Individual Cells in Thick Tissues
STARmap enables simultaneous analysis of multiple RNAs in intact, bulky samples.
The Literature
Chromosome Clusters Help Keep the Genome Together
Chromosome Clusters Help Keep the Genome Together
Without certain DNA-binding proteins, chromosomes can escape the cell nucleus.
Ibuprofen’s Effects Found in Offspring of Exposed Mosquitoes
Ibuprofen’s Effects Found in Offspring of Exposed Mosquitoes
Results of a study suggest that toxicologists should look further than exposed individuals for contaminant effects.
Alzheimer’s Gene Affects Energy Consumption in Mouse Brains
Alzheimer’s Gene Affects Energy Consumption in Mouse Brains
One variant limited the brain’s ability to use glucose.
Profile
Genome Collector: A Profile of Charles Rotimi
Genome Collector: A Profile of Charles Rotimi
The NIH epidemiologist has worked to ensure genetic health and population genetics studies contain data from African—not just European—populations.
Scientist to Watch
Rotem Sorek Searches for Bacteria’s Defenses Against Viruses
Rotem Sorek Searches for Bacteria’s Defenses Against Viruses
Using his expertise in microbiology and bioinformatics, he is bringing a new understanding to microbial immune systems.
Lab Tools
Integrating Multiple -Omics in Individual Cells
Integrating Multiple -Omics in Individual Cells
New techniques combine DNA, RNA, and protein information from single cells.
Bio Business
Startups Plan the Health Data Gold Rush
Startups Plan the Health Data Gold Rush
Companies are building platforms based on blockchain technology to let individuals control and directly profit from their genomic and medical information.
Reading Frames
Why Forgetting Is a Critical Part of Remembering
Why Forgetting Is a Critical Part of Remembering
The Østby sisters, one a neuroscientist and the other a writer, explore the uncharted territory of memory in their new book.
Foundations
Charting Crescents, 1910
Charting Crescents, 1910
James Herrick, a Chicago doctor, was the first to describe sickled red blood cells in a patient of African descent.
Infographics
Infographic: Effects of Satellite DNA–Binding Proteins
Infographic: Effects of Satellite DNA–Binding Proteins
The linkers gather chromosomes together into chromocenters.
Infographic: Light Pollution Threatens Species
Infographic: Light Pollution Threatens Species
As artificial light increases in volume and geographical coverage around the world, a variety of animals are suffering ill effects.
Infographic: The Search for Life Below the Surface
Infographic: The Search for Life Below the Surface
The recent expansion of large-scale scientific drilling programs, combined with intensified efforts to take advantage of existing portals into the crust, has led to an explosion of research on the deep biosphere.
Infographic: Visualizing Gene Expression
Infographic: Visualizing Gene Expression
STARmap reveals expression levels of multiple genes within thick tissue sections.
Infographic: The Omentum’s Role in Health and Disease
Infographic: The Omentum’s Role in Health and Disease
Belly fat helps fight infection, but is also a common site of metastasis.
Multimedia
Video: How Deep Have We Drilled?
Video: How Deep Have We Drilled?
Kilometers-deep holes in the ground give scientists access to deep in the Earth’s crust, where they're finding diverse forms of life.