
Spring 2022
Cracking Cancer's Mysteries
Tumors’ unstable genomes and unique microbiomes may present new targets for understanding and treating the disease
Features

Adapting with a Little Help from Jumping Genes

How Chaos in Chromosomes Helps Drive Cancer Spread
Critic at Large

Opinion: Dismantling Anti-vaccine Rhetoric on Social Media
Can requiring users of Facebook and other platforms to pass critical thinking tests stem the tide of widely disseminated misinformation?

Opinion: How to Confront Anti-Science Sentiment
Reaching a science skeptic is not a matter of credentials; it’s a matter of heart.
Notebook

Even the Tiniest of Birds Use Smell in Some Situations
Once considered anosmic, birds are now widely recognized as using olfactory cues to aid in a wide range of behaviors.

Researchers Resurrect Coffee-Destroying Fungus—to Study It
Comparing the genomes of modern pathogens with those of cryopreserved strains from several decades ago shed light on the evolution of coffee wilt disease outbreaks in Africa.

Why Are Some Beetles Shiny? It’s Not What Researchers Thought
The glossy shell of some beetles, it has long been speculated, helps hide the insects from predators. A recent paper put the hypothesis to the test—and found it wanting.

Microbial Analysis of River Reveals Considerable Diversity
Scientists in Canada trace how aquatic communities change as Quebec’s Romaine River flows into the sea.
Infographics

Infographic: How Transposable Elements Can Shape Evolution
The movements of so-called jumping genes can generate the genetic diversity needed to drive evolutionary change in populations over time.

Infographic: How Genome-Packaging Protein Cohesin Handles DNA
The hinge region of cohesin pulls DNA to two head regions, like a person’s hand-to-hand motion of pulling on a rope.

Infographic: Reading Proteins with Nanopores
Adapting DNA nanopore sequencing to peptides allows researchers to identify single amino acid differences.

Infographic: Chromosome Errors Cause Micronuclei and Drive Cancer
When micronuclei rupture, chromosomes break, recombine, and form circles, causing inflammation and promoting carcinogenic growth.

Infographic: Putting Cancer’s Unique Microbiomes to Use
From diagnosis to tracking treatment responses, bacteria and other microbes in the blood, gut, and tumors of cancer patients may provide helpful hints for improving their care.
The Literature

Mechanism of a Genome Packaging Machine Discovered
Detailed analyses of cohesin’s movements indicate how this protein complex hauls chromatin fibers to package DNA into loops.

Epigenetic Changes to Placenta Correlate with Maternal Depression
An epigenome-wide association study found more than a dozen methylation changes in placental DNA that correlated with expectant mothers’ self-reports of depression and stress during their pregnancy.

A Fasting-Mimicking Diet Thwarts Breast Cancer in Mice
Coupling a diet low in calories, sugar, and protein with existing cancer drugs treats triple-negative breast cancer in mice, and low blood glucose is associated with better cancer outcomes in human patients.
Reading Frames

Opinion: Going Beyond Seed Banks
Rethinking why and how we conserve crop genetic diversity

On the Trail of the Jackalope
How horned rabbits led the way to the HPV vaccine
Foundations

Death by Nostalgia, 1688
Before its association with a pining for the toys or TV shows of yesteryear, nostalgia was deemed a dangerous psychiatric disorder.
Bio Business

Cultured Meat Advances Toward the Market
The biotech industry is chipping away at the obstacles standing between the lab and the dinner plate.
Modus Operandi

DNA Nanopore Sequencing Adapted for Protein Sequence Comparisons
Researchers link a stretch of DNA to a peptide of interest and measure current changes as the molecule is pulled by a helicase through a nanopore.
Scientist to Watch

Thomas Lozito Is Figuring Out How Lizards Rebuild
The University of Southern California bioengineer studies how lizards regrow their tails, with the goal of one day inducing regeneration in humans.

Junyue Cao Applies Novel Approaches to Aging and Disease
The Rockefeller University geneticist is tracing the full lifespan of individual cells to better understand how and why humans age.
Careers

How to Bring the Public into the Scientific Process
A new wave of research is recruiting patients and other members of the public to serve as equal partners, bringing fresh perspectives to research on diseases and other conditions.
Editorial

Living the Life Pandemic
The first part of 2022 is giving us a glimpse of humanity’s future relationship with COVID-19.
Speaking of Science

Notable Science Quotes
Reviving the Cancer Moonshot, disentangling the microbiome's effect in cancer, the observer effect, and more